Not as good as the first but still good.
The game systems didn't change much aside from the empathy/resolution system and proper shops but it didn't need much massive change really. Bigger letdown is the game feeling a lot easier. Maybe the automatic soul cannon countdown during bosses made them wanna compensate but I guess they overcompensated and ruined the tension.
Since there's not a war going on anymore, the story's shifted a lot, the thematic focus feels very heavy on revenge and its consequences, plus the way the kids have grown since the last game. Since there's less antagonists, it does wind up feeling repetitive chasing after the same ones, but I do like the main antagonist of this game. There's a bit more overt references to Solatorobo too without feeling like they're just there to remind you of it.