Gazing at a Luminous Arc

PREVIEW:The Nintendo DS has a great deal of games in numerous genres, but sadly it lacks a grand strategy RPG like it’s 16-bit predecessor. That my fellow RPG lovers, is about to change soon enough. Luminous Arc is a strategy RPG in the same vein as the acclaimed Final Fantasy Tactics series. Although don’t think for a second that it’s just a poor clone of FFTA like Skeet Ulrich is to Johnny Depp. This game has it’s own features that distinguishes itself from FFTA. First of all, the graphics are similar if not better than those in the upcoming FFTA2. The character sprites are adequately done and the colors just jump out at you. Not to mention the in-game cinema is comprised of amazing anime, which is demonstrated in the video below. Now the controls can be manipulated by using either the stylus or the classic D-pad scheme. Using the stylus, in my opinion, would be the best choice considering you have to move your character precisely on the battlefield.

For those who have never played a SRPG, it basically plays like a game of chess. Every move you decide for your character is crucial and can either take you to failure or victory. This game is very similar to Fire Emblem except it has an isometric view of the gameplay. What SRPG games offer is a far more exciting system of play and Luminous Arc has it’s own merit of gameplay to keep you glued to your DS like a fat man to an all you can eat buffet! Before I get to what makes this game unique from the others, I have to say that it has the typical weapon based attacks and magic derived from the world’s elements such as fire, water, etc. Ok, now it’s time to tell you what makes this game different from the rest. Luminous Arc’s battle system is basically the same as the other SRPG games but it has an aspect called Flash Drive. Flash Drive is your character’s ultimate special attack that is used once your Flash Gauge is full. In order to fill your gauge you must make a move or defeat your enemy. Another unique aspect to this game is Synergy. Synergy is basically a double Flash Drive with another character. Why have one character use a Flash Drive when two can to destroy your enemies into oblivion. Sadly, not all characters are capable of Synergy. Oh, I’m not even done yet. Intermission is a conversation that takes place after each epic battle. In Intermission you will ask or be asked questions to another character in your party in which you can build a strong friendship with said character. The stronger the friendship, the stronger your friend’s stats get and that leads to aids in battle and more powerful Synergy attacks. You can also use Vitae Imbuing for your benefit. Vitae Imbuing is the system for forging new weapons if the ones in the game doesn’t entice you. There are many items in the game that have Vitae within them and you can appraise them at a shop. There are over 50 different combinations of weapons you can create, even weapons that are rare and extremely dominant in battle.

As for the story, you assume the role of Alph. Alph is an elite soldier within the Luminous Church. Thousands of years ago there was a climatic battle between good and evil. Witches almost destroyed the Earth but God prevented that to ever happen. After that battle God went into a deep sleep. Since then the Luminous Church was founded and it’s purpose was to keep the peace God made for us all. There is a prophecy that states the Witched shall return to finally destroy the Earth but with that is another prophecy that tells of an enchanted child with the power of awakening God from his slumber. All of this makes my anticipation for the game very high. I used to play FFTA for the GBA for hundreds of hours and this game seems to take that gameplay to a whole new level. Luminous Arc will be released on August 14th. For more detailed information on the game, please go to http://www.atlus.com/luminousarc. Oops, did I forget to mention that this game is wifi compatible and you can battle others online? Ah, where does my mind wander sometimes? Below is a Japanese video that contains gameplay and cinematic elements of the game. I’m pretty sure at the end, the girl said ”buy the game or a small hamster shall suffocate you”. So, I can now bestow Luminous Arc the anticipation rating of Volcano.