Blue Reflection Reviews
Blue Reflection is definitely a solid JRPG title presenting an interesting story and a lead that one can get behind with her various struggles.
Honestly speaking, there's nothing spectacular about Blue Reflection. It's rather modest and quaint, but that also gives it some charm. If it weren't for the performance issues, it'd be difficult to fault it very much.
Blue Reflection is a new IP from a familiar developer in the JRPG community, Gust. Best known for their popular Atelier titles, I went into Blue Reflection without knowing much about the game. After having spent a significant amount of time with it, I am happy to say it is a fantastic experience and one that I hope garners future titles in a series.
What feels like an attempt at streamlining the Social RPG formula ends up creating a title that just isn’t fun to play. The ambitions of the story mostly fall flat, although there is a small spark of charm in some of the characters. Really, that would be enough to give the game a perfectly mediocre score. However, the sheer ineptitude of a text editing job and horrifying handling of what could’ve been beautiful graphics are major dealbreakers, driving this game down into the dirt.
Blue Reflection will not revolutionize the JRPG genre, but its tale of magical high school girls fighting an otherworldly invasion is far more grounded than I expected it to be. Players looking for an endearing adventure backed by an entertaining combat system and a gorgeous art style won't be disappointed with GUST's latest release.
You know what I’m done! There’s nothing more to say. It’s clear that there’s a market for this game and is also clear that that market won’t be reading this review. Mostly because they’ll be too busy shining their anime doll collection and cuddling up to a love pillow deciding which fedora to wear tomorrow. If you like Anime good for you but I can grantee you still won’t enjoy this broken whiney mess of a game that had a development team more focused on making tits bounce about than making a fight that made any sense! It’s over! I’m done! Peace out!
Blue Reflection is a simple game that'll appeal to a very niche crowd of gamers.
The game itself might take place on a relatively small scale, but the ambition of the game is much bigger.
Blue Reflection is a solid, if somewhat fanservice-y, JRPG that suffers from some poor pacing issues. The characters themselves are decently fleshed out, and it's worth sticking with them to see how their arcs develop, even if there is a lot to keep track of. The skill customisation is a lot of fun to mess around with, but combat is the weakest part. Despite the excellent combat tracks, most battles feel like a drawn-out exhibition more than anything else. As one of Gust's best titles in years, however, it's definitely worth checking out.
The story at the heart of it all is one of the most moving and heartfelt tales I've ever seen in a game, and that's a huge achievement. The best part is that Mel Kishida is just getting started—if this is his directorial debut, I can't wait to see what the future has in store.
I really liked Blue Reflection for the changes it made to the RPG system, eliminating grinding for character progression is an interesting way to respect the characters time. I do wish the game was a bit harder since it felt like the focus was in the story (which is a good story) with battles as a mean to have some gameplay between the other sections. But other than that, if you are a fan of RPGs, then this is a good one to try.
Blue Reflection surprised me much more than I initially expected. Accompaning Hinako in her journey back to ballet got me interested in her story and in all the characters that support her. The battle system became more interesting with new mechanics that were added, even if the challenge never made those additions necessary. Blue Reflection is a great RPG, but one that requires a lot of patience from the player, so that it can slowly show everything that makes this game so special.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Blue Reflection doesn't offer much as an RPG but it does carry a certain charm. The gameplay loop can get repetitive while the customization and combat system are fairly simple. The art style might make it feel like a typical slice of life anime but the game attempts to target the magical girl genre with its gameplay.
Blue Reflection is one of the few times where I would say that it would work better as an anime rather than a game. It has a lot of good ideas and systems at work but sadly none of them are fully developed and poor performance ruins the experience.
A number of issues with Blue Reflection quickly present themselves, such as some screen-tearing witnessed in the visual stakes and a questionable focus on the level of fan service wedged into the adventure, yet underneath these opinion-splitting matters there is an extremely enjoyable, memorable, and rather uncommon Japanese RPG adventure that will certainly leave an impression for the duration of the journey, as well as for a while after playing it.
Blue Reflection is a really fun journey. It has an earnest and enjoyable story, strongly supported by a solid cast of characters. Though it was sprinkled with some minor flaws, it was easy to look past them when enjoying the entirety of the game. It's also a really decent length, and doesn't overstay its welcome like some RPGs tend to do. For anyone who enjoys slice-of-life and magical girls, this is definitely a solid pick.
Blue Reflection feels like a Gust game. That is, it looks and sounds beautiful at times, but ultimately falls flat elsewhere. While certainly easy on the eyes, it cuts every corner it can in what feels like a purposeful attempt to emit mediocrity. There's some good in here, but the rest feels hastily put together.
A limp, repetitive gameplay loop and uncomfortable characterization rob Blue Reflection of the magic it tries so desperately to create.
The overall experience of Blue Reflection is enjoyable even if it does rely heavily on yuri tropes. The high school setting, particularly what the player does in their free time and tries to befriend the other students feels like the developers took some pages from the Persona 4 book and mixed it into the Nights of Azure Atelier.