“…Lydie. Do you want the strength to fight?”
This episode is a breather from the Federation vs Empire military drama. It focuses on the third side of the story, the Adventurers, a side that is not loyal to any side. From this episode, it seems that they’re more focused on the world exploration aspects and not the political/military aspects.
How’s the first of the Adventurer’s episodes? If I worked at IGN, I’d rate Edouard’s debut episode a 7.8/10 with the main reason being TOO MUCH SAND. THIS ENTIRE EPISODE FOCUSES ON TRAVERSING PAST A DESERT! IF YOU HATE SAND MECHANICS, THIS GAME WILL MAKE YOU HATE THEM EVEN MORE! This entire episode was just me channeling Lydie and hating the constant sand. The sand pits are dangerous; the sand worms are annoying; climbing up sand dunes becomes aggravating. I hated this chapter as much as I hated Arendelle in Kingdom Hearts 3. Why did the devs do this? Why?
Other than the sand, this entire episode was just back-to-back fighting which gets kind of tedious, as there are no breathers to relax and walk around—the only breaks you get are the talking which is the only nice thing in this chapter. Everything is constant fighting. I’m surprised this episode has no kill count.
Complaints aside, I think this was a decent episode. The story is pretty simple. It’s about Edouard meeting Lydie and being hired to be her bodyguard as they traverse through the desert. Along the way, they try to get to know one another and they eventually form a bond once Lydie opens up and reveals her goal of visiting the Primordials.
Edouard is a nonchalant mercenary who just drifts through life by taking on jobs and such. Regardless of his demeanor, he still has a kind heart underneath his stoic exterior, which Lydie likes to point out. Given that he used to be a prince, his noble traits must have stuck onto him even after being exiled and living on his own. Hearing the events of his past makes me hope that Miasui is a setting in an upcoming chapter, even if it isn’t Edouard’s. He reminds me a lot of Ludger in a way, which is why I like him a lot because Ludger is one of my absolute favorite Tales characters. He is one of the three characters that I was keeping my eyes out for and I’m glad that his story and character came out good despite the horrid setting. Yeah, I simp for him like I do with Lucien.
Lydie is a precocious character. She’s intelligent and is proud of it. She instantly picks up on things, even deducing who Edouard is just by asking questions and deciphering his words and behavior. She’s very interesting as she’s a 15-year-old prodigious researcher who came to a conclusion that the world is on the verge of ending. She’s most likely the drive behind the Adventurers’ story. She’s a lot like a mix of Keele and Elle in a way. Keele concluded that the world was ending just by looking through his telescope and he was proven to be right; whether Lydie is right or not depends on continuing the Adventurers’ story, but I am 90% sure she is right—it’s the JRPG logic. Her similarity with Elle comes from the drive to reach a destination. Elle’s goal was to go to the Land of Canaan and needed Ludger to take her there. Lydie’s goal is to meet all the Primordials and she needs Edouard to help her. I really like Lydie. She’s intelligent, which puts her at the top of my favorite Luminaria characters list solely because I love intelligent bookworm characters. I also do like how she gradually warms up to Edouard. At first, she was impatient by not wanting to take breaks and trying her absolute best to take in the heat despite not being athletic. Edouard’s wisdom slowly helps her understand that she needs to take it easy.
I also find their fighting style interesting. As the neutral party, they have no Reactors or Embleos to showcase their strength. Edouard’s strength comes from his Miasuian blood—specifically those of the royal family. Lydie’s strength comes from her intelligence that allowed her to create a device that works similarly to the Empire’s Reactor, but it’s not entirely the same thing. It makes me wonder what the other three characters’ powers are. From the trailers, I know that Ana-Maria is the Emperor’s daughter, so she uses a Reactor, most likely. Charles and Raoul are the most mysterious.
Overall, I think that the Adventurer’s story might be the most interesting, as the stakes are much different compared to Federation and Empire stories. I can’t wait to play the next one as long as there is no Tel Tepe Desert. Screw the desert, seriously.
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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