Sea of Stars: Sunset Edition

As much as I want to recommend this game, it has major issues. The main positive is presentation. The game has beautiful art and good music (the battle tracks are very enjoyable), but everything else is at best mediocre or at worst attrocious. Let's begin with gameplay. The overworld exploration is boring, but mostly innoffensive. Barely anything you can do, it's at best a slight improvement over those old final fantasy dungeons where you just move around a labyrinth but this one has easy ''puzzles'' and traversal items that aren't so much obstacles as they are just locks with a key you keep using. Looking at you grappling hook. It drags, but whatever. I can live with that in an rpg. The combat is... Serviceable... but has many designs flaws. There is not enough skill variety, the lock system is not just annoying but downright crippling to the game design because it limits the ways the game can actually challenge you to one gimmick (and made worse with the update HIDING all the locks. Why. It's already a bad system, this just made it worse) and the enemies are too spongy in a game where you can't spam abilities. You know how in the Mario and Luigi rpgs it's ironic how basic attacks are NEVER used in a boss fight? Yeah well this game forces you to use them to generate the ressource needed for special skills, which I don't mind in theory, but they don't adjust the bosses or random enemies health with that in mind, they are still seemingly balanced for a game where you spam specials every turn. It's not a difficult game by the way, it's combat is too repetitive and get tedious because the only way the bosses have to pose a challenge is locks. But locks aren't a puzzle, they are... well, a lock. it's a ressource check. do you have the right combo available or the mp for a skill you need? you'll be fine, move on. You don't? Ok, be ready to deal very low damage and take a ton back. In fact, you CAN die in unfair unnaccountable ways sometimes. The balance is off. I don't mind losing or struggling if it's on me, if your boss spams locks and I lack the means to deal with that some turns, because it's IMPOSSIBLE to keep up, then it's a design issue. You basically have to cheese with lunar shield and constant healing to not waste time, because if the Ai script rolls poorly, you are down out of luck on higher difficulties, and random chance is not a skill check. I could never say this of Mario and Luigi rpgs or Chrono trigger, and it's because these games will make the ENEMIES interesting to account for your limited options, and even then, these games have more meaningful distinct options despite their own simplicity. They also let you use your cool skills more because it's fun. I don't mind revitalising basic attacks, but in this game they mostly act like a time gate. Imagine if you played Paper Mario the thousand year door, and you wanted to use star powers, but appeal or stylish move did not exist to speed that gauge up. That's how it is here. It's SLOW. But all of that could be forgiven if the story and/or characters were engaging enough. They are not. The story is full of meaningless tangents, contradictions, MASSIVE plotholes, especially for the true ending ( to not spoil too much, they created a time paradox that doesn't create a closed loop, like in chrono trigger, but rather makes the entire story that was after the paradoxical instant impossible and nonsensical), and lost potential. So many times you see a glimpse of what a better writer could have made interesting, and it"s not elaborated on at all. This is even more clear for the lack of characterisation. There are, arguably, only three characters that I consider have SOME character: Garl, Res'han and the Fleshmancer himself. And even then, it's not much. Garl is by far the most developped, but don't see this as praise, because he merely meet low expectations of characterisation. I've seen side characters that you only interact once with in other RPGs with more depth. But at least he has character. Can't say that of the rest of your party. The main characters may as well be silent characters for how little they contribute to the plot themselves. Sure, they are the heroes, but they merely execute what others tell them to do. They have no agency. Their dialogue more often than not is "...'' or some variation of ''NO!!!'' or ''haha'''. it's reactions, and not even interesting. Like there are times they are strangely mute when you would expect them to have, you know, opinions or emotional reactions? As for the others, they have some motivation... I guess... but some people, like Teaks, follow you without really contributing much to the plot aside from the occasionnal moment or, in a baffling decision, she exposition dump you lore as an optional thing, lore that is indeed sufficiently interesting that it WOULD have made the game better if it was integrated in the story itself! This game story is like permanent narrative edging. It tease you something better, but it NEVER happens. It's frustrating. And what does happen in this story is either lame, out of left field, or downright incoherent or contradictory. If you are the type of person that can just vibe with the art, music and repetitive gameplay without paying attention to the plot? Then sure, you'll probably find it somewhat enjoyable. But it's a superficial appreciation. I like this game like one likes a drawing that is well made, but not emotionally appealling. It's presentation is great on a technical level, but it has nothing else. If you like your art to be engaging, this video game is not. I've played games with way worse visuals and yet infinitely more enjoyable. If you want an indie game that is also a hommage to older games like this one is meant to be, but where I thought the writing, while not amazing, was at least interesting, I recommend Chained Echoes. The visuals aren't as good, but the music is, and the gameplay and story is just better. It will show you that I'm not being unreassonable about my standards here, because Chained Echoes story, gameplay and characters are not flawless, far from it, but they are more enjoyable. At least that game did not make me feel like I was being teased with a mirage of a better game within. If I had one word for Sea of stars, it would be dissapointing. And the DLC did not make it better. It's more of the same if you ask me, and irritates me because it adds more skill variety... that would have served the main game.

Compre este juego por gente que decia que era similar a Chrono triger. Me arrepiento totalmente de darle una oportunidad y no poder regresarlo, aburrido, lineal, personajes planos que no generan ningun interes. El principio es casi infumable que no engancha.

I've never played this kind of a game before and I loved it! It has amazing soundtracks and visuals. I really wouldn't imagine loving a pixel game this much. Although I played pretty slowly, it never bored me. I'd buy anything these guys make from now on. A small feedback tho, I know the "true ending" is an optional ending but you know once we invest this much hour to the game true ending feels like the last piece of the puzzle and collecting every each Rainbow things in the world + doing all the quizes felt like a boring chore at the end. I wanted to do it by myself but anything like this design will just push the player to look it up on the internet and avoid wasting more time so I suggest stay away from this kind of chore to present a "alternate ending" to the player. Thanks.

Классная игра. Классическая старое пошаговое приключенченское рпг. С элементами qte и миниигр прямо во время боя. Сюжет не выдающийся по стандарту "добрый" и наивный. Есть шутейки и пасхалки, сереты в основном на внимательность (вам не придется "обнюхивать" стены, за исключением пары моментов). Дополнение сложнее чем базовая игра и в своем стиле. Музыка приятная с ремиксами (днем и ночью к примеру в разных тонах). Если вы никуда не торопителсь, то вы кайфанете. Если не нравится такой жанр, то увы нет. Решайте сами :)

This is truly a modernized classic RPG. I'm really enjoying it so far and can't wait to continue playing it! The puzzles are cute and interesting, and feel reminiscent of games from the early 2000s but still leveraging modern design philosophy and technology.

庸俗，低幼，人机一般的剧情，其他方面做得再好也是无济于事，游戏一定是用来玩的，不好玩算什么游戏？游戏最重要的两个要素，玩法，剧情双双失败，开发商团队应该反思一下什么是游戏之后再考虑来做游戏！

No suelo escribir reseñas, pero Sea of Stars se la merece. Lo empecé cuando salió y lo dejé aparcado durante unos 3 años. Hace poco decidí retomarlo y, aunque estaba convencido de que lo había dejado casi al final, resulta que aún me quedaba muchísimo contenido por descubrir (y eso sin contar el New Game+, porque no soy de rejugar títulos). El apartado visual es precioso, la historia engancha y la jugabilidad es una pasada. Sinceramente, por el precio que tiene y todo lo que ofrece, es un juego que recomiendo totalmente.