“I didn’t…see anything… I couldn’t…see anything.”
If I am allowed to be honest in these reviews, I did not like this episode at all. Probably the worst Episode 2 by far. Celia deserves better than this! If this review turns into a rant, I’m sorry in advance.
Let’s point out the major things I disliked about this episode. The first will be the constant backtracking. Oh goodness, this episode made you go around in circles the entire time because the premise and setting all revolved around the same place. We don’t go after monsters in this episode. In fact, this episode had the least amount of fighting. All the action Celia gets is through a mini-game! A MINI GAME! SHE JUST SHOOTS ARROWS AT TARGETS This whole entire episode is just Celia, Michelle and Vanessa roaming around and doing absolutely nothing but chase a squirrel. THAT’S IT! THEY CHASE A SQUIRREL! You’re giving me an unlikely trio of Celia, Michelle and Vanessa and this is what they’re wasted on? Really?
Second, the plot for this episode makes absolutely no sense. Some classmates lose their stuff and they instantly detect that the squirrel is behind it and Lucien sends the three Blaze girls on a mission to get rid of it as it could be potentially dangerous. Lucien, I love you, but not even this simp will defend you here. Why? Why do you think a squirrel is dangerous?
Third, the lack of monster fighting. I know that the gameplay is pretty much hack and slash and that’s what it’s supposed to be. I want to beat up monsters, not doing an hour of fetch quests! I need to find my inner peace or I’ll explode. Deep breaths. Deep breaths…
Despite my strong gripes, there were four things I liked about this episode. The first is the confirmation that Celia was away from the village when the Le Sant tragedy happened. Celia’s personality makes sense now. She has major survivor’s guilt since her parents died and Leo and Hugo were traumatized to the max. I do like the shot of Celia’s right eye being gold since she loses the color when she got into Aedis. I think it’s symbolism in a way that the right eye is now blue in order to become stronger.
The second thing I liked about this episode was the scene where the first years were participating in cooking class. Leo was despairing over how he sliced the carrots and Hugo was panicking about seasoning. The comedic aspects of this episode was hilarious and it did brighten my enjoyment of this episode. I can tell these two are disasters.
The third thing is the mini-game. Yes, I did gripe about it earlier, but it’s also pretty fun. The best part is if you fail. News flash, you cannot fail this game. If you don’t meet the required score, Vanessa will glare at the target practice stall man to give you as many chances as you want. Thanks Vanessa!
The fourth and final thing I liked was the foreboding ending. Celia killed the squirrel (RIP squirrel) and when she left the scene, a mysterious hooded man emerges from the shadow, impressed with Celia’s skills. Who is this man? I don’t know! He’s voiced by Matt Shipman, though! His appearance most likely meant that the squirrel could’ve been a decoy or this whole episode was a test to showcase Celia’s skills to the man. Why did Luminaria have to end so early? I wanted to know who this man was!
I think this is the shortest and fastest Luminaria review by far. I mainly had gripes and nothing much happened overall. I did like seeing Celia getting her spotlight, but I just wished it was showcased better. I know that this episode is really divisive and it shows. If you like this episode, I respect you. If you hate it, I respect you too. Please be civil!
Tales of Luminaria is an upcoming Tales of Series original title for iOS and Android released November 2021. The game was first announced during Gamescom Opening Night Live. Unlike the recent Tales mobile games, Luminaria has been reported to have its own original world with only original characters and no previous Tales characters, as well as an English dub. Unfortunately, the game has announced termination of service worldwide on July 19, 2022.
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