Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection
Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection
Game
Game2018
Zwei: The Arges Adventure
Developer Nihon Falcom
Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a 2001 action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom for Windows, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable. An English version for Windows was released by Xseed Games in January 2018. A sequel, Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, was released in 2008. In reference to the game's title, gameplay consists of alternating between two main characters, Pipiro and Pokkle. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
179 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 1, 2026 · last updated Nov 1, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
60
Fresh
84 positive · 57 negative
95% range 51–67%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 84 | 57 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 13 | 1 | 23 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
98 of 155 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
60% recommend · 87 yes, 57 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 144 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (434 of 534 positive).
Many players praise the game's charming visuals, music, and humor, especially the puns. [1][2] Some reviewers find the gameplay repetitive, with clunky controls and unclear objectives. [3][4][5] Several players criticize the localization for forced humor and memes. [6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
I was looking forward to playing this, but booooy was I disappointed! Pros: · Really cute and unique graphics and design full of personality, they honestly don't make them like this anymore · Pretty Decent soundtrack including an arranged version in the options · Pretty good price point, at least from what I see for my region Cons: · Literally one of the most egregious localizations I've seen, this is a prime …
- [5]
Look, I love most of Falcom's games, but... Zwei: The Arges Adventure just sucks to play. The story, setting and writing have a ton of charm, but the gameplay and UI are shockingly bad on controller, KB *or* KBM. There's just no way to make this game feel good to play. Also, while the hand-drawn art is pretty, it results in both the enemies and their attacks frequently blending with the environment - which would …
- [2]
At first I was like "Ok this game is charming as hell and super pretty but the gameplay hasn't really aged all that well". But after getting a bit more used to it and unlocking some more things that quickly changed to "Ok this game is charming as hell, super pretty and it actually is really fun to play too!". What can I say, I liked the story, music is fantastic, writing is great (all those delicious bad puns), …
- [9]
Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a very charming RPG that does many things right: a charming story and characters, exciting combat, excellent graphics and great dungeon design. Unique in this game is that you earn XP by using healing items, which works remarkably well. On the other hand, this is a game from the PS2 era, and some design decisions didn't age very well. I can live with the unskippable cutscenes and clunky …
- [1]
A pun a day keeps the Demon Lord away! (featuring Adol from the Ys series) You might have heard of this game's release if you're into Nihon Falcom's game library. Way back in 2001, the developer made Zwei!! to break out of making (mostly) remakes of their Japanese PC classics. So right around when they released Ys I & II Complete, which you can buy today on Steam (as Ys I & II Chronicles+), they put out Zwei: The …
Summarised from 34 of the 179 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Zwei: The Arges Adventure sits at 60% positive across 141 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 179 · most liked firstI was looking forward to playing this, but booooy was I disappointed! Pros: · Really cute and unique graphics and design full of personality, they honestly don't make them like this anymore · Pretty Decent soundtrack including an arranged version in the options · Pretty good price point, at least from what I see for my region Cons: · Literally one of the most egregious localizations I've seen, this is a prime example of the typical dumbed-down western localization if I've ever seen one, with…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A pun a day keeps the Demon Lord away! (featuring Adol from the Ys series) You might have heard of this game's release if you're into Nihon Falcom's game library. Way back in 2001, the developer made Zwei!! to break out of making (mostly) remakes of their Japanese PC classics. So right around when they released Ys I & II Complete, which you can buy today on Steam (as Ys I & II Chronicles+), they put out Zwei: The Arges Adventure to mark a return to unique, story-driven, hardcore but accessible…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Been thinking a lot about the incoming remake, and I just want everyone to understand that Panzer Dragoon Zwei is the greatest Sega Saturn game ever made. Better than Saga, Grandia, Sakura Wars, Radiant etc. Regardless of how this remake turns out, PLEASE play the original at some point.
positive · AI labelView post →There's a *lot* of mechanically interesting and carefully planned arcade-like design going on under Panzer Dragoon Zwei's gorgeous surface. Let me show you just how special this game is: kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2020/04/27/o...
positive · AI labelView post →Game Spark confirmed that Falcom is making the PC port of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter in-house. This is big news. Falcom began life as a PC developer but they haven't made a PC game themselves since Zwei 2 back in 2008. So 1st Chapter will mark the company's return to developing for the platform.
neutral · AI labelView post →Eepy. I've been fighting a tiny bug, but I'm already on the mend, don't worry. I just needed a night of chill game deving. I added fishing to my game!! 🤩 Anyway, here's today's doodle; Animal Crossing Zwei! #zweiart
neutral · AI labelView post →Panzer Dragoon Zwei Remake just went up on steam last week for wishlisting Remake of the first game dropped 5 years ago, I was just wondering if this was still happening! I heard the 1st Remake had a really rough launch but it’s good now? panzerdragoonlegacy.com/news/panzer-...
neutral · AI labelView post →One incredibly in-depth article on Saturn clasic Panzer Dragoon Zwei, coming up! Click this way and read all about the scoring, secrets, and hidden systems at work in this wonderful game (oh, and my own personal advice too): kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2020/04/27/o...
positive · AI labelView post →Part of what made Zwei special was how Saturn’s hardware and limitations played into the desolate art style. The VDP2 effects leaned into the world heavily. Translating this to modern hardware without losing the atmosphere built by the original game is an uphill battle. youtu.be/sqAiFFKpjuo?...
positive · AI labelView post →I whipped up a quick Panzer Dragoon Zwei Remake gameplay comparison, putting the Saturn original next to the remake demo footage shown at Tokyo Game Show 2025 youtu.be/8qVgF6WYIOg?...
neutral · AI labelView post →Rare controller content. Playing Panzer Dragoon Zwei using the dual Mission Stick setup. This is the only game on the entire console to support this controller. Sega themselves don’t document this functionality
positive · AI labelView post →At first I was like "Ok this game is charming as hell and super pretty but the gameplay hasn't really aged all that well". But after getting a bit more used to it and unlocking some more things that quickly changed to "Ok this game is charming as hell, super pretty and it actually is really fun to play too!". What can I say, I liked the story, music is fantastic, writing is great (all those delicious bad puns), minigames are dope, dungeons are fun and there's a ton of optional stuff (of which I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Forever Entertainment have confirmed that visitors to Tokyo Game Show will be able to play the demo of Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake for the very first time! panzerdragoonlegacy.com/news/panzer-...
neutral · AI labelView post →I had to write this review before I even install it. This game is my childhood. It's aged very well and I'd trust XSEED to localize my life. I screamed like a little girl when I saw this game on my steam store. If you like JRPGs, play this. You will not regret it. It's cute, it's charming, food EXP system was extremely innovative for its time and works great. Get it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →*Note that 1 achievement is broken. Playing status: 21/22 achievements, 2x playthroughs Grindy Achievement(s): Yes (3+ achievements, the game is grindy). Optional Achievement(s): Yes (21 achievements). Difficult Achievement(s): Yes (~1 achievement). Intro Zwei: The Arges Adventure is the first game of the Zwei series, starring Pokkle and Pipiro, two young step-siblings that are exploring the Arges region. It's an action RPG game that focuses on dungeon delving with numerous dungeons to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the last few days of Segatember! Let's play Panzer Dragoon Zwei! Last day to get the special Segatember channel badges! There aren't many days left to hit the tip goal for my first playthrough of Zelda Ocarina of Time! twitch.tv/auroralvisage youtube.com/auroralvisage
neutral · AI labelView post →35 years ago, CVG reviewed Mega Drive Herzog Zwei. This proto-RTS wasn't the greatest game in the world, but as reviewer @geordiegamer.bsky.social pointed out, it was an unusual "computer style" game on console, which was a big thing for such an arcade-focused machine.
neutral · AI labelView post →First Game Ever Played: Something on the Atari 400 Fave Console: Saturn Fave Game: NiGHTS Comfort Game: Baldur's Gate 3 Game You're Currently Playing: Ys vs Sora no Kiseki Fave Gaming Soundtrack: Baroque/Zwei/Vagrant Story Game You're Looking Forward to in 2025: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
neutral · AI labelView post →Jelly was playing Recettear earlier so I played Zwei: The Arges Adventure for the first time, this game is giving me a toothache like look at this. Are you kidding me.
positive · AI labelView post →The first footage and photos of Panzer Dragoon Zwei: Remake from Tokyo Game Show 2025 have emerged showing us the playable demo of Episode 2. panzerdragoonlegacy.com/news/first-f...
neutral · AI labelView post →INCOMING PANZER! Panzer Dragoon II Zwei literally means Panzer Dragon Two Two, right? We guess it doesn't matter because this game rocks and we want to play it two two more times.
positive · AI labelView post →Very first thing that came to mind is Panzer Dragoon Zwei. The first game is excellent, but Zwei is a masterpiece. It's a virtuosically tuned arcade action game with some of the most brain-burningly beautiful art I've ever seen & heard.
positive · AI labelView post →First the good: - The game is beautiful to look at, with crisp pixel art and gorgeous backgrounds. - The story and characters have a certain charm to them, and even though the plot is as cliched as they come, the game has some fun with it. - The hub town feels truly lived in, with a plethora of memorable characters with unique personalities, even the most minor townspeople that serve no purpose other than window dressing. - The system is very simple and easy to pick up. And now for the bad…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🆕️ @SEGAGuys video 🎞 Hot on the heels of the original game, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei released in 1996. Would it match the originals success? Join me as I look back on a Sega Saturn icon! youtu.be/QAFHsOQgz3Q
neutral · AI labelView post →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.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Zwei! Is a simple, cutesy ARPG made by Falcom. The primary gimmick of the game is switching between two characters, the physical-focused Pokkle and the magic-focused Pipiro, to get through combat-heavy dungeons. If you’re in a hurry and want a quick overview, pretty much everything about the game is good except for the gameplay, which treads the line between mediocre and messy. Two!’s presentation is good. The game was released in 2001 and likely didn’t have a very big budget (it is a Falcom…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SRW itself, for one single title, officially tried MTL to do one game and it failed. GenAI is going to be worse because instead of consistently doing a (Eins-Zwei-)Dry translation, it will make up stuff. You’re going to see references to the RX-78 as the White Devil and it will output “Elon Musk”.
neutral · AI labelView post →Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a very charming RPG that does many things right: a charming story and characters, exciting combat, excellent graphics and great dungeon design. Unique in this game is that you earn XP by using healing items, which works remarkably well. On the other hand, this is a game from the PS2 era, and some design decisions didn't age very well. I can live with the unskippable cutscenes and clunky interface. But constantly having to run around figuring what to do becomes…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played it in Japanese initially, thought they would never localize it. 15+ years later, they did. Thanks
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the star fox franchise consists of Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei , and Panzer Dragoon Saga, Panzer Dragoon Mini and then this game
neutral · AI labelView post →Look, I love most of Falcom's games, but... Zwei: The Arges Adventure just sucks to play. The story, setting and writing have a ton of charm, but the gameplay and UI are shockingly bad on controller, KB *or* KBM. There's just no way to make this game feel good to play. Also, while the hand-drawn art is pretty, it results in both the enemies and their attacks frequently blending with the environment - which would already be bad enough before factoring in said control issues. I couldn't stomach…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's really pretty, it's hilarious, it's got great music (an original and arranged soundtrack, in fact), and the gameplay is thoroughly decent!...yeah ok you're probably playing it mainly for the first three things. It's Zwei!! For the price you can't go wrong.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Astaroth, Maxi, Pyrrha, and Zwei from Soulcalibur V by artist Takuji Kawano. More art from the game: creativeuncut.com/art_soulcali...
neutral · AI labelView post →WARNING: Epilepsy warning! A certain level that takes place in a volcano has flashing lights in the background. If you have Epilepsy, you may not want to play this game or avoid it due to this issue. Thank you. Hello friends, Today I will review the game ZWEI: The Arges Adventure. This game is the first in a series of games on steam. This series is particularly popular overseas and had many sequels. There is also a sequel on steam, but do not be fooled by the date it was released on steam.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh they have Zwei! characters too? Hmmmmm now I need to finish that game 😂
positive · AI labelView post →Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake has popped back up, with a playable demo at Tokyo Game Show later this month. (Read more: Noisy Pixel)
neutral · AI labelView post →Easily one of Falcom's worst games. It's got shallow gameplay, horrible controls, padded dungeons, paper thin story, mediocre/forgettable music, dialogue that feels straight from 2010ish internet memes and not a fantasy world. The only thing it has going for it is the "Typing of Ys" minigame. Go play Xanadu Next instead. It's way better.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my favorite quote is "OHHHH The hot stink of three farts at once..."
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game that makes me wish Steam let you give a mixed recommendation. Ultimately I think it's worth playing, but only if you can put up with the localization and all the early 2000's-era jank (it was originally a 2003 PC game that was ported to PSP, and then back to PC again.) The pros: * The combat is simple but enjoyable action-RPG fair. You have two characters you can switch between on the fly: A fighter who lunges at enemies and can block magical attacks under certain conditions, and a mage…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is objectively true. Nights Into Dreams is my favorite videogame ever made and also, simultaneously, Panzer Dragoon Zwei is the greatest Saturn game ever made.
positive · AI labelView post →Streaming the new Panzer Dragoon Zwei Remake demo www.youtube.com/live/Tn-hcFe...
neutral · AI labelView post →Every time I play a Falcom game I think, "gee, why don't I play more Falcom games?" I should play more Falcom games! Everyone should play more Falcom games! Falcom games are great! But when it comes to Zwei: The Arges Adventure, I would gently recommend playing a different Falcom game. It's not all that bad, but it's also not all that good either, with one particular flaw that really shifts it from "meh" to "nah" territory. The not all that bad: Zwei is super charming and super funny. Cute…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After an hour played for my coverage of the Humble Choice December 2020: Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a RPG from the PLaystation 2 era. It’s a interesting look back at how games were designed in the last 2000s. Zwei: The Arges Adventure never received a global release so Americans now have a chance to try out this game tens years after it’s initial release. Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a typical dungeon crawler rpg. The twist is that the focus is on eating food to gain XP rather than…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have almost every Falcom game available on Steam, and was looking forward to this game so much because I typically love XSEED's localization work. While the game is cute and the music is happy enough, I find this game incredibly hard to play. The UI in general is not intuitive. I had to look up almost everything. The smileys under the HP indicate whether you can do a charged attack, the multicoloured bar in the bottom-right-ish area indicates the timing for a crit (if you attack in the red…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For fucks sake lol My partner tried out a game and is enjoying himself. He asked if I wanted to play as well and sent me the name I loaded the page and this came up (Thank you Zwei for posting a video about getting the AI warnings into Steam itself) Im so fucking tired of Gen AI in everything >_>
neutral · AI labelView post →Forever Entertainment have released an official gameplay demo of Panzer Dragoon Zwei: Remake at Tokyo Game Show that you watch on their YouTube channel. panzerdragoonlegacy.com/news/panzer-...
neutral · AI labelView post →Okay. I'm really trying to like this game, but... Nah. It's old, grindy, and contains super unfunny humor everywhere. You can't really play it without a guide, since you're always wondering where to go after doing a dungeon. The battle system feels really old, it stops me from enjoying the game... And yet the battle system from the first Ys feels way better than this. The whole item management aspect of the whole game also felt like a complete chore. Yes, it's nice, you get food everywhere…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's like bump system Ys games but with nonstop puns.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DD news now. Gravion Zwei As much as I prefer it in a "real" game, I'm just glad it's not dead.
neutral · AI labelView post →Cute and charming but also tedious. I've tried getting into this game but it mostly just cured my insomnia. Combat is uninteresting and trying to figure out where to go is more of a chore than anything. Also that god awful menu system. Looking at the achivement percentages, it seems like i'm not alone with not wanting to beat this game. Going to check out the sequel instead, heard it's a lot better.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A trip back to the PS2 era, with all of it's ups and downs. Pros -Charming visuals if you're in for the eastern style -As the dialogue's aren't narrated, there's only the basic package of sounds (footsteps, attacks, etc.) but those are fine -Music is great -Story seems interesting enough based on the first few hours Cons -Gameplay appears very repetitive on the back of needing to rerun dungeons over and over to not fall behind on xp -Combat system is a button-mashy letdown -Lots of downtime…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mixed feelings about this one, sadly! I won’t pretend to put on my researcher cap as this is my second Falcom game besides Gurumin, but there’s a sophomoric feel to Zwei that is at least partially verified by looking at the developer credits to see that it’s much of the creative team’s first forays into game design, scenario and direction etc. I think it really shows in the ways that matter to me, charm-wise, multiplied by how fascinatingly of-its-time it is. The early-2000s design quirks, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →30: Panzer Dragoon Zwei: Every Saturn owner MUST play this game.
positive · AI labelView post →The controls are terrible, the puns aren't funny.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to love Zwei, but I'm having a hard time doing that. It's a huge bag of mixed reactions for me. Zwei looks great, but it was also clearly made for much lower resolution screens. Your two choices for playing this game is windowed, which looks crisp, but is also in a tiny window, and full screen, which looks a but blurry in comparison. The UI is also a mixed bag, with certain elements being huge and others oddly small. It reminds me (and, since it's originally from the early 2000's, may…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly I tried getting into it, but gave up. For reference, I've played a lot of Falcom titles (trails and some of Ys). This game is similar to Ys1+2 Chronicles, in the sense that its unplayable without a guide on where to go. The combat is very basic and spammy, there's zero depth to it. It also constantly breaks the 4th wall so it doesn't feel immersive at all, and tons of unfunny puns that get spammed in the dialogue. If you have the patience to deal with early 2000s JRPG game design,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game isn't bad, but it's only barely more than the sum of its parts. I like it, but I wouldn't recommend it. It reminds me of a doujin game. If you're into that vibe, though, I'd totally recommend getting this on sale since it's so unique. 1. Combat: it feels like it's running at 2x speed. This is usual for a Falcom game, but with the limited view, it makes it hard to play with intention. I still don't fully understand the range of my attacks, and there are meters and special properties…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is actually the first game I've ever played from Falcom, bought it back when I first visited Japan. I enjoyed it even I can't read a thing back then. So this time I bought it in a heartbeat. Little I know that the MC boy I played was a neat freak and the girl was a snob or just the translation. That aside, I might be biased since it's my childhood in there. But by far I really like this game and it still stands to this day for Both Mechanic and Graphic. The Mechanic part is like some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great fun! Play for the Zwei experience, stay for the Typing of Ys and Mona Mona mini-games. :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Texas Roadhouse Zwei sounds like a Sega Saturn game
neutral · AI labelView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
