No words can really describe how much this game blows in comparison to the first game...or just as a game in general.
Somehow, for being a sequel, DeRQ2 does everything worse and feels less polished than its predecessor. Every "plot twist" had me rolling my eyes wondering how they got from the first game to here.

They can barely even get the yuri right so it's not even something I can salvage from this mess...

The soundtrack is by far the best aspect of the game. It's one of the greatest things I've ever heard.
The story hit in places I never expected and the writing was pretty genuine for the most part.
Unfortunately, the gameplay feels like an unfinished tech demo, so if depth is what you're looking for, it's not here.
If you can get past that, there is a wholesome yet emotional story you'd expect from any other Mahou Shoujo media, backed by a stellar OST.

It's like 7th Dragon 2020, but with a II.