So I actually bought this game around when it released a year+ ago but only beat it recently just on a "I'm so close to the end" whim rather then any proper motivation. I was enjoying it about as much as the 1st game but lost a lot of steam as I got to the 2nd to last dungeon and quietly shelved it.
I'll start by saying I didn't really care for the exploration minigame they have you do in every dungeon. I like the spirit behind it. It's meant to make you feel like your an archeologist investigating a lost ruin but in practice it just padded an already somewhat bloated runtime with going back through a dungeon you just got done going through for clues to solve the same lame puzzle minigame you do 5 times per dungeon. If this doesn't get drastically improved in the sequel, I think they're better off just removing it.
The active time combat of the 1st game was fun if a little on the shallow side. I still wouldn't call the combat in Ryza 2 all that deep compared to a lot of other JRPGs but I'd say it for the most part enhances what worked in the original. The way you can combo and choose skills feels very emergent and actively action-y for a lack of a better word. I do have a minor complaint about blocking. You can switch between the characters in your active party, and the other 2 just kind of auto combo-ing as you make decisions. If the enemy decides to attack your character, blocking is as simple as reacting and hitting the block button. If an enemy is attacking another of the active members, you have to manually switch over to that other character and hope you can react in time to block, otherwise you just wasted the action of the character you were actually wanted to use for attacking who is now using that turn for a simple auto combo. As is I usually ended up letting the other party members take the hits which kind of makes blocking feel half useless. I did enjoy the ability to choose a 4th character who can tag in to increase your combo momentum.
That being said, I ended up using the 4 characters from the original game once they were available since there wasn't much incentive to use the other characters and I just really didn't care much for newbies. Patricia and Clifford were fine but they didn't really move me towards wanting to waste time making gear for them. I did however straight up not understand what they were going for with Serri's character. I feel like she could've been left out of the plot and very little about the game would've changed.
The story is where the game most loses me. For the record, I don't think the plot of the 1st game was exactly a shining example of writing in video games but it got the job done just fine. Ryza 2 unfortunately really hinges on your investment of Ryza's new pokemon like animal sidekick, Fi. If you're like me, and find the thing just making most of the scenes he's in annoying then be prepared to feel literally nothing as the whole story revolves around the flying rat. The characters' story arcs are mostly non-existant. The only character who I really felt like they had a proper interesting life changing arc was Lent. Patricia's was fine too, I guess. The rest of the cast, you mostly only get interest through, "Oh, here's what they're up to now that they're a little older" which is unfortunately only fleetingly engaging.
Ryza mostly just feels like a product that suffers from being the intended middle entry. You don't get the interest from characters starting their journeys, nor do you get anything conclusive out of them either. What I'm saying is this game feels like an anime filler arc. Not the worst gaming experience by any means but one I have a tough time particularly caring about either. Hopefully, Ryza is able to end the series strong.
I'll start by saying I didn't really care for the exploration minigame they have you do in every dungeon. I like the spirit behind it. It's meant to make you feel like your an archeologist investigating a lost ruin but in practice it just padded an already somewhat bloated runtime with going back through a dungeon you just got done going through for clues to solve the same lame puzzle minigame you do 5 times per dungeon. If this doesn't get drastically improved in the sequel, I think they're better off just removing it.
The active time combat of the 1st game was fun if a little on the shallow side. I still wouldn't call the combat in Ryza 2 all that deep compared to a lot of other JRPGs but I'd say it for the most part enhances what worked in the original. The way you can combo and choose skills feels very emergent and actively action-y for a lack of a better word. I do have a minor complaint about blocking. You can switch between the characters in your active party, and the other 2 just kind of auto combo-ing as you make decisions. If the enemy decides to attack your character, blocking is as simple as reacting and hitting the block button. If an enemy is attacking another of the active members, you have to manually switch over to that other character and hope you can react in time to block, otherwise you just wasted the action of the character you were actually wanted to use for attacking who is now using that turn for a simple auto combo. As is I usually ended up letting the other party members take the hits which kind of makes blocking feel half useless. I did enjoy the ability to choose a 4th character who can tag in to increase your combo momentum.
That being said, I ended up using the 4 characters from the original game once they were available since there wasn't much incentive to use the other characters and I just really didn't care much for newbies. Patricia and Clifford were fine but they didn't really move me towards wanting to waste time making gear for them. I did however straight up not understand what they were going for with Serri's character. I feel like she could've been left out of the plot and very little about the game would've changed.
The story is where the game most loses me. For the record, I don't think the plot of the 1st game was exactly a shining example of writing in video games but it got the job done just fine. Ryza 2 unfortunately really hinges on your investment of Ryza's new pokemon like animal sidekick, Fi. If you're like me, and find the thing just making most of the scenes he's in annoying then be prepared to feel literally nothing as the whole story revolves around the flying rat. The characters' story arcs are mostly non-existant. The only character who I really felt like they had a proper interesting life changing arc was Lent. Patricia's was fine too, I guess. The rest of the cast, you mostly only get interest through, "Oh, here's what they're up to now that they're a little older" which is unfortunately only fleetingly engaging.
Ryza mostly just feels like a product that suffers from being the intended middle entry. You don't get the interest from characters starting their journeys, nor do you get anything conclusive out of them either. What I'm saying is this game feels like an anime filler arc. Not the worst gaming experience by any means but one I have a tough time particularly caring about either. Hopefully, Ryza is able to end the series strong.