STELLA GLOW

STELLA GLOW is a hidden gem with some cool stuff going on, even if it stumbles in a few places. The story starts off feeling pretty familiar, you're Alto, a guy with amnesia living in a quiet village, and when a destructive witch named Hilda shows up and starts turning people into crystal, you gotta team up with the kingdom's knights to stop her. His childhood friend Lisette becomes a Water Witch and you set off to find the other three elemental witches so you can perform a big magical song called the Anthem to undo all the crystallization. It sounds straightforward and for a while it is, but the plot actually throws some wild curveballs later on that really shake things up and get way more interesting than the initial «gather the team» quest.

Where the game truly shines is with its characters. On the surface they look like a bunch of anime tropes: the clumsy sweetheart, the tsundere, the shy in a box; but spending time with them during the free time segments reveals a lot of heart and personality. These bonding events are genuinely fun and heartfelt and they actually matter because leveling up your friendships unlocks new combat skills for everyone, much like in modern Persona games. The downside is that Alto himself is about as exciting as plain toast, he's the classic nice guy hero without much depth which makes all the affection he gets from the cast feel a bit unearned sometimes.

The gameplay is a solid mix of strategy and relationship building, like in the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor or Fire Emblem games. The battles are classic grid based tactics where positioning and facing direction really matter, attacking from behind deals more damage for instance, each character feels unique with their own set of skills and the special Song Magic from the witches lets you unleash huge area effects or buffs that can turn the tide of a tough fight. Unlocking these songs involves a tuning segment where you dive into a witch's heart to battle their inner demons, tho these parts can feel like forced fanservice. The strategy is satisfying and makes you think but the pace can drag because enemy turns feel slow and some missions are just too long and repetitive throwing hordes of similar enemies at you.

Presentation-wise, the chibi models on the map are cute, the skill animations are flashy and full of personality and the character portraits are gorgeous. The music, composed in part by Yasunori Mitsuda (the same from the CHRONO and Xeno series) is a definite highlight, especially the actual songs the witches sing, which are beautiful and haunting, but the overall soundtrack outside those moments is pretty forgettable.  

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The final notes of the Anthem still hang in the air, but a new harmony calls. The Witches are gathered, their songs a fragile light against the creeping silence, and the echoes of the crystallized whisper for a savior. Choose your resonance by hitting your chosen version's download button below or conduct the symphony directly via FBI's Remote Install, and let the stage of history bear witness to your melody. The crystallized echoes are waiting. Hilda's Song of Ruin still lingers. Hesitate now.

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