You know what we needed in these dire times? A JRPG. You know what that JRPG needed? Magical girls with cool weapons. Thankfully, Blue Reflection: Second Light provides all of these and more. The sequel to the original Blue Reflection, the announcement of this sequel certainly came as a surprise to many due to the original’s mixed reception.
Many believed the game seemed destined for a dusty shelf life alongside many other obscure JRPGs. That opinion was largely due to its gameplay. Not content to let this IP disappear, Gust brought it back for this new entry, but does it shine bright? Or will this “Second Light” fade fast.
A Secret to Unravel
The story follows our protagonist, Ao Hoshizaki. Whilst on her way to a remedial lesson during summer, she finds herself transported to the mysterious world players will come to inhabit. Basically her school, surrounded by an endless expanse of water. Here she meets Kokoro Utsubo, Yuki Kinjou and Rena Miyauchi. Three schoolgirls all stranded here without their memorie. With Ao’s arrival, the world soon begins to change and a path to a new area, known as the Faraway, is opened.
In exploring this mysterious world, it’s quickly revealed that the memories of Ao’s companions are scattered throughout it, with each girl’s memories being tied to a different zone. These zones make up the various dungeons you’ll explore. In each zones you’ll meet new characters, and delve further into the mysteries of your amnesia-ridden allies.
Strong Cast
The cast is strong, and all contribute well to the story, never feeling massively side-lined or shoehorned in any way. The story is rather slow-going and admittedly takes awhile to get going. But if you’re a fan of magical girls, mystery, and a solid turn-based combat system, you’ll find something to enjoy in Second Light.
The gameplay is where Blue Reflection: Second Light delivers. For lovers of Gust’s Atelier games, you’ll find much that’s familiar to you, with the addition of other mechanics. Most of these are a welcome addition, some less so.
The gameplay is mainly split into two sides. The first is a mixture of the school and crafting. As you progress through the game, you’ll need to craft consumable items to aid you in battle and help you progress the story. Materials can be obtained from the Faraway and its various, sprawling dungeons.
Progress
Progression through the story of Blue Reflection: Second Light will help you unlock new recipes and expand your strategies going forward. Not only that, but you’ll also have the opportunity to expand and upgrade the school. When building extensions, players will have to keep in mind that there is a limited space for the ones you have out and giving bonuses.
These can be easily stored away once built, but it opens up much in the way of planning builds based on what you value, with certain combinations of installations providing additional bonuses. When crafting, you’ll be able to select four different party members to engage in the process, with any skills they’ve acquired via the Talent system being used to influence the final result.
When you’re not crafting and upgrading, you’ll be spending time with your companions, getting to know them and deepening your bonds with them through the various “requests” they give you. As you do, you’ll gain more Talent Points (TP) to spend on a variety of abilities and boosts, some of them being the aforementioned ones that improve and alter your crafting.
This will take up hours of your time and adds a lot to an already packed game, so you’ll certainly not run out of things to do as you progress.
Other Side to it
On the other side of the coin is the exploration and combat. As previously mentioned, you’ll be travelling through the Faraway, a strange world that arrived not too long after Ao did. This world is comprised of the dungeons that will make up your journey, each one linked to a specific character and their memories, and each one uniquely distinct.
As you explore, you’ll find the various materials you’ll use for crafting and enemies you’ll use for EXP grinding, or just beating on your way to the objective if that’s your preference.
The areas are pleasant to look at and the art style makes traversing the Faraway much more enjoyable. However, during exploration you’ll occasionally be forced into these stealth sections. These are a terrible feature that are unfortunately mandatory in many parts of the game. Players are given a stealth mode in which they’re able to see the enemies’ field of vision and are meant to use this to progress through these areas safely.
Fail to do so and you’re sent back to the beginning of the section to do it all over again. The FOV indicators can clip through parts of the environment too, so there’s a chance you’ll not see it for a couple of seconds, and, without warning, the enemy will turn, and you’ll be caught. What makes this even worse is that not all the enemies have set patrol paths, moving randomly, and making these segments a battle against RNG and not a test of skill like the combat.
Familiar Combat
Speaking of, the combat in Blue Reflection: Second Light will be familiar to those of you who’ve played Atelier Ryza as it is based on the semi-realtime system found there. As battle progresses, character icons will move across an Ether Point (EP) timeline, gaining more EP the further you allow them to go. With EP, you’ll use the various skills at your disposal and if you allow yourself to accumulate more EP then you’ll be able to chain abilities together, but this is only possible as you increase your Gear Level.
Your character’s Gear Level dictates how much EP they’re able to save up in battle and builds with the actions you activate. The higher your Gear Level, the faster your EP will generate until you eventually reach Gear Level 3. At this level, your character will shift forms into their Reflector form, which is essentially a cooler looking magical girl form.
During combat, the abilities you chain together will build up a combo meter, giving you damage buffs that increase alongside the meter. Keeping the combo going is important, though enemies have attacks that can reset it. As a result, it’s important to use abilities that can protect your meter.
Meter Made
Blue Reflection: Second Light rewards players for maintaining this meter by giving you access to Ether Tides, special finishing moves that cost 3000 EP, require Gear Level 3, and require a combo of 15. These attacks are visually impressive and due to the required setup, feel rewarding to reach.
An issue with this system, however, is that a limited number of the characters have abilities that can shield your combo and help you get that Ether Tide, meaning that if you want to focus on building that meter in combat, you’re somewhat limited in your party builds.
Being able to control all your characters, it allows you to plan accordingly for the enemies you’re facing, preparing for their attacks or working to knock them back down the timeline as their icon advances towards you.
Autoplay
However, if this type of gameplay isn’t what interests you, the game has an auto-battle option for your other two members, leaving you in control of your party leader and taking the load off players’ shoulders. An issue of accessibility in RPGs has often been how complex the combat can be and that there’s just too much going on all at once. This option is a welcome addition that helps you prioritise your enjoyment of the game while not turning it into a visual novel.
The gameplay in Second Light is a joy that has definitely taken the needed lessons from its predecessor and worked to refine its system into one that’s enjoyable deep and rewarding. It’s just a shame that the stealth sections are, by comparison, so much worse and a complete chore to deal with.
Not looking to be outshone, the visuals are stunning. Anyone familiar with the original and Gust’s other works will be happy to know the game is as gorgeous as any other of their works. The various dungeons of the game, all unique in their appearance, make the game enjoyable to explore, taking many familiar pieces of our world and slotting them into these locations.
Hub Heaven
The main hub area of the school is, in this humble reviewer’s personal opinion, the best one. The simplicity of the school sat amidst the endless waters, with the portal to The Faraway situated just across from the building, is something I spent more hours than I care to admit just enjoying.
Finally, the soundtrack. When compared with everything else this game has to offer, the soundtrack didn’t really hold up and, over the course of my playthrough, got lost in the experience. Much of the soundtrack was designed to be relaxing and pleasant, which is in line with the theme of the game, but none of them stood out as memorable.
A Relaxing Experience
When playing Blue Reflection: Second Light I found myself without the usual sense of urgency and need to rush to everything that often accompanies my other gaming experiences. The setting made me feel relaxed and as if I myself had been taken to this other world where none of my outside commitments worried me as much.
I would take my time in combat more and put the effort in to expand my skills and abilities and enjoy when it all paid off. Experiencing this story was a pleasure and with a variety of side quests, crafting goals and combat challenges, you’ll find yourself with plenty to do, and no rush to do it.