I Am Setsuna Reviews
Still, curiosity outweighed my better judgment and I decided to give this game a try anyway. I’m glad I did—I Am Setsuna has its moments of being enjoyable—but the poor writing was enough to ruin the whole experience by the end and cause me to question why this game falls so short.
One of the best launch games for the Nintendo Switch, I Am Setsuna and Zelda will keep your console busy with quality gaming.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
There is something inherently magical about I Am Setsuna. This throwback to the past is a memorable one, that, despite the game's simplicity, Tokyo RPG Factory's reliance on traditional design results in an experience that rediscovers an age old mastery in the genre.
I am Setsuna features one of the most heartfelt and meaningful narratives.
Overall, I Am Setsuna is a compelling experience that all RPG fans should try, just be aware that it’s a more personal and linear experience, as opposed to an epic adventure around the world.
With a story that delicately balances sadness and beauty, yet never tries to be anything other than a callback to classic games, I am Setsuna lands among the stars of the JRPG genre.
It suffers a bit from recycled ideas and mechanics, but in terms of music, art direction, and combat it carves out a corner all its own.
Each nod to a title of JRPG yore is an acknowledgment of sampling from something fantastic. I am Setsuna is the sampler platter at your favorite restaurant. Not the one that gives you three tiny mozzarella sticks and a soggy onion ring – no, the place that puts a heaping of one of your favorite dishes in the center and surrounds them with generous quantities of the best of the menu. You know, the $20 appetizer tray that everyone can eat from. It’s not the full meal, but you can experience a taste of everything fantastic the chef has to offer.
Despite minor frustrations and a predictable plot, I Am Setsuna contains enough charm and entertainment to please players nostalgic for the classic era of JRPGs.
Honestly, I am Setsuna may be the best RPG I play this year (Trails of Cold Steel is excluded because it released last year). With its simple title, emotional story (try to get through it without feeling something), perfect soundtrack, enjoyable battle system, and pretty aesthetics, I am Setsuna is an admittedly short title with a few flaws that, on the whole, succeeds.
I love a beautiful piano piece in games, don't you? Well upon launching the game, configuring the pre launch settings, going through the usual splash screens, you arive at the title screen and I honestly just sat there for a few minutes.
If I am Setsuna stands as an example of what developers would accomplish if they more frequently looked back toward the golden age of RPGs, I enthusiastically urge the industry to continue pressing forward in further modernizing the genre.
I Am Setsuna does pay off on its promises to hearken back to the old days of JRPGs, but it gets a bit too old school for its own good.
I am Setsuna is a wonderful tribute to the SNES era. Even with all the familiarity from the older titles that it pays homage to it doesn’t come across as a copy paste and instead is capable of standing on its own even with the heavy nostalgic feel. Graphically and audibly beautiful sounding this RPG is more than worth the time in the snow covered reaches that are traversed.
I am Setsuna is a beautiful, snow-filled love letter to former JRPGs. While the lack of variety may strike some players as boring, it sticks to its aesthetic and presents us with bits and pieces of what we loved from older JRPGs years ago.
I am Setsuna is a wonderful game. The game has excellent characters and it has a very strong emotional story. That being said this game is very short and loading times can be long and repetitive.
I am Setsuna is an enjoyable and more than competent JRPG, which while weak in story more than makes up for this with a strong combat system and fantastic presentation.
Egal ob alt oder neu: I Am Setsuna verfolgt zwar einen spannenden Ansatz, konnte mich allerdings nicht über die komplette Spielzeit fesseln. Die inhaltsarme Welt sowie die über Strecken unnötig gezogene Story haben es mir schwergemacht, am Ball zu bleiben. Weiterhin hat mich das Balancing der Kämpfe gestört. Während die Zwischengegner fast immer mit nur einem Schlag erledigt gewesen sind, fahren die Bossgegner eine unausgewogene Stärke auf, welcher man nur mit Grinden entgegnen kann. Der Piano-Soundtrack ist stimmig und die Grafik nett anzuschauen. Dennoch hätte ich mir mehr Abwechslung im tristen Alltag der Welt gewünscht, welche mich immer und immer wieder an die gleichen Orte geführt hat. Hier wäre sicher mehr drin gewesen. Gleichwohl ist I Am Setsuna für alle Fans von RPG-Spielen der 90er Jahre mit Einschränkungen zu empfehlen. Das Spiel ist teilweise schwere Kost und die schwermütigen Piano-Sounds sowie das gewollt altbackene Gameplay könnte euch schnell vor den Bildschirmen einschlafen lassen. Wenn das nicht stört, gibt es immerhin solide Unterhaltung, welche selbst auf schwachbrüstigen PC-Systemen erstaunlich gut läuft.
Review in German | Read full review
If you lived in the era of SNES JRPGs and truly understand the definition of how classic games were meant to be played, the detailed stories and music will at least shield you through most of the ‘stuff you had to endure’ back then.
Review in Korean | Read full review