Sea of Stars Review (Spoiler Free) 

I had the same reaction to the story; there’s this seemingly bizarre shame in being earnest nowadays and characterization/story suffers because of it.

I loved every minute of this one! Can’t explain the joy this game brought me. It’s not perfect, but man, it’s darn close IMO.

Nothing to really add here - I'm 100% in the same boat as you. Same thoughts on the story and dialogue. Same thoughts on my overall enjoyment of the game nonetheless, and how appreciative I am that Sabotage gave us this at all. I've missed dungeon design so much. These weren't super complex or anything, but they don't need to be to feel *massively* different from FF16 hallway simulator "dungeons" we've been getting for so long. Even just having different aesthetics in the dungeons here was such a relief. Definitely channeled some of Golden Sun here, and I was all for it. And of course, same thoughts on the music. What a fantastic soundtrack we got! Thanks for the video and your thoughts!

After playing FF16, Starfield, and Baulders Gate 3. Sea of Stars is my favorite RPG of the year

Great review. My theory is that a lot of these great game design elements which had evolved up to that point, were thrown out the window as soon as 3D became available in the PS1/N64 generation. The promise of 3D was so great that devs weren't interested in what they could do with great 2D anymore. I agree with you, I think that a lot of great game design lessons were tossed out unnecessarily. They have more life in them.

If you liked that style, but want a more mature story, Chained echoes is a really good modern 16 bit style rpg.

Adult life pulled me from games, but i was constantly curious what you guys have been playing and missing the amazing dicussions of the games I love so much. Sea of Stars is another game for my backlog to play when i finally get the chance. Just wanted to say I miss you guys... hopefully I can be here to watch Xenoblade 3 discussion. You guys rock!

I thought of you man when playing this game. I remember listening to the Chrono Trigger review many years ago. And how it resonated so strongly with me as to my own personal experience with it playing it as a kid. Both on a personal note and a game design one. And I remember how you expressed many times over how much of a shame it was that they didn't make games like this anymore. Now I personally am a bit easier at moving past that sort of thing even though I also miss it. But I couldn't help but think for a brief moment how elated you were playing the game yourself. Even if it's not a perfect one. It's a great thing to still have come out in this day and age.

Great job on the review 👏🏾 I love the points you brought up and your approach to judging it’s merits. I honestly go to you before I look at corporate reviewers because of the sincerity and focus on aspects left unspoken. Thank you

For me it was a 10/10 game, I see the story style as a positive, because of Garl.

I basically agree with all of your points. However I'd like to highlight how good the level design in this game is. This game honestly has some of my favorite levels in any rpg I've played, they're so creatively constructed. The only level design I have liked on the same level as this one in recent memory was Crosscode (another great game!)

The points of interest on the map the way it’s puzzles challenge but resolve quickly. I’m so addicted to it so far. All we need now is a game like this with an all time great scenario. The scenario is everything

Easily one of my favorite games ever. It's unfortunate that the writing doesn't give us much beyond surface level, but it didn't take away from my enjoying it. Finished up last weekend, ramping up to go again and clear everything!

You re such a good reviewer! I love the podcast, but man, these shorter reviews from you are SO enjoyable and interesting.

Eh, as beautiful as it is my primary interest in any game but _especially_ in an RPG is story. I’ll take a great story with janky gameplay over interesting gameplay on a poor plot any day of the week.

RU-vid! Where is the notification?? Btw, i really love this game and finally i can hear your review. Love it

Thanks for the review! I plan on picking this one up eventually; there are so many big releases this year. The 16-bit graphics with the retro sound fonts hit a special spot for me.

That short clip of FF16 really sums up what is wrong with that game. Whatever that magic is that classic FF used to have, it's completely gone now and has been for years. FF16 is just soulless.

I’ve never clicked a video so fast in my life. I’m about six hours into the game and really enjoy it. I agree with everything that you’ve said on your review. The tone, charm, combat, music et cetera are all fantastic. The game does make me smile and laugh, but I do wish it had a bit more of the serious tone of something like Final Fantasy 6 as well.

I've been waiting for your scholarly review with SOS ❤️❤️🤟

I enjoyed this game to the point where I did just about everything possible (those who know about the flimsy hammers know the extent to which I mean this). It's hard to say I didn't enjoy my time with the game by that metric, and the fantastical environments, visual prowess, and core combat mechanics really speak to that. But I have a lot of criticisms that don't leave me head over heals upon reflection. The writing quality is a big one that's been discussed to death and my take isn't really all that different. When Garl-- a character who is still pretty cookie cutter (heh)-- was the clear standout of the playable cast for me, it's not really a compliment. I'm even finding the writing of the new characters in the First Soldier campaign of Ever Crisis more engaging. It's surprising to me because The Messenger actually has a fantastic, colorful authorial voice. And it's not as if many SNES JRPG English translations were masterpieces... but they had character and often a je ne sais quoi about them. For example, Chrono Trigger's Woolsey translation has plenty of grammatical errors (looking at you, Frog) but the characters have layers so it didn't matter. You basically know everything there is to know about any character on an emotional level within a minute of meeting them a few exceptions. This is just too important to my continued adoration of a JRPG after playing it to ignore for me... there are games that have played far worse but stuck with me much longer because the characters were even remotely memorable. And this is before touching on the ham-fisted and flat dialogue, and how the story being underwritten results in major plot points that are nonsensical, and a general lack of thematic depth. Honestly though, I'm also not big on the music. The few standout tracks were great and most of the time the music fit the environment/mood well, but beyond that they either didn't stand the test of repetition or just felt like inferior works (I know holding Mitsuda to his Chrono Trigger/Xenoblade standard may be unfair but I can't help it). I don't want to rag on it too much other than to say I don't necessarily think it's worthy of the high praise I've seen. It's usually just fine (again, with some highlights). Also, combat did start to grate of me with the very limited moveset of the characters. The game makes up for this in enemy design that requires different approaches and otherwise it does just about everything right, but there's only so many times I can Moonerang or hold for a sun ball before it stops being novel. Also, I found the combat surprisingly easy because of the lack of limitation on swapping out characters... theoretically I actually love this mechanic but I rarely felt in danger due to it. The only times I recall dying were to a few standard encounters that caught me off guard. I also say I'm "surprised" at how easy I found it as the demo was pretty tough to me. I'd also note that the equipment customization was a bit lackluster and you never really felt the power of most upgrades, particularly weapons (the only weapons I recall having any sort of special properties were the ones in the undead area). But all this said, fun combat overall and like Mike it's exactly the design philosophy I want to see return. This sated me. There are also some quality of life issues. Until the very late game, moving around the map is a slog, particularly if you need to get somewhere in the middle of an island. Running back through zones only to get to the area you're looking for to do one small thing was extremely tedious. There needed to be a system to circumvent this. I'd also say that the inability to exit zones at any time caused a similar tedium when the thing you needed to backtrack to was smack in the middle but I could probably live more if they made navigating the map more palatable earlier in the game. (Yes, I understand the narrative/emotional heft of the freedom to do so later, but I think that mechanic allows enough new exploration on its own to still be impactful.) I put over 40 hours into this game so clearly I did enjoy it. Really should compliment how tactile navigating the world is, and the clear love and care that the team had for creating it. But all the big and little quibbles I have amounted to something that never quite felt like the genuine article.

Grabbing the physical switch edition next year, super stoked to play this one

Im playing it now, and its one of my favorite games this year, and it reminded me how much I love turn base RPG games !!

Great review! I haven't started Sea of Stars yet, but the Messenger writing rubbed me the wrong way for the same reasons you stated here. I hope it doesn't bug me too much, because the game looks perfect, otherwise

I agree about the tone of the story, but I loved how they used Teaks at the camp to introduce lore pieces that would later come up in the narrative. Any thoughts on how that compares to the FF XVI ATL approach?

Great review, you mentioned my top three rpgs of all time in succession, mario rpg, chrono trigger, and golden sun Lol! .. its making me think of a high budget cleverly dungeon design game and what comes to mind is that one game you did a video for with Landon.. Captain Toad for the WiiU! But i guess its not so recent anymore after all. Really thought you would play chained echoes first though, looked more like up your alley!

Totally agree with your assessment Mike, including the story criticism. Overall I’m just pumped to see games like this being developed and selling well. It bodes well for the future of classic style RPGs

This is a fair and thorough review! keep it up!

Heavily agree on the exploration and puzzles. Especially with the puzzles, it gives just enough that it isn't too simple nor too complex that it feels engaging and it also serves as nice variety to mix things up. I also wish more turn-based / command based games would include action commands. As it make this style of combat feel responsive and impactful which I feel is something that's generally lacking in most turn-based games.

I think the story fits the feel of this being a lost SNES rpg and works well enough. It's mainly the way this game reminded me of Golden Sun fused with Beyond Oasis that gives me that feeling that's the reason I haven't retired from gaming after 40 years. Good stuff. Playing Starfield, Sea of Stars, Persona V and Like a Dragon currently. I REALLY want to play FF. 16 but no PS. V. I'm very happy I have what I do have tho. Great review!

Mike, thanks so much for continuing to advocate for this style of game, and I 100% agree that there is nothing “antiquated” at all about it. Sea of Stars is a perfect case of a game that trims the fat of this genre and shows how a modern RPG should play. There is still plenty of space to be explored here, and I hope we keep seeing efforts like this prove that.

Haven't played this yet, but my expectations are high. Looks and sounds excellent. I'm totally with you on the point that this style/format of JRPG is needed more today. My recent related faves are Octopath and Bravely Default II. More like these please.

I completely agree with you, this style has to come back! I am currently playing Sea of Stars and enjoying it a lot.

Just finished this yesterday. I had a great time with it and the only minor change I would make to the gameplay is that the fast travel command needs to be remapped to a different button... like i said it's very minor but can be annoying because its the same button as the regular command button. I agree with you story wise that it isn't an exceptional story being told but it's more than good enough and the game looks a plays great.

I was really looking forward to this video, and I tend to agree with your viewpoints on this one, Mike. I think that some of the main characters definitely could have used more personality and depth. They had their stakes in the story, but not enough personal reasons to fight other than, "It's the right thing to do." That's my quick take on it, anyway. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story. The games that Sabotage has made up to this point seem to be more concerned with lore, history, and the overall world, and I think that's still a good way to tell a good story if done correctly. Some individual moments in SoS totally had me on the edge of my seat, too. I think the story was definitely worth telling at the end of the day. And the rest of the game is pitch-perfect, obviously. Definitely my personal game of the year.

thank you for no spoilers. Looking forward to getting a copy soon

The music, The art, The Characters, The World and the god damn WHOLE PACKAGE! is just sooooo fantasticly fantastic!

Great review, looking forward to trying this when I'm done with BG3. I feel the same as you - that there's so much room for RPGs made in 'older formats' (like the examples at 6:14 ) to explore creatively, and still impress today. I personally feel like the fixed camera view with pre-rendered backgrounds especially has gone far too unexplored. Just imagine what a game going with an art direction like FF9 would look like today, created with the technology we have now - it would be incredible! However (and maybe I'm just getting to bogged down in definition here) I'm not sure these type of games need a 'triple A' approach to come to fulfilment. Triple A seems to be about huge budgets and the highest quality graphics possible, so it's hard to imagine that even if a game like this was made with the greatest story, best art style and amazing gameplay would ever be labelled as 'triple A'. If what you actually meant by that was taking series that are typically triple A and making games like this with them though, then I 100% agree! For a while now, I've wished mainline FF would take an approach like Zelda has done in the past - making the huge, ambitious new console titles (BOTW / TOTK), but also keeping the older formula alive (a link between worlds).

The reason this style fell out of fashion is because a lot of loud critics with short sight and a lot reach in the late 90s (and weirdly vitriolic 00s) decided they thought it was old and dated and bad, and the whatever-was-new-and-trendy was obviously objectively better. And a lot of creatives and their bosses took this to heart as representative of what all audiences must feel, despite that definitely not being the case. Thankfully, we're finally starting to walk back all the damage done, and hopefully more games in this style can continue to thrive

More than any genre I think turn based RPGs need the right amount of difficulty. Too easy and like you said, there’s no impetus to learn the really well designed systems put in place. Too hard, and it turns into a grind fest, which can also become boring and repetitive. Just right, means you explore and master the systems, feel the adrenaline of overcoming a challenge, but never feel stuck.

Loved the review! Fantastic as always. I share a lot of similar perspectives in my own.

Looks beautiful! Gonna have to pick it up. Have any of you tried out chained echoes? I've been enjoying that one, scratches a similar itch.

This game made me fall in love with jrpgs all over again! Game of the year for me!

I've been eyeing this game for a bit now, this is all the endorsement I needed to make the jump!

Great Review, Mike. Regarding your last point about wanting a more serious story in a game like this, I highly recommend Chained Echoes. The writing of that game is not a masterpiece or anything, but it scratches that classic JRPG itch, has a unique combat system, and a more serious story. Though it may have the opposite problem with the story not having enough humor for some. I really enjoyed it, one of the best JRPGs I've played in quite a while.

I enjoyed it so much and planning to do the new game+. I agree with your opinion about the story. If only it made me care more about the characters it would be perfect.

I'm nearing the end of this game and I've REALLY enjoyed my time with it. I kind of don't want it to end. One thing though, the Wheels minigame. I'm either terrible at it or have terrible luck with the spins because I haven't won a single match.

Best review of this game on RU-vid right now. I agree in both the positive and the negative remarks.

This one is on my list for sure, be a while before it get to because of the good ol' Back Log but it looks cute. I'm planning to adapt my own Novel into a JRPG once it's done. With any luck, that will be your Golden Goose, Mike heheh!

I can't wait to play this game. I preordered it digitally and finished The Messenger shortly before it released. Sabotage has impressed me with their passion and design talent. Edit: So I'm about 5 hours into the game now and yeah, the combat is every bit as good as this video states. Something cool that he didn't mention is how item management has been designed. You can only have 10 restorative items at any given time. Normally, this would be a frustrating limitation, but in Sea of Stars, restoration is possible via other means that have nothing to do with items. You can restore MP just by doing normal attacks, and Healing skills are not uncommon. So instead of being obligatory "I must keep these ethers because I am using magic all the time," it feels like there is more decision making involved in items. What do I need to get through the next session? What do I expect to be using during the boss fight? How necessary is it to have MP restores in a cinch? The battles are incredibly well balanced, and being able to cook at any rest stop means you are only in short supply of restores if you are truly struggling, which hasn't happened to me yet. The most I've had to use in any given stretch is 3 or 4, and it feels appropriately challenging.

I haven’t beaten it yet, but same sentiments. Reminds me of why I got into this genre

I’m so glad I decided to commit to this game. It’s way more than I thought it was going to be, such a wonderful experience.

Thanks for the review! Currently playing…

It’s definitely GotY material for me. My only gripe is the character design, and that’s more of a personal taste issue.

I also love the cutscenes are animations above the graphical level of the game and there’s very few of them. That difference really means they’re just there for a moment to elevate things for a second or two

Just finished this today, I enjoyed it alot but Chained Echoes might scratch the itch a little more if you're looking for something with more bite to the story.

I definitely love the exploration and world design and GORGEOUS look of this game. However I have to say the combat system fell very flat for me. There wasn't much of a rewarding progression system compared to SNES JRPGs, so I wasn't really looking forward to battles as much as I wish I could have. I also didn't like the combo point system as most of the game you never had enough points to use any combos in regular battles. Still a charming and well designed game and I enjoyed it overall. Excellent review Mike, I agree that it brought back a lot of the magic of those 90s era RPGs and each screen you explore you can tell how much care the developers put into everything.

Easily my favorite game of the year - What a special treat it has been!

Love this game. I'm about 10 hours in and just love the gameplay. The "spooky" sections were boring but other than that I'm with you. Can't wait to see what else this game has in store.

Chained Echo's Osteopath traveler. we can do more of this

The review is spot on Haven a ton of fun with this game. I think its the best pixel art Ive ever seen, mayve besides the hd2d games like Octo and the upcoming Replaced. It helps that Chrono Trigger is my all time favorite. SoS definitely doesnt feel as grand and epic, but still... even a 80% CT I'll take any day of the week over a huge and boring triple A with generic art.

Friend was a backer for the game, and gave me an extra code. Will be playing it once I finish Trails To Azure. Will give me a break from the massive trails games l, especially before I get into Trails Into Reverie. As a Chrono Trigger super fan, I'm looking forward to this.

I’ve had my eye on this game for years. My own ideal game would either go the elden ring route of aesthetics or 16 bit jrpg route. Realistically I wish I could get the dialogue systems of crpgs like disco elysium and baulders gate 3 meeting the aesthetic of beautiful hand crafted jrpg from the golden age. Meeting several options of play and a robust combat system. This game is simply beautiful.

Really interested to see your thoughts on Chained Echoes.

While I bought the game in order to classical jRPGs, I havent started playing since I restarted my FFX playthough. (Great podcats on FFX!) It's next on my list:-)

SoS dethroned Chrono Cross for my favorite combat system in the genre. While the base difficulty is a bit low once you figure out the value of all your non-damage options, a challenge run of this game with no positive relics or gold accessories, and Artful Gambit+Dubous Dare turned on, was by far the most fun I've ever had in any JRPG's combat. Turns it into a more tactical Dark Souls. Finally, a JRPG where skill/timing plays a huge role, and finally my decisions in combat matter a lot more than fiddling through 1000 options in complex but superfluous menus before the fight. I'm more critical of the writing than Mike is here, but everything else is stellar and redeems it completely, from music and visuals to the minigames and just plain moving around the maps. GOTY for me unless someone pulls off a miracle.

Cant wait to get back in after BG3. From what Ive played I agree with most of your points. The opening scenario was idiotic but after that the transversal began to pick up and felt great.

Overall I really liked it, thanks in part to it being quite short for an RPG (took me 50 hrs to platinum without a guide), and it being very "pleasant", with friendly characters, uplifting music and vibrant colors. Personally I still prefer Chained Echoes for its darker tone and more complex systems, but they're both in my top 5 over the last year and I recommend both highly. They both took good lessons from Chrono Trigger and other 90s RPGs but still found room to try out new mechanics.

Sea if Stars is on my wishlist and to me, it looks like one of the best indie rpgs out there, but my biggest complaint with indie rpgs is that the stories are often very lackluster. The devs always seem to focus more on graphics, battle mechanics and exploration, but honestly, that's not what I play rpgs for. If you're gonna bother to make an rpg, you might as well make a Xenogears, in my opinion.

thank you. This is the one opinion I've been waiting for. Although it is obvious why AAA moved away from this, the fact that Sea of Stars is gaining this massive attention may cause some bigger publishers to give a go-ahead for (smaller) projects like this. My only doubt would be how it'd compare (story wise) to Octopath Traveler (1). That is the one point that really let me down in that game. And for clarification, this has nothing to do with the 8 separate stories premise but the execution of that premise that I found flawed.

I absolutely adore Sea of Stars! I'm on my 3rd playthrough at the moment. I can't wait to see what Sabatage does with the DLC. Game of the Year 2023 (yeah, I had more fun with this game than I did FF16, but I do love FF16)!

Doing my final collection run before the final boss, currently. I don't want it to end. More than an homage, I'd say. This is a full-blown love letter to the SNES classics. The merging (and enhancement) of all that worked with Chrono Trigger and SMRPG makes for some extremely fun gameplay. I find strategizing on how to break locks within the number of turns given is particularly engaging. I have similar issues with the story, but that's a common problem I have with most JRPGs. You want Acts? You want structure? Sorry. Instead this happens, and then that happens, and then the world expands, and it all gets bigger so it must be getting better. Also, here's a new playable character introduced too close to the ending for you to care about. Now fight God. Seriously, though, I do love it. The game may have to end, but the music will keep playing in my heart.

Next one to grab is Eiyuuden Chronicles 100 Heroes.

I loved this game and can't recommend it enough if any of you are on the fence.

It reminds me so much of Chrono Trigger. I really like this game.

So we have a name for it now - "Whedon Speech". Thank you Mike, you gave my enemy an identity. Now I have a target... Glad to hear it doesn't just bug me though, words struggle to convey how much I loathe this style. I always just referred to it as "Avengers 'awkward' humour"

I have absolutely loved this game and I am definitely not the "target" audience. I do not enjoy turn based games at all. Which I realize is my fault and my loss, but they've always just been too much for my dumb brain. The only Final Fantasy game I've ever played was FF7: Remake. I've always wanted to play FF7 (Mike is definitely a huge influence for that) but the turn based aspect kept me from enjoying what I know is a truly incredible experience. Last turn based game I played was Pokemon Blue on my original Gameboy. I took a chance on this game purely because of how much I loved The Messenger and I'm so glad I did. The Artifacts in the game absolutely help make the game way more approachable and less overwhelming. This is an entire genre I had written off as "not for me" and I'm so glad to be proven wrong.

I was really shocked at the lack of star ocean influence given the name

Got this game 2 days ago absolutely love it... haven't picked up my switch in a year and now I can't set my switch down haha love it love it love it thanks sea of stars

I hope you got Shadow Hearts on your list, in terms of the battlesystem. though chronologicaly i believe Koudelka might be the first

Really want your thoughts on chained echoes.

“I don’t understand why this particular style of rpg had to be lost in time.” Apologies if I miss the exact quote, but the answer is simple: greed. This framework of RPG doesn’t lend itself to DLC or loot boxes/game as a service. The ARPG approach capitalizes on social media and trophy hunting to compel players to buy loot boxes or obtain DLC in order to compete against their friends, even if just on a leaderboard. Easy games with easy win buttons and cinematic visuals (FF15 and FF16) generate and maintain endorphin release upon instant gratification. Old school RPGs and their Indie modern versions, such as Sea of Stars, require talking to NPCs and solving puzzles and engaging the brain. This isn’t even limited to RPGs. One of the complaints I see constantly for the new MK1 is they don’t provide a tutorial in the campaign when you get a new character. Most gamers who started after the mid-point of the PS2 era have different priorities with their gaming time, such that they want tutorials and waypoints as opposed to gaining their enjoyment from the adventure and figuring things out.

I believe this kind of game only for certain gamers even within jrpg genre, its not as popular back then. So high budget for this kind of games not viable anymore. For your "hot takes", maybe you heard / recommended by many many times, but i'll try it again, my opinion this kind of game (series) exist, its The Legend of Heroes Trails series. Maybe Its not exactly 16bit art style you like, but Trails of Sky Trilogy and Zero / Azure Duology perfectly capture the same feeling. You will enjoy exploring city and its npcs, and characters. As for Dungeons and Puzzles i'll admit quite linear and simple. Gameplay start very simple, but as series goes on, it grows on you I hope you will have time to start try it someday (not from Cold Steel Series)

Valere and Zale were weak protags and i actually found Garl pretty one note despite being the "charming" one (still better than the blank slate main two) but I love Serai and Re'shan and feel like they really push the story going forward. Teaks and the side characters are wonderful too!! i'm at the end (game told me hey here's the final thing, feel free to do it whenever) and yeah story/chars start kinda weak but I think Serai and beyond just starts this continuous uphill climb. it still suffers because of what i've mentioned but i found myself very invested in the story as a whole the more i played. considering you get Serai pretty early on, id call that a win.

The last minute of this review sums up why I'm still on the fence in buying this title. From playing the demo, I love the artstyle, gameplay, music. I can tell there were some very clever decisions like with the healing item limit. But the flatness of the personalities felt jarring when paired with the expressiveness of the sprites, and it sounds like this doesn't get better in the main game. Story is important to an RPG experience, so the story part of the review makes me very hesitant. From the demo, visually, I can remember the expressive animations and designs of the pirates even though presumably they don't play a major role. Dialogue though, the only thing I remember is the chef party member going "hahaha, wow" to literally everything.

Definitely looking forward to checking this one out. Are you guys going to review the beaten kaitos remaster? The first one is unique and a bit quirky, but the second one is pure GameCube/PS2 era jrpg goodbess imo

3:10 ayyy shoutout to Golden Sun and Lost Age. I still can't believe those games have been sitting relatively alone at the peak of JRPG puzzle/dungeon design. When I binged several FF games during the 2000s I was pretty surprised that none of Square's levels even came close to Camelot's GBA titles. Maybe Nintendo really does indeed care the most about level design even in genres where you mostly do combat.

Mike, would you consider this to be good choice as an introduction to the genre? If one of your friends wanted to start playing JRPGs would you recommend this over fir example Suikoden 1 or FF7?

While I celebrate the return of this general framework of game, and appreciate the phenomenally detailed art that went into Sea of Stars, the tedious combat and vacuous writing represented such a tragic negligence of duty from the persons responsible that it rendered the game monotonous and deeply disappointing. I only hope its success teaches the lesson that this kind of game is highly desired, and not that it's permissible to invest so little expertise into story and battle design.

I'm happy you could enjoy it. For me the story and characters were such snoozefest that i couldn't find myself to keep playing. The combat system in the long run also got boring because of the limited options, and while the combo stuff was there, it wasn't really needed if you played optimally, just making them moves i used as a boss. I think i might have to try this game again, but my first time with it wasn't actually that positive.

Would love more games like this if anyone sees this and knows of any please recommend me some!

Sea of stars and Chained echos pretty much addressed the biggest issues i have been having with the genre in a very long time and its quite baffling that indie developers did a much better job evolving the genre than even vets of the genre. For me what seperates those two games from the rest of the genre are few things like Engaging Exploration, excellent Dungeon design, side quests that dont feel like an afterthought and a little to no empty content to drag out the game, thats what the genre really needs, its not insane graphics or mature storytelling that tries way too hard to be a movie, its these small things are the main things that make up an overall great jrpg experience.

If it has not been already mentioned, I suggest you check out Chained Echoes - especially considering your criticism for this game

The game is definitely good. but I think the internet got a bit hyperbolic with alot of the talk about the game. its not an instant classic or all time great imo. Its a solid game, that proves there is still a market for this type of thing. Outside of how the game looks, there is nothing special to it. The characters, story, and writing are all pretty average at best. Id argue the writing is downright simple and borderline bad even. The combat is fun, but timing hits isnt anything new or done particularly well. its functional to keep you engaged, I guess? I never had a problem with that in turn based games. I do like the puzzle aspect of breaking down enemy barrier/casts , especially on bosses, with different types of abilities. That was far more interesting to me than timed button presses. Game is fun and worth a play, especially if you have game pass since its on there. But its not this transformative experience ive seen some youtubers and reviews go on about. Appreciate the review!

Dunno... I feel this writing style is something I'd love to see more of. Many games these days feel overly serious in an attempt to appeal to a more mature audience, and I always get the feeling that people lost the ability to enjoy a good mix of comedic and serious storytelling. To me it never undermined the interpersonal drama or seriousness of the story, but contrasted it in a way that enhanced the overall experience and made the more dramatic parts hit even harder. Apart from that note, I completely agree with the rest.

I’m curious to see how you feel when you finish it. Playing the game is great and the majority of the tone kind of misses for me, but when it chooses to get serious some beats really land

I'm getting heavy Golden Sun and Crono Trigger vibes. 2 of my all time favorite classic JRPG titles. Can't wait to sink my teeth into this one.

Did you guys have ever played CrossCode or Chained Echoes? I would like to know your thoughts on then.

Playing right now on Game Pass, so glad I got to experience this great little RPG. Combat is engaging, puzzles totally remind me of GS, and even if the story and tropes fall flat at least it’s always gorgeous to look at-treat it like a bedtime story. Absolutely need more games like this. What would you recommend playing next?

Definitely gonna get it now whenever I finish the cyberpunk dlc that’s coming out. Have you considered playing the trails games?