I Am Setsuna introduces the authentic JRPG style of yesteryear to PlayStation4 and Steam! Journey with Setsuna as she prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice and save the people of her land. A powerfully nostalgic experience, blending a classic style of story-telling, battle system and gameplay.
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For the cold and occasionally snowy month of February, I chose to play I Am Setsuna, and I’m so glad I did. This is a spoiler free review.
I Am Setsuna is the first game by Square Enix’s Tokyo RPG Factory, a studio made of just ten core employees whose goal was to recreate the magic of the SNES era roleplaying games. The influence of the “old masters” of the JRPG is not simply something felt throughout- it is the air the game breathes. This can be considered both the greatest strength and the most crushing weakness of I Am Setsuna. The game with the greatest influence on Setsuna is Chrono Trigger- something insurmountable to live up to. Maybe it’s because I haven’t gotten around to playing Chrono Trigger yet, and I don’t feel compelled to compare the two, that I found Setsuna so striking.
Every location in this game has two constants; it is covered in an unmelting blanket of snow, and it’s scored by a lone piano. These two choices are extremely controversial among players and critics, but I truly can’t imagine this game being nearly as successful artistically without this unwavering commitment to this direction. It was absolutely the correct choice.
The combat system is interesting, and one I disliked quite a bit at first. One of the reasons I like JRPGs as a genre so much is the focus on strategy rather than quick execution in gameplay. The common turn-based combat of JRPGs clicks with me, but Setsuna has a sort of hybrid- the ATB, or active time battle system. It did grow on me, eventually. I found longer battles to be very rhythmic, and if I needed some time to think, I could always dive into a safe menu to find my bearings.
The basis of Setsuna’s systems are fantastic on paper. Defeating common enemies rewards you with unique materials. You can sell these materials for money, and selling enough of a specific material also grants you the ability to use it to create skills called Spritnite that can be equipped. This creates a cycle; use your skills to kill enemies for drops, use those drops to create stronger skills, rinse and repeat. It’s a bit more complex than my simple explanation makes it seem, but the foundation is rock solid. The implementation is where this system can become a bit shaky.
The game also has combo attacks achieved by equipping two characters with compatible Spritnite. I made sure to equip Endir and Nidr with the Shock and Provoke skills respectively to create the Blowbeat combo. This is where I discovered the true way to play I Am Setsuna: find one OP combo and, using Setsuna’s support on the side for HP and MP management, coast through the rest of the game. Flattening every combat encounter was something I appreciated more than not. It made things easy, but finding and using a build that worked so smoothly was satisfying. This didn’t trivialize the entire rest of the game though- the bosses could still be quite tough, as they’re all massive damage sponges. All of this comes together to create a combat system that really clicked with me, and I even found it addictive at times.
You travel the eternal winter with six people, all of different backgrounds, with different stories to tell. These characters all have their own simple narrative, each with a fun twist, that ties thematically back to the main ideas of the game. Though they’re not complex, they don’t need to be. It strikes a lovely balance. The story is truly what makes this game so special. Like the rest of the experience it’s simple, a bit underdeveloped, and merely echoes the great masters before it, but these are all things I love about it. Its brevity is a strength, its ability to exist in the shadows of great stories without being a mere copy is a wonderful thing, and its confidence to keep the story simple is refreshing, especially within the context of its genre. It does exactly what it needs to, in a quiet and elegant manner. This winter journey’s tale ties together the identity of the game to create a serene, melancholic journey.
I Am Setsuna is a game that has received much criticism. It is not a JRPG darling like the classics it exists to emulate. It is certainly flawed, in many ways, but that doesn’t keep Setsuna from being a very special game. I think so many people are so focused on where Setsuna draws its inspirations, that they are unable to experience it for the game it is. It’s true that every step of the development was inspired by games of the past. But that doesn’t mean Setsuna should exist within the confines of those expectations. This game is truly something special when removed from the preconceptions placed on it, and I hope more people will be able to approach it with a perspective similar to mine. I think those people will have a very meaningful experience.
___ this was adapted from a full review written for my blog
I Am Setsuna is the first game by Square Enix’s Tokyo RPG Factory, a studio made of just ten core employees whose goal was to recreate the magic of the SNES era roleplaying games. The influence of the “old masters” of the JRPG is not simply something felt throughout- it is the air the game breathes. This can be considered both the greatest strength and the most crushing weakness of I Am Setsuna. The game with the greatest influence on Setsuna is Chrono Trigger- something insurmountable to live up to. Maybe it’s because I haven’t gotten around to playing Chrono Trigger yet, and I don’t feel compelled to compare the two, that I found Setsuna so striking.
Every location in this game has two constants; it is covered in an unmelting blanket of snow, and it’s scored by a lone piano. These two choices are extremely controversial among players and critics, but I truly can’t imagine this game being nearly as successful artistically without this unwavering commitment to this direction. It was absolutely the correct choice.
The combat system is interesting, and one I disliked quite a bit at first. One of the reasons I like JRPGs as a genre so much is the focus on strategy rather than quick execution in gameplay. The common turn-based combat of JRPGs clicks with me, but Setsuna has a sort of hybrid- the ATB, or active time battle system. It did grow on me, eventually. I found longer battles to be very rhythmic, and if I needed some time to think, I could always dive into a safe menu to find my bearings.
The basis of Setsuna’s systems are fantastic on paper. Defeating common enemies rewards you with unique materials. You can sell these materials for money, and selling enough of a specific material also grants you the ability to use it to create skills called Spritnite that can be equipped. This creates a cycle; use your skills to kill enemies for drops, use those drops to create stronger skills, rinse and repeat. It’s a bit more complex than my simple explanation makes it seem, but the foundation is rock solid. The implementation is where this system can become a bit shaky.
The game also has combo attacks achieved by equipping two characters with compatible Spritnite. I made sure to equip Endir and Nidr with the Shock and Provoke skills respectively to create the Blowbeat combo. This is where I discovered the true way to play I Am Setsuna: find one OP combo and, using Setsuna’s support on the side for HP and MP management, coast through the rest of the game. Flattening every combat encounter was something I appreciated more than not. It made things easy, but finding and using a build that worked so smoothly was satisfying. This didn’t trivialize the entire rest of the game though- the bosses could still be quite tough, as they’re all massive damage sponges. All of this comes together to create a combat system that really clicked with me, and I even found it addictive at times.
You travel the eternal winter with six people, all of different backgrounds, with different stories to tell. These characters all have their own simple narrative, each with a fun twist, that ties thematically back to the main ideas of the game. Though they’re not complex, they don’t need to be. It strikes a lovely balance. The story is truly what makes this game so special. Like the rest of the experience it’s simple, a bit underdeveloped, and merely echoes the great masters before it, but these are all things I love about it. Its brevity is a strength, its ability to exist in the shadows of great stories without being a mere copy is a wonderful thing, and its confidence to keep the story simple is refreshing, especially within the context of its genre. It does exactly what it needs to, in a quiet and elegant manner. This winter journey’s tale ties together the identity of the game to create a serene, melancholic journey.
I Am Setsuna is a game that has received much criticism. It is not a JRPG darling like the classics it exists to emulate. It is certainly flawed, in many ways, but that doesn’t keep Setsuna from being a very special game. I think so many people are so focused on where Setsuna draws its inspirations, that they are unable to experience it for the game it is. It’s true that every step of the development was inspired by games of the past. But that doesn’t mean Setsuna should exist within the confines of those expectations. This game is truly something special when removed from the preconceptions placed on it, and I hope more people will be able to approach it with a perspective similar to mine. I think those people will have a very meaningful experience.
___ this was adapted from a full review written for my blog
Nah, I can see why this might be popular amongst retro-gamers, but to me this didn't look or feel like the SNES classic did. I gave in at the boss fight right before you get the airship, probably under leveled because he could wipe out my whole party even though I had two who could cast healing spells. And grinding as a game mechanic to be at the "right" level is not a function I miss from the old days.
Really enjoyed the game. Didn't fully grasp the mechanics but at some point you get an AoE attack that handles most enemies. Felt like a nice classic SNES JRPG.
A beautiful little throwback JRPG that maintains the spirit of the games that inspired it. It can be very challenging and unforgiving if you aren't paying attention to your party's abilities and composition, but the difficulty never really reaches an unfair level.
I didn't do all the side content and grinding necessary for the platinum, just because the game is leaving PS+ in a few days and I don't really want to be grinding until it leaves, but I do feel like I've seen what the game had to offer me and I was content with it. It was a pleasant experience, and the story was surprisingly touching, especially the ending.
I didn't do all the side content and grinding necessary for the platinum, just because the game is leaving PS+ in a few days and I don't really want to be grinding until it leaves, but I do feel like I've seen what the game had to offer me and I was content with it. It was a pleasant experience, and the story was surprisingly touching, especially the ending.
I abandoned I Am Setsuna. Why? Well, because it was just too simple. Did I think it was a bad game? No. But I did think it was not worth my time. I played it for like 3 hours. The story was going too basic. Characters were very two dimensional. No depth at all.
Combat was very simplistic. It did not have any interesting or exciting feature. I just couldn't force myself to continue. There are good things here though, like the art direction and the music but that's all.
Do I recommend you to play I Am Setsuna? Not really. I'm sure you can find much better JRPG's to play than this. I think it would be a waste of your time.
Combat was very simplistic. It did not have any interesting or exciting feature. I just couldn't force myself to continue. There are good things here though, like the art direction and the music but that's all.
Do I recommend you to play I Am Setsuna? Not really. I'm sure you can find much better JRPG's to play than this. I think it would be a waste of your time.
I Am Setsuna had me hooked at the start but slowly lost my interest and was downright a bad experience by the mid-late game - surprisingly though it does turn it around by the very end.
It's honestly a bit baffling how well Tokyo RPG Maker live up to their own motto of making games that feel like they're from the golden era of JRPGs. Unfortunately I find that to be a bit of a fool's errand.
It's charming graphically, and the soundtrack is without a doubt a highlight, both of them combine to really give that 00s vibe. The lack of map or any waypoint indicators also require you to really pull out the JRPG classic of going around and talking to everyone if you don't know what to do next(you probably won't need to though, they spell it out pretty clearly every time). Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad from that era of game design. Each area is very short and linear(rarely a complaint from me) and enemy variety consists of maybe a dozen total non-boss enemies with palette swaps or minor changes. The battle system is a mixed bag, but the waiting around with literally nothing but bars filling up on screen is pretty bad. The balance is all over the place too, everything does too much damage and it feels very weird to be taking half your health from an enemy that you can also pretty much 2-shot if you hit him first. This is doubly bad with boss fights because you sure can't 2-shot them, while they very much can instakill a party member leading to many frustrating moments. As an aside, I'm very glad the kamikaze attack some of the bosses had never made me game over, because that sure would've sucked, and is a pretty baffling thing to include what amounts to a health check after defeating a boss for no reason.
The story, which I'm told is highly derivative from FFX but I can't know because I've only played a few hours two decade ago, has some good beats and sticks to it's themes well, but the pacing and presentation is very lacking(This is almost 1:1 with my feelings about Oninaki's story, so maybe it's an intentional stylistic decision). The ending is genuinely great and that does so much to offset the bad that came before it. Not enough for me to say I truly liked I Am Setsuna, but I came out feeling like at least it was worth the 20 or so hours I put into it. The fact I only put the 20 hours in and did none of the optional content betrays what I was feeling like before the credits rolled.
It's honestly a bit baffling how well Tokyo RPG Maker live up to their own motto of making games that feel like they're from the golden era of JRPGs. Unfortunately I find that to be a bit of a fool's errand.
It's charming graphically, and the soundtrack is without a doubt a highlight, both of them combine to really give that 00s vibe. The lack of map or any waypoint indicators also require you to really pull out the JRPG classic of going around and talking to everyone if you don't know what to do next(you probably won't need to though, they spell it out pretty clearly every time). Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad from that era of game design. Each area is very short and linear(rarely a complaint from me) and enemy variety consists of maybe a dozen total non-boss enemies with palette swaps or minor changes. The battle system is a mixed bag, but the waiting around with literally nothing but bars filling up on screen is pretty bad. The balance is all over the place too, everything does too much damage and it feels very weird to be taking half your health from an enemy that you can also pretty much 2-shot if you hit him first. This is doubly bad with boss fights because you sure can't 2-shot them, while they very much can instakill a party member leading to many frustrating moments. As an aside, I'm very glad the kamikaze attack some of the bosses had never made me game over, because that sure would've sucked, and is a pretty baffling thing to include what amounts to a health check after defeating a boss for no reason.
The story, which I'm told is highly derivative from FFX but I can't know because I've only played a few hours two decade ago, has some good beats and sticks to it's themes well, but the pacing and presentation is very lacking(This is almost 1:1 with my feelings about Oninaki's story, so maybe it's an intentional stylistic decision). The ending is genuinely great and that does so much to offset the bad that came before it. Not enough for me to say I truly liked I Am Setsuna, but I came out feeling like at least it was worth the 20 or so hours I put into it. The fact I only put the 20 hours in and did none of the optional content betrays what I was feeling like before the credits rolled.