It seems like strategy RPGs are becoming a bit more common than they used to be. Between the multitude of indie games emulating the style, and several full budget titles on major platforms, this year was great for fans of the genre.

So, with that said, why exactly should we worry about Stella Glow when tons of other games came out this year like Disgaea 5 for example, which was only last month? Well, truth be told, it’s really hard to say. And that’s not to say Stella Glow is bad – far from it, really – it’s just missing that spark.

Stella Glow features anime style graphics and story-telling, as well as a design similar to that of games like Final Fantasy Tactics.

The story focuses on Alto, a bit of an amnesiac who appeared in a forest nearby the village, Mithra. He showed up 3 years prior to the start of the game, and remembers nothing before then. He was found by Lisette, and taken care of in the village by her and her mother.

Things get moving when one of the Witches – Hilda – shows up and wreaks havoc on the village. Through a few chance events, Lisette is awoken as a Witch, and the two set out with the Regnant Knights of the Capitol to set things straight by gathering the other Witches to their cause. As the story continues, you’ll be greeted with new characters and allies to form bonds with and fight alongside.

The story isn’t bad. The characters interact well and they can get up to some entertaining hijinks. Unfortunately, it falls into a ton of pitfalls with one dimensional characterization, tropes and stereotypes, and even simply predictable plot lines. And, while the writing isn’t bad, the voice acting is sub-par at best. A few characters have some well-acted lines, but most fall flat – and unimportant characters are often just atrocious.

For better or worse, it’s mostly the main story that is plagued by it. The side events that you trigger during ‘Free Time’ tend to be more lively and entertaining, as well as a bit less predictable. Things get even more interesting when you open up the Tuning Hall, which allows Alto to interact more directly with the Witches and help them learn new songs.

The systems set around Free Time and Mission Time are a rather typical time system. During each chapter, you’re given a number of sections that are either Free Time between missions, or Mission Time, when you’re out on active duty.

During Free Time, you are able to take three actions which vary from spending time with a party member, tuning a friendly Witch or even just exploring. This means that your actions over all in the game are pretty limited, so be wary of what you do. Most options have favorable outcomes, so it never feels like you wasted time, thankfully, but there’s always that worry of missing something nagging at the back of your mind, even if you’re not.

Also available during Free Time (and Mission Time, too) are the shops. Bianca’s Armory features your typical RPG item shop. She sells everything from weapons and armor to healing items and other consumables. The other shop is Franz Atelier, which sells Orbs.

The Orbs system is one of the original mechanics in the game. Every weapon will have a number of orb slots for you to make use of. These orbs will have a wide variety of effects that will be added to the character whose weapon they are attached to, and can help with everything from attack damage boosts to accuracy boosts, to even things like a chance to poison the enemy.

In addition, the system makes for interesting choices when it comes to weaponry. Often times, you’ll have a weaker weapon with more orb slots, and then a slightly more powerful weapon with less. It’ll all be up to you which you use, of course, but it still makes for a neat little option.

The gameplay during Mission Times are the meat of the SRPG, and play very much like other isometric strategy RPGs. All of the basics are there, including facing, back-attacks, skills, passives, etc. However, Stella Glow does have some original mechanics as well.

The songs, for example, are a large portion of the battle system when you unlock them, and will be useful throughout the game. Song Magic can be used when Alto and a Witch are nearby one another, and will have an immediate and lasting effect. However, while singing, the Witch is immobile and can’t take further actions. This isn’t so bad, though, when you have effects like immobilizing all enemy units and even stopping them from attacking altogether for a turn. Songs can quickly turn the tide of battle in a pinch.

Of course, skills and passives play a big role in the game as well. Alto, for example, will learn counter very early, allowing him to strike back after most enemy attacks in range. Other characters have abilities that prevent enemies from passing their adjacent squares, and other useful skills. These types of abilities will be incredibly useful and used often, so keep your eye on them.

Mission Time itself plays out rather simply. You’ll generally be employed onto a world map from the Capitol city where your team is based. From there, the map is a bunch of nodes to indicate locations. After your first few missions, you’ll begin to see side quests pop up in addition to your current story objective. While (obviously) story objectives will move the game forward, during Mission Time, nothing takes up ‘time’. So, you’ll be free to do the side missions as often (or as little) as you like to help your team level and stay even with one another.

Thankfully, this eliminates the simple story path through the game, expanding play time some. On the other hand, unlike many other recent SRPGs, Stella Glow doesn’t have a real ‘end game’. No matter what, the end goal is really just completing the story. Of course, with the Free Time limiting factors, a second playthrough (or maybe even three) might be useful if you want to see everything.

The game does get one thing so right that it’s almost worth recommending for it alone – the music. In a game about musical Witches, go figure, right? But, in all seriousness, the music in this title is phenomenal. From the short clips of songs that the Witches sing in game to the background tracks during battles, the score is awesome from start to finish. The battle tracks are good to hum or whistle along with while playing, and I promise you, you’ll catch yourself doing so without thinking about it.

Overall Stella Glow is really hard to judge fairly. It’s a competent and well-polished game in its own right. In fact, I’d say it’s incredibly polished. All of the systems at work are well put together, and nothing feels silly or out of place. It all fits together very, very well.

However, polish isn’t always enough. Stella Glow really lacks that spark that would make it stand out of the crowd, especially with so many SRPGs showing up on the market – and good ones too.

Ultimately, I would say that Stella Glow is a great game if you’re dying for a new strategy game to play through, but if you’re on the fence about it, you’ll likely not be missing much if you pass on it.

But I’d definitely keep it in mind for the next game drought.

Stella Glow was reviewed on the 3DS using a digital copy provided by Atlus. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here.