Lost Sphear Reviews
If you had asked me just two weeks ago to name the biggest storytelling sin a game could commit, I would have told you it was making players ask questions without giving them a reason to care about the answers. Ask me today and I'll tell you something different. Lost Sphear buried me under convoluted logic and explanations, lore and jargon, only to cast it aside with a shrug whenever the details were inconvenient to the action. It answered my questions, but in ways so fundamentally disconnected and absurd that I regretted even caring in the first place.
Tokyo RPG Factory's follow-up to I Am Setsuna improves on the first game's combat, but feels like a by-the-numbers RPG in other areas.
Lost Sphear is a middling JRPG that lacks style, tone, and substance. You can see certain ideas that are working hard to keep things afloat, but with a rough plot, bad cast, generic look, and combat that grows tedious, it fails to stand out.
Bland and unambitious save for its combat, Lost Sphear draws so heavily from the traditions of past JPRGs that it fails to build a personality of its own.
While the flaws in the game may seem as if I do not recommend the game, there is something intangible about it that keeps you coming back
Going to the past, if the use of proven concepts is done in a smart way can definitely a game. But using all these concepts that have been used a lot is like walking on a string, something Lost Sphear hasn't handled well and has preferred mimicking instead of originality. These days we see so many games like each other, so there really isn't a need for a JRPG with a nostalgic look and feel but a clichéd story and this puts a stop to all the potential Lost Sphear has in it
Review in Persian | Read full review
Lost Sphear is an Old School JRPG with all it's letters that takes a lot of the classics of the 90s'. Unfortunately it doesn't just take the positive parts of those games, but also the cliches, which in one part is great because it brings you back, but it also reminds you how overused the formula is. All around the game is somewhat inconsistent and can become tediuos, but it's fast-paced and rewarding gameplay saves it from all its faults.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Lost Sphear is a mixed bag that will appeal to some RPG fans more than others. Combat is challenging and fun, but the story feels lacking and derivative for much of the game.
Lost Sphear's classically-styled RPG bones can scarcely bear the weight of its uninspired narrative.
While there are plenty of good aspects to Lost Sphear, it does suffer from dipping into the well of nostalgia a little too often. It captures the essence of 90's Japanese RPGs quite well at times, but the application is uneven and that effectively scuttles a lot that Lost Sphear does right.
The combat is fun and the plot takes some interesting turns, but that doesn't change the frustrating design and tediousness
Overall, Lost Sphear is a solid JRPG title. It incrementally improves upon I Am Setsuna, but players who didn't like that game likely won't like this offering, either. There's an imbalance that feels like it's punishing us for being good by making the game a tad easy on occasions. It feels like an indie game in length and ambition, since it tries out new things, but it falls short. The $50 price tag doesn't align with what Lost Sphear achieves, so this game is best for fans and nostalgia seekers.
Even if it falls short of becoming a worthy successor to the likes of Chrono Trigger, Lost Sphear really does capture the essence of classic role-playing games in a lot of ways. When it's not bogging itself down in overwrought mechanics, this RPG really can spark a sense of nostalgia. Its writing, environments, battle system, and music all evoke the best moments of bygone days. And even if it doesn't quite hit the heights it aspires to, it does a fine job of rekindling some fond memories.
Lost Sphere plays with a lot of tropes of a beloved genre, but doesn't quite make the most of them. The story feels uninspired and it is backed by characters who that are not worth getting invested in. The redeeming factor of the game is a fleshed out combat system that has a ton of options and combinations, making it adapt easily to any playstyle.
At the end of the day, it's a fun game with pretty visuals, an interesting battle system, enjoyable characters (that are well-acted), and a must-have for fans of classic JRPGs of the SNES era.
Accidentally trivialising a boss by inflicting Charm and having it put itself into a perpetual cycle of Sleep.
Lost Sphear may not be the vastest or most extraordinary RPG on the market, but it's a very well made game that is sure to deliver a very enjoyable thirty hours or so.
Generally, Lost Sphear is exactly what it looks like. A modern game based on good old titles which present nothing new. However, as it benefits from good gameplay and heavy content – 24-hour story gameplay –, Lost Sphear can be an appropriate experience for all fans of role-playing games.
Review in Persian | Read full review
If you're looking for an immersive story in a captivating world then Lost Sphear is certainly an RPG to add to your collection.