Luminous Arc

""Luminous" isn't "Shining"... but if you got that, you'll probably like this game."

All I knew about Luminous Arc before picking it up was that it was a tactical RPG released for a portable console that I own (in pink, no less). Being a veteran of the Shining Force series, Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, Front Mission and Disgaea I figured there was a fair chance I would enjoy it just by looking at the box. I was right: but if you're not in the same boat, it's worth looking into this game before picking it up.

Story

Our protagonists' collective world is flipped upside down when they discover that not everything their overly dogmatic religion has been spoon-feeding them since they were born turns out to be true. Imagine! The mysterious witch that our hero finds enchanting (pun sorta intended) turns out not to be an arch-villianess after all. What a surprise! Snarky comments aside, the game proceeds along a fairly predictable route. It's not that there aren't twists and turns: it's just that you'll see them coming a mile away. Our heroes are also unusually slow. You will know what a "Rym" is long before poor Alf ever figures it out. His constant "Huh? Rym?" and such comments when you are already in the know can be a little frustrating. If you have completed the 6th grade, you are way smarter than this game's storyline gives you credit for.

There are two things that save this section from being a wash. The first is character development. The characters, by and large, are immature and a few of them (Nikolai, I'm looking at you here- especially when your eyes turn into hearts...) are downright annoying in a futile attempt at comedy. But still: these are not just anime faces on a set of stats. The characters do have some personality. Alph cares about his younger brother Theo, and it can be mildly touching at times.

The second thing the story has going for it is the after-battle chats you can have with your party members. These little motivational talks are how you improve your relationship with the game's characters. These can net you some additional items, sometimes a cutscene if they are done properly and a little character development. This is not done nearly as well as it is a game like Shining Force 3 or Fire Emblem, or a game like Persona 3 (which is a less comparable game genre wise, but the character-bonding system is more similar). But it's there, and it helps give you a break from the game play. If you are like me, you'll watch the cutscene with Lucia and be like, "This spring scene is such a rip-off of Lunar: Silver Star Story" but still find yourself smiling.

Speaking of smiling: the Kopin does a lot to restore my patience with the game. It's crazy antics pop-up after most storyline battles. I'm not sure why that thing is so funny, but most of the time, it is.

Gameplay

The meat and potatoes of the game. First: what is not so good. There are some load times. And when it's done loading, you might find yourself wondering just why that was. Second, the menus are a little harder to navigate than you might like. Yes, the game is (of course) menu driven. They are pretty typical - but not quite as slick as they could be. This can basically be said for the controls all around. It's not that there are any major problems in this regard - only that this genre's menus are never too different and you'd think they'd have this nailed by now. And the stylus? Forget about that thing. I turned that off as soon as I could and used the good ol' d-pad and buttons. You feel like you are clicking a few more buttons than you need to that way but anything is better than using the stylus. It should be noted that I am generally biased against using the stylus and never gave it a fair chance with this game – but seriously, exercise your option to turn it off.

My final complaint is that the game is just a bit repetitive. Think about a game like Disgaea where you can forge characters that can do practically anything. It's not here, folks. Your characters know the skills that they know, and that is that. Lucia is never going to make a good close combat fighter. You will always be relying on Leon for that. Vivi will always be fast and good at wind magic. This is all well and good except the game starts to drag. Unlocking new flash drive attacks is not too interesting because most times you are better off doing something else with your turn. The only real customization available exists in items - which you can customize with other items called Vitae. But you change equipment every 3 or so storyline battles, so I found myself hanging on to all these vitae until quite near the end. It made my final equipment more shack-diesel, but did not do much during the progression of the game. Adding to the repetition of the game is the relative ease you will have in every battle. There are not too many challenges along an experienced gamer's march.

One exception to this (getting to the good) are the side-quests. These battles are tough(er), and flesh out the characters a little bit more. I was quite surprised when I took the first one that I very nearly found myself dead. The problem with the sidequests is: they usually require you to backtrack through battlegrounds you have already conquered. And this means random encounters with enemies that'll take you ten minutes to beat but offer no challenge and give you no experience. These can be skipped... some of the time. All of the time would have been a nice touch here.

Another nice touch is battling over WiFi. While there is a new game+ feature, I think the WiFi is what will give this game lasting potential. Even if you battle characters that are way out of your league, you will probably have more fun that most storyline battles and gain some decent experience and items from the whole thing. Speaking of experience: it's done very much along the same lines as Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis. The higher the level of your enemy (or ally, in the case of healing) the more experience you can expect to earn for attacking it. Back to the WiFi: Image Epoch did a nice job of making this fun at almost any stage of the game, but for me it fit nicely at the end.

To sum this section up: it's a Strategy RPG. Not done particularly well but certainly not butchered. And while competitive battle on-line might have been more fun with a better SPRG, this is still a really nice feature. I think this is the direction the genre is moving (see FFT remake for PSP), and I'm all for it.

Graphics

Most of this game looks like it could have been done on the GBA. Certainly the sprites and most of the battlegrounds could have been taken right from a game like Knight of Lodis. That's fine with me - but if stunning graphics are what you are after, this game it ain't it. That being said, the anime cutscenes are very nice. And the close up pictures of the characters during all of the games conversations are done well. I almost made it through this review with mentioning scantily clad witches but here it is: some of the female characters make wardrobe choices that you just don't see every day. Said wardrobe choices usually highlight the parts of their anatomy that the game's target audience (insatiable 15 year old boys and lonely 23 year old otaku) find most intriguing. Do with that information what you will.

Sound

The soundtrack is so standard that precious little else needs be said for it. There are no memorable tracks, just as there is nothing ear grating. I found myself plugging in the headphones when I wanted escape the world and immerse myself in the game. I turned the sound off most other times.

There is a lot of voice acting in this game. It is done pretty well. This would be a lot cooler if the voice actors had better lines to read, but since they don't, it doesn't add as much to the game as it could have. If you are like me, you will also find that you are reading much faster than they are speaking and will the voice acting short by moving ahead most times. That's not necessarily bad - it's not annoying, and it's there if you want it.

Overall

Know yourself, and know what kinds of games you like. If you like anime-filled SRPGs than this game should be a no-brainer for you. The New Game+, WiFi options and scattered side quests should ensure that you get more out of this game than the 20-30 hours it should take you to complete it. The game has some faults but they should not be enough to scare a fan of the genre away.

If, however, this is your first tactical RPG or you are a casual fan of the genre, this may not be the game for you. At the least, you should rent or borrow it first. It is currently really your only option in the genre on DS but there are better introductions readily available: Shining Force can be downloaded onto your Wii these days, Disgaea 2 is not hard to find for Playstation 2 and Final Fantasy Tactics will soon be out for PSP and it's hard to imagine they will butcher that one. If you think you might like it, I would advise testing the water before you jump. Personally: maybe I was a dog starving for a bone, but I enjoy this game and plan to continue enjoying it until something better comes down the pike for my DS.

6/10 - Fair - game is okay, but there are many better

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/08/07

Game Release: Luminous Arc (US, 08/14/07)