The Legend of Dark Witch 2 （魔神少女エピソード２）

so glad to have finally played the sequel. i loved the first one on 3ds sooooo much. this one is pretty much the same with some quality of life improvements, new levels, and a new story. it's so kickass.

As someone who has played the og The Legend of Dark Witch on the 3DS (TLoDW 3 not coming to Steam atm is a womp womp ig?), The Legend of Dark Witch 2 aims for nailing where the first game left off. Improving Zizou's design but not abstaining from it entirely, building the world up from Rasil and Germa, implementing level design and basing new facets around new ideas, it checks out. There is a lot of variety to how you play this game. From Zizou to Sola (haven't used her yet but I plan to) and adding a variety of abilities that play off dynamics, the game exemplifies core elements of the series like Syega without sacrificing its core. You can boost yourself, refrain from buffs, shop for items to ease and assist with collecting everything, and so on. Speed up, take your time, the game rewards careful planning and dedication through achievements, Tres, and lives. Even the bosses merit the same patterns, where they add new attacks and sections that can still be circumvented with careful precision. Additionally, the shop adds new ways to fight and platform. Health restoration, shielding, assist blocks, fall security, it works to nail the point in of how many options you have. You can go full ham with everything, go bare naked (clothes kept on thankfully) without any buffs nor boons, challenge yourself with only unlocked abilities (after your first one, obviously), use the standard one, or focus on revenge power. Either way, it gives you the freedom to experiment, much like a certain Blue Bomber. The only gripe I have is with some achievements, because of specific metrics and values. Certain achievements can be a pain, I will have agony with the rhythm game for sure, and some elements can feel iffy at points. But given most of the patterns are left up to practice, that's just the (recent) achievement hunter in me griping at the eventual grind. Though there is the possibility of unlocking through Syega shards, if given the chance. It might take a while to fully complete, but I think the series is underrated and overlooked. Game's solid fun, though if you see me in the corner, just know the grind grinds me back.

Putting syega over a bottomless pit and then not letting it respawn if it falls in unless you redo the stage is absolutely terrible design and should never have been allowed into the game. It is lesser for it. More to come later, but that had to be said as it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.