Videogame Review: I am Setsuna

I bought the Switch last March 2017 with the release of Breath of the Wild. I have been a fan of the Zelda series since Link to the Past (I didn’t much care for the first two games) and have played all of the major titles ever since.

Starting with Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and then Breath of the Wild, the game kept getting better and better. There aren’t any games I enjoy more than these (I left Skyward Sword out of this list on purpose).

Breath of the Wild came out and it was amazing. I played the game twice, being more thorough the second time with the use of a walk-through. I downloaded the extra content and played that, too. And then… it was over. Should I play it again?

I wanted to try something different. I knew I was playing more videogames than the past (which is 11 years ago after my firstborn arrived – babies don’t leave much time for gaming). Now the kids are older and I have more time to spare on games and other stuff I enjoy while not being a bad mom.

I tried Xenoblade Chronicles 2 first, and even when I disliked parts of it and thought the cutscenes were obnoxiously long, I really did enjoy it tremendously. It was good.

So, I finished it… now what?

Well, I am Setsuna was the winner. I downloaded it and started playing.

GAME PLAY:
I am Setsuna reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy IV when it comes to gameplay. You have characters that can only use certain abilities, for one. Also, there are shops that work similarly as the ones in FF IV. The item shop sells pretty much the same stuff: potion, ether, tents… stuff like that. Then there’s the weapons shop, which increase your characters’ stats in a similar fashion as well. In battle, there is the time gauge, just like FF IV and the menu to choose what to do works pretty much the same, too.
I would give game play a 9.

WORLD:
It is not really an open world game. There is a map, pretty much like the wonderful FF IV, but the way you move around it is pretty linear. You can go back and forth, but only following the same path you walked to get there. At some point you destroy a barrier and it lets you move a little bit more freely around the map (not that much, though). You still have to cross monster-filled forests to go places, which can get kind of annoying at times. At the end of the game you get an airship, which lets you move around, finally… but, by then, the game is over and all you really need the airship for is to go back for those locked chests all around the world. That is all.
I give the world a 6.

MONSTERS:
Like Final Fantasy IV, you encounter monsters who also follow a time gauge and wait for their turn. With the right talisman equipped, you can see their HP, which is nice. They aren’t hiding like FF IV, they are there in plain sight. Some of them can be avoided if you walk around them. If you buy a special item, you can escape battles, too. Monsters give you experience points, but they do not give you money, like FF IV. Most of the monsters are the same for an area… which isn’t that exciting, but predictability has its perks, I guess. Yet, not when grinding your characters!
I give monsters an 8.

MONEY:
You get money by selling food and items you find lying around on the ground. They sparkle and a sound is heard when you are near them. You pick them up and then sell them in the towns for money. If you go out of an area and re-enter it, you will find them again. So, money is not that hard to come by. There are white and green items that you can sell for money. As far as I understand, the white are safe to sell, and they accumulate in your stock for when you want to buy spritnite (which gives you magical abilities you need MP for). You can also buy metals which you can trade for a better weapon.
I give the way to earn money a 7.

HP and MP:
Just like Final Fantasy IV, you get Hit Points (HP) and Magic Points (MP). They increase with your gained experience. The HP points increase very little when you get to level up, which is disappointing. At the same time, your abilities require too much MP, which makes it run out fast. Having Ether and Potion always available helps. You also get status ailments frequently, which forces you to also have specific healing items in your inventory. You need to do A LOT of grinding to be able to reach the end… it can get tedious and boring.
I give HP and MP a 6.

ABILITIES:
You equip abilities that you buy (in Spritnite). You buy them by selling the items you find on the ground. It doesn’t make any sense, but that’s how it works. Then you equip them in your character’s slots. Not all abilities work for all characters. You have to make sure you check which one uses what.
Abilities are very like Final Fantasy. Cure, Haste, Stop, Fire, Lighting, etc… are there. And some new ones, too. Talismans also give you abilities, although it’s complicated to understand what they really mean by the description.
I give abilities a 7.

SIDE-QUESTS:
There are no side-quests except the locked chests you encounter in your journey. By the end of the game you are allowed to open them and you just visit all those locations.
I give side-quests a 5.

BOSSES:
Overall, bosses are fine. Some are just challenging enough, some are easy… until you reach the end of the game. There is this one boss called Sheep Stout that is just harder than it should be. It forces you to increase levels, many levels, which I didn’t like at all. This boss actually made me stop playing the game. The game wasn’t great, but once I go to this part, I just couldn’t take it anymore.
I give bosses a 6 (because of Sheep Stout).

The reason why this game wasn’t worth it. (Boss: Sheep Stout)

So, there you have it.