Sea of Stars Review Discussion and Spoilercast | Sacred Symbols+, Episode 336
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- Опубликовано: 31 окт 2023
- A little more than a month ago, Quebecois developer Sabotage released J-inspired-RPG Sea of Stars to great critical acclaim and commercial success, following a rousing Kickstarter campaign that itself launched during the earliest days of the pandemic. Available across a gamut of platforms and subscription services, Sabotage is willing to spread the field with this release with good reason: Sea of Stars takes a niche genre and both positively alters its mechanics while making it more accessible than your average category peer. The result is a 25-to-30 hour (or more) adventure with a surprisingly dynamic set of gameplay systems overlaid upon an admittedly standard (if not at times slow) story. What will perhaps catch your eye first, though, is how beautiful it is. To discuss this game in detail, I (Colin) grabbed Punching Up co-host and Last Stand's coordinator, Micah Watson, who beat it on Switch just a day before I completed it on PS5. We hope you enjoy our chat as much as we enjoyed talking.
Игры
IT WAS ME, AND YOU, AND GARL..!!
The pirate parrot tells you the missing collectibles per island. Just go to the world map and select an island.
To give more details, the second to last rewards for cashing in your rainbow conches is a relic that basically gives you a parrot that you can activate on the world map and it tells you what you missed in each game sections. Definitely useful to get the true ending and platinum.
The true ending and getting all the flimsy hammers gets an AWESOME payoff. Easy platinum.
The "secret" ending is referred to as the TRUE ending. I completely agree it is the true ending.
I would go as far as saying you HAVE to play through the True Ending. It is SO MUCH MORE satisfying in many wonderful ways. 😇🙏
A little bummed that neither micah or colin went through the true ending because it can be done in ~40 hours and is so so so worth it.
@@rpjordan ya. I hope either of them go back and completely finish it.
Yeah, surprised and a little disappointed by this "spoiler" review. They also seemed to miss out on The Messenger connections. Despite them semi-completing the game, this feels more like an initial reaction as opposed to an in-depth spoiler review. Ah well, Mr. and (soon to be) Mrs. Moriarty, better luck next time.
My honest opinion is Sea of Stars is a masterpiece. It’s easily one of the best games I’ve played this year, probably only second to Baldur’s Gate 3.
It’s a Platinum I will cherish, not due to difficulty but just due to how much I enjoy the game
100% agree. What a ride. From start to finish I had a smile on my face. I played the game 3 times already and each time I would discover small new things to enjoy. I can't wait for the DLC and Sabotage's next games.
I would have loved this game on its own, but the connections to The Messenger makes this game one of my all-time favorites. Hearing the music from The Messenger as you play through Mesa Island's levels, learning the Acolytes and Brugraves are the main villains in The Messenger, I got chills playing this game.
I completely agree on the free will theme Colin mentions. Erlina and Brugraves felt that their path had been chosen for them, and by rebelling against their given purpose to gain complete freedom they end up losing all freedom as the Fleshmancer's henchmen. Feels religious when I think about it long enough, especially with how prophetic the game presents itself at times. I find the story in this game to be awesome in so many ways. The characters are lovable and charming. The game can be jolly, sad, funny, cruel, and vengeful at different times. The world is also so interesting with all its different fantasy and sci-fi elements. And the soundtrack is insane! I'm so glad to see Sabotoge having success so they can keep making these awesome games.
When I beat the game I only needed to find the last 3 conches for the true ending, but with how good the true ending is compared to the first ending I can see how it can be annoying having to unlock it.
I lost my shit when Frozen Peak hit.
The fact that Colin doesn’t even mention using “something meta” to bring Garl back to life being a direct 1 to 1 reference to Chrono Trigger is kind of a big miss I think
I had no idea I could get an upgraded fishing pole. I caught all of them regardless, but I'll make sure to upgrade next time I play through it.
I also didn’t realize you could camp everywhere in the world map until very late in the game. There was a time when I desperately needed to rest but there were no campsites. Almost quit. Of course, I wouldn’t have needed rest so bad if I’d realized the live mana added elemental damage to your base attacks. Not understanding that made most powerful attacks unstoppable.
I got addicted to Wheels. I don’t normally like minigames and I didn’t understand Gwent, but this had a gentle learning curve and aesthetically it was really satisfying to play. The clockwork mechanisms and sound design were irresistible.
There's a highlighted blue lane in the fishing. I actually never noticed until my 8year old pointed it out early on. Afterwards, it's like I couldn't unsee it. You can pull the whole time the fish is in the lane. When it goes out, wait. If it jumps, pull, and it will be stunned
I have yet to hear anyone mention how the live mana could be used to amplify your healing spells. I'm curious if people just think it's not important to mention or if they don't actually know.
Oh shit I just didn’t know. That would have been helpful
Im currently like 10hrs into sea of stars. Such a fun game. Beautiful world, amazing soundtrack. Combat is fun but sometimes can become repetitive where i want to just skip some battles in an area but overall really good game and know its only going to get better as I keep progressing. 8.5/10
Anyone have recommendations for similar games?
It was my first JRPG and I loved it. Also a fun and easy platinum.
I agree. After 30hrs I had my time with it, it was great, but no need to play anymore.
I'm ashamed to say I never understood that the orbs gave you an additional elemental property to your attack until the very end. I just thought it made your physical attack stronger. it probably would have made combat way easier for me. I had the damage reduction artifact on and eventually I got over leveled towards the end and it got pretty easy but it was still such a joy to play. My first jrpg in this style. What a game. Can't wait for the dlc
lol
I was almost at the end when the game show minigame asked a question that revealed that to me. My jaw dropped!
Time and again I was looking at locks that were just impossible, so I thought you were just supposed to minimize the damage and heal.
It was like when I platinumed Skyrim before learning that the claws had the door codes on them. I brute forced every combination thinking, “this is so stupid.”
#2 GOTY for me
Right there with you, right under Zelda for me personally.
I got it above Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy XVI, but under Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate III.
I totally get not going through the grind for the full ending, getting the rainbow conches and all the chests can be a drag, but man was it worth it. Hopefully one of you go for it so you can both see it.
Also, easy platinum, or rather it would be if not for the tedious NG+ trophy. I loved the game but the intro was quite a drag, and the fast forward feature didn’t make it tolerable enough for me to suffer through it again for that last trophy.
you can defeat the 10 bosses without going into new game plus. its just harder but the relics help make it manageable.
Thoroughly enjoyed Sea of Stars. I hadn't even heard of it prior to seeing it available to download, but I platinumed the game, and it remains one of my favorite gaming experiences in recent years.
You can upgrade the fishing pole? I caught all fish types from every watering hole i came across. One thing i didnt do i wish i spent more time on was mirth but im playing other games at the same time
When you cash in the rainbow conches in Docari, you get plans for buildings in Mirth. You give them to Jirard, and he will build them for you. Then you have to find the people in the world who will tend these establishments and talk to them so they move to Mirth.
One of them is a fishing cabin, and when you show the fisherman how many fishes you got and he will give you rewards, including fishing gear upgrades (relics you can turn on and off)
I really loved this game
The mandatory 100% and collectable for the "true" ending killed it for me. Such a Japanese-ass mechanic. For a game that got literally everything right, this was a huge blemish. That being said, I'd give a begrudging 9/10.
Loved sea of stars
this is a cool game but with star ocean 2 remake out I rather play that right now.
Your experiences with the game are the equivalent to watching 90% of a movie and then turning it off without watching the finale that everything was building toward. But it’s not your faults; it’s a failure of narrative design IMO to hide the true ending of the game behind beating it twice after busywork side quests that most players won’t do. The phoenix down moment isn’t a throwaway moment, it’s the actual finale. It’s empty without it.
Doesn’t really feel like a complete spoiler cast when neither of you bothered to actually complete the true ending for the story, which ties everything together in the game perfectly. Kinda disappointing to see from Colin especially who’s so platinum-focused, because this game is not hard or obtuse really to complete, so long as you meet the game where it wants you to.
To be fair it demands quite a bit to get the true ending. I just watched it on RUclips for some extra scenes
To be fair what it requires isn't difficult or time consuming.
I bet he's spent more time platinuming more obtuse games.
I swear.. this is a better game to play than Ragnorok.
It seems like an average rip off RPG at first but the more you play the more you realize how good it is.
The ending was a let down, and the stuff you need to do to achieve the "true" ending is a bit too much and kind of annoying.
I found it to be boring personally and stopped after 12 hours, pretty game though
To be fair it picks up a lot after the second island.
Chained Echoes is way better then Sea of Stars 🤷♂️🤷♂️