I’ve really gotten into the DS recently, and not just because I’ve been schlepping my ass across country every other week or so. Part of the reason I’m diggin’ it is because there are a lot of RPGs available and the games cost half of what you’d expect from any other console. The most recent hit has been Luminous Arc from Atlus and Marvelous Interactive.

It’s pretty standard Japanese RPG fare. The graphics and sound are pretty great, the characters are pretty interesting if a touch one-dimensional, and its got a good sense of humor. It’s a little bizarre at times though, both in its approach to male/female romance where it’s extra heavy on the double entendre and its use of a talking radish as a between-chapter moderator. The radish has its own story to tell, but frankly it makes no sense what so ever.

I also like the characters. Here are two:

Those Japanese are so wacky.