jackindisguise
Sea of Stars 2023
Log Status
Completed
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
--
Days in Journal
2 days
Last played
September 28, 2023
First played
August 29, 2023
Platforms Played
Library Ownership
Art
Most of the good things I have to say about this game involve the art. I truly believe the best aspect of this game is its art and map design. It's just a really nice game to look at. Unfortunately, that's where most of the praise starts and ends.
Combat (the lock system)
The combat in this game is passable. I don't have much to criticize about it. I've heard a lot of people say the lock system is annoying. I think the only real major flaw with the lock system is that the game introduces locks before it makes sense. On Wraith Island, you start getting poison locks before recruiting the character who does poison damage. I'd imagine this is a design issue, as the enemies themselves have pre-defined locks, and the developers didn't consider or feel like adding different sets of locks depending on what damage types you have access to.
I actually struggled during the early sections of the game to tell what the goal of the lock system was. Intuitively, I assumed the game would only ever give me locks that I could break using the characters I had and the skills they had. However, I would regularly get locks that simply could not be broken. As an example, a lock with 2 fire attacks and a 2 turn timer simply cannot be broken until you get your 4th character, but you regularly see things like that.
Eventually I settled on the idea that not all locks can be broken. You just have to live with the idea of being given a puzzle you can't solve sometimes. It took me about 50% of the game to get comfortable with this idea.
The lock system also kind of forces you to play more conservatively. When there are no locks on the screen, using live mana is generally not a good idea, as you might be throwing away damage types you need for a lock. It's also not advisable to use skills for the same reason.
By the time you get all of your characters, the lock system doesn't introduce much of an obstacle. In fact, using lock-delaying skills, I killed multiple bosses before they got a 2nd or 3rd turn.
Story
The story of this game is embarrassing and disappointing. The plot is occasionally compelling, which is the only reason I ended up finishing the game. However, the game doesn't even deliver on the plot. I can't stress how bad the story ultimately is. The characters in this game are empty husks that occasionally emote as if they aren't, but don't believe them. It's a trick.
The 2 main characters, Zale and Valere, are not 2 distinct characters. They're actually just 1 character. These 2 characters are always doing the same thing at the same time, they never disagree, they don't have different personality traits, they respond to all issues the exact same way. They have nothing going on that distinguishes them as different people.
The first 3 characters in the game, you see every single detail of their existence throughout the course of the game. Essentially from their birth. There's nothing of significance that has happened to any of these 3 major characters off screen. We've seen it all. And it can fill a 1 page book.
A common through-line, all the way up until the end of the game, is that things kinda just happen. The 2 main characters will randomly feel something, or they'll randomly know something, and then they'll win the day. This continues up until the end of the game, resulting in one of the most stupidly disappointing endings I've honestly ever experienced. I don't even know what the ending of this game is, and I don't think anyone else does either. I can't tell if the writers thought we would understand, if it was rushed and they didn't care, or if they're betting on a sequel.
I legitimately can't tell if this game ended on a cliff hanger, because I don't know if the writers think there are questions left to be answered. It doesn't seem like they do, though, considering how much time passes during the ending sequence.
Conclusion
While I enjoyed the game enough to finish it, I genuinely cannot recommend it. Unless you have to play every JRPG, or you need to play a JRPG now and you've played everything else, play something else. I'd recommend I Am Setsuna, an exceptionally mediocre JRPG, over this.
Most of the good things I have to say about this game involve the art. I truly believe the best aspect of this game is its art and map design. It's just a really nice game to look at. Unfortunately, that's where most of the praise starts and ends.
Combat (the lock system)
The combat in this game is passable. I don't have much to criticize about it. I've heard a lot of people say the lock system is annoying. I think the only real major flaw with the lock system is that the game introduces locks before it makes sense. On Wraith Island, you start getting poison locks before recruiting the character who does poison damage. I'd imagine this is a design issue, as the enemies themselves have pre-defined locks, and the developers didn't consider or feel like adding different sets of locks depending on what damage types you have access to.
I actually struggled during the early sections of the game to tell what the goal of the lock system was. Intuitively, I assumed the game would only ever give me locks that I could break using the characters I had and the skills they had. However, I would regularly get locks that simply could not be broken. As an example, a lock with 2 fire attacks and a 2 turn timer simply cannot be broken until you get your 4th character, but you regularly see things like that.
Eventually I settled on the idea that not all locks can be broken. You just have to live with the idea of being given a puzzle you can't solve sometimes. It took me about 50% of the game to get comfortable with this idea.
The lock system also kind of forces you to play more conservatively. When there are no locks on the screen, using live mana is generally not a good idea, as you might be throwing away damage types you need for a lock. It's also not advisable to use skills for the same reason.
By the time you get all of your characters, the lock system doesn't introduce much of an obstacle. In fact, using lock-delaying skills, I killed multiple bosses before they got a 2nd or 3rd turn.
Story
The story of this game is embarrassing and disappointing. The plot is occasionally compelling, which is the only reason I ended up finishing the game. However, the game doesn't even deliver on the plot. I can't stress how bad the story ultimately is. The characters in this game are empty husks that occasionally emote as if they aren't, but don't believe them. It's a trick.
The 2 main characters, Zale and Valere, are not 2 distinct characters. They're actually just 1 character. These 2 characters are always doing the same thing at the same time, they never disagree, they don't have different personality traits, they respond to all issues the exact same way. They have nothing going on that distinguishes them as different people.
The first 3 characters in the game, you see every single detail of their existence throughout the course of the game. Essentially from their birth. There's nothing of significance that has happened to any of these 3 major characters off screen. We've seen it all. And it can fill a 1 page book.
A common through-line, all the way up until the end of the game, is that things kinda just happen. The 2 main characters will randomly feel something, or they'll randomly know something, and then they'll win the day. This continues up until the end of the game, resulting in one of the most stupidly disappointing endings I've honestly ever experienced. I don't even know what the ending of this game is, and I don't think anyone else does either. I can't tell if the writers thought we would understand, if it was rushed and they didn't care, or if they're betting on a sequel.
I legitimately can't tell if this game ended on a cliff hanger, because I don't know if the writers think there are questions left to be answered. It doesn't seem like they do, though, considering how much time passes during the ending sequence.
Conclusion
While I enjoyed the game enough to finish it, I genuinely cannot recommend it. Unless you have to play every JRPG, or you need to play a JRPG now and you've played everything else, play something else. I'd recommend I Am Setsuna, an exceptionally mediocre JRPG, over this.