Created by you via a character editor which is limited to a few hairstyles and face shapes and which does not even offer the possibility of varying the stature of your avatar, the hero of this adventure begins his journey in unknown lands. Without reminder of a past context and or clues about the place in which you are, the introduction / tutorial of Lord of Arcana has the merit of placing the player directly in the heart of the action. A quick appetizer that concludes with an epic fight against a massive creature before your character disappears into strange conditions. A duel that is only the beginning of a quest that will transport this average warrior to the meanders of the lands of Horodyn in search of the power of the Arcana, a magical artifact supposed to give the reins of the world to its owner. Magic stone and world in danger oblige, you will have to annihilate monsters in the chain in the hope of one day seeing the color of this famous mystical object. A tint that will undoubtedly remain a distant, somewhat cloudy glow as Lord of Arcana is full of hardships that are difficult to overcome. Without him knowing.
Lord of Arnica
Amnesiac and lost in a village that you do not know, the only way to become the famous lord of Horodyn is to progress constantly in order to obtain the necessary power to sink further into the various zones populated by monsters. To do this, simply go to the Guild of Killers to participate in quests whose objective is variable without ever being interesting. If most of them are summarized by the hunt and the elimination of a certain type of mob, others ask for example to bring back various berries, plants or minerals or even to beat a good big boss. The set is generally settled in the blood and the upgrade of weapons and armor quickly becomes an obligation. Requiring a specific number and type of materials, the crafting and upgrading of equipment is done in the same way as in Monster Hunter except for one detail, monster cores. Obtained as their name suggests on the corpses of creatures, they are however only available when the power of the Arcana arises in a specific area of the map. Only remaining active for a certain period of time, the latter allows you to collect a core from one or more monsters killed during this period and in the era concerned. A system that, despite the possibility of activating teleporters that speed up traffic in game areas, forces the player to useless round trips. Similarly, the randomness of this principle linked to the fact that these cores are the cornerstone of the majority of achievable items makes character development a little more laborious. Indeed, in addition to the fact of sometimes waiting several minutes for the appearance of the power of Arcana, the rise in power of the hero is extremely slow, in complete mismatch with the difficulty curve applied to the enemies. In fact, the feeling of trampling both in the creation and in its own progress within the game, very quickly transforms the usual patient grinding of this kind of title into a real frustration. Especially since unlike its model with long teeth, Lord of Arcana does not really reward the effort and suffers from a serious lack of depth.
Lord of War
Unlike the Monster Hunter series which offers many additional occupations, even if these are not great playful moments, Lord of Arcana goes to the essentials, even if it means leaving the game bloodless. Indeed, apart from the exploration sessions in the various areas offered by the title and the clashes against the bosses who guard the temple opening the final access to the artefact, no sideline varies the game sequences. A drought of content that goes so far as to contaminate the various shops present in the base village that do not sell healing items. A not really commercial philosophy which obliges the player to subsist only on his own resources, which once again forces him to do and redo quests to collect elements, knowing that a mission must be completed for that items unearthed there remain in the inventory. You will therefore spend a lot of time trying to overcome dragons, skeleton warriors or even major enemies designed by big names in illustration such as Yoshitaka Amano, Hideo Minaba or Todd McFarlane. In fact, the fights against wandering monsters take place a bit like in the latest Star Ocean or Tales Of to date. The slightest contact with one of these creatures indeed propels the player into an arena where he is opposed to one or more opponents. Accessible and responsive, Lord of Arcana's combat system is very effective with a key for attack, one for protection, a third for magic and a final one for objects, all supported by a handy lock. A success at the level of the grip which does not prevent the clashes from competing with boredom. Based on a scheme consisting of chaining a few shots then running around the target, these change somewhat depending on the weapon used but unfortunately remain very basic. Certainly, some bosses reserve surprises but nothing enough to give real relief to the fights. Worse, the slightest Goblin encountered in the first level requires at least 4 or 5 hits before fainting, even after long hours of play. that you find another player of Lord of Arcana, the quests with 2,3 or 4 being accessible only in local. Lord of Arcana nevertheless paves the way for Monster Hunter-like which does not require another hand to be grafted in Europe. However, this will not help him to be remembered.
