When I first saw the trailer for Sea of Stars, it looked like a dream. The charming landscapes, the catchy music, and the character portraits all swept me in, and my eyes sparkled like I was in an anime opening. It was like my inner Nintendo DS-era child reawakened just to tell me how much he needed this game. I'm a sucker for a stylized pixel art game, so I started following the game and its progress on Twitter.

As I continued to see screenshots, videos, and beautiful art, I was elated to find the game included in the Nintendo Direct on February 8th, 2023, with the announcement of a demo available that same day, and a release date of August 29th the same year. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to play the demo, even though I had meant to for the months in between. But in that time, I'd hyped it up to my friends, pre-ordered, pre-loaded it, and started my journey through the world of Sea of Stars on its release date.

I very slowly but surely spent around 37 hours in my complete playthrough of the game, from the beginning to the very end. I played the entire game handheld on my Switch, as I always loved the intimate feeling of a handheld indie game. My gaming consistency leaves a lot to be desired, as I saw the credits roll on November 3rd, but I allowed the aspects I liked about the game to sit in my head throughout those months, so I'll spend some time talking about each.

The following is a Spoiler-Free Review:

What had initially drawn my attention to Sea of Stars was its art style. I’ve always been a fan of well-done pixel art, and the game captures every branch of nostalgia that I haven't grasped since my childhood Nintendo DS era. Some of the games from that era that evoke the same feelings are the Mario & Luigi games, the DS Pokémon games, The Legendary Starfy, and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. The character models and portraits are so expressive, and the enemy designs are so well-crafted, whether by being goofy or commanding or unique. I appreciated how scale was used as well, with huge boss battles, large structures in the overworld, and the intense height of some climactic moments.

But what I really love the most are the environmental designs. The lush grass, the lived-in towns, the endless ocean, really everything about the quiet and serene settings. Don't even get me started on the backgrounds; I think I have more screenshots of backgrounds than anything else. Even the lighting effects are so immersive and work so well in places like caves and aquatic environments, especially during moments that utilize the sky and the time of day. I could continue to try and explain how well the game looks, but I'd rather implore you to at least check out a few screenshots for yourself.

Of course, what brings the game and its characters to life is the animation. Again, the environments are so remarkable; the grass blowing in the wind, the people chatting and walking, and the waves and ripples in the water all make the game feel alive, but alive in an immersive way that I lack the vocabulary to describe. I also can't talk about animation without talking about the brilliant and beautiful cutscenes animated by Du Coup animation. They flourish with quick action sequences around story climaxes as much as they flourish showing calmer moments with our characters. Though they are sparse, they are short and sweet. However, my single favorite moment of my playthrough was a jaw-dropping piece of animation that happened around the middle of the game. I won't spoil it, but I believe that people who've played it will know what I'm talking about.

I've only played a few turn-based RPGs in my time: mainly the Mario & Luigi series, the Persona series, and Pokémon games, so I was excited to check out how this combat system worked. It's a fairly normal and intuitive system, with basic attacks, combo attacks, skills (like spells), items, and swapping between party members. The attacks all have some neat animations, and I saw even neater ones later on in the game. There are a few attributes assigned to attacks, such as slash, blunt, solar, and lunar damage. You can use these in combination with “boosting”, which allows an extra attribute to be attached, to break an enemy's “lock”, which requires certain attributes to break. This boost and lock system forced me to use attacks I don't normally use, and to really plan out my next few moves. This system, along with healing, swapping, and blocking, keeps each new battle fresh and prevents a lot of the game from feeling like a slog. It can turn a random encounter into a game over, and can make an intimidating boss relatively easy.

Well-written stories told through video games are something I've only recently come to appreciate; a background of Pokémon and Mario games doesn't exactly make me used to the full scope of what can be expected from a fleshed-out narratively-driven game. The tone of Sea of Stars is generally jovial, there are some darker tone shifts later on. I've teared up during some of the tragic climaxes, and I smiled through misty eyes as the heroes push through and overcome impossible circumstances, a trope I'm always a sucker for. There are also flashbacks to highlight character backstories, and the party's historian can tell tales to supplement the worldbuilding. The way I'd describe it is that the story is really wrapped up in a nice little package, nothing I couldn't wrap my head around.

The audio team is heralded by Eric W. Brown, with guest composers Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Xeno series) and Vincent Jake Jones, with guest musician Reece Miller. I've heard the jolly chiptune songs from the trailer, but throughout the game I've heard heavy metal for boss battles and sweeping orchestral pieces for the landscapes. You can also collect music sheets that allow “bardcore” versions of every track to be played, which is a touch that I love. My favorite piece personally is the normal battle theme, believe it or not. I'd always turn it up for the high note parts (my favorites).

I highly encourage you to check out the dedicated audio website, where they go behind the scenes of both the music and sound effect recordings. The soundtrack is also out on all major streaming platforms, which I will be bumping for the next few weeks.

Of course, the game is played through the lens of our characters, and what a slate we have! Valere, Zale, Garl, and the rest of the cast each have their own goals, personalities, and design quirks, usually all established when we meet them. We see growth and arcs, we see them at their highest and at their lowest, and they each have plenty of time to shine. To throw all the happy-go-lucky characters I've come to know into somber circumstances makes me appreciate how quick they are to radiate optimism in light of their situation. I wouldn't like Sea of Stars as much as I did if not for how well each character works within the world. A bit of each of their personalities are reflected in their attacks as well; the stoic characters will show little emotion, while someone like Garl strikes a pose before healing his friends or hurting the enemy. Garl also happens to be my personal favorite character: the sweet Warrior Cook, the star of the show, and the MVP.

I haven't felt this dedicated to sharing my every waking thought on a game in such a long time, but there was just so much I had to gush about, and I didn't even touch on everything! The few other things I could've mentioned are how cool the relic system is, or how many hours I sunk into Wheels, or even spoilers for the story and its characters, but I'd like to leave it for you to experience, dear reader.

Recently before writing this, the nominees have been released for the 2023 Game Awards, and Sea of Stars has been nominated for two categories: Best RPG and Best Independent Game. The game is inspired by classic RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy, but it stands proudly in its own right as a wonderfully crafted modern indie game. Of course, I've cast my vote in its favor both times, but I would vote it as my Game of the Year if I was able.

Thank you to the team at Sabotage Studios for pouring your hearts and souls into making this game, and I'd like to hug each and every one of you for it. May we all cross over our own Sea of Stars one day.