Episode 2 -Unbreakable Bonds- is one of the main episodes in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2. The second chapter of the Curse of the Moon 2's story, it is marked by the increased difficulty, as well as a choice given that can potentially alter the flow of the following events.
Description[]
Zangetsu and his remaining companions, Robert and Hachi, having previously retreated after their battle against Beelzebub, set once again out toward the demon's castle, the Hellhold, determined to save Dominique's life after she had sacrificed herself to save them from the surprise attack of an unseen foe, slaying their reanimated as they proceed.
Along the way, they may encounter various swords, and if they find the hidden room within the frozen village, are able to use those swords along with the Soul Eraser to unseal the Zanmato. While the sword itself is weaker than the Soul Eraser, its soul-rending power can differentiate between souls of good and evil.
Eventually, Zangetsu and his allies manage to reach the summit of the demon's castle, where they find Dominique being used as the host for Mephisto. After an arduous battle, the stained glass containing Dominique shatters and Mephisto is stunned, leaving an opening for a finishing blow.
- If Zangetsu is wielding the Zanmato, he performs the finishing blow without hesitation, slaying the demon while leaving Dominique unharmed. Some time later, Dominique reveals that while she was under Mephisto's possession, she learned where the demons are preparing to invade from: the moon. Miriam, Alfred and Gebel arrive to lend their aid for the final battle. The Final Episode immediately becomes available.
- If Zangetsu did not collect the Zanmato and instead wields the Soul Eraser, he hesitates when faced with the prospect of vanquishing Dominique's soul. His slash avoids Dominique, but due to his hesitation, it is not a fatal blow to Mephisto. The demon gravely injures Robert and Hachi, forcing the group to retreat from the Hellhold. Zangetsu must once again begin his journey anew, leading to Episode EX.
Gameplay[]
With the loss of Dominique, Episode 2 sees Zangetsu aided only by Robert and Hachi; furthermore, the bosses, who previously behaved with their "Easy" behavior, have now switched to the hard version of their fights. As this was not enough, now all bosses, with still the exception of Vepar and the newcomer Mephisto, will perform upon defeat a final desperation attack; while thankfully said attacks cannot result in a death blow for the party members during the story (but they'll do so during Boss Rush Mode), finding a way to avoid the damage is the optimal way as, if successful, it will reward extra points and, in some cases in Veteran Mode, even directly an extra life.
While exploring the first three stages, the group can come across three glowing swords, which can be picked up; if reunited together in a specific room of the fourth stage, it will result in Zangetsu swapping out the Soul Eraser in favor of the Zanmato. Doing so is the only requirement needed in order to achieve the Good Ending of Episode 2, which will result in the story directly proceeding into the Final Episode, while failing to do so will instead end with the episode's Bad Ending, and make the narrative take a detour into Episode EX. However, there is steep price to pay because, due to the switch in weapons, Zangetsu will revert Zangetsu to his "normal" playstyle, losing his increased mobility and upgraded attacks that came with his "Ultimate Zangetsu" playstyle for the rest of the game, with the exception of obtaining the Daizangetsuto for the final stage of the Final Episode.
Stages[]
Episode 2, like the following Episode EX, sees the stages receive new, alternative names:
- Stage 1: Hearts Ablaze
- Stage 2: The Sanguine Blade
- Stage 3: Mark of the Sniper
- Stage 4: Full Metal Destroyer
- Stage 5: Blood Hotter than Flame
- Stage 6: Eyes on the Prize
- Stage 7: Together As One
- Stage 8: The Words She Spoke/Unbreakable Bonds
With both Robert's ability to crawl into ground-level tight spaces, his wall kicking expertise, and Hachi's mighty Arm of Destruction, which can shatter barriers that previously could only be destroyed with Miriam's great axe sub-weapon, his ground-pound attack Death from Above, and his Steam Hover, the exploration of the stages, especially the early ones, is slightly increased compared to Episode 1, allowing the possibility to undertake several different pathways, which is pivotal in finding the swords necessary to unlock the Zanmato.
The names of the second, third, and fourth stages are clearly themed after the available playable characters themselves, while the remaining ones describe their newfound comradery and quest to save Dominique; the name of the last stage will change depending if the Zanmato has been collected or not.
Trivia[]
- Due of her predicament in both Episode 2 and Episode EX, Dominique is the only playable character that never has one of the stages named after herself. She is only indirectly mentioned in the name The Words She Spoke.
- It can be considered an optimal strategy to obtain the bad ending in Episode 2 on purpose; since both beating the good ending of Episode 2 or Episode EX will still unlock the Final Episode, with no additional rewards for achieving the good ending of Episode 2, this will result in the four Episodes of the game to be chained together, avoiding the need to replay Episode 2 a second time just to have the opportunity to go through Episode EX.