Arc of Alchemist Reviews
Arc of Alchemist is a catastrophic disaster on Switch. The game dips and climbs in framerate constantly, the visuals are so downgraded that it can be difficult to even make out key aspects, and the experience is overall miserable. There is a decent enough action RPG buried under all of this, but the abysmal performance should have never been accepted for release, and I’m outright ashamed they thought this port was in a good state to release, and haven’t fixed it since.
Compile Heart and Idea Factory's games usually stand out somehow while having other weaker aspects. Arc of Alchemist is probably their most well-balanced title in terms of quality. Unfortunately, what stands out here is the lack of quality.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Idea Factory's latest release stretches the limits of what can be called a playable videogame.
Thanks to the choppy framerate, horrible combat, and forgettable characters and story, Arc of Alchemist fails to elicit anything more than a shrug and a sigh. Unless you're a hardcore Idea Factory and Compile Heart fan, stay far, far away from this one.
Arc of Alchemist is an action RPG that gets so far ahead of itself that it’s hard to ever feel attached to its heroes, story, or rudimentary game mechanics.
The music at least alleviates some of the monotony and players won’t need to spend too long with it to spark the ending credits, but the combat and systems contrive to make the gameplay far from enjoyable, and the story is almost not worth mentioning. One can only hope that it allows lessons to be quickly learned ahead of any future action RPG endeavours.
Arc of Alchemist feels so very dated, it could easily be confused for an early Idea Factory title getting its remaster on Switch… without anything actually remastered. Unremarkable and uninspired, it's a quintessential mindless dungeon-crawling RPG, with no real hook to set it apart. There are a million games out there that do exactly what Arc of Alchemist does, but better in every way.
Avoid this game. I cannot put it more simply than that.
Arc of Alchemist could have been a fun tactical RPG. Trouble is, it’s squashed between outdated exploration, a half-formed battle system, and a general lack of polish that altogether makes the game’s flaws impossible to look past. Within the context of the many fantastic JRPGs that are out there, I can’t pretend Arc of Alchemist is worth your time.
Arc of Alchemist on the Nintendo Switch may look pretty and attractive when looked at its still pictures but that should not deceive anyone: this game has a poor performance, its plot and characters are completely uninspiring and the overall gameplay mechanics fail to compel and to entice the players. Add to that a steep launch price and there are very few reasons why anyone would want to spend too much time around this effort.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
In sum, Arc of Alchemist is not worth your time.
Arc of Alchemist is not technically broken, which is the best thing I can say about it. Combining the most basic combat, the most complicated menu system, the weirdest economy, some pretty poor PS2-era graphics, and the densest, most indecipherable tips section, Arc of Alchemist is indeed reminiscent of a work of alchemy – if said alchemist was attempting to turn your valuable time into dust. Avoid at all costs.
Arc of Alchemist features repetitive combat, tired tropes, an empty world, and a poorly thought out and written story. There is nothing interesting in this package, just skip it.
Hardcore JRPG fans will likely enjoy customizing the base, upgrading the facilities, and perhaps even the simplicity of the combat. However, for anyone looking for a worthwhile RPG experience, Arc of Alchemist is not it.
I doubt any Great Power could save this game from being the soulless wasteland that it is.
There are far better JRPGs out there to play than this so avoid it unless you can find it on a deep, deep sale.
Arc of Alchemist isn’t the worst action RPG I’ve ever played, but it’s crushingly dire, and not worthy of your time or money.
At only ten hours long, Arc of Alchemist won't waste much of your time. This wasteland has seen better days and couldn't come as recommended to any but the most ardent of Idea Factory fans.
If you are thinking about getting Arc of Alchemist, here is a bit of advice about playing it: Don’t.
Arc of Alchemist is a short, boring game that is as dry as the desert it takes place in.