''Luminous Arc 2'' is a

tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing game (abbreviated TRPG), also known as strategy role-playing game or (both abbreviated SRPG), is a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (Turn-based tactics, turn-b ...

developed by

Imageepoch was a video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was filed for bankruptcy in 2015, due to its declining sales and increasing debt. History The company was founded in June 2005 by Ryoei Mikage. Their first release was the tactica ...

for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

, and published by

Marvelous Entertainment (MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the Story of Seasons (series), ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 an ...

in Japan on May 15, 2008, and by

Atlus USA is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...

and Rising Star Games in North America and the PAL region respectively. It is the second game in the ''

Luminous Arc ''Luminous Arc'' is a series of Tactical role-playing game, tactical role-playing video games originally developed by Imageepoch, prior to the company's bankruptcy. The series began with the 2007 release of ''Luminous Arc (video game), Luminous Arc ...

'' series.

Gameplay

''Luminous Arc 2'' is a strategy role-playing game in which characters move across an isometric grid. Each character can be equipped with weapons, armor, items, and magical "Lapis"

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

s. Characters learn special skills by leveling up and are able to use a "Flash Drive" special attack upon attacking or defeating enemies. When a character's hit points reach zero, they are removed from battle, but can be revived.

Plot

In the Kingdom of Carnava, in an age when magic supports everyday life and civilization itself, peace is maintained by the queen's knights and the Rev Magic Association. Sixteen years before the game's story begins,

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

s called Beast Fiends start to appear, destroying everything in their way. Mattias, leader of the Magic Association, uses the evil Demon Blade to try to seal the source of the fiends, but is sealed away himself by the elemental

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

es. At the time of the game setting, new Beast Fiends have been appearing, and the government overextends its forces trying to protect the entire kingdom. Meanwhile, Fatimaa powerful witch of the Association with control of the rare Shadow Frost Magicgoes rogue and starts a conflict with the Association, causing more trouble for the Kingdom. Trying to solve the crisis, the kingdom starts a clandestine research project whose aim is to produce an easier way to use magic. The story starts when the kingdom has just successfully completed the research project, and devised a tool known as the "Runic Engine". Roland, a knight in training, is accidentally imbued with this new power, and fights the Beast Fiends, Master Mattias and the Shadow Frost Witch. In the course of the game, he discovers that the Rev Magic Association had covered up Mattias' turn to evil. However, he does not realise that Mattias did this to try and save the world, rather than destroy it. He later discovers that Bharva, king of the Fiends, was manipulating events, and joins with Fatima to prevent the Mage Queen Elicia, creator of the Fiends, from overrunning the world with them. The player has a choice of having a romantic relationship with Fatima or Althea, and end game parts of the story, including the ending, will change depending on the player's pre-battle dialogue choices.

Development and release

The game was featured at the

booth at the

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

2007. It was released in Japan on May 15, 2008 and North America on November 18, 2008. As with the previous game, famed sound designer

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer and musician. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the '' Chrono'', '' Xeno'', '' Shadow Hearts'', and '' Inazuma Eleven'' franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing music for his own ...

and his studio handled all the audio mixing and mastering. However, unlike the last time, Mitsuda did not compose for the game. Instead, composers Yoko Shimomura,

Akari Kaida is a Japanese video game music composer. She composed various soundtracks for Capcom games, including multiple in the '' Mega Man'' series. She has occasionally been credited as Akari Groves, taking the surname of her husband. Career Kaida was a ...

, Yoshino Aoki, and Shunsuke Tsuchiya wrote the soundtrack, while Mitsuda acted as sound producer. The game includes a bonus music CD insert. Those who preordered the game at selected retailers received an art book named "Luminous Art", which offers content from both ''Luminous Arc'' games. A manga based on the story of ''Luminous Arc 2'' began serialization in 2008.

Reception

In Japan, ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' gave ''Luminous Arc 2'' all four sevens for a total of 28 out of 40. The game sold 41,000 units in Japan in its first week of release. For the North American release, the game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

Notes

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial website
* {{Luminous Arc series 2008 manga 2008 video games Atlus games Fantasy video games Image Epoch games J.C.Staff Luminous Arc Marvelous Entertainment Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo DS games Nintendo DS-only games Rising Star Games games Role-playing video games Video games about witchcraft Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Akari Kaida Video games scored by Yoko Shimomura Video games scored by Yoshino Aoki