As someone who's a fan of JRPGs, the announcement of Sea of Stars, which claimed to draw inspiration from old-school classics, certainly piqued my interest. Watching its trailer, those familiar with Chrono Trigger would no doubt find the game's art style quite familiar. The game is set to be released on the upcoming August 30 (Asia time), and recently I finally had the opportunity to play its demo. I started the demo with high anticipation, and it's safe to say that the one-hour experience left me eagerly craving more of the game.

The demo allows us to step into the shoes of the protagonists Valere and Zale, accompanied by their friend Garl. We’ll have the opportunity to traverse several maps, engage in story dialogues, and participate in various battles while solving puzzles within a dungeon.

Not much of the plot is revealed during the demo, but it appears that we are placed at a point in the story not too far from the beginning, where the protagonists' party is on a mission to reach a place called Wraith Island before the “eclipse” occurs. The demo begins with the three of them landing on a high-altitude valley. As the party requires a water transport to reach the island, they must descend to ground level and make their way to the Port Town of Brisk. The game then presents us with a brief opportunity to traverse the valley before fast-forwarding the story to the point where the party arrives at a tavern in the Port Town, attempting to seek assistance from a crew of pirates.

Not long after stepping my foot into the game, I was struck by the impressive presentation of its visuals. Despite its retro 2D style, the attention to detail is remarkable, even when compared to other modern games. The way the grass and trees gently sway in the breeze, along with the dynamic lighting effects when the characters approach different light sources, it's evident that the developers have paid meticulous attention to the finer points. All these subtle animations breathe life into the 2D pixel graphics, making them more vibrant and lively than ever before.

Even though the game adopts a 2D visual style, traversing in-game is far from limited to two dimensions. Within the demo, the game introduces several distinct maps, each with its own thematic elements, offering varied terrains that can be navigated in diverse ways. There's the initial valley that radiates a warm autumn aura with its maple-colored scenery, presenting a range of terrains that require us to climb, hoist, and leap across them. The Port Town of Brisk perfectly captures the essence of a Middle Eastern port town, even allowing us to swim in the waters nearby. On the other hand, the Abandoned Wizard’s Lab dungeon creates a mysterious atmosphere and presents a multitude of puzzle challenges for us to tackle. Although it could be argued that platforming in a 2D game can be challenging due to the limited visual dimensions for distinguishing different levels of platforms, I believe this is one of the inherent challenges that come with 2D games.

Back to the story — our next destination is the aforementioned Abandoned Wizard’s Lab dungeon. Our mission here is to retrieve a treasure, as requested by the leader of the pirate crew in exchange for their assistance. This dungeon is also where most of the demo will take place. Within the dungeon, there are a variety of classic platforming puzzles, including switches that alter the terrain's shape, portals that transport us to different parts of the map, and more. This introduces engaging exploration gameplay that encourages us to pay close attention to the interactive elements within the environment.

While exploring the dungeon, we'll come across various monsters that stand in our way, necessitating their defeat to continue our journey. The battle gameplay in Sea of Stars is an absolute delight, and I can't emphasize this enough. Battles in the game initiate right where we encounter the monsters, similar to the way battles commence in Chrono Trigger. They generally follow a turn-based formula without a countdown timer pressuring us to make swift decisions, which allows us to take our time to plan our actions. However, don't mistake this for monotony — the game introduces interesting mechanics that’ll keep us actively engaged during battles.

One of the standout battle mechanics in the game involves timed attacks and blocks. By pressing the spacebar (on the PC version) just before landing an attack or blocking, we can deal extra damage and mitigate some incoming damage, significantly influencing the battle's outcome when executed accurately. Certain skills, such as Valere's Moonerang, also employ a similar gameplay element, requiring well-timed button presses to keep the boomerang ricocheting off enemies and dealing maximum damage. This feature ensures that every battle, even those against small minions, remains compelling. The game's slightly elevated difficulty, reminiscent of traditional RPGs from the past, where we could be defeated in just a few hits, underscores the importance of mastering this mechanism to ensure success in battles.

Strategic depth in the game's battles is manifested through several key elements. To start, the timer displayed next to each enemy indicates the number of actions available to us before they launch their attacks. Each enemy also presents unique vulnerabilities and resistances. Additionally, the game features a Lock Breaking system, which will display Locks alongside the action countdown of enemies with special attacks, indicating the specific attack types needed to weaken the enemy's next move. If all Locks are successfully broken, it can even cancel the enemy's action entirely. Breaking Locks also generates more Combo Points, enabling us to unleash powerful moves that have the potential to turn the tide of battles.

Other noteworthy battle systems of the game includes the MP regeneration feature, wherein each regular attack restores 3 MP for the attacker. This design encourages us to utilize skills frequently, as attacking with a full MP bar would result in wasted regeneration potential. Furthermore, regular attacks would generate Live Mana charges, visible around the enemies struck. Characters can absorb these charges to enhance their subsequent battle actions based on their Magic Attack. Combining all these mechanisms, in contrast to many turn-based RPGs nowadays that can be navigated with just a few button presses, Sea of Stars introduces a captivating battle system that imbues each encounter with uniqueness.

Furthermore, the Relics feature provides options to alter our gameplay, presenting functions that can be toggled on or off at any point in the game. Some of these Relics boost the party's maximum HP and offer regeneration after battles, while others offer quality-of-life improvements like enhanced feedback after well-timed button presses. There's even a Relic that reduces the party's health to a mere 5% of their original HP, providing significantly tougher challenges for those who are confident in their skills.

All in all, the game’s demo definitely reminds me of my younger self who just couldn’t get enough of Chrono Trigger. It's also quite apparent that its gameplay framework draws clear inspiration from the 28-year-old classic. Its art style, which evokes a strong sense of nostalgia, combined with the classic turn-based JRPG gameplay and its own unique twists, makes Sea of Stars undoubtedly one of the games I'm most eagerly anticipating to play in the latter half of 2023. The demo itself can be completed in around an hour, and for those who are still on the fence about trying the game, I strongly recommend giving the demo a shot.

And that concludes Lluvia’s initial impression of Sea of Stars demo on PC (Steam).

Cover artwork by 公羊子, retrieved from official Sea of Stars Twitter (X) account.