jackindisguise
It's Pokemon on crack. Not a fan.
Story is disappointing. Not much more to say.
2019
Enjoyable waste of time.
2015
Amazing turn-based RPG with Gunbound (or Worms)-style weapon aiming and bullet ricochet. I can't recommend this game enough.
Very cool game that I am not good enough at to get a good ending. Legit spent like 8 hours playing and got the worst ending. Very sad.
2015
Rabies.
2020
Simply one of the best strategy RPGs made in the last decade.
It offers a Paper Mario-style quick-time event system for buffing actions in combat that you can opt out of if you want due to its amazing accessibility options.
I have a lot to say about Ikenfell, but it requires more consideration than I can give it right now.
It offers a Paper Mario-style quick-time event system for buffing actions in combat that you can opt out of if you want due to its amazing accessibility options.
I have a lot to say about Ikenfell, but it requires more consideration than I can give it right now.
This is the best Experience Inc. RPG experience to date. Possibly with the exception of Ray Gigant, which has a lot of unique systems going on that separate it from pretty much all the other Experience Inc. games.
I have a lot to say about this game, but no time to say it right now.
I have a lot to say about this game, but no time to say it right now.
2022
Unfortunately, this is a strategy RPG with a big emphasis on gimmick combat. The gimmick in this one is positioning characters properly around enemy units to deal combination attacks.
Based on my minimal experience with the game, not using these gimmicks is crippling. I wasn't in the mood for gimmicks, and especially not this one.
I might try it again one day, but not today.
Based on my minimal experience with the game, not using these gimmicks is crippling. I wasn't in the mood for gimmicks, and especially not this one.
I might try it again one day, but not today.
2018
I lost all interest once I realized none of the characters would be interacting with each other in this video game. It's otherwise very well made and looks very good.
I really wish they'd make 1 visual novel where the villain isn't just a dumbass who thinks he's doing good by doing bad.
Also, the villain's motivations are really stupid, which make it impossible to sympathize them, as it's hard to imagine someone could do something so stupid while wanting to do good.
Also, the villain's motivations are really stupid, which make it impossible to sympathize them, as it's hard to imagine someone could do something so stupid while wanting to do good.
2017
Embarrassing.
2022
Embarrassing.
2016
I Am Setsuna tells a pretty cliche storyline that is particularly overdone in JRPGs -- a maiden is being sacrificed to save the world occasionally. That's fine. As long as they do something good with it, cliches are not always a bad thing.
I Am Setsuna manages to tell a decently interesting story, with decently interesting characters. This is pretty high praise to be honest, as there are not many modern JRPGs that you can say that about. Even though I'm not giving this game a high rating, it's all relative. This is probably one of my higher ratings for a modern JRPG.
The only major failing of this game is every other element other than the story. While the combat is fine in and of itself, the progression system is the dumbest system I've ever seen in a JRPG to date. It's so convoluted, you have to use the built-in prima guide to understand how the hell it works. Being now that it's been some months since I finished this game, I probably won't be able to give a complete explanation of how it works.
Basically, progression is built around random dice rolls. When you use skills, there's a random chance that skill will receive a permanent buff from Spritenite you're wearing. These buffs stack to a maximum amount, meaning you can buff skills to pretty high degrees.
None of that shit matters though, because all you need is Endir and Nidr's combo move "Blowbeat" to beat the entire game. It's one of the first combo skills you get, and you legit can and should use this combo to 1 shot entire encounters for the rest of the game. It also inflicts every good status ailment, which works on many bosses. If you find yourself struggling to beat a boss, you're probably not using Blowbeat enough.
In conclusion, I Am Setsuna is a decent way to waste a few hours listening to a decent story about a rugged mysterious boy trying to save a girl.
Oh, and the atmosphere is very well done. The music and art style lend a very somber tone to the game.
I Am Setsuna manages to tell a decently interesting story, with decently interesting characters. This is pretty high praise to be honest, as there are not many modern JRPGs that you can say that about. Even though I'm not giving this game a high rating, it's all relative. This is probably one of my higher ratings for a modern JRPG.
The only major failing of this game is every other element other than the story. While the combat is fine in and of itself, the progression system is the dumbest system I've ever seen in a JRPG to date. It's so convoluted, you have to use the built-in prima guide to understand how the hell it works. Being now that it's been some months since I finished this game, I probably won't be able to give a complete explanation of how it works.
Basically, progression is built around random dice rolls. When you use skills, there's a random chance that skill will receive a permanent buff from Spritenite you're wearing. These buffs stack to a maximum amount, meaning you can buff skills to pretty high degrees.
None of that shit matters though, because all you need is Endir and Nidr's combo move "Blowbeat" to beat the entire game. It's one of the first combo skills you get, and you legit can and should use this combo to 1 shot entire encounters for the rest of the game. It also inflicts every good status ailment, which works on many bosses. If you find yourself struggling to beat a boss, you're probably not using Blowbeat enough.
In conclusion, I Am Setsuna is a decent way to waste a few hours listening to a decent story about a rugged mysterious boy trying to save a girl.
Oh, and the atmosphere is very well done. The music and art style lend a very somber tone to the game.
2023
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.