I AM SETSUNA AND I AM THROWBACK INCARNATE! (A GAME REVIEW)

I Am Setsuna is a JRPG developed by Tokyo RPG Factory and published by Square Enix in an attempt to introduce a nostalgic blast of the yesteryear of the golden days of JRPG. It was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Japan in February 2016, and worldwide for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows in July 2016. It was released for Nintendo Switch as a launch title worldwide on March 3, 2017. If you're a seasoned veteran in JRPGs you'll feel very much at home playing this game as it basically borrows heavily from a lot of different old school RPGs such as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Legend of Dragoon, Suikoden, Lunar and many more. This game is all about nostalgia down to the very bone and it simultaneously strives and yields because of it. So if you've heard of this game and/or is planning on buying it, here are a few things that you need to know before you do so.

It's Final Fantasy X. That's really the easiest way to put it. I am Setsuna is set in a world of continuous snow. The world is in peril as the demons attacking the people grow in numbers by the minute. According to an ancient custom, a maiden must be sacrificed to quell the thirst of the demons. Apparently, this has been happening for a number of centuries. The maiden to be sacrificed this time around is our titular character Setsuna the daughter of the previous sacrifice Mana. However, Setsuna isn't actually the main character in this story. Enter, Endir a young man who is a member of the masked tribe and makes his living as a mercenary. Endir takes on a job by a mysterious man to assassinate Setsuna. Upon meeting her though, instead of killing her, Setsuna actually convinced him to join her in her pilgrimage and thus they embark on a journey of self-discovery and sacrifice and meet other companions along the way. Also, time travel is somehow involved. Right off the bat if you've played Final Fantasy X at all, you're going to see all the direct parallels in its story. A Pilgrimage to save the world that would ultimately result in someone's suicide, check. A maiden to follow on his mothers/fathers footstep, check. The "main character" arguably not actually being the "main character," check. I can honestly make a whole list here of all its comparison but that's not the point. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the question is did I am Setsuna did enough to differentiate itself from its obvious inspiration? Well, yes and no. If Final Fantasy X is about making a blast through its story-telling, then I am Setsuna is all about simplicity. It does not suffer from an overabundance of plot points and a complicated narrative. But at the same time, because of this, it also feels less engaging. Don't get me wrong, the world of I am Setsuna and its inhabitants by itself have a great story to tell, but the overall presentation seems lacking and I'm not really sure if its suppose to be on purpose. No sense of grandeur means its an easier pill to swallow. You play the game, you finish it and you move on. But it's not the type of game you have long-winded conversations about, and I think that's the problem. This game story wise has a lot of great potentials but its insistence on keeping things simple, I feel held it back a bit. The story itself isn't bad. It's straightforward, uncomplicated and in its own way very relatable, however, it's the execution that seems to be at the minimal.

It's Chrono Trigger. I'm not trying to start a running gag here but its the truth. As I mention earlier, I am Setsuna is basically an amalgamation of different games from the golden days of JRPG. It's your pretty standard angled top-down perspective JRPG where you go in different locations such as towns, dungeons, forest, caves, and ruins... you know all that good stuff. Also, there's an actual old-school overworld and I love it! As the usual RPG fare, you talk to NPC's to reveal plot elements, find treasure everywhere and fight a bunch of different enemies. Speaking of Fighting, nothing yells more "OMG It is Chrono Trigger!" than its battle system. Enemies are visible on the map. Contact with the said enemies initiates a battle. Battles take place in the environments where the enemy is encountered rather than shifting to a specific battle arena. You've got the health and magic meter respectively represented by HP and MP at the lower half of the screen and your standard Attack, Tech/Magic/Skill and Items at the lower left part. The battle itself is your standard turn-based gameplay under the "Active Time Battle System" commonly used in a lot of final fantasy entries. Techs can be combined with other characters techs to deliver stronger attacks, again, very similar to Chrono Trigger. What differentiates I am Setsuna's battle system from Chrono Trigger's though is the inclusion of the Momentum and Flux System. As you battle you will notice the circle on the right side of your characters HP and MP bar go up and then light up 3 stars on the top of the circle. That's essentially your momentum meter. By pressing the square button at the appropriate time you can then add damage to your attack at the cost of 1 star of your momentum meter. Now, the flux system works hand in hand with that, flux are essentially status effects that could range from increasing the critical hit rate of a tech or combo to Reducing MP Cost to 1.

Flux are activated randomly by continuously using your momentum. Now the type of flux you can activate depends on the talisman that you have equipped. Unlike other RPGs where your stats increase simply by fighting monsters and gaining experience. Here the only stat that actually increases through leveling up is your HP and MP. Armor isn't a thing in this game either. All you have are three things Talismans, Spritnite, and Weapons. Spiritnites are basically your passive and active skills, which you can buy from shops, talismans are equipable items, that would give the characters bonus effects and would also determine the type of flux they can have as their arsenal, and the weapons in this game does not only determine your offensive capabilities but also your defensive stats as well. Weapons can also be upgradable by the way. Now, this might sound like a lot of information to take in, but its really not. It's really not as complicated as it sounds. Plus the game itself actually did something to make sure that you learn these mechanics well. And that is they don't tell you shit. To say that this game does not hold you by the hand is an understatement. True, it does provide a few tutorials along the way but not enough to actually help you on your gameplay. The only real way to understand this is to simply play and learn it yourself. And for me, that is still the best way to learn a game. The gameplay itself is simple and fun, and though it can get a little repetitive at times, it is still very engaging.

It's so damn beautiful. I love the aesthetics of this game. From the art to the music to the overall presentation its all just so flawless. What I may have found lacking in the other aspects of the game, here, I find in abundance. Who would have thought that a world of perpetual winter could not only look very beautiful but also very much alive? From the quiet somber town of Nive Village to the big yet reclusive city of Floneia Citadel, every town I visited throughout my playthrough felt different, and yet it never felt it strayed away from the core theme of the game, sadness. The different forest, ruins, and dungeons I came across may come as repetitive at times, but most of them are bundled up in short digestible ventures that it never really felt tiring. (Except that last dungeon, goddamit that was a nightmare) Some dungeons will provide some puzzles which may seem tedious at first but are actually really easy to solve. What I like most about these dungeons though is that they provide a great source of world building. Every decision made in regards to this world is not with reckless abandon. The Ghost town of Serendale isn't just a ghost town, its a reminder of how important the pilgrimage is to this world. The Archimell Ruins isn't just a ruin its there to represent the world's history and to represent the mistakes of the past. But more than anything else, if there something absolutely worth taking from this game, Its the soundtrack. Goddamit I have never heard a soundtrack so simple, delicate and beautiful all at the same time in years. And the most awesome thing about it is that everything is done by a single piano. "Path of Redemption" is my personal favorite piece of the bunch but almost everything else is a stand out on its own right. If you are not planning on buying the game at all, then at the very least download the soundtrack. I guarantee It's going to be more than worth your time.

What is sadness really? An emotion often associated with loss, despair or grief? An inevitable reaction to futility? A natural response in the whole aspect of life and death? If I am Setsuna's backbone is its aesthetics then its true core is in its themes. It hinges upon the core idea of sadness and grips it tight until the bitter end. I am Setsuna is a somber experience through and through, and though they may be instances of recluse within the story, it always reminds you that this cold world is not cold because of the snow but rather the inevitable truth that the world is in the verge of collapse. Even the characters who decided to take a stand ware a mask of optimism to shield them from their true pain. Setsuna herself, in her presentation, is a kind and gentle soul who wants to end the suffering she herself has experienced through the hardship of this world, however, whatever path she chooses results in her own demise. And yet, when she speaks everybody listens and when she smiles it still feels genuine. Setsuna as a character has accepted her own sadness in such a way I don't think I could ever truly describe. There's a certain warmth into it. And that's another thing, warmth in sadness. Without sadness, there is no joy. Without pain, there is no pleasure. Without lost nothing could be gain. There is beauty in sadness, this game reminded me of that. As Joseph Gordon-Levitt once put it “I think there is something beautiful in reveling in sadness. The proof is how beautiful sad songs can be. So I don’t think being sad is to be avoided. It’s apathy and boredom you want to avoid. But feeling anything is good, even if that feeling is sadness.” To put things into perspective a bit, In the writing of this blog and even before when I was still playing the game, I too was (still is really) going through sadness and loss. I lost someone very important to me, and if it was just up to me I would have done everything I could to get that person back. But there are just some things in life you couldn't fix. So I did the next best thing, I wallowed in my own sadness, watch a lot of Netflix and played a bunch of games. Then I meet Endir, Setsuna and the rest of the cast, and somehow they reminded me that what I'm feeling is okay. It just proved that those times with the person that I lost, at the very least, mattered. I am Setsuna reminded me that sadness is never a weakness, instead, it's a constant reminder that you are alive. To embrace sadness and to be able to grief as you have loved. And for that, I'm truly glad I played this game.

I really enjoyed this game, and yet if I'm being honest, Its still really hard for me to recommend. It doesn't provide much of a challenge and it has a relatively short run time, about 30 to 40 hours of gameplay. It also doesn't really provide much in innovation. I am Setsuna is very pretty and enchanting but it's not exactly something you've never seen before. Its simplicity is both its strength and weakness. Its catered towards a specific type of gamer, gamers like me who lived the golden days of JRPG to the fullest. Its a genuine nostalgia "feels-trip" for people who miss the good old days of gaming. But I don't think the gamers of today would truly appreciate this game. That being said, if you guys are one of those young ones, who wants to experience an authentic old-school JRPG under a modern clothing then this might be your best bet. As far as I know, it's only available via virtual download for both the PS4 and PS Vita, that's how I got a copy. But if you are a Nintendo Switch Player, physical copies are available. I am Setsuna is beautiful, simple and endearing, but I feel it's not really a necessity to play. Check it out for yourself to find out.