Today is Sunday (actually, it just turned into Monday here in Tokyo), and as usual we get our quasi-weekly update from Gust, under the spotlight is the upcoming JRPG Blue Reflection.

We learn more about the battle system, for which two stats are crucial, MP and Ether. MP is necessary to use every skill, while Ether is used for "guarding," for "recovery" to restore companions' MP and for "Reflect," that deals a decisive blow to the enemies named Original Species.

One of the major uses of ether is a technique named "Overdrive," that allows you to keep using skills within a single action. When ether accumulates to a certain extent, it's possible to select the "Overdrive" command, also picking the number of skills to use. The higher that number, the more ether is consumed.

Since every action uses MP, it's important to keep accumulating it via ether recovery or by hitting the right button prompts before the reflectors or enemies attack.

The advantage of using maximum overdrive is that a skill's power increase depending on how many consecutive times it's used.

It's up to the player whether to attack often with small overdrives by using limited ether, or endure the enemy attacks until enough ether has accumulated to strike with a maximum overdrive.

There is a limit to the number of skills that can be used with a maximum overdrive. When that limit is hit, a cooperative technique executed by all three reflectors will finally be activated.

During battles against the Original Species in the real world, fellow reflectors will provide feedback on the situation of the battle. It's important to pay attention to it not to miss opportunities for overdrive or recovery.

In the game the weather will change depending on the progression of the story, which advances by clearing missions, while more missions can be received after school.

After school players will be able to clear missions or deepen their relationship with other students. Depending on the weather determined by the story progress, you can enjoy rainy days.

A little bit of fanservice can be enjoyed when Hinako gets wet, and becomes see-through. It's also possible to enjoy exploring the school with a wet uniform.

After school it's also possible to visit the "another world," where exploration will yield items that don't exist in the real world. Items found in the field will be part of the reward for clearing each mission.

Some of the items you receive cannot be used as they are, but they are materials that can be combined with others to create new items. This can be done only in the "another world," and new items to create unlock with story progression. Some can temporarily improve stats in the "another world."

It's also important to spend time after school to deepen the relationships with fellow students. Their troubles and problems may unlock missions that are important to the progression of the main story.

Special scenes can be unlocked and displayed when it's time to return home if you reach a certain level of relationship with a student after completing a mission or exploring the "another world."

Being friends with the students can bring benefits, including a higher number of support action from that friends during battle.

An important tool for interacting with the students is the "Frispee!" app installed on Hinako's smartphone. Using the chat, you can deepen relationships even further. As you progress through the game, you can see unexpected group chats among different students.

After finishing school and going home, several different relaxation scenes will be displayed. There are various kinds, including enjoying  a bath or relaxing in Hinako's room. Depending on the content of the scene, it's also possible that Hinako's abilities might increase.

While it's a good chance to see Hinako in a different way than usual, it's also important to pay attention to her thoughts, which might give hints on what to do the next day.

Three characters are also introduced. Ako Ichinose is an aspiring journalist, who dreams to become rich. She belongs to the broadcasting club, and while she can be nosy, she has a certain charm that is difficult to hate.

Rin Sanada is a member of the tennis club, and she's quite good. She has a fairly indecisive personality but she can spring to action when she makes up her mind. She's always thinking about boys from different schools, and she loves to go and eat out during holidays.

Kei Namiya is the older sister type, and known as someone people can rely on. She is actually a super-busybody that can't even think of leaving someone in trouble alone.

Below you can check out all the screenshots and artwork. As a bonus, I also added an original sketch by Mel Kishida that i found today at Sofmap in Akihabara.

Blue Reflection releases in Japan on March 30th, for PS4 and PS Vita.

If you want to see more, you can check out a charming trailer released recently, and a video introducing Lime and Yuzuki, Hinako's fellow reflectors.