The upcoming JRPG from Koei Tecmo, Blue Reflection, is coming to Steam on September 26 and will boast the ability for magical high-school girls to get more powerful abilities using the power of friendship. It's also from Japan, if you haven't already guessed. The new trailer is below, although please be warned the English translation is occasionally a little spotty. That's all part of the charm however.
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Blue Reflection is a new original JRPG from Koei Tecmo's DUST Studio, the creators of Atelier, Ar tonelico, and the upcoming Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon which astonishingly is being released within a month of Blue Reflection (October). The English release on PS4 and PC via Steam was announced a couple of months ago. Set in an all-girls high-school in present day Japan, players will take on the role of Hinako Shirai, a student with the power to manipulate a mysterious parallel dimension that she can shape with her imagination.
Relationships are a key part of Hinako's story. She has to strengthens her friendships their Bond becomes more powerful, which she can use to unlock powerful abilities to use against the evil Sephira who lives in her parallel dimension and is trying to cross over into ours. Friendships can be strengthened with Bond Episodes, Date Events, or socializing on social media at home. Socializing unlocks story missions, character interaction missions, and new places to explore. Successfully completing a mission forges a stronger link with the characters.
Now let's be honest here, if you like the idea of a quirky Persona-style JRPG on PC you'll have to be ready for a certain amount of anime-style quirkiness with Blue Reflection. Check out the trailer below and see if you can handle it. If you laugh when one of the characters says in alarm "she's starting to go rampant!" you might be alright, but expect that all the way through the game. If you can't take that maybe stick with Destiny 2.
It's certainly good to see Japanese developers really beginning to embrace the PC as a lucrative and risk-free market, and we just hope that Blue Reflections and Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon can do well and allow the big names such as Final Fantasy XV and Persona 5 to come to PC more promptly. Even if they don't, applause to Koei Tecmo for putting their games on PC the same day as the PS4 version.
Blue Reflections is available on PC via Steam release on September 26.
