I read about this game months ago, when it was released I was very glad to see that it was on PS Plus from Day 1. Since I am already subscribed to PS Plus, I have downloaded it and playing it right now. I really like the game up until now.

I will probably try the studio's other games like The Messenger when I'm done!

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[–] MisterHavoc@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I finished it. I'll start with the good.

Visually it's gorgeous. Super polished. Combat is good. Nothing ground breaking. A lot of love went into this game. Controls are tight.. Music is great the first 15 hours. Memorable tunes. And there are versions of them. Like a day version, night version.

The bad The story is absolutely pointless. The first 5 hours serve no purpose to the game. It really gets going around hour 20, but by then they're wrapping it up. The last 2 hours are essentially a boss rush. Just one boss after the other. Getting the true ending is a grind and not worth it at all. Combat is OK. Nothing ground breaking. The best skills show up around hour 20. Forgettable dialogs and zero character development.

I backed this on Kickstarter. Never again. I'd give it a 7. Only because it really is visually amazing and polished. They get a 10 there. Its the only thing that balances the average.

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeahh, that’s what I was worried about.

It annoys me because I’m writing my own story, agonizing over excess word count and trimming every scene I can, but I still feel like they’re all additive and value - even if not to the core plot, to some very valuable theme.

Then I play a JRPG and there’s just a random scene where two characters go play hide and go seek for pure padding.

[–] MisterHavoc@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

The medium matters. And context does too. This is a videogame. I have to play through your content. You are writing what I assume is a book or comic.

I'm Sos case, those first 5 hours are useless. Does it help to know where the main protagonists came from? Sure. It adds to the story. But if I have to play through that and none of that ends up being relevant to the story, then it was filler content.

I saw a comment where they compared this game to chrono trigger, saying how in 5 hours toy had traveled back and forth through time twice, rescued a princess, got in a trial for kidnapping and added 5 characters to your party.

[–] lorty@lemmy.ml 2 points 11 months ago

Yeah, agreed 100%. I just find odd that this game was praised this much considering the obvious issues. Guess even when indie games are concerned, presentation is king.

[–] thekidxp@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I absolutely loved sea of stars. I thought it was great the whole way through. Fun characters, and solid combat.

[–] peepo@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Their pixel art is also so amazing. The world feels so pretty and alive!

[–] rigatti@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Really some of the best pixel art I've seen.

[–] soljin@lemm.ee 14 points 11 months ago

It has a great flow and story but ends up getting unfinished and thin towards the end. Also locking the real and only somewhat better ending behind a bunch of fetch quests and all 60 conchs sucks.

[–] flicker@kbin.social 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Loved it. 10/10

I feel like the true ending cheapened a specific plot point but I was happy it happened anyway.

[–] match@pawb.social 1 points 11 months ago

Haha, it so did and it's so good anyway

[–] sosodev@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

I enjoyed it up until the ending. Good experience overall though.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Yes! Loved it. Made me go back and replay The Messenger. They have a few little crossovers that were fun to discover.

[–] EarthlingHazard@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The messenger ~~is actually a prequel to~~ takes place before Sea of Stars. Sea of Stars is a really great RPG but it bugged me that some of the answers to the questions I had could be found in the prequel

[–] brawleryukon@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The messenger is actually a prequel to Sea of Stars.

Other way around. A "prequel" is a work that is released after (as in "sequel") but set before (as in "previous") another work.

Sea of Stars is a prequel to The Messenger, as it was released after The Messenger but is set (thousands of years) before it.

[–] EarthlingHazard@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago

Ahh brain fart. Thanks for correcting me!

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

I tend to be less excited for prequels because of this. Good stories can go in a completely unexpected direction, for instance having a villain "win" in an unexpected way, or killing off characters you expected to survive. Prequels are often just an excuse to give more content of the same, especially in order to star someone that's been killed off in other media.

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I might be a bit unusual, but I feel like the main thing I'm looking for in a JRPG isn't just good characters, but good storyline that gives each of those characters real moments to shine. Something in the vein of Cloud Strife

spoiler

revealing he built up a fake persona based on his idol

, or FFXIV

spoiler

having your team resolve a generations-long war against dragons

. I have heard that Sea of Stars has one really impactful/good character in your party, but not heard much in the way of super-heavy story beats; and it's seemed the same way for a lot of JRPGs that have come from the indie sphere.

[–] Glide@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago

Opinion: I think all of the characters have very interesting, often emotionally moving arcs, but I can certainly understand why most players are focused on one character in particular.

That said, it's a game that demands 100% to get a really satisfying conclusion though. That wouldn't be a problem, but 100%includes collecting all 60 of the arbitrarily hidden shiny things across the game, which is quite obnoxious.

[–] JimmyMcGill@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago

I saw it the other day and it looked pretty interesting. RPG, turn based combat, multiple characters ticks a bunch of boxes for what me and my gf usually play but then I saw it doesn’t have coop/multiplayer. But it might come out soon so I will definitely get it when that happens. The game seems pretty cool and highly rated.