Well,

Today, I am going to write a review of my newest game... And most likely the last new one until Christmas. Luminous arc 2.

Okay, first things first. I have not yet beaten the game. I have only cleared chapter 10. Out of at least 30.

Continuing to the review, then.

Luminous arc 2 is the second in a trilogy of three turn-based stratagy rpgs. The series in itself is very heavily manga and anime inspired. For example, the opening sequences for both games have key characters in animation like in an anime, and the opening is always in japanese.

The characters themselves are very much anime-style, just in their looks, and the heroine, Althea, is, in personality, identical to the typical japanese tsunadere character type.

The gameplay is much, much improved over the previous one, with no levels that have a fluctuating difficulty level. That is, on one level you are breezing through, on the next you barely survive, which is what happened in the first game. In number two, that is nonexistant, with each level being well-balanced, and while the second game is a good bit harder than the first, the first was easy anyway, and you can now train in battles that are called "missions", which give you nice rewards, not to mention experiance.

Also, we have new gameplay mechanics, for example, the drive system is improved, and you now have the engagement system as well, but only the main character, Roland, can use the system. Also, the menus are much smoother now.

In the first game, the drive system involved gaining things called "Flash points" which could then be used for flash drives. Each character had three unique flash drives, and certain pairs of characters can learn "Synergy"s, where if, A, all the characters needed are within 3 squares of each other, and, B, they each have 3 drive points. The synergies were useless. They were not as powerful as a level 3 flash drive, which you could use for half the total flash points, minumum.

In the second game, however, flash points are now "drive points" which have a much better use. Now, not only do you have each character's three unique flash drives, you can also increase the power of your skills, called "arts", which usually amounts to an extra 25% damage of the original damage for every 100 drive points. However, a level 1 flash drive with a back attack is better than a character's level 1 skill with a back attack AND 300 drive points backing it. Much more significant of a difference. You can have a maximum of 300 drive points.

The engagement system, however, is much, MUCH weirder than anything you have seen in any other game of this genre. At least, I think it is. So, it starts off simple. At some point in the story, all of the 6 witches (All of them pretty, and young, not warty old ladies...) give something called a "Unity ring" to the main character, roland, the only one who can use this feature. When you go into battle with a witch that you have the unity ring for, (This is important, because if you don't, you cannot use her unity ring.) you can select her element in the engagment menu, found on the location on roland's menu that would normally be saved for a flash drive. You select the element that you want and... it brings up a picture of the witch in a wedding dress. Then, the color of roland's armor changes to match the color of the witch's element, he gains access to ALL of the arts that that witch has learned so far, one of his stats increases by 30 points, and he gains flash drives of that element.

Basically, he becomes a powerhouse. This feature alone makes roland a great character. As expected, the stat that is incresed is different depending on whom you use the feature for. With fire, it is attack. With light, it is tech. With water, it is res. In actuality, these moves, when you use them, and what you use, can be a major turning point for how the battle is played out.

Each character not only has their own skill set, but their own type of weapon as well, ranging from the common, like a sword and spear, to the unique, a feather wand and an ice whip, to the downright weird,
like a whisk and a rolling pin.

Of all the characters, one of my favorites is Josie, a talking cat who ends every other sentance with meow, but insists that he is not a cat. I like him because he calls his master fatimeow, and he yells MEOWCH! sometimes when you hurt him.

The game features voice acting that is much better than in the first.

However, my biggest gripes are the borrowed personalties between characters in both games (Kaph is identical to nikolai, both in personality and lack of restraint, and battle styles, and Rina is just like Cecille in personality and theo in skill set.) and the reused sprites and palatte swaps between both games. In fact, Fatima's sprite is very similar to that of vannessa. They have the same wider look than the other sprites.

All in all, I give it this:

Graphics: 8/10: 1 point docked for reused sprites. 1 point docked for GBA graphics.

Gameplay: 10/10: Well balanced battles, unique character play styles and lapis adding extra customization, you have a lot to get out of this game, even if it is only worth about 1-2 playthroughs.

Story: 10/10: Humorous, but it is definitly teen humor, and serious enough. Has a skip button, but why would you want that unless you are a crazy who does not value the storytelling value of video games. (I'm looking at you, Chris!)

Navigation (How easy is it to navigate): 9/10: 1 point docked because I like to have my save button and my equip screens in the same location, but very fluent and easy navigation.

Sequal (How much it has improved over the previous game, only applies to sequals, and does not count for rating) Number two has basically improved in every aspect, exept if you like easy games, in which case you will not like the difficulty.

Overall: 9/10. If you want it, get it. But get it fast, because it has a book called luminous art with it that makes it a little hard to find. Get it fast. It is awesome. And, look foreward to the next game. When number 3 comes out, get it!

And that concludes my review.