Sea of Stars Review – a love letter to JRPGs of the past

thesixthaxis.com:

There’s something genuinely endearing about playing what is clearly a labour of love. The minds at Sabotage Studios are clearly massive fans of the same RPGs I grew up playing in the 90s and early noughties. But Sea of Stars is no mere nostalgia grab — it’s a love letter that looks to modernise a franchise that occupies a very special place in many gamers’ memories.

You play as either Zale or Valere, the children of the Summer and Winter solstice, respectively, and commander of solar and lunar magic, respectively. The two protagonists are the last of the Solstice Warriors — magic wielders tasked with taking down the Dwellers — remnants of the reign of an evil alchemist, The Fleshmancer — and the monsters left in their wake.

The conceit here is that the Dwellers can only be harmed during an eclipse, and are otherwise immune, invulnerable, and incredibly powerful. Zale and Valere essentially live to train, and train to rid the world of evil during the brief window of opportunity that these eclipses bring.

At this point you’re probably wondering if your choice of protagonist has any bearing on the story — other than some basic flavour during certain interactions and controlling the sprite at the head of your party, there is no difference. Zale and Valere are inextricably linked, and any puzzle that requires one can be done by the other. This is simply a nice point of personalisation. It’s also worth noting that while Sea of Stars is technically a prequel to the Sabotage’s previous game, The Messenger, this has absolutely no bearing on the experience either.

So, with your holy mission in mind, Zale and Valere set off on their 30-hour retro romp across the world, supported by a colourful cast of characters, from the excitable