Luminous Arc 2
by Atlus Video Games
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List Price: Category: Video Games See more product details |
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Video Game Reviews of Luminous Arc 2
Customer Review: A Great RPG Game
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I havent played the first Luminous Arc game. I saw this at GameStop and got it because it came with a soundtrack and because it was an anime-style RPG. Luminous Arc 2 has a great storyline to it. Never too boring, and plenty of shocking truths I never saw coming. The voice acting is actually good - they didnt even cut out the cuss words. Is it just my imagination, or does the voice actor for Roland sound like the english voice of Yuta from the Ultra Maniac anime? The artwork for the game is pretty good, as is the opening song and video(They didnt dub the song). Good BGM. As for the little "soundtrack" that comes with the game..well..for one thing, they didnt label the tracks right. You'd think that they would know the songs from the game well enough to label 8 tracks.. It's just BGM. I wish they had put in the opening song on the soundtrack. But I guess you can get the Japanese soundtrack for that. (it's labeled correctly!) There are no annoying characters, either. Well, there is 1 (Bharva!!). The battles get harder way too quickly, though. I'm stuck on the last battle, which is probably impossible to beat, even with Mana Potion (or whatever it's called). Overall, Luminous Arc 2 is a great anime-style strategy RPG.Customer Review: Better version of Final Fantasy Tactics series
Summary: 3 Stars
The fighting style in this game is very similar to the style used in the Final Fantasy Tactics series. I'm not a huge fan of this fighting style, but it was more user friendly than the Final Fantasy Tactics version. The story line is very intersting. The game overall is mainly story. There isn't much game play involved, which can get boring. I got bored with it after a few hours and switched to a different game. Customer Review: A solid, fun RPG
Summary: 4 Stars
Luminous Arc 2 is a fun, average-quality turn-based strategy rpg.
Pros:
> Voice acting brings the story to life.
> combat is streamlined and simple.
> engaging storyline.
> "Intermission" provides interesting & entertaining background on the characters.
> Beautiful music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda
The voice acting was one of my favorite things about this game. It really made the characters come to live and kept me engaged in the story.
There are no unnecessary complications to the combat system. The order in which combatants move is displayed at the top of the screen, along with clearly indicated buffs and debuffs. It's an easy system to jump in and use without prior experience.
LA2 has an interesting, compelling plot, if not a particularly fresh one.
I thought the "Intermissions," short conversations held with your party members after a battle, were clever and entertaining. The subsequent "I, Kopin" series of cutscenes was pretty comical as well.
Nobuo Uematsu is an amazing composer of video game music, and has worked on many famous games. His collaboration was a big influence in my purchase of this game.
Cons:
> Minimal character customization
> Frequent, long cutscenes (combat feels like a brief interlude between cutscenes)
> Elemental resistance and weakness plays a minimal role in combat
> guild quest system definitely an afterthought, not integrated into game.
Character customization is a big deal for me, so I was a little disappointed that the only possible customization in LA2 comes in the form of equipment. I did have fun with the lapis system of adjusting stats, however.
The cutscenes are so long. And so frequent. At times, combat just felt like a brief interlude between cutscenes. I liked the plot of LA2, but it suffered from excessive exposition.
I did not find that the system of elemental resistance and weakness played a significant role in combat (though maybe I was not utilizing it correctly). The only time I noticed it was, for example, doing 0 damage when attacking an "element" monster with a spell that matched its elemental affiliation.
I was really disappointed with the whole guild-sidequest thing, although I admit I've been spoiled by FFTA's incredibly involved one. Each quest has only a four or five word description ("phantasm is scaring people") and only a few of them actually led to a sidequest arc.
Customer Review: A great game for the DS! Great anime-style RPG!
Summary: 5 Stars
It is games like this one that makes you smile when you think of the "Golden Age" of RPG games, which were designed in the semi-cute "anime-style". The newer RPGs that often are relased in the USA are "Realistic" RPGs in terms of graphics. But what most US execs of RPG companies seem to keep forgetting, is that the most valuable and most sought-after games follow the anime-style, which Luminous Arc 2 seems to beautifully cover.
This is the case if you look at FF game series ("realistic graphics"), which often sell VERY cheap on auctions and compare them with games like Suikoden II or Shining Force CD and others, which follow the anime graphics style.
Luminous Arc 2 delivers a perfect balance of cute graphics, sexy ladies, and fun gameplay. A must have in my book! :)
Customer Review: Lumninous Gaming!
Summary: 5 Stars
After playing Luminous Arc 1, I knew this game had to be added to my collection. With the added elements of the additional battles you can play in order to level up, and the even more intense graphics, you truly feel that you're inside an anime episode. Atlus is an amazing company--any game of theirs is one you should own.
As for this edition, with the music and the art book, I'm even more impressed with the final product. The art for each character, as well as some panels from the previous game are beautiful, and so vivid.
I love this game--and anyone who might enjoy an RPG, and a turn based RPG at that, will love this game.