''Luminous Arc 2'' is a

tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...

developed by

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

for the Nintendo DS, 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. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...

in Japan on May 15, 2008, and by

Atlus USA Atlus West, formerly known as Atlus U.S.A., Inc., is the North American publishing branch of Japanese video game company Atlus, primarily known for localizing games for both them and other third-party developers. Its first original role-playing ...

and

Rising Star Games Rising Star Games Limited is a British video game publisher based in Hitchin. History Rising Star Games was founded on 10 July 2004 by Martin Defries as a joint venture between Bergsala Holding and Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainmen ...

in North America and Europe respectively. It is the second game in the ''

Luminous Arc ''Luminous Arc'' is a series of 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'' for the Nintendo DS, with its most recent game bei ...

'' series.

Gameplay

''Luminous Arc 2'' is a

strategy role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (Turn-bas ...

in which characters move across an isometric grid. Each character can be equipped with weapons, armor, items, and magical "Lapis" gemstones. 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 Health is an attribute in a video game or tabletop game that determines the maximum amount of damage or loss of stamina that a character or object can take before dying or losing consciousness. In role-playing games, this typically takes the f ...

reach zero, they are removed from battle, but can be revived.

Plot

In the Kingdom of Carnava, in an age when

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

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, monsters 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 traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

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 expo / 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 Publications, Inc. ...

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, musician, and sound producer. 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 musi ...

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 is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several game ...

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 ...

, 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 ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' gave ''Luminous Arc 2'' all four sevens for a total of 28 out of 40. The game sold 41,000 copies in Japan in its first week of release. For the North America release, the game received "mixed or average" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

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

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 Marvelous Entertainment Nintendo DS-only games Nintendo DS games Role-playing video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Akari Kaida Video games scored by Yoshino Aoki Video games scored by Yoko Shimomura Video games about witchcraft Luminous Arc Rising Star Games games Multiplayer and single-player video games