Freedom Planet 2 Review (Eninya)
This is probably the singular best sequel to a game in terms of sheer execution of the ambition and improvements. Considering FP1 was originally a Sonic fan game, and then comparing it to FP2, it's a straight 5:1 improvement on a galactic scale. Everything is leaps and bounds better: story, pacing, character gameplay, level design, enemies, graphics, art diversity, world expansion, and voice acting. There is no singular element that wasn't massively overhauled to improvement while fitting with their new designs.
Gameplay:
All characters--sans Lilac, I think--got overhauls to their gameplay kit to make them unique, but also much more fun and capable to play. Each character has various methods of attacking, and they all have different mobility options.
While Lilac plays largely the same, she gained the Guard function like all of the characters, but hers comes with a character-specific dash attached to it.
Carol got a *massive* gameplay improvement overall, primarily to her motorcycle functionality. She is also wildly faster than the first game, so she no longer feels miserable to play off of her bike. I actually played most of the game off of it, and didn't practice with it, and I never felt like she was 'slow' because of. I enjoyed her playthrough a lot.
There's a big emphasis on speedrunning this game, as well as multiple difficulties, and further ways to challenge yourself or make it easier. If you are not into this game's difficulty, you can set it to easy and use items and potions to make it even more accessible. You will NOT miss any story if you decide to do this; nothing is locked behind Hard Mode, etc.
Milla has also received gameplay improvements, though I didn't play her in the first game. She has a shield, multiple ranged options, a float, but is relatively slow on the baseline mobility. This isn't actually an issue, and she is actually capable of beating stage times faster than Lilac when you use the various techniques available in her kit to maintain speed. I'm not finished with her playthrough, yet.
Neera is the new character, and her gameplay was actually quite enjoyable. She has the simplest method of acceleration, and an incredible horizontal mobility available to her. While her combat kit has more of a 'stand your ground' feel to it, she has some interesting tools that can help her out in situations. Like the other characters, she has variances in her kit that make her better or worse than others, depending on the situation/boss.
Story:
All cutscenes, and including in-between stage dialogue, are fully voice acted. The voice acting has improved a lot since FP1 for each character returning. There is some incredibly emotional deliveries by several characters, showcasing their range and skill. The story itself is quite expansive, namely building the world, and continuing from the first game with a lot of cohesion. The writing of the dialogue is strong to every character's personality and presentation, and no one feels "dumb" or out of place in how they respond to situations. This is used to be both comical, and serious, at times. Each character has special interactions with other characters in their own playthroughs, and additional cutscenes the others won't see. For example, Lilac has more/special interactions with Merga, while Carol has additional ones with Corazon. Due to some timing of how missions play out in the sequence in each story, characters will have perspectives from different cutscenes in different places, even. They really put a lot of effort into fleshing this out, and it shows. As for the totality of the story, it's not bad. Some might find it generic, but it's very polished otherwise.
The addition of Neera was a surprise, but welcome design. She is actually a great character, and I think they did a fantastic job with her inclusion.
Level Design:
Some of the new levels are fantastic, both visually, and gameplay-wise. Some kind of drag, and how you feel about that will be subjective. I don't enjoy Shade Armory or Ancestral Forge that much, but Lunar Cannon is an absolute visual masterpiece and experience, and Weapons Core is incredibly sad in relation to the story. No level was absolutely painful to play, and due to the differences in the characters, they will each have varying levels of difficulty/ease in each one. I like this differentiation between the characters' kits actually making them unique to play.
Art:
You can just look at a screenshot comparison if you want to see how big a contrast is. FP2 has solidified new designs for every character, and they are fantastically detailed, with the sprite work going so far as conveying their emotions in tandem with the voice acting super well. The levels are pretty, and distinct, and the game never feels like it has a visual clutter to it. The bosses are also sporting fantastic designs, along with the visual effects. Truly one of my all-time favorite sprite-centric games.
Music:
This soundtrack is amaz~zing. Absolute bangers on it. Even the opening menu is fantastic, though I think Lightning Tower or the final two boss tracks might be my favorites. Seriously, give it a listen.
FINAL WORD:
If you are into action-platformers or any kind, I cannot recommend this game enough. Recommending FP1 is... hard, though the story is extremely relevant to this game. Whether you want to get the first is up to you, but I absolutely think this is worth a play. It spent a long time in development, but what we got is a masterpiece of a sequel through and through.
I'm curious about the inspirations to this game, as Lilac plays most like Sparkster from Rocket Knight Adventures (2), though each character sort of functions like they have a similar charge system for their strongest abilities. Sometimes I also feel like Gunstar Heroes was an inspiration. And, of course, Sonic was the original inspiration.