The story of Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon dates back several years after the events of the previous episode : the awakening of a new demon, known as Queen Moon, once again dampen the world in chaos. The Curia, the last bastion of hope for humanity, then decides to send its own knight to see the "Bride of Time" - a priestess with immense powers - in front of the enemy to immolate and seal the demon, thus wiping another apocalypse.
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An incipit that, at first impact, does not deviate too much from the previous episode, but the plot takes an unexpected turn when Aluche - the protagonist, driven by love for the priestess - sacrifices his own life fighting against the mighty Queen Moon.
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All this happens in the first thirty minutes of play, but immediately after the woman is brought back into life as a demon half thanks to an experimental transfusion with the blood of former heroine Arnice (the protagonist of the first Nights of Azure ). With its new powers, Aluche will have to save mankind before being swallowed up by the darkness and defeating the Queen Moon. Narratively, Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon offers a much better plot than in the past , more focused on the dramatic scenario of the past , rather than on loving relationships among girls which was too frequent in the previous chapter.
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As mentioned in the introduction, the narration fund at Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon resembles in its entirety the stark story told in the previous episode. Several years have passed since the end of the bloody race against the time that Arney saw , the original protagonist of the saga, to fight the Demons and the Night Lord to overthrow the coming of the perpetual night and avert the sacrifice of the beloved Lilysse .
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The Curia , a religious order which in fact represents the last bastion of humanity, therefore commands the fierce Aluche to escort the Bride of Time , a girl with great spiritual powers, in the presence of the new enemy so that her immolation can be sealed and postponed again once the apocalyptic danger from this represented. The victim designated by the triumvirate who now governs the Curia is nothing other than the tender Liliana , a caring childhood friend of the protagonist who seems to have a much deeper and more complex feeling of friendship with him.
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Up till now, the plot could cause the player an irritating sensation of suspense the narrative racket takes an alternate and unpredictable path when Aluche, instead of obeying the heavy order received, faces the Moon Queen battle and kills himself already in first half an hour of play, then to be resuscitated immediately after the blood of the legendary Mid-Demo that defeated the Night Lord: our Arnice. Returning to the living world through an imperfect experimental practice, Aluche will now find himself with unimaginable demonic powers that will range from combat skills to the ability to communicate with the beasts, and above all will be able to perceive the time left to humanity before this be swallowed by the darkness. Nights of Azure 2: The Bride of the New Moon follows a rather distinct evolutionary path, focusing primarily on the dramatic situation described above and not on the relationship between two individual characters. Of course, the link between Alusha and Liliana will be masterly explored and will play a crucial role in the complicated narrative plot, but the presence of six other girls, unfortunately not all well characterized, avoided the game falling even this time into the gap represented by endless prolific dialogues and loving background that overwhelmed the first episode, and above all they dampened the rhythm.
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At gameplay levels, Gust guys have partially recycled the prequel structure, succeeding in refining and enriching it , offering a much fun and incisive gaming system. Each of the seven chapters that make up the adventure will start in the Eterna Hotel, the classic Hub where you can save the game, buy upgrades, or talk to other players in the game, perhaps during a romantic moonlight at the pool. From here we can also manage the party and reach the location where the missions take place.
The Actions
Depending on the characteristics of each, which are quite different from each other, give us a certain support during the fights in several different ways. On the one hand, it is possible to carry out a kind of combined attack called Double Chase that is very damaging to the adversaries, wiping out most of them at a stroke. Along with this are the Special Skills , special abilities that Lillies possess and that are automatically activated under very specific circumstances, such as when we are about to die. Enhancing our offensive level, regenerating health or creating a protective shield around Aluche are some of the benefits that can be acquired through such passive skills.
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The combats take place in real time and during them we can contemplate very striking scenes. And of course, then there are the skills of the protagonist, who is able to make a good range of normal attacks, combos, special attacks and defensive maneuvers. A fairly competent system that, while it is true that it could have given more of itself, is not bad. One of the most important parts of this adventure that, logically, is supported by several additional game elements.
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The relationship that we can establish both with our allies and with other characters (like the members of Curia) is quite important. The dialogues are an important part of the adventure, conversations that take place in Japanese with English subtitles . In this case it is not essential to have a very high level in that language to understand them and, unlike what happens with other similar games, it is not even necessary to know what they tell us to be able to move forward without too many problems, although of course we will miss many details about the plot.
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We can indicate simple commands to the support characters through the crosshead.
We can also move through the varied scenarios of Nights of Azure 2 , which do not have too large dimensions and are generally quite linear, an aspect that although there will be users who do not convince, I do not suppose any inconvenience. And finally there is everything related to the increase of skills and experience of Aluche, a fundamental element in any game of this style. A gameplay for nothing surprising and that perhaps lacks something more depth in global and sparkle but that, in any case, is entertaining once you immerse yourself in the game. Of course, despite all this I still think that the first part was a title something more fun, direct and absorbing, keep this in mind.
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One of the original characteristics of the first game was that its protagonist was surrounded by demons with different abilities, thus taking more strategy to the battles. In the sequel we can count on one Lily - another character - and two Servan . These friends will have different types of attacks, some are more offensive than others, for long distances, etc. We can give general orders to their behavior: fight freely or focus on the enemy we are attacking.
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Special attacks will also depend on our companion.
There are many ways to cooperate and take advantage of these friends' qualities. Joint combos are awarded and the interface tells us when we can use their skills or powerful special attacks in which you need to press a button repeatedly. This is complemented by two Servan, creatures that are classified into several categories, case of elemental attacks or transformation into weapons and protections . And this magic will also have use outside the combat, for example so that the fire burns vegetation that blocks our way.
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Although not as flexible and deep as in the first Nights of Azure , it is still possible to guide the group to make Aluche completely offensive or to rely more on the techniques and cooperation with her Lily. Maybe you prefer a companion with area attacks, who will resuscitate you or improve your parameters temporarily. Dirty work will remain your business, but having good allies is important.
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As Aluche will go up in level and learning new skills, Lilies and Servan evolve with their use . Raising the affinity of a Lily at a certain level provides new missions, and the Servan have the possibility of reincarnating in other more powerful - although that means starting at the first level.
Conclusion
Nights of Azure 2 has improved some sections, but in other aspects it takes some step back, and they are important. The combat in general is less satisfactory, and in this we must mention that PlayStation 4 has gone from 60fps in the first to 30fps . The graphics are a little more detailed, more effects and better modeling, but nothing that justifies this cut; the emptiness in scenarios and its size -with intermediate loads- does not compensate for the loss of fluidity.
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Being a fast action game, with a rather uncomfortable camera in narrow places -you can fix it, but sometimes that's not what you want-, it's not just a whim . Nights of Azure did not stand out for graphics but at least it felt more "left over".
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The gameplay it can be simple, fast and entertaining at the same time, although it should be emphasized not a few repetition given the presence of a few levels and the presence of time constraints and those that force them to do the same areas several times in succession; Moreover, the game challenge is not sufficiently demanding at the normal level and the difficult difficulty (here called extreme) is unlockable only after completing the game once, definitely questionable choice. The plot of Nights of Azure 2 also leaves much to be desired, and although character design has hit us positively, the characters fall into the classic stereotypes that Japanese products have often used to us. Another of the more positive aspects is definitely, the soundtrack of the game: adapted to the different situations of the game and memorable even at a distance of time, and we point out that longevity also stands out on good standards, lasting more than 20 hours focusing on sidequests.
Happy Gaming!!