While there’s a lot to love within The Arges Adventure, it’s mostly superficial due to a frustrating combat system that forces most of the game to become a slog.

Zwei: TAA is the kind of game that, for reasons both tangible and not, are infused with such a pure and powerful sense of joy that it’s just hard not to smile. I don’t have a history with the series - or with many JRPGs, really - yet the childlike wonder that effortlessly permeates the art, dialogue, and titular adventure still managed to make me feel the nostalgic yearn of simpler times. It’s a game that has its share of rough edges, but one that I don’t find terribly difficult to recommend.

In short, Zwei: The Arges Adventure may not be the most polished or compelling experience, but it's a fascinating look into Falcom's past, and a quite loveable one to boot. Those looking for a rollicking action RPG should stick with The Ilvard Insurrection, but enthusiasts interested in Falcom's trajectory will no doubt find a lot to love here.

It has some shortcomings in comparison to modern games, but if you can overlook its quirks and are in the market for a simple dungeon grind with a colorful world, basic story, a focus on RPG elements, and some humor thrown in for good measure, then Zwei: AA is a worthwhile $20.

A beautiful world filled with many different kinds of characters and enemies in an enjoyable dungeon crawler. The combat system is too rough and the story is not as interesting as others. However, it's quite interesting how the characters evolve their attributes just by eating food.

I would say that Zwei: The Arges Adventure is best played by gamers with an eye for charm and adorable characters that you’d want to spend hours with exploring dungeons and going on adventures. Sadly, the decade-old dungeon design and repetitive action don’t hold up as well as its sequel, but it’s still a game that Falcom fans will enjoy until the end, I know I did.

I think it’s important to preserve old games for future audiences, or make them available for audiences that never knew they existed. Video games, like any other art form, have a long history behind them, and a longer history ahead of them. Releases like Zwei: The Arges Adventure serve as time-capsules to help keep old pieces of history from disappearing. It’s a game very much from its time. While I appreciate the effort put into making the writing stand proudly in a modern day, gameplay flaws and dated design choices make it a chore to truly get a satisfying experience out of the game.