The original Nights of Azure was something of a niche hit, a title that found legs in Japan when it was released but failed to break through in the west. Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon is not an attempt from developer Gust and publisher Koei Tecmo to create a game with a broader appeal; however, the sequel owes a lot to its predecessor, for better or worse, and will likely do little to win over any new fans.
Easy
Combat was something that was considered one of the great failings of the first Nights of Azure, and it’s clear that Nights of Azure 2 was designed with that in mind. The game?s combat is smooth and easy to pick up, but the unfortunate trade-off is that it is also incredibly easy. While the beginning of Nights of Azure 2 tantalized me with some difficult sequences of combat, those trials were driven by narrative, and once main character Aluche gets infused with some demon blood after the tutorial chapter, nothing ever seems like much of a challenge. For a game with a genuinely engaging combat system, the relative ease paired with extremely limited skills and party combinations seems especially cruel.
Breezy
Part of the problem with Nights of Azure 2 is that its gameplay mechanics seem like they are at war with each other. The game is a traditional JRPG in many ways, with maps that feature a number of secrets and hidden treasures to find if the player is so inclined. The issue is that most of the maps require multiple visits to unlock each area by ...