Arc the Lad II continues the sojourn through the magical land introduced in the original game by greatly expanding gameplay, adding a whole new cast of characters with unique weapons, skills or spells, increasing manageable character elements (e.g., abnormalities), and taming, renaming and releasing monsters. Game options now include the ability to change the opacity of the text and menu boxes, adjustable window colors, music toggles, puzzle resets, and more.

The Hunters Guild offers a place to get jobs, check wanted posters, chat with other characters, and receive bounty payments, while Shops provide the wherewithal to buy and sell items, weapons, and armor. Item Smiths increase armor, weapon, and item abilities to higher levels, and Combine Shops let you create new weapons or items. Visiting Mother Claire allows you to change monster classes and add or sell abilities, while the little robot machine, Diekbeck, lets you divide experience points among party members.

The main protagonist in Arc the Lad II is Elc, the last of the Pyrenians, a fire-controller who uses various aspects of his craft to great advantage. Lieza, a member of the Beasttalkers tribe, captures and tames monsters, Shu uses ninja and thief talents, Shante heals and fights, Sania specializes in mental powers and teleportation, and Gruga utilizes explosive and light abilities in berserker style. The integrity of the story line is continued in Arc the Lad II by appearances of characters from the original game.

Battle mode remains unchanged with free movement within grid-like environments, with increasing role-playing elements for characters based on attack, defense, magic, agility, throw, catch, counterattack, jump, range, and special effect abilities. Like its predecessor, Arc the Lad II is a Japanese only release.

Once Arc 1 is polished off, it’s time to move on to the much-improved Arc 2. There is just such a difference between these 2 games, and you see it right from the get-go. Following the adventures of Elc, who is searching for his past, this chapter is truly the star of the Collection. There is now a Chrono Cross-esque overworld to traverse, you can catch monsters ala Pokemon, there are towns with shops, inns and houses, and the game is at least three times as long as Arc 1.

In essence Arc 2 is still linear, but due to the innovative Hunters’ Guild, it gives the player a lot of flexibility in how they want to progress through the storyline. Basically, you take on “jobs” as a Hunter by going to a Hunters’ Guild, and gain merit points by completing various jobs.

These may include flushing out a sewer full of monsters, or protecting a jewelry store from being robbed in the middle of the night. You can also capture “wanted” monsters for some extra cash. The battle system is basically the same as it was in the first game, but the interface looks a lot cleaner and the game is visually more appealing in general. I liked the cast of characters in Arc 2 a lot more than those in the first game; they just seem to have more personality.

The story is also a lot darker than it is in Arc 1, and has some pretty angst and melancholy ridden overtones. Oh, and for the record, Shu is one of the most ass-kicking ninja characters ever in a videogame.

Arc the Lad II also allows players, after enlisting the aid of a character named Lieza, to capture and tame monsters for use in battle. As with other party members, these monsters gain experience and can subsequently be customized to one's liking. The Arc Arena add-on disc provides players an opportunity to import their captured beasts for use in tournaments. There they can gain experience and win items, which can then be exported into Arc the Lad II. As an added bonus, two players can pit their menagerie of creatures against one another.