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[Fbh]

Am I the only one who feels that there's just way too many puzzles in this game? I don't mind the occasional puzzle in an RPG and I want to like this game. I'm about 6 hours in and there's puzzles after puzzles after puzzles in order to proceed to the next sections of game.

I'm a bit behind you but I quite like the puzzles. I think the dungeons have a nice ratio of puzzle to fight to exploration , and I enjoy them being more than just walking from one combat encounter to the next like in many JRPG's,
Also the puzzles are fairly easy so they bring in some variety without getting you stuck for countless hours.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I’m at the ten hour point and am not sure what he’s talking about. There was the puzzle dungeon from the demo, and that’s barely a puzzle. Maybe the mine, which was kind of a puzzle? The last “dungeon” I completed had me killing the plants to progress, and that’s certainly not a puzzle.

Is this like how people complained that God of War had too many puzzles?

The dungeons here are no different from JRPGs over the past 30 years. We were doing this stuff in Secret of Mana, Breath of Fire, Lufia, Wild Arms, etc…

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Am I the only one who feels that there's just way too many puzzles in this game? I don't mind the occasional puzzle in an RPG and I want to like this game. I'm about 6 hours in and there's puzzles after puzzles after puzzles in order to proceed to the next sections of game.

Calling 95% of what you find that early in the game a puzzle is an insult to actual puzzles. You have to, what, step on a platform and pull a lever? Maybe drop down from a high point to break some weak floor? Hardly a puzzle at all.

And when the game comes to actual puzzles, it’s even worse. Push crates around and match cards, woohoo. I can’t count the times this game made me groan out loud anymore. It’s all so terribly uninventive.

 

[Arsic]

Honestly this game reminds me more of Lunar than Chrono Trigger.

I blame Garl cuz he is like Ramus 2.0.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Been playing through it but got stuck on some ant baddies that “summon” more of themselves and are fairly numerous and have decent defence. I’m assuming I’m missing something as they seem very annoying and can get to a point where it’s impossible to beat them pretty fast

 

[delfrickintree]

The story is also all over the place, with deus ex machinas and McGuffin chases carrying it along, and apparently big roadblocks being handwaved away through the Power of Friendship and Good Will.

This is exactly my biggest gripe, the constant deus ex machinas, there was never any actual concern or worries in the story because everything magically solves itself thru the power of garls positivity. Barf

Been playing through it but got stuck on some ant baddies that “summon” more of themselves and are fairly numerous and have decent defence. I’m assuming I’m missing something as they seem very annoying and can get to a point where it’s impossible to beat them pretty fast

Yea those are a pain in the ass,.gotta use magic on them asap before they summon clones.

 

[Thief1987]

Spoiler

The ending is terrible, both of them. I can't believe that they thought that this is appropriate conclusion for a 30+ hours story. It could have ended in any random spot earlier and nothing would have changed.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

I checked it out on YouTube and the game actually seems pretty good.

However, I'm someone who likes story a lot and I really don't care for the meta story in this from what I have seen.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Spoiler

The ending is terrible, both of them. I can't believe that they thought that this is appropriate conclusion for a 30+ hours story. It could have ended in any random spot earlier and nothing would have changed.

I’ll beat the game today or tomorrow at the latest.
I’m missing a few things for the true ending, but I’m gonna see the regular one and then I’ll probably watch the true one on YT. I can’t be bothered to go through a bunch of areas once again just to find one little thing that I couldn’t pick up the first time because of course the necessary gadgets aren’t available when you go through there the first time.

 

[Thief1987]

I’ll beat the game today or tomorrow at the latest.
I’m missing a few things for the true ending, but I’m gonna see the regular one and then I’ll probably watch the true one on YT. I can’t be bothered to go through a bunch of areas once again just to find one little thing that I couldn’t pick up the first time because of course the necessary gadgets aren’t available when you go through there the first time.

Spoiler

Conclusion of the story is basically the same in both endings, so you may not bother with the true one. The only difference is the one thing that we already predicted earlier.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I checked it out on YouTube and the game actually seems pretty good.

However, I'm someone who likes story a lot and I really don't care for the meta story in this from what I have seen.

The game is really good. I’m also one who really just plays these games for the story, but this is not one to skip. It reminds me of when RPGs were games and not movies. If you enjoy 16-bit RPGs, they really nailed it. This game could have been released in 1994 and no one would have known otherwise.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

The game is really good. I’m also one who really just plays these games for the story, but this is not one to skip. It reminds me of when RPGs were games and not movies. If you enjoy 16-bit RPGs, they really nailed it. This game could have been released in 1994 and no one would have known otherwise.

I love old school role playing games.

Would you say this is better than The Messenger?

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Don't judge full game by the demo. I also thought that the demo was fairly difficult, maybe because I didn't learn how to use game's mechanics properly. I'm at the middle point of the game right now and there is absolutely nothing challenging so far, it's very easy. There are relic items in the game which work kinda like modificators, they can make game harder or even more easier. Though I don't have any of the ones which make things more difficult, so can't say how much they change. All in all in it's vanilla state game is a cakewalk unless some sharp difficulty spike in the second half.

Wait .. so have you been using any of the relics? One of the things that is hindering me buying this is how easy some say it is, among others such as the lack of skill variety and apparently, lots of contrivance in the storytelling.

I wanted this game from the moment I first saw it. Then the reviews came out which were overwhelmingly positive, but when I started really listening to the reviews some negatives have arisen that are particular bug bears of mine: lack of challenge and clichéd storytelling and characters. However, 8 can't say for certain based on playing the demo that the writing was poor because I liked it enough ...but that was just the demo.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I am regretting buying this on PC instead of Switch. Even with the portability of my gaming laptop, it just isn’t as enjoyable to use. The crisp OLED screen and handheld form greatly benefits this sort of game.

I just finished a major event in the game and am seriously considering stopping here to buy it on Switch. I’ve got Octopath Traveler and Pokémon Legends going already though, so I’ll just take a break from Sea of Stars before restarting.

 

[adamsapple]

Finally getting to play this now after having spent an eternity in the other S game. I wish there were options to make the combat animations faster.

Also, liking the self-aware writing so far

 

[Raven117]

Im about half way through. Its good, but I can't say Im completely blown away.

 

[adamsapple]

What's this Ancient Crypt?

Are these all the names of the backers?

 

[Bojanglez]

What's this Ancient Crypt?

Are these all the names of the backers?

I assumed so, quite a neat idea really.

 

[adamsapple]

I love details like this in games, my mind is already crafting backstories about what these scary ass underwater statues are

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Playing Sea of Stars made me appreciate The Messenger more, and my replay of The Messenger is making me appreciate Sea of Stars more. Glorious positive feedback loop of goodness.

 

[Fbh]

Finished it yesterday.

Overall I enjoyed it but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a tad underwhelmed by it. I also find it hard not to compare it to Chained Echoes which I played earlier this year and I thought was better in almost every way.
Looked up the true ending but fuck finding all the collectible shit, I just did the side stuff that's actually fun and I'll just watch the true ending on Youtube tonight.

Pros:
- Visually it's awesome, love the mix of pixel art with more modern lighting, I actually think this combination of old and new works better than the 2D HD style Square is using
- The music was overall nice, I also love the tavern renditions.
- I liked the dungeon design, there's usually some light puzzle element or other such gimmicks to make them feel varied and not just throw you from one combat into the next. There's a good balance of light puzzle, exploration and fighting which I'd like to see in more JRPG's.
- The pacing is pretty nice, keeps constantly moving forward and introduces new locations and environments frequently, including some I didn't expect
- The world itself had some fun and varied locations, though I'll not mention more to avoid spoilers.

Cons:
- The combat is just ok, I like the timing based bonuses and the whole idea with interrupting enemy attacks by using specific elements. But it starts to get pretty stale and repetitive by the midpoint because of how simple it is (no buffs/debuffs for example) and a lack of new abilities and mechanics. The main characters learn ONE new regular ability during the entire game (+ a ultimate/limit break).
- The combination attacks are a neat idea but having to build up a meter for them means during most regular encounters you'll probably just use them one time (if at all). Given that there's already a lack of basic skills, being able to use these combination attacks more frequently would have been nice
- The story is pretty forgettable, the characters are very one note and similar to each other (all except maybe 1 are generic good guys) and there isn't much of a narrative hook. Also the ending felt weirdly rushed.
- I would have liked a few more side activities during the game instead of this annoying approach where there's little side content for most of the game, and then right before the final boss there's a bunch of sidequest which become available
- Locking the true ending behind finding 60 collectibles around the world is shit.

 

[adamsapple]

I wanna say I saw this twist coming but still kind of a surprise.

Spoiler

Traveling to a 'future' world and fighting mechas.

 

[Tg89]

Little late but finished this up today. Overall I thought it was great. It's the best of those "indie old school JRPGs" that I've played, by a decent margin. I don't think I'll bother going back for the true ending but I did look it up.

Pros:
-World is definitely the highlight for me. The visuals combined with the music made each zone awesome to go through. Tons of variety in the locales.
-The above is complimented by the pacing of the game which is very strong. I finished up in 25 hours and thought the length was perfect. It dragged a bit at the beginning but once it hit its stride no area really outstayed its welcome. Even the last stretch of the game was pretty quick for a JRPG.
-Dungeons were cool and the puzzles were fun. Nothing difficult but a good change of pace and interesting enough concepts.
-I seem to be in the minority but I didn't really mind the combat. I found it engaging enough and while it was easy, it was kinda fun managing the locks and stuff. There was a pretty minimal amount of it for a JRPG and the music was great so that helps.
-Some cool characters. Particularly the party members that join in the later parts of the game had fun backstories.

Cons:
-The combo system is cool but I wish they found a way to balance it in a way that it carried over to the next fight. I get why it didn't, but there were times where I felt I needed to drag a fight on (which is kinda hard here, since you can't just defend like in some JRPGs) to get a combo heal off or something.
-Some not cool characters - the characters you start the game with are pretty lame.
-Overall story is forgettable

 

[Bridges]

Finished this last night and really enjoyed it. Currently speeding through a second to playthrough to get the last achievement (defeat 10 bosses with a hard mode relic activated).

I really liked this game. The combat is really engaging and the world/art is beautiful.

The story isn't great, as others mentioned. It has its moments, and I don't think it's overly predictable, just not the most interesting thing. For those who are unsatisfied by the ending(s), go play The Messenger. I was really surprised at how much they tie together, even knowing beforehand that it was technically a prequel. Even some of the later game locations are levels from The Messenger. In isolation, it seems like a lot of things were left unresolved but some of it is addressed in The Messenger.

The Messenger is, I think the better game overall. Tonally I think Sea of Stars suffers because it tries to tell a "serious" story to some extent. It has its humor and light-heartedness, but The Messenger doesn't take itself seriously at all and is better for it. Can't recommend it enough