Wow... what a game. I'd played a little bit of this almost a year ago after enjoying most of the first RePureAria, but I ended up putting it down after the first chapter or so. This week I decided to give it another shot, and this second time around, I was absolutely hooked. In completing the main story/first ending and spending a bit of time snooping for collectibles and scenes, I've had a really fun 10+ (maybe closer to 20) hours of gameplay. I'm taking a break after the tricky final bosses, but there are still more sidequests, collectibles and bonus chapters to complete when I'm ready.
As in the original RePureAria, we play a weak but brave male protagonist who ends up "sharing his body" with the female protagonists. (Gaining the capability to shapeshift into powerful magical girls, at the cost of a shared internal monologue and emotions). This set up is really original, and allows for highly dynamic form-switching gameplay and a unique narrative. While the original was a little more creative with this concept from an H perspective, there are still interesting scenes involving the shared body dynamic. This game also shares a lot of common DNA with the original, reusing some enemy types, H animations, and even rooms outright. Not exactly a direct sequel, this game's plot acknowledges and ties up the loose ends of the original with a (at times confusing) alternate reality/time-travel based plot. However, the story stands alone and most of the Repure 1 ties are mostly fanservice (although they definitely enrich the game).
This shared content with Repure 1 was what originally had me put down the game - a lot of this it is somewhat front-loaded into the game, which led me to unfairly judge it early on. However, this game is several steps ahead of the original, to such a degree that it would be hard to go back.
So let's talk improvements:
- One thing that was massively frustrating in Repure 1 was the possibility of missing time-gated sidequests and permanently being unable to see content. Although you can miss sidequests in RP2, you gain the ability to warp back to earlier points in time after beating the game, so it's much harder to permanently mess up your playthrough.
- Another issue this game fixes, mentioned by other reviewers, was the lack of zoom-out ability in the first game. There are still a few annoying sections where it's too zoomed in, but the visibility is mostly fixed in this game, which makes the whole thing much more enjoyable.
- The overall level design in RePure 2 is also way better. RePure 1 had some absolutely brutal rooms that were either needlessly labyrinthine or which involved enemies chain-knocking your character all over the place. While RePure 2 made the strange decision of bringing back a couple annoying areas from the first game (although somewhat improved) the overall "cheesiness" of the challenge in RePure 2 is vastly reduced. While the levels are still complex and full of invisible/destructible walls, I don't get the sense of "I never want to come back here" like I did in many areas in the past game.
- There are also a number of Quality of Life improvements this game provides that really transform the experience. In RePure 1, we had extremely limited warp points (expensive to create, only up to 8 total if you played perfectly). In this game, the warp feather is a one-time purchase that lets you create warp points in almost every major room. There are also fast-travel NPCs and a base system that further cut down on backtracking, making exploration and using new keys/powers a much more fun experience.
- The H scenes offer much greater variety than the original. Previously, most monster girls had 1-2 scenes, whereas this game often has 3+ in addition to lots of special or unique sequences. This game also leans much less heavily on non-H enemies, who are few and far between, so you can almost always watch a scene. It's also more clear which scenes are unlocked/available, and which particular mongirls can give those scenes.
- The way familiar monsters are handled is also way better. Each mongirl has a bunch of slots with different skills, some of which are randomized when you catch them. There's a complex system for copying/mixing/adding/removing these skills, providing lots of depth for party customization. Remember, we have 4+ protagonists that we're switching between during gameplay, and each has their own skills/specials and equipped familiars, so there's a ton of depth to engage with here.
- The style of the pixel art is not drastically different, but is generally cleaner/clearer in this game.
- Finally, the way the male character is handled is much better. Very early on, we get the Hammer item that allows him to undress and run into mongirls for a scene + a chance to recruit them, whereas we only get this well past the halfway mark of RePure 1, meaning we needed to spend a lot of time taking damage on purpose in the first game. In both games, the male form is "the weak one", but while in RP 1 it could only be reached by taking damage, this game lets us transform into the male like we can any other form. In both games, there are some subversions of the male form being the weak one (for example, being the best form in water in both games). However, this game goes even further in terms of giving the male form even more capabilities later in the game (I won't spoil the specifics, but it both adds to the fun and complexity of the gameplay and does a great job of illustrating his growth as a character)
That's all I can think of for direct improvements, but the awesome worldbuilding of Majo and an abundance of NPCs with interesting dialogues are also some good points about both games.
Now, while I do rate this game 5 stars, it's not necessarily perfect. There is still some cheesiness/arcadiness to the game (especially in later bossfights/ when using the effects of some powerful items). The story can be confusing at times, and I would recommend playing this game mostly back-to-back because it's very easy to forget the best paths through the numerous large maps. I don't find all of the monstergirls attractive (some of them are too much in a loli direction for me) but there's tons of varied content, very little of which is mandatory.
Overall, RePure 2 is an excellent metroidvania title that takes advantage of the fact that it's an H game to deliver a unique and interesting plot that wouldn't be suited to more traditional media. It's clearly a labor of love, built on top of the already solid base of the original while improving on it in almost every way. Being an excellent game doesn't prevent RePure 2 from delivering on H scenes, which are many and varied. The H system is also firmly part of the core gameplay, and gives ample reason to engage with it. While less polished and especially less balanced than a title like Succubus Affection, RePure 2 is a longer, deeper and more narratively rewarding experience. If you have time, play the original first, but this game is an improvement that also can stand alone.
