This review contains spoilers
Kuro 2 from the beginning was in a weird place stuck behind the launch of Ys 10 while also needing to lead into and set up Kuro 3 without too big of a cliffhanger despite being the second game in the series. This results in a game clearly reflective of these necessities, one whose position is one of the most unique in the franchise with it being closest to Sky FC but at the same time acting as a second entry. Compared to the past second entries the overarching story isn't driven forward in terms of long lasting events but instead driven forward through the cleaning up of the after effects of the previous game to set the stage for the 3rd entry resulting in a game entry closer to a 1.5 than a 2.
The place this approach has the biggest downsides is the characters. Due to it not wanting to progress the overarching story too much most of the main cast are put to a standstill in terms of character development (outside of quatre) and because of the need for this standstill the main antagonists have no real connection to them. In order to get around this standstill and allow for personal motivation for the cast, Swin and Nadia were brought back to help carry the emotional weight of the story. However, due to them being gone for a third of the game, they don't have as much development as they could have with Swins arc having little to no time to develop. Nadia and Swin and being in contrast to the twins whenever it was around were handled well but still could have been expanded if it got more time although it did get a nice conclusion in the final connect event. Although the main cast is put at a standstill it doesn't mean they are stopped more so just putting a limit in their progression. This is best seen in the final connect events with almost all of them setting up or further cementing the character's arcs for the next game. Although the main cast didn't get as much attention, one place that did get good development was the supporting cast. Characters like Cao, Ashen, and Kasim all got more fleshed out while others like Gouran, Mirrabelle, Hermes, and Dominique all got their role in the story going forward properly established. In terms of antagonists, it's in a weird position since the closest thing to a central antagonist is the 8th genesis itself, something that can't really be considered a character. In order to allow the genesis to function, the role of antagonist switches between oathbreaker and the garden master. Oathbreaker and the twins end up being interesting antagonists whenever they are on screen but in the grand scheme, they are mainly in the story to introduce the Twins while establishing oathbreaker as a real threat going into the next game. With the garden master although he feels like a constant threat and the background of his character itself is interesting since he gets introduced so late in one big info dump and with him mostly operating in the shadows he is a pretty weak antagonist. Although his character does help to give a bit of development to Swin and help show what genesis’s time travel does, his lack of screentime puts him on the lower end of antagonists in the series.
The actual plot of the game from the get-go was in a weird position due to the limit it has on affecting the overarching story and although it stumbles on some story beats it effectively accomplishes the cleanup and setup it needed to accomplish. Up until chapter 3 is pretty much entirely dedicated to clean up and it does this well by it tying up the loose ends that needed to be resolved and most likely wouldn't have much of a place going into the next entry (genesis collection, dg cult, and its survivors, Van leaving Aramis, zecht arms, garden). Chapter 3 is by far the most criticized part of this game due to its execution. While none of the routes are bad with the latter ones having some of the highlights of the game and them all fleshing out various characters the sheer number of them combined with the lack of actual plot progression happening in the earlier ones can cause the game to feel very tiring. The focus on time travel in this part also doesn't help with its potential consequences not being introduced until after making it feel like one big deus ex machina throughout this chapter removing any feeling of tension. Although it's not handled the best story wise the genesis and its time travel abilities are effectively introduced in this chapter and although a bit too late setups potential consequences of it for the next game. The final chapter however is able to wrap up the story effectively with it providing some nice resolution to the 8th genesis and C while also giving some hints about the next franchise. The central theme of anyone being possible of committing any sin if their viewpoint is changed is interesting and although it was handled decently well from chapter 3 onwards it missed out by not having incorporated the pre chapter 3 stuff into it more
The ost is solid with it having fewer lows and is more consistent then Kuro 1 but never reaches the same heights. Although Koguchi Singa and Sonoda are all better then they were in Kuro 1 Jindo was the highlight of Kuro 1 while all of the songs he contributed are great not as many reach the heights as the best of Kuro 1.
While not much of the gameplay has been changed the little things they do add fix most issues there were with the original. The turn bar being fixed makes the battles easier to understand and plan ahead while improvements to stun with the chain attack feature give the battle a better progression flow. The transition from field based to turn based is still amazing and the addition of arts still keeps it simple while also making it more viable for non physical attackers. Although it fixes almost all of Kuro 1s issues the turn based part of the combat still isn't as deep as hajimari but everything else about it is probably the perfection of turn based battles with its improved on the field aspect making it one of if not the best combat systems in the series
Although the game is in an awkward position and has some missteps everything it accomplishes well is still to the level of the past entries and with it being a sequel to Kuro 1 it is able to ride off the foundations laid into a game very much deserving of being in the series although one of the weaker entries.
The place this approach has the biggest downsides is the characters. Due to it not wanting to progress the overarching story too much most of the main cast are put to a standstill in terms of character development (outside of quatre) and because of the need for this standstill the main antagonists have no real connection to them. In order to get around this standstill and allow for personal motivation for the cast, Swin and Nadia were brought back to help carry the emotional weight of the story. However, due to them being gone for a third of the game, they don't have as much development as they could have with Swins arc having little to no time to develop. Nadia and Swin and being in contrast to the twins whenever it was around were handled well but still could have been expanded if it got more time although it did get a nice conclusion in the final connect event. Although the main cast is put at a standstill it doesn't mean they are stopped more so just putting a limit in their progression. This is best seen in the final connect events with almost all of them setting up or further cementing the character's arcs for the next game. Although the main cast didn't get as much attention, one place that did get good development was the supporting cast. Characters like Cao, Ashen, and Kasim all got more fleshed out while others like Gouran, Mirrabelle, Hermes, and Dominique all got their role in the story going forward properly established. In terms of antagonists, it's in a weird position since the closest thing to a central antagonist is the 8th genesis itself, something that can't really be considered a character. In order to allow the genesis to function, the role of antagonist switches between oathbreaker and the garden master. Oathbreaker and the twins end up being interesting antagonists whenever they are on screen but in the grand scheme, they are mainly in the story to introduce the Twins while establishing oathbreaker as a real threat going into the next game. With the garden master although he feels like a constant threat and the background of his character itself is interesting since he gets introduced so late in one big info dump and with him mostly operating in the shadows he is a pretty weak antagonist. Although his character does help to give a bit of development to Swin and help show what genesis’s time travel does, his lack of screentime puts him on the lower end of antagonists in the series.
The actual plot of the game from the get-go was in a weird position due to the limit it has on affecting the overarching story and although it stumbles on some story beats it effectively accomplishes the cleanup and setup it needed to accomplish. Up until chapter 3 is pretty much entirely dedicated to clean up and it does this well by it tying up the loose ends that needed to be resolved and most likely wouldn't have much of a place going into the next entry (genesis collection, dg cult, and its survivors, Van leaving Aramis, zecht arms, garden). Chapter 3 is by far the most criticized part of this game due to its execution. While none of the routes are bad with the latter ones having some of the highlights of the game and them all fleshing out various characters the sheer number of them combined with the lack of actual plot progression happening in the earlier ones can cause the game to feel very tiring. The focus on time travel in this part also doesn't help with its potential consequences not being introduced until after making it feel like one big deus ex machina throughout this chapter removing any feeling of tension. Although it's not handled the best story wise the genesis and its time travel abilities are effectively introduced in this chapter and although a bit too late setups potential consequences of it for the next game. The final chapter however is able to wrap up the story effectively with it providing some nice resolution to the 8th genesis and C while also giving some hints about the next franchise. The central theme of anyone being possible of committing any sin if their viewpoint is changed is interesting and although it was handled decently well from chapter 3 onwards it missed out by not having incorporated the pre chapter 3 stuff into it more
The ost is solid with it having fewer lows and is more consistent then Kuro 1 but never reaches the same heights. Although Koguchi Singa and Sonoda are all better then they were in Kuro 1 Jindo was the highlight of Kuro 1 while all of the songs he contributed are great not as many reach the heights as the best of Kuro 1.
While not much of the gameplay has been changed the little things they do add fix most issues there were with the original. The turn bar being fixed makes the battles easier to understand and plan ahead while improvements to stun with the chain attack feature give the battle a better progression flow. The transition from field based to turn based is still amazing and the addition of arts still keeps it simple while also making it more viable for non physical attackers. Although it fixes almost all of Kuro 1s issues the turn based part of the combat still isn't as deep as hajimari but everything else about it is probably the perfection of turn based battles with its improved on the field aspect making it one of if not the best combat systems in the series
Although the game is in an awkward position and has some missteps everything it accomplishes well is still to the level of the past entries and with it being a sequel to Kuro 1 it is able to ride off the foundations laid into a game very much deserving of being in the series although one of the weaker entries.