Sea of Stars

[sXeth]

I guess while we're all hyping up our requisite 2023 picks. This one (after the demo) has certainly migrated up the list for me.

A "classic" JRPG style that actually seems to grasp the appeal of said classics (unlike Square's own woeful I am Setsuna, which copied the basic mechanics of a Chrono Trigger onto some dull brooding bland mess).

The demo certainly managed to hit the gameplay notes, mixing up elements from Crono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, Secret of Mana (though not in real time) and I forget which game had that interrupt system beffore (I want to say Golden Sun). While the story hasn't been really touched out in depth, the little side glimpses in the demo were neat, and the trailer seems to have an appropriate sense of the fantastical.

Trailer:

Spoiler: If you particularly want the demo without actually playing it, I have the VoD

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

It's definitely n my list. Games like this never lose their charm when done well

 

[bluegate]

Super Mario RPG

Please don't tell me they took the "do a mini QTE for attacks" thing from Super Mario RPG.

 

[Chimpzy]

Please don't tell me they took the "do a mini QTE for attacks" thing from Super Mario RPG.

It's got that timed thing where if you time a button press while an attack animation plays out you do a bit more damage, or take a little less.

 

[Jarrito3002]

See I played the demo and loved but the devs lied to me. It said timing increases attack but is not needed to win battles. After playing the battles in the game I wanted to slap the person who put that cause I was getting my ass handed to me before I got real good with that timing.

If you demand something of me just say it don't say it helps but you won't need when I really do need it.

 

[sXeth]

See I played the demo and loved but the devs lied to me. It said timing increases attack but is not needed to win battles. After playing the battles in the game I wanted to slap the person who put that cause I was getting my ass handed to me before I got real good with that timing.

If you demand something of me just say it don't say it helps but you won't need when I really do need it.

Eh, I never really got the hang of the attack timing and worked out fine.
The moon chakram thing where you have to time the bounces is kind of necessary though (particularly to clear the interrupt chains on the boss)

(I'd imagine in the game proper you could just grind an advantage of a level or three and semi-coast as well, which was an easy way to trivialize a lot of the games its referencing)

 

[bluegate]

It's got that timed thing where if you time a button press while an attack animation plays out you do a bit more damage, or take a little less.

Thanks for the clarification.

Ugh...So over such mechanics since playing The Legend of Dragoon earlier this year.

 

[sXeth]

While I do have the game, I'm saving it for my upcoming 3 day weekend

Anyhow, here's some takes (while I haven't videos on it cause spoilers, there are several specific to the Switch so if you're looking at playing that might want to have an eyeball if theres some kind of issue with that port)

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

hang on, what you just do there, seas of stars?

 

[Dreiko]

While this doesn't look nearly as cool as Chained Echoes as far as indie 16bit Jrpgs go, it still looks pretty interesting. I'm not as much of a fan of the art style in those anime-meets-cartoons cutscenes and of the portraits for some chars but the action sprites during combat look great. I'm kinda neck deep in Jrpgs right now with trails into reverie and then monochrome mobious, but I'll get to it eventually.

 

[sXeth]

While this doesn't look nearly as cool as Chained Echoes as far as indie 16bit Jrpgs go, it still looks pretty interesting. I'm not as much of a fan of the art style in those anime-meets-cartoons cutscenes and of the portraits for some chars but the action sprites during combat look great. I'm kinda neck deep in Jrpgs right now with trails into reverie and then monochrome mobious, but I'll get to it eventually.

I'll have to look into Chained Echoes. Although one of the things SoS has going for it is the absence of "..." ",..." brooding esque characters that has infested the genre, dunno if that applies to the other

 

[meiam]

I'll have to look into Chained Echoes. Although one of the things SoS has going for it is the absence of "..." ",..." brooding esque characters that has infested the genre, dunno if that applies to the other

Chained echoes mostly avoid that, except for an embarrassing middle section of the game, that feel like it was there by obligation of the genre, but is thankfully short. I wasn't crazy about the ending which also has a bit of the brooding edge to it, but ymmv.

 

[Dreiko]

I'll have to look into Chained Echoes. Although one of the things SoS has going for it is the absence of "..." ",..." brooding esque characters that has infested the genre, dunno if that applies to the other

Chained Echoes has the best mech combat system since trails of cold steel, it basically has two gameplay systems, ones for the humans being on the ground and another when they're in their mechs fighting gigantic enemies. As for the game itself, it's more FFVI than chrono trigger, not much faffing about with combat minigames and so on, but the plot is really dark and epic and it's all made by 1 dude besides the music. It came out last December and suffice it to say I beat it in like 3 weeks cause I was super absorbed into it. Had a decent playtime too, like 50ish hours or more if you do all the side stuff and beat the secret super boss.


The game is overall quite dark and somber, but the protagonist isn't the one usually doing the brooding, and there's always something interesting to keep you going.

 

[Chimpzy]

Oof, 35 bucks. From what I can tell, the game seems worth it, but I'm a horrendously cheap-ass gamer, so kinda steep for my tastes.

 

[BrawlMan]

Oof, 35 bucks. From what I can tell, the game seems worth it, but I'm a horrendously cheap-ass gamer, so kinda steep for my tastes.

If a game like Sea of Stars came out on the SNES or Genesis, you'd be paying more than $35.00 in 90s money. A game like that would cost anywhere between $80 to $100 in the cartridge days. I see where you're coming from though. It's the same reason why I refuse to buy the first River City Girls game. They still charge it as if it came out yesterday. I know there's the occasional sale, but they put it right back up to its original starting price, when it's been about four years at this point. Well that, most of the game play doesn't appeal to me from the Kunio franchise.

 

[Dreiko]

35 bucks is a steal, people see sprite art and think it's cheap cause it's older technology but sprite art is actually a lot harder to make than 3D graphics lol.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I paid the 35 bucks. It'll probably be 20-30% off before the end of the year but whatever. Can't afford the depreciation of the peso. It was 200 pesos a dollar at the start of the year; now we're at 640.

I do think 35 is pushing it for a no-IP indie (yes, I know it has some irrelevant lore connection to The Messenger). Rogue Legacy 2 released for 25 bucks. Blasphemous 2 is going for 30.

Having said that, on top of its incalculable worth as a work of art/love, it seems to have a decent running time for a small RPG. 25 hours for the main story, 30 plus sidequests, 40 for the completionist freaks. That's a fair deal.

How long is Sea of Stars? | HowLongToBeat

How long is Sea of Stars? HowLongToBeat has the answer. Create a backlog, submit your game times and compete with your friends!

howlongtobeat.com

 

[BrawlMan]

Having said that, on top of its incalculable worth as a work of art/love, it seems to have a decent running time for a small RPG. 25 hours for the main story, 30 plus sidequests, 40 for the completionist freaks. That's a fair deal.

That is more quality content than most modern, 7th gen, and 8th gen AAA games put together. If I was an RPG freak, I would get it at that kind of deal instantly.

To let people know: I got Double Dragon Gaiden at $30 (it's $20 digital), and my playtime is 34 hours. The game has 5 stages, with the first 4 stages you can choose in any order, but the final stage is optional, yet will net you the true ending. DDG's replay value relies on its rouge-lite elements, the unlockable characters, artwork, and soundtrack to keep the player invested. The game could have used a survival mode, and unlocking tips is dumb, but clear thought was put into most of the bonuses.

 

[Drathnoxis]

If a game like Sea of Stars came out on thw SNES or Genesis, you'd be paying more than $35.00 in 90s money. A game like that would cost anywhere between $80 to $100 in the cartridge days. I see where you're coming from though. It's the same reason why I refuse to buy the first River City Girls game. They still charge it as if it came out yesterday. I know there's the occasional sale, but it put it right back up to its original starting price when it's been about four years at this point. Well that, most of the game play doesn't appeal to me from the Kunio franchise.

And does it come on a cartridge? Because that was a legitimate reason for games being so expensive back in the day. Some cartridges even contained additional chips to increase the capabilities of the system, which is how games like SMB3 were capable of so much more than SMB.

Spoiler: Example.

There are two factors that make comparing 90s prices to current ones very difficult. One was as I said that cartridges were a fair piece of tech in their own right. The other is that you actually physically got a game. Both are legitimate reasons to have higher prices.

 

[BrawlMan]

And does it come on a cartridge?

No, but it will get a phsyical release in 2024. The physical version will more than likely be at least $5 more. That's how it usually goes with digital indie or digital games launch first. Then the physical version comes either later the same year or the next year. Assuming the game becomes a hit or bonafied success.

Because that was a legitimate reason for games being so expensive back in the day. Some cartridges even contained additional chips to increase the capabilities of the system, which is how games like SMB3 were capable of so much more than SMB.

I know; I was there. That's basically what I meant. Most long RPGs costed crazy on cartridge based consoles. Not to mention there was no set standard pricing for majority of these games NES, SNES, or Genesis. It wasn't until PlayStation 1 era, that $50 became the standard, because CD are much cheaper to develop on. That was the main flaw of the N64. Most of those cartridge games were not $50 at the start on that 64-bit console.

There are two factors that make comparing 90s prices to current ones very difficult. One was as I said that cartridges were a fair piece of tech in their own right. The other is that you actually physically got a game. Both are legitimate reasons to have higher prices.

Still doesn't change the fact that even for the time, they were expensive as fuck, and they become even more expensive by today due to inflation.