Thank you for this wonderfully positive review of the game! As one of the writers for the game, it's really nice to see when someone jives with the story and gets a laugh/cry out of the whole experience!
Well, thank YOU for contributing to one of the best games I’ve played in a long time! It’s been a while since I had a game stick with me this much, and the story is one of the key factors behind that. Fantastic work ^w^
You and the other writers wrote an over 7-hour long masterpiece. YOU AND THE OTHER WRITERS WROTE AN OVER 7-HOUR LONG MASTERPIECE! Seriously. I legit had way more fun with the game than I should’ve and dear god, just everything about it makes me squeal in delight. Whether it’s the storyline, characters, extra stuff, unlockables, stage design, the music, and everything that was done. I seriously thought this game would’ve no longer been slept on after the console release but I am so angry that I’m wrong because this masterpiece took about seven years to make. I’m not even sure how you and everyone in Galaxy Trail along with other people will even make Freedom Planet 3.
You and the other writers wrote an over 7-hour long masterpiece. YOU AND THE OTHER WRITERS WROTE AN OVER 7-HOUR LONG MASTERPIECE! Seriously. I legit had way more fun with the game than I should’ve and dear god, just everything about it makes me squeal in delight. Whether it’s the storyline, characters, extra stuff, unlockables, stage design, the music, and everything that was done. I seriously thought this game would’ve no longer been slept on after the console release but I am so angry that I’m wrong because this masterpiece took about seven years to make. I’m not even sure how you and everyone in Galaxy Trail along with other people will even make Freedom Planet 3.
After being delighted to hear that Morio Kishimoto has played _Spark the Electric Jester 3_ and is up for implementing its game design philosophy into future _Sonic the Hedgehog_ games, I sure hope that Iizuka and/or Kishimoto can try out both of the _Freedom Planet_ games.
Thank you so much for the detailed review! I did a watchalong on Twitch today for my birthday and we enjoyed it a lot, I ended up giving some commentary on various parts of development as it was playing too! I usually upload my Twitch vods to UA-cam unedited but I can truncate the part where your video plays to only have my commentary if you'd like, I figured I should ask first. In any case, video reviews and fan content of all kinds really helps encourage and inspire me to keep creating, so thank you again!
Feel free to show the whole part with my video! I don’t mind in the slightest. Thank you so much for the signal boost! I’ll definitely check out your stream myself when I get a chance! And thanks to you and your team for crafting such a fantastic game! I can absolutely see the love and care that went into this project, and I’m so glad it turned out so well! Best of luck with the console release!
@SpaceyBat despite the final product was totally worth the wait. I hope I won't have to wait until 2029 for Freedom Planet 3. Congratulations to you and all your team on delivering such an amazing game. I've been a big fan of platformers since the late 80s and Freedom Planet 2 is no doubt in my mind one of the greatest examples of the genre ever.
I cannot understate how cool the guard ability is. It fixes one issue classic sonic had, where unless you knew what was coming up, you could be hit by cheap damage. With the guard, you have an easy panic button the moment something unexpected pops up from offscreen. It also lets Milla play WAY faster. In fp1 Milla's thing was charging her block and then shooting behind her to gain speed which was fun but pretty clunky. Cause she can gain blocks instantly in fp2, she feels so much faster. This threatens to make her OP in boss fights but cause poorly using guards will get you killed, she still has to play carefully and look for openings like she did in fp1. What's even better is that now she can get a cube while dodging aggresively in the bosses face, so instead of running and hiding to get cubes you're actively dancing around the enemy. This both is more fun, and fits her character development. I have nothing but praise for Milla's rework in this game, and she was already my favourite to play in fp1. They did a really good job keeping the core of what made her fun while expanding her range of options.
The thing is that there is a classic Sonic game with guard panic button. Sonic 3&K had insta-shield which was functionally a block button.They could have retooled that ability for future games to increase its usability.
Not only did we get a great sequel, but my enjoyment when going back to the first game hasn't deteriorated one bit. I think it's pretty safe to say I'm a massive fan of this franchise
I know im late to commenting on this video but everything you said from the music, characters, and down to the story is exactly how i felt. Even after putting 119 hours in the game since launch and 100% it just never becomes stale, this game is truly a work of art and my favorite game of all time along side the first one.
Freedom Planet is one of my favorite indie game series of all time next to Shantae and Gunvolt. I can wait for it to drop on consoles! 9 years was long enough for me to wait this. I enjoyed watching you Freedom planet videos.
I was really hoping folks'd pick up on the subtext to Verse's dialogue! She's the only NPC I got to write for, and I really wanted to show that she was one of us without directly stating it. ♥ Also thank you for making such a wonderful video! :3
Also, thank you so much for your kind words regarding the OST! I actually started working on it even before FP2 was even announced (there's... a whole story to that!) so to hear that all that work really resonated... I'm over the moon! :D
@@LeilaRWilson As a fan of the first game I have been listening to the alpha soundtrack of Freedom Planet 2 since 2016 on SoundCloud. Not only did I buy the sequel upon release, but I quickly bought the soundtrack when it showed up on Bandcamp. Thank all of you at GalaxyTrail for making such a terrific game series!
Ayyy nice vid. I'm in the process of preparing for my own big FP2 retrospective and since I posted my FP1 vid I've finally started seeing Freedom Planet videos pop up. This was a great and thorough look into one of my fave games for very different reasons.
Thank god videos like these exist! This game was insanely overshadowed by the Nintendo Direct that went live the exact day of its release date and it didn't really have the best marketing overall I really hope the console release that's coming at the end of the year helps it get some recognition
Thought your name sounded familiar when I saw your comment on my Steam guide about Verse. Turns out I've been subscribed to this channel for ages! XD Bet the part at 34:08 hits a bit different now :3
Just a bit yeah, haha!!! I may or may not have three pages of a script for a video the first book of Elancia Chronicles already in the works 😅. The hyperfixation is so real.
It really is a shame that not many people even know about the _Freedom Planet_ series. Heck, the only VTubers that I can even find that have played any of the games are: - Spacey Batoelli (Literally the lead producer for the series) - HavocDuskFox (One of the artists for Freedom Planet 2) - Yupii Hunie - Naki Kamizuki - BeriBug - GrinberYun - Rin Catgirl Honorable mention goes to Selen Tatsuki, who I asked to check out _Freedom Planet_ during her Spring Steam Sale, to which she agreed to buy the game.
This has become one of my favorite games. I picked up the first game at the same time and played that first, then getting to the second game. I knew that as a Sonic fan I was going to enjoy these, but I almost certainly didn't expect these to just blow me away like they did.
Well hopefully it gets more recognition after the console release. I love everything about this series. The story , the characters , the music and the gameplay. I really hope it gets more popular later on. Maybe they might get to do a Sonic crossover in the future. I know it's wishful thinking but one can still hope.
If you put the Zero Stage 2 theme from Mega Man X5 in this game it wouldn’t feel out of place in the slightest, which just goes to show high quality the soundtrack of this game is lol.
Freedom planet and freedom planet 2 are some of the only games where I feel saying they are both "The games of all time." Is an incredibly accurate statement.
After watching the video I can say that this was well worth the wait and whenever I get enough money for it I am considering buying the game and playing it to completion
Just watched Spacey's reaction to this review, and I must say you did an absolutely Fantastic review! It's very sad how little exposure& fanfare this game has received despite being one of the most content-rich, replayable, memorable, and just really awesome indie games I've ever played! Heck, it even out-does most big budget games in terms of sheer awesomeness! This game easily goes in my top 3 games ever made! And I wish more people got to experience it's glory. hopefully the Console release will remedy that... Thank you for your review, I hope it convinced more people to play it & I just Subscribed!
Thanks so much for the support! I definitely agree, I wish the game hadn’t gotten overshadowed as much as it did. Hopefully whenever it ends up coming out on consoles, it’s not around the same time as a bunch of other competing games, so it’ll get more attention.
Freedom Planet was a really fun game back on the Wii U and I was waiting for a sequel and then somehow I missed it so literally today I'm finding out there's a sequel. It's kind of like how I didn't find out there was a sequel to Axiom Verge for a while after it's release
4 months late to the video but I must say, between when the sequel first came out and early January this year I was absolutely baffled that there were some people who didn't even know that Freedom Planet 2 finally released last year (just like this video's current top comment). The game flew under many people's radar. When I saw the UA-cam video on the games release I was genuinely surprised because the game came out in an unexpected time. At the moment a lot of Nintendo game's release dates were announced during a previous Nintendo Direct and a lot of people's attention were on those games. Plus Splatoon 3 released 4 days before FP2. So I'm not that surprised that it did fly under the radar for many. I just hope that many more will finally catch up on this game later on, at least before the year ends. The Spark the Electric Jester games got so many attention over the near-decade (very happy for that, I love the STEJ games so much) that I wish Freedom Planet 2 gets the same love. FP2 is a massive improvement to the first game imo, it adds so much elements and refines pre-existing ones. To those of you reading this, _please_ play Freedom Planet 2 and the first game if you haven't, I recommend in order too since there is a consistent story between the 2 games and it betters the experience. It is worth your time both gameplay and story-wise. Thank you.
I didn't know there was a sequel. I just heard of the first one several months ago and found the concept interesting. Unfortunately, side scrollers aren't my forte. Then again, I did do well in Sonic Advance 1 and 2 and both Sonic Rushes... Thanks for the look into this game! :D
A great review of a great game. You do a fantastic job covering the whole game. While the first game is still a lot of fun I think the sequel improves on nearly every front and is critically underrated as you say in the beginning.
This game turned out so good! I relate to the devs' struggle with finishing the game after they've added loads of cool features to their wishlist. Sometimes development seems never-ending - with every feature checked off the to-do list, new ideas crop up to take its place, and the total workload just keeps stacking. But look at the results of that ambition! I keep struggling with this "scope creep" in my own projects. Even with just a little ambition, my project would grow to the point where completing it becomes unrealistic. But I'm trying to make the final product great like the devs did for Freedom Planet!
I'm honestly so glad that this April, XSEED Games actually went out of the way to sponsor a bunch of high-profile VTubers to play this game for the console release. Said VTubers were Cy Yu (Zao), Mimcubus (Kalaw), PorcelainMaid/Jowol, Olivia Monroe, BasilWoof, marimari_en, and Rosedoodle. Sadly, they all have only played _Freedom Planet 2_ once, and never followed up on it. (It's okay for Cy Yu and Mimcubus, since they are voice actors for the game.) And ironically, Deven Mack/Rockoon, who wasn't sponsored by XSEED, has cleared _Freedom Planet 1_ as Carol.
Excellent Video! Freedom Planet 2 was a big release for me as well and it was easily one of my favorite games last year! Agree with you on many aspects, especially how good that soundtrack is. However, if you want to see a video list where FP2 did get recognized John Linneman from Digital Foundry named FP2 his 8th favorite game of 2022.
Having just completed my 2nd playthrough of the game, I enjoyed this video a lot. Its a shame that this game isn't getting the reach it really deserves, but I am glad it does seem to have a decent fanbase (I know I'm guilty of sleeping on it until now). I'm hoping that more big streamers play the game to put more eyes on it. I'm also excited to see what else the devs create in the future (I believe they said they will take a break before working on FP3, which is understandable)
I feel like merga final boss only has real emotional impact if you play as lilac, its kinda ruined if you figth her as carol and mostly neera, it still has a bit of impact with milla, but playing it as lilac its a whole different level 18:25 I beated her first try 29:45 Why can she speak spanish? lmao
Part of the problem is the way the team handled the game's release. It had little to no fanfare or promotion, After an eight year wait, sadly a lot will have moved on or forgotten the game had a sequel coming out. It is a shame as it is possibly one of the best 2D platformer games out there with a great story and characters.
I have been trying to find ways to recommend the _Freedom Planet_ games to a variety of popular VTubers. So far, I did ask Selen Tatsuki of NIJISANJI to check out _Freedom Planet_ during her Spring Steam Sale livestream and the poll for was a success, but then during her Summer Steam Sale livestream she mentioned that she didn't buy the game because of permissions issues, which means I sadly can't recommend this series to anyone in NIJISANJI. I guess that I will have to try VShojo now. Perhaps Henya might be the best possible choice in order to try to boost _Freedom Planet's_ popularity in the West and Japan. Alternatively, I am planning to become a VTuber myself. Perhaps I should try to grow a major fan base (hopefully with some foreign fans as well), then stream _Freedom Planet_ and its sequel.
Who wants to start buying Times Square advertisements to (unofficially) advertise _Freedom Planet 2_ to hundreds of people, like what happened with _Pikmin 4?_ Even Sabrina DiDuro/Spacey Batotelli mentioned that she would feel honored if that were to happen.
As someone who is a big fan of the _Freedom Planet_ and _Pikmin_ series, it has been a joy watching the _Pikmin_ franchise enjoy a newfound boon of popularity thanks to the rerelease of _Pikmin 1+2_ and _Pikmin 4._ Just watching that series go from an obscure Nintendo franchise to something that people are fondly talking about just makes me wish the same can be said for the _Freedom Planet_ series. I wish Sabrina DiDuro/Spacey Batotelli the best of luck for her upcoming _hololive_ fangame titled _Project Chrono Gear._ I do understand that her actual goal with that fangame is just to make a Treasure-styled _hololive_ fangame, yet I also hope _Project Chrono Gear_ ends up being somebody's first experience playing a game made by Sabrina/Spacey, and perhaps it leads to more people checking out her previous games like _Freedom Planet 2._ In essence, I sure hope that the console releases of _Freedom Planet 2_ and _Project Chrono Gear_ end up being the _Pikmin 1+2_ and _Pikmin 4_ of Sabrina DiDuro/Spacey Batotelli's career.
Great review. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and cant wait to see what they do with the series. Although I do have 4 main gripes that I really hope they patch up if they ever do a future release or for the console port. My first one and this is kind of agreed upon by some people, but a lot of the music lacks an identity due to the amount of leitmotifs, some leitmotifs like the ones in the Volcano Stage, Parusa, and even Sky Bridge work really well, but some feel kind of thrown in there or feel like remixes. While this isn't a bad thing, stages like Avian Museum and Phoenix Highway are completely original and I feel like they shine the most. If I could compare this to something else, its like how Sonic Mania has the older stages in it, while they all are REALLY good its just the fact that the quality of the original stages kind of make you wish the entire game was original. I personally would say that Freedom Planet 2 does have the best highs in ost compared to the first game (I love Phoenix Highway), but Freedom Planet 1 is relatively consistent. Second gripe has to be the story. This is going to be short, its good just not very creative that's all. Freedom Planet 1's story was iffy but it was really creative, but Freedom Planet 2's plot has been seen a lot in other media. Another thing too is that I feel like some of the characters talk way too formally, mainly Neera. I get she's supposed to be part of the royal militia and she should act that way, but it just feels really unnatural. I would mention the fact that classic mode isn't available from the start, but I genuinely think that the map you get in story mode is a lot cleaner and more fun to go through then the menu in classic as well as the fact that you can skip every cutscene or mute the dialogue. The 4th, Nalao lake. If you play the game you'll find out. Third gripe is less of a gripe, but its just the advertising. I really hope when the console port releases, they make a really big effort advertising since its an amazing game, probably the best 2d platformer on the market, not even joking if you haven't played this game you should. Enough of gripes lets talk about what this game does amazingly. Stages: All amazing (besides Nalao lake sorry lol). The visuals are amazing since most of them don't loop and its one huge background image that is all beautifully constructed for over 5 minutes of gameplay. The game shines especially in its combat too, its almost bullet-hellish while also enjoyable and unfrustrating to run through. The difficulty is done really well too since the casual difficulties are very fun to run through when fighting the bosses while the harder ones make you have to treat the game like a souls-like when trying to dodge and learn attack patterns. I love this game with all of my heart and I really hope they make a trilogy to wrap everything up, even if they re-used assets I would not care just because its all crafted so well and it would honestly be a shame if it went to waste. Its perfect 10/10 game.
I'm playing Freedom Planet 2 right now. And waiting their upcoming game Chrono Gear: Warden of Time. Instead of sheer speed platforming game focused on puzzles and playing with time. Speed sections still there. I'm especially hyped since game based on Kronii and Council in general.
i only picked up freedom planet 2 because a friend streamed it to discord and it looked fun. im currently right before finishing every save file as all 4 characters, so if that doesnt say anything about the game's quality, then i dont know what does
Freedom Planet 2 was my GOTY last year and honestly I should stream it soon! It's one of my favorite games and I am an old man. Personally I am ok with the long time the game took cause I am a big fan of games being done when they are "done". Also I highly recommend Galaxy Trail's published game Grapple Force Rena. I did a recorded playthrough of it years ago and the developer watched my playthrough and they made changes based on things they saw in my videos (I recorded once a week and each week I was playing on a new version lol). Hell there was a bug in a color pallet editor update that was minor, I joked about it and they fixed it. Again it was VERY minor. T.Ashley is a great person they have a cameo in FP2 and did some work on the game as well
Another contributing factor to why it went under my radar is how the game is unavailable for Nintendo Switch. They've not announced its confirmed release date for this summer. So I'm left with no way of knowing or playing Freedom Planet 2.
Much as I love PT taking spotlight, I still return to FP2 with a friend. Some brave stones cheese S ranks, but shout out Oscillating Heart-no potions keeping a playthrough randomly tense than cheese'd. The time capsules could've done better maybe spread out given the many chests per level some new ones I find to this day Did think i saw this fp2 review but no. More coverage to give fp2 love outdoing its predecessor in flying colors. Physical release hope for a bang as a 2nd chance since rugged release time
I love this game and it sucks not seeing it get as much attention as it deserves, but there are some issues with it to where I don't think it deserves the title of "maserpiece". Don't get me wrong it's still an excellent game, easily a 9 out of 10, but there are some minor issues I have with it. Mainly with the story. (STORY SPOILERS) With the story, it's a big improvement on the original but there are some more issues I have with it you didn't bring up. First, you say it has a more consistent tone across the story but I couldn't disagree more. The first game got pretty dark with the beheading of Dail's father and Lilac's electroconvulsive therapy, but it kept its tone pretty even and gradually got more serious over the course of the game. Outside the opening it starts off as a lighthearted adventure and the tone gets more serious over the course of the game, peaking slightly at Thermal Base, cooling down a bit and then ramping up until the climax of the story when you fight Brevon. Meanwhile in FP2, there are jokes being thrown around all over the game, even during some of the most serious parts of the story like Gong making what's basically a "I'm big and fat and therefore eat a lot" joke right after Shang Tu gets taken over by Merga and The Magister is nearly killed. Then on Bakunawa, Serpentine is being his usual goofy ahh villain self even when he betrays the main group aboard Bakunawa, in contrast in FP1 Serpentine gets mutated by Brevon into a freakish looking monster and is probably the second hardest boss in the whole game with the only one being tougher being Brevon himself. Also, while there's less violent stuff happening on screen I'd argue FP2 dips into much darker themes with slavery, racism, genocide, etc. whereas Freedom Planet 1 is a more typical "bad guy causes trouble and a ragtag group has to stop him" anime/cartoon plot. Freedom Planet 2 is better in just about every other area of its story but I found it somehow managed to be even worse at tonal consistency than the first game. I also found the way it handled racism in its plot to be really contrived in regards to the main events of the story. It's a major internal conflict for Lilac and Askal betrays The Magister and joins Merga because of it, but we barely see any of it and it doesn't make any sense within the game's own world. In FP1 dragons are revered by Avalice's people and Lilac proudly proclaims that she is one frequently throughout the game. Then all of a sudden in the second game her and Askal being part dragon suddenly makes them targets of discrimination, how does that make sense? We also barely see it with the only examples in game I remember being one or two NPCs, Askal's dialogue in the bar and Lilac getting extra attention in the Battle Sphere for being one somehow making her uncomfortable even though she was proud about it in the first game, and it's not weird or malicious for the announcer to point it out considering how rare dragons are in modern Avalice. Askal being discriminated against especially makes no sense seeing as he's part earth dragon, and Avalice's false history paints water dragons as evil. The Magister stepping down as leader of Shang Tu also doesn't make any real sense because he didn't really do anything wrong, unless you count falling for the false history put in Avalice's history books, and The Magister was probably too busy leading Shang Tu to investigate Avalice's history and make sure it was truthful. I also don't like how Captain Kalaw just disappears from the story following his fight in Parusa, you'd think he would switch sides once he realizes he's been played because his whole speech after the Parusa fight is about how he wants to be a real hero and not just some action figure in a stadium for people to watch on TV, but then he just vanishes from the story. I get that he was primarily a comedy relief character but having him be a major antagonist and then just vanish from the story altogether felt like a huge waste. As for gameplay I found some of the boss fights to be rather lackluster and the game didn't have nearly as even of a difficulty curve as the first game. The way the game lets you approach the order of levels would naturally make it tougher but even in the more controlled sections and if you play the chapters intentionally so that the difficulty ramps up it isn't always right. Good examples being the boss of Tidal Gate being way easier than most of the first half of the game, Corazon's fight on Bakunawa being laughably easy compared to the previous fight against Askal and Aaa working together, and the boss of Lunar Cannon being pretty dang easy compared to everything else on Bakunawa besides Corazon. Serpentine's fight on Bakunawa also felt pretty lazy just being a repeat of his fight in Nalao Lake but now you aren't in the BFF-2000, but I haven't played the game in quite a while so maybe they updated it since or something.
The soundtrack was a miss for me, sadly. The soundfont selection really muddled the tunes together and made everything sound too generic, and there were no standout tracks like Dragon Valley, Aqua Tunnel, and Fortune Night from the first game. Aside from that, everything else was a vast upgrade. It's the first game in a long while where I'm actively looking forward to getting back to. This series also probably turned me furry but what can ya do. The designs are just so adorable.
I think that the problem with the soundtrack in FP2 is not exactly the problem with the soundtrack( I understand how weird does it sound ). I didn't like the music of FP2 at first because I was too focused on the gameplay and just didn't pay attention to music. It can be just me but listening to the FP2's OST on UA-cam makes it sound better.
Yeah, they delayed the release to December due to publisher shenanigans and to avoid the huge block of games releasing in September through November. I don't blame them. Whatever it takes to make sure the game does well!
I'm not convinced Cordelia is alive. I sounded like that last cutscene was just her finishing her recording. The issue is a century of time has passed. I've heard others desperately try to convince me she was alive but then you would point out plot holes. One guy told me that it was a wifi-signal which annoyed me because it required you to access the time capsules for a pre recorded/ corrupted message that only triggered when Merga uttered "I will have my Revenge" indicating that was the last trigger command. And of course the key problem you mentioned in if she was still alive, Cordelia would have stopped Merga directly. Plus it ruins Merga's tragedy. Personally I don't think Askal was a misogynist, I just figured he held a lot of resentment towards the Magister. Though I wondered when he showed affection for Neera, you can miss a lot of his motivation if you don't go around talking to people around town.
I mean, we can assume the Earth Dragons have abnormally long life spans thanks to the fact that the Magister’s grandfather was involved in the Dragon Wars, yet enough time has passed for them to have been completely forgotten by every other race in Avalice. That, and the fact that Cordelia did not have Pangu when she was recording, meaning she likely sent that from somewhere else TO Pangu on Merga’s ship. Plus, why would they make that the post-credits teaser with the line “my work isn’t done yet” unless she was alive and gonna have some impact on a future FP story? As for Askal, I genuinely made it a point to talk to every NPC with new dialogue after every stage, and I didn’t notice anything in regards to his feelings toward Neera. I just think that the way he treats Neera contradicts all of his other motivations, established in the main cutscenes and in the hub world dialogue. That, and the fact that his feelings toward her come out of nowhere when he confesses at Diamond Point, just left a bad taste in my mouth.
12:32 Eh? Plot hole? Can it not be excused by the "If you choose ___, the plot happens THIS way?" trope? Like if you choose Neera, She's always first to the avian museum incident, etc? Idk. Otherwise, AMAZING video. This overlooked masterpiece was EASILY one of 2022's best games and I hope the long awaited console ports get it the love it deserves.
16:13 I think I really disagree with this take. There’s nothing here to imply misogyny. A confession of feelings, and attempted recruitment through that isn’t misogyny. You pulled a lot of nonsense out of nowhere here. I got wildly different reaction from this.
He probably will. In the cutscene after defeating Syntax in Weapon's Core it says: " Distress beacon : active " which means that it must have called for Brevon. If he receives this signal, he will probably return to have a revenge and with a greater army.
If I have to say something about Askal, it’s that I feel that a majority of the discrimination he faces is self inflicted, albeit indirectly. Here’s two examples, (I had three last I thought about it, but I forgot one.) 1. “Mangy Pup.” While intended to be a form of slur, the nature of the insult actually fits Askal in a certain way. His angsty, immature attitude, and it’s almost repulsive. The trio from the first game don’t really have to say a word to Askal before he tells them to “Eff off! We don’t need you.” He hears slights and builds up a grudge, then takes it out through words to individuals unrelated. Yeah I started calling him a mangy pup too. Especially after that stunt with Neera at Diamond Point, hoo boy. 2. His Battlesphere rejection. This is the one that clued me in to this thought process. When talking to the player character about the Battlesphere, he mentions he was rejected because he’d have an “unfair advantage.” Askal scoffs it off as clearly nothing more than discrimination. But it turns out that was a completely valid reason, because Askal’s geokinesis is strong enough to rip the surface off of a mountain and use it as weapons. And have you seen his HP bar!? That’s WAY beyond anything other know champions and participants can reasonably do. I was stuck on his boss fight and audibly remarked “No wonder you were rejected Jesus Christ!” Here’s some other top performers to show contrast. Jade Fury: City Gaurdsman with peak physical Condition and loads of training. General Gong: Peak Physical Condition and loads of training. Spade: Peak Physical Condition and loads of training. Captain Kalaw: Peak Physical Condition and a Tornado Generator. Neera Li: Peak Physical Condition and loads of training. Carol Tea: Peak Physical condition and loads of training. Honestly, them allowing Lilac to participate was probably pushing the bounds of what was allowed, because of her Water Dragon physique. I have no idea if this was intentional or not (most likely not) but it’s something I noticed.
Played it, Loved it, but MANN, announcing a game too early and having next to no advertisement when the game is finally to be released, can really kill a game's potential success. Or did they HAD to announce the game so early?
To my understanding, and I can’t speak for the devs here, but from what I’ve heard it was mostly feature creep that pushed the game back so long. They originally thought it’d be a similar dev time as the first game (3-4 years), but they just kept thinking of new improvements and additions they wanted to make throughout the process before they felt confident releasing it. Such is the case with a lot of indie games, really.
Someone on 4chan said it better than anyone else in a thread about fast platformers: "[Freedom Planet] is sad and angry". Their reasoning being that the overly dark and dramatic story from the first game turned many people away from this game. As someone who played a lot of FP1, followed uts development, but has not played FP2 yet, I my theories on why this game went under the radar: -The first FP came out before Sonic Mania. A time period when general interest in Sonic games were at a low point. FP was often presented as a "Sonic killer". Currently there's been a resurgence in Sonic popularity thanks to the movies, the new IDW comics, and games like Sonic Frontiers, and the TV show Sonic Prime; -FP2 development took way too long. I had it on my Steam wish list for like 2 to 3 years waiting. I myself didn't realize its been out already. It took too long and released without much fanfare; -Spark the Electric Jester took over with Spark 3 as the de facto indie speedy platformer. The director of Sonic Frontiers even shared that he played Spark 3. It is important to factor since FP1 many other indie devs have been making their own games inspired by Sonic. SAGE is flooded with new IPs.
I kinda wish the heroines weren't so overdramatic. Often feels like the villains being exaggerated are a lot more excusable and even fun compared to the main cast of playable characters.
I think freedom planet 2 is good, but in my opinion it is worse overall than freedom planet 1. The two act structure of fp1 has much better pacing than the level by level gimmicks of fp2. Spot dodging kind of breaks the idea of platforming and makes boss fights into a sort of unfun DDR. And of course the mich more frequent, unskippable cutscenes - arguably the worst part of the first game - bogs down the second game even worse. There are improvements in fp2 for sure but imo it doesnt do enough to streamline the formula.
I think the Dev hell This game got thought Made people lose faith in the project and when It came out people (like me) Just didn't Care anymore since in the mean time between FP1 and FP2 lake feperd releassed 3 spark the electric jester games by hinself without a team and 2 of them complex 3D games (spark 3 got even more atention and some people compared it favorably against Sonic frontiers) i think thats Why even amoung Sonic fans FP2 didn't do too much of a Splash like the First one did back in 2014
Thank you for this wonderfully positive review of the game! As one of the writers for the game, it's really nice to see when someone jives with the story and gets a laugh/cry out of the whole experience!
Well, thank YOU for contributing to one of the best games I’ve played in a long time! It’s been a while since I had a game stick with me this much, and the story is one of the key factors behind that. Fantastic work ^w^
You and the other writers wrote an over 7-hour long masterpiece. YOU AND THE OTHER WRITERS WROTE AN OVER 7-HOUR LONG MASTERPIECE! Seriously. I legit had way more fun with the game than I should’ve and dear god, just everything about it makes me squeal in delight. Whether it’s the storyline, characters, extra stuff, unlockables, stage design, the music, and everything that was done. I seriously thought this game would’ve no longer been slept on after the console release but I am so angry that I’m wrong because this masterpiece took about seven years to make. I’m not even sure how you and everyone in Galaxy Trail along with other people will even make Freedom Planet 3.
You and the other writers wrote an over 7-hour long masterpiece. YOU AND THE OTHER WRITERS WROTE AN OVER 7-HOUR LONG MASTERPIECE! Seriously. I legit had way more fun with the game than I should’ve and dear god, just everything about it makes me squeal in delight. Whether it’s the storyline, characters, extra stuff, unlockables, stage design, the music, and everything that was done. I seriously thought this game would’ve no longer been slept on after the console release but I am so angry that I’m wrong because this masterpiece took about seven years to make. I’m not even sure how you and everyone in Galaxy Trail along with other people will even make Freedom Planet 3.
After being delighted to hear that Morio Kishimoto has played _Spark the Electric Jester 3_ and is up for implementing its game design philosophy into future _Sonic the Hedgehog_ games, I sure hope that Iizuka and/or Kishimoto can try out both of the _Freedom Planet_ games.
It might inspire future modern sonic 2d games
А можно пожалуйста ссылку на его заявление, или видео?
Thank you so much for the detailed review! I did a watchalong on Twitch today for my birthday and we enjoyed it a lot, I ended up giving some commentary on various parts of development as it was playing too! I usually upload my Twitch vods to UA-cam unedited but I can truncate the part where your video plays to only have my commentary if you'd like, I figured I should ask first.
In any case, video reviews and fan content of all kinds really helps encourage and inspire me to keep creating, so thank you again!
Feel free to show the whole part with my video! I don’t mind in the slightest. Thank you so much for the signal boost! I’ll definitely check out your stream myself when I get a chance!
And thanks to you and your team for crafting such a fantastic game! I can absolutely see the love and care that went into this project, and I’m so glad it turned out so well! Best of luck with the console release!
@SpaceyBat despite the final product was totally worth the wait. I hope I won't have to wait until 2029 for Freedom Planet 3.
Congratulations to you and all your team on delivering such an amazing game.
I've been a big fan of platformers since the late 80s and Freedom Planet 2 is no doubt in my mind one of the greatest examples of the genre ever.
I believe Freedom Planet and its sequel deserve much more content and fame. In my eyes it's even much more satisfying than the Sonic games.
Nah don’t do that mania and superstars are great but this is up there though.
@@2ant1man5 Freedom planet is waaaaaaaaaaay better
@@kamen6009 nah it’s good it’s a 8 but this is a thing becuase of sonic.
@@2ant1man5 You’re exactly right, and don’t forget Frontiers.
@@2ant1man5 but lost worlds and forces are mediocre and so lame.
I cannot understate how cool the guard ability is. It fixes one issue classic sonic had, where unless you knew what was coming up, you could be hit by cheap damage. With the guard, you have an easy panic button the moment something unexpected pops up from offscreen.
It also lets Milla play WAY faster. In fp1 Milla's thing was charging her block and then shooting behind her to gain speed which was fun but pretty clunky. Cause she can gain blocks instantly in fp2, she feels so much faster. This threatens to make her OP in boss fights but cause poorly using guards will get you killed, she still has to play carefully and look for openings like she did in fp1. What's even better is that now she can get a cube while dodging aggresively in the bosses face, so instead of running and hiding to get cubes you're actively dancing around the enemy. This both is more fun, and fits her character development. I have nothing but praise for Milla's rework in this game, and she was already my favourite to play in fp1. They did a really good job keeping the core of what made her fun while expanding her range of options.
The thing is that there is a classic Sonic game with guard panic button. Sonic 3&K had insta-shield which was functionally a block button.They could have retooled that ability for future games to increase its usability.
Not only did we get a great sequel, but my enjoyment when going back to the first game hasn't deteriorated one bit. I think it's pretty safe to say I'm a massive fan of this franchise
If FP3 ever releases, I hope Torque will finally be playable. His beta gameplay was awesome.
I know im late to commenting on this video but everything you said from the music, characters, and down to the story is exactly how i felt. Even after putting 119 hours in the game since launch and 100% it just never becomes stale, this game is truly a work of art and my favorite game of all time along side the first one.
Freedom Planet is one of my favorite indie game series of all time next to Shantae and Gunvolt.
I can wait for it to drop on consoles! 9 years was long enough for me to wait this.
I enjoyed watching you Freedom planet videos.
I was really hoping folks'd pick up on the subtext to Verse's dialogue! She's the only NPC I got to write for, and I really wanted to show that she was one of us without directly stating it. ♥
Also thank you for making such a wonderful video! :3
Also, thank you so much for your kind words regarding the OST! I actually started working on it even before FP2 was even announced (there's... a whole story to that!) so to hear that all that work really resonated... I'm over the moon! :D
@@LeilaRWilson As a fan of the first game I have been listening to the alpha soundtrack of Freedom Planet 2 since 2016 on SoundCloud. Not only did I buy the sequel upon release, but I quickly bought the soundtrack when it showed up on Bandcamp. Thank all of you at GalaxyTrail for making such a terrific game series!
fp2 absolutely slaps
Rainbow S'ing Merga has to be my personal highest gaming achievement
What about Syntax? Not base Syntax. You know what I’m talking about.
Ayyy nice vid. I'm in the process of preparing for my own big FP2 retrospective and since I posted my FP1 vid I've finally started seeing Freedom Planet videos pop up. This was a great and thorough look into one of my fave games for very different reasons.
Thank god videos like these exist! This game was insanely overshadowed by the Nintendo Direct that went live the exact day of its release date and it didn't really have the best marketing overall
I really hope the console release that's coming at the end of the year helps it get some recognition
Wait? It's out?! NO ONE TOLD ME IT WAS RELEASED ALREADY!!! Notification Alerts has failed me!!!
Get to playing!!! Too many people do not know that the sequel came out since last year.
After 7 years in development, it was worth the wait.
Gaben memes aside, I have to say this has become my favorite video game ever.
Thought your name sounded familiar when I saw your comment on my Steam guide about Verse. Turns out I've been subscribed to this channel for ages! XD
Bet the part at 34:08 hits a bit different now :3
Just a bit yeah, haha!!! I may or may not have three pages of a script for a video the first book of Elancia Chronicles already in the works 😅. The hyperfixation is so real.
@@KitTheGoddess Oh, HELL yeah! That bell notification button is going ON! I'm legit super excited for that video!!!!!
It really is a shame that not many people even know about the _Freedom Planet_ series.
Heck, the only VTubers that I can even find that have played any of the games are:
- Spacey Batoelli (Literally the lead producer for the series)
- HavocDuskFox (One of the artists for Freedom Planet 2)
- Yupii Hunie
- Naki Kamizuki
- BeriBug
- GrinberYun
- Rin Catgirl
Honorable mention goes to Selen Tatsuki, who I asked to check out _Freedom Planet_ during her Spring Steam Sale, to which she agreed to buy the game.
This has become one of my favorite games. I picked up the first game at the same time and played that first, then getting to the second game. I knew that as a Sonic fan I was going to enjoy these, but I almost certainly didn't expect these to just blow me away like they did.
Well hopefully it gets more recognition after the console release. I love everything about this series. The story , the characters , the music and the gameplay. I really hope it gets more popular later on. Maybe they might get to do a Sonic crossover in the future. I know it's wishful thinking but one can still hope.
Really love this game. definitely should be more popular. You can tell they put alot of effort into it. Voice actors were amazing! A+++
The soundtrack gives off a lot of Mega man zero and megs man zx vibes. Love this game
If you put the Zero Stage 2 theme from Mega Man X5 in this game it wouldn’t feel out of place in the slightest, which just goes to show high quality the soundtrack of this game is lol.
Freedom planet and freedom planet 2 are some of the only games where I feel saying they are both "The games of all time." Is an incredibly accurate statement.
After watching the video I can say that this was well worth the wait and whenever I get enough money for it I am considering buying the game and playing it to completion
Just watched Spacey's reaction to this review, and I must say you did an absolutely Fantastic review!
It's very sad how little exposure& fanfare this game has received despite being one of the most content-rich, replayable, memorable, and just really awesome indie games I've ever played! Heck, it even out-does most big budget games in terms of sheer awesomeness! This game easily goes in my top 3 games ever made! And I wish more people got to experience it's glory. hopefully the Console release will remedy that...
Thank you for your review, I hope it convinced more people to play it & I just Subscribed!
Thanks so much for the support! I definitely agree, I wish the game hadn’t gotten overshadowed as much as it did. Hopefully whenever it ends up coming out on consoles, it’s not around the same time as a bunch of other competing games, so it’ll get more attention.
I agree, freedom planet 2 is a perfection!!
Freedom Planet was a really fun game back on the Wii U and I was waiting for a sequel and then somehow I missed it so literally today I'm finding out there's a sequel. It's kind of like how I didn't find out there was a sequel to Axiom Verge for a while after it's release
4 months late to the video but I must say, between when the sequel first came out and early January this year I was absolutely baffled that there were some people who didn't even know that Freedom Planet 2 finally released last year (just like this video's current top comment). The game flew under many people's radar. When I saw the UA-cam video on the games release I was genuinely surprised because the game came out in an unexpected time. At the moment a lot of Nintendo game's release dates were announced during a previous Nintendo Direct and a lot of people's attention were on those games. Plus Splatoon 3 released 4 days before FP2. So I'm not that surprised that it did fly under the radar for many. I just hope that many more will finally catch up on this game later on, at least before the year ends. The Spark the Electric Jester games got so many attention over the near-decade (very happy for that, I love the STEJ games so much) that I wish Freedom Planet 2 gets the same love. FP2 is a massive improvement to the first game imo, it adds so much elements and refines pre-existing ones. To those of you reading this, _please_ play Freedom Planet 2 and the first game if you haven't, I recommend in order too since there is a consistent story between the 2 games and it betters the experience. It is worth your time both gameplay and story-wise. Thank you.
I didn't know there was a sequel. I just heard of the first one several months ago and found the concept interesting. Unfortunately, side scrollers aren't my forte. Then again, I did do well in Sonic Advance 1 and 2 and both Sonic Rushes...
Thanks for the look into this game! :D
Since it’s coming on consoles and when it’s aired for Xbox one and X/S, I’ll be sure to share it on the Sonic fan club.
A great review of a great game. You do a fantastic job covering the whole game. While the first game is still a lot of fun I think the sequel improves on nearly every front and is critically underrated as you say in the beginning.
Let's go video finally out I can't wait to watch the entire thing!
This game turned out so good! I relate to the devs' struggle with finishing the game after they've added loads of cool features to their wishlist. Sometimes development seems never-ending - with every feature checked off the to-do list, new ideas crop up to take its place, and the total workload just keeps stacking. But look at the results of that ambition!
I keep struggling with this "scope creep" in my own projects. Even with just a little ambition, my project would grow to the point where completing it becomes unrealistic. But I'm trying to make the final product great like the devs did for Freedom Planet!
I'm honestly so glad that this April, XSEED Games actually went out of the way to sponsor a bunch of high-profile VTubers to play this game for the console release.
Said VTubers were Cy Yu (Zao), Mimcubus (Kalaw), PorcelainMaid/Jowol, Olivia Monroe, BasilWoof, marimari_en, and Rosedoodle.
Sadly, they all have only played _Freedom Planet 2_ once, and never followed up on it. (It's okay for Cy Yu and Mimcubus, since they are voice actors for the game.)
And ironically, Deven Mack/Rockoon, who wasn't sponsored by XSEED, has cleared _Freedom Planet 1_ as Carol.
Excellent Video! Freedom Planet 2 was a big release for me as well and it was easily one of my favorite games last year! Agree with you on many aspects, especially how good that soundtrack is. However, if you want to see a video list where FP2 did get recognized John Linneman from Digital Foundry named FP2 his 8th favorite game of 2022.
Having just completed my 2nd playthrough of the game, I enjoyed this video a lot. Its a shame that this game isn't getting the reach it really deserves, but I am glad it does seem to have a decent fanbase (I know I'm guilty of sleeping on it until now). I'm hoping that more big streamers play the game to put more eyes on it. I'm also excited to see what else the devs create in the future (I believe they said they will take a break before working on FP3, which is understandable)
This game actually looks way better than any Sonic game and I am not a Sonic fan but I am definitely into the vibes of this game immensely more.
This was such a great review and helped put my similar thoughts into words. I was really impressed with the quality of it all! Subbing asap
I feel like merga final boss only has real emotional impact if you play as lilac, its kinda ruined if you figth her as carol and mostly neera, it still has a bit of impact with milla, but playing it as lilac its a whole different level
18:25 I beated her first try
29:45 Why can she speak spanish? lmao
Part of the problem is the way the team handled the game's release. It had little to no fanfare or promotion, After an eight year wait, sadly a lot will have moved on or forgotten the game had a sequel coming out. It is a shame as it is possibly one of the best 2D platformer games out there with a great story and characters.
I have been trying to find ways to recommend the _Freedom Planet_ games to a variety of popular VTubers. So far, I did ask Selen Tatsuki of NIJISANJI to check out _Freedom Planet_ during her Spring Steam Sale livestream and the poll for was a success, but then during her Summer Steam Sale livestream she mentioned that she didn't buy the game because of permissions issues, which means I sadly can't recommend this series to anyone in NIJISANJI.
I guess that I will have to try VShojo now. Perhaps Henya might be the best possible choice in order to try to boost _Freedom Planet's_ popularity in the West and Japan.
Alternatively, I am planning to become a VTuber myself. Perhaps I should try to grow a major fan base (hopefully with some foreign fans as well), then stream _Freedom Planet_ and its sequel.
Who wants to start buying Times Square advertisements to (unofficially) advertise _Freedom Planet 2_ to hundreds of people, like what happened with _Pikmin 4?_ Even Sabrina DiDuro/Spacey Batotelli mentioned that she would feel honored if that were to happen.
Sure as hell not forgotten with me.
I love freedom planet 2, best game i have ever played, i love it :D
Freedom Planet is a Sonic inspired game done right.
As someone who is a big fan of the _Freedom Planet_ and _Pikmin_ series, it has been a joy watching the _Pikmin_ franchise enjoy a newfound boon of popularity thanks to the rerelease of _Pikmin 1+2_ and _Pikmin 4._ Just watching that series go from an obscure Nintendo franchise to something that people are fondly talking about just makes me wish the same can be said for the _Freedom Planet_ series.
I wish Sabrina DiDuro/Spacey Batotelli the best of luck for her upcoming _hololive_ fangame titled _Project Chrono Gear._ I do understand that her actual goal with that fangame is just to make a Treasure-styled _hololive_ fangame, yet I also hope _Project Chrono Gear_ ends up being somebody's first experience playing a game made by Sabrina/Spacey, and perhaps it leads to more people checking out her previous games like _Freedom Planet 2._ In essence, I sure hope that the console releases of _Freedom Planet 2_ and _Project Chrono Gear_ end up being the _Pikmin 1+2_ and _Pikmin 4_ of Sabrina DiDuro/Spacey Batotelli's career.
what a beautiful game. can't wait for more
Great review. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and cant wait to see what they do with the series. Although I do have 4 main gripes that I really hope they patch up if they ever do a future release or for the console port.
My first one and this is kind of agreed upon by some people, but a lot of the music lacks an identity due to the amount of leitmotifs, some leitmotifs like the ones in the Volcano Stage, Parusa, and even Sky Bridge work really well, but some feel kind of thrown in there or feel like remixes. While this isn't a bad thing, stages like Avian Museum and Phoenix Highway are completely original and I feel like they shine the most. If I could compare this to something else, its like how Sonic Mania has the older stages in it, while they all are REALLY good its just the fact that the quality of the original stages kind of make you wish the entire game was original. I personally would say that Freedom Planet 2 does have the best highs in ost compared to the first game (I love Phoenix Highway), but Freedom Planet 1 is relatively consistent.
Second gripe has to be the story. This is going to be short, its good just not very creative that's all. Freedom Planet 1's story was iffy but it was really creative, but Freedom Planet 2's plot has been seen a lot in other media. Another thing too is that I feel like some of the characters talk way too formally, mainly Neera. I get she's supposed to be part of the royal militia and she should act that way, but it just feels really unnatural. I would mention the fact that classic mode isn't available from the start, but I genuinely think that the map you get in story mode is a lot cleaner and more fun to go through then the menu in classic as well as the fact that you can skip every cutscene or mute the dialogue.
The 4th, Nalao lake. If you play the game you'll find out.
Third gripe is less of a gripe, but its just the advertising. I really hope when the console port releases, they make a really big effort advertising since its an amazing game, probably the best 2d platformer on the market, not even joking if you haven't played this game you should.
Enough of gripes lets talk about what this game does amazingly. Stages: All amazing (besides Nalao lake sorry lol). The visuals are amazing since most of them don't loop and its one huge background image that is all beautifully constructed for over 5 minutes of gameplay. The game shines especially in its combat too, its almost bullet-hellish while also enjoyable and unfrustrating to run through. The difficulty is done really well too since the casual difficulties are very fun to run through when fighting the bosses while the harder ones make you have to treat the game like a souls-like when trying to dodge and learn attack patterns.
I love this game with all of my heart and I really hope they make a trilogy to wrap everything up, even if they re-used assets I would not care just because its all crafted so well and it would honestly be a shame if it went to waste. Its perfect 10/10 game.
Wait.. it came out?? Before this video? Last year ? And this video is 6 months old ? Whaaat????
Gotta play it ASAP! Thanks for the reminder.
29:30 Or no damage done to the health bar. Shields can take damage, but not the player character.
I'm playing Freedom Planet 2 right now.
And waiting their upcoming game Chrono Gear: Warden of Time.
Instead of sheer speed platforming game focused on puzzles and playing with time. Speed sections still there.
I'm especially hyped since game based on Kronii and Council in general.
i only picked up freedom planet 2 because a friend streamed it to discord and it looked fun.
im currently right before finishing every save file as all 4 characters, so if that doesnt say anything about the game's quality, then i dont know what does
Freedom Planet 2 is coming on the Nintendo Switch I heard. Perhaps there’s a glimmer of hope after all.
Freedom Planet 2 was my GOTY last year and honestly I should stream it soon! It's one of my favorite games and I am an old man. Personally I am ok with the long time the game took cause I am a big fan of games being done when they are "done". Also I highly recommend Galaxy Trail's published game Grapple Force Rena. I did a recorded playthrough of it years ago and the developer watched my playthrough and they made changes based on things they saw in my videos (I recorded once a week and each week I was playing on a new version lol). Hell there was a bug in a color pallet editor update that was minor, I joked about it and they fixed it. Again it was VERY minor. T.Ashley is a great person they have a cameo in FP2 and did some work on the game as well
Just gotta wait for the console release cuz that's where it's gonna shine
Another contributing factor to why it went under my radar is how the game is unavailable for Nintendo Switch. They've not announced its confirmed release date for this summer. So I'm left with no way of knowing or playing Freedom Planet 2.
Oh damn. I just beat my first campaign last night (Lilac) and i completely neglected to do the battlesphere
I didn't forget this game, I'm still waiting for a console release...
Well, it already has a release date. You must just wait until April 4th
Much as I love PT taking spotlight, I still return to FP2 with a friend. Some brave stones cheese S ranks, but shout out Oscillating Heart-no potions keeping a playthrough randomly tense than cheese'd. The time capsules could've done better maybe spread out given the many chests per level some new ones I find to this day
Did think i saw this fp2 review but no. More coverage to give fp2 love outdoing its predecessor in flying colors. Physical release hope for a bang as a 2nd chance since rugged release time
You forgot then Milla now can use kicks
I love this game and it sucks not seeing it get as much attention as it deserves, but there are some issues with it to where I don't think it deserves the title of "maserpiece". Don't get me wrong it's still an excellent game, easily a 9 out of 10, but there are some minor issues I have with it. Mainly with the story.
(STORY SPOILERS)
With the story, it's a big improvement on the original but there are some more issues I have with it you didn't bring up. First, you say it has a more consistent tone across the story but I couldn't disagree more. The first game got pretty dark with the beheading of Dail's father and Lilac's electroconvulsive therapy, but it kept its tone pretty even and gradually got more serious over the course of the game. Outside the opening it starts off as a lighthearted adventure and the tone gets more serious over the course of the game, peaking slightly at Thermal Base, cooling down a bit and then ramping up until the climax of the story when you fight Brevon.
Meanwhile in FP2, there are jokes being thrown around all over the game, even during some of the most serious parts of the story like Gong making what's basically a "I'm big and fat and therefore eat a lot" joke right after Shang Tu gets taken over by Merga and The Magister is nearly killed. Then on Bakunawa, Serpentine is being his usual goofy ahh villain self even when he betrays the main group aboard Bakunawa, in contrast in FP1 Serpentine gets mutated by Brevon into a freakish looking monster and is probably the second hardest boss in the whole game with the only one being tougher being Brevon himself.
Also, while there's less violent stuff happening on screen I'd argue FP2 dips into much darker themes with slavery, racism, genocide, etc. whereas Freedom Planet 1 is a more typical "bad guy causes trouble and a ragtag group has to stop him" anime/cartoon plot. Freedom Planet 2 is better in just about every other area of its story but I found it somehow managed to be even worse at tonal consistency than the first game.
I also found the way it handled racism in its plot to be really contrived in regards to the main events of the story. It's a major internal conflict for Lilac and Askal betrays The Magister and joins Merga because of it, but we barely see any of it and it doesn't make any sense within the game's own world. In FP1 dragons are revered by Avalice's people and Lilac proudly proclaims that she is one frequently throughout the game. Then all of a sudden in the second game her and Askal being part dragon suddenly makes them targets of discrimination, how does that make sense? We also barely see it with the only examples in game I remember being one or two NPCs, Askal's dialogue in the bar and Lilac getting extra attention in the Battle Sphere for being one somehow making her uncomfortable even though she was proud about it in the first game, and it's not weird or malicious for the announcer to point it out considering how rare dragons are in modern Avalice. Askal being discriminated against especially makes no sense seeing as he's part earth dragon, and Avalice's false history paints water dragons as evil. The Magister stepping down as leader of Shang Tu also doesn't make any real sense because he didn't really do anything wrong, unless you count falling for the false history put in Avalice's history books, and The Magister was probably too busy leading Shang Tu to investigate Avalice's history and make sure it was truthful.
I also don't like how Captain Kalaw just disappears from the story following his fight in Parusa, you'd think he would switch sides once he realizes he's been played because his whole speech after the Parusa fight is about how he wants to be a real hero and not just some action figure in a stadium for people to watch on TV, but then he just vanishes from the story. I get that he was primarily a comedy relief character but having him be a major antagonist and then just vanish from the story altogether felt like a huge waste.
As for gameplay I found some of the boss fights to be rather lackluster and the game didn't have nearly as even of a difficulty curve as the first game. The way the game lets you approach the order of levels would naturally make it tougher but even in the more controlled sections and if you play the chapters intentionally so that the difficulty ramps up it isn't always right. Good examples being the boss of Tidal Gate being way easier than most of the first half of the game, Corazon's fight on Bakunawa being laughably easy compared to the previous fight against Askal and Aaa working together, and the boss of Lunar Cannon being pretty dang easy compared to everything else on Bakunawa besides Corazon. Serpentine's fight on Bakunawa also felt pretty lazy just being a repeat of his fight in Nalao Lake but now you aren't in the BFF-2000, but I haven't played the game in quite a while so maybe they updated it since or something.
I've really wanted to play this game since before it even came out, but I will not be buying it until it releases on the Switch.
The soundtrack was a miss for me, sadly. The soundfont selection really muddled the tunes together and made everything sound too generic, and there were no standout tracks like Dragon Valley, Aqua Tunnel, and Fortune Night from the first game.
Aside from that, everything else was a vast upgrade. It's the first game in a long while where I'm actively looking forward to getting back to.
This series also probably turned me furry but what can ya do. The designs are just so adorable.
I think that the problem with the soundtrack in FP2 is not exactly the problem with the soundtrack( I understand how weird does it sound ). I didn't like the music of FP2 at first because I was too focused on the gameplay and just didn't pay attention to music. It can be just me but listening to the FP2's OST on UA-cam makes it sound better.
Still waiting for this game to come out on cosoles so i can finally play it.
Yeah, they delayed the release to December due to publisher shenanigans and to avoid the huge block of games releasing in September through November. I don't blame them. Whatever it takes to make sure the game does well!
Oh okay, i didn´t know this game has a release window. How do you know that?@@KitTheGoddess
GalaxyTrail announced it both on their Twitter and in their Discord server
@@KitTheGoddessAre there any Updates when the game releases on consoles? We are in December right now and i didn't hear anything about it.
There is apparently supposed to be an announcement some time this week.
I'm not convinced Cordelia is alive. I sounded like that last cutscene was just her finishing her recording. The issue is a century of time has passed. I've heard others desperately try to convince me she was alive but then you would point out plot holes. One guy told me that it was a wifi-signal which annoyed me because it required you to access the time capsules for a pre recorded/ corrupted message that only triggered when Merga uttered "I will have my Revenge" indicating that was the last trigger command. And of course the key problem you mentioned in if she was still alive, Cordelia would have stopped Merga directly. Plus it ruins Merga's tragedy.
Personally I don't think Askal was a misogynist, I just figured he held a lot of resentment towards the Magister. Though I wondered when he showed affection for Neera, you can miss a lot of his motivation if you don't go around talking to people around town.
I mean, we can assume the Earth Dragons have abnormally long life spans thanks to the fact that the Magister’s grandfather was involved in the Dragon Wars, yet enough time has passed for them to have been completely forgotten by every other race in Avalice. That, and the fact that Cordelia did not have Pangu when she was recording, meaning she likely sent that from somewhere else TO Pangu on Merga’s ship. Plus, why would they make that the post-credits teaser with the line “my work isn’t done yet” unless she was alive and gonna have some impact on a future FP story?
As for Askal, I genuinely made it a point to talk to every NPC with new dialogue after every stage, and I didn’t notice anything in regards to his feelings toward Neera. I just think that the way he treats Neera contradicts all of his other motivations, established in the main cutscenes and in the hub world dialogue. That, and the fact that his feelings toward her come out of nowhere when he confesses at Diamond Point, just left a bad taste in my mouth.
she aint ded
@@Omahdon How? That recording isn't exactly in mint condition.
@@JohnnyTightlips2007 it is because i sed it
They are literally one of the game’s writers @JohnnyTightlips2007
12:32 Eh? Plot hole? Can it not be excused by the "If you choose ___, the plot happens THIS way?" trope? Like if you choose Neera, She's always first to the avian museum incident, etc?
Idk. Otherwise, AMAZING video. This overlooked masterpiece was EASILY one of 2022's best games and I hope the long awaited console ports get it the love it deserves.
I wonder if they are going to make freedom planet 3
CYCLONE
We need freedom planet 3 #freedomplanet3
16:13 I think I really disagree with this take. There’s nothing here to imply misogyny. A confession of feelings, and attempted recruitment through that isn’t misogyny. You pulled a lot of nonsense out of nowhere here. I got wildly different reaction from this.
Will brevon return?
He probably will. In the cutscene after defeating Syntax in Weapon's Core it says: " Distress beacon : active " which means that it must have called for Brevon. If he receives this signal, he will probably return to have a revenge and with a greater army.
What do you mean freedom planet 2 was just released
I dunno if you’re trying to be funny or not, buuuuuut just to be safe, it’s been out on PC since September of 2022.
@@KitTheGoddess I'm not it just came out for my PlayStation on the 4th of this month
Yeah, the console ports only just came out. But it’s been out on PC for a couple years now haha.
@@KitTheGoddess and I was talking about the console release
I can still say a game has been overlooked when it was only released on PC at the time lmao. But I’m not gonna debate this.
You know, it's not confirmed that Cordelia is still alive, the end credits scene could have been i the past
Check the other comments- one of the game’s writers commented and confirmed she is alive.
@@KitTheGoddess oh ok
If I have to say something about Askal, it’s that I feel that a majority of the discrimination he faces is self inflicted, albeit indirectly. Here’s two examples, (I had three last I thought about it, but I forgot one.)
1. “Mangy Pup.” While intended to be a form of slur, the nature of the insult actually fits Askal in a certain way. His angsty, immature attitude, and it’s almost repulsive. The trio from the first game don’t really have to say a word to Askal before he tells them to “Eff off! We don’t need you.” He hears slights and builds up a grudge, then takes it out through words to individuals unrelated. Yeah I started calling him a mangy pup too. Especially after that stunt with Neera at Diamond Point, hoo boy.
2. His Battlesphere rejection. This is the one that clued me in to this thought process. When talking to the player character about the Battlesphere, he mentions he was rejected because he’d have an “unfair advantage.” Askal scoffs it off as clearly nothing more than discrimination. But it turns out that was a completely valid reason, because Askal’s geokinesis is strong enough to rip the surface off of a mountain and use it as weapons. And have you seen his HP bar!? That’s WAY beyond anything other know champions and participants can reasonably do. I was stuck on his boss fight and audibly remarked “No wonder you were rejected Jesus Christ!” Here’s some other top performers to show contrast.
Jade Fury: City Gaurdsman with peak physical Condition and loads of training.
General Gong: Peak Physical Condition and loads of training.
Spade: Peak Physical Condition and loads of training.
Captain Kalaw: Peak Physical Condition and a Tornado Generator.
Neera Li: Peak Physical Condition and loads of training.
Carol Tea: Peak Physical condition and loads of training.
Honestly, them allowing Lilac to participate was probably pushing the bounds of what was allowed, because of her Water Dragon physique.
I have no idea if this was intentional or not (most likely not) but it’s something I noticed.
The only downside is the soundtrack and that's a major shame because the first one was full of earworms
Played it, Loved it, but MANN, announcing a game too early and having next to no advertisement when the game is finally to be released, can really kill a game's potential success.
Or did they HAD to announce the game so early?
To my understanding, and I can’t speak for the devs here, but from what I’ve heard it was mostly feature creep that pushed the game back so long. They originally thought it’d be a similar dev time as the first game (3-4 years), but they just kept thinking of new improvements and additions they wanted to make throughout the process before they felt confident releasing it. Such is the case with a lot of indie games, really.
Yeah, that makes sense.
And because of that feature creep, they ran short of money for proper advertisement I suppose?
This is why I'm glad that XSEED went out of the way to sponsor a few high-profile VTubers to play _Freedom Planet 2_ for the game's console release.
Freedom planet 2 went full furry
Maybe it was overlooked because they didn’t advertise it.
I didn’t even know it was out until I saw this video thumbnail
Someone on 4chan said it better than anyone else in a thread about fast platformers: "[Freedom Planet] is sad and angry". Their reasoning being that the overly dark and dramatic story from the first game turned many people away from this game.
As someone who played a lot of FP1, followed uts development, but has not played FP2 yet, I my theories on why this game went under the radar:
-The first FP came out before Sonic Mania. A time period when general interest in Sonic games were at a low point. FP was often presented as a "Sonic killer". Currently there's been a resurgence in Sonic popularity thanks to the movies, the new IDW comics, and games like Sonic Frontiers, and the TV show Sonic Prime;
-FP2 development took way too long. I had it on my Steam wish list for like 2 to 3 years waiting. I myself didn't realize its been out already. It took too long and released without much fanfare;
-Spark the Electric Jester took over with Spark 3 as the de facto indie speedy platformer. The director of Sonic Frontiers even shared that he played Spark 3.
It is important to factor since FP1 many other indie devs have been making their own games inspired by Sonic. SAGE is flooded with new IPs.
No fam. I think Cordelia is actually dead. What we see is just the past when she recorded the message.
One of the game’s writers confirmed in another comment on this video that she is alive
I kinda wish the heroines weren't so overdramatic. Often feels like the villains being exaggerated are a lot more excusable and even fun compared to the main cast of playable characters.
I think freedom planet 2 is good, but in my opinion it is worse overall than freedom planet 1. The two act structure of fp1 has much better pacing than the level by level gimmicks of fp2. Spot dodging kind of breaks the idea of platforming and makes boss fights into a sort of unfun DDR. And of course the mich more frequent, unskippable cutscenes - arguably the worst part of the first game - bogs down the second game even worse. There are improvements in fp2 for sure but imo it doesnt do enough to streamline the formula.
Wdym unskippable cutscenes? Pause -> skip cutscene is always possible
I think the Dev hell This game got thought Made people lose faith in the project and when It came out people (like me) Just didn't Care anymore since in the mean time between FP1 and FP2 lake feperd releassed 3 spark the electric jester games by hinself without a team and 2 of them complex 3D games (spark 3 got even more atention and some people compared it favorably against Sonic frontiers) i think thats Why even amoung Sonic fans FP2 didn't do too much of a Splash like the First one did back in 2014
Freedom planet 2 better game