Review – Blue Reflection: Second Light

The story follows a high school girl who is suddenly involved in an incident at her new boarding school during the summer. She encounters Yuzuki, a mysterious transfer student from another class with powers similar to hers. Through their adventures together, they form a special bond and discover what it means to be “Blue.”

“Blue Reflection: Second Light” is a Japanese role-playing game that focuses on the story of Hinako Shirai, a high school student who finds herself in a parallel world. The game’s gameplay is similar to “Persona 5”.

My nerdiness goes deep, having been ingrained in me since childhood. Fangirling over Sailor Moon is one of my first memories. Something about it struck a chord with me and piqued my curiosity. Maybe it was because of the all-female cast, or maybe it was because of my infatuation on Sailor Jupiter. With its playable cast, Blue Reflection: Second Light tries to replicate the prior point. This game is the epitome of female empowerment, but before you start scuffling, have a look at this review. To be honest, I was anticipating a catastrophe — a game that couldn’t seem to catch the imagination. Well, keep your lips shut since we’re dealing with a narrative that’s full of actual surprises. The gameplay is right out of the Atelier series for anyone acquainted with Gust created games. Will the second Blue Reflection be less contentious than the first?

Okay, so there’s a little bit of perversion here and there, but isn’t that to be expected?

JRPGs feature a group of tropes from which the literary side often draws. The most common of the group is amnesia, which is still present here, but with a twist. The playable character, you see, isn’t affected by it at all. On the contrary, the supporting cast is the one who suffers. They have no recollection of their background or why they awoke at a school that is not just surrounded by water, but also secluded from reality. Throughout the experience, I was trying to piece together everyone’s recollections and figure out what was going on in this universe. And let me tell you, the mystery is incredible. Every minute I put in was enthralling, and I was looking forward to the next disclosure. As more information became available, my curiosity rose because I needed to know what would happen next, and that, my friends, is an investment in a good tale.

Another cliché used often in anime is the importance of friendship. Despite their inability to recall anything about themselves, we see this group of ladies band together. Bonds and relationships are formed in front of our eyes. One of them even expresses, if flimsily, opposition to the notion. Regardless, all of this helped to lend that extra dash of realism needed to fully immerse the player in the game’s setting. I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of belonging to everyone. But it’s the personality of these youngsters that really stands out; they’re all different, from the one with an unhealthy food addiction to the eccentric one. She, in particular, made me smile more than I’d like to confess. The story is the essence of feel-good wholesomeness, and I enjoyed listening to their talks — it was charming.

Rena is here to tell you that she’s had enough of your antics. She’s also one of my favorites.

The way the tale develops, I believe, will be contentious. Blue Reflection: Second Light is a telenovela – a soap opera – about the friendship between Ao (the protagonist) and the other characters. As a result, there are a lot of slice-of-life aspects, which some people may find tedious. Simply said, there’s a lot of reading about superfluous stuff, and if you don’t like fleshed-out people, be prepared for tedium — conversations occur often. For instance, throughout the narrative, females approach you at irregular intervals, infrequent conversations solidify relationships, and there’s dating. Yes, there is some fan service here, but it isn’t excessive and comes off as high-school flirtation. It’s clumsy, yet it’s endearing in its consistency. Lesbian interactions are implied in the game, however they look to be more like fun between close friends than love relationships. 

Aside from the warm conversation, there’s also the unexpectedly gloomy subject matter. It deals on little issues like bullying and pushing loved ones away before moving on to more serious issues like child exploitation. It’s a contrast to the milder side of Blue Reflection: Second Light, even though it never completely explores the repercussions in terrifying depth. Fortunately, I don’t think this will ever be a problem. Sure, it adds anguish to the storyline, but it still retains a friendly atmosphere. Instead of really disturbing me, it drew me in and kept me there. I’d be anxiously anticipating the hilarious dialogue and facial gestures. Because of their exaggerated body language, it seemed like I was watching an anime at moments. The excellent voices also assisted, and cadence was seldom missing due to the great inflection. I never broke out laughing, but I did have a few strong laughs.

These ladies are getting ready to pound the pavement. Because they’re constructing something.

Blue Reflection: Second Light is a game with a lot of complexities that make it fun to play. Let’s go through the dates again before we get started. These aren’t only for the sake of adding to the exposition. They have a purpose, which is to earn Talent Points, which may subsequently be used to purchase abilities, permanent stat boosts, and crafting benefits. As a result, I strongly advise you to get to know your “classmates.” This is when the eerie component creeps in since there are options for what to say. Some of the alternatives are obscene, but the majority are nice gestures. A fair answer will result in a bigger output of points, whilst a poor response will result in an insignificant consequence. There are more events to trigger when frolicking with a certain female, but in my testing, they seem to be fluff masquerading as character development — they are welcomed, but they rapidly get boring.

Because of the JRPG flavoring, sidequests are unavoidable, so there will be enough to accomplish here. From fetch quests to cooking, annihilating strange horrors, and, of course, making. That mechanism, by the way, is directly out of the Atelier series. Crafting has become a main part of the game, with players needing to visit various places for materials. Those previously stated Talent Points may also be used to buy specific building bonuses, which is an intriguing twist. To make an object, four females must work together. Naturally, the final result has an impact — in this case, it restores a little amount of functionality. Let’s imagine you have a few females who have been given special advantages in terms of growth. As a consequence, the effect becomes more intense. To put it another way, use dates to edit and manufacture some really cool products that not only momentarily increase stats but also restore a significant amount of health.

There is no vengeance like a woman’s disdain in hell. Is it a scythe, or what? Damn…

Gust’s Atelier series has also influenced the fighting system, with Ryza being the most significant impact. It establishes fight order by moving character images down an activity timeline, similar to that. Whoever touched it may advance after it reaches a specific point. Now, here’s the interesting part: it makes use of Ether Points. To get them, kill your opponents, and skill use is the way to go if you want to speed up your turn advancement. It’s a great notion, and the females will switch gears on a regular basis. As you can see, each ability requires a set number of EP. The total number of points gathered increases with each gear change. If two thousand people have gathered, you have the option of chaining two abilities or using a strong one. Just saying, the smoothness of these adolescents’ consecutive strikes as they crush their foes is a delight to witness. 

You should realize that the Sailor Moon reference I made in the beginning isn’t coincidental. It’s a cool feature of Blue Reflection: Second Light that happens when the gear switch reaches a certain point. Each female gets a full-body makeover and their stats are boosted across the board. Rest assured that, although these sequences occur often, they may be canceled, preventing any momentum loss. While we’re on the subject, one problem that goes against the preservation of adrenaline is one-on-one battle. It’s exactly what it sounds like, and it begins with a slow-paced duel. I’m not going to be theatrical and say it’s difficult, but there’s no denying it’s futile. It seems out of context, as if it was tossed in at random to confuse the mechanic. Thankfully, they only happen during boss fights, but it’s mistakes like this that keep you from getting a higher score.

Once upon a time, I had food sickness. If only cooking was as simple as this.

Now it’s time for the most anticipated part of the show: the grinding. The major means of obtaining resources and strengthening oneself is to engage in fight. Fortunately, encounters aren’t randomized, so creatures may freely travel the overworld. As a result, slipping across the trenches unobserved is totally doable. A particular stealth mode that indicates the viewpoint distance of adversaries helps to illustrate the point. By analyzing movement patterns and the duration between cycles, it becomes clear that avoiding is a possible option. I choose to rush into battle with my weapons drawn and slay everything in cold blood as a masochist. It didn’t take long for it to turn into a major slog due to the constant respawns. Please don’t take this as a warning; rather, consider it a cautionary tale. It’s great to let the females unleash their inner Solid Snake – sans cardboard box – every now and again. 

Okay, may I talk about how characters are unlocked in a unique way? It works well with the plot as well as the amnesia cliché, refreshing it up so that it doesn’t seem stale. Of course, owing to the sidequests received from each recruit (and there are a bunch), there is some retracing. You’d anticipate aggravation from having so much to do, yet one thing counteracts it: rapid transit. Second Light realizes the amount of revisiting to earlier locations that is required and, fortunately, offers us a bone. Because most regions have numerous levels, and most sidequests take place in the darkest depths, I’m happy for that. So, rather than retracing my steps, I could just open a menu and push a button. There is no boredom or repetition; there is just a desire to accomplish more.

Apparently, the Eiffel 65 blue guy is being pursued. Isn’t it obvious that I’m getting older?

I was actually impressed by the shadows and lighting effects. Despite the rough edges, they were more than enough to give the setting a feeling of reality. It isn’t until the pictures themselves that it is evident that the quality is on par with early PlayStation 3 games. This is especially true in level areas with little flora and terrain. However, I must applaud the attention to detail that went into the school’s artifacts. Even yet, everything had an antiquated aspect to it, which extended to the character models. I like how each female has her own individual look. They appear fantastic, though a little hazy when seen from a distance. Facial emotions and movements were natural and fluid. The only time I observed stuttering was during battle, when a large number of people were attacking at the same time. One point I’d like to make is that when it rains, clothing becomes significantly wet. Koei Tecmo, never change. 

While the gameplay in Blue Reflection: Second Light is enjoyable, it is the narrative that makes it worthwhile. I was left wondering until the very end, and I was surprised by turns to the point of loud expletives. It’s so fascinating that I’ve been prolonging my bedtime because of it. I needed to see how the events would play out. Sure, the comedy isn’t for everyone, but even so, the characters are really appealing. I couldn’t help but grin like a total knucklehead. The localization is good, although there are a few minor errors, such as the phrasing. Above all, the gloomy subject matter serves to balance the bubblegum look while also adding depth to the story. There’s something extremely addictive about a game that involves craftsmanship, and that holds true here. By all accounts, this sequel outperforms the first, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this series goes next.

 

While it seems like an early PS3 game in terms of graphics, it has an unmistakable charm. Maybe it’s nostalgia, but I enjoyed it. The lighting effects are quite beneficial.	Turn-based fighting is as enjoyable here as it is anywhere. However, some of the features, such as increasing your assault frequency, aren’t implemented well.
The soundtrack complements the game’s warm atmosphere. The voice acting is excellent, with inflections that made understanding the rhythm simple. It, on the other hand, fails to use music to intensify emotion.	As someone who grew up in the 1990s, I’m a sucker for good old turn-based combat. The crafting, as well as the grinding, is enjoyable. The story’s curiosity helped the most with this.
Final Score: 7.5

On PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC, Blue Reflection: Second Light is now available.

On the Nintendo Switch, a review was conducted.

The publisher sent me a copy of Blue Reflection: Second Light.

As an example:

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The “blue reflection: second light ps4” is a visual novel that revolves around the protagonist, Hinako Shirai. The game was developed by Gust and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment on PlayStation 4.

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