Sea of Stars is absolutely captivating with it's charming sprites, older RPG attitude, and reminiscence tunes of the past yesteryear. It almost feels like the game is constantly shouting out to you that the '90s RPGs are back and they are better than ever. Not in a tone that feels like they didn't learn the lessons of the past decade, but to bring back all the good while retaining newer wisdom of the current gaming industry. It's a mixture attitude that really makes Sea of Stars shine, and give leeway to some of it's rather mild story telling and combat features that would otherwise plague it.
Not to say that Sea of Stars is just a pretty face, but it really does make an impression that ultimately sticks around too long. By the half way point of the game, you kinda seen all you need to see with the game's combat, and there really isn't much new in terms of interacting in battle. Mind the fact that, at least, the majority of attacks and specials feel useful or can be used in a way that doesn't waste the slot, but if you were expecting more innovative learning mechanics (akin to Mario and Luigi) or a cavalcade of spells (like Final Fantasy) this game's combat may start to bore you.
Aside from that, I do think the run time for this game is both slightly too long and slightly too short. With the way the game works in a certain twist I feel either the game should have had more in the back end or speed up the pacing in the 1st half. The characters and dialogue for this game are also toned weird with a lot of the side characters acting more personal-able than the main leds, and giving the two main characters too much personality to just be self insert protagonists while also being too stiff. It really isn't so much they are bad, but rather it feels like these protags were picked out in the '90s, and were unaltered compared to the rest of cast. Top that off with some oddball moments of the game feeling like it has more to say without really saying it, and sometimes Sea of Stars can really make you feel like it's a little raw in some parts.
Mind everyone that Sea of Stars is still an absolutely amazing game to look at with a lot of heart that shows throughout any playthrough. It may be a little rough, a little long, and a little boring, but I really don't see that deterring anyone from enjoying their time with it. The game has proper stakes, a good story to invest in, and music to bop too; it sits quite well with some of the RPGs that inspired it, and will probably be inspiration to newcomers alike.
Not to say that Sea of Stars is just a pretty face, but it really does make an impression that ultimately sticks around too long. By the half way point of the game, you kinda seen all you need to see with the game's combat, and there really isn't much new in terms of interacting in battle. Mind the fact that, at least, the majority of attacks and specials feel useful or can be used in a way that doesn't waste the slot, but if you were expecting more innovative learning mechanics (akin to Mario and Luigi) or a cavalcade of spells (like Final Fantasy) this game's combat may start to bore you.
Aside from that, I do think the run time for this game is both slightly too long and slightly too short. With the way the game works in a certain twist I feel either the game should have had more in the back end or speed up the pacing in the 1st half. The characters and dialogue for this game are also toned weird with a lot of the side characters acting more personal-able than the main leds, and giving the two main characters too much personality to just be self insert protagonists while also being too stiff. It really isn't so much they are bad, but rather it feels like these protags were picked out in the '90s, and were unaltered compared to the rest of cast. Top that off with some oddball moments of the game feeling like it has more to say without really saying it, and sometimes Sea of Stars can really make you feel like it's a little raw in some parts.
Mind everyone that Sea of Stars is still an absolutely amazing game to look at with a lot of heart that shows throughout any playthrough. It may be a little rough, a little long, and a little boring, but I really don't see that deterring anyone from enjoying their time with it. The game has proper stakes, a good story to invest in, and music to bop too; it sits quite well with some of the RPGs that inspired it, and will probably be inspiration to newcomers alike.