Arcana: Wayback Wednesday Vol. 29, Part 1

Arcana was an RPG released by HAL Labs in early 1992. I generally don’t like first-person RPGs; games like Wizardry, Might and Magic, Dungeon Master, and Eye of the Beholder seem too player-unfriendly, clunky, and unforgiving, but this is where Arcana comes in. A lot of the accessibility issues you see in the aforementioned titles are solved with Arcana, and though it is not a perfect title, it served as a blueprint for all future first-person dungeon crawlers as far as reaching a wider audience.

The story begins with a short history lesson: A group of powerful wizards, also known as card masters, worked effortlessly to seal away an evil empress known as Rimsala, and they succeeded. Ten years later, a civil war has erupted, led by a powerful wizard known as Ghaleon. His awful ambitions are to awaken Rimsala and prosecute the very same people, card masters, who sealed her power away, the power that he desires so much. Enter the main character, Rooks, one of the last card masters alive. Sadly, the kid has been slacking in his studies, and his power is not nearly as strong as his ancestors'. So, of course, he is thrust into the unenviable position of stopping Rimsala.

Four different playable characters join Rooks at different times on his journey. While they are helpful, it was annoying how they would come and go from the party so often. This would not be a big deal, normally, but new equipment is expensive, so using the time to build up these characters and money to outfit them, only for them to leave, felt like a slap in the face. Although they had some useful spells to help out in battle, another issue was the non-descript names each spell was given, such as “Attribute 9”. What in the world does that even mean?

Just like navigation, battles are also in the first person, and on the far left and far right of the screen, you can see little pictures, in the form of cards, of those currently in your party. Rooks will always be in the top-left slot, and in the top-right slot are elemental cards that are with you for the entirety of the game. If you want to switch elements, you have to wait until it is Rook’s turn, go to “call,” and push “A: and cycle between your four choices: wind, fire, earth, and water. Rooks also has several one-time-use cards under “Card,” and although names are unhelpful in figuring out what they do, they often serve a purpose in speeding up battles.

One of my major complaints about the game is that boss battles, though limited, can happen abruptly and without warning. So, as a hint, constantly keep character HP at or around the maximum. Luckily, boss battles are fairly easy. I beat the game at level 40 on my second playthrough in 2019, for example.

Players must also remain current as far as inventory management, as Rooks has a limited number of slots, which isn’t as big of a deal as some critics make it out to be. As a hint, the primary focus should be to fill most of those slots with MP healing items.

Arcana is unlikely to amaze anyone visually, and this is evident within battles, where sprites are basic, with limited movements, almost static. Damage done and received is shown in a small text box, adding to the blandness of battles. Outside of battles, dungeons are simple as well.

There is only one town, and while it looks interesting at first, it quickly loses its luster when you realize it is the only town in the entire game. Every single character and enemy will appear on a card. Arcana was the first game, to my knowledge, that displayed sprites in this fashion, and even predates Pokémon by several years. However, one of the more accessible aspects of Arcana is a map that is drawn as you explore and can be viewed via the main menu.

Gamers might complain about grinding for experience and money in this game, but I found that as long as you probe every square inch of each dungeon, even purposely walking down dead ends, that alone will ensure enough levels and money to buy equipment without needing to run around more. Just make sure 100% of the map is drawn, and by the time you reach the end, levels should be adequate. Plus, many dead ends lead to treasures, so there’s a benefit to making sure everything is fully explored, but once you complete and leave a dungeon, you can’t enter again.

Also, keep in mind that armor does not have much impact on lessening damage, so that can be (at least fairly) safely skipped if money is tight. I noticed this on my first playthrough when I would go to a new dungeon to grind on the first floor to afford a new, more expensive and supposedly superior armor; it didn’t help much, just a small drop in damage so on my second playthrough, I choose to forgo buying armor, except for ones I found in chests, and, as expected, noticed little difference. This is an awful oversight from the developers.

This game is very heavily focused on finding your way through these huge dungeons and, thankfully, the music makes this bearable and is one of the best parts of the game. The soundtrack has about two dozen songs, although the majority are around a minute and loop. The town music creates a unique atmosphere in the game with its gentle flute, reminiscent of a Renaissance fair. Battle music is acceptable and simply fills the silence as you get rid of the hordes of monsters. The boss battle track, on the other hand, rocks and does a perfect job creating a tense environment. But dungeon music is where the game truly shines. The Ice Cavern is peaceful without putting you to sleep with its very subtle undertones of danger just below the surface. Traveling through the first dungeon provides a sense of urgency, like getting to the end is of the utmost importance.

While Arcana did little to wow gamers after release, it’s hard to think of anything especially egregious at the same time. It was a perfectly acceptable middle-of-the-road game that took no risks, but also avoided many of the pitfalls of roleplaying games, especially first-person ones. Anyone who wants to try their hand at this style of RPG without too much difficulty won’t go wrong with this game, as it is very linear and has a fairly easy learning curve. Arcana holds a special place in my heart as being just the second fully-first person RPG I ever beat, after Kings Field. There are some flaws in this game, but it is still rewarding to complete.