Characters in the Arc the Lad series

This is a list of the characters that appear in the first three Arc the Lad games. Originally released in Japan on the PlayStation, all three games were bundled together in Arc the Lad Collection, which was released by Working Designs in 2002. The three games form a continuous story and many of the characters appear in more than one game.

Playable Characters

Arc the Lad

Arc (アーク・エダ・リコルヌ, Āku Eda Rikorunu) - Arc is the protagonist of his eponymous series. He is a young boy from Touvil who sets out to find his father Yoshua, who has been missing for 10 years. His quest begins as he goes to help Kukuru re-ignite the Flame Cion and receives the blessing from the Guardians. He is somewhat disillusioned that humans are good-natured, but believes overall that people are good and he is determined to find the Ark so that he may save mankind from extinction. He is framed for the murder of the king of Seirya by Andel, becoming a worldwide wanted criminal shortly afterward. Over the course of the quest, he begins to develop feelings for Kukuru. Arc is a skilled swordsman, also has a wide array of elemental attacks and healing abilities. He is voiced by Hiro Yuki.

Kukuru (ククル・リル・ワイト, Kukuru Riru Waito) - Kukuru is a member of the Sacred White Clan in Touvil. She is seen extinguishing the Flame Cion in the game's opening, but after doing so, she finds out that monsters have appeared. Arc rushes to help her and re-ignites the Flame Cion. Days later, she decides to help Arc in his quest, telling him that she believes it is her destiny to follow the one who has been blessed by the Guardians. In Arc II, Kukuru stays for most of the game in Touvil’s Sabatico Shrine acting as a barrier to prevent the return of the Dark One. She is outspoken and opinionated, but she also has a deep, sincere affection for Arc. She fights with her hands, but is also an excellent magic user. She is voiced by Konami Yoshida.

Poco (ポコ・ア・メルヴィル, Poko A Meruviru) - Poco is a member of Palencia's drum corps. He claims that he never wanted to be a soldier, but rather a musician; his fighting skills reflect that, as he uses his musical instruments to execute both, physical and magical attacks. Poco is very timid and always hungry, constantly wanting to stay out of trouble. He believes that fighting with Arc makes him much braver, and continues to help him in his quest. He is voiced by Chika Sakamoto.

Trivia: He also appears in 3 as a recurring cameo character.

Tosh (トッシュ・ヴァイア・モンジ, Tosshu Vaia Monji) - Tosh is a headstrong warrior guard in the town of Palencia (who are not the same guards as are in Palencia Castle). He was arrested for treason by Andel, who had several townspeople killed. Tosh tried to defend the townspeople and thus was arrested. After being thrown into a prison cell, he breaks out to find out that the guards from Palencia Castle are monsters, and tries to kill them. He helps Arc after the spirit of his sword instructs him to. He is very headstrong and brash, though he reveres his late father Monji as an excellent warrior. In terms of gameplay, he is one of the stronger fighters, as he has very powerful physical attacks, but rather weak skills. Tosh appears in Arc the Lad 3 as the only original party member to join the party. He is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama.

Gogen (ゴーゲン, Gōgen) - Gogen is the "ancient book" which Arc's father sent him to find. Gogen has been around for at least 3,000 years, and he has quite a bit of knowledge about the world of Arc I. He is generally a silly person, serving as the witty comic relief in the North American release. It is later revealed that Gogen was one of the original “Seven Braves” (the current ones being the playable characters of Arc I), warriors that fight to prevent the Dark One from creating chaos in the world. Gogen is a mage, and thus his strongest attacks are his magic attacks. He is voiced by Mahito Tsujimura.

Chongara (チョブリン・グルタン・ゴー・ガラッハ・ドブラン・ダダ１３世, Choburin Gurutan Gō Garahha Doburan Dada 13th or Chongara for short) - Chongara is a merchant from Alatos. In the North American version, his English is very poor, though still comprehensible. While Chongara was searching for treasure, he was threatened by monsters, but Yoshua came to his rescue. In exchange, Yoshua asked Chaongara to help a boy, Arc, to find the Light Guardian. Chongara agreed, saying that the boy "Sounds like boring, stupid boy. But I will help, eh?".^[1] After hearing the Light Guardian's speech, Chongara decides to help Arc for the rest of his quest. Chongara's main specialty is to summon monsters that serve as an additional fighter on the battlefield. In Arc II, his summoned creatures (Kelack, Mofly, Hemo-ji, Odon, Fujin & Raijin, Choko) are playable, but he isn’t, instead he provides information to the player’s characters at the Silver Noah, Arc’s airship. He is voiced by Kenichi Ogata.

Iga (イーガ・ラマダギア, Īga Ramadagia) - Iga is a monk from Amaidar. The Archmonk of Amaidar tricks Iga into believing Arc wants to steal the sacred scrolls of Amaidar, thus he does not allow Arc passage to Mt. Amaidar, where the Earth Guardian is. He challenges Arc to a fight to settle this dispute. After losing, he finds out that the Archmonk is actually a monster, and after they kill it, Iga takes them to the Earth Guardian, and then decides to continue helping Arc in his quest. In battle, he is the other stronger character; his special abilities are equally as strong as his normal attacks. Iga appears in Arc the Lad 3 as a recurring cameo character. He is voiced by Kiyoyuki Yanada.

Choko (ちょこ, Choko) - On the 50th floor of the Alatos Dungeon, a creature goes around trying to scare Arc and the group. This creature is actually Choko, a little girl who is wearing a mask to scare them into running away. She first challenges them to a battle, and after losing, she decides to help the party, becoming one of Chongara’s summons. Choko may only be used in certain areas, but is arguably the strongest character in the game. In Arc II, Choko is also playable, though this time she is not a summoned monster, and thus she can be used in any battle after getting her. In Arc II it is revealed that she used to live in a village called Tokoko, but she destroyed it. Choko is the only original party member to appear in Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits.

Arc the Lad II

Elc (エルク, Eruku)– Elc is the protagonist of Arc the Lad II. He is a member of a tribe which has the power to manipulate flames, but his village was destroyed and his family was killed in an attack by the Romalian army, which were searching for the statue of the Spirit of Flame under orders of Andel. After that assault, Elc was taken by them to the “White House,” a laboratory that creates “Chimeras” (human-monster hybrids); after managing to escape from there, he is found by Shu, who takes him in and helps him to become a bounty Hunter. Elc has a sarcastic personality and also has a deep resentment towards Arc as he saw the Silver Noah in the assault of his village, and thus believes Arc was the one who led that operation. Elc appears in another Japanese only Arc the Lad game on the GameBoy, as the main character of the Arc the Lad anime, and as a one of the 2 battle characters from Arc the lad 2 in Arc the Lad 3. He is voiced by Ai Orikasa.

Lieza (リーザ, Rīza) – Lieza is a girl from the village of Holn, who has the ability to control monsters. This ability attracted the attention of the Romalia military, which began to look for Lieza, as she would be useful for their Chimera project. Lieza meets with Elc at Aldia Skyport, where she and her pet monster Paundit are being held hostage. Lieza has the unique ability to capture most of the monsters present in the game with her “Ravish” skill; those monsters can be playable after they’re caught. Lieza appears as a recurring cameo character in Arc the Lad 3 and as the main heroine in the Arc the Lad anime. She is voiced by Yoko Asada.

Shu (シュウ, Shū) – The gun-wielding ninja Shu is a bounty hunter from the city of Indigos with a mysterious past; he is the one who found Elc, then a little kid, in the desert and acted as a mentor to him, helping Elc to become a bounty hunter. Later, he acts as a supporting ally to Elc, and helps him to hide and take care of Lieza after she is hurt in an attack of the Cabal, a mob-like organization at Aldia Skyport. It is later revealed that Shu at some point of his life was about to be executed, but a man saved him and gave Shu his new life as a bounty hunter. In the Arc the Lad anime, it seems that he is on a relationship with Shante. Shu is in the Arc the Lad anime and appears as a one of the 2 battle characters from Arc the Lad 2 in Arc the Lad 3. He is voiced by Shuichi Ikeda.

Shante (シャンテ, Shante) – Shante is a singer at Indigos’ local pub; she and her brother Alfred were abandoned by their parents when they were children, and since then Shante worked very hard to give herself and her brother a decent life. However, Alfred suddenly disappeared and Shante began to look for him willing to do anything in order to get her brother back; she even went so far that she set up a trap to Elc and his group to give them to the Cabal in exchange of information about Alfred. However, she later learns that her brother was used by Gallarno as a thug and was also already dead, as he was the one responsible of the kidnapping incident at Aldia Skyport. After that, she out of revenge helps Elc and his group to take down Gallarno, later becoming an ally of them. She appears as a recurring cameo character in Arc the Lad 3. She is voiced by Michiko Neya.

Gruga (グルガ, Guruga) – Gruga is the leader of Brakia, a country which was fighting a war of independence with another country, Niedel; however as the war advanced he became depressed because of the increasing casualties and out of guilt resigned his leadership. He later went to live in the Clenia isle with his daughter Elena, becoming a respected person in the process. It is later revealed that Elena isn’t his biological daughter and that her real parents were killed by Gruga in the middle of the war, and that Gruga raised Elena as his own daughter out of guilt. He is voiced by Takashi Nagasako.

Sania (サニア, Sania) – Sania initially appears as a fortune teller, and joins the party with no apparent reason; however she quickly requests assistance from Iga and reveals that she is the princess of Millmana, and her only objective in life is to kill General Yagun to exact revenge, because Yagun was the one who ordered the murder of her parents, the King and Queen of Millmana. She can attack throwing cards as projectiles. She is voiced by Hekiru Shiina.

Diekbeck (ヂークベック, Jī(Di)kubekku) – Diekbeck is a robot sealed in the Yagos isle ruins that was created many centuries prior to the game’s events. Diekbeck is a particular character as it, being a machine cannot gain experience and thus is stuck at level 1, however its attributes can be increased by equipping the distinct “Power Units” scattered around the world which also give Diekbeck a different set of skills each. The experience it gains can be given to other characters, allowing them to level up without fighting. Diekbeck appears as the only fighter from the new Arc the Lad 2 party in Twilight of the Spirits. It is voiced by Toranori Yoshikawa.

Other characters

Yoshua - Yoshua is Arc's father. He left his family 10 years ago in hopes of saving mankind. He made a deal with the Guardians, and in exchange for his life, he received a blessing from the Guardians so that he may help Arc in his quest.

Polta - Polta is Arc's mother, who lives in Touvil. During the game, Arc learns that Andel has taken everyone, including Polta, captive and held somewhere in Seirya.

King of Palencia - The King of Palencia is Arc's uncle and Yoshua's brother. He calls Arc after hearing about his exploits, and wants to learn about the blessing Arc received from the Guardians. After Arc tells him that he learned he must find the Ark to save humankind, the king agrees to help Arc, and gives him his airship, the Silver Noah. He is assassinated by Andel.

Five Guardians - The Guardians of Fire, Light, Earth, Wind, and Water are the spirits of nature which help Arc in his quest, but his existence gradually fades because of the villains’ actions.

Four Generals – The four generals are top officers in Romalia’s military and each one of them acts as a leader of sorts in each of the countries they are, abusing nature’s resources and oppressing the people of those countries. The four generals are:

• Gallarno: He is the leader of the Cabal, and is stationed at Aldia.
• Yagun: The cruel general who attacks both Millmana and Greyshinne, he has a pet monkey; however is later revealed that this monkey was actually Yagun.
• Andel: The former ministry of the King of Palencia, responsible of his murder and the man behind the “Martyr Plan”, a plan which seeks to free the Dark One from its confinement.
• Zalbad: Stationed at Romalia, Zalbad seems to work under the orders of Gaidel, but he is in direct contact with the Dark One.

Gaidel – The King of Romalia is a minion of the Dark One, he causes a worldwide natural disaster, which is known in Arc the Lad III as “The Great Disaster”.

The Dark One – The main antagonist of the game, the Dark One is the evil lurking inside the Ark; it wants to destroy the world and everyone in it.

References

1. ^ inky91 (March 3, 2003). ["Arc the Lad transcript (part four)". [http://www.geocities.com/inky91/arcscript4.html. ^{[dead link]}