Luminous Arc

I am, truth to tell, somewhat obsessed with tactical combat games. Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Jagged Alliance — I’m addicted to all of them. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that I greatly enjoyed Atlus’ latest DS offering, Luminous Arc.

The plot, such as it is, is tissue-paper thin. You control the “Garden Children,” a band of religious extremists who have been trained to hunt witches and kill them because the clergy in this universe are jealous of the witches’ pointy hats. Although the story is a bit flat, it’s told in an entertaining way. Luminous Arc brings some innovations to what I call the “paper doll storytelling” style. Notably, in some cutscenes, recorded voiceovers are played. This gives some nice flavor to the game.

Battles are frequent and bloody. Your units can (and will) be injured without serious penalty. As long as you can win with your last man standing, all will be well.

The biggest problem with the game is the control scheme. Luminous Arc is designed to allow you to play with the stylus, but the isometric 2d view means you’ll find yourself constantly trying to select an enemy who is behind an ally. Do yourself a favor: turn off the stylus controls as soon as you start the game. Just use the buttons. You’ll be happier.

Luminous Arc resembles Fire Emblem more than Advance Wars, since your characters gain levels as they progress. Furthermore, wilderness battles never disappear, and are always roughly the same. If you are so inclined, you can simply keep fighting the same battle again and again to raise the level of your characters. Surely you didn’t expect an Atlus game without grinding, did you?