Unfortunately, their stories aren’t particularly deep or surprising at some points, the narrative felt like it was checking off obligatory boxes on a list of JRPG tropes.
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They’re a truly adorable bunch of troubled folks trying to make life worth living in a world full of despair, and they don’t feel as shamefully archetypal as some characters in JRPGs do. I really enjoyed I Am Setsuna ’s cast for the most part. From there, it’s pretty well-worn territory: Endir, Setsuna and pal Aeterna go journeying from one town, field and dungeon to the next on their way to the Last Lands, gathering up some more party members and solving some people’s problems along the way. His attempt fails, and he later has a change of heart when he saves the city from a monster attack and gets personally asked by Setsuna to be part of her guard. Right before she’s scheduled to take off for her journey, an assassin named Endir comes to prematurely take her life.
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The title character, Setsuna, is one of a series of sacrifices who has decided to give up everything for a pilgrimage to the Last Lands - where, in exchange for her life, the monsters will temporarily slow down their assault.
In a plot that will no doubt remind Square Enix fans of Final Fantasy X, the world of the game has found itself in a state of perpetual winter and under attack by hordes of dangerous monsters. Once you get into the narrative, the feeling becomes even more prevalent. Indeed, this is one area where I can offer near-universal praise and say with surety that many players will never have experienced anything quite like this before: the soundtrack, entirely made up of piano compositions, is heart-achingly beautiful, and toi8’s gentle art style graces all the characters and environments with a light, wintry touch. From the moment I saw the colorful snow-covered trees and heard the somber piano of Tomoki Miyoshi’s score, I knew I was in for something special and different. The team really succeeded in making that vibe evident right from the start, too I can’t remember the last time I felt a game’s presentation was this committed to its themes. When I spoke to I Am Setsuna ’s developers at E3, the prevailing message was that the game is meant to invoke the feeling of setsunasa in players - a distinctly Japanese emotion roughly translated as a combination of sorrow, loneliness, heartbreak and nostalgia. I still loved its nostalgic, comfort-food-esque JRPG trappings and gently beautiful presentation, as I’m sure many other players will, but I couldn’t help but feel just a few important changes could have brought Tokyo RPG Factory’s first project over the top into classic territory. That might sound strange, but it’s true there’s nothing quite as maddening as watching a game fall just short of its full potential in a bunch of areas. To me, though, the fact that it is merely good - not great or excellent - let me down perhaps even more than if it had been outright awful. I want to make sure that’s clear right off the bat: I Am Setsuna is not a bad game. I had a recent conversation with a fellow reviewer who made a good point about gaming disappointments: the worst ones are rarely those that are actively bad games.
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