90%PC

Excellent RPG, doesn't overstay its welcome.

50%PlayStation 5

The game is just 'meh'.

Storyline is very linear and predictable, the developers forces you to like the characters like you or not making some awkward moments sometimes (in some occasions I felt embarrassed for them). The combat is boring as after a few encounters you already mastered that and in the late game it doesn't add any value to the mechanics anymore specially when you want to get rid of the fight and continue playing.

The art is good, really good, but it doesn't hold for the gameplay.

100%PC

This is a great game, the pixel art is so beautiful, the story is engaging, the world is unique, I was hooked since the start and couldn't let it down.

90%Nintendo Switch

Really great game. Amazing art, fun gameplay, interesting storyline and characters, solid soundtrack... really everything you want from an RPG. I wish there was a little more depth/greater moveset in the combat. One of your main attacks from beginning to end is just hold a button down for a couple seconds. But still fun!

85%Xbox Series X/S

10 - Masterpiece
9 - Amazing
8 - Great
7 - Good
6 - Okay
5 - Mediocre
4 - Forgetful
3 - Bad
2 - Awful
1 - Repulsive

90%Xbox Series X/S

Me he enganchado mucho con el, es atrapante y genera sensaciones que nunca un juego me hizo sentir, excepto Ori ese también me hizo llorar.

80%PlayStation 5

i dont care how mid the characters are, how rushed the pacing feels and how much better this could've been... it still slaps

85%PlayStation 5

Its a lovely rpg for classic rpg fans. Glad i had the opportunity to play it. Brilliant. A bit short and feel rush. But the exploration is very engaging. However the final boss felt a bit too easy. Still a good rpg not the best thoughh

85%PlayStation 5

85%

90%Nintendo Switch

Story : 9
Gameplay : 9
Graphics : 9
Animation : 9
Sound Effects : 8
Music : 9
Value : 9

95%Nintendo Switch

Good, i cried when i finished it.

60%PC

Good game for kids

100%Nintendo Switch

Great game! Reminded me of a cross of chrono trigger, golden sun, and Mario rpg. I haven’t beat a game this fast in almost 24 years…I couldn’t put it down. Is it a “new” rpg that will redefine the genre? No, it’s definitely built on nostalgia and if you like the 16 bit era RPG games this one is a must play. I normally don’t 100% games but this one was engaging enough and didn’t feel tedious to complete the side quests and unlocks a different ending. Well worth putting in the time.

90%Nintendo Switch

I was really looking forward to playing this game for a long time, but I really wanted a physical version of this before playing, so when I finally got myself a physical copy earlier this year I just stopped playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth so I could play this gem of an JRPG.

Sea of Stars didn't let me down for a second with its charming aesthetics in terms of music, visuals and characters. I can't emphasize enough how good the music in this game truly is, just give it a listen! The exceptionally good 16bit graphics is absolutely perfectly executed here, but they also gave it a few modern effects as well! I was constantly blown away by the cool looking lightning effects coming from the main characters that washed over the pixel graphics in almost a 3D-like way.

The story is a bit slow, but it gets going pretty good after awhile, so it's worth sticking to it! I found parts of the story a bit intriguing, but for the most part it was just there to drive everything forward. The characters are really warm and great though! I especially liked the friendship between the three main characters!

What was really hooking me in hard was the combat and exploration aspects. You explore so many beautiful locations, and you climb up and down in so many unexpected ways. Exploration is kinda like a puzzle in and of itself at times. The combat is also in a way like a puzzle, where you have to stop enemy actions from happening by breaking locks that are displayed above them. You have to use certain abilities and such to break them, and many times I just had to stop a little bit and think about how I could solve this and that lock. It's really fun and engaging!

There were a few nitpicky things I will mention though, and it would be that I many times wished for a fast travel system just to speed up the backtracking that was needed for a lot of the side quests in the game. There were also a few instances of sequence breaks for quests that I did without knowing it, and the NPCs would still send me out on a quest I had already done. This happened more than once, and was a bit confusing, and could easily have been fixed.

But as a whole I can absolutely recommend Sea of Stars to anyone that likes JRPGs and are a bit nostalgic for the SNES-days! You're in for a treat!

80%PC

I played this on Steam Deck after buying it in a bundle with The Messenger.

Gameplay: 8/10

Story: 9/10

Sound & visuals: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

85%Xbox Series X/S

84%

80%PC

Very good game

85%PC

So I wanted to try a JRPG... and I could do a lot worse than Sea of Stars! The story is engaging enough, the grind is not unbearable, the characters are likable, and the pixel graphics is great. I happily followed the story even though it's a straightforward coming of age cliche full of standard tropes with only a couple of twists and very few jokes (Yolanda tried, A for effort, but that's not enough). In general, this was a great success for me.

On the other hand, it's still a JRPG, and it proved to be not really my genre. The gameplay is very repetitive; I didn't use any amulets to keep the experience as intended by the devs, and I really don't understand how anyone could ever want to replay this game. I wanted to get the true ending, and while almost all quests were easy and straightforward, the grind for rainbow conches was suddenly way too much: it required combing over basically all locations in the game again while adding zero new fun or challenge. Thanks for the parrot, it's really useful, but I still did it with a guide to save time, and I don't regret this decision; it still took several tedious hours to collect all conches, even with a guide!

On the other hand (yeah, that's a third one), I still went for the true ending, for no reason other than [I won't spoil the main twist here]. Guess I did become attached to the characters! And that is a sign of a great game. So overall -- kudos to the devs!

75%Nintendo Switch

Is this the next Golden Sun or Chrono Trigger?......no

"Overrated, but still good."

This is a good JRPG, clearly influenced by Super Mario RPG and Golden Sun, but it's nowhere nearly as good. You're better off playing a classic JRPG. I recommend Grandia, it has a similar vibe to this game, has an HD remake, and it's a much better game. Or just play Golden Sun.

✅ Unique - The "Magic without Magic" and match the type roulette gameplay is fun, but it's repetitive as each unique enemy has the same pattern. Having no revives, but a waiting system is really cool. Basically if you "faint" you need to wait 2 turns before you automatically revive with 50% hp. If you faint again, you wait 3 turns to revive.
✅ The story starts very slow, but at the 12 hour point, it does get more interesting, and by the 20 hour point it's pretty good, but then it just sort of ends.
✅ It's pretty, especially bosses - There are a lot of unique bosses, and some pay tribute to other games (especially the 1st boss). Seeing them change animations when injured or almost dead, it's well done, I took a screenshot for all major bosses.
❌ No fast travel - which is really frustrating because many of the special shops are located after dungeons, and you will go to them frequently. The game could be several hours shorter with fast travel. You do unlock an ability later to travel faster, but you never have an "escape rope" for when you are deep in an area.
❌ It's too simple - Each character starts off with only 2 "skills", which is the equivalent of magic. 12 hours in, I learned a 3rd skill per person. You never learn a 4th skill (ultimate attacks can only be used occasionally). That's just not enough, this makes the gameplay VERY repetitive.
❌ Lots of backtracking - If you missed something, or do a side quest, you will have to backtrack for hours. You can't walk past a dungeon or fast travel, and while you get a boat later on, you still need to back travel pretty much the whole length of the game.

So overall it falls short. It's fun, unique, and pretty. The story starts very slow and ends a bit suddenly, there is very little variety in the gameplay, no fast travel is frustrating, but mostly Sea of Stars is very...VERY repetitive... repetitive...... repetitive...... repetitive.....repetitive. Also, while bots of the story are great from 15-25 hours, I thought the ending was rather poor.

Spoiler: The whole story is a silly loophole because Resh'an can kill Aephorul at any point. With the Solstice amulet, they can make every day a solstice, and make eclipses come at any time, making all the Dwellers a write off. Plus with the true Ending, Resh'an has an opportunity to kill him, but he doesn't. Resh'an knows how much Aephorul makes people suffer, and wants it to stop, but let's him live? Why, because they are friends? Really disappointing and flat ending.

95%Nintendo Switch

Cool story’ fun characters and humor. Graphic is top notch (pixel art at its finest). There’s a real sense of adventure and exploration (plenty of hidden treasures).
Combat is fun and engaging (action timed for extra damage/reduction).
Minigames are cool (fishing and some boardgame)
It is a very nice game, has some crosscode vibes… but way better.
Puzzle are cool, music reminds me of some genesis games (mickey castle illusion for ex.)
It’s one of the best new old rpg out there

30%PC

The only thing I like about this game is its graphics and pixelated art style with dynamic shadows; it's gorgeous. Otherwise, the puzzles and the whole game itself is repetitive, frustrating, and boring. The same goes for combat. The story is dull. The main characters lack varied personalities; they are essentially the same characters who simp for Garl. Speaking of Garl, he is probably the most annoying character in video game history. The game's notion that when someone gets into a difficult situation, they should overcome it through perseverance doesn't apply to him. Everyone breaks character to help him. He is always winning despite being a weak, fatty clump of meat with no worth. He should have died, but they keep saving him. Even the devs are simping for this worthless fatty being.

60%Xbox Series X/S

História muito boba, tudo muito bonzinho e tal

85%PC

Jogão, realmente me surpreender, meu primeiro RPG de turno nesse estilo antigo, maravilhoso, animações impecáveis, exploração muito intrigante, realmente um ótimo jogo.

100%PC

While it may not be as robust as the giants that inspired it, it respects your time. If you love JRPGs, but find yourself without the time to invest into them properly, try this.

100%Xbox Series X/S

Sea of Stars is an extraordinary game. The 100% journey left me in tears because I've experienced similar events that were told through the 100% reward.

70%Nintendo Switch

This is an polished game. The rpg gameplay is engaging with the use of timed button press gameplay. My biggest issue comes from the later half feeling rushed. There seems to be a few characters that don't feel like they should be introduced so late into the game, specifically the bird characters. And it feel like the conclusion didn't really satisfy what I would want or expect.

90%PC

Combat was great for a top-down RPG, the characters animations were pretty funny at times, the world was beautifully crafted, the story was relatively compelling, and tit absolutely had the heart tugs at certain parts in the story. Definitely worth the playthrough.

100%Nintendo Switch

Awesome graphics and music. Good story and length. Chronotrigger vibes without fully aping. Did have a crash and a soft lock that both cost progress which was annoying.

100%Xbox One

Excellent gameplay, very well paced, and epic story. Loved it in all but couldn't be bothered to do the true ending, the endings is a bit....well, you'll see, gl.

65%Nintendo Switch

Great graphics and soundtrack, but the gameplay feels very repetitive.

95%Nintendo Switch

Unique twists on classic turn-based combat. Lore and story were so much more than expected. Devs clearly loved what they were doing and it shows. Only critique would be that boss fights, while looking very good, could feel very samey.

100%PC

I cried three times while playing this. The story is absolutely touching, and will leave you wanting more.

The timed-action combat is a fun approach - hit the action button in time with your animations, and you deal more damage or take less damage. It's nice to have an aspect to the combat that requires attention, rather than queuing up actions and waiting for things to happen. The exploration system is also great - you have a surprising amount of freedom when moving, despite being a 2D game.

Cannot recommend this game enough. I am forever a Child of the Solstice. :3

90%PC

Amazing homage to the classic rpgs except improved on almost every technical aspect. A lot of the frustrating aspects of the classic rpgs have been removed or fixed. Beautiful artwork and very fun gameplay. Story and character development are the only things that are a bit lacking.

60%PC

Dropped this one after 10 hours, looks cool, combat was kind of fun but got repetitive, characters not interesting at all for me. Felt like there was no tension or stakes or anything interesting happening in the story. might finish it in the future

90%PlayStation 5

Fantastic RPG that has the Paper Mario/Mario RPG timing system inclusion. Beautiful worlds, amazing music, and no random encounters. So many secrets and the game steers you toward completion. Overall incredible experience and I will be humming the themes for weeks to come.

95%PlayStation 4

WoW as fan of classic like Golden Sun, Chrono Trigger, etc.. i enjoyed this game more than anything, is very beautiful by the colors, is very grateful to the look and if you like RPG turn Base, not regretted.

80%Nintendo Switch

Sea of stars is a good jrpg that successfully mixes nostalgia and good gameplay.
You are constantly being introduced to new mechanics from start to finish, keeping things interesting.
The story is decent as well, but it feels like you get sidetracked from the main quest way too much. This makes the game feel like it should have been 2 to 3 hours shorter if the story was a bit more streamlined.
The actove combat is simple and adds skill to what is traditionally a "menu selection" genre. Interrupt, mana buildup and power up mechanics make every combat situation feel like a small puzzle. There are no random encounters or grinding, which is a welcome change.

Overall Sea of Stars is a JRPG that does a lot of things right and streamlines some of the more annoying mechanics of this genra. But at the same time, it doesn't do anything unique. It does everything well, but nothing that hasn't been done before.

Still worth checking out if you enjoy these types of games.

50%Xbox Series X/S

Sea of Stars is a middling JRPG at best and I don't understand why the media rated it so highly. The characters in this game are bland and one-note. The gameplay is dull, with barely any progression to the skillsets of the characters beyond DualTechs.

The generic piss-poor writing screams "I'm so quirky!" and it never lands. It's plain annoying. I hate this game and I don't understand why people like it.

I'll give it credit for looking just like a GBA era JRPG but that's it.

Score: 55

90%Xbox Series X/S

One of the most enjoyable turn-based RPGs I have ever played. I cannot wait to see what Sabotage Studios is making next.

90%PC

I had a lot of fun with this game, It might even be in my top ten. Pretty much everything on screen is animated and the level of pixelated detail blows me away.

60%Xbox Series X/S

couldn't finish this one. great visuals and a cool combat system, although it did get a little repetitive towards the end. the wheels minigame was pretty fun. with that being said, the main thing that held back this game back was it's writing. for a story-based, dialogue heavy game the writing has to be better than just "okay".

90%PlayStation 5

Very good game. Thoroughly enjoyed the game, and the story was very solid for an RPG. Well worth at least 1 playthrough. This game pays a really good homage to the old JRPGs like Chrono Trigger. Very well done.

60%PC

A rather boring game. Nice mechanics, but the story and characters were not interesting to me at all.

90%PlayStation 4

A love letter to RPGs. Amazing visuals and a captivating story. The game also makes you smile every pixel along the way....it's so inventive! I loved every second of it, from the first scene till the final easter egg.

80%PC

The gameplay was simple and didn't take many risks, however, it was totally competent and engaging enough to play through.
Puzzles were easy, but kept the pace of the exploration brisk and enjoyable.
Story was predictable, but quite enjoyable nonetheless.
The "bonus" content at the end was obnoxious and felt like a let down. It would have been fine it they had a little something more there, but it just felt underwhelming.
There were also a couple of surprisingly likeable characters.
Overall pretty good

90%PC

One of the best games i've played.

100%PlayStation 4

What a brilliant game. Probably the prettiest pixel art I’ve ever seen in any game. Loved the retro combat system, chrono trigger meets Mario RPGs. Story was cool, kept me involved and wanting to see what happens next. The music is absolutely beautiful. Had so much fun with this game, cannot wait for the DLC and more from Sabotage.

90%Nintendo Switch

O jogo é mistura de Super Mario RPG com Chrono Trigger (e um pouco de Wild Arms no caso das habilidades de arpão e empurrar objetos do cenário). Demorou umas 3h pra engrenar, mas depois que vai é uma surpresa atrás da outra, os gráficos pixelizados são lindíssimos, a party tem carisma, e a história vai crescendo conforme avança no jogo. Não gostei do fato de que pra fazer o final verdadeiro é obrigatório pegar todos os 'búzios arco-íris', muito trabalhoso e demorado (porém cumpri todas as missões necessárias pro final verdadeiro, restando apenas esta). Resolvi assistir o final verdadeiro no Youtube, não fosse por isso o jogo seria nota 10.

100%PC

Sea of Stars é um dos melhores jogos que ja joguei, seu estilo de arte é clássico e lindo como nos antigos RPGS, sua trilha sonora é emocionante e o principal para mim é sua historia que por mais que no inicio seja meio lenta, depois acaba se tornando impecável com seus personagens marcantes.
Possui um dos melhores pós games que ja joguei, tendo um 100% que não é apenas pegar mais colecionáveis e sim um 100% que agrega em muito no universo e historia do jogo, depois que fiz o 100% reparei que se não tivesse feito estaria perdendo uma boa parte da experiência do jogo.
Sua gameplay e exploração do mapa é extremamente satisfátoria, quanto mais você avança no jogo mais ela fica legal e interativa.
Sem duvidas um dos melhores jogos que ja joguei.

70%Nintendo Switch

Engaging gameplay and visuals. But the story bored me a bit and didn't even finished the game