Publisher: Idea Factory
What I Paid: $15.00
Verdict: Not Shovelware.
What I Say:
After finishing Arc of Alchemist for the first time, I read a few online reviews prior to writing my own review. This title has been savaged online with a Metacritic score of 3.6 currently. I didn’t think it was all that bad.
You play as Quinn, the leader of a squad of intrepid adventurers, in search of a “Great Power”, rumoured to be the panacea for the world’s current ills – the world is currently dying with very few remaining resources to sustain life (a la Mad Max). The story itself isn’t groundbreaking nor is it overly long, but I did enjoy the plot twists when they came along.
There is some free DLC which provides equipment sufficient to give you a head start if you so desire. Whilst I downloaded this DLC, I chose not to use it at all.
There are a few unusual features in this JRPG. For instance, the monsters you kill don’t drop money, just items. You have to sell the items to get money which you then spend on a variety of upgrades. You can direcly upgrade your characters’ stats. You can buy new skills for them. You can buy new equipment for them, but only if you build or upgrade the relevant structure in your base. Combat consists of only two attacks which vary according to your equipped weapon. Death isn’t a big deal – you just get transported back to your base to try again with your collected items intact.
A few criticisms I read online were unfair; monsters don’t immediately respawn, but only 3 will show at any one time when the entire swarm may be 15-30 monsters in size. Kill them all and you have peace. The placement of buildings during base building can let you access higher levels of equipment if you are careful with placement (eg square blocks and buildings adjacent to other buildings are favoured). I played in docked mode and rarely had frame rate issues.
Two final points:
- I really liked the musical score for this game, and
- I don’t know what it is called Arc of Alchemist, since Alchemy plays no role in this game at all.
What They Say:
Newly Polished – In the Western release, players can now choose from 7 playable characters each specializing in unique weapons, attacks, and abilities!
Four Orbs to Rule Them All – Wielding the Lunagear allows players to combine two of the four elemental orbs (fire, water, wind, earth) to solve puzzles, manipulate environments, and blast any foe.
Based Blessings – Construct your base and conquer! Customize Troop Formations, purchase gear, and build facilities to strengthen attacks and learn new abilities.
Amass Items & Exchange – There are treasures to be found everywhere. Seek out items to equip and strengthen your party. Exchange materials for even more powerful weapons!
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