You like Chrono Trigger? Because Evoland 2 may just be the closest thing to it and not really in combat terms you may think given that tends to be a major component of JRPGs. In fact, I wouldn't even classify Evoland 2 as purely JRPG because varying what it is happens to be one of its chief design pillars. Let's dig in.

I have certain difficulties trying to talk about or around Evoland 2's story precisely because it's so textbook. It's where all the charm comes from mind you, but also translates into a generic tale. Amnesiac protagonist wakes in a peaceful village cared for by a girl who totally doesn't develop the hots for him or anything. It's not long before the mysterious prologue catches up to our boy, default name Kuro, and staying true to game's subtitle some space time shenanigans ensue propelling our duo 50 years into the past where war with Demons still rages on. From that point it's a long and winding road of jumping between time periods and seeing how the world changes while you tackle the looming problem of mysterious bad guys chasing after equally enigmatic Magiliths from the Age of Magi. Along the way Kuro finds friends and perhaps may even uncover his own mysterious past. DUN DUN DUUUUUUN.

Or will he? I ask this because characters don't really go past their one-note personalities so interactions get somewhat basic. For god's sake, Kuro doesn't even have one being a mute protagonist so his companion Fina compensates with BOMBASTIC EXCLAMATIONS to get the point across. To be honest I expected a more fleshed out roster with eventual party of four, but as I fond out Evoland 2 is more geared toward events over characters... which makes a degree of sense after you finish the game and realize how the entire affair is packaged. It wasn't entirely to my satisfaction with plenty of threads left dangling and, without going into spoilers, not resulting in the cheeriest of endings.

Keeping the manner in which game treats key character this has more in common with JRPG approaches of yore where it was less about individual character drama/personality quirks driving the plot forward. Events involve time travel meaning you should expect “do X in past so Y changes in the present” situations reserved for important story beats. I was pleasantly surprised the way game made use of jumping to 3D for a trippy effect in one particular area.

That's already too much regarding the story considering I can't discuss time travel plot points. Let's get to the REAL meat and potatoes of Evoland 2 – game evolution.

In case you never played the original game it was more of a prototype existing to present a gimmick Shiro Games came up with. Not to say the first Evoland wasn't a GAME, but it was also securely in the ballpark of couple of hours given its breakneck pacing where the main draw was to see how technology in these games changed. What does that mean? Well, in the opening game was presented in GameBoy fashion with green monochrome, eventually screen scrolling was introduced, opening chests would add new features like sound, different visual art styles, combat would change to turn-based and action, etc. It was just a really intriguing experiment and almost a presentation on RPG history with callbacks aplenty.

Fast forwarding to a sequel quickly makes something plain as day and that's how Evoland 2 is a far better realized video game in true meaning of the word. All those familiar mechanics and core gimmick are still present as the foundation stone, but greatly expanded upon by given context so they have more room to breathe without simply being a novelty to gawk at anymore.

Not to say all of these gameplay styles and variants were created equal, though.

Baseline Evoland 2 starts with is quite clearly Zelda inspired and functions akin to a default mode it sticks to even as you jump through game's three ages. A good call on developer's end because it remains accessible throughout and I never really had any problems beyond some questionable positional use of companion skills, built up to three levels when you press and hold the attack button. There were some situations, mainly smashing mushrooms, that failed in clearly telegraphing where to use aforementioned skills. Seeing as this is the game's exploration mode as well you'll get to trek the locales, talk to characters and even solve handful of puzzles. Brain teasers generally air on the simple side involving hitting a switch or two, but then you get to Genova library and game turns into an outright puzzle title. That's where I lost about an hour of my life at + change towards the end of the game with reality warping clones. Puzzles of this type are so jarring they clash to such a degree I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just leave them out.

So I brought up how there's a lot of gameplay variety, but never got around to it. Might as well do it now. There's a ton of it and I couldn't shake mild amusement that a game styled so heavily after Chrono Trigger with “multiple objectives scattered across time you can pursue in your own order” structure and visual takes barely represents it gameplay-wise. ATB combat is in the game and happens to be one of the duller types relegated to a depressing single segment. I went in expecting Evoland 2 to be MORE of a JRPG than its predecessor only to be hit by an onslaught of variety. From SRPG bit where you recruit your army of mooks, brief shmup stages that let you test your TOTALLY SAFE AND RELIABLE FLYING DEVICE™, side scrolling platformer and even some out there ideas like Match-3 and beat 'em up. Game consistently introduced new approaches until the very end and never failed to surprise me. Even more impressive is knowing you have the support of your companions in all of these and their special skills still apply. Makes looking for Maana so you can upgrade them worthwhile. I just wish the game knew when to end some of these because they can drag on. Not helped by relying on players liking all this variety. Not really into card mini-games? Well... you're in luck because said card game is optional after getting introduced.

This is also an instance where I get to talk about the audio-visual part of the game as more than just an afterthought considering so much effort was clearly put here. Re-creating almost all of game's areas in three distinct art styles, accommodating original layouts for that and music tracks to cover all of that stuff is truly monumental. Even more so because the game has an overworld which have sadly fallen out fashion with JRPGs. In fact, it has THREE (3) just to rub it in. If there is a flaw to be mentioned here it would be writing given it maybe hits the references juice a tiny bit too hard. Even beyond that, it goes for including certain well known characters as cameos.

Final Thoughts and Rating?

Refinement over the original game in almost every way Evoland 2 continues the evolving RPG legacy. While its story may be on a somewhat trite side with a mute amnesiac protagonist it draws from all the best Chrono Trigger bits in structure and narrative more than gameplay itself. What starts out as Legend of Zelda homage rapidly evolves into everything from strategy and turn-based RPG, side-scrolling platformer and even a beat 'em brawler in one instance. Plenty of stuff between those as well as our protagonist is joined by trusty companions on a mission to defy time itself and figure out why they were thrown back 50 years into the past. Provided that Evoland 3 ever happens and continues down this path we may be looking at a serious genre contender.