FAIRY TAIL 2 Review

If an anime series is popular enough, chances are it’ll get a videogame tie-in somewhere down the line. While many of these titles are 3D arena fighters full of flashy moves and simple combos, developer Gust tried something a little different with the Fairy Tail franchise, opting to instead create an RPG. If you know Gust, then you’ll know they have a strong history with the genre, dating all the way back to the mid-90s, but is their latest game, FAIRY TAIL 2, up there with some of the developer's best work?

Although I’m not a huge Fairy Tail fan, I have watched a good chunk of the anime, as well as played the previous title (simply named FAIRY TAIL) released in 2020. Despite not being blown away by the first game, I had high hopes that Fairy Tail 2 would improve on some of the original's shortcomings. Would that prove to be the case? Let’s find out!

Fairy Tail 2 picks up right where the previous game finished, and is a retelling of the Alvarez Empire arc from the anime and manga. If you’re a fan, then you don’t need me to explain what the general story is here, but you’re sure to see all the characters you know and love such as Natsu and Lucy return for the climax of the original series. There’s more than just a basic rehash of the original arc, though, as you’ll come across many side stories, new characters, and even a brand-new story called “The Key to the Unknown”, set after the events of the Alvarez Empire arc. I felt that Fairy Tail 2 did a much better job of telling the story than the first game did, and though there are a fair few omissions and missing details, fans will be able to understand what’s going on at all times.

Those of you who aren’t familiar with the story or have no history with the series may struggle to understand who’s who and what exactly is going on. Being a sequel to a game that struggled to bring newcomers into the world, Fairy Tail 2 suffers from the same issue. It’s great that some terminology text is highlighted and can be read up on during cutscenes, but I can’t recommend this as a starting point into the world of Fairy Tail.

Overall, the game does a decent job of retelling the series’ final arc, but just like the first game, pacing issues are abundant, and plot details are glossed over relatively quickly, potentially causing some players to disengage from the narrative entirely. There is some context available, but if this is your first foray into Fairy Tail, don’t expect to understand everything you come across and each character your group meets.

As for the visuals, there are some noticeable improvements over Fairy Tail in terms of fidelity, animation, and especially lighting. This stands to reason as the original was a last-gen title, but with most games nowadays, this isn’t a huge generational leap. It doesn’t look bad by any means, and actually faithfully recreates the look of the anime into a 3D environment.

The game also features much, much more voice acting this time around, with all the cutscenes now featuring voiced dialogue and a good chunk of conversations in-game also having voices. Only the Japanese voices are available (sorry, fans of the dub!), but each cast member puts in just as much effort as they did in the anime, and though I’m not hating on the English voice cast, the original actors are genuinely fantastic.

In the opening sections of the game, you’re introduced to everything that Fairy Tail 2 has to offer. You start with a handful of combat encounters that act as tutorials, as well as having an area to explore as you head out on the first main quest.

Focusing on the battle system first, Fairy Tail 2 adopts an active time battle mechanic as seen in some Final Fantasy titles, with each combatant having to wait until their own Action Gauge has filled up before commencing with an attack. Once full, you’re able to use basic attacks or spend SP to unleash special skills, which differ from character to character. SP is gained simply by dealing out normal attacks, and with the battle system flowing relatively quickly, you’ll constantly be using these skills without having to worry about conserving SP for later fights. Using enough SP will build the Fairy Rank gauge, which, when full, grants you more powerful abilities for that battle. Finally, deal enough damage to deplete an enemy’s guard, you’ll have the opportunity for you and another active member of the party to pull off a Link Attack, with each character having his or her own unique move and buff along with it. Should you manage to break the guard of every opponent, then the ever more powerful Unison Raid will be unleashed to absolutely decimate your foes.

It’s not a complex battle system, but I had a lot of fun with it. Despite being turn-based, the combat has a good sense of speed to it, and being able to pull off mini combos using basic attacks and skills makes this more than simply selecting an option from a menu for the currently selected character. And, although you only control one fighter at a time, you are able to switch mid-battle should you wish to get a little more tactical, though I found the AI-controlled teammates did a fine job in backing me up! The diverse range of playable characters meant that I never stuck to the same three members, and found myself constantly switching it up in order to utilise each of their skills effectively.

Each character also has their own individual skill trees (known as an Origin Tree) where obtaining Origin Points by levelling up allows you to upgrade and unlock skills as you see fit. Despite there not being much in the way of build variety, it was an easy-to-use system that gave me a satisfying sense of progression the further I got into the game.

When not clashing with monsters and baddies, you’ll spend a lot of time exploring the world around you. Exploring the kingdom of Fiore is seamless, with little to no loading screens between areas. The world feels huge, with several hidden and optional areas just begging to be explored that reward you with unique items or tough monsters to take down. Some areas do feel rather barren, although the variety of environments helps to keep things fresh, but as far as RPGs go, Fairy Tail 2 keeps the exploration interesting enough that I scoured every inch of an area before moving on.

Fairy Tail 2 improves on its predecessor in practically every aspect. From the much improved, exciting combat, to the massive open world to explore, this is an RPG that fans of the franchise are sure to love. Newbies may find it a bit difficult to become attached to characters that are already well-established, but as long as you don’t mind a lot of reading, the amount of lore available in-game is sure to get you up to speed.