Luminous Arc | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing |
Developer(s) | Imageepoch, Felistella |
Publisher(s) | Atlus, Marvelous Entertainment |
First release | Luminous Arc 2007 |
Latest release | Luminous Arc Infinity 2015 |
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 being the 2015 Japan-only release of Luminous Arc Infinity . The series also saw a spiritual successor in the 2015 Nintendo 3DS game Stella Glow .
2007 | Luminous Arc |
---|---|
2008 | Luminous Arc 2 |
2009 | Luminous Arc 3 |
2010 | |
2011 | |
2012 | |
2013 | |
2014 | |
2015 | Luminous Arc Infinity |
Luminous Arc [lower-alpha 1] was developed by Imageepoch for the Nintendo DS, and released on February 8, 2007 in Japan, August 14, 2007 in North America, and October 18, 2007 in Australia by Atlus, [1] [2] and in Europe the following day by Rising Star Games.
The plot follows a group of adventurers, the Garden Children, who initially fight alongside the Luminous Church to rid the world of witches, but later team up with them to fight against a corrupt plot. [3]
Luminous Arc 2 [lower-alpha 2] was developed by Imageepoch for the Nintendo DS, and published by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan on May 15, 2008, and by Atlus USA and Rising Star Games in North America and Europe respectively.
The plot follows Roland, a young knight who is accidentally given the power of the Runic Engine, enabling him to use magic, and is sent by the Kingdom of Carnava to fight against the monstrous Beast Fiends and the witches' Magic Association. He later joins up with the witches, including Fatima, the rogue Shadow Frost Witch, to stop the threat of the Fiends from destroying the world.
Luminous Arc 3 [lower-alpha 3] was developed by Imageepoch and published by Marvelous Entertainment. It saw a Japan-only release on December 10, 2009, but a fan translation into English was released on December 24, 2021. [4]
Luminous Arc Infinity [lower-alpha 4] was developed by Felistella for the PlayStation Vita. The game was published by Marvelous Entertainment and released only in Japan on August 6, 2015.
The game was produced by Yoshifumi Hashimoto, also the producer of the Rune Factory series. [5]
A spiritual sequel to the Luminous Arc series, Stella Glow was the last game developed by Imageepoch prior to its bankruptcy. It was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan by Sega on June 4, 2015, in North America by Atlus USA on November 17, 2015, and in Europe and Australia by NIS America on March 11, 2016.
The story revolves around Alto, a young hero who joints the Regnant Knights along with his childhood friend Lisette, now a witch, in order to stop the Witch of Destruction, Hilda, by joining forces with the world's other witches, all of whom wield song-based magic powers. He later must ally with Hilda as well to prevent an even greater threat from destroying the world.
The Luminous Arc games (and their spiritual successor, Stella Glow), typically take place in a medieval fantasy setting and feature a plot based around elemental witches, female magic-wielders of great power who are recruited by the main character in order to save the world from peril. The protagonist is commonly a male knight, albeit one of little renown yet great potential. While the witches are initially seen as malicious or at least dangerous entities, they are usually largely benevolent and merely protecting the world from malice, the true nature of which is revealed later. Fan service featuring the witches is common, such as Luminous Arc 2's "Engage" system, although it also serves to further their character development through socialization.
The gameplay of the Luminous Arc titles falls along the lines of tactical RPGs such as Final Fantasy Tactics . Battlefields are viewed from an isometric perspective and characters may be moved on a grid. Characters possess powerful special moves that may only be used when a gauge has been filled.
Arc System Works Co., Ltd., commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, as well as other license-based fighting games for Dragon Ball FighterZ, Persona 4 Arena (Ultimax), Granblue Fantasy Versus (Rising), and others.
Contact is a role-playing video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was published by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan on March 30, 2006, by Atlus USA in North America on October 18, and by Rising Star Games in Australia, Asia and Europe on January 25, 2007 and February 2, respectively.
Luminous Arc is a tactical role-playing game developed by Imageepoch for the Nintendo DS, and the first in the Luminous Arc series. The game was released on February 8, 2007 in Japan, August 14, 2007 in North America, and October 18, 2007 in Australia by Atlus, and in Europe the following day by Rising Star Games.
Luminous Arc 2 is a tactical role-playing game developed by Imageepoch for the Nintendo DS, and published by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan on May 15, 2008, and by Atlus USA and Rising Star Games in North America and the PAL region respectively. It is the second game in the Luminous Arc series.
Rondo of Swords, known in Japan as Rondo of Deception, is a strategy role-playing video game developed by Success and published by Atlus for the Nintendo DS. The game was released in Japan on August 9, 2007, and in North America on April 15, 2008.
Imageepoch Inc. was a video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan.
Arc Rise Fantasia is a 2009 role-playing video game co-developed by Imageepoch and Marvelous Entertainment for the Wii. It was published in Japan by Marvelous Entertainment in 2009 and in North America by Ignition Entertainment in 2010. A planned European release through Rising Star Games was cancelled. The storyline, set in a fantasy world split between hostile factions beset by attacks from destructive Feldragons, protagonist L'Arc Bright Lagoon allies with the priestess Ryfia after he is chosen as a Child of Easa who will remake the world. Gameplay features a growing party led by L'Arc navigating both an overworld and dungeon environments, taking part in turn-based battles.
Class of Heroes is a role-playing video game dungeon crawler for the PlayStation Portable developed by Zero Div and published by Acquire in Japan and Atlus in North America. In Japan, the game was released on August 26, 2008; in North America, the game was released on June 9, 2009 by Atlus. In the game, players progress by navigating dungeons as hordes of enemies appear and attack in turn-based combat. Class of Heroes received mixed reviews from critics, with some appreciating the creative take on dungeon-crawling and others disliking the game's graphics and grind-based leveling system.
Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns is a farming simulation video game developed by Marvelous Entertainment for the Nintendo DS and 3DS as part of the Story of Seasons series. It was released in North America on the Nintendo DS on September 20, 2011 and on the Nintendo 3DS on November 1, 2011 by Natsume Inc. The original release date for the Japanese version was set to February 25, 2010 but was moved to July 8, 2010.
Radiant Historia is a role-playing video game co-developed by Atlus and Headlock for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in 2010 by Atlus, and in North America in 2011 by their subsidiary Atlus USA. An expanded remake for the Nintendo 3DS, titled Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, was released in 2017 in Japan and released in North America and Europe the following year, with the European version being published by Deep Silver.
Art Academy is a series of edutainment video games beginning in 2009 with Art Academy. Its most recent release was Disney Art Academy. One of Nintendo's franchises, the series has been released on Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
Code of Princess is an action role-playing video game developed by Studio Saizensen and originally published by Agatsuma Entertainment for Nintendo 3DS. It was released in Japan in April 2012 by Agatsuma Entertainment, and in North America by Atlus USA in October 2012, Agatsuma Entertainment also published the game in Europe and Australia in March 2013, exclusively as an eShop title. A version for Windows was released in April 2016. An enhanced port entitled Code of Princess EX launched for the Nintendo Switch between July and August 2018, courtesy of Nicalis worldwide, and Pikii in Japan.
Sol Trigger is a role-playing video game developed by Imageepoch for the PlayStation Portable. It was released in Japan on October 4, 2012.
Luminous Arc 3 is a role-playing video game developed by imageepoch and published by Marvelous Entertainment. In Luminous Arc 3, witches have ceased to exist, but their legacy lives on through "Magi". There are two people who are associated with witches. One is Sarah, who wants to become the legendary witch and the Holy Witch Sylvia.
Luminous Arc Infinity is a video game developed by Japanese video game company Felistella for the PlayStation Vita. The game was published by Marvelous Entertainment and released in Japan on August 6, 2015. The game is the fourth entry in the Luminous Arc series, and the first in the series not developed by Imageepoch, who suffered financial troubles around the time of the game's development, ultimately leading to a 2015 bankruptcy filing. While Felistella made changes to the gameplay, it ultimately still retains the core gameplay mechanics of a tactical role-playing game.
Stella Glow is a 2015 role-playing video game developed by Imageepoch for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released in Japan by Sega, in North America by Atlus USA, and in Europe and Australia by NIS America. Its story centers around a young man who must journey to unite four witches so he can save his home town from destruction. It was the final game by Imageepoch before their bankruptcy.
Endless Ocean Luminous is an adventure simulation game developed by Arika and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. As the third game in the Endless Ocean series, Luminous marks the first installment since 2009's Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep for the Wii.