85
A surprisingly solid tactical game with interesting characters and well-written (even if sometimes too long) dialogues. [06/2016, p.64]
90
Expectations have been exceeded once again with this tactical RPG game that stands out in every way. It has great duration, but above all, a story that will make us want to play in order to enjoy the game as much as possible, even if it only features one language, English.
80
Stella Glow turns out to be a very pleasant surprise. The story and characters are written well and while the gameplay isn't very innovative, it's highly addictive. If you like story-based tactical JRPG's, we can recommend you pick up Stella Glow.
8
Not exactly groundbreaking, but easy to get into and play for many hours. I put 80+ hours into this, and enjoyed it the whole time.
10
Phenomenal story, great characters, solid gameplay even if a tad bit slow, Stella Glow will take you on an unforgettable adventure, i sincerely reccomend it to anyone, even if you're not much into strategy or rpg games
9
Credentials: 100%'d the game, beat fe3h maddening 9x times (inverse builds - i.e phys atk/swordmaster Lysithea, ap/grimory Edel ect), fe engage hardest diff 6x times (classic maddening, 0 deaths + all on 1 turn brought final boss from 100% untouched to 0% hp). This 2015 gem feels like a breath of fresh air - honestly, the writing/characters, the POWER it feels when you conduct and the beat drops right when the buff/debuffs are applied to all enemies/allies - this game is fun. For clear conscience I will say, this game lacks a lot in creativity in battle - i can count like 30 times the goal is to survive, kill all or kill x number. Meanwhile the harbringer/boss team stands in place and looks menacingly EVERY STAGE. As for the plot, i thought it wasn't bad - it made it for CONTEXT for the NUMBEROUS BATTLES - honestly the battling is an eyesore general tactics games has what? 20 main battles and some system to side battle but this i think ive battled/tuned 40 battles im tired boss. These are some AMAZING girls btw, Mordi hilda and Sakuya are stand outs, they are such a breath of fresh air - almost like pretty good TO great VN elements with the girls. BTW MORDI might be one of my fav units of all time - nothing related to her combat btw - in fact might have the worst kit of all time. Her floating noise with those dam boots and her phrase of "mor" really grows on u. Orbs - lets talk orbs. GOOD really fun system - i think the equipment was 1D - just buy from bianca shop and every 2-3 stages stuff gets better - and thats where BIS comes from. But orbs - although i think the system for buying and refinding are flawed - the combinations u can create and the fun of getting a 2x slot orb --> 3 and so on is pretty fun. I wish they clarified what worked with skills though, pretty annoyingso id be teching out all my units with hit, dodge up orbs, then atk up and def up orbs - pretty impressed by the number of "follow up" orbs and items u can get. Dorthy's kit was PHENOMINAL i really liked her - had a clear identity with lower hp = more dmg,guts, desperation orbs, dodge orbs. I will admit i played liketeh first 4 ch in 2019 and picked it up in 2024 - why? Cause the ost was banger then i realised how good the art/girls were and knew i had to play it again - im glad i did though. The reason i dropped it was bc i thought the tiles, mvmt - no rally system, "NTR" level plot where u just feel so helpless - every game has this moment but this one was on a different level to the point of annoying. It didnt feel like the combat was good - and tbf its prolly not until u get Nonoka part of the game. The games clearly flawed though with the free time - its a lie - cause u NEED TO SPEND THE TIME with relations - even then u can only max out like 5 ppl max i think. Also the NTR levels of disrespect - 2ndlast battle: DURHHHH AL WITCHES REQUIRED - pick btw ur other 10 ppl and pick 2. I think FE3h does the unit slots for combat the best - u know its going to be 10-12 for most then 12-14 on last map. U are lvling these noobs from 1 to 50. I do think the FE's liek SS are aight for the late game unit u throw into ur team like Geese/Echidna - the power ur not acclamated to. I enjoyed Alto as a character, and they DONT follow the anime trope of never directly having girls feelings in the open esp in har - em anime HOLY THESE ENDINGS my jaw dropped bruhs out here. Anyways - combat 4/10 early game by late game 9/10 (orbs, hilda strats, items, dorthea, sakuya - it gets better). Plot 8/10 if u close ur eyes to the fact the harbringers could have just been honest instead of pretend to be evil to create context for battles. Characters 8/10 - lowered by 2 just for Keith and Rusty. Carried by Hilda, morti and Sakuya/Nonoka. Pacing of econ - 9/10 - im actually pretty impressed -not enoughgold to buy everything in the shop at end game but enough for my best units, i was able to buy lots of upgrades most moments of the game. The exchange sells i thought was dumb but actually by late game it smoothed out the income well. Controllability of fight outcomes - 7/10 - kinda plays itself out or maybe u play the orb/wpn. Also side note im really happy thers a way to see nonoka and dortheas faces. Good game. I think mobility and range doesnt creep up at all throughout the game. Stella glow i give u a 9/10.
Stella Glow
3DS
Released On:
Nov 17, 2015
Metascore
Generally Favorable
79
User score
Generally Favorable
8.2
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
25% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nov 13, 2015
97
Every 3DS owning RPG or SRPG fan needs to give this game a look, as I can't recommend it highly enough.
Nov 13, 2015
90
A fitting swan song for imageepoch and another gem in the 3DS' legendary RPG lineup, Stella Glow is smart, stylish, and seriously satisfying.
User score
Generally Favorable
79% Positive
111 Ratings
111 Ratings
11% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
11% Negative
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
Feb 7, 2026
10
Phenomenal story, great characters, solid gameplay even if a tad bit slow, Stella Glow will take you on an unforgettable adventure, i sincerely reccomend it to anyone, even if you're not much into strategy or rpg games
Mar 20, 2016
83
Yes, Stella Glow gives you nothing but old-fashioned tactics roleplaying. But it also is challenging, while adding a motivating character development.
Nov 13, 2015
80
While the story is a bit too predictable for my tastes, everything from the visuals to the combat felt very polished from beginning to end. It’s quite unfortunate that this is likely the last game Imageepoch will release, but perhaps they will rest well knowing that they went out on a high note.
Nov 13, 2015
75
Stella Glow does a lot of things well, but it also has annoyances that hold it back from being an easy recommendation on the 3DS to any SRPG fan.
Mar 14, 2016
70
Star Glow is a good SRPG, that has no major flaws, but does not offer anything really new. Still recommended to lovers of the genre and neophytes.
Nov 13, 2015
60
As Imageepoch's swan song, it may not be a slam dunk, but it's clear that Stella Glow was crafted with care from people who know the genre, even if at times you just have to stare at whatever just happened in disbelief and say, “Okay, whatever, game.”
May 16, 2021
10
The game is really good, it is my childhood you dont even know how POGGERS this game is.
Apr 3, 2024
7
Stella Glow has several RPG clichés wrapped up in quite a neat package. The tropes of anime-style characters, having amnesia but destined to save the world are apparent but they are with memorable characters in a distinct setting.Although nothing special, I found the graphics to be fine although have different art styles within the game.With some RPG's they seemed to fall a victim to traditional roots which can be annoying with modern gaming demands. These being:- The game took about 45 hours. in that time there were cut scenes that were too long to get their point across. Spending 30mins reading text instead of playing a game I find tiresome- There is grinding in this game to get to the right level or unlocks. Being quite a full game of content, the grinding aspect feels like unnecessary padding- Difficulty spikes do occur and can cause several attempts in key areas- Being a SRPG, the game starts slow in each battle, taking around 3 turns to engage in combat feeling like a wasted opportunity when playing.- At end game it was really annoying how bosses self heal making the fight harder/longer for no reasonI liked the game but the flaws can't be overlooked. I know this game is pricy and cannot justify it's current price.
Apr 28, 2018
7
this game is not so bad if you're looking to scratch an itch for tactical RPG games. For anyone wondering, this game is also much closer in comparison to Final Fantasy Tactics, rather than Fire Emblem (which personal i don't really like the style of). I am a fan of anime, but the characters in this game were nothing special and I didn't really feel like I could emotionally connect with any of them (until almost the end of the game), the characters along with the writing was very bland. The story though, wasn't that bad, i enjoyed it to the end (no spoilers, but i thought the ending was kind of weird...). Characters do get more bearable as you play more, but this game is kind of slow towards the beginning. Gameplay; it was fun to play and fills the void if you're looking for games closer to FFT. The only SUPER MAJOR flaw this game has in gameplay is that the enemy A.I. and placement is so stupid. Essentially, most battles start with a few groups of 3-5 enemies grouped together on different ends of the map. Every battle feel like you're just taking out 1 group at a time (unless you get too close). The enemy A.I. is programmed to SIT AND WAIT for you until you get close enough to them. This makes the game a lot less interesting and gets annoying really fast because they just waste your time. This game is not bad at all, and the gameplay can still be quite fun/challenging (except for the major A.I. flaw). The music is really good in this game though, i must admit, i really enjoyed the music and voice acting in cut scenes, despite not being so fond of the writing. it is also a pretty long game too -- but as for it's worth, it is definitely NOT worth the original MSRP $50, buy it on sale for > $20. In fact, right now at this moment, it is $15 on the eShop, and there is also a demo to try out if you want a feel for it.
May 8, 2016
7
Talk about let down. I had such high hopes for this game, especially after playing for quite a bit, but eventually it turns out to be quite a chore ****, with a lot of issues that while don't cause too many issues with the game itself, I couldn't stop cringing at them and as of now I still have a lot of trouble playing it. I want to say something first however: the game is good. It's solid, it has a good story, the characters are likeable, the combat is solid and overall there's no major issues. Infact this review will mostly note all the nitpicks I found during the game, nitpicks that really mined my experience with what could've been one of the best games of the 3ds so far. Let me start with the most basic thing: the story, while it starts very strong and it's engaging, it has quite a twist that REALLY feels like a slap in the face, so much that I couldn't believe it was so silly. A lot of the plot twists in the game like that and tends to be very hard to follow, especially with your first enemy that you meet. I won't spoil anything but, shockingly, the real enemy isn't who you think it **** during the entire game it will make you THINK they are, making you believe that they're **** it could've been solved by simply telling everyone the truth, OR AT LEAST pacing the twist with some subtlety (that it's totally missing). Fun fact: the "enemy" will even tell you "do you think they'd believe us if we told the truth?" Let me just say that, with a spell called "Song of Destruction", and how your army is filled with bloodthirsty members who wants to kill everyone...yeah you see the problem? Secondly, the game is too slow paced. It's a common thing for Tactical RPGs but this is way, WAY to slow for my tastes, as they have made an animation for every single action in the entire game, enemy included. Sure this can be removed but then it feels so empty that it loses a lot of the charm. On the other hand, certain spells can't be skipped for some reason. Third, the main character is one of the worst fighters in the entire, but for the wrong reasons. Alto, the main character, is actually a strong fighter with overall well balanced stats...except his agility, which makes him attack so few times, makes him easily a target for enemy and this can be a problem when EVERY SINGLE FIGHT IN THE ENTIRE GAME (except random fights on the map), requires him to be present! Sure he doesn't die often BUT I could've picked a better character to suit the occasion: for example Rusty and Nonoka, due to their speed, are the best fighters in the game and Archibald, while being one of the slowest, his passive makes him one of the strongest tank in the game. Alto? He can parry and counter but he has nothing special, but he has "other" abilities that makes him a requirement for these fights. However because of this issue you can put the entire fight in danger, since his death means game over. Again, he has to fight in every major fight, and if HE dies it's game over. I wished he was a tad stronger than he currently is, because he feels useless due to his speed (Lisette has the same speed but she's a healer) and also a danger due to the constant game over issue, forcing you to put him away from fights and let everyone else fight. At least you won't get a game over... In addition, the game is also impossible to finish 100% at your first playthrough as the game doesn't give you enough time to maximize everyone's rank, resorting to use the NG+ feature that will make the game "easier" on certain **** I'm struggling to play it the first time and, honestly, there's so much padding and so much cheesyness I can take (Lisette's inability to sing is one of the biggest, dumbest facepalm moments in my entire gaming life). Still, it's a good game and also well balanced for the most part (FOR THE MOST PART, expect some unfairness from time to time), but due to the slow paced nature of the game, the bad-yet- expected twist at late game, and overall a certain lack of character's detail (some are well done, like Rusty and Archibaldn, but others like Keith and Mordimort are boring and uninteresting) makes this a very hard game to play after a long time. I highly recommend this game, but play it on short bursts or else you'll get tired very easily.
Nov 28, 2017
3
Felt like a chore to play. Took way too long to do anything, even with animations turned off. No, I don't need to spend 1 second watching a bar refill every attack/heal. Yes, it's only one second, but in an SRPG, that's dozens of times with one battle, which ruins the pacing. It also makes the #1, infuriating SRPG mistake -- having VIPs with suicidal AI. Why should I lose a battle through no fault of my own? Final Fantasy Tactics made this mistake, but that was made in 1997. How could any developer have not realized by now what a terrible idea that is. Characters met every single terrible anime trope -- trust me, coming from someone who's watched anime most of my life, I'm a little forgiving in this department, but I don't think I ever made it through a single chapter without at least one major cringe. In particular, Nonoka is now in my top 10 worst characters ever list. I won't give it a 0 though, because yes, everything functions as it should and it does have the basics working. I could imagine that if you love SRPGs and harem anime, it might be enjoyable. In short, my game is already sold back to Amazon, and I never want to see it again.
