One of the WORST PS2 Games - Arc the Lad: End of Darkness

[@shadowwwwwwwwwww]

If this game had a bigger fandom, this would be the series's "betrayal" game.

[@TMac-os1hy]

You know it could be possible, by the grace of meme magic, that Spoony scream changed the industry. Think about this, if his scream becoming popular had a affect on the people working on XCOM to actually make a good game. Then it’s thanks to Spoonys hard R rage for XCOM it lead to the improvement and popularization of the turn based strategy game genre……. I want to believe! Lol

[@shadowwwwwwwwwww]

​@@TMac-os1hy it'd be great if raging against subpar changes in a game franchise or side-franchise could work like it did there.

[@Caspicum]

how hard do i have to scream for them to never try another Arc the Lad game? I can probably hit those decibels

[@TheDiscoGenre]

@@Caspicum At this point I was impressed there wasn't an Arc The Lad Tierkreis for the DS/3DS.

[@thestealthplatypus5861]

Lol

[@pages4573]

This feels like a weird spin-off game that was turned into a full sequel for some reason.

[@Caspicum]

It feels like a prototype they forgot to finish :^). It was called Arc the Lad Generations in Japan, kinda hinting at a 'spin-off' nature, but the narrative events are a direct sequel to Twilight, so it's very confusing.

[@sadmeat8937]

Hemo's hand feet disturb me and I'm not sure why. Monkeys have hand feet and I'm fine with that. Also it's like they wanted to do star ocean type battles but the programers got bored and did something else and forgot to go back and finish the battle system.

[@Caspicum]

That's exactly what it's like. Like a shitty, half-made Star Ocean. It's the Hemo hand feet of battle systems.

[@TrenchfootSalvador]

​@@Caspicum🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ShadowWolfRising]

'Insert clip of AVGN going "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?" here.' But for real, I remember seeing this in PSM as a kid and going "What the Hell did they do to Arc the Lad?" and then seeing the scores PSM gave it and went "Yeah........no.". If Child Me could figure out FROM SCREENSHOTS this was a bad idea, that's a bad sign.

[@Caspicum]

I had a very similar interaction with it! I saw somewhere, possibly in some magazine, that it wasn't an RPG anymore, and never even tried to play it. Better times.

[@foxboxtrot9436]

You can say Arc the lad turned into Arc the Sad.

[@Caspicum]

If End of Darkness is sad, we're about to enter the depression phase :^)

[@reaceles5636]

Watching the gameplay segments reminded me why I dropped this in the first place. That Edda trips harder than friggin Wander from Shadow of Colossus is a feat of massive proportions. ...And I don't recall any of those story bits in the slightest. Huh, wonder why that is. This game being my first exposure to the Arc series is a sad, sad thing. Edit: Late, but adding that Hemo should burn to ashes and scattered to the winds.

[@Caspicum]

It's okay to hate Hemos, they brought it upon themselves. Also this being your first game is just bleak. Even Arc 3 would've been way better than this.

[@midiagain828]

Finally, we're almost at Arc the Lad Hard R

[@Caspicum]

It's about to get hard, cowboy.

[@PepsiMan666]

This must be where Sakurai got tripping for Brawl.

[@Caspicum]

I was thinking about that my entire time playing this shit. Now I understand

[@TheDiscoGenre]

Sakurai is definitely deranged enough to probably do that

[@Ghalheart]

Honestly, you remind me that there was this weird game design trend in the early-to-mid 2000s where prominent Japanese publishers were putting out games in established franchises with these weird Phantasy Star Online/Diablo vibes that ultimately felt scuffed compared to their inspirations for one reason or another. Shining Soul, Digimon World 4, Arc the Lad: End of Darkness, and Children of Mana (a guilty pleasure of mine) immediately comes to mind.

[@Caspicum]

Oh damn I forgot about Children of Mana. oh no... That was definitely around the time when traditional turn-based stuff started to not be 'cool' anymore, and people wanted more action heavy games, which is where FF ended up, we had the PS3 era with games like Eternal Sonata, Resonance of Fate, etc. People just did not want turn-based games, I can't say I blame them, but we're no better off the other direction tbh.

[@Sarahm2261]

​@Caspicum wouldn't a balance of the two be better then heavy sided one type of game since they both have value in the way they play and should be consider "better" then one and another. I enjoy a good action rpg like the next guy but the feeling to make you dudes one shot the enemies you struggle with due to getting some level feel good too. I can speak to this feeling after finishing shining in darkness recently.

[@luckybui8883]

Also for the last boss, it's weak to light/thunder element. I max my magic with equipment and use the highest level thunderstorm skill. The only problem is I keep overkilling allowing it to recover health missing my chance to exorcise. I can't believe I spent 60 bucks on this game when it released... I did enjoy Twilight of the Spirits, which was why I was excited for a new sequel. Big sad mistake lol

[@DogiTheWallcrusher]

I never even found out this one existed until years later despite getting collection and twilight on release. I've still yet to feel compelled to emulate it or anything

[@Caspicum]

Legit, there's only disappointment. With most the stuff I play, I encourage people to at least try the games if they're interested, but not here, it's not worth it.

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

I was always curious about this game, but every time I thought "yeah I am gonna buy this" I always see people relentlessly shitting on it. Good thing my curiosity did not get the best of me and I forgot this game existed, because holy hell this looks horrible.

[@Caspicum]

Sometimes shitting on stuff is unjustified. A lot of the times, it pays to listen. You dodged a bullet.

[@DoctorSwellman]

Oh boy, I love pain! 🍿

[@Caspicum]

You and me both. I gotta say, pain is definitely more interesting than an average experience.

[@luckybui8883]

The good thing about ps2 days are if you get a game over or if a random selection situation fails, don't save, shut down, turn back on, and try again.

[@RMD00]

Sad thing, this was my first AtL game. Don't worry a few years later I downloaded an emulator and played the first three games.

[@Obelia.]

It's games like this that I appreciate the godlike levels of patience you must have

[@Caspicum]

Once my mind is set on something, I see that thing through to the end, except for all those things where I quit halfway through.

[@lucassoares4084]

Love your videos! Can't wait for the final video next week ;)

[@Caspicum]

Thanks, brother! I might even drop it early. It's been sitting unlisted since January and it's pissing me off.

[@Zenaltra]

This game is the biggest disappointment I've ever had in gaming. Twilight of the Spirits was my first, then I went back and played Arc 1-3. Loved all of them, so I was really excited for this.

[@Caspicum]

I remember reading it wasn't an RPG anymore, so I steered clear of it until I came face to face with this video. Honestly, I wish I'd stayed ignorant. Sometimes ignorance is the best approach.

[@outtrigger]

casp how do you find the time to play long jrpgs and also make videos lol

[@Caspicum]

It's not easy, I tell you qwhat. About 80-90% of my gaming time is spent playing games and working on videos. I very rarely play games for funsies, just try to incorporate them into my work time. I also work on multiple things at once, so while I might not upload for a month or two, that's generally because I'm back-logging. This month was just a really productive one for script-writing and editing, as I'd completed all the Arc games in early/mid-2022, and had fully scripted them a month or two after. Really, I'm still like 6 months behind where I should be :^)

[@Twy87]

Never played it myself, but even when it was announced, End of Darkness just sounded surplus to requirement. Twilight of the Spirits works much better as a stand alone title. That and the online bollockery.

[@Caspicum]

Yeah, Twilight feels like a nice spin-off. It's 'core' Arc, but really, there's so little connection it'd be fine as just a game within the universe that isn't wholly connected. It's very in line with what the original games set out to do. End of Darkness is suffering.

[@AndreySolovyev420]

thanks for investing so much time into this content!

[@Caspicum]

Thanks for watching! I probably wouldn't do it if people weren't watching!

[@TheDiscoGenre]

End of Darkness: the evil that surpasses Arc The Lad 3 and Infinite Undiscovery's Dinner Dance.

[@Caspicum]

it goes it goes it goes it goes

[@TMac-os1hy]

So we now have Yugioh the Lad, so I’m excited for the next game to be Arc The Lad: Now in Pog form!

[@Caspicum]

i wish it was yugioh adjacent, at least it'd be somewhat good.

[@galihcd]

Unfortunately, this was my first Ark the Lad game and I felt horrified, so many things felt wrong with this one, I've never touched those series afterwards. Yuck

[@Caspicum]

Honestly, that would've put me off video games entirely. I am praying for you.

[@cjhedrick6418]

Frankly, the series lost me after the first plot point of the first game, where that girl decides to douse the flame she's tasked with guarding, which unleashes a demon. "If only I knew the reason why I'm supposed to guard this flame, I might have been invested in my duties. And rather than just ASK someone why we guard the flame, or just walk away WITHOUT going through the effort of dousing the flames, I'll just do it because." Just gave me the impression that the adventure would be filled with stupid people.

[@Caspicum]

I definitely agree that she's a dumb bitch, but imagine the average stupid person in reality, and all of a sudden the idiot plot makes perfect sense.

[@izunia8436]

I remember watching a playthrough of this game years ago and I was wondering why it looked so low budget

[@AvalancheReviews]

Attn everyone: Casp is actually Vladimir Putin

[@Caspicum]

I hyev been discovered. Pliss do not arryest me.

[@deejay3297]

Tru but the real questn is whose nailn palin?

[@adambriton5394]

Oh gods I thought that thumbnail was a exaggeration til I watched the video god damn!

[@Caspicum]

I NEVER EXAGGERATE. ok that was a mild exaggeration

[@BibleNutter]

This game was so trash, I only played it cause I liked Twilight of the Spirits and I was curious as to just how bad this game actually is! Awesome video too!

[@Kuikkamies]

Arc the Lad? More like Fart the Gag.

[@Caspicum]

Honestly, I'd play that over Arc.

[@DefuaIt]

Thank you.

[@Caspicum]

THANK GOD FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@deatho0ne587]

I think I either quit this game or did not run at all, due to that stupid fall mechanic. I liked AtL3 better than this, including the main character from it. Thinking about it after you fought the final boss, I am 100% sure I did not complete this. I do remember being AtL3.

[@Caspicum]

Arc 3's biggest issue was the middle part, it just blends into a sea of nothing, but a sea of nothing can hurt you... Whatever End of Darkness is, can, and will.

[@penguin422613]

So is twilight of the spirits worth getting?

[@Caspicum]

Yes. Hard recommend, and if you ever pick it up, come back and tell me how right (wrong) I am!

[@penguin422613]

@@Caspicum okay cool I'm going to play it on PlayStation 5 it's like 15 bucks I'll let you know!! It's a shame because I'm a collector so I feel like I have to buy the end of darkness one just at least complete the set

[@Caspicum]

@@penguin422613 trust me, just save your money on End of Darkness. idk what happened but they prayed to the wrong god and ended up creating one of the worst games

[@PJ-sv4iw]

I actually played through the Arc the Lad Collection (PS1) and Twilight of the Spirits (PS2), but hard passed on End of Darkness (PS2). Too many janky systems and bad decisions to worth suffering through. This video encapsulated everything perfectly.

[@zerosky8946]

Another video so soon, great!

[@Caspicum]

I got the final video coming out within the week!

[@thelonesage3146]

Ugh I remember that one I was disappointed when they shifted everything to 3d all of a sudden and done poorly at that.

[@Caspicum]

I love Twilight, but it probably would've been better were it 2D, ngl

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

i was surprised when i found good fanart of this game a couple years back

[@Caspicum]

FANART? WHY?

[@TheDiscoGenre]

This game is infamous and some masochist might've wanted a crack at it.

[@vsolyomi]

Arc The Lad: Put out of Misery

[@Caspicum]

Not yet! That won't happen until 2018 on the timeline... We're only at 2004!

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

I hope theres no chance of covering the mobile game next?

[@Caspicum]

Oh, buddy... you will see series destruction beyond your wildest dreams before the month is out.

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

im just gonna say it the worst thing about this game is that they gave choco boobs disgusting sexualization

[@squidlordo7793]

The Casplord himself 🐉

[@Caspicum]

is that a tiny little dragon 👀

[@jobbingtoaster1502]

They wanted to make Phantasy Star Online but ended up with Digimon World 4.

[@Caspicum]

Even Digimon World 4 destroys this. I wasn't gonna re-do the Digimon World 4 video, but after End of Darkness, I feel like I can do anything.

[@jobbingtoaster1502]

@@Caspicum Woah, that really puts End of Darkness into perspective. Diggymans 4 is already pretty rough.

[@blondesummer7980]

Arc the Lad: End Me

[@Caspicum]

been saying this since 2020 ngl

[@shenmuemasta]

Ah man, this game was dogshit. And you didn't talk about the pvp. I had the "good fortune" to play this game close to release, so there were enough people playing online at the time. I remember a stalemate between and Lutz and I think an Elc player. Lutz was pretty much broken, he had like the best movement and the best tec stats, so all you had to do with him was throw stuff around and move, he was almost untouchable. And Elc had a full healing move. Pvp was pretty much a battle royale thing, so it came to these 2. 15 minutes of Lutz throwing stuff and Elc full healing. At some point the Elc player just gave up and let the Lutz player win, cause why would he keep going. The coop stuff wasn't great, but it gave a lot more rewards than single player, so that was the main reason to do it.

[@Caspicum]

I tried so hard to get it to interface with my PS2 because you can apparently still play it online, but it just wouldn't work, and emulation is always iffy. That said, had I someone to play against, I might've tried a little harder. I did want to get a bud for some co-op, but the thought of asking someone I like to sit through dARCness wasn't something I wanted to thrust on them. That said, I can see it being less garbage in co-op, but then that's kind of a cop-out because everything is better with a mate.

[@Denynn]

I have no idea why you're still talking about this series, I'm guessing you lost a bet or something. Don't worry though, I'll keep watching this garbage.

[@Caspicum]

I lost a bet with God, and I'm paying for it dearly.

[@pheagolol]

god damn i love this channel

[@Caspicum]

I appreciate you being here, my friend. I hope I can beat the same drum for a long time.

[@Amish_Avenger]

When you reviewing False Skies

[@Caspicum]

i saw false skies shilling on a certain image board the other day. i knew it was you!

[@Amish_Avenger]

@@Caspicum If it was the guy crapping on it, that was me. I crap on everything I like on there

[@nesmario123]

after playing arc the bad when are you gonna play arc the chad?

[@Caspicum]

ayy gurl ditch that lad, get with the chad. can't tell me Kharg wasn't a chad.

[@Red_Ranger_Wien]

Three videos in one month? But it’s not even my birthday 😅

[@Caspicum]

Got one more ready to go for a week or so from now. Then I go back to working on longer stuff, just needed to clear the backlog a bit.

[@Red_Ranger_Wien]

Noice. Can't wait to see what mediocre and/or spectacular obscure RPG it is

[@MattressOnFloor]

Yeah, this one sucked, I couldn't finish it.

[@veghesther3204]

While this one sucks the Twilight of Spirits game wasn't ANY much better.

[@Caspicum]

That's not true! Twilight was significantly better!

[@Sarahm2261]

heck yea casp is feeding us good this month :D

[@Caspicum]

I must feed you for the content winter, because after this string of videos, I only have half-written scripts.

[@Agent_OB]

got this for christmas :(

[@Caspicum]

bro nooooooooooooooooooo

[@Agent_OB]

@@Caspicum yep I remember being excited and then struggling to beat the first couple levels, I was probably 8 or 9

[@greenpoolball5136]

Give me crypto I need to buy stuff in arc the lad R

[@Caspicum]

*I REFUSE*

[@greenpoolball5136]

@@Caspicum cmon, I need $2000, another $1500 or so isn't that much

[@quarterpoundin]

this game is just depressing lol

[@Caspicum]

We'll always have the first 4 games, things are only depressing if you allow them to get to you!

[@deejay3297]

Speakn of depresn wers dreamwhale aka dropped pie aka tubboat?

[@Amish_Avenger]

AYYYYYYY

[@Caspicum]

BEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@vincenzomuzio7602]

mi spiace era meglio il 4 Cap Arco non piace E o Darkness

[@tikbalang9545]

Did you put your son on the thumbnail?

[@Caspicum]

He's my little guy

[@deejay3297]

This is h8 speech reeee he calld 4 violence against ppl who casd u harm thats COLONIAL PATRIARCHY REEEEEEEE

[@Caspicum]

Hemojis have it coming. They have no place in our modern society in the current year.

[@deejay3297]

Thats true im glad thers only one race now all dat othr shit was gay

[@Wolfdoggie]

why does he run like he has goat legs