hedgein

I decided to give it two stars, one for art, and one for somewhat engaging gameplay. The people who have previously said that the story is its strongest asset, I sincerely and respectfully disagree. There is no proper worldbuilding in this game. The main characters fall flat. The jokes are really unpolished and too on the nose. I don't understand the motivations of some of the "villains" and all the emotional pay offs of the game were disappointing to say the least. The writing is the game's weakest point. It's VERY unpolished writing and the game tries really hard to be a masterpiece, but falls short in the most important aspect- the story. One example is this, there is a port town named Brisk. Who do they trade with???? Do they trade with anyone else???? Like they are the only merchant island so how does that town even "feel alive" and "real" when they literally have no trade prospects?? That doesn't feel believable to me. I think the game does a really good job of "casting its charm" on players through the engaging combat and beautiful art style. It LOOKS and FEELS like a really thoughtful and in depth JRPG but underneath there's not much there. I want to dive deeper on all the problems with Sea of Stars' story, but that would require a 15 page essay. People who want to play it still, sure that's fine. Pick it up, its still somewhat enjoyable. You won't be blown away though.