Sea of Stars is absolutely gorgeous and a fun change of pace from the 100-hour JRPGs i normally play. i can't speak to its (albeit clear) homages to old-school JRPGs because i haven't played many of those, but i really enjoyed playing something more simple and straightforward. not being struck with decision paralysis every time i wanted to upgrade my gear felt like a godsend :')

i had a lot of fun with Sea of Stars, i just wish it had been a tad shorter. the pacing kind of fell apart in he third act and the game really started to drag for me, which is a shame because the setting of the third act is super cool! i found myself pushing through the last few hours of the game to get to the end, and the final boss was so anti-climactic that when the credits rolled i went "...wait. that's it?" i know there's a true ending, but by the time i'd reached the regular ending i was so ready to be done with the game that i called it quits there, and tbh i don't think i'll go back and pursue the true ending.

don't let my gripes with the game's pacing/ending fool you, though -- Sea of Stars is a delightful little game that i wholeheartedly enjoyed my time with. it's cute and quirky and well-presented. though it can often be simplistic, that's a strength and not a weakness; what the game does, it consistently does well. the areas are super creative, and damn near every one of them had me going "no, this is my new favourite area!" it's definitely worth a play.