So, what do you guys think?

[dragonlife29]

This game feels like the jump from Super Smash Bros. to Melee--huge; and yeah, that's a good thing! :D

Like the box says, the interface is improved [greatly], and I absolutely love that--it makes things so much easier.

The writing is awesome, as always; the music is much, much better; the battles feel more fun; Lapis Seeds are actually useful (Did anyone use the stones from the first? I sure as hell didn't); Arts so far don't seem as useless (haven't gotten many yet, but in the original I used maybe two or three for characters); menus are a pleasing color :D

Oh, and Rina is awesome--she is definitely my favorite unit! She's 1 point behind Roland in Strength :D

What's your guys' opinion?

[A1thea]

i prefere the d-pad more then the stylus, even thought the stylus is so sweet in this game!!

[dragonlife29]

Wow, it works great! =O I heard it was improved, but this is beyond awesome. The original's were so pathetic that this is like a whole new game.

I'm using the stylus because I had a heroic accident on my left thumb Had it inside a bowl and as I poured the piping hot soup, it filled up faster than anticipated D: It left a blister =( (or whatever it's called)

Anyone else using the stylus to play? I'm definitely going back to the d-pad (probably) when my injury disappears.

[jeffx]

my opinion is that my DS is broken :(
new one on the way from Nintendo HQ
can't wait to play this.

[Kakizaki]

Merged at the request of the thread creator, but I kind of screwed up the order. Sorry guys.

[Olethros]

^ Way to go, Super Mod! :p

[Kakizaki]

I know right? ;)

[Spirit Rubi]

I liked the stylus in the first game besides when it didn't let me select the enemy I wanted it to. Seemed like it was glitchy there or something so I kept switching back and forth between d-pad and stylus. By what I'm hearing, it seems that should be fixed. :3

I'm almost done with the first game now, can't wait to play the second one at Christmas. Hearing it's been improved a lot makes me happy. <3

[Boss_Tuff]

I'm very impressed with the game so far. I haven't invested as much time as I would have liked, but I'm happy so far with it.

[StrikeRaider]

It's something to do yeah. It's easier than EP by far. Which is good because no one wants to throw a fit in public.

[Hank_Peters]

Well, I'm only about four hours into the game, and while I like it so far, I don't see any option to change the D-Pad direction during battle mode. Is there some sort of hidden menu I have to find, or was this left out of the game completely?

[blckmgesrawsum]

love the new auto-read for cut scenes, and also love the skip in case i accidentally brush against my power switch >.>

[cedxknight]

i love the whole conceccutive battle system like the first game you have to do another battle after the next but unlike the first one if ur characters die the first battle they get revived with 50% hp and your other units get recovred a little it makes the game more challenging this way love the flash drives

[dragonlife29]

Haha...

B-Witched Faithful...WitchBook page...Stop! Awesome Time...:D You guys are too much :P

And now the poll, too!

I chose Kopin XD I guess you guys just ran out of room for Rasche, amirite? =P...='(

/minority am cry moar XD

[ChaosHearts]

Well, I just beat it about two hours ago, and I absolutely loved it. It was everything I liked about the first one, and more. The story was great, cliche, yes; but I loved it all the same. The characters were all likable, and while there wasn't a LOT of development, there was some, and really, they're great they way they are. The gameplay was top notch, the change in gameplay was definetely for the better, and overall, I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

I had ONE problem, and that was that if you, say, wanted to level a weak character later on (I felt bad for leaving Pip alone for most of the game, plus I wanted to have a backup party for when I ran into problems element-wise) it'd be... kinda hard. I mean, I love how you can go back and do Guild Quests over and over, but at the same time... that's ALL you can do over and over. Still, I prefer it to constantly having to redo battles when you wanted to backtrack, like in the first one, so I'll stop complaining.

Other than that minor thing, though, I think this game is awesome and am already starting up my next play through.

[ArcSwordsmaster]

I think Nintnedo Power put it well in their review "A game that likes to be quirky more then make sense."

I personally dislike inconsistantcies and plot holes... they eat at me to no end... most in the Luminous Arc games can be solved by assumptions, but I rather have the game assure me that something is one way for a reason then have to come up with my own reasoning for certain things... :/...

[Shyrangersmrpg]

All right, I'm about 10 hours into the game now - I'll voice my impressions so far:

- I really like the battle system now, what with I feel to be improvements in the structure for leveling, equipment (specifically Lapis seeds), non-story battles, and attack order display.

- I really like the new cast: their art design is sweet and their dialogue is well-written and quite often laugh-out-loud funny.

- I'm impressed by the soundtrack as well...it feels more diverse and "meaty" than LA1's.

- I haven't really found any *annoyances* yet - Which. Is. A. Good Thing!

Overall, I am preferring it to LA1. I liked LA1 quite a bit, despite its shortcomings and oversights. I liked the cast, the battling, etc. I like LA2 more so because it features another great cast and improved battling alongside a polished interface and structure. Really glad I purchased this one! =)

[ArcSwordsmaster]

My only major complaint about LA2 is that it feels extremely light-hearted compared to it's predecessor.

In the first game, there was a more immediate sense of distress and aneixety in the main storyline. Up until the first confrontation with Mattias LA2 doesn't really have that sense of danger that I enjoy, that "The bad guys could attack anywhere at anytime feeling."

Although i still enjoy the game immensely.:-)

[frequency]

My only major complaint about LA2 is that it feels extremely light-hearted compared to it's predecessor.

In the first game, there was a more immediate sense of distress and aneixety in the main storyline. Up until the first confrontation with Mattias LA2 doesn't really have that sense of danger that I enjoy, that "The bad guys could attack anywhere at anytime feeling."

Although i still enjoy the game immensely.:-)
I actually like it all the more because of it's lightheartedness. Because, honestly, to me, the base story isn't really all that great. Neither was LA's. So the lightheartedness saves me from hours and hours of eye-rolling.

I'm enjoying LA2 as much as I expected I would. My only gripe is the incomplete voice overs. It's just weird to have voices, and then have it cut out, just to come back later on in the same conversation.

[ArcSwordsmaster]

I'm sure they will eventually voice the entire games. Funding permitted...

[Daichikitazawa]

really? u already beat the game? i preodered it and i got it yesterday!

im on the battle against mattaias.......... ^^ hes so hard to beat cause i couldnt lv up!


btw do u know any good tips to help me? it would mean a lot to me!

the first la game was soo much easier!


what do u think of the new luminous arc 2 features??

PERSONALLY...... im not a huge fan of the changes in gameplay

CONS
1) u no longer regain all ur health when u lv up (whats up with that?)
2) u can only equip a character with max 2 items
2) there are a lot less healing options
3) there are a lot less chances to practice before a battle and lv up
4) saving ur progress is not as convienent
5) when battling, enemy reinforcements appear (very annoying)
6) the battlefield set up is different
7) less vocals
much to much dialogue
9) to many consecutive battling
10) game plot is similar to first game, nothing much new besides the characters
11) only 6 playable characters during battle

i think luminous arc 2 did better with the girls because of the engagement feature, but what about all the guy fans??

overall, it really took away from the cool features of the original luminous arc, i think the worst part was not being able to regain max health when lv up!

PROS

1) there are improvements on the voices
2) slightly improved graphics
3) more complicated story plot
4) more promotional features
5) more of a challenge than original luminous arc
6) requires more tactics
7) engagement is a new idea.... but it lost its cool with some guys
9) the control system has improved
10) lots of additional features to battling
11) answer more questions during intermission
12) quick paced story
__________________

[ArcSwordsmaster]

I usually just find a quest in the guild which hands out a decent Lapis or other item I want and do it over and over. It also helps me build loads of Rico. I've never had to sell a thing, I just collect items.

Guild abuse makes the game 'easier'... although it meant I got Pop at level 16 I think when my other characters were level 25 :/... same deal with Sadie...

[ChaosHearts]

My only major complaint about LA2 is that it feels extremely light-hearted compared to it's predecessor.

In the first game, there was a more immediate sense of distress and aneixety in the main storyline. Up until the first confrontation with Mattias LA2 doesn't really have that sense of danger that I enjoy, that "The bad guys could attack anywhere at anytime feeling."

Although i still enjoy the game immensely.:-)

... Really? Honestly, I love both games, but out of the two, LA2 felt more... real, whereas the first one just kept pulling stuff out of left field. And Fatima (and the Rosso) did give you that kind of feeling, and besides that, Mattias was only like, the somewhat-past-halfway point of the game anyway.

really? u already beat the game? i preodered it and i got it yesterday!

im on the battle against mattaias.......... ^^ hes so hard to beat cause i couldnt lv up!


btw do u know any good tips to help me? it would mean a lot to me!

the first la game was soo much easier!


what do u think of the new luminous arc 2 features??

PERSONALLY...... im not a huge fan of the changes in gameplay

CONS
1) u no longer regain all ur health when u lv up (whats up with that?)
2) u can only equip a character with max 2 items
2) there are a lot less healing options
3) there are a lot less chances to practice before a battle and lv up
4) saving ur progress is not as convienent
5) when battling, enemy reinforcements appear (very annoying)
6) the battlefield set up is different
7) less vocals
much to much dialogue
9) to many consecutive battling
10) game plot is similar to first game, nothing much new besides the characters
11) only 6 playable characters during battle

i think luminous arc 2 did better with the girls because of the engagement feature, but what about all the guy fans??

overall, it really took away from the cool features of the original luminous arc, i think the worst part was not being able to regain max health when lv up!

PROS

1) there are improvements on the voices
2) slightly improved graphics
3) more complicated story plot
4) more promotional features
5) more of a challenge than original luminous arc
6) requires more tactics
7) engagement is a new idea.... but it lost its cool with some guys
9) the control system has improved
10) lots of additional features to battling
11) answer more questions during intermission
12) quick paced story
__________________

Almost ALL of your gameplay "cons", as a whole, are mostly considered improvements to people who... don't want the game to be stupidly easy and have some real strategy, so... And you can do Guild Quests as many time as you want for leveling and getting good items, like ArcSwordmaster said, so that's not really a good point. As for the plot, I won't say it's the best thing ever, but it IS better than the first game's plot. Maybe not as LOL EPIC as going up against "God", but it's more interesting.

And what do you mean about saving? You can save inside and outside of battles in Luminous Arc 2, so I'm not sure how you can get more convenient than that unless you want to be able to save during scenes inbetween battles or something.

I'd also like to point out how, after you give your cons, you give pros that completely contradict the cons you gave. "game plot is similar to first game, nothing much new besides the characters" and then "more complicated story plot", among other things, well...

EDIT: I do agree with you about one thing... kind of. The Engagement System DID put focus on the Witches (there were female cast members who got left out too, don't forget) but even then, it wasn't a lot of focus. But really, the Engagement bit didn't have so much to do with it (Dia spent more time on her fellow witches and Rasche half the time, for instance) aside from it being more of a gameplay thing.

What I'm saying, I guess, is the game could have put a little more focus onto the characters and their relationships with each other, and with Roland too. Personally, I don't mind it that much, but since you brought it up I figured I'd add my two cents.

.......... Of course, I really wouldn't have wanted to see any of the guys in wedding dresses, so... maybe it was better this way.

[frequency]

I'm sure they will eventually voice the entire games. Funding permitted...

It's not like they can patch a DS game with voices :p

The engagement thing is weird. It makes me feel like a creep.

[Gen Eric Gui]

While I appreciate the streamlined interface and equipment options(Lapis Seeds, as have been pointed out, are an awesome addition), I actually have a lot of problems with the game.

1 - Too much grindan. I've done pretty much all the Guild quests and killed every enemy in all the story missions so far, but I'm horribly under-leveled to the point that many enemies can OHKO my party members. For instance, the Green Golem that shows up at that desert place which could do upwards of 350 damage to my characters in one attack, or Fatima/Mattias/Josie who can use Flash Drives that do 900+ damage when my characters only have ~450 HP and there's no way to stop it from happening.

2 - Way too little EXP given for actions other than killing blow. You gain pitiful amounts of EXP for doing anything that isn't killing an enemy, meaning that if you want to specifically raise somebody's level you have to sit around making your character wait and do nothing while the enemy pummels them, waiting for the right character's turn to come up. The only exception to this is Pip/Luna, where for some reason their healing spells give them 10+ EXP per use so you can overlevel them that way. I have to actually spend time specifically keeping Pip from levelling up too much because he takes so many turns, so he thus gets lots of opportunities for killing blows AND he gets all the EXP from his healing spells which can almost always work because of point 1 and how much damage most enemies can do to you.

This essentially means that slow characters aren't going to get #### for levels because they never get to take turns and thus are never able to get killing blows when you set them up.

3 - Character unbalance. The only characters worth using at the ones with high AO, mostly because of Point 2 but also because so many enemies and bosses get like 2 or 3 turns for each of your ENTIRE PARTIES' so the slow characters like Rasche and Kaph will probably die before they even get to move against a boss AT ALL.



Overall, based on what I've seen so far, I'd have to give the game roughly a 5.5/10. I mean, so much was improved but at the same time they completely ruined the game balance.

[ArcSwordsmaster]

While I appreciate the streamlined interface and equipment options(Lapis Seeds, as have been pointed out, are an awesome addition), I actually have a lot of problems with the game.

1 - Too much grindan. I've done pretty much all the Guild quests and killed every enemy in all the story missions so far, but I'm horribly under-leveled to the point that many enemies can OHKO my party members. For instance, the Green Golem that shows up at that desert place which could do upwards of 350 damage to my characters in one attack, or Fatima/Mattias/Josie who can use Flash Drives that do 900+ damage when my characters only have ~450 HP and there's no way to stop it from happening. - Do the Guild missions more then just once :/

2 - Way too little EXP given for actions other than killing blow. You gain pitiful amounts of EXP for doing anything that isn't killing an enemy, meaning that if you want to specifically raise somebody's level you have to sit around making your character wait and do nothing while the enemy pummels them, waiting for the right character's turn to come up. The only exception to this is Pip/Luna, where for some reason their healing spells give them 10+ EXP per use so you can overlevel them that way. I have to actually spend time specifically keeping Pip from levelling up too much because he takes so many turns, so he thus gets lots of opportunities for killing blows AND he gets all the EXP from his healing spells which can almost always work because of point 1 and how much damage most enemies can do to you.

This essentially means that slow characters aren't going to get #### for levels because they never get to take turns and thus are never able to get killing blows when you set them up. - Somewhat agreed but... come on... it's not all that hard to EXP...

3 - Character unbalance. The only characters worth using at the ones with high AO, mostly because of Point 2 but also because so many enemies and bosses get like 2 or 3 turns for each of your ENTIRE PARTIES' so the slow characters like Rasche and Kaph will probably die before they even get to move against a boss AT ALL. - AO is balenced by stats advantages in other fields... on a seperate note, Kaph should NEVER be near the frontlines, he's a long range attacker. And Rasche has high enough defensive and offensive stats to kill many enemies instantly anyways... you can't take a turn if your dead.


Overall, based on what I've seen so far, I'd have to give the game roughly a 5.5/10. I mean, so much was improved but at the same time they completely ruined the game balance.


I personally disagree with your points (although you have a right to any opinion) and I expressed that in the qoute. I personally give the game a 9/10.

[Gen Eric Gui]

I don't think you read my post.

Do the Guild missions more then just once :/

Do you know what GRINDAN is? I said the game requires too much of it, IE: you have to keep doing the stupid missions over and over so that you can stand on roughly equal footing with the enemies.

Somewhat agreed but... come on... it's not all that hard to EXP...

It's not hard, it's time consuming. Yeah, it's easy to stand around doing weak moves over and over to gain 2 EXP, but, uh, that's 50 moves per level if you don't ever get a kill shot in. That's absolutely ludicrous.

AO is balenced by stats advantages in other fields... on a seperate note, Kaph should NEVER be near the frontlines, he's a long range attacker. And Rasche has high enough defensive and offensive stats to kill many enemies instantly anyways... you can't take a turn if your dead.

The two characters in my party who have the highest AO (Pip and Rina) are by far my most powerful characters. Their "weak stats" in other areas are almost completely nullified by the fact that they get to move 3 times for each of my other character's turns. Having low stats in other areas doesn't mean anything when those other stats are weighted less and aren't worth as much as the single good stat.

Kaph doesn't need to be near the front lines when enemy spells can do 350 damage to him and from the same number of spaces away as his furthest attack range.

Rashce can't reach the enemies to kill them quickly because his move and AO are horrible. And his high DEF doesn't save him from bosses doing 900+ Flash Drives.

[StrikeRaider]

Honestly I wish there were more healers. It mean my party was more diverse. And seriously if it wasn't for the fact I only used the same 6 characters the final boss would have been impossible. She could have used a tone down a little bit. Or maybe make that battlefield bigger. Seriously it's between damaging her or getting one shotted. That's not cool at all.

And it's true, it's better to just use the high AO people. Even the AO lapis doesn't make that much of a difference.

Also if you're really still having trouble with a boss, abuse the engagement system.

[ChaosHearts]

Gen Eric Gul does have a pretty good point. A lot of the characters ended up becoming useless simply because they couldn't be used. I TRIED keeping Rasche on my team, I really did, but... Though, really, it wasn't any better in the first game. I mean, look at Saki. She had great movement, but was pretty much useless against enemies anyway.

Personally, I didn't find the grinding terribly awful in LA2, I just picked the missions that gave stuff I needed anyway. I do wish they had made the EXP gain for not killing an enemy a LITTLE bit more... forgiving.

On that note, where can one get the AO Lapis? I went through the whole game hoping to find one and never did.

[StrikeRaider]

Um I remember the +2 AO is called the Skanda Garment. Yeah, the highest one is +2.

[ChaosHearts]

... Yowch. That's pretty sad. That's definetely something they need to fix if they ever get around to a Luminous Arc 3.

[joshgrrr]

Its funny, I almost disagree completely. If anyone understands this, It feels more like Madden 07 to Madden 08. In madden 07, All the player models looked so good, It would lag the game, So to fix it in 08, they toned everything down. I figure thats fine for a football game, you're probably not going to be playing for the graphics.

For me, In a game like luminous arc, Pretty much the only reason to play is that its nice and anime like in its gameplay. The prettier the better!

The GUI is much different and choppier, And the characters have noticible ridges on their bodies. In luminous arc one, There were missions where my ds would lag, (possibly because I still have the Fatty gray one) But I welcomed that, because any game that can make my ds lag must be a pretty intense one.

The FD (final death?) attacks seem very lazy. Considering the enemy models in the game probably dont exceed 100, I think someone could have been more creative than My character doing 2 slashes, then 2 seconds later, the enemy body pretends to fall back.

That and something tells me I wont be able to play as the boss characters again. Something about creating a character with Unique FD's, Spells, and sometimes weapons, just seems like a waste to not give people to play around with.

All that aside, I really enjoy the luminous arc series. For some unknown reason, I would rather play this than FFTA2. Probably that online feature. It feels good to know that I didnt just level my characters up and not be able to show them off.
So YAY LUMINOUS ARC!

Boobs arent as big in this game, wtf? lol

[joshgrrr]

Honestly I wish there were more healers. It mean my party was more diverse. And seriously if it wasn't for the fact I only used the same 6 characters the final boss would have been impossible. She could have used a tone down a little bit. Or maybe make that battlefield bigger. Seriously it's between damaging her or getting one shotted. That's not cool at all.

And it's true, it's better to just use the high AO people. Even the AO lapis doesn't make that much of a difference.

Also if you're really still having trouble with a boss, abuse the engagement system.

Thats so funny, Because I thought giving 3 characters the heal ability was too much. Lol engagement made luminous arc into Shin megami tensei blah blah blah PERSONA. Final boss is a her? aww man spoiler.

[ArcSwordsmaster]

Its funny, I almost disagree completely. If anyone understands this, It feels more like Madden 07 to Madden 08. In madden 07, All the player models looked so good, It would lag the game, So to fix it in 08, they toned everything down. I figure thats fine for a football game, you're probably not going to be playing for the graphics.

For me, In a game like luminous arc, Pretty much the only reason to play is that its nice and anime like in its gameplay. The prettier the better!

The GUI is much different and choppier, And the characters have noticible ridges on their bodies. In luminous arc one, There were missions where my ds would lag, (possibly because I still have the Fatty gray one) But I welcomed that, because any game that can make my ds lag must be a pretty intense one.

The FD (final death?) attacks seem very lazy. Considering the enemy models in the game probably dont exceed 100, I think someone could have been more creative than My character doing 2 slashes, then 2 seconds later, the enemy body pretends to fall back.

That and something tells me I wont be able to play as the boss characters again. Something about creating a character with Unique FD's, Spells, and sometimes weapons, just seems like a waste to not give people to play around with.

All that aside, I really enjoy the luminous arc series. For some unknown reason, I would rather play this than FFTA2. Probably that online feature. It feels good to know that I didnt just level my characters up and not be able to show them off.
So YAY LUMINOUS ARC!

Boobs arent as big in this game, wtf? lol

By the way FD means FLASH DRIVE. Not Final Death.... ;)

[dragonlife29]

Haha...I found it funny that I fought an enemy named Grrr...WTF? XD

[joshgrrr]

By the way FD means FLASH DRIVE. Not Final Death.... ;)


OH lol just like in the first one. Too long between games for me I guess :P
thanks

[ArcSwordsmaster]

I love the enemy names XD

[Shyrangersmrpg]

Haha...I found it funny that I fought an enemy named Grrr...WTF? XD

Hey~! I fought the same enemy...you mean he didn't die permanently after you killed him in *your* game so he decided to show up in mine!? Outrageous. >:O

...actually, I've fought a couple of Grrrs. I'd love to see a whole map of 'em. o.o;;

[ArcSwordsmaster]

Haha...I found it funny that I fought an enemy named Grrr...WTF? XD

Hey~! I fought the same enemy...you mean he didn't die permanently after you killed him in *your* game so he decided to show up in mine!? Outrageous. >:O

...actually, I've fought a couple of Grrrs. I'd love to see a whole map of 'em. o.o;;

Just play a few gazillion battles and you might find such a map ;P

[MiyaviTeddy]

Luminous Arc 2 is <3

I have a few complaints but great game nonetheless

[StrikeRaider]

Hey I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I just said it could use some rebalancing to make it more enjoyable.

[dragonlife29]

So, I just arrived at Stiles Ruins on Chapter 15...

Please tell me there are Thompson Ruins! :devil:

Anyway, I need to level up some more...I stopped doing quests because I just wanted to get on with the story, and for each big battle, the bosses seem to be about 4 levels or so higher than me. My highest leveled unit is Althea at 19. I think I'm about 15 hours into the game.

I really liked the boss battle on Chapter 14 in the Arts Factory! It was pretty interesting :D

[ArcSwordsmaster]

I preferred the chapter 20 battle... (the details of which I won't bother putting as they would be blacked out...)

[blckmgesrawsum]

It's not like they can patch a DS game with voices :p

The engagement thing is weird. It makes me feel like a creep.
:agree: Definitely. It's one thing to have it. It's totally different if it's got music and everything.