Is it worth it? Probably not.

[Larry]

It's on sale and people have this question: Is it worth it?

It's not worth it in my opinion and I'll explain why. Maybe you'll read this and think some of these things don't sound like such a big deal if so give it a shot and you'll have your two hours to come to your own conclusion.

An informed purchase is a good purchase.


-----


I bought it twice. Bought it full price on STEAM on release(Could only stand to play it for four hours here) and again for around 40% off on my Switch(Which is probably the more enjoyable way to play). Been playing it on my Switch at night and I'm right at the end(Will most likely finish it tonight).

First off, there's a serious lack of content in all aspects. The game world is incredibly small and incredibly linear. The music is very light consisting entirely of music composed on piano and nothing more. It's not great. Monster design comprises of the same handful of enemies who get a different colour palette to signify the difference the further you progress.

Character development isn't great. It makes no sense how they interact and seemingly forgive everyone at a whim and how some characters are introduced. It's just poorly done with what seems to be the only goal of getting a passable mark for delivering a story. Character's and the story itself are simply "okay" not great, not amazing, just serviceable.

Level design is bland, boring and excruciatingly repetitive. Levels/Dungeons consist of 1-2 floors(Starting out) then 2-3 and then 4 by the end of the game. Each level is a linear pathway separated by an open area filled with enemies you can either try to walk around and skip or simply fight and kill. It's not well developed or well designed. The very first dungeon-ish area you need to pass through will be the same in terms of design for the rest of the game: Walk linear pathway -> Open area with monsters -> Kill / Skip monsters -> Linear Pathway -> Rinse + Repeat -> Save Point -> Boss. This is how it is for every single dungeon.

Further to level design is how, at a certain point, they introduce elite enemies. These are enemies that look normal but have boosted stats who can not be damaged or defeated because you're far too weak when you stumble across them. As a result you die and have to reload your save. These enemies have nothing distinct about them to show they're elites and, in some cases, can be right in the middle of a level you would naturally think you should walk down. There's no real way to know exactly which linear pathway you should take in a level so you can easily find you've waltzed toward an elite without knowing it. Terrible design that's only punishing for the sake of it.

A minor spoiler here...





When you get the airship that's practically the end of the game. There's nothing to really do, there's no additional story or side quests to do or much to explore. The Last Lands is just a dungeon you can fly straight to and finish the story. It's not a zone, it's not a new continent. It's a dungeon you just so happen to need the airship to get to.

At this point you can visit any place in the game world but most of it there's no reason to visit. Either you've been there already via playing through the story or it's an empty shack or zone with one NPC with one line and nothing else there of note. There's no special vendor to sell or grind or work for to get legendary items given all vendors sell the same items, items that unlock as you progress the story. There's no side quests to get special background information on characters or the game's lore. There's quite literally nothing of note to do. It would probably take you around 10 to 15 hours to get to this point. It's just not interesting and incredibly bland.

The game itself can be summed up in three words: "Bland", "repetitive" and ultimately "boring."

[BababooeyHTJ]

Damn, how did you get this 40% off on the switch?


Also pros and cons between the two? I love my switch btw. Just can't buy this knowing that I could play it on my switch without compromise.

[Xaelath]

Thanks for reminding

[CAPTAIN CHUA]

thanks, i was gonna get this. i'll wait for 50% then. seems like the max SE could go for their JRPG games.

[Larry]

Originally posted by BababooeyHTJ:

Damn, how did you get this 40% off on the switch?


Also pros and cons between the two? I love my switch btw. Just can't buy this knowing that I could play it on my switch without compromise.

It was on sale for a day or two a while back on the Switch.

Switch version is better. More options in ways to play(Couch or handheld). I Am Setsuna feels much more of a handheld game than it does a full console or PC RPG. I couldn't bring myself to play for too long at a time or even bother to continue on PC but in handheld in bed before sleep I could knock out a few hours of play.

The Switch version also comes with a "pvp" mode but it's really terrible. At the end you have the option to upload your current party, their stats and their abilities for random people to download and fight against. You can download random people's parties to fight against. The fights themselves? It's all automatic. As in you click a button and they fight randomly with random abilities and attacks based on their loadouts. No interaction at all.

For me the "arena" mode bugged out. The enemy would get two hits on me, I'd have 90% health left and randomly the match would be over and I'd be told I lost.

[lambchop]

I tried it for 20minutes and decided its not worth my time. It takes everything bad about jrpgs in the past and repackages it, too slow, boring and easy, but it does it in a nice artstyle at least.

its too bad. its 2017 innovate a little on the recipe of the past. And yea its not masterfully executed like chrono trigger so it doesnt get a pass.

[TheSlacker]

I was really excited about this game. I never purchased it for many of the reasons you stated. Even at 40% off I think its too much. Im hoping it gets put in humble monthly as a showcase soon. Id say under $20 is acceptable.

[mmmmm]

I've been reading a lot of thorough and justified explanations on why they would not buy this game, but allow me to give my 2 cents on why I enjoyed the game and why I bought it after playing it before.

I agree that at $40 the value isn't there and I would struggle to buy it either. At $20 I find reasonable.

To me; the gameplay, the music, the environment and atmosphere of the game, is enchanting. Simply beautiful. There is a nostalgia to the gameplay and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, even if I found it a bit lacking in depth, I still enjoyed it. And isn't that what games are all about? It is wise to look at reviews and consult other players prior to buying the game and all these negative comments are completely justified, but in the end no one knows how they will react/feel about the game until they've played it for themselves. I would encourage you guys to give it a chance and play this game without any prejudice on the pricetag or the reviews or the company. Play it and see if you enjoy it for yourselves. I believe you can explore the game a great deal within the 2hour limit for steams refund policy should you not enjoy it, so why not give it a shot?

What kept me coming back to this game personally was the BGM. I loved the melody, so I bought it. Here is one of my favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJXQn-SOsjA

[False Prophet]

Game was just trash imo. Very uninspired jprg. Billed itself as a chrono trigger type RPG and I was an idiot to believe the press. generic story, boring environment, Didnt make me care about the characters, and the combat system was mediocre as well. Biggest dissapointemnt I have had in awhile. Never even finished it.

[CyberDown]

So the game is like JRPG turned based art. Its like an art videogame. Very well made and beautiful. 90% of the game is fantastic, though towards the ends it starts to get boring due to the same scenery and music tone and you have to backtrack to progress and hunt all these chests you saw leveling up.

Its worth it if you can appreciate the art aspect. Story is good but wasnt good enough for me to actually go back through all the old areas to fund the chests with gear so i can finish the game, however i really enjoyed the 16hrs or so i got out of it.

You need to decide if thats worth $25ish.

Combat system is fun too...

Beautiful artwork, short, ending has a grind i didnt like, cant speak on ending story, combat was really fun. Your call on worth it.

[Dr Megaman]

Originally posted by Prince of Saiyans:

Game was just trash imo. Very uninspired jprg. Billed itself as a chrono trigger type RPG and I was an idiot to believe the press. generic story, boring environment, Didnt make me care about the characters, and the combat system was mediocre as well. Biggest dissapointemnt I have had in awhile. Never even finished it.

Right on. I Am Setsuna's only relation to Chrono Trigger is the battle system, and not much else. I played a friend's copy on his PS4 and I felt glad I didn't pay for it.

The game has a lot of potential and I can see how some people could love it. To me, it just felt kind of incomplete. Chrono Trigger was beloved for its colorful cast of characters and wide variety of environments, and really felt like a big sprawling adventure. Setsuna feels like one small piece of an adventure, stretched out to fill time so it can be sold as a full game. Like, Setsuna might have been better off as a 3-4 hour game sold for under $20 in the vein of like, Portal, since there's definitely something to like there. But it just overstays its welcome and never mixes things up.

[Nex]

Originally posted by Dr.Larry:

It's on sale and people have this question: Is it worth it?

It's not worth it in my opinion and I'll explain why. Maybe you'll read this and think some of these things don't sound like such a big deal if so give it a shot and you'll have your two hours to come to your own conclusion.

An informed purchase is a good purchase.


-----


I bought it twice. Bought it full price on STEAM on release(Could only stand to play it for four hours here) and again for around 40% off on my Switch(Which is probably the more enjoyable way to play). Been playing it on my Switch at night and I'm right at the end(Will most likely finish it tonight).

First off, there's a serious lack of content in all aspects. The game world is incredibly small and incredibly linear. The music is very light consisting entirely of music composed on piano and nothing more. It's not great. Monster design comprises of the same handful of enemies who get a different colour palette to signify the difference the further you progress.

Character development isn't great. It makes no sense how they interact and seemingly forgive everyone at a whim and how some characters are introduced. It's just poorly done with what seems to be the only goal of getting a passable mark for delivering a story. Character's and the story itself are simply "okay" not great, not amazing, just serviceable.

Level design is bland, boring and excruciatingly repetitive. Levels/Dungeons consist of 1-2 floors(Starting out) then 2-3 and then 4 by the end of the game. Each level is a linear pathway separated by an open area filled with enemies you can either try to walk around and skip or simply fight and kill. It's not well developed or well designed. The very first dungeon-ish area you need to pass through will be the same in terms of design for the rest of the game: Walk linear pathway -> Open area with monsters -> Kill / Skip monsters -> Linear Pathway -> Rinse + Repeat -> Save Point -> Boss. This is how it is for every single dungeon.

Further to level design is how, at a certain point, they introduce elite enemies. These are enemies that look normal but have boosted stats who can not be damaged or defeated because you're far too weak when you stumble across them. As a result you die and have to reload your save. These enemies have nothing distinct about them to show they're elites and, in some cases, can be right in the middle of a level you would naturally think you should walk down. There's no real way to know exactly which linear pathway you should take in a level so you can easily find you've waltzed toward an elite without knowing it. Terrible design that's only punishing for the sake of it.

A minor spoiler here...





When you get the airship that's practically the end of the game. There's nothing to really do, there's no additional story or side quests to do or much to explore. The Last Lands is just a dungeon you can fly straight to and finish the story. It's not a zone, it's not a new continent. It's a dungeon you just so happen to need the airship to get to.

At this point you can visit any place in the game world but most of it there's no reason to visit. Either you've been there already via playing through the story or it's an empty shack or zone with one NPC with one line and nothing else there of note. There's no special vendor to sell or grind or work for to get legendary items given all vendors sell the same items, items that unlock as you progress the story. There's no side quests to get special background information on characters or the game's lore. There's quite literally nothing of note to do. It would probably take you around 10 to 15 hours to get to this point. It's just not interesting and incredibly bland.

The game itself can be summed up in three words: "Bland", "repetitive" and ultimately "boring."

Did i just read a Destiny 2 review?

[Darmaniac]

indeed it ain't a real Square Enix RPG its a Tokyo Rpg made RPG which i never played any RPG from them before

still i like the graphics.. i love RPG's.. so im still playing it

[KEV1N]

Not at that price.

[ravitoeli]

this game has been out for at least 2 yrs and the switch came out in march, so you could not have been playing it on release..........

[blanketyblankman]

Further to level design is how, at a certain point, they introduce elite enemies. These are enemies that look normal but have boosted stats who can not be damaged or defeated because you're far too weak when you stumble across them. As a result you die and have to reload your save. These enemies have nothing distinct about them to show they're elites and, in some cases, can be right in the middle of a level you would naturally think you should walk down.

Spritnite-Eaten Monsters, while sharing the general shape with normal monsters, do not look identical. Some are significant palette swaps (Roly-Poly[iamsetsuna.gamepedia.com] vs. Glowly-Poly[iamsetsuna.gamepedia.com]), while others get altered features as well (Lesser Deermon[iamsetsuna.gamepedia.com] vs. Digi Deermon[iamsetsuna.gamepedia.com])

Further, the only Spritnite-Eaten Monsters I can recall being located on a path you're expected to take are the Glowly-Poly (the one which gives you a tutorial on Spritnite-Eaten enemies, and by far the easiest one to beat -- the only thing approaching a challenge with Glowly-Poly is that they will enter a 100% dodge mode, but they don't attack during that time so you can just wait for them to stop it) and Southpaw. Southpaw is definitely a problem: he'll probably murderface you if you fight him the first time you see him, and he's located shortly after the Aurorean Tiger boss, the first boss in the game that the player might have real trouble with.

Even if you do run into a Spritnite-Eaten Monster unexpectedly, you can always use a Fogstone item (you get a decent number for free throughout the game, and you can buy them at any item shop) to make them disappear and end the battle.

At this point you can visit any place in the game world but most of it there's no reason to visit. Either you've been there already via playing through the story or it's an empty shack or zone with one NPC with one line and nothing else there of note. There's no special vendor to sell or grind or work for to get legendary items given all vendors sell the same items, items that unlock as you progress the story. There's no side quests to get special background information on characters or the game's lore. There's quite literally nothing of note to do.

I think the sidequests open up when you reach the final save point (rather than when you get the airship), but sidquests do exist. In particular, there are sidequests to get a special Command spritnite for each character that you can't get from the Magic Consortium (until after you get it from the sidequest, then you can get multiples from the Consortium), and a few weapons that you can't buy.

There's also a meal recipe that you can't get until you've got the airship, and most of the ruins that let you re-fight bosses (almost guaranteed to be critical to craft all the spritnite you might want, especially if you want to challenge Spritnite-Eaten monsters, or face the fully-powered-up version of the final boss) are inaccessible without the airship.