I would absolutely recommend this game. If you ever played the original Utawarerumono, then you can't miss how the story continues. If you haven't, it's 100% worth it to play that game and then continue with the rest of the trilogy.
All of the strong points of the first game are still here. Great storytelling and worldbuilding, the characters are endearing, and it's full of very emotional moments. The music is still on point; just like in the previous game, you can bet that every scene will have an appropriate track that matches the moment and makes the experience all that much more impactful.
The gameplay is a massive upgrade over Prelude to the Fallen. All of the awkward mechanics that didn't feel very good have been reworked. Equipments are simpler to understand and use, but at the same time they also have more strategic depth. The overzeal mechanic makes you pay attention to what gives or drains zeal and strategize around when you'll fill the bar. There are no co-op attacks unfortunately, but they do return in Mask of Truth. The game isn't too hard even in Hard mode, but it's also more balanced than in the previous game and you can't trivialize the tougher maps with broken mechanics. The Dream Arena (the post-game maps) offer a decent challenge, so if you're a fan of the gameplay then this is made for you.
The plot of the game is spectacular, but you need to be a bit patient with it at the beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the game, but the start is admittedly somewhat slow. Once again, you begin with an amnesiac protagonist trying to solve the mystery of who he is an how he got where he is. Little by little he recovers his memories, and he also shows the kind of person he is through his interactions with his newfound friends. Haku is a great character, honestly, and I grew to love him as much as Hakuowlo and even more. The early parts has a lot of slice-of-life and minor action bits here and there, but somewhere near the middle of the game the action really picks up and never stops from there.
Overall, it's a great game and I think that if you have even the slightest bit of interest in VNs and/or SRPGs then this game is for you.
izigame.me
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