I Am Setsuna Reviews
This is almost certainly the fanboy in me talking but I Am Setsuna deserves more
I Am Setsuna is perfect for those hoping to get their JRPG fix without sacrificing all their available free time for the next six months or anyone interested in completing a role-playing game that prioritizes enjoyability over hours played.
I am Setsuna may not blow you away - it’s simple and understated, but there’s a lot of charm in that. This quiet JRPG is a solicitous throwback that makes its case through thoughtful moments instead of flashy cutscenes.
I Am Setsuna is an interesting take on the classic JRPG genre. Tokyo RPG Factory has managed to take one of the best turn-based battle system from fan favorite Chrono Trigger and used it to create a simple but memorable experience that might satisfy the thirst of JRPG fans.
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.
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.
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.
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 does a great job of reminding us what we loved about the genre and what it was like to play a JRPG back when the genre was at its best. There’s enough here to make the experience feel fresh and new, without changing too much of the core gameplay. If you’ve been in the mood for a classic adventure on your PS4, then this is the game for you
I am Setsuna is not what it promised to be, but still worth your time and a promising debut for Tokyo RPG Factory.
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 fine short little experience that brings back nostalgic feelings for the 16-bit era of role playing games, but doesn't do much to explore the twenty years of depth since then.
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.
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.
A lack of balance robs the combat of much of its fun and renders many of the more interesting gameplay systems moot, but it didn’t dampen the emotional impact of I Am Setsuna’s heartfelt message for me. Few story-driven RPGs are so thematically focused or so gleefully disinterested with being “entertaining” or “fun.” To say it attempts to stand on the backs of giants is disingenuous really. I Am Setsuna isn’t a “Chrono Trigger-like;” it’s just a game that might easily have existed in the same time, if a creator with different storytelling sensibilities had been around. Its strength comes not from the ways in which it emulates the conventions of the classics, but the ways in which it defies them.
It may be bland, but the experience doesn’t make any unforgiveable missteps. The combat has occasional moments of brilliance that recall the glory days of ‘90s RPGs
I actually quite like the adherence to nostalgia, as Square is only giving fans with they want after years of complaints that projects like Final Fantasy XIII strayed too far. But by the same token of goodwill, it plays it a little too safe in regards to its at times predictable story, and doesn't really do anything new that moves the genre forward in any way. Still, if old school is what you want, you'll get it.
An homage to the amazing JRPGs of the 90s, I Am Setsuna is a love letter to your childhood written with passion and penned with respect by equally passionate developers.