Some may boost healing items, others may grant a chance to get new materials, and each has their own unique twist that can add potent bonus effects.ĭevelopment, on the other hand, is solely handled by the protagonist Ao. Each character brings their own specialty to the table and gains more over the course of the game. However, rather than a complex synthesis system that influences the quality or attributes of items, players instead choose who will help craft the recipe. Materials collected out in the world are components for healing, offensive, and support items. The game’s crafting system is where it reveals itself as an Atelier-lite. The materials gathered from Heartscapes can be used for both crafting and school development. Watching the anime and playing the first game isn’t required, though I would highly recommend it to fully experience the dramatic moments that lead to this current game. Like the previous recap, this game offers a very broad overview of what happened in the anime while glossing over some dramatic moments. The latter half of the game also touches upon the anime Blue Reflection Ray and even pulls in protagonists Hiori and Mio Hirahara alongside the villainous Uta Komagawa. That said, there were numerous moments that hit much harder for me due to familiarity with the characters from the first game and their trials. It does recap some of the broader events of the first game, ensuring players don’t need to play the original. The story is a continuation of the events of Blue Reflection. Their goal quickly becomes clear: recover their memories and find out the truth about the world outside. They awake on a strange and lonely little island, robbed of their memories and their only shelter an oddly familiar school. Soon after, Ao discovers she and the other girls are Reflectors - girls who fight demons and protect the emotions of others. One fateful day, she gets a mysterious text message and finds herself waking up in a new world surrounded by amnesiac girls. For all her life, she wished she could be someone special or interesting like the girls in her favorite series. It follows a group of girls led by Ao Hoshizaki - a quiet and lonely otaku who spends her days reading manga and watching anime. Now, four years later, Gust followed up with Blue Reflection: Second Light and the result is simply magical.Īlong with its connection to the first game, Blue Reflection: Second Light is a sequel to the 2021 anime Blue Reflection Ray. While I greatly enjoyed the original, it was a bit low-budget and experimental. I was excited to see one of my favorite developers tackle a subgenre I grew up with. When developer Gust announced Blue Reflection in 2017, I was elated as I grew up watching Sailor Moon alongside my little sister. Sadly, there are painfully few magical girl games. Vibrant transformations, flashy special attacks, cute mascots that may or may not be evil, coming-of-age tales, and a grand cast of characters battling against nefarious villains sound right at home with a genre that already has these elements. The magical girl subgenre of media is a seemingly perfect fit for JRPGs.

Blue reflection second light gameplay