I really enjoyed this game as a casual rpg. I appreciate the devs giving an "easy mode" that's quick to turn off and on. This game had a lot of heart imo. It actually encouraged me to keep playing for the "true ending".
@@melt6479 you need to complete every companion side quest including such quest for main characters and collect all of the certain type of collectibles
I've been in a screenwriting group with friends for a while now, and one of the most common notes that comes up is that supporting characters feel much more fleshed out than our protagonists! I think sometimes I've subconsciously downplayed the personality or arc of lead characters because you're afraid of alienating potential readers. Great review!
shout-out to Chained Echoes, i really enjoyed it overall. felt like it was going for something and the story/characters were fairly gripping through-out. amazing pacing
Yes, I tried Sea of Stars after the demo, but the constant crashes, shallow combat and borring MСs forced me to refund, at least the game gave me the desire to play an old school jrpg, and I bought Chained Echoes, which I really liked, so it worth it
@@randomrandom7208 Are you sure there were that many bugs in your demo..? I played the demo for like 3 hours going through things a couple times and never ran into any issue. Not exactly my favorite classic rpg though, but the experience was pretty seamless.
Chained echoes is much better than SoS. Honestly it has its fair share of weaknesses too, but again, except for graphics, CE is much well thought and the combat and progression is more complex than SoS.
@@jaleshere I had crashes in the release version of the game (5 random crashes in 90 minutes). I looked on reddit and the official discord and found some information that this is a common problem for PS5 wireless controller users, so I waited a week after release, there was no patch or workaround and I decided to get a refund and try something else.
@@garchomowner How tho? I played CE and couldn't finish it, the combat was nice at the begining but it became really boring after the first act, the overdrive mechanic is gimmicky and becomes really annoying after a while, once you know how to manipulate it, its not really hard to just keep yourself overdrive the entire of the battle, but it forces you to use specific skills just to keep it up which in turn just break the player's agency to just fight as he pleases, and bc the enemies can influence the overdrive sometimes you just have to spam skills that you dont even want to use bc the effect will do nothing but you still need to use it bc otherwise you'll go overheat, the skill system also has a lot of problems, so little variety, like the princess being a mage I was specting more than just the same attack for all the elements. And there were many balance issues with the characters, too many characters, a few are clearly better versions of the others that makes you to not even bother to bring most of them into the party, and lets not talk about the gem system which it would be better to just get rid of it, the mechas may as well just get removed and game would improve, they add nothing new to battles and it feels as even lesser version of the regular combat, I dont know how many of these problems SoS has as well, I've only played 1hr of SoS, but at the very leat it doesnt have one of the worst IMO that is the overdrive mechanic. I dont think CE is a bad game but it has many issues that a lot of people dont even mention.
While I'm not terribly interested in this offering--the exposure is helpful though, thanks!--I want to commend the "I declined" on the offer of a review copy near release. That's some great honesty and integrity there in not taking a freebie...and then either not being able to hold up the bargain for the studio (~release time review/exposure) or then undermining existing goals & commitments (perhaps largely self-assigned) for contemporaneous work on behalf of viewers & members. Upstanding & outstanding.
Sea of Stars is weird. I felt like a sidekick while playing. Even when it comes to really important moments, the MCs do jack. It's always the companions that bring it.
@@crimeselendaswhat agency are you used to having story wise in jrpgs? You rarely if ever make a char, choose their personality or even make choices as that char. Every choice you make was predestined by the writers.
I personally couldn't get it into it. Music and graphics are amazing, but the story, characters and combat is downright miserable. While i normally like a combat system similar to this, it's as deep as a puddle. All you'll do is spam the same damage skills almost throughout the entire game. It's not a bad game by any means, it's actually a really good beginner RPG. For me personally i was severely disappointed.
I hate how this game was hailed as the spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger when the story of this game was such a joke compared to the predecessor. Timing your blocks attacks and spells was what kept me engaged with this game but yes, it stales pretty quickly when you have the best spells of the game at minute 1
If you can get the demo of Sea of Stars (SoS), test it. All the combat mechanics are in the demo, it wont evolve anymore. If you like the writing in the demo, go for it. SoS had a good marketing before its release. The great pixcelstyle, and the initial combat shown draw me into this game. Sadly, it was a huge disapointment. Mortis sums it up in his positives and negatives, which mirrors my game experience. Additional, the MCs are very one-dimensional (us good, you bad, you die!, Power to the friendship!) and dont evolve. But, its better to make its own experience, this game is still on GamePass PC
Try the demo first. Seriously. The story really, really sucks and the combat is you using the exact same 3 skills for the whole game. The art style is the best thing in the game by a country mile, the rest is not even a 5.
It's worth it. It's a really fun game. Although it seems others disagree. I played it with my son and it was a cool game to play together. It was like me playing a bunch of games from my youth while introducing them to another generation. Admittedly one of that generation.
I 100%'d this one, too, (minus the relic achievement in NG+ that's like +10 hours) and it's an okay game with an incredible veneer. Combat is a little bland until mid-game, and then it gets a bit better. However, the combat system really evolve in complexity, so maybe they can push that in a sequel. It reminded me a lot of Cosmic Star Heroine, but with less tactical ambition. Story ranges from "really cool and inspired" to a little dull for the first major arc or two of the game. Like, until the first major story boss it doesn't really open up much, and I found myself a little bored until that point. Going with a *double* protagonist *at the same time* for an entire game was a bold, and cool choice. It's actually pretty well executed, and they actually emphasized the support role of the third active member being more than just a healer. Difficulty was... not there. The hardest point in the game was being stuck with 2 scripted party members, and one section is overwhelmingly more difficult than the other. Not even bosses, even the final boss (first ending) with the perfect block challenge relic, didn't really put me on the ropes. I think I had one game over on the way to the Necromancer, and it's just cause I got super greedy trying to skip a save. The relics can nerf the difficulty a lot, or buff it, though there's no achievement to that. I went through the entire game using items in only 2-3 bosses, and in at least one of them it wasn't even needed. At one point, I killed an entire late game boss without giving them a single turn, and one of the "super bosses" (which they're more like completion bosses for best gear) I found a cool strat to destroy it. Beyond that, it was never suuuuper nuanced, and the fun in combat was tactically choosing when to invest into denying an enemy a turn versus supporting on your own. Overall, it's a good game. Could've been better in some departments, particularly making it more engaging prior to the Dweller of WoE (or necromancer).
My three main complaints are that the true ending is locked behind a collectible hunt; You will make an absurd amount of backtracking and shortcuts are scarce; And the xp gains are sharply curved, and respawning enemies usually means a full save reload to populate them. So even if you wished to grind it's very impractical to do so. Nearly everyone will end the game by level 22/30 because the game has a very set powertrack for you. Only the most determined grinder will stray from the railroad at all. Still a good indie rpg and an excellent first try.
@@codecatx5 if you go back on prior encounter you indeed will be much stronger than them. So maybe there is a boundary that they scale to, but even so if you're right that's inexcusable.
They took the Chrono trigger approach in that just playing through the game will keep your characters just strong enough to beat any challenges Chrono trigger wasnt a grind heavy game either@@Avenus112
I enjoyed the demo a ton, but I felt like it was sliding downwards at an odd pace during full game progression, I think it’s a solid game for sure. Maybe I’m not the target audience, as much as I love every RPG classic and modern I get my hands on (I could just be burnt out). I’m going to try it again during some cold winter days, but if y’all see this or any other comment similar and feel it’s not worth playing, TRY IT! There is a free demo that will give you a good idea of what’s inside, so give it a good ol college try. It's worth the time. I loved the environments and design art-wise it made the traveling a little more rewarding. Also add it to your wishlist to help out the developers!
I liked Sea of Stars, but I liked almost every aspect of Chained Echoes better, though both are in my top 10 over the past year. Chrono Trigger's my #1 GOAT so obviously having two games that were inspired by it was a blessing, but I prefer Chained Echoes's complexity in both gameplay and story.
I enjoyed this game for what it is, but I totally agree on the story and combat having a lot of wasted potential. I also wish the traversal of the map would've gotten smoother and quicker with the tools the player gets, but it's not the case, sadly...
Just finished it. I don’t play many turn based games besides Pokémon, but this game implemented something every turn based game needs. The ability to block or enhance your damage with time based hits was so addicting and challenging, it made me look at the genre completely different. It’s a 10/10 for me. Even the story was so compelling. Each character had a deep rooted background. Feel in love with all of them except Garl - who quickly changed my mind in the 2nd act. Now I wished I never disliked him ever in my life.
@@matheuscabral9618 I’ve been wrestling with this thought for a bit, but I really think the reason I absolutely adore this game while big RPG fans seem to really hate it is because it’s simply not their cup of tea. Many big RPG fans are used to these complex narratives and combat systems, but Sea of Stars opts for something more akin to Super Mario RPG or Paper Mario, with its simple action-command based system. The Mario RPGs and games like them are the types of RPGs I really find fun, so that might be why I love this game while they hate it.
I agree! I adore time based hits and blocks and any RPG that does them is instantly more entertaining to me. It just adds that extra bit of action and awareness that makes combat feel dangerous.
I'm really surprised you didn't mention the best part about this game, the music! The music in this game is absolutely amazing, and one of my favorite soundtracks of all time!
Some older games i recommend using turn based style of play would be Legend of Legaia, Legend of the Dragoon, Chrono Cross, Xenogears, Skies of Arcadia Legends, Parasite Eve to name a few. This reminds mw a bit of Star Ocean the Second Story, which you choose between the male or the female character and the story plays out according to who you choose. That game also had 80 possible endings and a choice of different ublockable characters with each playthrough
I agree with pretty much everything you're saying. I'm towards the end and combat is just annoying at this point. But it is on game pass so very worth the price.
The amount of skills you can learn, the variety of characters, the map design, the story. Everything in this game is just not enough. Average game I wouldn't personally recommend
Beautiful little game with incredible visuals and music. Characters have heart and it's a generally fun experience, but some aspects like the combat, exploration, and character builds kind of make it feel like. aJRPG-lite. Not to say that as a bad thing though, this would be a very easy recommendation for someone curious about JRPGs. I really enjoyed my time with it, but it isn't cracking my list of favorite games ever. I think it's a solid 7.5 or 8/10.
One thing that bothers me about classic and retro modern JRPGs is armor has no cosetic changes, this is a massive pet peeve of mine, even many modern JRPGs still have this issue, if your going to have arnor at least have it show on the characters, armor is basically just sets of passives, most western RPGs can do it why cant JRPGs do it, a lot of western RPGs even have individual armor pieces for each part of the body, you can either wear the whole set to get additional bonuses or mix and match
I can see not everyone in the comments liked it but i really did. I agree the main characters are dull but the side characters were all really engaging. For an indie title it was very polished and i loved the world and exploring it. The music is top notch. Iwould absolutely recommend it to people. As an aside I played it with my son and he loved it. For the price for me it was really worth it.
I've watched like 5 minutes of your video and stopped because I decided that I actually really like this game and I'm going to play it myself first lmao.
I loved the game in the beginning, gradually less as I was approaching the end. Combat is a big no, too few skills. Basically 2 or 3 from beginning to end. Story not deep enough and main chars are meh. Not a fan of the ending nor true ending. I think the team is still not experienced enough, but I believe Sabotage studio is solid. They will keep improving. Looking forward to their next game
the story was what soured me on the game. if you are doing a JRPG, a genre famous for leaving the player no agency at all on the narrative aspects of a game. then having a solid, coherent story should be the primary effort of the developer. while there are some really well executed moments, like the reveal of Re'shan at the tower. most of the game's story is like a bad fanfic. in my opinion the "true" ending scene with aphorul is hilariously executed in a bad way.
Quick note, and I know some people will hate this, but the "real"/canonical ending to the game requires additional play and completion after beating the final boss once. Another one, that I didn't know is that the Antagonist for this game apparently going to be the antagonist for the shared universe of games they are making (The Messenger and Sea of Stars being the first two)
Played it for free on Gamepass. Was really looking forward to it, and it just felt kinda...flat. I didn't even get to the point where Zale and Valere stuck out. I just felt like everything was lacking in freshness. The game's difficulty felt weird in terms of damage taken until I turned on relics. Mostly the combat was what got to me, though. Some people like their SMRPG triggers; I think they're awful and just wreck pacing. I also don't think the "puzzle" aspect of getting through locks improves the game, and, again, slows things down. A system like that would be fine if there were fewer encounters, but navigating past enemies eventually becomes a chore and I found myself trying to avoid combat whenever possible, which is not a good sign for a JRPG.
I think the game had a good difficult, I only really got the game over 2 times, but even then it was because I putted a limitation on myself of not using any foods at all and even with that the vast majority of the game at all points that I thought "Going a little low on hp/mp, maybe I should use one item?" I simply found an campfire 5 seconds later
[EDIT] Alright guys, thx for the suggestions. Chained Echoes it is. (And SoS next year). If you'd have to choose (I have limited time for gaming this month) Sea of Stars or Chained Echoes??
Hey MG, I was wondering if you can review the game "Trinity Fusion." I have over 74 hours in this game and it is one of my favorite roguelites I have ever played. Yet on steam it only has 90 reviews. Suffice it to say, this is a gem in the rough, and criminally under-rated. The devs need someone like you to shine a spotlight on it. Note, I have no affiliation, just a gamer who really loves this game and wants to see it succeed. Thank you.
I'm at the first Dweller's dungeon and so far my main complaint is actually how slowly you gain new abilities. It took until level to get your first new ability for Valere and 7 for Zale? By the time I got there I was already kind of tired of using the same abilities over and over. For a sequel, that's definitely something I'd like to see improvements on. Also, the lack of status effects, despite the different attack types, made the game lack variety in the combat. It would've added a nice extra layer of depth to strategies. Great homage to the genre, but it's not as ground-breaking as some people make it out to be.
Mort has to clarify he hasn’t gotten 100% on a game that released a few months ago because he’s been busy getting 100% on many other games. Meanwhile, I still haven’t gotten 100% on games that released a few decades ago.
I think this games strongest quality isnits visuals. It is a gorgeous game. With that said after playing the story without getting the true ending, it felt like a glorified demo. Nothing that happens in the game feels conclusive. After 30 hours I felt just like when I started the game. With more questions than answers and locking the true ending behind a collectathon? What the heck? The characters are like bread, the villains is almost a non starter. It was a very lack luster experience. I will only play it once and I'm honestly not interested in any continuation. It's FFXIII-2 slap on the face ending all over again for me. Honestly with all the indie games wanting to be the next Chrono Trigger, just play Chrono Trigger.
the true ending was so disappointing.... the fleshmancer: "fu*k, i suck" (gets depressed) re'shan: "its ok buddy, go to bed and cool down" (sends him through a portal like if helping with a hangover.) Some parts of the story are very well executed like Re'shan's reveal at the tower, while others are written with the competence of a bad fanfic. its like there were two writers doing parts at random. a character will say something thoughtful and interesting, only to say something out of character or plain dumb only a couple of hours later.
Mort out here with the full, full disclosure and full, full transparency! Had no need to tell us about the offer of a review copy, but he did anyway. Whaddaguy!
15:56 Is that a nod to CHRONO TIGGER? Thanks for the video. This has been one of yours that I've been really looking forward to. Maybe the boring main characters is a "meta" commentary, or critique of the genre? A child of destiny that will defeat the Big Bad doesn't need to grow, or simply cannot grow. In a deterministic world, there is no choice. Onward to 300k. All glory to the algorithm.
The main characters are boring because they're meant to be plot devices - two kids following their destiny. They were designed that way, one of the "self-aware cliches", if you will. The story is carried by the true heroes: the side characters. Especially Garl and Seraii.
Chained echeos ha an interesting story, and a great combat system which was challenging and had depth all game long. Sea of stars has a very interesting combat but its really shallow, flat and it always felt random... The story is reaaaaly generic and boring too. Not to forget, both MCs are probably the most bland MCs you will ever see. So if play for a story and gameplay, go for chained echeos. If you like a chill easy experience with some nice kooks and a good tune, go for sea of stars
Very good review. I highly agree with the combat getting a bit boring but I think that's mostly because I like live action rpg combat more than turn based. I will say this about the two main characters. I don't think it's a knock that they are fairly one note. So was crono. So was the guy you play as in secret of mana. So is the most known video game character of all time super mario. Lol did they even talk in those games back in the 90s? I don't think so... Mario talked a tiny bit in mario 64 but he never said much and it was never anything meaningful. Still amazing games so how did they do it without making a full main character like solid snake or something? Because YOU are that character. They are left one note on purpose so you, the player, can easily imprint yourself onto them. Most folks are either masculine or feminine so I'm assuming they just had the boy/girl Valere/Zale choose option for just that reason considering they might as well be the same person but just look different and have different powers during combat. Also, Garl is clearly the secret main character. You already got a good main character right there. I felt the same way with cloud and barret in FF7. Cloud is quiet and mysterious and unrelatable. Similar to the solstice warriors. Meanwhile barret is me, the every day man trying his best just like Garl. Demonstrating bravery and righteousness wherever he goes without hesitation no matter how scary things to come are! The REAL hero of the story. So considering all this... I think your one gripe about the story with the main characters falls on its face. You don't have to agree with me on this one but I think you should consider my take. Don't get me wrong though if we didn't have someone like Garl I would prolly agree with you more lol.
I agree. While I think it would’ve been interesting if at least one of the Solstice Twins was a real character, I still don’t think them being one note protagonists affects the game’s quality all that much. The only thing I don’t agree on is the combat getting boring, the battles never once got boring to me- but that might just be because I’m a huge fan of turn-based games with action commands like the Mario RPGs.
I enjoyed it! From a writing standpoint I thought it was mostly solid and I like that style of combat so it didn't get too old for me. I would have liked it if they made weak enemies run from you after a point though. The back tracking exploration in the later part of the game was annoying when early game enemies would pointlessly attack me.
After completing both games 100% i can say: Chained Echoes > Sea of Stars Imagine, Chained Echoes was done by ONE guy, this makes the game even more impressive. Art Style Sea of Stars is prettier tho imo
I have to say, for a game I have been waiting for such a long time, I was disappointed. It is funny how Chained Echoes turned out to he precisely what I needed despite not knowing that game will come out, its release just surprised me. I think of these two games, Chained Eschoes is superior in every aspect in my opinion.
If you love this type of classic JRPG I recommend you to play PS1 Tales of Destiny 2 (Tales of Eternia)... There is so many good PS1 classic JRPG games in early 2000,, but for me ToD2 is the most Beautiful classic JRPG game until now... I hope it got a Remake
Thanks for the video. Im thinking about pick this up as soon as the retail version is out. Btw. did you cover Yakuza Like a Dragon or was that not your type of tea ?
@@MortismalGamingI know this is old and you most likely wont see it but Like a dragon is a great jumping off point. Yeah there will be people who want you to do the whole series but like a dragon has a new MC , and it works really well. Thats actually how I started the series myself. Infinite wealth is shaping up to be better then like a dragon as well, so if you really dont plan on starting the series over , you can play the man who erased his name to learn more about Kiryu.
Love your stuff Mort. Great to see the channel growing. I loved Sea of Stars and would disagree with your assessment of the fighting. The great strength of this game is that it is short for an RPG. Considering your average JRPG is 60-110 hours especially with casual sidequesting, completing this one in under 35 hours means the game loop didn't get stale for me. Also it must be stressed that the music is asbolutely sublime. I didn't mind the combat by itself but considering you get to hear the amazing combat soundtrack (and that it has different variations of the theme depending on level) meant that I never got sick of the combat even until the end. As for the main characters I would say that the choice they went with is to give colour to their character and arc via Garl and the other party members. A bit like how playing with Raiden in MGS2 made you love solid snake more. By seeing how such a loveable character as Garl reacts to the protagonists it gives them colour and depth. They could be deeper for sure, but again, considering the game is short by RPG standards it's a fun ride with enough colourful characters interacting with the main ones that its good. This game is a 9.5/10 and with better main characters it would be a 10/10.
I played it and dragged myself through to the end but am not that impressed, it was ok. Chained Echoes was much more enjoyable. I liked the characters but I did not like the battle system or character progression.
i thought the visuals and presentation were great but the story and characters were so lame, i just kept waiting for it to get better but it never did.
Mortismal I'm not sure if you played the Messenger by the same studio but I heard that game has a lot of connections to it. I know its not your usual type of game but maybe you can check it out if your schedule is clear sometime in the future?
I beat this game two days ago. I didn't get the true ending because I don't have time to collect 60 collectibles. Especially when the traversal of the world map can become tedious. It was a great game but I won't play it again.
I feel like if this game came out in '94 or '95 it would still be talked about today. As someone who goes thru FF6, Chrono Trigger and Secret of Evermore annually, I loved it
Its unfortunate that Chained Echoes and Sea of Stars came out in the same year, I'm worried that one is going to overshadow the other. We can accept getting dozens of FPS games and action games without getting into an either/or mindset, why not embrace having multiple Chrono Trigger-inspired pixel RPGs?
I think the fact the two MC are so flat may have do to with where they ended up after the game, in a prequel from the studio I'll say to not spoil it for anyone. Thats no excuse but it might be the explenation
