Games for Lunch: Luminous Arc 2

In a nutshell: So ... many ... awesome ... CHARACTERS!
11/18/2008 6:39 PM | 1 Comments | Page 3 of 3

0:42 Rina's bow can attack from afar, but it takes me a few tries to get her in exactly the right position to hit a nearby golem. Why can't they show the attack range as I move?

0:46 Interesting ... I can do my attack/magic, then move afterwards.

0:47 A selection of the annoying, random exclamations the characters make during battle: "Be prepared!" "A knight does not fail!" "Impossible!" "You cannot hope to win!" "Me-owch!" "Game Over, Chump!"

0:49 Victory! I know it was the first battle, but that was VERY easy. With so few enemies, I could use my powerful magic "Arts" every turn without fear of running out of points. Positioning doesn't seem to matter as much as the tutorial indicated. Also, Steiner is a bona-fide badass.

0:50 Here's a quote you will not see in any other videogame: "Yes! We beat the crap outta that cat and his Golems!"

0:51 A bunch of talk about Roland and his magic Runic Engine hand goes here. Then we're all off to see the queen and report.

0:53 New character alert: Bruener, a nasally, whiny-sounding guy with a ridiculously large purple hat. "Wh-what happened to the lab!? Repairs will cost a fortune!"

0:55 "I heard a Golem was about! How did it evade the Tusk Squad's Iron Wall!" Oh Gaston, you comic-relief lummox.

0:56 So Rasche and Roland are brothers and sons of trainer Steven. I think Steiner and Rina are siblings, too. I'm so bad at keeping track of lots of characters, but I'm really trying here...

0:57 Everyone is saying that the Runic Engine was the key to defeating the invading Golems, but Roland actually was much less powerful than Steiner in our battle. Seems like someone made a mistake.

0:58 The characters discuss possibly amputating Roland's hand to get the Runic Engine back. Awesome.

0:59 Everyone is racist against Witches. Even the good Witches. Did the Wizard of Oz teach us NOTHING?

1:00 The queen proclaims that we'll all help the Brilliant Witch to stop the Witches' infighting and return peace to the land. Roland's going to the Brilliant witch to become a Rune Knight. And that's where we'll end it for now.

Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes.

Why? The story and characterizations are endearingly cheesy, and the battle interface is decent, even though the battles themselves are far from interesting so far.

This column is based on a near-final development unit provided by the publisher.

Want to know more about Games for Lunch? Check out the FAQ here.

For more Games for Lunch, visit the official GfL blog.