Typically when a new video game is announced, the gaming community, fanbases and individuals alike get hyped for the release date. Games like "Fallout 4," "Call of Duty" and the next installment of "Five Nights at Freddy’s" have fans jumping out of their seats, ready to join the new and somewhat familiar video game worlds once again. There’s a group of us gamers that are specifically excited for games that remind us of past adventures in a new light. That’s what makes me so excited for “I Am Setsuna.”
“I Am Setsuna” is a JRPG (Japanese Role-Playing Game) created by Tokyo RPG Factory and published by the well-known video game company – Square Enix. The story covers a woman named Setsuna who is required to sacrifice herself to a sacred shine to please a group of hostile demons. The plot is simple, but it’s the execution and mechanics that I’m so psyched for. When people first heard about this game, it became a common theme that “I Am Setsuna” was going to be a spiritual successor and in a sense, a love letter to the classic JRPGs of the 90’s, more specifically, one of my favorite games of all time – Square’s critically acclaimed “Chrono Trigger.”
"CHRONO TRIGGER" - Nostalgic & Amazing:
To me, “Chrono Trigger” wasn’t just some ordinary video game. I mean sure, after it was created, it originated many classic JRPG tropes that would soon come to be in later JRPGs, like the Final Fantasy games and even the “Chrono Trigger” sequel – “Chrono Cross.” “Chrono Trigger” had every element that a gamer would love. Do you like time travel? It’s there. What about dinosaurs? Got that too. A love triangle between a spikey haired protagonist, a nerdy female inventor, and a rebellious princess? Yup. Robot love, Frog Prince, and 16 different endings later, “Chrono Trigger” was an epic tale with the art style of Akira Toriyama (*insert pic of DBZ & Chrono) (the artist for Dragon Ball Z) and I’m glad to say was my first RPG. A few RPGs later and I can definitely say that “Chrono Trigger is the best introduction to the video game genre. 11 years later and I can definitely say that any game that says it’ll be similar to “Chrono Trigger” will probably be a great game.
You may be thinking ‘but just because “Chrono Trigger” was a great game, how do you know that “I Am Setsuna” will be good? What if it’s just a poor attempt at imitation?’ While I understand that point completely and certain games released 2016 have been exactly that – a poor attempt at imitation (Mighty No. 9) – I am fully certain that I will enjoy “I Am Setsuna,” because…
THE MUSIC IS INCREDIBLE:
As a gamer and musician, very rarely do I play a game without noticing the music. In fact, I love the music from “Chrono Trigger” so much, I bought the full soundtrack on eBay complete with box, liner notes (all in Japanese) and about 2.5 hours of amazing 16 bit music. With that in mind, as soon as the soundtrack was released for “I Am Setsuna” I listened to the whole 2 hours, 25 minutes and 39 seconds and let me just say on record: this soundtrack is phenomenal. See around the late 90’s when the Nintendo 64 and Playstation 1 came out, video game soundtracks started to get more advanced and complicated. There began to be less restrictions or limitations on the music composition, due to technology getting more advanced. This is of course compared to the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, where music had to be limited to sometimes 3-6 instruments. I point this out, because instead of using full scale orchestras or complicated instrument machines, Tomoki Miyoshi (composer of Soul Calibur V), does the opposite of his colleagues and creates a full, emotional soundtrack with just a piano. So even for those who aren’t in to video games can listen to this soundtrack like they would a piano performance – a flawless one at that. I can’t wait to see how the music and the gameplay interacts with each other.
ACTIVE TIME BATTLE SYSTEM:
Many of the early JRPGs, like “Chrono Trigger,” “Secret of Mana,” and “Final Fantasy” used a battle system called ‘Active Time Battle System’ (ATB). To put it simply, after each character takes a turn in battle, that character cannot go again until everyone’s ATB gauge is full. This adds a level of strategy to a battle due to the fact that you have to maintain your health, magic, and item usage in the proper time span, because if you do not act fast enough or smart enough, you may very well lose the battle. “I Am Setsuna” draws almost completely from the battle system in “Chrono Trigger.” We see the usage of Techs, or abilities that can be stacked on top of other party member’s abilities to create greater and more powerful abilities called Duel Techs and in some cases, Triple Techs. This system works best for anyone who has never played an RPG and even better for those who are nostalgic of the originals.
THE THEME IS APPEALING:
So I’ll be honest with you, all I really know about the theme of the game is this: it’s sad. Every article and news clip I’ve read gives the same notion. “I Am Setsuna” has a general theme that is “sadness.” The setting is a snow-covered land, the dialogue is somber and serious, and the story as a whole is one that’s emotional. Plus we know that the premise include a girl on her way to get sacrificed. While that’s not a lot to go off of, I fully believe that if a game, or any medium for that matter, that has high ratings and says that its theme is sad, that means that the story will also be intriguing, incredible, and appealing.
IT LOOKS GORGEOUS:
Here we see a game that plays like a 90’s JRPG, but looks like a beautiful masterpiece. Just looking at the concept art of bits of gameplay, this game is beautiful in every way. I can’t wait to lose myself in this world filled with snow.
If you can’t tell by now, “I Am Setsuna” will probably be on my top 10 RPG list once I officially play it. With the music and nostalgia alone, no JRPG fan should pass this game up. As of July 19, you can now play “I Am Setsuna” on PC, PS4, and the Windows store.
