[DS] Luminous Arc - Hot stuff from Atlus

Shit sucks.

Spoiler:

No, it doesn't. It's awesome.

Surprised they kept the original Japanese opening (with vocals anyway). Of course the game itself is dub only. Not the best of dubs, but not the worst.

Spoiler:

Sometimes the graphics "pop" ... not sure why. Maybe a bad cart? It's only for a split second and doesn't occur much, but I notice it eventually.

Enough about that.

As far as the game itself is concerned. Story -> Action (Talk to people) // Return to World Map (only way to access the System Menu outside of battle) // Advance Story (Proceed with Battles, etc)

Controls are either Stylus or D-Pad (you must set this in the menu). By default it is on Stylus (R). The control style you have determines how you control in battle. If you are on Stylus you cannot use the D-Pad for anything other than to move the camera.

It's a standard Strategy RPG I'd say. AT system, EXP gain is based on levels (higher levels abusing lower levels get less EXP than a lower level poking a higher level). There is something called a "Philia Icon" which is basically a little heart dictating how much your allies appreciate (or love) Alph. If you take someone with a Philia Icon and place them next to Alph in battle, they get a significant bonus to Accuracy and Dodge.
Certain characters are usually required in battles (mostly Alph), the order in which you pick the characters matters a bit. Those who are picked first tend to be placed closest to the enemy. It however has no meaning on their turn order. If you have the high ground you deal more damage and take less damage, standard stuff there.

There is a system called Flash Drives which is similar to the OverDrive system from Riviera. Do enough attacks and each character's Flash Points go up (maximum they can have is 3 full gauges, which is 3 Flash Points), Flash Drives require a certain number of Flash Points to use. Flash Drives have the nice effect of not hurting your allies or healing enemies, unlike Magic and Skills can do.

To go along with Flash Drives is the Synergy, only certain characters can use this, it requires 3 FP on them all, and they are only gained by events. This would be considered the Ultimate Attacks of the game.

Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Light, Dark. You can expect the elemental system to factor into things a lot. So it would probably be good to learn what supports and opposes what. There are also elemental tiles in battle that give your character a boost of 5% all stats (except Move & Jump) if they are the same element. Sorry for the bad quality, but basically Red Arrows oppose, Blue supports, and Yellow is neutral (gives the bonuses of both Oppose and Support, but not as great as either one).


Oppose factors in for attacks, Support factors in for healing.

You can access the System Menu and save mid-battle (It goes into the "Suspend Data" section). I think that alone makes this game very convenient.

The story itself is pretty cliché, but the characters are developed interestingly enough so far.

More impressions as I get further, maybe.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

So far the AI has been instant in their movements and actions.

It flows really smoothly. I don't like the Stylus controls much though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by CuteChocobo

Also Lacerta, does your screen flicker when doing some attacks, especially the full motion attacks?

Yes, that happens sometimes during the regular story. It doesn't happen all the time though.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

On the subject of generic units. I haven't seen any on your team as of yet, it's just all main story people.

When someone dies they lose all the experience and levels they gained during the battle, so it's not like any scary perma-death (which kind of kills the challenge since you know your people will still be around after they die), but it is something you don't want to happen a lot.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?