I like the game, it is a good hommage to old JRPGs. Besides a few things that may disturb you is the fact, that saving spots are rarely in the game. I lost many hours of playtime because of that and it grind my gears really heavy. But I would still recommend it!

I am Setsuna is charming game that fails to live up to the (unrealistic) hype and comparisons to Chrono Trigger. I'm not sure how much of this was Tokyo RPG Factory's own marketing machine highlighting "inspired by Chrono Trigger" at every turn-- or if the community took this sentiment and created a monster by calling this game the spiritual successor to CT.

As much as I want to avoid comparing Setsuna to CT in my review and treat it as its own entity, it's unavoidable. The game blatantly repackages certain plot points or themes from CT (and FFX for that matter). There are spells, techs, and items pulled directly from CT. There is even a plot point and character the developers try so hard to make the Magus of this game that you can see it coming from a mile away. Early game villain? Shadow Magic? Scythe? Check. .

While I did enjoy playing the game, my overwhelming feeling during my Setsuna experience was an urge to replay Chrono Trigger for the 50th time. Ultimately, I Am Setsuna is just a pale imitation. I partially blame Tokyo RPG-- this is a solid first outing for the studio but it seems they couldn't decide what they wanted this game to be. This feels like a game that suffers from an identity crisis (other than giving a classic JRPG feel). Not different enough to distinguish itself from CT...just enough differences and gameplay mechanics to half-way become it's own game.

I feel as if Square Enix should have just let the studio remake Chrono Trigger with this game engine and updated graphics--that is the vibe the game gives off. So much charm and caring put into this game, but desperately trying to be something it will never be.

While those first few paragraphs might come off as doom and gloom, I like Setsuna and would recommend to any JRPG fan--as long as you temper any unrealistic expectations. A few parting thoughts:

GAMEPLAY-
Solid ATB battle system that will obviously be familiar to CT fans. No random encounters, the ability to dodge enemies in the field, familiar spells/techs, etc. An overworld map ripped straight from CT. I really did enjoy the Momentum system as a way to spice the sometimes mundane battles or provide incentives to using certain techs or "Spritnite." I found the Fluxation system utterly unmemorable. You could finish the game without ever getting these added perks, or grind enough to have game-breaking abilities (I'm looking at you Endir--Radiance with a ton of Critical Change/Critical Damage buffs will kill anything).

MUSIC-
Maybe the best part of the game, or the worst, depending on who you are. The piano-only soundtrack is beautiful and manages to convey the melancholy tone this game is shooting for. I loved it, but there is a point at which you wish there was more. I never felt there were any "epic" tracks like old SNES RPGs provided.

STORY-
Middle of the road IMO. Nothing spectacular, but solid/standard RPG fare. It's been discussed ad-nauseum how similar the overall plot is to Final Fantasy X and you can't really dispute that. Even though it's very predictable the story does have a few beats that are bittersweet and emotional. I really found a hard time connecting with any of the characters. There is not a single one that is as memorable as the CT cast. I did like that Endir, as silent protagonist, could be a ♥♥♥♥ or empathetic. I found Endir's background as part of the Masked Tribe intriguing, but we aren't ever given any backstory.

OVERALL-
I would recommend this game if you love classic JPRGs. There has been a lot of complaining about the price, the length of the game, etc. I paid full price and never felt as though I wasted my money. I beat the game in about 25 hours, but I haven't finished all the post-game activities (there is no New Game + btw). Kinda lacking the motivation to do so, but I did sort of rush through this game in less than a week. If you are on the fence, wait until a sale. If you feel like an RPG should be longer or give more "bang for your buck," then try the Trails in the Sky series.

CT this is not...FF this is not...Trails this is not. But I had fun.

By purchasing I am Setsuna (also known as 「Ikenie To Yuki No Setsuna」) you are hereby signing yourself up for a feels trip.

Graphics

Everything is drawn with great detail; many of the towns and landscapes are covered in ice and hand-painted, which makes this game appear unique and gorgeous throughout the game’s voyage. There is so much detail you can see your party’s footprints and trail remain in the snow and even watch snow fall from the tree. Character models though unique, look reminiscent of Final Fantasy IV-esque with normal upper body but stubby legs. I also appreciate the character design in this game; most characters wear appropriate attire for the setting, and the one that doesn’t explains why. However, there are a rough total of 18 different enemy models used in this game’s entirety and the game provides numerous palette swaps for each model. In addition, if you were hoping for a desert level, water level, anything not snow, ruins, or cave level you will be sorely disappointed. The game focuses solely on the theme and setting of winter, sorrow, and snow. Despite the limiting theme of winter, the game does well in blending visuals with its running theme and attempt to create variation in visuals throughout the game.

Sound

I hope you like a piano-only tracks, because 70 of the 71 separate tracks used in this game revolves heavily around the piano with the occasional violin. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it helps the player immerse into this cold frost-bitten world and set the tone that everything is an eternal winter of sorrow and snow. While you most likely can imagine the game getting tiresome due to the game’s focus on piano arrangements, the game’s length is short enough for the piano to not be bothersome. Most songs are pretty enjoyable and you may even find yourself throwing your personal favorites into your music player. The entire score was beautifully composed by Tomoki Miyoshi (also known for Steins Gate orchestral soundtrack), and would recommend at least listening to this game’s full OST.

Side-note: The voice-acting is minimal for the main characters, using only the JP voice actors when it is their turn in battle and post-battle screen.

Story

The game prides itself on being story driven rather than exploration or adventure. Without giving too much away, the story itself is great and if you’re looking for something heart-touching and sad this is absolutely this game. That being said, the story is almost all darkness in a world of white; the game takes itself very seriously providing no side-quests or mini-games to explore the snow covered world or have a “cute” sort of fun on the side within this game.

Although it takes itself quite seriously, character development is one of the biggest things going for this game... Well, for supporting characters. Many companions have interesting and great back stories that explain their reasoning for helping Setsuna. However, the main protagonists are weak in character development; what you learn about Setsuna and Endir in the beginning is all that is revealed and do not explore much beyond that. Endir is a mysterious and famous mercenary (both of which are never built upon) and what’s left are “open” dialogue between making Endir appear kind or cheeky.

Gameplay

The battle system is very solid, in that the controls(at least gamepad wise) and innovations put into the system are well thought out and modernizes/refines the classic JRPG system, however it can be broken at times. The system is reminiscent of Chrono Trigger by utilizing the Active Time Battle(ATB) 2.0. It is unique in that waiting after the ATB gauge fills up the Special gauge for a Special point (SP) which will then provide additional effects when attacking. This can heal the party, double the amount of hits, changing an attack to an area of effect, increasing duration, etc. You can also combine techniques/spells into a more powerful move, but there is no way to tell what each combination move will do without going through the trouble of equipping them, and that can lead to some beautiful… but completely useless attacks. The benefit of slotting passive ability spiritnite greatly outweighs the use of attack ability spiritnite and can lead to some pretty game-breaking effects in which bosses can be killed in one shot.

While the battle system is solid it is far from perfect; the haste/battle speed system can break this game and makes it very hard in knowing what to do next in the short amount of time between attacks. The battle speed only continues to get faster towards end-game to the point that it’s frustrating, simply because enemies are that much faster and can freeze or confuse your party, forcing you to use haste to immunize and counter this. On the other hand, abusing haste with a certain game breaking spiritnite can ensure that any enemy cannot move until death. It’s also worth mentioning that the game’s pre-emptive attack system is also very unbalanced; depending on who snuck up on who, the enemy or your party is going to wind up dead making some of the normal enemies tougher than boss fights.

The game itself is also very linear, many of the dungeons or caves offer very little in branching paths so it feels like you’re just killing enemies in-between cut scenes as you move from point A to B. One thing I enjoyed about this game is that many weapons can end up being end-game worthy simply because of the interesting upgrade system. Upgrading weapons not only determines the attack and magic attack of a character, but also their defensive stats and properties.

Side-note: There is no replayability—there is no New Game+ and continuing only picks up at your last save point. In addition, there are no inns, only camping outside via the tent item.

Conclusion

I am Setsuna is a pretty good game, above average overall and can sate your hankering to play a JRPG. The visuals and aesthetic pair extremely well with the music and fits great into the running theme of winter, sorrow, and snow. Though the game takes itself too seriously with little to no side tracking, it still fits into the running theme of the game, that it is a story of sorrow from the moment you click New Game. The story and character story development was great and kept me strung along as the past and background for each companion came to light. Although I wish the battle speed could be adjusted for the battle system, Tokyo RPG Factory does well in providing innovative and unique spins to the classic RPG battle system. Though this game is by no means the spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger, I have become an absolute avid fan of this game and enjoy all it has to offer despite its faults.

「Setsunai」 is a word that has no equivalent in English, but it is about something that gives your heart a squeeze; whether it's those feelings of pain and loneliness you get when you are in love, feelings of loss, nostalgia and melancholy, or that feeling you get when you see a beautiful landscape or painting and Tokyo RPG Factory successfully set out to do just that with I am Setsuna. I am very interested to see what they do next.


*Disclaimer: I played this on my PS4 when released for JP, to the extent of my knowledge and play on the PC there are little to no changes on the PC port. I will update my review if I find any issues with the PC version.

Like a few others, I want to recommend this game. I really do. But... it has quite the number of shortcomings that just make it impossible to do so. (I was going to remain neutral on it, but after writing this... I have to go against recommending I Am Setsuna.)

Pros:
-Battle system is fluid
-Beautiful scenery*
-The details of the artwork is exquisite and leave little else to be desired. More simply: great art.
-Soundtrack is beautiful*
-A lot of unique models (Very, very few reskins)
-They brought back the chrono trigger combat feel
-Highly Customizable skill sets (Fluxes)
-Every character has a distinctive feel in combat. (Their specialties really stand out.)
-All Characters gain experience. Even when not used in battle/K.O.'ed. (Characters not in battle get less Experience, but it's not enough to cause too drastic of an issue.)
-Maybe a few others that are escaping me

Cons: (I'm so sorry.)
-Battle system - You can spam a lv1 ability on Endir (Default name) and eliminate every non-boss/unique encounter in the game in 1-hit. Especially when you get one of the last 3 weapons for him.
-Characters had potential, but you do not go into it enough in my opinion. It was quite difficult for me to be emotionally connected to them.
-The soundtrack is 100% composed of the piano. It is intentional, it is pretty, but man can it get repetative.
-If you don't like the snow, this game is not for you.
-Some of the battle mechanics (fluctuations) rarely occur to make any form of difference.
-Legitimately every battle consists of tank and spank.
-Haste breaks the game (How to wreck everything, easy mode style).
-No enemies can clear your buffs (Again, haste breaks the game).
-The central theme is sorrow -- But it feels more simply dreary than anything else.
-Your choices have 0.1% impact on the game. (There is 1 incident that it does, but that's a spoiler)
-Content is heavily lacking for the pricing of the game. $20 game? Sure. $40 game? Definitely not.
-The unique encounters are infinitely harder than the actual bosses themselves.
-No seriously, the unique encounters will wreck your sh*t compared to the actual bosses.
-Final Fantasy X? Tales of Symphonia? Meet your kid brother.


Note: Yes I have finished the game. No I did not rush. Yes, I probably (in fact I know) I missed some of the sidequests. However I did not miss all of them. That is why I'm writing this review.

Post Edit : Clarifying some things. Final Fantasy X and Tales of Syphomia are listed in the cons for I Am Setsuna. The reason being is that I Am Setsuna did not feel nearly as impactful as the other 2 listed. That is my opinion, you can have your own as well.

Something to keep in mind: Fluxes are highly customizable. This is something I didn't mention before but is incredibly impactful, simple once understood, and enjoyable. (I believe steep learning curve in the beginning would be the proper term?)

In addition to the customizeable fluxes, you can remove your healers in favor of spec'ing your fluxes to be able to heal instead. I.E. You actually don't need a character that can heal, as all your characters can be able to do so. Healing is still an absolute necessity, but this greatly opens up variability in your party.

P.S. My terms of lack of content is based on the pricing of the game. If this was a $20 game I would be changing my recommendation considerably. But this is a $40, not $20. As such, I can not recommend this game for that pricing. If it goes on sale for $30 I might be a little hesitent, but would probably recommend it in the end.

Took me about 22 hours (-2~3 hours cos I forgot to save and my characters got wiped plus an hour or so of grinding)to clear my first run through the game. Despite some others who found the game lacking, I actually found it rather enjoyable. With that I'll state the pros and cons.

Pros:
+Battle system is similar to Chrono Trigger, which makes it fast pace and exciting
+Really beautiful artwork, and the scenery's amazing.
+Piano BGM, which is unique.
+Lots of customization in terms of skill builds, weapon choices, character/skill names etc.
+Weapon outlook changes as you equip different weapons.
+Character interactions are really cute.
+Cute monsters and bosses. Picture yourself fighting a chibi penguin and an overstuffed baby seal.
+Certain boss fights are rather tough, requiring some character compositions to tide over.
+Cutscenes are done wonderfully.
+Has a decent replay value.

Cons:
-The game is pretty much just snow everywhere.
-Story is too similar to Final Fantasy X and Tales of Symphonia.
-Can't skip cutscenes.
-Even though there's voice acting, it only occurs during combat. And its only in Japanese Dub.
-Many people are facing problems with the XBOX one controller, which tends to screw up the controls. Only way to fix it is to rebind it but there's no way to save it everytime you launch the game.
-Alot of indepth info that are actually missing, which tends to make new players confused and lost. I actually figured out how to use "Momentum" near to the end of the game. Still have 0 idea how to use Flux.
-There's absolutely NO map guidance or navigation. You have to sort of memorize the map/world layout to progress.
-Most boss fights are just tank and spank.
-Positioning is crucial in battles but you have NO control where your characters stand/move.
-Farming for materials to gain skills/perks may get repititive afterawhile, especially when the mobs don't drop the key item.
-Throughout the game you'll encounter dialogues in which you can make choices, but sadly it has ZERO impact on the game.
-Ending felt abit lacking, with tons of questions left unanswered.

Overall I felt my money was well spent, though some others might disagree. Definitely will recommend people to buy this game when it's on sales.

Dear I Am Setsuna, we are breaking up.

I tried so hard to love you. I had a devoted, intimate relationship with your older sister, Chrono Trigger, and that's why I was so excited to see you after many years of lackluster JRPG experiences. And yet, despite my yearning, despite my earnestness and patience, I find myself wanting more. My thoughts turn to your sister, and the time we shared during my halcyon days of youth.

You have a good heart, I Am Setsuna. You exude an authentic freshness and innocence that endears everyone to you. Your inner workings are complex and full of esoteric quirks. But after that initial rose-colored encounter, it turns out you're just...not interesting enough. You're boring, Setsuna. You lack variety. You lack color and attitude. Consider your sister, whom you try so hard to emulate:

Chrono Trigger had thirteen possible endings. It had varied landscapes ranging from prehistoric villages to dystopian apocalyptias to floating islands in the sky. It had a dynamic soundtrack, with each track being distinct and memorable (Corridors of Time immediately springs to mind). Its characters had massive arcs, which felt natural and genuine. But, you, Setsuna...you lost your way.

Your entire aesthetic is homogenous. Each town is almost identical in design. Your dungeons are lazy copies of each other, with only around 3 possible layouts (future-ruin, ice cave, and mountain path). Your characters are simply not interesting; Setsuna's "gentle patron saint" schtick is directly inverse to Marle's (her CT analogue) brash, strong, individualistic personality, for example. However, your most devastating shortcoming is your music.

Your soundtrack is almost entirely comprised of solo piano pieces, which conceptually is a refreshing and exciting notion. Practically, however, it makes you sound almost entirely homogenous. All towns sound the same, all dungeons sound the same, all tense encounters and quiet moments and stunning revelations have piano chords ringing throughout them. The music itself is beautiful, but it is simply impossible to recall a single melody or leitmotif from your soundtrack. The solo piano strategy was bold, but without a variety of instrumentation and arranging, the soundtrack only makes a grey world even greyer.

I'm sorry, I Am Setsuna. I was ready to be engrossed by you. Your icy world and mysterious protagonist fascinated me at first, but after slogging through the same environments and enemies over and over, I find myself disillusioned.

I Am Disappointed.

There are SPOILERS for various parts of the game in here. Fair warning.

I wish I could recommend this game.

I really do.

But I can't.

As a huge fan of the immensely influential game that is Chrono Trigger, I went into this game extremely hyped, I will admit. I already knew what to expect from the battle system, and I knew that I was probably going to be in for a good time. I was ready for a fun romp through a fantasy world with a cast of colorful characters, with a premise that seemed like it had a lot going for it, even if it seemed to take more than a few cues from Final Fantasy X.

And then it all began to fall apart.

I began to notice something was a bit off when the third party member was introduced, and an NPC monologued directly to this character about their own life story, which they would already know -- all for the sake of the player getting to know about this character's life. And then I began noticing more things. Like how you could switch the dialogue of a lot of characters around and it wouldn't make a difference, or how Setsuna is basically just Yuna -- another thing they took from FFX -- or how Nidr is basically just a younger Auron, right down to the flowing robe and the bigass sword and the missing eye.

Dialogue in general is extremely stilted and lifeless, with the characters feeling more like some soupy conglomerate whole rather than separate characters. Most of their dialogue with each other is objective-based, aside from the occasional gag, so you don't really get to seem them grow as friends and allies over the course of the admittedly short journey. It feels like baby's first RPG rather than a fully fledged trek through a mysterious world.

The gameplay seemed like it was going to fare better, even if it was a little samey at times. Techs and Dual Techs and Triple Techs make a reappearance from Chrono Trigger, and the game even helpfully lets you know if you can do a Dual Tech or Triple Tech rather than you having to futz around and figure it out for yourself. However, even that began to fall apart around the seven hour mark, when the game threw a boss at me that had an attack that could basically instakill anyone in my part with little-to-no provocation.

Let me break down a few other things that this game got wrong:

Items cost way too much, when you get way too little money (unless you want to go grind). 1,200GP each for revival items is a bit absurd.

While neat ideas, the Singularity and Fluxation mechanics are too random and too seldom to actually make any substantial difference when it comes to gameplay.

Environments, while pretty, are pretty samey. You can only see so many snowy towns or caves made of ice/crystal before it gets a little boring.

The above can be said of the music, as well. While I love pianos, too many tracks use the instrument in the same exact way -- to make a slow and melancholy sound -- and they all begin to blend together by the end. A standout would definitely be the battle theme, since it's one of the most upbeat pieces in the soundtrack. And yes, I know this game is all about sadness or whatever. Still.

Character designs are neat. I love Setsuna's hair chakrams. Shame about the actual characters, though.

In summary, I really can't recommend this game at its current pricing. If you're still up for taking a romp through the wintery wastelands of Setsuna's world, then by all means, do so -- but wait until the price drops to about 20 dollars or so before you do. Even then, however, I still can't heartily recommend it. I am Setsuna, in my opinion, is a pretty, fun game with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥t difficulty spikes and bland characters, and nothing else. It's less an homage to the game from which it stole its battle system, and more a wide-eyed kid brother: impressionable, enamored with its older sibling, and eager to please...unfortunately, its efforts to please its brother and their friends are nothing but clunky, messy, and incredibly simple-minded.

I’m not going to lie, I flipped out a little when I first saw that teaser.
Oh and by the way… for the “I cant stand 30 fps” Police

The game does pay pretty good homage to chrono trigger. The story can ( I guess will) grab your attention. The whole game is a snowy winter wasteland, so do prepare yourself to look at nothing but snowy field after snowy field.
Don't let the idea of nothing but snowy environment get to you with this game. That's what makes it standout. A lot of RPGs tend to have most of the same environments and fields anyways. Snow truly captures the end of an age and represents dying. There is so much emotion with dying, and I'm sure most people can relate to having great loss in their life.

The way you earn skills and money is pretty neat. Sell enemy loot for money and the loot that you sell is then turned into skills that can be given to your characters. Combo attacks and the momentum ability add to the games battle system.
I can only see it getting that much better as it goes along. You can even rename your characters and turn I am Setsuna into I am ______ (whichever you choose to name her). Beautiful music, exploration, turn based battles, and a very artistic game with a promise for a good story. What more can you ask for with a JRPG?!

Before reading further, I don't have any knowledge about Chrono Trigger, so I won't compare this game with Chrono Trigger.

I completed the story in 26 hours, and grinding for achievements in 15 hours, for rough estimations.

This review is my personal opinion, so probably you won't agree with me totally. But, I still try to explain objectively.

I tried to play with my Wireless XBOX One Controller, it worked fine until the main menu appears, my controller didn't respond well. So, I played with keyboard.
Though, the XBOX One Controller work in wired mode.

There is no feature to rotate the screen, so this game is like "Old Final Fantasy in GameBoy but with better graphics". I don't mind this, personally.

The arts and environment is pretty good at some scenes, and in my opinion this is the highest value of this game.

The whole areas' BGM are only piano melodies, They are quite good and fits the condition as well.

The battle system is turn-based. There is a "meter" to indicate when a "hero" could do actions, and the "meter" will pause when player choose to use Skills and Items (in my gameplay, I bought time to think about the strategy by choosing "Tech" and stay), and the meter will continue after we choose an action, or going back to main combat choice.

In battle, there are three choices to fight in battles. First, is to attack with [Null] element, Second, is to use skills, whether it's offensive or defensive skills (and in the later time, we could use Combos to give better impacts). And the last choice is to use Items, and there's one item which can be used to escape from battles.

The dungeon, forests, and ruins exploration is not complicated. Most of dungeons/forests/ruins pathway is like this : Go straight until you find a fork, then choose a path. If the path leads you to a treasure, pick the treasure and backtrack to the fork and pick the other path. There is no intersection in any dungeons/forests/ruins existed.

The monsters only spawn once in their positions, unless the player decided to move out of the area (if there is loading animation appear, we can say that the player moved to another area).

There is no item to escape from dungeons/forests/ruins immediately, so if there's something wrong and the player should go back, there's no other way but to backtrack.

The "Snow Chronicles", or I can say the "Encyclopedia" is very useful, especially to look for combos that can be used in battles.

The monsters are easy to defeat, and in later time after gaining access to "Airship", player could access the secret island to meet certain NPC to make the monsters stronger, and of course player can revert it back to the original state.

There is no world map, but exploring the world outside of cities/forests/dungeons/ruins is handy, because there is no monster.

Weapons can be upgraded by using upgrade materials, which can be obtained freely in locked chests.

Grinding EXP and money is not difficult, but to find certain materials to obtain a "Spritnite", the name of "Skills", it's quite tricky because every monster has its own drops to certain kills (for example, killing with Exact Kill and Overkill gives different item).

There is no "New Game+" feature, so after defeating the Final Boss, and loading the save from after the "Ending" section, the player will be brought back to the previous area before Final Boss battle, and there is no difference between before and after finishing the game (except the "Snow Chronicle" monster section will have new entry of the Final Boss monster.

You can add some "Fluxes", or we can say the "Passive Status" to skills to make the player stronger. There are some guides on the internet which can explain how to add optimal "Fluxes" to have the best combination possible.

If you are the big fan of JRPG, and turn-based style battles, and also don't mind paying high for beautiful art and music, and decent story, YES I absolutely recommend this game.

But, it's wise also to buy this game in sales, because there is no extra profit of buying the game early (except for ONE wallpaper, available on 4 resolutions as Pre-Order bonus)

Recommended for fans of classic RPGs such as Chrono Trigger/Cross and Final Fantasy IV - X. There is plenty the game gets right, but it has its faults as well so if you are a bit unsure I would really recommend you wait for a sale to get the most out of it and maybe even see an update.

+Nice art style, models and backgrounds are well done, new weapons display visually
+Enjoyable story, moves at decent pace, KO'd characters still get XP
+Excellent active-time turn-based battles, seamless battle transitions
+All enemies visible from outside battle, no battles on world map
+Customizable names for characters and skills, good variety of items/skills
+Various combo and triple tech moves for different character combinations
+Several enjoyable music tracks/themes

+/- Some choices in dialogue, but no impact on the events/story
+/- Story and characters borrow heavily from FF-X and Tales of Symphonia
+/- Key rebinding is possible, but limited
+/- Location in combat matters for many skills, but no way to move directly
+/- Snow settings look good and match theme, but lack diversity

-Area attacks/skills do not show area of effect!
-Some inaccurate and unclear ability and status/effect descriptions in battle
-No mouse support at all; some report gamepad problems
-No maps of any kind; no current objective/quest log
-No cinematic cutscenes; fixed camera angle, obstructed view at times
-Character voices in battles only; Japanese only, no English voices
-All piano music all the time can get repetitive
-No options for difficulty; no guard/defend in battle; no recovering HP/MP without items, skill, or level up
-Low replayability; fairly linear, no new game +