News

Review: I Am Setsuna Is A Classic JRPG Throwback

Published

8 years ago

July 22, 2016

Nostalgia is the word and the state of pop culture right now. I’m totally digging it. We have all kinds of expansions of movies, comics, music and games that call back to the 80’s and 90’s. If you stepped out of a time machine from the future right now, you would have to check your flux-whoozatwirl to make sure you were in the right decade. One of my favorite things about my nostalgic thoughts are all the classic RPG’s I used to play. It looks like I wasn’t the only one thinking about those either. Square Enix and Tokyo RPG Factory have released a classic turn-based RPG called “I Am Setsuna” that is an almost perfect way to revisit your long lost RPG adventures.

“I Am Setsuna’s” story picks from different story elements of classic JRPG games. The setting is a depressing one. The character you play as is tasked with traveling to a nearby village in order to assassinate a young girl named Setsuna. Once you arrive, you discover that the girl is an important character in the world that is destined for a sacrifice during a ceremony. This sacrifice forces demons out of the area for a limited time, until the next sacrifice is required. Recently the area has become infested with demons and their numbers only seem to be growing.

Setsuna understands her destiny and is perfectly ok with giving herself up for the greater good. Once your character hears this he agrees to be a guard and help escort her to the sacrificial ceremony.

Along the way, you meet a cast of characters that join your group and assist in delivering Setsuna to her final destination. As you would expect from this sort of RPG, the world is full of twists, turns and the like.

The game takes place in a desolate world covered in snow. And when I say covered I mean it is everywhere. If this were “Game of Thrones,” the tagline would be “Winter done come!” While the snow scape does help to cement the idea of how cold and desolate the world is, it also becomes a very boring thing to look at. From screen to screen, all of it begins to look the same. There are small chunks of time where you visit dungeons that kind of breaks up the monotony. Overall though, there is too much of the same thing from area to area when it comes to snow. Boring. white. snow.

The combat system is a mirror of a hybrid “Final Fantasy VI” and “Chrono Trigger.” They aren’t trying to be vague about that fact either. Some spells and combo attacks are named after some from the before mentioned games. Combat is a turn-based, three party system. It consists of dealing out attacks while trying to heal and protect members of your part from dying. There is nothing groundbreaking, but that isn’t what we came here for is it? This is a classic JRPG with everything that you loved about them built right inside.

Abilities can be equipped and switched out to allow for variety in attacks. You acquire special abilities by collecting materials and selling them to a merchant. Weapons can be purchased and reinforced in order to give them special perks. None of the mechanics are going to be anything new but it does offer one hell of a breath of fresh and nostalgic air.

I’m hoping to see more of these sorts of games from Tokyo RPG Factory. I’m hoping for larger games with a larger variety of landscapes. The magic is definitely there and should be developed to give us more of the same with added bonuses.

I’m a fan of “I Am Setsuna.” It was hard to pull myself away from, I enjoyed the blast from the past. I’m interested to see what younger gamers think about it without the hindsight of the nostalgia factor goggles.

…offer one hell of

a breath of fresh

and nostalgic air.

Setsuna offers a great story full of emotional highs and lows along with some memorable characters. It borrows from all the right games to make all the right mechanical decisions. You get exactly what you pay for in both playtime and RPG elements. It was also a nice break from from first person shooters and 3rd person adventure. My eyes are going to be on Tokyo RPG Factory in the coming years to see what is next.

“I Am Setsuna” is available on PS4 Vita and Steam.

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Related Topics:demons I Am Setsuna Square Enix

Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

14 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

16 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.