REVIEW – Square Enix has been on the roll for the past few years. Sleeping Dogs, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and even indie hits such as Life is Strange. It seems rather weird that the Japanese Publisher has been hitting that gritty/realistic tone for its video games, and has not tried to do another JRPG for awhile now. That is until I Am Setsuna arrived, a game developed by Tokyo RPG Factory. It aims to reinvigorate those old feelings of warmth we had when we played Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy VI.

However it is 2016, and the question is rather important, whether the ideas of the 90s survive nearly 15 years later? Is I Am Setsuna worth playing, or should we avoid this frosty product? Find out here!

White Walke… I mean demons of the land

I Am Setsuna has a rather simple premise. Every now and then a person is sent on a journey to be the sacrifice. The sacrifice is needed because if it is not done, then the monsters of the world will consume Humanity. This is where Endir (who we control) comes in, a lone mercenary who aids the titular character Setsuna on her aid to the Last Lands.

The story takes place in a snowy world, full of dangers, with monsters, and other horrifying creatures. It is not a great story, as Tokyo RPG Factory decided to tell a story of sadness, by constantly playing a sad piano note, and everyone acting more or less depressed, or sarcastic.

The story is, dialogue and interactions are also very 90s JRPG. Basically, if you missed Chrono Trigger, this game is for you, if not well you are going to have a bit of a problem digesting the plot and its characters.

Swords and Magic

The combat is lifted straight from Trigger. You have multiple characters with different weapons, and skills you can give them. Pretty much every character can learn any skill though from shops. The weapons we pick up though are more limited to each character.

The main combat mechanic is the Active Time Battle system. In the ATB we can wait for our turn to attack as soon as possible, or wait for even more to add extra damage with our attacks. These are called momentums whereby pressing the key at the right time we add more damage/ healing, or buff to our action. It is easy to use, but difficult to master, the momentum strikes are crucial for surviving boss battles, or to clearing out mobs quicker.

The mechanic is nothing new, and does not reinvent the wheel, but it is serviceable. The combat is flashy, with critical hits displaying different effects on the screen. Though it can get stale, as you wait for the bars to fill up to do that perfect strike. A relic from the past, the combat is just okay and does not do anything special. It is also disappointing to see that there is no actual skill point distribution when leveling up. All we get is more Mana and HP, The special abilities are at least flashy, and useful for combat, and the momentum mechanic has a tiny bit of depth, but nothing special.

Through valor and unity

The graphics of I Am Setsuna is average. The game is run by unity, and the environments are lacking, due to the theme of the story, the entire game is set in a snowy location, which is okay. It is nothing to write home about, but I am starting to see a pattern that Unity is now the go-to indie engine. A few years ago it was Gamemaker; now it is Unity, but at least we are getting better locking games. The characters look like a detailed version of Final Fantasy VII sprites, and the effects are generic JRPG splashes.

The music, however, will go on your nerve, as the soundtrack is one long piano concert after another, trying to bash the players head that this is a sad game. It worked in the first ten or so minutes, but after that, I decided to lower the music since it felt once again, generic, and one note. The music is beautiful, but it repeats is self constantly, since they seem to have had a budget for only one or two songs.

At least the snow looks gorgeous….

I Am Setsuna feels like a throwback to the late 90s, but I’m not sure we wanted that. Games like South Park Stick of Truth, Dragon Age Inquisition, and even Final Fantasy has proven that the RPG genre is it Western or Japanese has evolved not just in storytelling, but regarding graphics, and character portrayal.

Setsuna is not horrible, but it reminds me of the reasons why games like Fallout and other Western RPGs were able to overtake the JRPGs over over time, the JRPGs after a while will feel samey as much as a yearly Call of Duty release. Should you buy the game? Eh if you want to relive endless grinding in a beautiful snowy land, with cliché JRPG characters have fun, if not wait for a sale.

-Dante-

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Tokyo RPG Factory

Genre: Role-Playing

Release date: July 19, 2016