though the series continues to enjoy huge success in japan, leading to an anime adaptation of "arc the lad ii" in 1999, alongside several manga and even a novelization of arc 1, western reception is small due to the obscurity of the series. the first three arc games wouldn't be outside japan until the "arc the lad collection" was released by working designs in 2002, which was then followed by "" in 2003 and end of darkness in 2005.