A review of the game I Am Setsuna

In the late 80's and early 90-ies of the huge popular gaming genre is JRPG. Japanese role-playing game differed from the Western colleagues the depth of plot, main characters, an unusual setting and unusual turn-based combat system. That's when the light appeared the now iconic Final Fantasy series, Shin Megami Tensei and Dragon Quest. However, in recent years in the genre there has been a tangible decline, which modern players have begun to forget about its existence. Japanese publisher Square Enix is planning to bring back the JRPG in the system, therefore regularly produces games like Bravely Default or I Am Setsuna. It was the last, which was released on March 3 for the console , I would like to tell you about today.

For the development of the game I Am Setsuna answered with a young Studio Tokyo RPG Factory, which the publisher Square Enix has founded specially to be able to market the game in the spirit of those classic hits from the 90's to Play on the nostalgia of players and give them a new unforgettable emotions – a good thing. But only now did the developers to implement your plans? The question is quite difficult. Initially I Am Setsuna went on sale in February 2016 for the PS4, PS Vita and PC. Her first were able to see the inhabitants of the Country of the rising Sun. In July of the same year the game was released in the U.S. and Europe. After a year, there appeared to be a hybrid Nintendo console Switch. I Am Setsuna entered the starting lineup of the new platform, along with other games.

The game's Plot tells the story of a young mercenary Andira. He earns a living that does orders of different customers, not disdaining even the dirtiest work. Once he receives the order for the murder of a girl living in the village Field. Upon arrival, Ender finds out that his purpose was of setsuna as a rare beauty and a man of wide soul. But order fulfillment is hindered by the fact that setsuna as were elected elders of the Field as a sacred sacrifice. This means that she needs to make a pilgrimage to the Past of the Earth, where she has to sacrifice himself to the terrible monsters, and they, in turn, for several years will not attack her home village.

Ender fascinated by the incredible kindness and dedication of the girls. The embarrassed mercenary is faced with a choice: to kill setsuna as and complete the order immediately or to help her fulfill her destiny, becoming her personal guard for the trip. After all, in any case, setsuna as waiting for the inevitable death for the sake of her loved ones. Without thinking twice, Ender agrees to help setsuna as and together with other telohranitelya by the name of ETERNA, they go on a long journey to the Last Land.

During his travels, as befits any self-respecting JRPG, our heroes will meet many new friends and will join his team comrades. They will join an experienced warrior Nidr, the young mage Cyrus, and also a travelling girl-the knight Julien. Honestly, the characters in the game are lacking explanatory disclosure. I remember the warmth one of the most beloved jrpgs of my youth – Tales of Phantasia. This is where the developers have devoted much time each of the characters. And here all briefly and superficially. Towards the second half of the game, the situation is somewhat corrected, but still not enough to ensure that I Am Setsuna could be put in one row, for example, with the first games of the series Star Ocean. In this regard, the developers of the Tokyo RPG Factory while there is room for improvement.

The Route of a group of pilgrims passes through snow-covered land teeming with monsters. Yes, we have a game whose action takes place exclusively in the winter, and only winter. Somewhere through the snow all through the bright autumn leaves, but the atmosphere of eternal cold does not leave the player for a second. It is not surprising, because the leitmotif of the game is light sadness and sorrow. The universal longing is reflected even in the title. One of the translations of the Japanese word "Setsunasa" is "sadness". It turns out that the white desert and the endless Blizzard, coupled with a tragic story will accompany you over a dozen hours of game time. Of course, it may be for the best, as too many recent games out with a Hollywood happy-ends. As a rest from the cloyingly cheerful projects I Am Setsuna fits just perfect.

As a combat system developers to use proven Active Time Battle (ATB), familiar to fans of the Final Fantasy games and Chrono Trigger. The player has to wait when the timeline for that character was able to make the next step. If you do nothing, will be filled with additional spherical scale SP, making your attack more powerful, and combat or healing spell more effective. As you progress through the characters will gain access to more interesting skills, including joint attacks (like Chrono Trigger), which does not leave opponents no chance. All the skills like "matters" from Final Fantasy VII, equip in a special empty slots, whose number can increase as you progress through the game.

At First I was somewhat confused by that in the game there is no possibility to stand in a defensive stance, reducing damage taken from most powerful enemy attacks. But over time I realized that I Am Setsuna such a possibility is simply not needed, and the attack – the best protection. Despite the fact that you are not able to walk freely around the battlefield, some fighting techniques of the characters move to different parts of the arena. Your attacks can move enemies, knocking them back or to the side for me. Enemy placement should be considered because some fighting techniques has a well-defined range and if you want to hit two enemies, it would be nice if they were standing nearby. It is awkward that the range of the attacks is in no way indicated visually, as in many other games. You have to check it out in practice, and then keep the information in memory.

Another questionable decision seemed to be the desire of developers to cater to all players without exception in terms of complexity of gameplay. If you believe the press releases, the game difficulty was balanced in such a way to please simultaneously both casual players and hardcore players. In fact, it turned out that most of the monsters and bosses are defeated by the first time without any problems. Where is the hardcore – I did not understand. They do not understand why developers did not include in the game the ability to activate quick battles and their automation. Something like this was implemented just fine in the recent Bravely Default and Bravely Second is from the same Japanese publisher. I see no reason why not to consolidate their success in the I Am Setsuna. Instead, you have to methodically fight hordes of identical enemies without the ability to speed up time, or automate the pressing the same key. This is where the copied legacy classic JRPG, not thinking about the improvements.

The visual component of the game is in the graphics engine Unity. Given that the action of the story occurs in the land of eternal winter, do not rely on special beauty. You will enjoy the endless white distance, frozen lakes, white spruce, and white mountain peaks. But the characters leave behind beautiful footprints in deep snow drifts. I Am Setsuna for Nintendo Switch is different from last year's version only that works with the frequency of 30 frames per second, while the original for PS4 and PC gave a stable 60 fps. The characters are animated well, though can not boast a particularly high detail 3D models. The game has no traditional CG animation, common to many other Square Enix games. All we got was a dialog boxes with static portraits of the heroes and locked them high above the game camera. In General, the game looks quite nice, and very stylish. But without the excessive bling that hints to the budget nature of the project.

Music in I Am Setsuna simply magical! A young Japanese composer Tomoki, Miosi previously gave us the soundtrack of the fighting game Soul Calibur V, went all out, creating a unique depth and sensuality of the composition. Played these piano melodies Californian virtuoso Randy Karbala. This talented musician during his life he performed the music for over 800 films, including "Titanic," "Forrest Gump" and a series of paintings about the magician Harry Potter, and has worked with such stars as Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, B. B. king, Celine Dion, ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. In terms of music I left the game very happy, but surprised to the fact that the dialogues were not announced, although during the fights we clearly hear their Japanese voices.

Another feature of the version of the game for Nintendo Switch – recently released free DLC called Temporal Battle Arena. With it, players can fight other players. Feature becomes available only after you have completed the game. The prize in this battle will be a particularly valuable items. In General, I think the game was originally developed and sharpened by a portable format. Nintendo console Switch is an excellent choice to play I Am Setsuna on the way to work or school. For myself I noted the fact that in TV mode I played it very little, often spending time during the trips. So if you are faced with a choice: which version of the game to buy – I strongly suggest you buy it for Switch. Very convenient and practical.

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Pros:

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• a Touching and rather adult story about self-sacrifice.

The Atmosphere of light melancholy will allow you to relax from the others.