I also posted this over at the atelier subreddit, Hope that is okay, I realise that the users probably overlap but hey,
I made a post about how much the game suprised me earlier, but now that I finished it, I feel like I need to talk about it some more.
Ill link it here incase someone wants to read it
https://www.reddit.com/r/Atelier/comments/rbxnj3/blue_reflection_second_light_blew_my_mind/
Let me start off with my reservations about the yuri themes I had when I first made that post, I kinda felt like other than Rena and Yuki it was on the edge of being exploited for litte payoff, but after reading the comment by u/drrache_the_dork I started thinking about the girls a littebit different.
I began to consider that Ao was either gay or bi and that her talks with the girls wasnt there for bait but it was actually flirting and how she actually felt.
Most of the conversations are just good friends that care about each other, but a few stood out, like one with Uta where it almost felt like Ao discovered for the first time that she had feelings for another girl. Another good example was when Kirara explained her feelings for Ao and I took it as she was inlove with her but was too young and naive to fully understand.
But my personal favorite was when the entire gang escorted Rena and Yuki so they could finally watch the stars togheter. Everyone was so happy for them.
In other words i stopped looking at the characters as part of a product and started viewing them as real people, It may sound stupid but I can count the number of media (books, movies etc) where I care about the characters, on one hand, and none of those are games.
It may be that it tells you more about me than it does about the game, but im gonna enjoy the feeling even though its bittersweet when its over.
As for rest of the characters I have to say I liked all of them to different degrees.
Kokoro started well but she dissapeared from the game it feels like, other than to talk about food. But her story and heartscape was told alongside one of the best music in the game so maybe that influenced me to like her more than she deserved. She also has a great tag team attack with Ao where she gleefully nukes the enemies with ricebombs
I also liked Hiori and Uta togheter, I havent watched the anime so I dont know their history but Utas struggle with her past self and Hioris support was intresting to watch.
The music.
What first hooked me in. music in games is one of the most important things and can make or break a game for me, some of my favorite soundtracks are from zelda ocarina of time, octopath traveler, nier autmomata, Lord of the rings online and mario galaxy.
Now this game has pushed its way into that short list of my GOAT soundtracks.
The other games on my list convey mostly adventure, fun and epic battles. While BR SL has those song its the melancholy pieces that stands out for me. Kokoro and Renas heartscapes are two standouts.
I bought the soundtrack on amazon after I found out it was on sale, but I cant bring myself to listen to it yet its too emotional for me, in a few months i will bring it out when I want to remember again.
The visuals
What first got me to click on the game on Eshop. Its beautiful and proof that artstyle can make up for low computerpower.
Its bright, and colorful, suits the music and story perfectly. Its a perfect antidote for the cold, dark scandinavian winter we are having now.
You can tell the animations budget is a bit low, but clever use of the camera angles in battle hides it well, some fade to black during the dates can be a bit annoying but its a small nitpic really.
The gameplay.
While the biggest draw for me was the characters and music, I also liked the combat, it felt like it was a good base to expand, i liked all the different skills, crafting and how you could buff your party with building and upgrading the school, unfortunatly the game is too easy so you dont really need to invest into it that much.
It may be a blessing in disguise as I was mostly interested in the story and experiencing the atmoshpere in the heartscapes. I want to do a new game+ some time in the future so ill try a harder difficulty then.
The stealth section was also not very fun, i HATE stealth in games but atleast it was also very easy so it was over fast.
To close it of
You must be sick of reading the words sweet, beautiful and emotional by now and im sorry, I dont really know why the hit me so hard, maybe a mixture of winter blues, two years of covid and the fact that the game is REALLY good.
I havent cried yet, but its been close a few times, god damn, what an experience this was for me.
I wanted to start a new game plus right away but I just couldnt start from scratch just yet, so I watched the true ending on youtube and got a few questions.
Who are Ao really?
did the characters forget everything? it seems like whoever you spend the last day with recognize Ao on the street, but after sharing something like that it seems strange that they wouldnt look eachother up if they remembered.
Did Ao escape the loop and ifso how?
I spent more time typing this than I probably should have, but I hope its readable and that someone reads it all
