Sea of Stars review: the Chrono Trigger-inspired RPG shines in combat, but not in narrative

Sea of Stars lives up to its sun-and-moon concept of duality in ways that developer Sabotage Studio probably didn’t intend. The team has provided citations. Chrono TriggerOther classic SNES Games as Inspiration Sea of Stars, but while playing the game I quickly realized those ambitions didn’t quite extend to its characters and writing. Characters resolve major conflicts and relationship stumbling blocks with ease — they simply stop talking about them — and over the course of what tries to be a grand epic, no one really changes or grows. Out on the battle field, however, Sea of StarsIt often shines even brighter than those around it.

Sea of Stars’ narrative has a lot in common with Dragon Quest and other straightforward, good-versus-evil setups. The main plot revolves around two characters named Zale (and Valere) who are on a quest to defeat an evil known only as The Fleshmancer. There’s intrigue, betrayal, and revelations that shatter the characters’ worldviews as the story unfolds, all telegraphed so clearly that it’s hard to feel surprised when they happen.

Sabotage Studio

A lot of the characters in this game are one-note. Valere and Zale are interchangeable to the point where, if you covered their character portraits, it would be almost impossible to tell who’s talking. The dynamic between the two feels like an unrealized opportunity. The relationship between the two is shallow and underdeveloped for most of the game, as the focus remains firmly on the events they’re part of rather than the characters themselves. Both their friends and foes are treated the same.

It is a similar outcome. Golden Sun more than the story-driven RPGs of the ’90s. The concept It is difficult to stay invested in an idea if the writing style and tone are inconsistent.

Sea of StarsThe game does a great job of selling adventure. Its world is beautifully rendered and brimming with magic, from hill-sized catapults and dragons cozily draped around mountains to brightly lit fungal tunnels, haunted forests filled with sickly green miasma, and colorful towns perched precariously on the ocean’s edge. The creativity in the monster design and combat behavior makes even your early game regions exciting and fresh.

Sabotage Studio

Battles in Sea of StarsYou can feel the same as those who are in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, even down to Valere and Zale’s first skills, which are almost identical to Superstar Saga’s shell kick and fireball. Your party has three basic attacks, and two special skills. Both of these deal more damage when you hit the button just before the attack lands. You can replenish mana by performing basic attacks. Enemies are vulnerable to some types of magic and weapon damage. Although the setup may be familiar, Sea of StarsIt has a few additional layers, making it one of smarter combat systems within the genre.

The enemy enters a locked state prior to using powerful spells and attacks. You can break the lock with the right combination of moves and cancel the attack, but there’s a catch. It may take two consecutive bludgeoning strikes or three moon-element attacks to unlock a lock. That’s challenging to pull off depending on turn order and how much mana you have left, but when locks spring on multiple enemies, it requires a deeper level of strategy even during standard encounters.

Then there’s live mana. Your basic attacks create this resource, which you can use to boost a character’s attacks and even imbue them with elements, handy for breaking enemy locks if you time your boosts correctly. It’s a deft balance of complexity and approachability that only grows more satisfying as you team up with more allies.

Sea of StarsIt aims at the stars but falls a little short. This game is a lot of fun because it has a charming world with brilliant combat. When you play, the game is a lot of fun. Sea of Stars wants very much to be a narrative-driven game with a big cast of characters, it’s difficult to overlook the story’s shortcomings.

Sea of Stars The game will be available on August 29th on Nintendo Switch as well as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. Xbox One and Xbox Series X are also included. Sabotage Studio supplied a PC download code to review the game. Vox Media partners with affiliates. Vox Media earns commissions from affiliate products, although this doesn’t influence the editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.