i am setsuna Archives - Samantha Lienhard

Hopes for Tokyo RPG Factory’s Next Game

Video games No Responses » Tagged with: i am setsuna, lost sphear, rpg

May 292017

Square Enix’s Tokyo RPG Factory studio has updated its website with a new image.

This image (pictured right) shows a grassy cliff very different from the snowy landscape of their first game, I Am Setsuna. Tokyo RPG Factory was formed to work on smaller, more traditional RPGs. Could this be a hint as to their next game?

I Am Setsuna had a lot of potential. In my review for MonsterVine, I mentioned that the game seemed like it should have been longer. I enjoyed its characters and gameplay, but the ending felt rushed.

When I played it, I reached a point where I expected it to expand into the story’s next arc and make use of the hints I’d seen in the worldbuilding and side quests of a bigger picture. Instead, it raced through a few new plot points toward a sudden conclusion.

At the time, I wished they had a large enough budget to make a longer game. I also worried that I Am Setsuna’s mixed reception might mean they wouldn’t make anything else.

My second concern seems to be resolved. That image suggests Tokyo RPG Factory has a new game planned, maybe to be announced at E3. Will it be set in I Am Setsuna’s universe? Will it be something entirely new?

Whatever it is, I hope it keeps turn-based combat and traditional JRPG gameplay, including a world map… but I especially hope it’s a long enough game to tell a good story without feeling rushed.

Update: Tokyo RPG Factory has announced Lost Sphear for the PS4, Switch, and PC, an RPG about rebuilding the world with the power of Memory before it disappears forever.

Did you play I Am Setsuna? What do you hope to see from Tokyo RPG Factory’s next game?

Gameplay Trailer for I Am Setsuna

Video games No Responses » Tagged with: i am setsuna, rpg

May 252016

I Am Setsuna is one of my most-anticipated games of the year.

The first game made by Square Enix’s new development studio, Tokyo RPG Factory, and announced at last year’s E3 show, I Am Setsuna is a classic-style JRPG in the style of Chrono Trigger.

It is being localized for the PlayStation 4 and PC (via Steam). Unfortunately, it’s digital-only. Still if you like this sort of game, don’t let its digital nature deter you!

I Am Setsuna will be out on July 19 for $39.99, and Steam pre-orders come with a bonus music track.

Square Enix just released an E3 2016 trailer for the game. E3 is still a few weeks away, but nothing like getting a head start, I guess. It’s an English gameplay trailer, so take a look for a better idea of what this game is like.

It looks pretty fun, and the Chrono Trigger influence is clear.

I’m looking forward to this game, although I need to decide if I want to play it on the PC or the PS4 I haven’t bought yet. Either way, I can’t wait until July.

With any luck, I Am Setsuna will be a big success and encourage Tokyo RPG Factory to make more games like it. Maybe it will even convince Square Enix turn-based combat isn’t dead yet.

What do you think of I Am Setsuna?

A Close Look at the New Project Setsuna Footage

Video games No Responses » Tagged with: i am setsuna, rpg

Feb 122016

Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna (Setsuna of Snow and Sacrifice), or “Project Setsuna,” as it was referred to at E3, is one of my most-anticipated games of 2016.

It’s being developed by Tokyo RPG Factory, a new studio created by Square Enix specifically to create new RPGs. Setsuna is an old-school, turn-based RPG, and so far it looks fantastic.

New footage was recently shown, so let’s see what we can learn.

Now, I don’t know Japanese, so they might say all sorts of things about the game I can’t pick up on. Just looking at the footage, though, fills me with excitement.

First, it looks like there are at least 6 party members. I assume the one in the lead is the mercenary, I think the red-haired one is Setsuna, and I know there are characters named Kuon (the hooded one?) and Yomi (dark-haired guy?). I don’t know who the others are.

Three are in the party at a time, and all three appear on the world map. We need more classic RPG overworlds, and best of all, they show off an airship! I love flying around a world map in an airship.

With the airship, they show off a bit of the world map. Mainly snow. Some fans are afraid this means the setting won’t be too varied. Snow is in the title, so it might show up a lot.

It looks like enemies appear on the screen, rather than random encounters. It has an active-time battle turn-based system, like in Chrono Trigger and many Final Fantasy games. Your position on the battlefield also affects your attacks.

I believe the snowflake gauge that builds during battles is the Setsuna gauge, which adds additional effects to your attacks through timed button presses. I remember something about combination attacks, too, like in Chrono Trigger. It looks like an example of that at 13:06.

Since I can’t read their dialogue, I don’t have a good sense of the characters or story. My only fear for Project Setsuna is that it might have a scaled-back story. I want it to be just as epic as, say, Final Fantasy VI! The gameplay, though, looks pretty solid. This might be enough to convince Square Enix turn-based RPGs aren’t outdated.

Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna will be released in Japan next week (February 18) for the PS4 and PS Vita. We should know more about it then. Localization is planned for sometime in 2016.

What do you think about Project Setsuna based on this new footage?