I Am Setsuna Reviews
Yet, if you love JRPGs but think they need to leave the rose-tinted glasses behind, I Am Setsuna might not scratch the itch. It’s a shame it’s not more forward thinking but perhaps, should it do well, it could be exactly the thing to start bridging the gap towards a modern JRPG renaissance.
Like an experienced chef with a garden of spices, I Am Setsuna borrows from classic RPGs in many areas without feeling like a fan game or a ripoff. While minor flaws detract from the experience, the brilliant presentation and nostalgic gameplay are enough to make Setsuna worthy of standing with its ancestors.
An emotional, if lopsided, tale.
It has a few too many flaws to be considered a classic, but I Am Setsuna does enough right to make it worth a play through - especially for fans of old-school RPGs.
Design missteps and combat randomness don’t defeat this sombre tale.
I Am Setsuna adds a lot of value to our memories and shows us just how far these games have progressed over the decades. But the lack of momentum and good controls hold it back from greatness.
While the game doesn’t strive to evolve the classic gameplay, I Am Setsuna is a nice journey, a good 21+ hour charming adventure that despite its cold environments, warms the heart with its tragic themes, while answering the question that our memories of classic Japanese RPGs were not blinded nostalgia trips.
Setsuna is a good game and that’s really the problem, it’s just good. The games intention of being a love letter the to JRPG’s of yesteryear have kept the game void of any originality and spark. The game is stuck in the shadow of those games, playing it far too safe to rear a head of its own.
There are a lot of areas in which I Am Setsuna could be improved, but it’s still a beautiful game that fully captures the spirit of SNES era JRPGs.
With a dark yet optimistic story and old school JRPG gameplay, Tokyo RPG Factory’s first title feels like a classic in the modern day.
I Am Setsuna seems like the perfect game for those missing the Golden Age of Japanese RPGs, but unfortunately it has been painted with a shallow brush.
It's disappointing to see nothing new in the Switch version of I am Setsuna, but we're still talking about a very good JRPG and the only offering right now for all the Nintendo fans on their new console. A recommended choice if you didn't get to play it elsewhere.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I Am Setsuna is a wonderful game which, while bittersweet, is told beautifully. It fits the Nintendo Switch wonderfully and is a great example of what the console is aiming to achieve.
Capitalising upon nostalgia can be a tricky task. If you don’t innovate enough to distinguish yourself from your contemporaries then your game can suffer as a result and come off as too derivative and this is a pitfall that I Am Setsuna doesn’t entirely manage to avoid.
Overall, I Am Setsuna is the good kind of nostalgic. It utilises the best elements of the past to its benefit, rather than to excuse an otherwise lacklustre game. And yet, while playing to the nostalgia it also makes sure to do something different to set it apart. The more sombre tone of the story means you’re not going to be adding a chivalrous frog knight to your party here, but the package you get it doesn’t suffer as a result. Clocking in a bit shorter than the average Square Enix RPG, I Am Setsuna is a great game to play between the big releases ahead.
I am Setsuna is not what it promised to be, but still worth your time and a promising debut for Tokyo RPG Factory.
Yet I’m met with the same response, from the many church-goers who don’t want that. They want the same thing they’ve heard before, slightly repackaged, but wholly recognizable and safe. It’s that hushed reverence that creates games like I Am Setsuna, and ultimately holds them back from being anything more than last week’s sermon.
At times, this journey can come dangerously close to pulling back that curtain on the great and powerful Mr. Oz, revealing shortcomings not readily apparent in the 90s. However, I Am Setsuna succeeds in its goal despite almost falling on its face, and I couldn’t be more happy about that.
It’s been too long, and man… was this nostalgic. The game offers everything that I personally enjoy in traditional JRPGs, however, I did realize that a lot of the content seemed “recycled” from other JRPGs (story, battle system, etc). While it may not be a bad thing for some, I am Setsuna delivers with a well-crafted soundtrack, great visuals, and even revived traditional RPG elements that we enjoy, such as crafting and tech combos.
Fall in love with a game that bestows upon the player a strong sense of warmth and contentment.