Freedom Planet 2 is the upcoming second game of the Freedom Planet series, taking place two years after the events of the previous installment. It was submitted to Steam Greenlight on February 10th, 2017[1] and was greenlit on February 14th, 2017[2]. The game's release date was previously estimated to be in 2018[2] and was later changed to late 2019.[3] Both previous estimates have passed and there is no current estimate.
A demo of the game called the "Sample Version" was released on 31st January 2017. The most recent version (1.0.6) can be played be downloaded from Steam or the game's official website.[4]
Synopsis
Join Lilac, Carol & Milla as they team up with their once rival Neera to face their greatest challenge yet.
An ancient terror has emerged from the depths of the ocean. Merga, a Water Dragon from Avalice's oldest and deadliest war, has been freed from her crystal prison as a consequence of the Kingdom Stone's destruction. Through her act of vengeance, she holds a dark and terrible truth about Avalice's leaders that will change the history of the three kingdoms forever. War is imminent once again, but this time, the heroes are split between sides. As friendships are tested, will the girls stand united when Bakunawa rises?[5]
Gameplay
The gameplay of Freedom Planet 2 remains broadly true to that of its predecessor[5], with the following major changes and new features added:
Adventure Mode
Classic Mode
Guarding
The player can now tap a dedicated guard button to avoid a certain amount of damage from incoming enemy attacks.[5] The shield will not fully reflect damage from larger or powerful attacks; however, it will reduce the damage if properly timed. Milla can now spawn her Phantom Cubes by guarding.
Revivals
When the character has been defeated, the player can use one of their Stocks to revive them. This grants a few seconds of invincibility and some Health Petals back if a certain Power-Up is equipped. However, reviving doesn't work if the character's body has been disintegrated.[5]
Guardian Orbs
Instead of releasing a shield that surrounds and protects the player, the Shield Crystals will release guardian orbs[6] which will follow the player around. There are five types of orbs, each corresponding to one of the five Elements. They all have similar buffs to the shields from the first game, as well as some new abilities. For instance, the Fire Orb is now water-resistant, and can now spawn a health petal for every 20 Crystal Shards. Also, if playing as Milla, the orbs will carry her Phantom Cubes until she uses them.
Certain power-ups can change the element of all shield crystals in a stage (for example, the Water Charm will change the element of all orbs into water).
The health of the orbs is displayed on the character's health meter, stacked over two petals per orb collected; guardian orbs may absorb as many as six or seven hits if enough are collected. If the player, having obtained an orb of one element then collects another of a different element, the damage absorption will still stack but the element of the orb will change. Even though the player is protected from damage, they are not granted any invincibility when their orb is damaged.
Guardian Orbs have the following animal-like features:
- Water Orb: Fish fins and tail.
- Wood Orb: Butterfly wings.
- Fire Orb: Phoenix wings and tail.
- Earth Orb: Beetle wings.
- Metal Orb: Eagle wings.
Speed Gates
Speed Gates are rainbow rings with a similar appearance to the Time Gates from Pangu Lagoon. When the player passes through one of these rings, a bonus timer will begin, and the player will be able to earn Bonus Crystal Shards by leaving behind a trail of tao marks. Once the timer runs out, all the tao marks on the trail will transform into Crystal Shards. The longer the Tao trail is, the more Shards the player will earn.
Star Cards
Star Cards remain as collectibles and can be viewed in the inventory. However, they are now dropped by bosses and must be collected to complete each corresponding stage; they can also be found in stages without bosses. They can be traded in the Battlesphere, where the player can unlock Arena Challenges.
Hub Worlds
Hub Worlds, which didn't make it into the game's predecessor due to time constraints, will be a part of the game's Adventure Mode and will be filled with NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) the player can interact with. Freedom Planet 2 will also have a World Map, allowing the player to move between the Hub Worlds.[7]
Cutscenes
Adventure Mode features cutscenes similar to those of the first installment, in which the story is explained with unique animated sprites and voice acting.
It was originally intended for the cutscenes to play out in a style similar to a visual novel using still images, with only certain scenes including sprite movement. However, this was shown to have been altered in the 2019 Adventure Mode trailer.
Pause Menu
The pause menu has been expanded with the following new features:
- Guide: This provides the player with an in-game instruction manual on how to play the game, giving them details on basic controls, revivals, special attacks for each character and collectible items.
- Photograph Mode: This allows the player to take photos of the character while the game is paused. They can pose the character on the ground or in midair, making them look adventurous or even comical. The Photos taken will then be placed in the Photo Album.
- Photo Album: This lets the player look at all the photos they took in Photograph Mode. It is able to hold up to 50 photos.
Power-Ups
Universal Shop
Vinyls
Gold Gems
Robot Cores
Stages
Freedom Planet 2 will have a total of 24 stages. Unlike those of its predecessor, each stage is now a single big area instead of being separated in two. Though every stage will end in a boss encounter, some will also have a midboss encounter.
Main Stages
- Tiger Falls
- Robot Graveyard
- Shade Armory
- Globe Opera
- Tidal Gate or "TC"
- "AF"
- Heaven's Bridge
- "SD"
- Lightning Tower
- "Gbub"
- Final Bakunawa (final stage, divided into Three Rounds)
Hub Areas
Power-Ups
Power-Ups can be crafted with cores or with regular Crystal Shards. Depending on their usage, these will increase or decrease the difficulty of certain sections of the game.
There are over 30 Power-Ups, divided into five categories:
- Special Power-Ups: Enables the playable characters to use a special ability that is associated with them.
- Potions: Gives the player a passive buff for the duration of the stage.
- Amulets: Alters the stage; putting time records in separate categories whenever used.
- Brave Stones: Inflicts negative effects on the player, making the stage harder, but will multiply the crystal shards collected upon stage completion.
- Fusion Stones: These can be created if two power ups with contradicting effects are equipped. They have bigger negative effects, but a bigger crystal shard bonus.
Characters
Playable
- Sash Lilac: A Half-Breed Water Dragon Girl.
- Voice Actor: Dawn M. Bennett.[8]
- Carol Tea: A tomboy Wildcat and Lilac's best friend.
- Voice Actor: Andi Sina.[8]
- Milla Basset: An orphan Hush Basset with Alchemy Power.
- Voice Actor: Aimee Smith.[8]
- Neera Li: The Magister's advisor and Chief of the STPD.
- Voice Actor: Ashlyn Selich.[8]
Returning
- General Gong: The general of Shang Tu's army.
- Voice Actor: Jason Lord.[8]
- Royal Magister: The hereditary ruler of Shang Tu.
- Voice Actor: Edwyn Tiong.[8]
- King Dail: The King of Shuigang and brother of Spade.
- Voiced by Sean Chiplock.[8]
- Mayor Zao: The mischievous Mayor of Shang Mu.
- Voice Actor: Alejandro Saab.[8]
- Spade: A high-ranking member of the Red Scarves and brother of King Dail.
- Voice Actor: Sean Chiplock.[8]
- Serpentine: A snake with robotic arms and Lord Brevon's former General.
- Voice Actor: Jason Lord.[8]
- Pangu: A robotic AI from ancient times.
- Voice Actor: Victoria Vitti.[8]
- Bird Officer: A Guard in Shang Tu's Royal Palace.
- Voice Actor: Stephen DiDuro.[8]
- Mr. Stumpy: An inanimate Tree Stump and Milla's former playmate.
New
- Merga: A bioengineered water dragon and the main antagonist of the game.
- Voice Actor: Morgan Berry.[8]
- Sergeant Askal: A half-breed earth dragon and a recently promoted Sergeant in Shang Tu's army.
- Voice Actor: Christopher Sabat.[8]
- Captain Kalaw: The Red Wing of Justice and champion of the Battlesphere.
- Voice Actor: Josh Grelle.[8]
- Corazon Tea: The Ace of Flying Aces and the older sister of Carol Tea.
- Voice Actor: Lindsay Jones.[8]
- Aaa: A Tarsier who is obsessed with building and piloting crazy machines.
- Voice Actor: Sarah Ann Williams.[8]
- Cordelia: The former Princess of Shang Tu over a century ago.
- Voice Actor: Victoria Vitti.[8]
- Igor: The host of the Battlesphere.
- Voice Actor: Christopher Guerrero.[8]
- Maria Notte: A news anchor from Tri Kingdom News.
- Voice Actor: Marissa Lenti.[9]
Absent
Art Gallery
Videos
References
- ↑ Freedom Planet 2 on Steam Greenlight
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 We have been Greenlit!
- ↑ "Just making this clear: Our current estimate for FP2's release is Spring / Summer 2019. ..."
- ↑ The Sample Version on the Freedom Planet 2 website.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Freedom Planet 2 - About
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ Freedom Planet 2 In-Depth Interview w/ Creator & Voice Cast!
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 The Characters section on the Freedom Planet 2 website.
- ↑ About Maria Notte on the GalaxyTrail twitter.