Sad hearts
For a more complete picture of the qualities and defects of I am Setsuna we can only refer to our in-depth analysis of the PS4 and PC versions, which good Valthiel delivered in due course to Spaziogames pages.
For our part, we will look at plot and gameplay, identical to the version of last summer, but rather on the technical side, which is very similar (but not entirely) to the Sony console version.
The title of the Tokyo RPG Factory is a hymn to sadness, set in a world submerged by the snow, where monsters populate every area outside the cities and villages, and force the inhabitants of small settlements to make human sacrifices every ten years, in an effort to calm the blood thirst for the animals so that they do not attack the inhabited areas.
The next person to be sacrificed is the owner Setsuna , who seems to have accepted, with a mixture of courage and resignation, his destiny, which will be upset by Endir, a cold mercenary like the snow of the game world, which is then the ” player alter ego. In fact, he is hired to put an end to the life of the girl before the sacrificial rite, but once known as Setsuna , he desists from his purpose, accompanying him instead to the canonical journey that in theory should bring her to the sacrificial altar.
As well as other aspects of gameplay and presentation, the narrative substrate of the product strikes both eyes with well-known styles, typical of the stories that characterize the genre in the ’90s, a period clearly visible, always suspended between the pleasing homage and plagiarism more lazy.
To us, like Valthiel in due course, we do not mind the interweaving itself, but it must be recognized as abundant in clichés and as no character in particular, with a console turned off, may be able to remain imprinted in the memory of the players, including the protagonist , too good to be credible.
Classicity not to miss
Faced with apparent limits both in the budget available and in the scenographic representation of the gaming world, where I am Setsuna shines is in the most important part of a video game, namely the purely playful one: the combat system in particular and how to create the Spritnite , which make the point to never forget Materia of Final Fantasy VII.
Eliminated casual encounters, with visible enemies on-screen, battles are governed by a dynamic and intelligent ATB that prompts you to consider whether to attack as soon as possible, obtaining minor damage, or wait for two or more bars of our Charact
ers fill up, remaining exposed while attacking enemies but triggering on them much greater damage.
The aforementioned Spritnite offers extra commands and skills or passive bonuses, greatly increasing the degree of personalization of the party by three characters, otherwise limited to just updating the equipment.
The almost total absence of secon
dary quests and the fact that, at the level passage, the characters do not earn that a handful of additional HP and MP without any increase in basic statistics greatly restrict the need to grind, good rhythm, which slows down only in a couple of circumstances, keeping the rest constant for the duration of the adventure, quantifiable around twenty-five hours.
In its advancement, inventory management, in the ability to concatenate multiple attacks by crossing the arts of various characters, I am Setsuna is not surprising but at the same time never disappoints by offering a classical, solid gaming experience ideal for a launch line like Switch, which does not consist of other members of the genre, for which we will have to wait for at least another six or seven months at best, with no unexpected surprises.
Those looking for innovation, leapfrog action, a freely
exploreable world of the world, elements that are becoming more and more central in modern ruinist dynamics, will not find it in this product; On the other hand, those who have consumed their teens with titles like Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, the first decade of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest will find here a safe haven, a mixture of well-known elements that is enjoyable and well calibrated.
