Admiring Blue Reflection: Second Light’s great new features – including hand-holding

We love Blue Reflection around here, as you probably know, but we’ve been waiting a while for some more information on mobile title Blue Reflection Sun and, more significantly, full-on sequel Blue Reflection: Second Light, also known as Blue Reflection Tie in Japan.

Today, Gust, Koei Tecmo and Sony delivered with a lengthy PlayStation Blog post on the new game, sharing a ton of details — including the Japanese PS4 and Switch release date of October 21, 2021. (A Steam version for PC will follow.)

Koei Tecmo hasn’t officially announced an English localisation at the time of writing, but given that the first game got a western release and Gust titles in general go down pretty well over here — especially in a post-Ryza world — it’s surely only a matter of time at this point.

So let’s take a look at what’s been revealed thus far, beginning with a new trailer!

Mel Kishida is back on character design duty, helping to give the game the same distinct, beautiful, ethereal look that its predecessor had. At this time we don’t yet know if he’s managed to slip in another “stinky feet” fetish scene like in the first game, however.

Hayato Asano also seems to be working on the soundtrack again, with the trailer featuring the series’ distinctive blend of tinkly pianos, emotional violin lines and raging, wall-demolishing dubstep beats.

The core message of girls working together to develop their bonds with one another and enrich each other’s lives very obviously remains intact — as does the interaction between the “real” world and the world of the collective unconscious, the Common.

But one of the best things about the original Blue Reflection was that when you weren’t fighting off literal inner demons, you got to simply hang out in a school and get to know protagonist Hinako’s friends. Through these developing relationships, numerous story arcs got underway, and both you and Hinako had an opportunity to see the many and varied things that were weighing on the minds of the game’s varied cast members.

Blue Reflection: Second Light looks set to expand on that aspect of the game considerably, as the new title appears to have a much greater scope than its predecessor. In the trailer, we see the characters interacting in a wide variety of different situations around the town, in classrooms and laboratories in the school, as well as going stargazing and enjoying summery activities.

There also appears to be an opportunity to build various facilities in protagonist Ao’s school, and you can then visit those facilities with your friends. These facilities include things like festival stalls, which ties in with the distinctly summery theming of the game as a whole.

It seems there will be more in-depth interactions with other characters than simple cutscenes and dialogue sequences, too. Both screenshots and video show two characters walking hand-in-hand while dialogue appears at the side of the screen, for example, suggesting that you’ll be able to wander around with your friends and enjoy some intimate time with them in a more interactive manner than the previous installment.

There also seem to be situations in which you’ll need to work together with your companions to solve problems. In one of the promotional screenshots, we see one character giving another a boost up to a higher platform, for example. And there’s an Ar Tonelico-style crafting system, in which you’ll be able to create items — and the results of your synthesis will vary according to who you choose to work with.

The main story for the game appears to involve Ao returning to school over the summer vacation to take supplementary lessons after failing her exams — but upon arriving, she finds herself in a strange other world. She is met there by three girls who appear to have lost their memories — and thus begins an adventure to both return to the real world, and track down exactly what it is that these young ladies have forgotten.

Much as in the previous Blue Reflection, each of the main characters have a “Reflector” magical girl transformation which equips them with a stylish weapon as well as a bold new look. Ao’s Reflector form, where she is dressed mostly in black with purple accents and wields an enormous scythe, is a particular highlight in this regard.

Hinako, the protagonist of the previous game, also appears in Blue Reflection: Second Light — though it appears that she will have also lost her memory when she appears before Ao and her new friends. This suggests that, like the anime series Blue Reflection Ray, no knowledge of the original Blue Reflection will be required to enjoy Blue Reflection: Second Light — but doubtless there will be plenty of references to enjoy once you help Hinako get her memories back.

The Japanese version of the game will offer two special editions: the Premium Box includes a drama CD, a B2 tapestry featuring artwork of Ao in her Reflector form, a student notebook-style collection of art cards and a download code for an in-game Ryza costume.

The Special Collection Box, meanwhile, includes everything from the premium box, plus a photo album art book, a bath towel featuring Ao in a bikini, two acrylic character charms featuring Ao in both schoolgirl and Reflector form, plus a Japanese-style school bag.

Preorder bonuses for the game include a “Midsummer Bikini” for Ao and a cat ears headband accessory — both of these will likely be available as paid DLC at a later date. If the previous game is anything to go by, expect a lot of cosmetic DLC on top of these two items, too. Thankfully the previous game didn’t withhold any story content as paid add-ons, so most of the DLC could be safely ignored unless you really wanted to play dress-up.

Blue Reflection: Second Light is looking gorgeous so far, then. Here’s hoping a western release date will follow soon, so that we can all enjoy happy fun girl-on-girl hand-holding action (with a side of monster-bashin’ and uncontrollably cryin’) as soon as possible. I know I can’t wait.

^{Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on them. This is at no additional cost to you and helps support Rice Digital!}