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Sea of Stars - Review Thread !

KungFucius

King Snowflake
Too many bangers.

This is the year I waited for and now I'm like:

FIMDN0RXIAMbtly
I am stuck in the opposite. I want to play a new game but I really need to finish FFXVI and I haven't touched it for a month. I wish I could hire someone to finish it for me so I can start BG3 or Starfield so I can be ready for Mario or Spider-Man.
 
I am stuck in the opposite. I want to play a new game but I really need to finish FFXVI and I haven't touched it for a month. I wish I could hire someone to finish it for me so I can start BG3 or Starfield so I can be ready for Mario or Spider-Man.

Nah man, if you haven’t played it in a month just forget about it. Forget backlog culture, embrace drop culture. If you have it physical you can even sell it to someone for else for at least half your money back, probably more.
 

Aenima

Member
Combat abilies are very limited which makes the combat feel repetetive prety fast. After 10 hours, even unlocking new abilities i end just using the same 2 attacks per character. Thers some cool mechanics but its one of the weakest turn based combats i played.

On the good side, the pixel art is very pretty in this game, and the level design is very well done with stuff to find if you explore the levels layout well.

Main story and the characters did not grabbed me yet, but the game takes you to very diferent locations, all of them very pretty to look at. So thers that feeling of following an adventure that keeps the game interesting and makes you wonder where it will take you next.
 
If it's any help, I tried the Sea of Stars demo on Switch and loved it. Given the pixel-y nature, I think it's perfect for Switch (or Deck, Ally etc.). I really wish there was a proper Pokemon game with this exact art style (detailed-ish 2D).

Tried it in TV mode for a few minutes and...
puke GIF
What do you have, this shit here?..
1diDVOs.jpg

Stop being so dramatic 😂
 

Porticus

Banned
The dude is right, spend couple of bucks and you will get already something better than the shit you own pixel y nature LOL
 

BbMajor7th

Member
About eight hours in and still feeling good not great. Level design and visuals are the real heroes here. Combat is good, but does feel slightly limited at present.

Weakest part overall is the writing - it's bad: overwritten, unimaginative and largely characterless. Zale and Valerie are the definition of plot-driven characters and Garl is so one note it's painful. It's a shame because it holds the game back, not just from an immersive angle, but also in making the quest structure feel meaningless: walk to place and do stuff. Why? Cause someone said we should.

None of these characters has a clear goals or ambitions, a struggle to overcome or personal flaws that create tension or obstacles for the party. In some games, that's okay; in a story-driven RPG, it's really not.
 
Don't know why you're coming at me like that.

Go fuck yourself.
Because you are bashing pixel games on TVs like they are shit. Don’t take it personal when you bash something and then get bashed back with a different opinion on a video game forum.

I’m playing Sea of Stars on a 65 inch 4k and it looks great. I don’t understand why handheld owners need so badly to make their system sound like it is one of the tablets the Ten Commandments were written on.
 
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Toots

Gold Member
Edit teleported my post in the OT thread since it was better suited for it...
 
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Kilau

Member
I’m sure it looks great on Switch but it also looks great on my 75” tv or 32” monitor, maybe the Switch version just looks bad when blown up to TV size. Really so far its look is all it has going for it.
 

Edgelord79

Gold Member
Kind of mixed about it. Love the pixel art and like the music. Love the humour and how it doesn’t take itself to be very serious. However, after the nostalgia wears off I’m left with very repetitive combat and I don’t like the equipment system either necessarily as it’s pretty basic and I’m wishing for more.

I’m about 13 hours in and playing it on the PS5.
 
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Toots

Gold Member
I don't get people saying the game has uninteresting or repetitive combat.
As in you're presented with a situation and there isn't ten ways to solve the problem (usually there's but one) if you don't want to take a lot of damage ?
It is exactly the same with enter the breach and everyone loved it. I get ETB is somewhat deeper and has more systems working at the same time but to say Sea of Star combat system is repetitive or boring is weird.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
I haven't played it, but judging from videos, the writing and character design is a no-go for me. Feels contemporary & young-adult in the worst way. Perhaps it improves later.
 

Edgelord79

Gold Member
I don't get people saying the game has uninteresting or repetitive combat.
As in you're presented with a situation and there isn't ten ways to solve the problem (usually there's but one) if you don't want to take a lot of damage ?
It is exactly the same with enter the breach and everyone loved it. I get ETB is somewhat deeper and has more systems working at the same time but to say Sea of Star combat system is repetitive or boring is weird.
All that just to say “I don’t get why someone has a different opinion than I have. It’s so weird.”

Different folks and all that.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
Started this last night. People say it has a "slow start" but I thought it was a perfectly fine way to introduce us to the characters and teach us the basic battle/traversal mechanics. It's an RPG. Does it really need to hit the ground running?

Games like Earthbound and Chrono Trigger also take their time in this regard, to zero detriment.
 
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StueyDuck

Member
So having put a decent amount of time into the game now, I can say I'm a bit disappointed, the game is still good don't get me wrong but I went in with far too high expectations, this being such a love letter to chrono trigger it really is chrono trigger adjacent.

Sure the combat and overall premise is in the same vein but just seems to be lacking with the pacing and the story and the music, oof ESPECIALLY the character art and design when they aren't pixel art chibis on the world map (I hate the terrible western trying to make anime cartoons cinematics and the character profiles with hair fades and personality hair yuck) overall it really feels like chrono trigger made in 2023. Take that how you will.

However that doesn't mean it's not a good game and worth playing. It's just not the amazing game I'd hoped it would be
 
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So having put a decent amount of time into the game now, I can say I'm a bit disappointed, the game is still good don't get me wrong but I went in with far too high expectations, this being such a love letter to chrono trigger it really is chrono trigger adjacent.

Sure the combat and overall premise is in the same vein but just seems to be lacking with the pacing and the story and the music, oof ESPECIALLY the character art and design when they aren't pixel art chibis on the world map (I hate the terrible western trying to make anime cartoons cinematics and the character profiles with hair fades and personality hair yuck) overall it really feels like chrono trigger made in 2023. Take that how you will.

However that doesn't mean it's not a good game and worth playing. It's just not the amazing game I'd hoped it would be
Haha.. Im trying to figure out what you mean. So you like it, but you dont like it, because it wasnt released in 1996, and its not as good as the perfect classics? I kind of understand that.. the modern vaneer is a bit of a stain, but I accept it because of all the good things it does justice to the genre. It's so refreshing to have a nostalgic callback game and have those same cozy feelings.

Also Im still not finished, but very far into the game. And I just keep getting more surprised at this beast of a game. Wont comment further without spoilers.
 

StueyDuck

Member
Haha.. Im trying to figure out what you mean. So you like it, but you dont like it, because it wasnt released in 1996, and its not as good as the perfect classics? I kind of understand that.. the modern vaneer is a bit of a stain, but I accept it because of all the good things it does justice to the genre. It's so refreshing to have a nostalgic callback game and have those same cozy feelings.

Also Im still not finished, but very far into the game. And I just keep getting more surprised at this beast of a game. Wont comment further without spoilers.
I like it but I disappointed myself by expecting too much haha.

Basically it's a good 8/10

But chrono trigger to me is 15/10 so I had lofty, definitely way to high, hopes for the game.

There are just aspects it will never live up to chronotrigger, like I mentioned the music and I find the pacing over all not as good, I really don't like the character profiles, but that's fine it's mostly amazing pixel art 95% of the time so I can ignore the awful 2023 characters.

It very much feels like a 2023 indie game I suppose is the best way to put it. Where I really had hoped it would really capture that 90s rpg greatness. But that's lightning in a bottle and can't be recreated and I know that In my head, but my heart still wished haha
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Started this last night. People say it has a "slow start" but I thought it was a perfectly fine way to introduce us to the characters and teach us the basic battle/traversal mechanics. It's an RPG. Does it really need to hit the ground running?

Games like Earthbound and Chrono Trigger also take their time in this regard, to zero detriment.
Earthbound and CT don’t have a barely interactive 30+ minute long introduction. Twenty minutes into Chrono Trigger you’ve likely done more and more varied things than in an hour of SoS. Earthbound drops you into the frying pan from the get go without so much of a warning.

The more I play SoS, the more I find myself comparing it to Chrono Trigger and think how little modern devs have learned from the greats, and how incredibly accomplished many 90s JRPGs were.
 

StueyDuck

Member
Earthbound and CT don’t have a barely interactive 30+ minute long introduction. Twenty minutes into Chrono Trigger you’ve likely done more and more varied things than in an hour of SoS. Earthbound drops you into the frying pan from the get go without so much of a warning.

The more I play SoS, the more I find myself comparing it to Chrono Trigger and think how little modern devs have learned from the greats, and how incredibly accomplished many 90s JRPGs were.
I'm really in the same boat as you...

Probably less negative overall but like I said earlier this feels like an indie game made in 2023 and nothing compared to the perfection that was chrono trigger and its production team.

I do admit that's partly on me for expecting too much. I still think this is waaaaaay better than any other indie rpg copycats out there
 
Also I would encourage people to at least play thru the actual "Sea of Stars" part of the game. There is a level with that as its title. After that, I dont know of there's any stopping.
 
Cut my teeth on action and jrpgs on the nes/snes era before eventually over the...decades? Yeesh, getting burned out from them, especially turn based combat. Damn near all the time that's just a deal breaker for me. Shockingly so far that hasn't been the case yet with this game. That, the writing, music, overall style has been pretty damn enjoyable. Imo it's unique enough to be it's own thing without the need to compare it with games of the past.
 
Earthbound and CT don’t have a barely interactive 30+ minute long introduction. Twenty minutes into Chrono Trigger you’ve likely done more and more varied things than in an hour of SoS. Earthbound drops you into the frying pan from the get go without so much of a warning.

The more I play SoS, the more I find myself comparing it to Chrono Trigger and think how little modern devs have learned from the greats, and how incredibly accomplished many 90s JRPGs were.

This is something I've learned as well when it comes to most genres. The devs of the 90's all pretty much had a background in Arcade development so they knew game design on a higher level. They knew how to make games more immediately fun and playable. Yeah, lots of things have improved esp graphics, quality of life, some aspects of combat but games have also gotten way to easy and require less skill.

Shmups and platformers in particular were wayyy better in the late 80's through 2000 than today.
 
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Pimpollo818

Member
-gorgeous visuals and soundtrack
-Saturday morning cartoon plot and optimism
-the 2 leading characters are flat as cardboard, thankfully the cast helps quite a bit
-fantastically paced game, I particularly enjoyed seeking out secrets and the navigation puzzles
-The combat has lulled me to sleep a few times and doesn't increase in complexity. Itemization is boring, equating to +3 DMG weapons. No status effects to speak of
-campaign outstays its welcome, I'm ~26 hours in and already started to feel the calls of "alright already, let's wrap this up"

A great effort and I'd welcome whatever they do next, regardless of genre. The game oozes heart and soul.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
-gorgeous visuals and soundtrack
-Saturday morning cartoon plot and optimism
-the 2 leading characters are flat as cardboard, thankfully the cast helps quite a bit
-fantastically paced game, I particularly enjoyed seeking out secrets and the navigation puzzles
-The combat has lulled me to sleep a few times and doesn't increase in complexity. Itemization is boring, equating to +3 DMG weapons. No status effects to speak of
-campaign outstays its welcome, I'm ~26 hours in and already started to feel the calls of "alright already, let's wrap this up"

A great effort and I'd welcome whatever they do next, regardless of genre. The game oozes heart and soul.
This is the second or third post that lists mostly middling/negative elements, only to wrap things up with an overall positive comment. It’s interesting. For me, about 12 hours in, SoS is no more than an 8/10.
 

supernova8

Banned
Because you are bashing pixel games on TVs like they are shit. Don’t take it personal when you bash something and then get bashed back with a different opinion on a video game forum.

I’m playing Sea of Stars on a 65 inch 4k and it looks great. I don’t understand why handheld owners need so badly to make their system sound like it is one of the tablets the Ten Commandments were written on.
Hard not to take it personally when you .... personally start attacking me and accusing me of having an old plasma screen or something.

Like I said, go fuck yourself. In fact, blocked. I've never had a positive interaction with you (I remember you started some beef with me last time for no reason).
 

Blackage

Member
Joining the circle jerk of this thread, if you like old school SNES/PSX JRPGs do yourself a favor and play this.
 

supernova8

Banned
Even on the best tv's pixel art games will look much better on the switch oled. 4k tv at 50 inches means these games pixels are stretched.

The switch oled is the ultimate modern device for these games
I blocked that other person. No interest in interacting with dickheads who just seem to want a fight.

Anyway yeah I'm not saying others cannot enjoy pixel art games on TVs, I just found it a bit unbearable on my large 4K TV.

Also yes I found it very pleasant to look at on the Switch OLED screen. I'm usually not a handheld mode person but this game in particular looks great.
 

SpiceRacz

Member
Couple hours in and this game feels kind of soulless to me. I'm not sure why. The presentation is top notch though. Probably won't be enough to keep me playing unless the game picks up soon. Overall disappointed with what I've played so far.
 
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