The Tragedy And Tradition Of I Am Setsuna

Setsuna’s tale is one filled with tragedy. Hers is the most noble of quests, to save the lands from the onslaught of monsters and demons, but she isn’t trekking across the island to defeat them in battle, she’s doing so to be the ritualistic sacrifice that appeases them.

It might be almost unimaginable for that to truly be the true climax of this classically styled JRPG, but even if it isn’t, just having that notion hanging over each trial and battle that she and her companions must face lends the game a melancholic feel. It’s something that’s only amplified by the way the world is wrapped in the snows of a long winter, as well as Tomoki Miyoshi’s gorgeous piano soundtrack that accompanies the game.

What will make I Am Setsuna quite special for a lot of JRPG fans, though, is how Tokyo RPG Factory have written and designed it as an homage to the classic games of the genre. They’re trying to weave a memorable story and set of characters that speaks to the nostalgia that a lot of people have for those games.

Of course, it always helps to have a firm and definitive touchstone for people to relate to, and that comes in the form of the battle system, which borrows liberally from Chrono Trigger’s rendition of the Active Time Battle system. However, even before you enter battle, you’re not faced with random encounters, but can see the enemies in the world around you and potentially even avoid them, if you can skirt around their line of sight. With seriously powerful characters to hand in this demo build, it’s not something I needed to do often.

In battle, it also features the same kind of “Techs” system for magic and special attack techniques, with some of these allowing for combination attacks and abilities. With Setsuna more of a ranged character, it was the other active characters who offered the more powerful combinations, with Endir, Nidr and Aeterna pairing up for potentially devastating abilities.

The ATB system is still a simple joy to use, with each character waiting several seconds for their gauge to fill and for them to be able to attack. It’s held in high regard for a reason, with how a battle can shift depending on the timing of these independently filling meters. Timing can also play a part when the enemies shift around the battle area, letting sweeping attacks or Setsuna’s thrown rings hit multiple characters.

Where this game adds something new is with the Momentum System. Letting your characters sit with a full ATB gauge charges up an SP gauge and building up a reserve of points. You need a modicum of timing to make use of these to boost the strength of your attacks, as you have to hit Square just as a flash of light appears above your character before they strike, and when it can trigger additional effects for your techs and combos, net you a critical hit or hurt your enemies with status effects, it’s a clever little addition. There’s going to be the little risk and reward of biding your time against more powerful enemies.

The ice cave was filled with cutesy animals, regardless of how eager they were to attack. I’m talking evil little penguins and hermit carbs, Poison Puff-Puffs, which were poisonous seals with a penchant for getting close, inflating like a puffer fish, and then exploding. Even the end boss, the Primeval Tortoise, was a little bit cute, when it would retreat into its huge, icy shell and make itself immune to physical attacks.

The soft and simplistic feeling graphics almost feel incongruous with the tone of the game, with an almost chibi-like art style that harkens back the classic JRPGs of the 90s, or at least the Nintendo DS remakes of Final Fantasy III and IV. Some of this will have come from the game being released on both PlayStation 4 and Vita in Japan, and it’s a shame that there’s no Western release on the handheld console planned. It’s still a pretty game, with some lovely touches like all of your party members leaving a trail in deep snow as you run through, and I also enjoyed Setsuna’s character design, with her halo-like headdress actually turning out to be a pair of throwable circular blades in combat.

Above all else, it achieves that nostalgic feel that Tokyo RPG Factory and Square Enix were aiming for. From their own stable, the latest Final Fantasy might be the one to grab headlines, but it’s nice to be reminded of the breadth of the JRPG genre, every once in a while.