.I feel like I should be lenient with my criticism because this game was made by such a small team. It really is quite an impressive game, with that perspective. That said, I've decided to share my honest thoughts. Or try to, at least.Like many other reviews have said, the battle system is unique and interesting. It doesn't play like Magic: The Gathering, but it felt like it. To me, at least. I ended up spending many of my turns in battle managing, setting up and comboing skills.
Cosmic Star Heroine official site is an intergalactic RPG about a space-super-spy on the lam, and Zeboyd namechecked inspirations like Chrono Trigger and Phantasy Star when they Kickstarted it in 2013. It won’t be long until we see how it’s worked out but, for now, we can have a peek in a new trailer. Listen free to Hyperduck Soundworks – Cosmic Star Heroine (L'salle, Battle of Conflicts and more). 15 tracks (38:01). Discover more music, concerts, videos, and pictures with the largest catalogue online at Last.fm.
It was fun for a while, but eventually became troublesome. (I played on Heroine difficulty from start to finish. I can't speak for the other difficulty settings.)CSH's story is paced like a summary.
It seemed like Zeboyd Games was afraid of letting any single scene settle in. I would have liked to see some character drama.
The story didn't draw me in. I couldn't bring myself to care about what was going on. And, the characters didn't seem to care either. The witty dialog was often funny, but that's all there was. Well, that and some brief heavy handed plot explanations. After clocking in 17 hours, I'm surprised at how empty the game's characters and story are. The setting was interesting, and all of the characters had a lot of potential.
It's too bad more effort wasn't put into writing a more extensive script and adding some human themes to the game. CSH's story needed something to make it meaningful rather than just a placeholder. That said, I don't think they were going for anything serious or emotional. But, to me, melodrama is at the heart of JRPGs.The pixel art.I feel like I should be lenient with my criticism because this game was made by such a small team.
It really is quite an impressive game, with that perspective. That said, I've decided to share my honest thoughts. Or try to, at least.Like many other reviews have said, the battle system is unique and interesting. It doesn't play like Magic: The Gathering, but it felt like it. To me, at least.
I ended up spending many of my turns in battle managing, setting up and comboing skills. It was fun for a while, but eventually became troublesome. (I played on Heroine difficulty from start to finish. I can't speak for the other difficulty settings.)CSH's story is paced like a summary. It seemed like Zeboyd Games was afraid of letting any single scene settle in.
I would have liked to see some character drama. The story didn't draw me in. I couldn't bring myself to care about what was going on.
And, the characters didn't seem to care either. The witty dialog was often funny, but that's all there was. Well, that and some brief heavy handed plot explanations. After clocking in 17 hours, I'm surprised at how empty the game's characters and story are. The setting was interesting, and all of the characters had a lot of potential.
It's too bad more effort wasn't put into writing a more extensive script and adding some human themes to the game. CSH's story needed something to make it meaningful rather than just a placeholder. That said, I don't think they were going for anything serious or emotional. But, to me, melodrama is at the heart of JRPGs.The pixel art looked fantastic and the character portaits (with all the different emotions) were great. I really liked the animated sequences.
It's one of the best looking indie RPGs I've seen. Again, it's a shame there wasn't any emotional punch backing any of it up. HyperDuck SoundWorks did a great job on the music. It isn't really my style, but I can't deny it's really good stuff. It fit the game well. In fact, I'm listening to the OST as I'm writing this review.
Laura Shigihara's contribution was a nice touch.Overall, CSH showed me how hard it must be to make an indie RPG, and perhaps an indie JRPG in particular. I'm glad I played CSH, but I'm not sure I'll play it again.
I wish Zeboyd Games a successful future in the indie games industry. It's clear they put in a lot of work into this game.I almost didn't have any problems with bugs. There were a handful of graphical glitches that were no big deal. And, I did have to reset the game once toward the end, but because of the save anywhere feature it wasn't a problem at all.Rating: 5.5/10I'm glad I wasn't waiting years for this one like some people.
It only came into my life early this year and I just added it to my Wish List on Steam and forgot about it. I actually think it sounded really cool, and should have been up my alley considering I grew up with the RPGs that influenced it the most and consider that era a golden era.I'm having a hard time getting into it. Just know that it's not an outright bad game, and I am giving it a minor recommendation with a bunch of caveats. If you can handle bugs or something less substantial than some of the other games that have already come out this year, and you need to kill some time.
Sure, go ahead, play 'er.The biggest point of contention in the reviews I've seen is regarding the battle system, so that's where I'll start. People either think it's cool and does neat things with the turn-based formula, or they believe that it makes combat unnecessarily long. I'm in the latter camp, but when I was first started playing I was more middle ground; I could see why it would be an issue but I wasn't bothered yet. When I got to the point that I dreaded fighting I realized I needed to check out. I haven't completed the game for this reason, but I won't be going back (so keep that in mind because they may introduce some cool mechanics later that I have missed out on, though I doubt it).For those who don't know, in an effort to keep the game from being a boring grind.Rating: 5.5/10I'm glad I wasn't waiting years for this one like some people.
It only came into my life early this year and I just added it to my Wish List on Steam and forgot about it. I actually think it sounded really cool, and should have been up my alley considering I grew up with the RPGs that influenced it the most and consider that era a golden era.I'm having a hard time getting into it. Just know that it's not an outright bad game, and I am giving it a minor recommendation with a bunch of caveats. If you can handle bugs or something less substantial than some of the other games that have already come out this year, and you need to kill some time.
Sure, go ahead, play 'er.The biggest point of contention in the reviews I've seen is regarding the battle system, so that's where I'll start. People either think it's cool and does neat things with the turn-based formula, or they believe that it makes combat unnecessarily long. I'm in the latter camp, but when I was first started playing I was more middle ground; I could see why it would be an issue but I wasn't bothered yet. When I got to the point that I dreaded fighting I realized I needed to check out.
I haven't completed the game for this reason, but I won't be going back (so keep that in mind because they may introduce some cool mechanics later that I have missed out on, though I doubt it).For those who don't know, in an effort to keep the game from being a boring grind in battle, magic points don't exist, instead being replaced by skills that can get used once before they have to be recharged. Some characters have a standard attack that you can spam, but others don't, and that's really annoying.
In order to recharge your skills you choose another skill that ends your turn and gives you all your abilities back next turn. So, the defend mechanic that you never used in older RPGs is now central to the experience, basically. There are also combos later on, which are fine but not really needed. One thing I do like is how Dave has a technique that changes depending on the environment. Hell, I think the abilities are varied enough to be interesting but one character is ridiculously so.I appreciate the effort but when I'm just running around I don't want to have to carefully pick my skills each time. It just adds to the play time, but not in a good way. Others won't feel that way and they will respect that it's more inclusive, though I disagree and think it's detrimental as a whole.I won't harp on too much about it but I don't like the music.
There's a general problem I have with this game where it doesn't pop. I find the soundtrack incredibly generic and leagues below the greats that influenced it. None of it pumped me up or set a good mood; the battle theme is okay but it isn't exciting as something like, say, Chrono Trigger.
Mind you, CT had one of the best video game composers in history, but still.There's also a lack of polish all around. Enemies randomly dying, it being difficult to talk to NPCs (though I feel the outrage is overblown on this one), things getting stuck, not being notified of certain things that other RPGs would notify you of because it only makes sense, etc.The visuals are good enough. I'm not especially enamored by them, but they're fine. That's about all I can muster for that, except I don't think the map designs are very good.
They're simplistic and uninspired.Same goes for the plot. It's a tale of conspiracy, but it goes exactly as you would think. I won't spoil any of it, but it's pretty basic.
It would be satisfactory if the pacing wasn't so fast. I understand that the game 'respects your time,' and in ways I really respect that; namely when you open the game and it goes straight to the menu, no bullshit. However, you go somewhere, do something real quick, the game doesn't let you digest it and then it moves on. Within the first few hours you have done so much, but there's no reason to care because it takes no time to elaborate on anything. It's quick and dirty.I couldn't help but compare the opening scene to some of the games in the era that this takes all its lessons from. Older RPGs were varied but regardless of how they began, they all shared one thing in common: it beautifully set the scene and displayed excellent pacing and a narrative that made you care. Cosmic Star Heroine throws you into the action but there's no oomph.I don't usually say this but the game feels like nostalgia for nostalgia's sake.
From the description of the game to how it handles, it hearkens back to the good old years but doesn't add much. As I said earlier, the game doesn't pop in any meaningful way, and while the references were intentional, it almost goes too far.I'm aware that most of my review has been negative but I still gave it a 5.5. Truth be told, I considered changing it and scaling it back to a 4.5, but I think others will be less hard on it.If you want to play a JRPG with solid combat, acceptable story, likable characters, tons of creativity, and some modern conveniences then please pick this game up. It looks like Chrono Trigger. It plays (sort of) like Chrono Trigger (enemies are shown on the map and you fight on the map, a la Chrono Trigger). However it's a lot more than a Chrono Trigger clone.
For me it very much filled the hole I was looking to fill. I hadn't played a JRPG in a while and I wanted to play one that wasn't so cumbersome and clunky like many modern ones are. This did the trick.First, Some Negative PointsAt some point in the game the enemies HP totals seem to spike up. They do not get more difficult, but battles take longer. This just leads to many battles feeling a bit boring, like a slog.Story is bland and not super memorable.There is a “style” system that makes you more powerful as you play through a battle. I found the system to be a little unnecessary.
It was another number to look at, yet rarely seemed to make an impact.I wish there was a way to compare equipped items to ones in the shops.AoE moves sometimes have ambiguous ranges. Some will look like they should hit everything and only hit 2 guys, others the opposite.The “animations” are a little amateur looking.Modern Conveniences and Things I Liked“Save anywhere” feature which is very much welcomed.
Exiled kingdoms beggar. No longer will you die on a dungeon boss and have to redo ½ a dungeon. You can really save anywhere.Turn order chart. Yes, I know some games like Final Fantasy X had this, but many do not.If you want to play a JRPG with solid combat, acceptable story, likable characters, tons of creativity, and some modern conveniences then please pick this game up. It looks like Chrono Trigger.
It plays (sort of) like Chrono Trigger (enemies are shown on the map and you fight on the map, a la Chrono Trigger). However it's a lot more than a Chrono Trigger clone. For me it very much filled the hole I was looking to fill. I hadn't played a JRPG in a while and I wanted to play one that wasn't so cumbersome and clunky like many modern ones are.
This did the trick.First, Some Negative PointsAt some point in the game the enemies HP totals seem to spike up. They do not get more difficult, but battles take longer. This just leads to many battles feeling a bit boring, like a slog.Story is bland and not super memorable.There is a “style” system that makes you more powerful as you play through a battle. I found the system to be a little unnecessary. It was another number to look at, yet rarely seemed to make an impact.I wish there was a way to compare equipped items to ones in the shops.AoE moves sometimes have ambiguous ranges. Some will look like they should hit everything and only hit 2 guys, others the opposite.The “animations” are a little amateur looking.Modern Conveniences and Things I Liked“Save anywhere” feature which is very much welcomed. No longer will you die on a dungeon boss and have to redo ½ a dungeon.
You can really save anywhere.Turn order chart. Yes, I know some games like Final Fantasy X had this, but many do not. I find this one of my favorite things.
You can plan your turns out, buff the right allies, and see when the enemies get their turn. Also universal HP indicators are nice, as it lets you further plan your turn.On-the-fly difficulty swap.
Cosmic Star Heroine leans to the “easy” spectrum. There are 4 difficulties.
The first two are so easy that I never came remotely close to dying ever. The third was also easy, but required some planning on certain bosses.
I never tried the fourth difficulty. I only gamed over once the entire play-through. It's nice to change it and see what makes the most fun for you.On-the-fly party member swap. With few exceptions for story reasons at times, you can swap any allies in and out of your party at any time. See a robotic enemy on the screen that you're about to encounter? Swap in Dave, he's great at killing those! Then swap back when you see something else.Instant healing between fights.
Really takes the edge off when in a dungeon. This can be a negative for some, though, as it will drive down the excitement. However, it will drive up the experimentation, as you aren't a hair away from dying all the time.
Swap members in and out, try new abilities, whatever you want.Items are NOT consumed upon use, but can only be used once in battle. You get one potion. It can be used an infinite number of times, but only one time per battle.
I'm an item-hoarder, so this was great for me. I used my items and experimented and wasn't afraid to “waste” them.Price tag/time commitment. The game was $15 on the PSN store, and clocked in at about 15 hours for me (this could be inflated because a couple times I put my controller down and sat idle for a long while). Honestly I didn't have room in my life for a 60 hour RPG right now. It was very nice to get in and out, and feel like I got my $15 worth. Sounds good to me.The story isn't memorable, but everything else in flavor and the wit are spot on. It's kind of funny at moments and very charming.
The creativity of it is great, from cybernetic cockroach people, to ghost aliens that live in exo-suits, to a suave robot that explodes and kills himself to do damage. The game does not take itself too seriously.Without going into too much detail, the combat in general was unique to me. There's a lot of things at play I've never seen. It still manages to be a solid, recognizable JRPG formula with these other twists thrown in.I always like sci-fi better than fantasy.Wrap-upThere's a lot I like about this game. As I said in the opening it really hit that JRPG button without overstaying its welcome. It's like having a craving for pizza, but not wanting to eat too much.
Then someone offers you one slice. It fills the need, without being overkill. For $15 I think it's an easy sell for JRPG fans. I had no idea this game was coming out today. It was totally off my radar since i hadn't heard anything about it in months, but damn I couldn't help myself and I ended up buying it(thanks Grouvee for the new releases list).
It's 20% off for a week if anyone is interested.I've played Zeboyd's other games like Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World (personal favorite), and the last two Penny Arcade games and all of them were filled with quirky humor, lots of satire, and nostalgic/entertaining gameplay/customization options.This game looks to be a bit more on the epic side, and its combat looks very similar to Chrono Trigger, which is probably one of my favorite battle systems in any RPG ever. I always wanted to see what Zeboyd could do with an attempt a game with a more serious game, but who am I kidding, it's probably a cheese-fest with tons of fourth wall breaking moments and over the top behavior.Between Persona 5, Trails in the Sky 3, and Fire Emblem Echoes, I don't know when I'll actually get to sit down and play it, but i had to support Zeboyd. This game looks awesome!