izigame.me

You can get a pretty good idea of what 8-Bit Adventures 2 is about from the name and screenshots alone, that being an old-school style JRPG built in the vein of those in the classic era. But what I think isn't apparently obvious is just how well the game pulls just about every aspect off, to create a really fulfilling, enjoyable and memorable adventure that anyone who's a fan of the genre should get something out of.
Coming into the game not having played the first game, the story acts as a sequel, whilst (at least to me) feeling perfectly serviceable as a standalone story. It felt like stepping into a world where there are already pre-established heroes and conflicts, and learning more about it all in the context of a fresh-faced protagonist just felt like it worked really well. I was quite surprised at how invested I'd became in the lovable cast of adventurers by the end, and come the credit roll, I was sad that I wouldn't be able to follow their companionship any longer. Also *general very light character writing spoiler* it also reminded me of how effectively stories can be strengthened when having canon romantic relationships between set characters that grow over the course of the story. Some of my favourite RPG's feel like they fall victim to being afraid to commit characters other than the protagonist to having romance plots, and I appreciated how 8-Bit Adventures 2 approached this.
The strength of the turn-based combat system for me was the ability to freely swap between your characters whenever you wanted. As someone who enjoys utilising all characters at their disposal, I took a lot of joy in trying different combos, experimenting with augments and not feeling too restricted or punished in terms of my options (also switching to the *correct* character for the finishing blow on a boss for the *lore kill* has become a staple habit of mine...). I had a fairly easy'ish time with the game for the most part, perhaps stumbling on some particularly strong setups which particularly in the latter half of the game ensured most battles, even boss battles, ended rather quickly. This isn't a negative for me, as I appreciated that the difficulty of the game felt in a sweet spot so that the pacing never suffered. Additionally, no random encounters, as well as guaranteed fleeing(? - I never failed a flee but only really started doing so lategame, so I'm not certain if this is a level dependant thing or not) ensured that you never felt bogged down going to your destination.
Speaking of pacing, I can see that being a potential rough patch for some people in particularly dialogue heavy segments of the game, alongside the relatively slow text boxes. I read that this was done intentionally to sort of mimic how the characters would speak in important scenes to makes things flow and feel more impactful and honestly, it kind of worked for me. Initially not so much, but I got used to it, and I appreciated the time spent to sort of orchestrate the text pacing to tighten how the story and dialogue was conveyed. It kind of helped the characters feel a bit more human to me, which I appreciate won't hit true for every player so...your mileage may vary.
Overall though, it's just a great game made with a lot of heart and spirit. The characters are very likeable, the world has plenty to find and discover without ever feeling overly padded or drawn-out, and it seals it all off in a very satisfying way. A definite recommend for more people to give this a try, and I'm for sure looking forward to anything made by the dev/s in the future (and until then, I still have the recently added bonus content to explore as well!)