Sea of Stars is Severely Overrated - Rayl Deal Review 

I was extremely disappointed with it as well.

I wouldn't give it character design either, some characters have interesting designs but often not for the right reason. And the main characters of the game? I couldn't remember their names if I tried. Girl with blue hair.... guy with fire powers... old wizard man teacher....uh pretty sure his name was master something or another. Who the f---- were the traitors again? With literally the dumbest plan ever made? Did the organization have a name other than, the organization ? Oh god this game makes me so angry

I also disliked that aspect. The discourse around this game was insane, and based on the opinions about it from content creators and games media sites, you'd be forgiven for believing this is the best RPG since DragonQuest XI going into it. That's just not what this game is.

I wish I could tell you that there's something in the second half worth trudging towards, but I can't. I would just uninstall and move on if I were you.

Theres a real market for baby games for dum dums haha. Ouu shiney!

​@InVINCEab13 It's funny because you wrote that to berate him but that's exactly what sea of shit is.

I stop after the firts big plot twist. Couldnt do it no more

I mean I understand why ppl think they liked it based purely on presentation but id love to know what percent of those ppl actually completed the game because I've got my suspicions

Agreed 100%

This is a great single paragraph summary of the game. The Messenger (their last game) was goofy and reminiscent of games like Ninja Gaiden, but since that is a platformer and the story is little more than set dressing. In a JRPG though, story is one of the most important aspects, and it has to be good. I really wanted to like Sea of Stars, and I just didn't.

I agree with you here, this is one of my primary complaints. I hated the pirate characters.

There's always some silly characters in JRPGs, but I found all of the silly characters in this game to be annoying. @@freeranger00

I wish I had stopped there because the game really does not get better. Fanfic-tier writing is becoming more common in all media forms right now, and I'm working on a review right now where I'm going to have to talk about that sort of bad writing in a game again.

That happened the week a few days after I posted this if I remember right. I definitely would have mentioned it in that brief section of the video if it had happened before I posted.

The art and music are absolutely excellent. I have nothing bad to say about either. In this type of game, story, characters, and combat are just more important, and that's where Sea of Stars falters. Thank you for the comment!

It is such a shame. I hope they do make a sequel and that they focus on shoring up the weaknesses in the writing.

XBC3 is on my list of games to play, but I need to play XBC2 first. I've finished the first one since publishing this review. Sea of Stars really does feel like there's only one good path to victory with each and every combat encounter, making a combat system that at first looks good, with great potential, but quickly becomes a shadow of what it could have been.

@@therayldeal6683 even XBC1 is great at managing good party. For example, while Sharla is the worst character (meta wise) she is still decent if you have trouble with healing. In the end I ditched her (for Fiora, Shulk, and Riki) she still saved me for most of the game. Then we got Melia, the most difficult character to manage, but amazing if you are a good player (unlike me for example). Xenoblade 1 never forces you to play in one method, which is what so good about it (aside the amazing story, characters, world map design, etc).

@@DaakkuuYRS I was surprised to hear how Sharla is considered the worst character in XBC when I finished playing it (I don't look up guides or anything like that before or during my playthrough of a game). I used her for essentially the whole time, and I found her useful; however, when I would use Melia, I could tell her DPS and healing was far, far better.

This comment is very relatable

I agree with you on ever point. The Messenger is a fantastic game, and Sea of Stars being made by the same developer is what got me initially hyped to play it.

also the part on the true ending when Re'shan finally comes back only to take away aphorul like he is a friend that drank too much alcohol. that was "bad fanfic" writing at best.

Agreed. I didn't get there myself, but I did look up the ending to see if it would be worthwhile for people who liked the game. @@nicolasinvernizzi6140

Great review. I would argue that the music is sub-par, though. It's not even decent. Some tracks were really good, but that's maybe 5-10 out of what, 80? The factory track in Serais world reminds me of Ocean Palace and was great, but it was almost cartoonish in places.

​@@nicolasinvernizzi6140I couldn't believe they wrote this really compelling character like Reshan, only to do that with him. He was like, the one good part of the game, aside from Serai.

I should've talked about the Wheels minigame because that really is a fun minigame. But yeah, I agree with you on all points. I had to use Disorient so much, and I noticed the times when I didn't have access to Serai because I essentially couldn't do anything anymore.

Glad I’m not the only one that felt this way. Especially regarding Serai’s disorient skill.

It's bad design to have an "open" combat system where one skill is a necessary one to use on most enemies. @@galientl4723

I had notice this too & it really was grinding my gears ty. The locks are often impossible to break without the disorient attack like you said & it really was bad design.

It's a shame because the system they made does have some potential, but the design of combat encounters really lets down that potential. I would be interested in trying out a sequel if they can shore up the combat and writing. @@Dretroz

The writers just really wanted a Mary Sue Deus Ex Machina in their game.

I like discussing games, so I'm looking forward to when you are able to finish the video!

@@therayldeal6683 - alright I finished and got the platinum and I’d have to say I agree with some of the review and not other parts. Nailed it on the combat; I felt it tedious in normal fights but it was a welcome mechanic in boss fights. In normal fights I just ignored them because why not and in bosses I it got me to pause and think My issue with Garl is they killed him and he lingered for about 2h diminishing the impact. In other games, deaths left you with a feeling of “yea but they’ll be back…right?” where here it was like that scene from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie when she killed that vampire and he crawled around kicking the wall. The completion process was not that bad at all. Yes it had collectibles but so does almost every other platinum trophy. Over all it was very straight forward and almost all the trophies were on the path to just finishing the game. I will end it on the pacing. Knowing the game was 30-40h, it was like watching a clock going “how am I going to finish in time” only to be rushed for the second “half” of the game. The beginning had this sense of exploration, but after getting Ra’shad it was like, fingers, now here, now fight this guy….and we’re all powerful now. I’d give this game a solid 7/10 - for the price, it’s worth a play-through

Solid and honest response. I can't really disagree with you because I would put the game at a 6 or 7 out of ten as well. The core thesis of my review is that the 8s and 9s (and the connotative discourse around the game those scores imply) isn't accurate the the game as it is. When it comes to completing games, I only really do it if I really love the game, and I will make exceptions for games that don't make me go too far out of my way. When talking about how annoying the completion process is, I was more talking about how it wasn't worth it to know what the secret ending was in a game I wasn't enjoying that much. I do agree with you that the gameplay mechanics shine much more in the boss fights, which is why I mentioned Meduso in my review because I felt that boss showed how the mechanics could be used to full effect. I've got a Yakuza Zero review in the works (hopefully dropping tomorrow), so check that out if you've got an interest. @@grawlix311

I found it to be tedious. Other people like it though. If my complaints sound like something you would also not like, I'd skip it if I were you.

I was a big fan of his channel from 2018-2020, but I stopped watching him after his videos on Final Fantasy VII Remake.

I stopped watching completionist when it became clear he wasn't reviewing games, but performing the most prose filled fillacio on them.

P5R is fantastic. I need to do a second playthrough of that at some point. If I ever get around to it, I'll likely do a Post Platinum review on it.

Dude, same. The Messenger is fairly high up on my Top 100 of the 2010s, and I was so hyped to see that team take a crack at the traditional JRPG experience. I was so disappointed, and the only reason I made it through the experience is so that I could warn other people away from spending their time and/or money on it.

I'm not super familiar with the cozy gaming community, but I'm not surprised that they would have a narrow idea of what makes a cozy game. I'd not heard of In Stars and Time before your comment, but it looks like it could be a lot of fun. I put it on my backlog! Thanks for the comment!

A 7/10 is a fair score. It is playable, and there aren't any major bugs at all.

That's the best + quickest summary of the game I've seen. The combat thing was so disappointing for me in my playthrough.

Chained Echoes is on my list of games to play. I just haven't had the time to get to it quite yet. I looked up the alternate ending and was happy I didn't go for it. I would've disliked the game more if I went through a collectible hunt for that to be the "prize." I'm currently working on a couple of RPG videos: 1.) Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth 2.) Yakuza: Like a Dragon and comparing it to Dragon Quest XI + Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch 3.) Baldur's Gate 1 and comparing it to Fallout 1. Since you have 30 years of RPG experience, I'm curious what you think of these games (I haven't gotten far with #2 or 3 on the list) if you've gotten around to them.

@@therayldeal6683 Yeah, so Chained Echoes I found to be pretty good at most things, would recomend generally for people with SNES rpg era taste and JRPG interest in general. Not perfect, but I found it to be worth my limited time (got children and so on, so can't play as much as I would like), excellent music and very respectable writing and story (looking forward to hear about the sequel) Especially the latter I found to be quite fresh in tone compared to many JRPGs in the last decade, which imo are relying too much on certain writing and tone cliches (but maybe it's just that I'm getting harder to surprise in the RPG department) I agree, the real ending doesn't really add much to the overall experience of Sea of Stars, so good that you saved those few hours and moved on to something else. Looking forward to your new videos (I subscribed) cause I liked how you presented your opinion. I do enjoy many types of games, not just RPGs and don't have that much time to play so I haven't necessarily played all games, especially new-ish releases, but I got some quick thoughts to share below. So no.1 I haven't played and I'm probably biased because FFVII is one of my favourite games ever so I didn't quite like it when FFVII remake (which I enjoyed well enough) turned out to be some sort of sequel/reboot kind of thing, I guess I just wanted to relive the org. story + some potential extended additions to org. lore. It doesn't mean I won't play it, I most likely will, but it's fallen off my priority list, possibly until the whole story is released and they release a "FFVII complete story bundle". If you've played the original one would be cool to hear your views, regardless interested in hearing what you think and generally anyway, cause I felt your taste in rpg might be somewhat similar to mine (but could be wring, after all I'm just basing it on this one video of yours I saw) On no.2, again, possibly biased because I am a bit of a "Japan nerd" so always kinda wanted to get into Yakuza more, I've only played 0 and 1 so far, whcih I enjoyed as a more "real-er drama" kind of story with its setting in Japan, but again can't comment on like a dragon. Hope to get to play it at some point in the next decade! What I felt about 1 and 0 is that the minigame focus is a bit hit a miss with me, but it's also not mandatory to do so fair enough. No3. is an interesting one, not sure where general public sits on this one. I played BG1 on release back in the day in 98? It was a pretty innovative thing back then and I liked it a lot (although I found BG2 to be better), but can't comment on how well it's aged cause I haven't touched it in 25 years, but if you ask me (not sure if you're on the younger or older spectrum of the gamer population) it's well worth visiting these older games as there are some pretty darn good stories and experiences there. Especially if you're like me and play RPGs more for the story than the mechanics then definitely worth playing the classics (although some have aged better than others on the mechanics side, which is also important) It's hard to give a fair opinion on something I played so long ago but BG1 is more about exploration and adventure (more difficult also). BG2 is more about quests and stories. BG2 was more structured on the story department, which is why I liked it more in the end. So depends if you enjoy RPGs that are just intented to be an "adventure simlulator" or a well structured story. I felt BG 1 was rather generically written with plenty of fantasy stereotypes and stuff, that said the plot was still decent and a very recommended game back then. I remember thinking BG2 had a much darker tone, and although it was similar to BG1 I felt it was a lot darker and more developed on the narrative, thematic department. So, if you end up enjoying BG1, give 2 a try too. Sorry if that was kinda dissapointing as I didn't have much to say in 2 out of 3, but those are my thoughts. Keep up with the good videos, looking forward to more stuff. BTW decent BG type game was Divinity original Sin, it was a bit slow for the first few hours, but ended up thinking it was a very good game (second one is still on todo list unfortunately)

@@Stamnoso I was also not super into the sequel aspect of FF7 Remake, but I do love the original quite a bit. I've got an idea for a challenge run of that game, and I might make a video about it whenever I get around to doing it. I actually haven't done much of the minigames in the Yakuza series so far. I've currently played through 9 titles (7 mainline + 2 spin-offs), and Like a Dragon will be my tenth this year. I enjoy them quite a bit, and so far, I would put Zero and 6 up the highest in my personal ranking of the games (I plan to do a video ranking all of the games at some point around ~August). I'd like to make a video comparing BG1 and Fallout 1. I've played through Fallout many times in my life, but BG1 will be a new one for me. I like older games (born in '95), so I'm sure I'll enjoy it, even if it does have some rough retro edges. Divinity Original Sin 1 + 2 are both on my backlog. I plan to playthrough them with a friend in Couch Coop at some point after I finish my 1st playthrough of Baldur's Gate III. Thank you for the conversation and for the sub! The games I plan to cover for the rest of year are: the last 3 Yakuza games, Megaman X, FF7 Rebirth, Death Stranding, Alone in the Dark, Demon's Souls, Metal Gear Solid 1-3, and Baldur's Gate 1. Some of these games might change if I don't end up feeling strongly enough about them to make a video, but that's what I've got in my line-up alongside a smattering of other videos.

@@Stamnoso @therayIdeal6683 As far as RPGs are concerned, have Keylocker, My Familiar and Pillory by any chance been on your radar?

That's where I'm at too. Hearing people talk, this sounded like a 9/10 or 10/10 masterpiece; whereas, I think it's more like a 6 or 7/10. I won't be checking out the DLC either.

Yep, one of Sea of Stars' biggest problems is how boring it is most of the time.

Dude, Final Fantasy Tactics is legit my favorite game of all time. I taught myself to read by playing that game.

@@therayldeal6683 Its crazy to me that nothing has managed to top that game since 20+ years. If you love FF tactics give tactics ogre a shot its a predessor game made by the same guy that directed FF tactics.

Tactics Ogre Reborn is literally on my list of games to play next year! Whenever I get around to it, I will be dropping a review on it. @@GutsOfRivia

The people who enjoyed Garl for those reasons (not wanting preachy types nor edgy brooding ones) may find more to love in the protagonist Pseudo from the 2023 game Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. That game is comparatively more grounded and quite a different beast from Sea of Stars as a game and in setting alike, but it's very solid, well-written, and i can warmly recommend it. Pseudo is, visually, profoundly bizarre and ugly. Dude seems a bit on the older side of things, lives as a hermit who practices martial arts, and there's hints that he does not feel "whole". There's nothing he really wants to live for. When a creature simply known as the Boy (a bird-like black featherball with human-like arms) comes under his care, Pseudo is not in a hurry to immediately become buddy-buddy with him. But he does help with the funeral rite for the Boy's grandpa and immediately asks if there is anyone that can take care of the Boy and sets a course of action to leave the kid at the closest possible, reasonable person. Or find someone else to do it for him. Mind, Pseudo's not mean about this to the boy. He simply doesn't want to take care of the child any longer than needed... at first. When circumstance leads to Pseudo having to travel further to find someone who can help, there's some interesting short conversations. They tend to be short and snappy when just walking around, such as when the two encounter a mushroom forest: "Mushrooms!" "Yep." "Giant mushrooms!" "Perceptive." "Are they yummy?" "Taste like wood." "Yuck. I like berries." More striking is a two-parter within the Zonectic Mountains. "I miss Grandpa sometimes." "You shouldn't. The dead are gone. They don't matter." "If they don't matter, why do they make us sad?" "*sigh* .... I don't know." Around fifteen minutes later, the Boy asks this: "Pseudo... what happens when we die? Do we go somewhere?" "Where should we go? Zenozoik is all there is. Flesh to Dust, Breath to Wind. That's it." "Is that why the wind... sings?" "I... don't know." Pseudo says this last statement in a more curious, wondering tone of voice. As if he thinks... maybe that could be the case. Pseudo's got his moments of sass, wisdom, impatience, humor and even menace. He never started out mean, but he didn't have much to care about. He's got baggage but doesn't let it keep him from simply going out there, setting a course of action and getting stuff done. I dearly love him and the entirety of that game. Can warmly recommend that colorful and bizarre monster world.

Chained Echoes is on my list for next year.

@@therayldeal6683 the small detail i keep remembering is, on collectable items like flowers/bugs/whatever, often the descriptions invoked a relationship within the party. Like “XYZ named this bug after it scared her while she was getting water.” Just small things that made me realize, why include something if you aren’t going to make it interesting? There’s a characterization opportunity in item descriptions that costs nothing and yet somehow i remember almost never seeing it. (Did XBC do this too? I think it might have.)

@@therayldeal6683 i also found the story and characters surprisingly mature. This isn’t a spoiler, it’s the first scene of the game, the main character semi-unwittingly participates in a good old final fantasy type “completely razed a town with magical artifact” situation and the party and other characters tell him things like they can’t forgive him because they weren’t affected, but he still has to live with it. Imagine Sea of Stars coming close to grappling with that. Garl would just bake a pie and solve everything

That sounds a lot like the opening to Xenogears, which is fantastic. I'm definitely excited to give this one a play @@waltergroceries9534

@@therayldeal6683 oh yeah xg is also a big influence in a lot of ways. Including mechs!

This is a refreshing take.

You and I have nearly the same perspective on it. I personally didn't like it because of the reasons you stated; however, I wouldn't call it bad, just overrated.

It's worse when you consider Reshan's whole arc revolves around him discovering the truth about his friend's history with darkness. But instead of taking care of his friend forever, he just pardons him and moves on. Terrible story for sure.

I've never heard of Evoland, so I'll check it out. The artstyle and music are the two things about Sea of Stars I do like.

Can recommend Clash: Artifacts of Chaos from 2023 for a colorful, solid game with unique art direction and likewise very strong music and atmosphere. It's a prequel to the Zeno Clash games which were first-person beat-em-ups but does some different things. It's not an RPG as such, for combat is... i'd say more along the lines of God Hand for PS2. Finding and assigning different martial arts styles to the protagonist, all of which have a unique moveset. But it does have a light RPG aspect in various armor sets and four key Stats to upgrade. The Stances and Special Attacks scale off this in different ways. Dearly love the monster world of Zenozoik and its story. And Pseudo himself is a pretty unique protagonist for, for one, being profoundly ugly, looking like a sore nail-less grumpy thumb using a gnarled humanoid carrot for a body. And some traffic gridding bodypaint. He seems a bit on the older side of things and has his baggage, but he doesn't really bring it up or push it away. He simply... goes out there to get stuff done. But he nonetheless has moments of wisdom, humor, sass, frustration, confusion and even menace. A fun thing too is that hardly anyone dies in the game. There's a group of Mercenaries that consist of about a dozen unique characters that pop up in different team-ups (the Zenos, inhabitants of Zenozoik are so varied that they don't even seem to bother with denoting species and subspecies). At various points, before they notice you or you engage in a battle, you can overhear a monologue talking about why they do what they do. It helps make them extra memorable not just for appearance but personality too. The three-legged blue moose man with a face like "A 2D creature in a 3D realm" named Tralkis simply wants to get rich and famous, so he can tell people that come to him for help to essentially buzz off. Contrast this with the platybelodon man Kroggo Longtooth who hurls entire boulders, who seems to genuinely believe in bringing justice and order under the rule of the queen Gemini. While hopefully enjoying a position of bodyguard and enjoying getting to bash in skulls. And there's the British milky pale-blue creature named Arsakarsa with a face like a sphinx cat or bat got slammed in the face with an anvil, who simply believes that you got to do what you can to get ahead in life and is willing to be *very* ruthless about it. And a yellow toad in a barrel who tries to slap you with a frying pan and makes racing car noises when revving up to charge at you, named Diogenes. He... never really talks but he's a short menace either way. Each region has its own different enemies too, but the Mercenaries stand out for being a kind of Team Rocket. Again, can warmly recommend Clash: AoC.

This is pretty much exactly where I fall. Sea of Stars is referential, but fails to stand out on its own beyond those allusions and in-jokes.

She's not an interesting character. At all. - She's a cyborg. - Her homeworld was taken over by the Fleshmancer. That's it. That's all there is to her.

@@OtterloopB I'm more interested in her as a character than her as a bottle that backstory and lore get poured into. What dialogue does she have, what opinions and relationships does she have across the game, how does she react to the things that happen etc. EDIT: Not to say your point is wrong, or that lore and backstory are unimportant, they're just not my favorite parts of characters overall.

I'm not against trying out a sequel because the combat system isn't without its merits. I just found it to be undercooked for most of the experience. With some tweaking, it could make for a thrilling gameplay design. That being said, I personally never bought into the CT comparisons. General gaming discourse is typically wrong about these types of broad comparisons, so I didn't hold the fact that it doesn't live up to CT against. That being said, I do still maintain my opinion there's not a lot special going on in this package, and I enjoyed my time with other indie JRGPs, like Arafell and Cthulhu Saves Christmas, way, way more. The team is making a sequel (I believe I heard the game director talking about it on the FPS podcast when Jirard was still a part of the core panel), so we'll see if they're able to put all the proper pieces into place by the time that releases three or four years.

@@therayldeal6683 I will definitely try out the sequel when it releases. Like said earlier, Sabotage Studios' other game, The Messenger is tied to the Sea of Stars somehow so I'll will play that too. As to whether or not it's a prequel or a sequel to Sea of Stars, I don't know. However, I don't think it's a direct sequel. I really appreciate your honesty on this game. I know a lot of people like to crown this game as the greatest thing since CT and go along with what everyone else have been saying, but I think the glowing reviews were a bit overblown.

The Messenger is an excellent game btw. I loved it, and it currently sits on my Top 100 games of the 2010s. I'm also not entirely sure where it connects with Sea of Stars, but I have some theories. I'd be interested in your take on The Messenger for sure. I played it back in 2019 and simply loved it. I've been wanting to play it again for the platinum. I'm happy you liked the review! I'm currently working on reviews for Yakuza 4, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (going for platinum), Star Wars Battlefront Collection (going for platinum), and Metal Gear Solid (going for platinum). My Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake review drops tomorrow, and my Yakuza 3 review drops in two weeks. Subscribe if any of those sound interesting to you! @@rodneymathews6775

@@therayldeal6683 Sounds good that you like The Messenger! I will definitely buy it on Steam tomorrow. I have FFVII Rebirth, but I really haven't had time to play it yet as I've been focusing on completing Sea of Stars. Will definitely sub! Keep up the great work!

Unskipable cutscenes are unforgiveable in this era of gaming.

I agree with you 100%. As time as gone on, my commentors on this video have increasingly had that opinion as well.

Garl really does destroy a lot of the narrative in this game. The CT comparisons is wishful thinking I think. Everyone wants another JRPG just like that one, which I don't think is ever going to happen. CT came at the right time, during the JRPG golden age, and on the right hardware. Experiences like it just aren't want major studios want to do anymore, and clearly, the indie devs we have right now are missing Squaresoft's touch.

@@therayldeal6683 Yea and that makes it all the stranger to me - if any of these people actually played CT they would know that it doesn't need to be succeeded or to get a sequel. The story for that game wrapped up well, hell even Chrono Cross was a sequel in spirit only. Also, the whole weakness system during combat just made me think of Octopath Traveler every time I saw it and while the first one was pretty good, the sequel was the bomb - highly recommend it

I actually have played both, and we came to the same opinion on them both. I never finished OT2 because I started playing Tears of the Kingdom and Final Fantasy XVI, so I'll have to get back to that whenever I get a chance. Right now, I've been working through an MK series of videos and the MGS + Yakuza series. @@DaGameTrain

Yeah, I was not impressed. Thank you for the comment!

I enjoyed the first five hours (roughly), which means we both stopped enjoying the game at roughly the same time storywise (I took my time early on in the game). There's always battle fatigue with JRPGs, but in something like the PSx FF games, that fatigue wouldn't hit until the final dungeon for me. In this game, I just didn't want to engage with the combat at all, and if you're going to design a game with the same combat style invented in Super Mario RPG, it being fun the whole it is a core part of its design. The only combat encounter I think is good is the Meduso boss fight, but that's fairly late in the game, and it's not worth playing the whole game for.

@therayldeal6683 The game for me only delivers in art style and music. Sometimes, I didn't like fighting music every 2 minutes. Like you said, the gameplay didn't improve or introduce a new spell/attack

I really enjoy The Messenger, and while the writing isn't groundbreaking in that, I also didn't expect a high quality story from a game clearly trying to be a modern, classic Ninja Gaiden game. Sea of Stars in a JRPG though, and to me, a good JRPG has to have good writing. Instead, it has the same style of writing as The Messenger.

@@therayldeal6683 Which was very bad, indeed. The messenger had long stretches of gameplay where you platform run one stage to the next, and the comedy comes in with the "shop" dimension. Not to mention according to the lore, The Messenger world is in a constant loop of decay and apocalypse with the sun and moon deities long gone, so... yeah, that world was FUBARed from the word go.

Same. I bought the FF1-6 Remasters to play those after finishing this one, and they scratch my classic JRPG itch far, far better than this ever did. I'd like a rerelease of Chrono Trigger so that I can play through that again.

@therayldeal6683 Nice!! I always play the original with emulation but, I know that not every body likes to do all that. I just feel we should have access to older games without pay walls, these companies have made big bucks off most these games so I don't see why they are so harsh about OG titles. How is the remaster?? Would you say it's worth it over the original??

If by original you mean original hardware versions, then yes, but if you mean better than the old ports on PS1, DS, GBA and so forth, that's a little bit harder to say since I haven't played these older titles on any other platform than NES, SNES, or PS1. The remasters feel better than the original and PS1 versions for sure I'd say.@@Dretroz

The music is fantastic and is definitely the best part of the game (for me). I don't really know how to describe a game's music besides a simple "it's good" or "its bad," so I took it out of my original script because it didn't seem to be a worthwhile enough point for me specifically to make. I rotate between rankings, video essays, and reviews, and my next video is "Mortal Kombat 2 Fatalities Ranked Worst to Best." It comes out tomorrow at 11am EST. Since my first major jump in subscribers came from a pair of MK videos, I made a promise to my audience to finish my MK series. If you have even a passing interest, check it out! Thanks for the comment!

I agree with all of these points.

The Messenger is one of my favorite games from the 2010s.

That is one thing about it that is undeniably fantastic. The music is great too.

Octopath 2 was such a fun time for me earlier this year.

The art and music are the best two things about this game, hand's down. I guess I was focusing on the reasons I didn't like the game, and the music and art definitely did not constitute reasons for disliking it.

Another thing to add... I felt like Garl's death was well done. In fact, it's evidence of the consequences of his worldview. Had anyone else gotten hit by the Fleshmancer's shot, it wouldn't have mattered as much. Because he didn't think to ask or think this through, he ends up dying. In fact, because he cared so much for his friends he didn't care about his death and then the Sleeper mission is basically a ticking clock until he dies. I found this entire plot point to be poignant and beautiful because of how it shows the grieving process both before death and after in something akin to a terminal illness.

I think he knew what to do through a combination of the prophecy and the Elixir (or potion) of Borrowed Time. I understood the four elements being combined, but that still doesn't explain why it worked on the Sleeper. The Sleeper needed more development in the lore department. If the game established something where the combination of elements made sense for his return to the world and his healing, that would be one thing, but the justification given for why the bread would wake the sleeper and make him happy is something like "who wouldn't be happy waking up to freshly baked bread," which is said by Garl when he concocts his plan. I compare the story-telling to FF games, which don't all have voice acting as well (though you wouldn't have gotten there in the review yet). I didn't necessarily want him to be traumatized, but when the extent of his character is happiness and positivity, he lacks depth, which is the main issue with the writing for all of the characters in this game. I can understand why someone would like that though, which is something I say towards the end of the review. I actually liked him at first, and if he were the only static character, it would have been fine. All of the characters are static though. Thanks for the comment, and thank you for watching the whole video despite disagreeing with me.

@@therayldeal6683 I can concede that the character development for everyone is pretty weak. I'd have loved more time to get to understand the characters. It wasn't enough to turn me off of the entire game though. I enjoyed it enough to 100% it on Steam, so they definitely hit the target for me.

That could very well be it. I'm doing a review of Yakuza: Like a Dragon in a couple of months where I compare a first playthrough of it to a first full playthrough of DQ11, Grandia (the first), and Ni No Kuni 1 to see if its just that newer ones don't hit the same way older ones do for me.

I agree on all points.

That is crazy for a PC release to not have K&M controls.

I plan to do that with Chained Echoes at some point (its on my list for this year), but I have to get through Elden Ring (platinum), Baldur's Gate III (platinum), and the entire Yakuza franchise first.

I did say I was going to talk about spoilers, but you are right that there needed to a period of time given for people to click away. I started doing that in my reviews after this one. I was pretty disappointed with the overall experience, and I would say that if you're not liking five hours in, that was about the only amount of the game I found charming to some degree. At that point, I was still hopeful the gameplay would open up a bit more, but it never really did. Definitely try a few more hours, and if it turns around for you, let me know.

​@@therayldeal6683 I'm sorry if you yarned I don't remember but good luck with your next videos. I think I'm gonna play more 2 hours to see if the game hook me. I thought I would be able to play with the pirates I found but sadly that won't happen this game really misses opportunities.

I initially had just his views on the completion process since I like to review the completion process of games if there's a platinum trophy involved. Once the whole situation started to develop, I felt I needed to include something brief so that no one could assume I was supporting the content of someone who is quite possibly guilty of fraud. I wouldn't call a minute discussing it at the end of the video as going "on and on." I'm sorry you didn't like the video, but thank you for watching to the end regardless.

​@@therayldeal6683 ngl I agree with Jirard on the completion process part, I've been paying attention to the rainbow conches and chests in my playthrough and when I first beat the game in the fake ending, I got all stone pillars required for the ture ending unlocked immediately except for the rainbow conches one without checking any guides. "Chores" like fishing all fishes can easily be done without backtracking, while the extra shrines and bosses and side quests for ture ending are also easy to spot and fast to get to there, given you have been paying attention to the map prior to obtaining the flight ability, the only thing I looked up for a guide is the secret shop in the port town. Plus there is the super helpful hinting parrot. Just got all the achievements on steam yesterday. Totally agree with your points in the story tho.

He only talked about Jirard for like 1 minute and the rest of the video was a full review with his own thoughts. The only problem I have with this review is that he spoiled major stuff without much warning.

@@RealPapershaper That's a good, fair, and valid critique, and in the future, I'm going to make sure it's more clear that spoilers are inbound with a more defined spoiler-warning. I mentioned I wouldn't be able to talk about this without spoiling major plotpoints and game mechanics, but I should have created a space in the review to give viewers a chance to click off the video. Thank you for the comment. I'd like each of my videos to be better than the last so constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated.

@jimmybranley3854 Initially, I only had Jirard's opinion on the game's completion criteria, but as the situation developed, I had to say something because I did not want to be accused to supporting his content just on the chance he is actually guilty. I also thought this created a good chance to talk briefly about the difference between the Court of Public Opinion and a court of law. I do not hold the controversy against the game. To me, real-world controversies the developers don't have a hand in aren't the developers' fault, but because of the way he promoted the game in his review had to be bought up when discussing the completion process as a counter to an opposing ethos. Thank you for the comment!

way better than chrono trigger btw, we did the same for that game.

mb an addition to what i personally typically enjoy, my favourite games of all time are: terraria - best survival game of all time gloomhaven - frequently called best board game of all time pokemon platinum - arguably one of the best "retro" games and turn based rpgs of all time wouldnt say i got shit taste and have plenty gaming experience, even with rpgs although i hate rping. i still say confidently this is DEFINITELY one of the best games to ever see the world. its not so much the story alone but the complete package that absolutely hits hard

id say u bring forth some good points, it is regardless perfect to us (: there is a thing such as too much criticism imo. its not "overrated" when people praise, love and devote themselves to it. it is simply well received or "rated".

@@anonmisfit I play a vast variety of games from every genre, and this one just fell short on every metric I judge JRPGs, and in terms of other features, it really didn't work out in the storytelling or gameplay departments either. If I had to put a number to it, I'd give it a 7/10 or something close because it is a perfectly playable game and there are things to like about it, but the flaws were just too glaring for me. Considering the game was getting 9/10s from most outlets, this is why I called it overrated in my review. Even if I felt it was in the 8/10-range I would still say "overrated" because that word just implies my personal impression is lower the critical / community one. "Underrated" works the same way, just in the inverse. I get where you're coming from with not liking JRPGs yet liking this game because I have a similar thing with ARPGs. I essentially only like Diablo titles in that genre, and I could see how Sea of Stars could be that way for someone else. I used to watch the Dice Tower for board game reviews, and he and BoardGameGeek did call Gloomhaven the best board game ever for a time, but I think both have gone back on that in recent years. I don't know enough about that myself because I've never played it, but Blood Rage tops my Board Game list. I might do a Top 100 board games list at some time if there's interest.

Yeaahhh, the story is the weakest element of the game by far.

I'm happy you liked it, and it sounds like your feelings for it are in line with the critic reception.

@@therayldeal6683 I'm almost always the contrarian but yeah, I just think this was an above average game. There was a lot to love for me beyond the nostalgia factor and the love letter it clearly is for Chrono Trigger. There are some awful games out there, in my opinion, that get way more praise than they should *cough* BALDURSGATE3 *cough*.

I never claim my review is objective. As I said, all reviews are subjective, entirely so. Something being underrated or overrated is an entirely subjective metric without exception. It's a shame I didn't like this because the first few hours had me hopeful the game was going to be truly special like the games that inspired it. I went in with a positive mindset but did not keep that after thinking about all of the things I view as flaws with the game. Thank you for the comment!

Tbh i agree the game is overrated. The story felt lame, the end bosses felt lame, the combat was lame( the end boss got like 2 rounds lmao?)

Overrated is not an objective measure at all, all it means is that a person does not agree with the given praise of something, and there's nothing innately superior in that.

I think it's objectively overrated.

The game is truly terrible. The most tedious game of 2023, lacking any replay-ability, so I won’t be returning.

Interrupting a portion of the attack decreases its power percentage, but the mechanic creates many situations where the only good choice in combat is to break or partially break an enemy's attack. The only time the combination of elements in Sea of Stars' combat come together to create something truly special is probably the Meduso boss fight. That boss encounter is full of choices for the player to interact with, and as such, it shows the possibilities of a combat system pushed to its max with good design. Most of the game doesn't do that though, which is a shame.

@@therayldeal6683 What I meant was only being able to stop 1 enemy attack/spell while others go off, unmitigated. So the player might choose to break the locks of one spell (and there are multiple spells to pick from), or burst down an enemy via damage, or prepare for the incoming damage by healing/shielding. You expressed that it was frustrating when you couldn't break all the locks, but that's when the decision-making is actually at its peak. And even when there's sufficient time to break all the locks, there's still at least some degree of choice because you can do so with empowered attacks, actual spells, or combo attacks. Between living mana, traditional mana, combo meter, and the HP of 5 party members, you're juggling a lot of resources. But I'm no authority on RPG combat systems. This is actually the first traditional turn-based RPG game I've finished since Pokemon Red; I'm far more of an Action gamer.

With my example, the main thing I was frustrated by is when you're put into a fight with several enemies that can't be broken before they pop off. I found this particularly frustrating with the enemy types that double another's HP. @@Spyger9

While I agree that the combat is terrible, I did also laugh at this take in the video, because I do see this situation of choosing what to get hit by as one of the few choices the game actually gives you.

Most of the time, the choice of what to get hit by was "which of these two same attacks do you want to get hit by." The only time where that choice felt like player agency was during the Meduso boss fight. @@gregeichler5237

I'm an English Teacher, and I'm currently in grad school.

@@therayldeal6683 makes sense

It doesn't do anything to iterate upon the Mario RPG style of timed inputs or the Chrono Trigger format. The SNES era of JRPG and the PS1 era of JRPG really only differ in terms of 2D vs. 3D. Story-wise, they both match up genre-wise, with the only other difference being maybe that the PS1-era of JRPG touched on adult themes more explicitly.

I haven't played Chained Echoes yet, but I plan to check it out this year.

It's good to have an imagination. It's common for people to lose that as they get older, so I'm happy you've been able to keep yours. Thanks for the comment!

I know about that ending and the process to get it. Considering how much I wasn't feeling the game by the time I finished my time with it, I decided it wasn't worth trying to go for the true ending.

@@therayldeal6683 I heard that the ending leaves a bit of a plot hole regarding the true ending. It never mentions what happens to Erlina/Elysan'darelle. I would guess that she lives in the true ending, but what the Fleshmancer does with her instead is anyone's guess.

The narrative is full of weak points imo, so that is not surprising at all.

@@therayldeal6683 I've seen a few reviews that say that Chained Echoes is better than Sea of Stars. I only mention it because it's supposedly inspired by Chrono Trigger as well. The main problem most people have with that game is the ending. I've heard of another game that was inspired by Chrono Trigger, but seems to have flown under a lot of people's radar: Dragon Fantasy Book 2. No idea if it's any good or not.

@@averagejoe5145 I really want to play Chained Echoes. I just haven't found the time yet.

I also go fairly in depth on why I think the combat system is flawed too. I provided that one example from Sea of Stars to illustrate my problems with the whole story, of which I don't think there's a single good moment. I think rolling credits on a game is giving the game a fair shake. I loved the game for the first 5 or so hours too, and I went in with a positive mindset. The game itself whittled down my enjoyment over the course of my 30 hour playthrough.

Trash opinion haver.

I actually haven't finished DragonQuest XI. I got past the point where the main villain is revealed, and yes, I would say the story and characters are bland, boring, and predictable. I do like the gameplay systems, but when I played it, I was a little JRPG starved, and I basically stopped playing when I had gotten my fix of turn-based combat.

@@therayldeal6683 Okay. I appreciate the honesty. I guess we one of the few to think that haha

Honesty is all I can promise for this channel lol@@onmywayto974

​@@therayldeal6683 that is a common take on all dragon quesr games as there formula works for the fans and its known for its comfy rpg feeling. Its definitely on the slower side but sticks to your average traditional jrpg which is what the fanbase loves. I cant speak for this game as sea of stars doesnt know what it wants to be and has way more cons and pros. Essssssspecially compare to dq11 or any rpg

Why would you call him not?

@@therayldeal6683 Maybe "complex" is an accurate way to describe him considering his incomprehensible backstory and daddy issues, but he is probably the least likable protagonist I've played in a videogame this side of the first few hours of Luke fon Fabre from Tales of Abyss, and I don't think that's on purpose. I feel like I'm not alone when I say that Tidus comes off as a whiny, entitled brat for the majority of the runtime. A celebrity athlete in the worst possible way. And why anyone in spira puts up with his bullshit I will never understand.

He definitely is whiny and entitled, but that makes sense since he's a dream of the Fayth. Zanarkand and all the people therein are essentially one huge Aeon the summoners of Zanarkand keep "dreaming" of for the past thousand years. They probably based their dream of Tidus off of the Shuyin they would have known, and in this way, he represents their lamentations at losing their civilization to Bevelle and their machina. I guess I consider his backstory and the macronarrative of FFX to be a part of his character, and with that in mind, I've always found him to be symbolic of Zanarkand's summoners coming to terms with their need to end the summoning. @@Aogami20

@@therayldeal6683 His backstory as a dream of the fayth, zanarkand as an aeon, and an imperfect recreation of Shuyin are all relatively fine (if VERY poorly explained in-game). What I have a problem with is that his personality is terrible. He's annoying, whiny, entitled, judgmental, allergic to taking responsibility for anything, and to top it all off he's completely unrelatable. The player is put into Tidus' perspective presumably because he's new to Spira and has to have everything explained to him; common narrative device, that's fine. What's NOT fine is that he's a volleyball superstar with millions of adoring fans - something nobody can relate to. So when he complains, it's like watching one of the Kardashians whining about something everyone who didn't grow up extremely privileged accepts as common sense. Let's be real - Yuna is the protagonist. She's a more interesting character, her character arc is more interesting, she's more relatable than Tidus could ever hope to be as a person born into a society that demands her to sacrifice herself and be happy about it. Tidus' english VA also does him no favors. It's memed on a lot, and I won't say the performance is bad - it sounds relatively natural, but it amplifies his portrayal as extremely irritating. I just hate him. Maybe it's irrational xD

Yuna is a better character. I won't argue with you on that point. She is a part of what I meant by "well-written characters." That scene in Home is only good because of how good the entire cast of FFX is. @@Aogami20

thought i was gonna agree with you til i read that hollow knight was too hard. it's difficult, but it's fair, esp with the power up customization.

uninstalling hollow knight bc it's "too hard" is hysterical coming from someone who plays dark souls. i guess his jumps are weak??? 😂 my bad-at-games friend has beaten hollow knight (with quite a few struggles, but still!!) omg and i just noticed that he praises hades. don't get me wrong, the game is outstanding.... but the gameplay is easily the weakest part.

It's important to find a reviewer that as closely aligns with your personal tastes as possible. Big review sites don't have that because their reviewers shuffle around instead of being tied to any specific genre. Right now, I'm trying to do a blend of reviews for games I like and games I don't like to give my audience a barometer of my personal tastes. I feel that's the only way anyone would be able to trust whether one of my reviews would reflect their best interests or not. My next review is likely to be either Spider-Man 2, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2, or Sable. Thank you for your comment, and stay tuned to the channel if you like video game rankings, video essays, reviews, let's plays, and podcasts.

​@@therayldeal6683 Yes, this was so refreshing! In fact, I favorited it. It was like a beam of light and hope in a dark world biased towards the indies. I'd have already hit subscribe if I had other consoles. The thing I that I only own a Nintendo Switch, no PlayStation or Xbox, so I only follow channels dedicated to the Switch, because info on other consoles is simply of no use to me. That said, I do wish your channel the best! Keep up the good work!

Thank you for the well wishes! I'm happy you liked the video!@@shnydtayne

I did say it would have to be demade to fit down to a SNES cartridge, which would definitely drop its production quality in a lot of ways, not to mention I would suspect there would be frame rate dips. That alongside the awful story and poorly built-up world does make me think it wouldn't have actually stood up against the titles that inspired it. I find those other games better even now without it being demade to be hypothetically released on vintage hardware.

If final fantasy was a product of its time people wouldn’t still be going back and playing the old games.

@@kareemissa975 💯 That's an A+ opinion.