Sea of Stars review – a stunning 9/10 RPG

Few Japanese role-playing video games are as revered as 1995’s Chrono Set off. Many have craved one thing comparable within the a long time since, and loads of builders have tried – and sometimes failed – to scratch that itch. Enter Sabotage Studio’s Sea of Stars, one other indie-developed RPG impressed by Crono, Marle, and Lucca’s time-hopping quest, together with different classics reminiscent of Tremendous Mario RPG. It solely takes a look to see how a lot basic JRPG DNA Stabogate threaded by way of its newest, and that’s earlier than listening to any of the ten tracks Chrono Set off’s major composer, Yasunori Mitsuda, offered for the sport, or seeing the various different nods to it all through the prolonged journey we skilled whereas making ready for our Sea of Stars evaluation.

As a large Chrono Set off fan, I started Sea of Stars with cautious pessimism. I remembered different video games that claimed 90s JRPGs as direct inspirations and didn’t actualize what made them nice. I additionally anxious it would rely too closely on Chrono Set off as a crutch, doing little else aside from feeding the insatiable nostalgia monster that lives inside each gamer who grew up throughout that period.

It doesn’t take lengthy for Sea of Stars to shatter my pessimistic expectations.

The opening moments introduce Valere, Zale, and their buddy Garl. Valere and Zale prepare as novice Solstice Warriors, destined to struggle the Fleshmancer’s monstrous Dwellers. Fortunately for them, just one Dweller stays, and two different skilled Solstice Warriors will assist them take it down. As you possibly can in all probability guess, the battle in opposition to the final Dweller doesn’t go as deliberate, detaching Valere and Zale’s coaching wheels and sending them off on a harmful quest.

Every display of this quest is a piece of vibrant, pixelated artwork. From coral that bejewels azure waterfalls to gears and clocks that adorn a sprawling citadel, and extra areas too superior to spoil right here, none look alike and even share comparable coloration palettes. As I journey by way of my 30-hour journey, I regularly cease to understand the creative design. Together with an important soundtrack that rivals the perfect of the style – I crank the quantity up for the usual boss battle music every time it performs – each second here’s a deal with for the senses.

Whereas the 2 heroes have dialogue and work together with different characters, they’re really solely a step above silent protagonists, just about interchangeable with each other outdoors of the colour of their hair. They don’t stand as much as scrutiny once I evaluate them to Garl and the opposite companions, each the playable celebration members and a hilarious pirate crew that tags alongside, even when they do drive the plot. The others merely function fuller characterization, with mysterious backgrounds and bittersweet story arcs.

Up till concerning the eight-hour mark when issues go awry in opposition to the final Dweller, the narrative and the gameplay meanders with a prolonged opening adopted by a number of tangentially associated issues to resolve. The remaining two-thirds, nevertheless, impress. Sea of Stars delves deep into intriguing lore, big-bads reveal themselves, the extra fascinating characters resolve their private tales, and the journey strikes to stunning locales. All of the whereas, the fight system blossoms because the motley crew positive factors extra abilities to struggle a staggering variety of expressively animated foes.

And what a fight system it’s. If anybody tells you that turn-based battles are useless or archaic, smack them with a boxed copy of Sea of Stars for me. Whereas Tremendous Mario RPG-like timed button presses mitigate and enhance harm, Sabotage’s personal ‘lock’ and ‘dwell mana’ techniques flip every spherical of each bout into mini-puzzles on prime of a sport of useful resource administration.

To cease an undead pirate captain from summoning an equally undead sea monster, I hit him with sure harm sorts – reminiscent of blunt or lunar – to interrupt his ‘lock’ and interrupt him. With a purpose to make this simpler, I determine to smack him with common assaults as a substitute of therapeutic or utilizing a talent to spawn dwell mana that then litters the bottom, permitting me to attract it in to energy up assaults and add a component to them, furthering my skill to interrupt. Each battle consists of plentiful moment-to-moment selections like this, requiring forethought not solely in opposition to climatic bosses but additionally common encounters. Sure, run-of-the-mill zombies and birdmen pose a menace straight by way of to the tip.

Being one of the balanced and fascinating turn-based techniques I’ve skilled mitigates some weariness from the simple puzzles (pushing blocks, discovering a key to boost a bridge, and so forth) that impede my progress. That mentioned, every zone additionally options distinctive methods to traverse them: melting ice blocks by controlling the solar, hopping in fast-moving currents on the proper place, and so forth. Whereas none of it’s notably distinctive or tough to beat, it retains the tempo fluid between battles, all main as much as an superior closing act that I can’t wait to see folks talk about on-line.

A number of small gripes apart, Sabotage Studios leaves me in awe of what it has achieved right here. Not solely is Sea of Stars a worthy pseudo-spiritual successor to among the biggest JRPGs ever made, the group has managed to enhance upon what made these video games so particular, modernizing their magic by way of balanced and fascinating turn-based fight wrapped up in an enthralling world to discover. I can not suggest it sufficient.