Sea of Stars is a game with good ideas, but could have used better execution.
It's a throwback to retro JRPGs with a combat system most similar to Super Mario RPG, where timing matters a lot. The problem with the combat system is that it gets stale, with the party members only having a handful of skills to use throughout the whole game. Not to mention, the indication for timings on hits and blocks can be very ambiguous. One thing that I noticed was that some enemies would target a single character in your party and you wouldn't know who until they already got hit by them.
The exploration is the main highlight of the game, and is reminiscent of Zelda puzzles combined with an old-school FF/DQ overworld system that makes for interesting areas and discoveries. There is a lot to uncover in a game as compact as this, and it makes it worthwhile to spend time looking around, especially with the gorgeous pixel art and banging soundtrack.
A main selling point for a lot of different JRPGs is its story, characters, and writing. In Sea of Stars, being an indie title, will get some slack in this department. With that being said, the dialogue can be very awkward at times, often feeling amateur and missing grammar, and makes the writing feel much less polished. The overarching story is what you'd expect from a small title like this, and nothing to write home about. In other words, it is not the selling point of Sea of Stars.
Overall, I enjoyed the game and ended up doing 100% of the content it offered, and if you just want a fun time with a more unique combat system than most turn-based games, with worthwhile exploration, then it's a game worth your time.
It's a throwback to retro JRPGs with a combat system most similar to Super Mario RPG, where timing matters a lot. The problem with the combat system is that it gets stale, with the party members only having a handful of skills to use throughout the whole game. Not to mention, the indication for timings on hits and blocks can be very ambiguous. One thing that I noticed was that some enemies would target a single character in your party and you wouldn't know who until they already got hit by them.
The exploration is the main highlight of the game, and is reminiscent of Zelda puzzles combined with an old-school FF/DQ overworld system that makes for interesting areas and discoveries. There is a lot to uncover in a game as compact as this, and it makes it worthwhile to spend time looking around, especially with the gorgeous pixel art and banging soundtrack.
A main selling point for a lot of different JRPGs is its story, characters, and writing. In Sea of Stars, being an indie title, will get some slack in this department. With that being said, the dialogue can be very awkward at times, often feeling amateur and missing grammar, and makes the writing feel much less polished. The overarching story is what you'd expect from a small title like this, and nothing to write home about. In other words, it is not the selling point of Sea of Stars.
Overall, I enjoyed the game and ended up doing 100% of the content it offered, and if you just want a fun time with a more unique combat system than most turn-based games, with worthwhile exploration, then it's a game worth your time.