I Am Setsuna
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Critic Reviews for I Am Setsuna
A beautiful JRPG that captures the spirit of the genre's early hits while playing things a tad too safely.
I Am Setsuna may be Tokyo RPG Factory's first game as a development studio, but its finesse and reverence of past JRPG hits makes it an absolute joy to experience.
Not just a loving tribute to the JRPGs of the 90s, I Am Setsuna tells a memorable tale, with a few bright design jewels of its own.
A lack of balance robs the combat of much of its fun and renders many of the more interesting gameplay systems moot, but it didn’t dampen the emotional impact of I Am Setsuna’s heartfelt message for me. Few story-driven RPGs are so thematically focused or so gleefully disinterested with being “entertaining” or “fun.” To say it attempts to stand on the backs of giants is disingenuous really. I Am Setsuna isn’t a “Chrono Trigger-like;” it’s just a game that might easily have existed in the same time, if a creator with different storytelling sensibilities had been around. Its strength comes not from the ways in which it emulates the conventions of the classics, but the ways in which it defies them.
A well-crafted homage to Chrono Trigger, which isn’t scared to add its own ideas – ensuring this is far more than just a nostalgic novelty.
I Am Setsuna aims to invoke the spirit of classic 16-Bit JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, but its obtuse combat and monotonous pacing keep it from reaching those lofty heights.
It may be bland, but the experience doesn’t make any unforgiveable missteps. The combat has occasional moments of brilliance that recall the glory days of ‘90s RPGs
