Arc the Lad R announced (iOS/Android) - 10 years after Arc the Lad 2/direct continuation/OG staff

Laxoon · Jul 29, 2018

I think it's looking pretty good for the in-game stuff, as far as mobile goes. Like a bit better than 3DS' graphics possibly?
Personally am not a fan of the bravely default look at all. It's like those touhou yukkuri things were mashed on to tiny doll bodies. I'm gonna miss the Arc 2 style a lot.
Definitely would give it a shot if localized though because boy I love Arc 1+2.

Mario Bilo · Jul 29, 2018

Aquamarine said:
If it was a premium mobile RPG people wouldn't be so negative...instead of predatory free-to-play gacha that requires an Internet connection at all times. I (along with many others) refuse to support those kind of games without exception.

Then don't come to a thread about a mobile game made by Sony's mobile division in Japan to take a part of the Japanese mobile free to play market to complain about the game being a Japanese mobile free to play title. We have know about this game for two years. This is not a surprise announcement.

kirby_fox · Jul 29, 2018

B.K. said:
Zero.

Nightengale said:
Extremely low at this point of time.

Probably should have waited to send him the trailers before knowing this, but that's disappointing. With it being a F2P mobile title, the likelihood of a fan translation down the road feels pretty unlikely too.

texhnolyze · Jul 29, 2018

Callibretto said:
Didn't look like the game is gacha. But, no english version. This is really frustrating. Why does a company as big as Sony is making a japan only game.

Can't be excited for any forwardworks title as long as it's not localized. :(

I believe I saw stars beside the character portraits. That pretty much confirms it's a gacha game.

VeePs said:
FUCKJFUCJIFJCK.

I saw the initial artwork and thought, "wow, this looks good!"

Then I saw "Oh? By the core team? Story continuation? New and old characters! Wow, okay, it could be good."

Then I saw that chibi art bullshit. wow

Arc The Lad has always been chibi though. Yeah the character art is not, but gameplay is chibi. Might as well make everything chibi for consistency.

Laxoon said:
I think it's looking pretty good for the in-game stuff, as far as mobile goes. Like a bit better than 3DS' graphics possibly?

Mobile games graphics have surpassed 3DS since forever.

Evilisk · Jul 29, 2018

Remember said:
I don't know why people are acting surprised that sleeper hit franchises like Arc the Lad are coming to mobile. I'm thankful this even exists because they sold terribly.

My main gripe is with the chibi artstyle. Phones have passed the ps1 era graphically and chibi characters are still the norm.

From what I remember of the Making of Arc the Lad, the series actually did pretty decently in Japan

I don't think there was even supposed to be any games past AtL 2

Mr. Pointy · Jul 29, 2018

Dark_Castle said:
Every old classic JRPG franchises go to mobile. What's next, Suikoden?

Dark Cloud.

Aeana · Jul 29, 2018

Mario Bilo said:
Then don't come to a thread about a mobile game made by Sony's mobile division in Japan to take a part of the Japanese mobile free to play market to complain about the game being a Japanese mobile free to play title. We have know about this game for two years. This is not a surprise announcement.

I don't think that's particularly fair. They've been hyping this up on Twitter for weeks as a return to form for Arc the Lad. They have all of the old staff involved. It's really a fully fledged Arc the Lad game by all accounts. But it's also free to play with gacha stuff and a stamina meter. It doesn't really seem to fit that considering everything else about the game.

Nightengale · Jul 29, 2018

Faenix1 said:
..wait, what? Really?

ForwardWorks was set-up as a division of SIE that's focused solely on mobile market in Japan/Asia. I believe they were asked about it during the creation of the company, and there are no intention to go global anytime soon. Heck, FW games haven't even expanded to Asia. It's all Japan-only at the moment.

At this point of time, in spite of FW being part of PlayStation and making games with SIE IP, there are limited connection to the broader PlayStation brand identity.

Mario Bilo · Jul 29, 2018

Aeana said:
I don't think that's particularly fair. They've been hyping this up on Twitter for weeks as a return to form for Arc the Lad. They have all of the old staff involved. It's really a fully fledged Arc the Lad game by all accounts. But it's also free to play with gacha stuff and a stamina meter. It doesn't really seem to fit that considering everything else about the game.

While thats true ever since the first ForwardWorks presss conference we knew Arc the Lad was returning as a mobile title and we knew that the game was gonna have original staff returning. The thread about the hype up to the announcement even had mobile written in the title so this was the only possible conclusion. In fact it probably looks better than what you could expect out of a free to play mobile title. Also it was always going to be a free to play title since it's made for the Japanese market.

famikon · Jul 29, 2018

Evilisk said:
From what I remember of the Making of Arc the Lad, the series actually did pretty decently in Japan

I don't think there was even supposed to be any games past AtL 2

yes

Japan only:

Arc the Lad – 1,090,000
Arc the Lad II – 816,873

https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/games-by-platform/playstation

duckroll · Jul 29, 2018

Nightengale said:
ForwardWorks was set-up as a division of SIE that's focused solely on mobile market in Japan/Asia. I believe they were asked about it during the creation of the company, and there are no intention to go global anytime soon. Heck, FW games haven't even expanded to Asia. It's all Japan-only at the moment.

At this point of time, in spite of FW being part of PlayStation and making games with SIE IP, there are limited connection to the broader PlayStation brand identity.

ForwardWorks seems like a pretty poorly run company in general. They have a lot of potential and access to great IPs and Sony is certainly supporting them in terms of budget and whatnot, but as a mobile company meant to showcase Sony's IPs and use it them as growth in Japan and Asia's mobile space, they haven't been very successful. So yeah, I can't see them expanding overseas anytime soon when they can't even get a good grip on their home market yet.

hwarang · Jul 29, 2018

Man, seeing the Arc the Lad I cast is nostalgic.

texhnolyze · Jul 29, 2018

hwarang said:
Man, seeing the Arc the Lad I cast is nostalgic.

Not only the cast, but also the battle system. Everything is so nostalgic.

Aeana · Jul 29, 2018

My primary concern is with this shutting down before they finish the story.

Deleted member 6573 · Jul 29, 2018

Strings · Jul 29, 2018

I don't mind the chibi art (I mean, I managed to enjoy Twilight of Spirits despite how that game looked...), I just wonder how they'll handle the structure for this and the upcoming Wild Arms Million Memories. Like, I really wish both were full, paid mobile titles ala Chaos Rings, even though that model is obviously less lucrative.

Stamina systems, etc just bring with them abysmal pacing that I can't take in these sorts of games.

Laxoon said:
I think it's looking pretty good for the in-game stuff, as far as mobile goes. Like a bit better than 3DS' graphics possibly?
Personally am not a fan of the bravely default look at all. It's like those touhou yukkuri things were mashed on to tiny doll bodies. I'm gonna miss the Arc 2 style a lot.
Definitely would give it a shot if localized though because boy I love Arc 1+2.

There's a couple of mobile games that are better than 3DS in terms of production quality. Something like The Alchemist Code looks nicer than most SRPGs on the system.

duckroll · Jul 29, 2018

Aquamarine said:
Personally I wish they would just focus on new IPs instead of reviving all these old IPs to subsequently bastardize them. I would prefer these dormant IPs stay dormant if this is their future.

Oh spare me the melodrama whining. This is Arc the Lad coming back from the people who created the series in the first place. A full fledged story RPG with strategy battles, set 10 years after the second game, ignoring the less well received sequels made after Tsuchida left the series to create Front Mission. Now he's back and exploring the exact thing fans WANT to see - the world of AtL1-2 after 2. I don't give a fuck what you "prefer" and all you're doing here is thread whining without giving any input into what you even dislike about this game. Maybe it's because.... you don't care about Arc the Lad at all? :thinkingemoji:

UsoEwin · Jul 30, 2018

I always somehow get Arc the Lad and Alundra mixed up

I'll see myself out

Tagesreste · Jul 30, 2018

I would have preferred something more along the lines of Twilight of the Spirits -- but I realize that game must have had a pretty big budget and its sales were dismal.

Why couldn't they stick with the art design of the first promo artwork for the characters in-game?

duckroll · Jul 30, 2018

Tagesreste said:
I would have preferred something more along the lines of Twilight of the Spirits -- but I realize that game must have had a pretty big budget and its sales were dismal.

Why couldn't they stick with the art design of the first promo artwork for the characters in-game?

Because Twilight of the Spirits is a game very few Arc the Lad fans like or will agree that the art looks good. Arc the Lad has always been "serious" in the key visuals and chibi in all the in-game scenes. This game is being made for fans of Arc the Lad 1 and 2 specifically.

demi · Jul 30, 2018

For anyone interested in playing the original games, I believe they are playable via psn (vita, ps3, psp)

Riskbreaker · Jul 30, 2018

I don't know how this game is going to work given how 2 ended, but given how this won't likely be translated to English, I am probably better off pretending it never existed.

Had a lot of fun with this series but this is a disappointing place for it to go to for me. No gatcha games for me, not ever again.

PlanetSmasher · Jul 30, 2018

That chibi art style makes me want to throw up my intestines. Is this a gacha game or just a full-spec iOS RPG?

Deleted member 6573 · Jul 30, 2018

wapplew · Jul 30, 2018

Art look like something from Cydesignation.

Riversands · Jul 30, 2018

At least it is not a gacha game, right?

RyougaSaotome · Jul 30, 2018

Aeana said:
My primary concern is with this shutting down before they finish the story.

My hope would be that because this is a bigger IP, they did something like what SE and Pokelabo did for SINoALICE and had a full story arc to tell the first year that they could end or adjust depending on whether the game was successful or failed.

Taro was told to put together a scenario that could be completed in a year in the event the game just had no legs. That's probably the safest way for devs to tackle these kinds of games that could last less than a year, or go on for 5+.

werezompire · Jul 30, 2018

Eh, if it got an English version, I might try it which is more than I can say for the BoF & Phantasy Star mobile games.

Deleted member 5535 · Jul 30, 2018

lol as always the mobile threads delivers

Laxoon · Jul 30, 2018

texhnolyze said:
Mobile games graphics have surpassed 3DS since forever.

Oh I know. Just happens that most mobile games that catch my attention, usually rpgs, don't often seem to offer much beyond tweened sprites or 3DS tier 3D.

Kalentan · Jul 30, 2018

You mention Arc the Lad 4 in your post... Was that Twilight of the Spirits? I remember having that on PS2, not an amazing game by any stretch but IIRC a fun and challenged tactics RPG.

Still should go back and finish it, I think I got to the final boss in the game back in the day but was underleveled or something so I never beat it.

duckroll · Jul 30, 2018

Aquamarine said:
I don't think the fans of Arc the Lad 1 & 2 want F2P gacha with stamina meters.

I think many of them would be pretty happy as long as the story and battles are good. Especially since the game is free and on devices everyone already owns.

ApeEscaper · Jul 30, 2018

Maybe this way first popularise the IP then make a AAA jrpg on this IP next

duckroll · Jul 30, 2018

RyougaSaotome said:
My hope would be that because this is a bigger IP, they did something like what SE and Pokelabo did for SINoALICE and had a full story arc to tell the first year that they could end or adjust depending on whether the game was successful or failed.

Taro was told to put together a scenario that could be completed in a year in the event the game just had no legs. That's probably the safest way for devs to tackle these kinds of games that could last less than a year, or go on for 5+.

Well, Sakaguchi also planned that for Terra Battle 2. From the looks of things, it might not even make it there because the story chapters got a bunch of delays earlier on. RIP. So even that isn't a failsafe. :(

The only way to do it right is to do it the way Terra Battle 1 did it. Have a complete story from launch, with ending credits and all. Unfortunately that means players can also blaze through the game and if you don't have a lot of regular content updates, they'll be happy to move on having finished the game for free. Good for gamers, bad for business! (But yet even with that, Terra Battle 1 is going to outlive Terra Battle 2 LOL!)

RyougaSaotome · Jul 30, 2018

duckroll said:
Well, Sakaguchi also planned that for Terra Battle 2. From the looks of things, it might not even make it there because the story chapters got a bunch of delays earlier on. RIP. So even that isn't a failsafe. :(

The only way to do it right is to do it the way Terra Battle 1 did it. Have a complete story from launch, with ending credits and all. Unfortunately that means players can also blaze through the game and if you don't have a lot of regular content updates, they'll be happy to move on having finished the game for free. Good for gamers, bad for business! (But yet even with that, Terra Battle 1 is going to outlive Terra Battle 2 LOL!)

You're right in that it's def not a completely failsafe, but tbf, Sakaguchi and co. tripped in multiple ways regarding Terra Battle 2. I imagine if a mobage launch repeats those similar mistakes, there's just no recovering from that period.

But you're right, that's probably the safest route even if it isn't necessarily the easiest.

Nightengale · Jul 30, 2018

Many gacha games sell you the promise of beautiful character art but don't actually make the characters look that good in-game. In a way, the fact that both are chibi is one of the more honest illustration and synergy between art and design.

Also, this game, based off the trailer has actual 3D story cutscenes.

Hours Left · Jul 30, 2018

The characters look nothing like Arc. I don't understand this trend of mobile sequels that look nothing like the source material.

The gameplay looks alright though.

Evilisk · Jul 30, 2018

apeAsnake said:
Maybe this way first popularise the IP then make a AAA jrpg on this IP next

Expecting a completely new title with a triple A budget if this does well seems like a bit of a longshot.

That said I do agree, hopefully this mobile title does well in Japan enough to lead to something. I'd even be okay if it only led to a 3D remake of Arc the Lad 2 or something like that

Redcrayon · Jul 30, 2018

I know this won't get localised but this looks surprisingly good in terms of battle mechanics to me. Good to see Tosh and co again.

MattWilsonCSS · Jul 30, 2018

Don't care for the Bravely Default character design but if it's by the original team it could be a nice contrast to FE Heroes. Heroes not having scrollable maps (at least at the time I played it, I think it has them now) was a joykiller.

Brazil · Jul 30, 2018

I can totally picture this game lasting less than a gacha Tales of if it comes to the West :P

I'm glad they're trying, at least.

MCD · Jul 30, 2018

The first art is darn beautiful. Suddenly chibi art.

Goddamn I hate chibi bullshit.

TylersProphecy · Jul 30, 2018

Wow!! Strategy rpg!! On the go!! And an alternate arc the lad 3 at that! I am officially surprised and delighted!

TwinBahamut · Jul 30, 2018

Arc the Lad 3 is probably my favorite one from that series, so I'm kinda disappointed they are going to ignore it completely. Hopefully its characters will get a chance to be reimagined and brought over.

I hope this one turns out well, even if it is unlikely I'll be able to really get into it with its format.

I don't understand the complaints about the chibi art style though. It looks fine.

Biske · Jul 30, 2018

Daaaaaaaaaaamn.

Looks ace, I'll never forget the sheer magic of the Arc the Lad Collection, the card board stands etc.

duckroll · Jul 30, 2018

Brazil said:
I can totally picture this game lasting less than a gacha Tales of if it comes to the West :P

I'm glad they're trying, at least.

If this turns out to be successful I could see Sony considering packaging it up on their other platforms maybe? I feel that's honestly more likely than ForwardWorks themselves getting off their ass and releasing it in the west...

What a weird set of circumstances lol.

sfortunato · Jul 30, 2018

duckroll said:
It's F2P but it's also a legit game. You can't really sell paid apps in Japan and expect it to be successful really. Even outside of Japan it's a challenge. But this will definitely have a story, missions, cutscenes, both story characters and gacha characters, lots of bonus content, etc.

It can have a story and cutscenes but it all depends on how much MTX are distorting the gameplay.

Nirolak · Jul 30, 2018

kirby_fox said:
A friend of mine loves these games, what's the chance at localization?

Generally mobile games are only localized if they're successful in Japan and then the company feels there's a potential audience outside Japan (be that the US or South East Asia).

MCD · Jul 30, 2018

TwinBahamut said:
Arc the Lad 3 is probably my favorite one from that series, so I'm kinda disappointed they are going to ignore it completely. Hopefully its characters will get a chance to be reimagined and brought over.

I hope this one turns out well, even if it is unlikely I'll be able to really get into it with its format.

I don't understand the complaints about the chibi art style though. It looks fine.

They want to use the most popular characters so it make sense they are going before 3.

If this is successful bet they will go beyond 2.

fourfourfun · Jul 30, 2018

If it is F2P, then odds on the gameplay structure is hamstrung by an earnings model.

Arc the Lad R announced (iOS/Android) - 10 years after Arc the Lad 2/direct continuation/OG staff

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