One year after the release of I Am Setsuna Tokyo RPG Factory presents Lost Sphear , a new jrpg for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch that shares with its predecessor many elements, similarities wanted by Japanese developers whose goal is to bring back jrpg style of the 90’s (defined by Atsushi Hashimoto’s Golden Age) telling of new adventures that fans of historical sagas like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger can love. Just Chrono Trigger is perhaps the game that is inspired by both Tokyo RPG Factory titles, especially in the almost identical battle system dynamics.
The theme of Lost Sphear this time concerns the memory and the very existence of something only if tied to the memory of it: so as all the cities suddenly vanish in a glimmering white light, our heroes will have to start a cool-led adventure moon in the sky to save their world.
Old School JRPG
The dynamics of the game are the classic ones of the old jrpg school: there is a leveling system, equipment, a group of characters ( at least eight playable ones ) with a party system, villages, world map, dungeons and monsters of all kinds.
The entire demo that we were shown focused on the combat system and the new free movement, thanks to which you can move as you please before each attack and to exploit the effects area techniques to the fullest, striking more enemies in a row with magic bullets or taking the center of a small group to launch a circular attack against all : Developers call it ATB 2.0, which, as far as it retraces the mechanics of the spiritual precedent, manages to offer, as we said before, freedom of movement on the battlefield to give us a wider range of choices to make, especially for area attacks.
While the “Momentum Kill” of the previous chapter, here called Setsuna Kill, linked to the timing between the attack of the character and the press of a button, director Hashimoto did not want to reveal anything about the combo attack system with party companions, for example in I Am Setsuna.
Action continues to be commanded by ATV and confined to dungeons, while exploring the world map is free from casual encounters.
I Am Kanata
Thanks to 30 to 40 hours of gameplay, a unique style and the most beloved jrpg fighting system of the 1990s, Lost Sphearpromises to give a story that also plays a major role in this chapter.
Abandoning the crazy and gray notes of I Am Setsuna, the protagonist Kanata and her travel companions will launch into a more colorful world and in an adventure based not on emotions and regret but on friendship and support each other obviously on memories. Such mechanics, we have been confirmed, will also have some repercussions on gameplay, but we have not been specified in exactly what way: to recover, then, the history and memories of the world around us will serve to make it even deeper experience.
The game is still under development and we have not been able to prove it directly but, given the dynamics identical to those of I Am Setsuna, will likely win anyone who has appreciated the first title of Tokyo RPG Factory, while non-lovers of jrpg will not find innovative elements or particular reasons to fall in love.
