The newly released demo from The Messenger developer Sabotage Studio for the upcoming title Sea of Stars sets up an impressive homage to classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger or The Legend of Dragoon. Announced in the latest Nintendo Direct, Sea of Stars slipped in as an interesting entry to the showcase thanks to its retro-style pixel art and turn-based gameplay, with a short demo dropping after the presentation.
In an era of gaming where action often wins out over more metered strategy, the retro combat of the indie gameSea of Stars is a breath of fresh air for fans of PS1 and SNES classics. Additionally, the classic style of Sabotage Studio's upcoming title could help scratch the itch to play games like Legend of Dragoon, which fans have been hoping to see make a return in an often rumored remake.
How Sea of Stars Makes Good Use of Combat Cues and Active Inputs
While it is entirely possible to get through the Sea of Stars demo without having to engage with the more active parts of the combat, learning the timings for attacks and defense can go a long way to improving the gameplay experience. It's a combat concept that some JRPGs have embraced in the past, including the Mario and Luigi series, as well as Legend of Dragoon. However, while adding more active inputs into turn-based combat has been popular in the past, it isn't something that every title in this subgenre of RPGs has taken the best advantage of.
In the case of Sea of Stars, these active inputs during combat are slightly downplayed, since they are not completely required to learn in order to make it through the demo's final boss. Most enemies don't require players to time an A-button press at the exact time the attack lands in order to deal all of the damage needed in order to earn a kill. Similarly, unless the player is using the Artful Gambit relic, timing the same input to defend against oncoming attacks isn't always required to survive a hit, even from the boss at the end of the demo. This makes the mechanic a bonus to the upcoming 2023 RPG, rather than required learning like in some more difficult games.
How Sea of Stars' Combat Compares to Legend of Dragoon
The reason that the combat in Sea of Stars might draw in fans of Legend of Dragoon is because of the way that the classic JRPG implemented a similar type of active input into its own gameplay. This came in the form of the Additions in Legend of Dragoon, combos that reward players with extra damage as well as the SP that powers each character's ability to transform into a Dragoon. While these are often much more intricate than the simple attacks and deflections in Sea of Stars, there are more active skills like Valere's Moonerang.
With these Additions being one of the most notable and unique aspects of Legend of Dragoon's, this is the first place that fans of the classic title should look for a similar experience in modern titles. It's a style of combat that manages to introduce a feeling of active participation, while still keeping the strategy at the core of classic turn-based RPGs. So, as fans continue to speculate about a Legend of Dragoon remake, it appears that Sea of Stars might be able to still deliver the type of gameplay experience that the classic title offered.
This is all without even diving into another aspect of Legend of Dragoon that fans want to dive back into, the world. Outside of the combat from this new title, the world showcased in Sea of Stars' latest demo hits hard on the intricate fantasy realm that classic JRPGs brought to life so well. Complete with giant dragons and mysterious characters tracking the protagonists from afar, it's a story that feels like it will hit all of the classic JRPG elements in the best ways possible.
Sea of Stars is set to release on August 29, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.
