each of the "arc" games has received decent reception. "arc the lad collection" has an 80.77% on gamerankings.com. the compilation is often praised for its ambitious packaging and game content, which could last over 150 hours. when the collection was released, the first two games' graphics seemed a bit outdated, although some critics find the graphics acceptable. critics mostly agree that the take on tactical battles was refreshing because the battles are generally fast-paced. although the first game in the series is much shorter than the other two, it is believed to be only a prologue to the second game.