PlayStation 4PC (Microsoft Windows)Nintendo Switch2017

Lost Sphear

"The next evolution in this new golden age of JRPG’s arrives with LOST SPHEAR, bringing a fresh take on classic RPG gameplay! A young man, who suffered a phenomenon that he had never seen, faces an ominous power that threatens the fabric of reality. Awaken the power of Memory to restore what was lost! Muster different Memory and craft the world around you in a journey to save the world."

Community

Critics

Storyline

"As an ominous power threatens the fabric of reality, a young man chosen by destiny must arise to face a phenomenon never seen before. Enter Kanata, as he awakens from a devastating dream leading him to find his home, erased from existence. Awaken the power of Memory to restore the Lost and rebuild the world!"

Trailers

Screenshots

Mixed

210 Steam reviews

Review History

LANGUAGE	AUDIO	SUBTITLES	INTERFACE
English	—	—	Y
French	—	—	Y
German	—	—	Y
Japanese	—	—	Y

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Keywords

jrpg turn-based combat pax west 2017 saving the world tokyo

Reviews

210 total

≥h

Steam User 1798STEAMRecommended

LOST SPHEAR is a traditional Japanese role-playing game developed by Tokyo RPG Factory and published by Square Enix. Released in 2018, the game was designed as a spiritual continuation of the studio’s philosophy of recreating the atmosphere of classic JRPGs from the 1990s. Built with deliberate inspiration from genre classics like Chrono Trigger and early Final Fantasy titles, LOST SPHEAR attempts to capture the emotional tone, turn-based combat, and world-saving narrative structure that defined that era. Rather than pushing toward modern open-world design or real-time action combat, the game intentionally embraces a nostalgic framework, presenting a story-driven adventure where exploration, character relationships, and strategic battles form the core experience. While this design philosophy gives the game a distinctive retro charm, it also means the title walks a delicate line between homage and familiarity.

The narrative centers on a young boy named Kanata who lives in a quiet village on the outskirts of a fading world. His peaceful life is disrupted when a mysterious phenomenon begins erasing parts of reality itself. Entire locations, structures, and even people vanish into a strange white void known as “The Lost,” leaving behind empty landscapes where memories once existed. When Kanata’s hometown is suddenly consumed by this phenomenon, he discovers that he possesses a rare ability to restore lost elements of the world through the power of memory. By recalling people, places, and objects that have disappeared, he can reconstruct them and bring them back into existence. This discovery sets him on a journey across the continent with his childhood friends Lumina and Locke, eventually gathering a larger group of companions who each carry their own motivations and emotional baggage. As the party travels through kingdoms, frozen mountains, ancient ruins, and mechanical fortresses, they gradually uncover the deeper cause behind the world’s collapse and the mysterious forces manipulating reality itself.

One of the game’s most distinctive ideas is how the theme of memory is integrated directly into gameplay through the Memory system. Throughout the adventure, players collect fragments of memories scattered across the world. These fragments are obtained by interacting with characters, investigating objects, or completing specific events tied to lost locations. Once gathered, these memories can be used to rebuild vanished areas of the world map. This mechanic creates a satisfying sense of restoration, as players are not simply exploring a static environment but actively reconstructing it. Certain restored landmarks can also function as monuments that grant bonuses such as increased experience gains, improved item drops, or faster travel speeds. This system subtly encourages exploration and experimentation, rewarding players who take time to investigate optional content and fully rebuild the world.

Combat in LOST SPHEAR uses a modernized interpretation of the Active Time Battle system, a staple of classic JRPG design. Characters and enemies act when their time gauges fill, but the game introduces a more tactical layer by allowing players to reposition characters before executing commands. This ability to move within a limited radius adds a spatial dimension to the battles, allowing players to avoid area-of-effect attacks, flank enemies, or cluster opponents together for stronger multi-target abilities. Each character has a unique skill set that can be expanded through equipment called Spritnite, magical artifacts that grant new abilities or passive bonuses. Players can combine these abilities to build customized strategies, whether focusing on elemental damage, support abilities, or powerful physical attacks. The system remains approachable for newcomers but offers enough flexibility to keep combat engaging throughout the campaign.

Another notable gameplay feature is the introduction of mechanical exosuits known as Vulcosuits. These powerful combat machines can be piloted by certain party members during battle, dramatically increasing their strength and granting access to specialized attacks. However, Vulcosuits rely on a separate energy resource that gradually depletes during combat, meaning players must decide carefully when to activate them. Deploying a Vulcosuit at the right moment can turn the tide of a difficult encounter, particularly during boss battles where heavy damage output becomes essential. This mechanic adds a layer of tactical resource management that complements the game’s otherwise classic turn-based combat structure.

Visually, LOST SPHEAR adopts a stylized art direction that aims to evoke the feeling of a classic RPG world while presenting it with modern 3D technology. Towns, forests, snowy mountains, and ancient temples are presented with a soft color palette and a somewhat dreamlike atmosphere that reflects the story’s focus on memory and loss. Character models retain a simplified, almost nostalgic design that mirrors the proportions and charm of characters from earlier JRPG generations. While the environments are attractive and varied, the presentation is intentionally understated compared to many modern blockbuster RPGs. Instead of cinematic spectacle, the game emphasizes a sense of calm exploration and reflective storytelling.

The musical score plays a significant role in reinforcing this emotional tone. Composed by Tomoki Miyoshi, the soundtrack features gentle piano themes, orchestral arrangements, and ambient compositions that emphasize melancholy and nostalgia. Many tracks highlight the sense of fading memories and fragile hope that defines the story. Town themes often feel warm and reflective, while battle music adds urgency without becoming overwhelming. The soundtrack works particularly well during quiet moments of exploration, where the music subtly reinforces the game’s themes of rebuilding a broken world.

Despite its appealing ideas and thoughtful mechanics, LOST SPHEAR has drawn mixed reactions from players and critics. One common criticism is that while the game successfully captures the style of classic JRPGs, it sometimes struggles to establish a strong identity of its own. The story, though emotionally themed, often follows familiar genre conventions involving ancient threats, chosen heroes, and world-saving journeys. Some players may also find the pacing slow during the early portions of the campaign before the central mysteries fully unfold. Additionally, while the combat system introduces movement and customization, it rarely evolves into something dramatically different from the formulas that inspired it.

Even so, LOST SPHEAR remains a sincere and enjoyable tribute to the classic role-playing games that shaped the genre. Its focus on memory as both a narrative theme and gameplay mechanic gives the adventure a thoughtful emotional core, while the battle system and exploration mechanics offer enough variety to sustain interest across its roughly thirty-hour campaign. For players who appreciate traditional turn-based RPGs and enjoy revisiting the design philosophies of earlier gaming eras, the game provides a comforting and nostalgic experience that respects the genre’s roots.

In the end, LOST SPHEAR succeeds not by reinventing the JRPG formula but by celebrating it. Through its reflective story, strategic combat system, and atmosphere of rebuilding a fading world, it delivers a heartfelt homage to the golden age of role-playing games. While it may not achieve the legendary status of the classics that inspired it, it remains a solid and memorable adventure for fans seeking a modern RPG built in the spirit of those timeless games.

Rating: 7/10

Mar 15, 2026·16h·1·Verified

Steam User 3098STEAMRecommended

Lost Sphear is Tokyo RPG Factory's follow-up to I Am Setsuna. Mechanically and gameplay-wise this entry is an improvement. There is a lot of deep mechanics to sort through, such as suits of armor called Vulcosuits, skills, momentum points, weapon upgrades a lot of which goes beyond the standard jrpg fare.

This entry is also quite a bit more difficult which caught me a little off guard. I Am Setsuna was a bit of a cakewalk, so I was a little surprised when several of the bosses wiped the floor with my party. You'll need to utilize every game mechanic to tilt the odds in your favor. You won't be able to cheese through this one (at least on normal mode).

All in all the story was ok, I liked the companions though the world was a bit generic and the game seems to be missing some of the heart that I Am Setsuna had.

Overall, I'd recommend this game to jrpg veterans who have already gone through the standard FF, Trails, Tales fare and want to try something different. If you're new to the genre there are plenty of better games to start with. This one took me around 40 hours on normal mode.

Feb 28, 2026·49h·Verified

Steam User 5752STEAMRecommended

!!!

Feb 26, 2026·117h

Steam User 6354STEAMRecommended

面白い、が、雰囲気のいい癒しのRPGとして。レトロゲームとしての懐かしさとかは特に…
現代風のライトRPGって感じですね。
何気にこのSteam版が３周目です、難易度はそんなに高めなくても良いと思います、easy推奨。
雰囲気はいい、これは約束できます。

Feb 13, 2026·1h·Verified

Steam User 1674STEAMRecommended

Dec 9, 2025·58h·Verified

Steam User 2654STEAMRecommended

无法推荐给现代玩家，只能推给经历过９０年代ＪＲＰＧ黄金时期的玩家＝＝很多设计非常老旧＝＝
比如没有指引，引导不明确。现代玩家应该会骂街＝＝

Nov 29, 2025·2h·2·Verified

Steam User 6921STEAMNot recommended

slow and boring

Nov 6, 2025·6h·1·Verified

Steam User 7003STEAMRecommended

Lost Sphear is a traditional JRPG from Tokyo RPG Factory that aims to evoke the tone and structure of classic 16-bit era adventures. The story follows a group of young heroes trying to restore parts of the world that have mysteriously vanished, establishing an early sense of mystery and urgency. The narrative is straightforward and relies on familiar themes such as memory, loss, and responsibility.

Combat uses an evolved version of the Active Time Battle system. Characters can reposition during fights to adjust attack angles and area-of-effect abilities. This tactical layer adds modest depth without slowing down encounters. Boss fights introduce pattern-based challenges that require active attention rather than simple repetition.

Progression relies on a mix of standard leveling and the “Memories” mechanic, which lets players restore missing objects and unlock features. This system creates mild world-building tension while rewarding exploration. Crafting and equipment upgrades are present but kept simple, providing steady power growth without heavy micromanagement.

Visual presentation uses clean, pastel-style environments and modest character models. While it lacks high-budget spectacle, the art direction is cohesive and readable. Animations are serviceable, and effects highlight key combat abilities. The soundtrack carries light emotional weight, using piano and orchestral cues to reinforce atmosphere.

Exploration follows a traditional structure: towns, dungeons, and a world map. Side quests offer small story expansions but rarely deliver surprising mechanics. Dungeon layouts are functional rather than inventive, relying on light puzzles and enemy encounters to pace progression. Fans seeking nostalgia will find comfort; others may find the formula predictable.

Performance is stable. Load times are short, frame pacing holds during combat, and bugs are uncommon. Menu navigation is clear, though some systems are explained only briefly. The camera can feel rigid in tight interior areas, but it rarely obstructs combat readability.

Overall, Lost Sphear offers a competent but conservative JRPG experience. It succeeds at delivering classic structure, reliable combat, and a gentle tone, but rarely pushes beyond established conventions. Players nostalgic for older design patterns will find satisfying comfort, while those seeking innovation may consider it restrained.

Nov 4, 2025·5h·1·Verified

Steam User 6202STEAMRecommended

good game

Oct 29, 2025·211h

Steam User 2804STEAMRecommended

I was pretty skeptical going into this because it seemed like it was either gonna be REALLY good or REALLY bad. The Steam Reviews are all pretty meh on it and the 50 dollar price tag is almost unanimously why.
This game is a turn-based JRPG with the ATB system and more combat mechanics than I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ care to explain because ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ it always felt like you were finding or gaining more different things you could do. Admittedly, once you get into it, it's all pretty doable, but it feels like it never really wanted to commit one way or the other. Classic "next town has next best weapon" type stuff, elements, crits, etc.
The unique elements include the free movement in combat system where all attacks have their own hitbox you can position how you like (if 2 enemies are next to each other, even basic attacks can multi-hit) and the Momentum Charge system where you basically pull an FF8 and hit a button to upgrade whatever attack or skill you're using.

Story is really simple, with some fun twists and turns, but it's really wordy at times and really loves to fall back on generic "we're friends we're always there for you" dialogue for the Nth time. I enjoyed the gameplay, but I am unlikely to ever play it again, much less commit to post-game content despite really liking some ideas in it such as the Artifact System (buildable objects in the overworld that add permanent buffs or alter combat rules forever or until changed), Infusing your skills (you equip special properties to them and if you use them enough, it becomes permanently a part of it without needing it equipped anymore so you can equip it to others)

I outright skipped using the Robot Suits for 99% of the game, I think I had less than 40 Machine Kills by the end of it.

Overall: 6/10 - I really really wish it was a little better, but it's alright. $50 is a lot for it though, if it was $30 I'd say it's 7/10 lmao

Jun 17, 2025·35h·1·Verified

Steam User 8132STEAMRecommended

Imponente!

Jun 7, 2025·86h·1·Verified

Steam User 2005STEAMNot recommended

Very boring. Annoying combat. Too much text. Get Sea of Stars instead of this snoozefest.

May 25, 2025·9h·1·Verified

Steam User 9112STEAMNot recommended

SteamDeckで遊んでいます。
すでにフリーズが三回起きてます。
ルミナが攻撃の瞬間上を向くので、上手く移動させないと全く攻撃があたりません。
ボス戦の前にイベントがあるとき、何も表示されない状態で戦闘に入ることが二回ありました。

以前PCで遊んだときはそんなこと無かったと思うのですが、今まともに遊べる状態ではないです。

May 24, 2025·48h·Verified

Steam User 6436STEAMNot recommended

迷ったがおすすめしない
PS版トロコン、Steam版実績コンプ済
しかし良い部分というと純粋にJRPGとして遊べるという以外には無い

ストーリーは浅くお使いも多い
申し訳ないが全てスキップする方が面白い

フィールドに設置していくアーティファクトとその効果が作用する戦闘がこのゲームの面白みだが、終盤効果を消される戦闘があり不愉快

CS版は中古ゲームショップで驚きの値段で投げ売りされており、Steam版はセール時でも割高なのも難点

ちなみにSteamには存在しない三作目の鬼の哭く国はロストスフィアをはるかに上回るつまらなさ

May 24, 2025·15h·Verified

Steam User 1008STEAMNot recommended

A few hours in, I like the setting and story of this game more than [i]I Am Setsuna[/i]. It builds on that game's mechanics, adds variety to combat, and has more visual variety.

However, it's still a mediocre game that does little to justify its existence or the experience of playing it.

It has many of the same problems as [i]I Am Setsuna[/i]. It tries to solve some of those problems by introducing other problems.

[h1]Endless Dialog[/h1]

The biggest drawback of [i]Lost Sphear[/i] is the interminable dialog in cutscenes.

In older JRPGs of the Super Nintendo era, which [i]Lost Sphear[/i] is mimicking, cartridge storage constraints forced the developers to be concise when writing dialog.

Without those limitations, games like [i]Lost Sphear[/i] and [i]Octopath Traveler[/i] can spew out tons and tons of dialogue in each cutscene. Long after you've gotten the point, the characters keep talking. They talk to the point where you don't want to play anymore.

Thankfully, there's a 16x fast forward button, but the fact I'm relying on it 3 hours into the game means that dialog should have been cut down severely.

The dialog in older games was also often charming and unique, where now it's boring and annoying. Some of this might be the western translators butchering the Japanese script and extending it needlessly, but it drags this game down.

[h1]Balance Problems[/h1]

[i]I Am Setsuna[/i] had a terrible problem with balance, and this game is a bit smoother.

But you'll still run into areas where enemies will start killing you very quickly. And even in easy dungeons, the boss can be an almost impossible challenge.

So you'll just have to walk out of the dungeon and go to the nearest shop to upgrade your armor and weapons.

The problem with this system, though is...

[h1]Broken Economy[/h1]

Gathering enough money to buy new gear or upgrade existing gear is very slow.

This results in a slow grind of fighting boring battles that are too easy, just to get some stuff to barter for upgraded gear.

It can take quite a while, and then makes regular fights even more trivial, while also making bosses significantly easier.

This leads back to the lack of balance, where the game is either impossibly difficult or trivially easy. Neither of these scenarios make the game much fun to play.

[h1]Conclusion[/h1]

If you've already played [i]I Am Setsuna[/i], there isn't a good enough reason to play this. But I've found it better than its predecessor.

I just wish modern JRPGs would cut down on the dialog and get to the point faster.

Also, adding complexity doesn't necessarily add fun to a game. A "modernized" ChronoTrigger-like shouldn't include endless grinding for money for upgrade materials and spending inordinate time in menus to figure out how systems work.

Overall, a slight recommend on sale. Unfortunately, it's priced like a Square Enix Steam game ($50), when its more of a mid-tier Nintendo DS game in terms of value ($25 max).

[h1]Similar To:[/h1]

A "modern" Saga-like

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1027250/

A "modern" Mana-like

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2176930/

Mar 2, 2025·9h·5

Steam User 3905STEAMNot recommended

Good game. Works fine on Steam Deck, refuses to launch properly on Windows 11.

Feb 28, 2025·15h

Steam User 2510STEAMNot recommended

"Not even all these memories can fix the moon"

Feb 9, 2025·65h·Verified

Steam User 0986STEAMRecommended

引用苏轼先生的水调歌头来评价这部作品

人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

An Chinese ancient poem from 1000 years ago for this game:

Men have sorrow and joy, they apart or meet again

The moon is bright or dim and she may wax or wane

There has been nothing perfect since the olden days

So let us wish that man will live long as he can

Thousand miles apart, we'll share the beauty she displays

Jan 7, 2025·56h·1·Verified

Steam User 9221STEAMRecommended

[h1] A Great Homage to the PS1 Classics! [/h1]

I completed this game on the PS4 when it first came out and I really loved it then and still do today!

This is an RPG in the style of the PS1 classics ala FFVII-IX, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, etc. Although not as good as said games (which is fine and an unrealistic expectation) it is a superb homage to such games.

Turn-based battles, World map, towns, dungeons, evolving world map travel (on-foot to Ship, etc) - all the classic PS1 RPG hallmarks are here. The game's battle system is most akin to that of Chrono Trigger's, ironically a SNES game, in which you can see the enemies on the map and you engage in a turn-based battle that is semi-active (or full active if you prefer) once you approach them.
Battles can be quite customisable, considering the game's unique take on equipable Gear. One such example is Spritnites - these allow for new Character abilities, passive skills or to even customise an ability with a sub-spritnite, for example allowing you to recover HP when you use said ability.
The battles also feature something called "Momentum Strikes" which allow you to build up a second meter by either waiting or attacking/taking damage, once full, your character can attack or use an ability with extra "oomph" by pressing the action button at the right time, just before you execute it.

The story is very on trend with it's homage. It follows old-school tropes and cliches, but you are more than likely going to play this game for the full homage/nostalgia, so would you want it any other way?

The game will take you around 40 hours to finish, even with a few side activities here and there. A more than decent run time.

Tokyo RPG Factory, the developers of this title, also made I am Setsuna which is a very similar game and arguably the better of the two games and I would urge all who are interested or enjoyed this game to seek that one too as, in my opinion, it has the better story and more focused experience...and some beautiful music!

Tl;dr - If you enjoyed those classic RPGs from the PS1 era, you will love this game. It's a great homage to them and feels like it came straight from that era, but with some nice modern day conveniences.

Score:
[h2] 78% [/h2]

Dec 12, 2024·3h·2

Steam User 0515STEAMNot recommended

Full screen mode has a wave aberration that constantly cycles through. There is no borderless window option. The wave does not happen in windowed mode but it locks you in to specific resolutions. Unless your monitor fits one you are either going to be playing in small window or in a window that just off screen.

And no I don't want to go an screw with all my video card settings. If that needs to be done the game is automatically 1 star. Literally every other game runs fine in whatever mode is chosen without needing to do tweaking.

Quite pathetic for a Square game. Well maybe not lately though. Going to be removing them from the probably must have category and stick them in the B rank gaming company category.

Nov 30, 2024·3h·2·Verified

Steam User 7891STEAMNot recommended

およそ13時間のプレイ、6人目の仲間が加入した時点です。
戦闘が苦痛です。クロノトリガーのようなバトルを基本に、進化させようとして追加したであろうセツナシステムが戦闘のテンポを間延びさせています。キーコンフィグがタイトル画面時に反映されないなどの細かい操作性の悪さも相まって、”古き良き”というより”古い”RPG感が否めません。

Oct 25, 2024·13h·4·Verified

Steam User 4297STEAMRecommended

It wants to be Chrono Trigger. It isn't, but it gets close enough for a recommendation.

Oct 7, 2024·11h·3·Verified

Steam User 9986STEAMRecommended

Finally completed Lost Sphear: I thought of sharing some thoughts over this overlooked gem (and for some reason, was a flop when it was released), and was considered a poor follow up to the developer's previous title: I am Setsuna. Is it though? Here are my thoughts:

My overall rating and quick notes.
*I am Setsuna - 7.8/10, Better presentation, art and game design.
Lost Sphear - 7.5/10, 'Much' better story.

Music rating (because its important to all jrpgs)
*I am Setsuna music - 9.5/ 10
Lost Sphear music - 8.5/ 10

Money's worth.
I am Setsuna - 43 hrs runtime (story feels like 40% of this)
*Lost Sphear - 95 hrs runtime (story feels like 85% of this)

In short, I recommend Lost Sphear to all JRPG fans and those who have played I am Setsuna. Both are worth your time if you are into JRPGs.

Up next: Oninaki!

Jun 3, 2024·95h·13·Verified

Steam User 0667STEAMNot recommended

El juego no está mal, la historia parece interesante y gráficamente no es malo, pero tiene unas cuantas pegas que en mi opinión lo hacen bastante injugable, con ciertas cosas inexplicables a día de hoy.

Ya de primeras sorprende que no parece haber forma de volver al menú principal. ¿Cómo puede faltar esa opción? Estoy seguro de que no soy el primero que quiere volver para cargar de nuevo la partida y empezar desde un punto anterior, pero parece que la única forma es dejar que te maten en un combate.

Pero es algo que no impacta mucho, lo que sí me ha hecho dejar el juego son la falta de descripciones de las cosas y una batalla en concreto. Buscando por internet he encontrado que uno de los artefactos hace que mi personaje sufra daño al atacar (parece ser sólo uno de ellos... raro) pero en la descripción del artefacto en cuestión no se menciona nada de eso. ¿Cómo voy a saber yo que ese personaje sufre daño al atacar si en ningún sitio se explica?

Además, en esa misma batalla el juego ha acabado con mi paciencia. Un jefe se puede recuperar la salud y en cada turno recupera más que lo que le quito, por algo tan incomprensible como que mis personajes fallan los ataques más que una escopeta de feria. Si fallan el 75% de los ataques, ¿cómo se espera que le acabe venciendo cuando recupera salud en casi todos los turnos?

La idea del juego es buena, la ejecución, por el contrario...

May 17, 2024·20h·1·Verified

Steam User 4580STEAMRecommended

I really love this game.
One of the best jrpg in terms of combat and progression, I could really feel getting stronger by my choices of spiritnite instead of just being more leveled.
The game can get a little bit too easy after you understand the spiritnite system well, but it doesn`t get boring, instead it feels really rewarding. Like making your own great build in path of exile for example

Feb 1, 2024·40h

Steam User 0723STEAMRecommended

Old school JRPG made in modern age. A strong game overall - story is a fairytale with a relatable message, characters have fine development, game nails its visual and sound, certain battles will test the player's tactical skill and knowledge of battle mechanics. However, some may find this game too modest in terms of production value, overly heavy on lore exposition, too lenghty, or inbalanced in terms of difficulty (when it spikes, brace yourself). Nonetheless, it's a quality time.

"We must fight for the world we want to live in"

Dec 16, 2023·50h·4

Steam User 8573STEAMNot recommended

Very average, not too enjoyable.

Nov 18, 2023·34h

Steam User 0508STEAMRecommended

It's not bad, although it is very, very simple. It can't have a more straight line story as far as straight line stories go. Still, I guess it was pretty relaxing. Don't expect anything impressive, but it is worth a while if you have nothing else to play. 6/10

Nov 2, 2023·34h·Verified

Steam User 7242STEAMRecommended

It is OKAY.

Sep 29, 2023·78h·Verified

Steam User 8869STEAMNot recommended

Au final très ennuyeux. Bavard. Combats très répétitifs. Panel de monstres très limités. Et l'intrigue...

Aug 22, 2023·39h·Verified

Steam User 1865STEAMRecommended

If you like JRPG this has all good elements of a traditional JRPG - sometimes it comes across as a bit too generic but also have many good elements that make it worthy of a fans time.

Jul 10, 2023·35h·Verified

Steam User 6853STEAMRecommended

Competent JRPG with a better than expected story.
I wouldn't pay full price for it, but it's pretty good value on sale.

Jul 1, 2023·22h·Verified

Steam User 0562STEAMNot recommended

well, somehow the spiritual successor of i am setsuna managed to be boring.

the characters aren't interesting and it feels repetitive

- oh there's someone in trouble, let's kill something to help him out. oh, there is someone in trouble...
- the cooking system had a downgrade, now you have to collect ingredients for every meal??
- the skill system became uninteresting. i just spam normal physical attacks and don't bother with spritnites.

so with downgraded characters and gameplay it's sadly inferior to setsuna and not really worth it...

May 18, 2023·30h

Steam User 7618STEAMRecommended

Best JRPG ever, better than old school ones, the battle system is dope, thank you square enix, tokyo rpg factory

May 4, 2023·98h·Verified

Steam User 4404STEAMRecommended

This game is just awesome, but gonna be clearly IF U DON'T LIKE TO READ, dont buy it, you need to read a lot, but the history IS SO GOOD.
But if you love RPG, you should try it

Jan 7, 2023·49h·6·Verified

Steam User 6309STEAMNot recommended

It hurts to give a thumbs down to this game. Unfortunately, it's a shadow of I Am Setsuna. Lost Sphear did not do much to try and be a spiritual successor to IAS. Once you've played IAS, this game will feel very boring to you. The story is nowhere near as interesting as IAS. In the end, I couldn't finish the game and stopped halfway because there was nothing in the game that was interesting enough to keep me playing. This is the first JRPG I've ever given up on. I wanted so much to like it but in the end, it just wasn't for me.

Oct 18, 2022·22h

Steam User 5657STEAMNot recommended

Il est vraiment très rare que je lâche un JRPG en court de route si je ne suis pas allergique au système de combat. Et là, pour Lost Sphear, ce n'est pas la baston qui me pose problème : c'est la lenteur abyssale du scénario.
C'est bien simple, il ne se passe quasi rien dans ce jeu, les quêtes sont ennuyeuses, les personnages assez nazes et caricaturaux à l'extrême, l'histoire peine à démarrer nous oblige à faire des quêtes du backtracking dans la quête principale comme la pire quête FedEx...
C'est dommage car il y a de bonnes choses dans ce jeu... Mais qu'est ce que c'est lennnnnt et pénible !
Le pire, c'est que le jeu n'est pas si long (20/25 heures...) Mais quand je vois que je n'ai RIEN fait d'intéressant en cinq heures, je n'ai pas le courage d'aller plus loin.
Si vous voulez un JRPG, il y en a de bien meilleurs à faire avant celui-là.

Sep 19, 2022·4h·3

Steam User 3426STEAMNot recommended

Has no soft reset, to load a previous save state you have to go to your keyboard, press Esc, quit the game to the desktop and re-launch it. Ridiculous.

Sep 18, 2022·1h·3·Verified

Steam User 9194STEAMRecommended

Good

Aug 7, 2022·11h

Steam User 9912STEAMRecommended

Classic JRPG,upgrade of Iam Setsuna.
I give this 8/10.

Aug 6, 2022·39h·Verified

Steam User 7984STEAMNot recommended

Cannot recommend. Every aspect is on the spectrum of bland to bad.

Jul 12, 2022·24h·Verified

Steam User 8164STEAMRecommended

So te gusta el RPG japonés clásico, no puedes dejar pasar este juego.
Me ha hecho sentir como si estuviese jugando por primera vez al antiguo final fanasy VII.
Al igual que FFVII podemos encontrar ciertos problemas que se podrían solventar, pero eso no quita lo divertido que puede llegar a ser este título.
Que no esté en castellano es sin duda un gran problema ya que de seguro se te pasará alguna mecánica del juego que es importante por falta de comprensión.

Jun 18, 2022·113h

Steam User 6332STEAMNot recommended

There's nothing really wrong with this game, it's just extremely dull and boring. It's less of a love letter to SNES JRPGs and more like it's trying to capitalize on their popularity.

May 30, 2022·27h·16·Verified

Steam User 0495STEAMNot recommended

The game has a severe balancing issue where enemies tend to be much stronger than they should for how little grinding you're allowed without exiting and re-entering maps constantly. (As enemies are on-field and don't respawn until you exit and re-enter a map.) The first boss is a testament to this, as well as a boss later on that forces you to only use two party members.

The story seems like it is alluding to more content than it actually has, and it feels like there was a lot left out of the game. The character Van, who uses a "Bit" Weapon, doesn't have a magical normal attack, so when you run into enemies that increase their physical evasion, you're basically screwed if you don't swap to someone with magic attacks. (And "physical" magic attacks don't work either in that case.)

There are a few stealth sections that I'm annoyed about, but they could've been a lot worse.

The game states you can move freely when in battle during a character's turn, but this isn't true. You have to use a command to move, such as item or attack. The Vulcosuits aren't really worth the trouble of using, ever; and feel like a wasted plot point and customization system.

May 7, 2022·21h·1·Verified

Steam User 5213STEAMNot recommended

Good Story. Gameplay, eh. Boss fights are absolutely ridiculously unbalanced. Lets have bosses that can consistently heal themselves to max, and then make it near impossible to hit them. Do not recommend.

Apr 15, 2022·30h·16·Verified

Steam User 2769STEAMRecommended

It's a solid JRPG, dont understand that it was so badly received. Nothing special but you will have fun with the story and combat

Apr 13, 2022·26h·1·Verified

Steam User 0565STEAMRecommended

Def Give this game a shot when its on sale If you like the Chrono Series!

Apr 2, 2022·27h·1·Verified

Steam User 3532STEAMRecommended

gameplay was good, well improved on combat compared to I Am Setsuna
However, the story was really just not good, from plot to characters to world building. It was not the worse I have seen by far, but compared to the previous title it was severely lacking. Still worth a play just don't get your hopes up for plot.

Mar 25, 2022·43h·Verified

Steam User 0397STEAMRecommended

[h1] Points positifs : [/h1]

- La récolte des souvenirs
- La personnalisation complète de l'équipe
- Le choix et la construction des artefacts sur la carte
- Pas très beau artistiquement
- Les exomechs c'est cool !
- Système de combats intéressant
- L'ambiance générale positive

[h1] Points négatifs : [/h1]

- ... Mais trop prévisible !
- Les nombreux allers/retours épuisants
- L'histoire et son bla-bla inutile ennuyant
- Le flot de mièvreries insupportable
- C'est trop long quand on s'ennuie ! (environ 60 heures)
- Les personnages et leur charisme insipide
- Un manque de prétention évident
- Bande-sonore oubliable
- Des clichés à la pelle

[h1] En conclusion... [/h1]

[i] À trop vouloir rendre hommage aux jeux de rôle japonais des années 90, Lost Sphear oublie de nous surprendre. Ce manque d'audace et de personnalité est incontestablement le principal reproche que l'on pourra faire à un jeu par ailleurs relativement solide et sympathique. Car Tokyo RPG Factory maîtrise très (peut-être trop...) bien sa recette. Mais le studio doit commencer à prendre garde à ce que le côté "usine" qui apparaît dans son patronyme ne se fasse pas trop sentir à l'avenir. Si vous n'êtes pas encore lassés par les J-RPG standards, que les clichés ne vous dérangent pas, ou que vous découvrez tout juste le genre, alors Lost Sphear saura vous séduire, notamment par son système de combats très riche et son ambiance générale plutôt séduisante. [/i] >> 12/20

Feb 3, 2022·63h·3·Verified

Steam User 5605STEAMRecommended

I mean it's fun if you like classic turn based RPGS. If you don't then just buy it on sale or not at all.

Feb 2, 2022·27h·Verified

Steam User 3686STEAMNot recommended

I cannot in good conscious recommend Lost Sphear.

With a woefully generic, contrived (think Deus Ex Machina) story, laughable dialogue, endless exposition (that you can thankfully fast forward through), forgettable characters, and random and frustrating difficulty spikes, Lost Sphear is everything you don’t want in a JRPG.

To make matters worse, earning money is nothing short of a chore, and the equipment system is downright frustrating. The fortify system, while certainly interesting on paper, is poorly executed. The game does a terrible job of helping the player discern whether or not it’s worth buying new equipment or if simply fortifying your current gear is more beneficial. This is exacerbated by my previous comment about how difficult it is to earn money throughout the majority of the game. You have to be extremely frugal and strategic with what you buy, which, trust me, is far from enjoyable. And to add insult to injury, you might just be tempted to sell old gear, only to realize down the road that you made a potentially grave mistake. Case in point: one of your party members receives their best weapon only a couple of hours into the game, but you’d never know it until looking through a guide. And because money is so scarce for so long, you’d be forgiven for thinking you had to sell old gear in order to scrounge together precious currency for healing items.

If there’s a saving grace, it comes in the form of the game’s battle and artifact systems. Upgrading your skills with Spritnites opens up a world of customization, and artifacts, which you activate on the world map, provide precious buffs, power ups, abilities, and other goodies that make for a more enjoyable experience.

Despite there being a small sliver of hope, it’s not enough to make Lost Sphear an enjoyable experience. I found myself apathetic to the entire roster of characters, and my reaction to the story’s twists and turns could be described as tepid at best.

Avoid Lost Sphear at all costs. It’s not worth 25+ hours of your life.

Jan 30, 2022·31h·12·Verified

Steam User 9546STEAMRecommended

希望出个中文

Dec 25, 2021·2h·Verified

Steam User 5488STEAMRecommended

GREAT GAME...Like a great story and RPG type fights? well look no more this is the game for you.

Nov 16, 2021·297h·Verified

Steam User 8395STEAMRecommended

Très bon J-RPG, scénario agréable à suivre avec quelques fort rebondissement. Le système de combat est une version 2.0 de I am Setsuna. La bande son est également de très bonne qualité.
Par contre, la difficulté est assez mal dosé (j'ai fait tout le jeu en difficulté normale), les ennemis standards sont faciles à vaincre et certains boss beaucoup plus compliqués si l'équipe est mal préparée. Il faut utiliser les bonnes spirites (magie) et bien les combiner pour faire de gros dégât. Cela demande de passer pas mal de temps dans les menus ce qui peut s'avérer frustrant (chaque personnage dispose ce ses propres spirites). Mais une fois les meilleures spirites de débloqués et les bonnes combinaisons d'association de trouvé, on s'amuse vraiment contre les boss.

Nov 10, 2021·44h·Verified

Steam User 7360STEAMRecommended

sympa ce petit lost sphear. meconnu du grand public et pourtant une production de Tokyo rpg factory et square enix. on y retrouve ce qui fait le charme des jrpg à l'ancienne. jauge atb à la FF, cuisine et peche. l'histoire casse pas des briques mais elle est sympa a suivre. la mecanique des souvenirs est bien pensée. pas de grande difficulté pour le moment. n'oubliez pas de configurer votre manette dans steam avant de lancer le jeu. je recommande.

Sep 21, 2021·16h·Verified

Steam User 1122STEAMRecommended

This game is meh overall.
Let me start by saying that I bought the game on sale, primarily due to seeing a couple reviews.
Now I'll start my review based on the price.

It is entirely too long for the content it has packed. I played through I Am Setsuna and was content with the pace and length of the game given the content it had. This game just drags on and on unfortunately and the story doesn't build up to make it exciting. There are a few memorable moments, but elsewhere it was lackluster.

I did enjoy some of the music on the game. The music is good for the game that it is, and there are a few scores that I really liked and will likely listen to as background music in the future.

The battle system is ok for what it is. The battle system was very frustrating with the way boss battles played out. It made me so mad sometimes. Some bosses literally attack 3 times before I even had a moment to react. Nothing like the frustration of having a cheap Game Over. I did not really enjoy the mech system much. For most of the game, I avoided even using it unless I needed a turn of events in battle.

The story is very bland. There are moments that seem like they should have had an emotional impact, but it failed miserably. I literally fell asleep in my chair a number of times reading the boring dialog so that kind of adds to my game time...

I enjoyed playing some parts of the game, and it was agonizing to get through some other parts. I would recommend the game for someone looking to just playing an old school jrpg. But I would tell them to not set their standards high. Just enjoy it for what it is and dont expect much too exciting.

I can at least say that playing it on PC, I did not have any problems with glitches or controls. Everything works perfectly throughout my entire gameplay.

I'm going to recommend the game on the sole basis that it is an actual complete game that doesn't require any DLC content to complete it, no bugs or glitches, and it is at least playable to completion without too much difficulty.

Sep 12, 2021·50h·10·Verified

Steam User 6219STEAMNot recommended

The funny scenarios I keep imagining while playing the game are better than the actual game. At one point I was going to some port town and I pictured the hero getting a memory keyword from a dog, and then instead of using the correct memories to restore the nearby water tower or whatever, he used the dog's memories, which made a 50-story dog outside of the town, meaning he failed his quest because he was an idiot and didn't think things through like a proper hero should. So in imagining that scenario, I can say I had fun because of this game, but maybe not for the reasons the developer intended.

Sep 12, 2021·25h·Verified

Steam User 4233STEAMNot recommended

This game had potential, but the dev didn't care enough.

-In the second "major" dungeon, one enemy type uses a buff, as long as an ally of the same kind is there, that buffs all their stats. On hard mode, you will now deal 0 damage to them, nothing you can do about it.
-In the same dungeon, the boss has a charge forward attack. That apparently also hits everything to the side of it. Given that the game wants you to position character intelligently, this is just sad.
-No way to load the game from within the game, or to return to the title screen. This port also lacks a way to exit the game outside of the typical alt+f4. While you can maybe live with the latter, the former is just..
-You unlock additional slots for spells on lvl 5. Things to put into there? Nope. Hit the next town at level 8 and go the spell shop.. still nothing.

It feels like nobody really cared when making this game. The testers probably also only played though on max level with god mode to see if there are crashes, but not if the game in itself is actually functioning well. Maybe this is understandable with a 1 man project rpg maker game freeware. But for a 50 bucks game? Haha. No.

I have a feeling the team working on this game didn't really want to. It's rare you feel that.

Aug 31, 2021·4h·Verified

Steam User 4561STEAMRecommended

While some of the aspects of this game seemed superfluous and overly complicated, which lead me to not fully appreciate the system until near the end of the game (Sublimation comes to mind), I really got into the game and enjoyed it. If I load up a game at 8pm and the next thing I know it's 6am, I'm definitely recommending it!

I haven't enjoyed this style of JRPG in a long time. I will definitely be replaying it.

Jul 6, 2021·53h·Verified

Steam User 1673STEAMRecommended

Finalmente eu platinei esse rpg tão bacana e venho aqui fazer minha analise, vou tentar não enrolar muito, vamos la:

Pros - Jogabilidade tranquila
Sistema de batalha melhorado e pouco diferente de "I am Setsuna" (antecessor espiritual) jogue! é lindo
Graficos lindissimos pro estilo de jogo
UI bem feitinha e não complexa
16x skip event (isso é muito bom)
Sistema de spritnite melhorado (tbm referente ao I am Setsuna)

Contras - Muito dialogo (sério, chega a ser massante, e não é interessante)

História meio sem graça e sem profundidade nos personagens, faltou interações entre os personagens e um pouco de alivio cômico, nada muito forçado, mas faz parte neh

World Map extremamente mal aproveitado, tem muitas areas grandes, mas sem localizações para explorar como dgs ou vilas ou qualquer coisa, é só um espaço vazio

Nesse jogo vc conta com Vulco Suits, tipo uma armadura robótica que todos os membros da sua equipe adquirem em certa parte do jogo, esses Vulco Suits são praticamente dispensáveis até o final do game, já que aí entra outro ponto negativo, enfim, eles tbm tem duas funções no mapa fora da batalha, "Scan e Boost", vcs concordam que duas funções é muito pouco não?

Dificuldade, easy peeze, ok, depois que vc chega no final do game, tem algumas side quests de personagens com bosses relativamente dificeis, mas durante o game inteiro vc vai ter um run tranquila sem precisar grindar nenhuma vez e vai lanchar seus inimigos facilmente

Vou finalizar logo essa analise, Lost Sphear é uma pérola pra quem é amante de jrpgs oldschool, se vc não é muito fã do estilo vai acabar se entediando rapidamente, mas dê uma chance pro jogo, mesmo com mais pontos negativos do que positivos ele diverte bem e me rendeu boas horas de jogatina pra chegar na platina, é isso, 7/10

May 9, 2021·74h·5·Verified

Steam User 1722STEAMNot recommended

TL;DR: Aggressively medriocre "JRPG", featuring basically nothing worthwhile of content or originality, a slackwalk from the get go, while featuring more boring gameplay from its predecessor.

Notice: I haven't complted Lost Sphear (LS for short), as it is just an aggressively mediocre game, which really doesn't have "at its best" moments, as it's just basically just like "I Am Setsuna", but without an interesting story, as the story is marred with redundancy, chores, and boredom.

LS suffers some things from its predecessor and some few improvements over I Am Setsuna, which I will list:
Positives:
- You can fast forward either 2 times or 16 times
- Leveling now has meaning, and doesn't just increase hp and mp
- No more specific kills to get loot
- You can now save when you necessary, but using "continue" on the main menu will load the latest quick save made, and not the latest save (manual save or quick save)

That basically covers the positives, now to the negatives:
- Uninteresting story as mentioned, the game does not feature "Unique and powerfully unforgettable storyline with seamless gameplay" as stated in the description, seamless gameplay... pah would rather play some other niche game at this point
- Uninteresting soundtrack compared to the previous game, and frankly bad at some points
- Still no quest journal to see where you should go, but you can speak with your party members, which is only helpful at times
- Price of the game is waaay to high for what the game offers, and puts a wrong impression of what you can expect of it
- Generic ARPG pumped out by Square Enix

Overall, it just seems like Square Enix is trying so hard to make the new popular JRPG, but fails miserably, as the two games that were developed by Tokyo RPG Factory doesn't understand what games today have in comparison to what they've made. Let alone other JRPGs of today.

Apr 9, 2021·4h·13·Verified

Steam User 5420STEAMNot recommended

Sound simply not working. Few crashes at launch aswell. (no problem beside from this game)

Mar 31, 2021·1h·Verified

Steam User 6082STEAMNot recommended

histoire incompréhensible aucune et suivi des quêtes impossibilité de refaire une partie de quêtes donc ne peut continuer mauvaise conception générale du jeu

Mar 29, 2021·11h·Verified

Steam User 9395STEAMRecommended

This game greatly resembles Chrono Trigger, FF series at multiple levels. Great Battle system. Only if Music could have matched the intrigue of forementioned games,it would have been a classic JRPG in its own right.

Mar 27, 2021·11h·Verified

Steam User 8860STEAMNot recommended

Aggressively mediocre. Wait for the sale. It is not worthless but it pales in comparison to Chrono Trigger. Characters in this game seem bland and cliched. Gameplay systems are shallow.

Mar 9, 2021·6h·1·Verified

Steam User 4516STEAMNot recommended

US user with a razer huntsman keyboard and trying to use DS4 with PS4 controller and the game just will not allow it. If PS4 controller is plugged in at all (with or without DS4 running) keyboard does not work except for escape key and 'K' key. This happens before launching the game, after launching the game, after launching the game changing settings, after actually starting a new game. At no point have I been able to get controller to work and to be honest it just doesn't feel right playing on keyboard. Seen a lot of other people with the same or very similar issues and some have found fixes however none of there fixes work for me. Would love to actually try this game out but with controls being so hit and miss on keyboard and not being able to get a controller working..... let me know when you got things working

Mar 2, 2021·25h

Steam User 8755STEAMRecommended

Aye... The game that came after I am Setsuna.

Somehow, less enjoyable than I am Setsuna- But that is certainly a personnal opinion because of the strange... mech-fighting that seemed to be highly focused on by the end of the game. I want to see my characters, not their Bulky tin-box!

But, honestly, the game's story and gameplay overall is good. Artstyle? Great, as always.

But... the pricetag is definitely way too much for this. So While the game itself I recommend to paly through at least once, grab it while it's on sale.

Feb 28, 2021·34h·3·Verified

Steam User 5848STEAMRecommended

Un JRPG à l'apparence très classique mais qui finalement propose au bout de quelques heures des nuances de gameplay intéressantes. Niveau max, la difficulté est là, les boss ont des semblant de patterns qui poussent à la réflexion. Contrairement aux boss de JRPG, ils peuvent subir les effets négatifs des sorts, ce qui permet de déverouiller des situations assez chaudes. Malgré mon xp dans ce style de jeu, je suis mort un paquet de fois. L'intrigue est classique aussi, et dans la droite lignée des oeuvres de Square Enix.

Feb 3, 2021·52h·Verified

Steam User 3855STEAMNot recommended

セツナをプレイしてからこっちをやりました。
進歩はしてるんだけど、なんだか物足りない。
それが何かはよく分からない。ただ物足りない。

Jan 25, 2021·26h·5·Verified

Steam User 6857STEAMNot recommended

Если время вы не бережёте в данный момент, то можно пройти, но стоит учесть, что перед вами, во-первых, низкокачественный порт, во-вторых, брошенная игра и, в-третьих, форсированно рассказываемая история об «избранном».

Dec 31, 2020·2h·3·Verified

Steam User 0673STEAMNot recommended

Lost Sphear has some great QOL features and many interesting gameplay systems, unfortunately the story and characters are EXTREMELY bland/cookie-cutter/tropey. I've played 4 hours hoping that the game would present some kind of twist on the classic jrpg tropes but it has failed to do so. If you've played any early Final Fantasy game, you know the story so far. Evil empire, chosen hero, a party of one-dimensional characters. Don't waste your money.

Dec 27, 2020·4h·3·Verified

Steam User 2302STEAMRecommended

Dec 25, 2020·6h

Steam User 7632STEAMRecommended

I enjoyed the combat and the customization.
I was into the story at first but it really got drawn out way too long and boring. Near the end I just wanted it to be over.

Dec 5, 2020·66h·Verified

Steam User 7240STEAMRecommended

It's nice and nostalgic for fans of JRPGs. Nice graphics, music is OK but not amazing. The battle system is pretty good. There aren't any "I'm stuck and don't know what to do" moment; it's pretty linear, which personally I see as a bad thing; that there's not that much thought required. In a positive framing it's kind of "zen", like raking a sand garden; you know what to do, it's easy to do, but the doing is still kind of enjoyable in itself because of the nice aesthetics. The "normal" difficulty is actually easy, so I would go for "hard".

Nov 25, 2020·22h·1·Verified

Steam User 7524STEAMNot recommended

It is a decent RPG however, it suffers from a bland story, monotonous combat, and just being compared to so many other modern RPGs that do all of these elements better. Very annoyed that you can't completely skip scenes, you instead have to hold a button to FF through them.

Nov 13, 2020·17h·2·Verified

Steam User 8229STEAMRecommended

Graphics - 10/10
Gameplay - 7.5/10
Soundtracks - 10/10
Story - 8.5/10
Controls - 10/10
Characters - 9/10

This game gives me strange feelings. I love the atmosphere and the ambience but at the same time it feels distant and other-worldly. The story is simple and no major plottwists until the end. The combat is forgiving and fun to play around. There is a decent amount of verity in the characters you can play as. Lots of items to collect. Overall a fun game. I recommend this if you want to slow down and play something with a calming soundtrack.

Nov 2, 2020·57h·Verified

Steam User 4832STEAMRecommended

Solid JRPG

Oct 5, 2020·24h·Verified

Steam User 1254STEAMNot recommended

A retro-esque JRPG that brings me back to the days when I had to do all my homework before my parents would let me play my videogame... In fact, Lost Sphear is exactly that, as it refuses to let you enjoy its mechanics until you've sat through 30-40 hours of uninspired plot first.

It's narrowly a "no" from me.

If you like mechanics-heavy ATB-based JRPG combat, there's a lot to love here. Global modifiers in the form of Artifacts allow you to change the battle mechanics, allowing you to warp them to favor your playstyle and character builds. Your characters start out as fairly cookie-cutter JRPG roles, but Momentum and Sublimation, though poorly-explained, allow you to permanently imprint your characters' skills with unique mechanics-abusing effects. Weapons and armor are modifiable, too, making almost every piece of gear technically viable* in its niche.

The plot is pretty predictable and uninspired, and made even worse by a random fake-out ending that happens about halfway through the story. The ending itself isn't the issue so much as the fact that the game does a bang-up job convincing you it's really over by returning you to the menu after the ending screen. If you think to reload your clear data, you're allowed to play the second half of the plot.

The battle design quality varies greatly, with maybe 20% of the battles being genuinely difficult and the rest being either a) trivial on Normal or b) heavily dependent upon RNG on Hard. A few bosses were memorable not because they were interesting, but because their core mechanic involved taking away my ability to control my party immediately. To make this worse, *the variety of gear is undermined by the fact that you can generally only protect against one thing at a time and some stats don't matter at all. Which is more annoying, being Slept, Roostered or Confused? You will meet monsters that can inflict all 3 and more.

When everything is said and done, and you've reloaded your cleared save unconvinced by the fake-out ending, played through part 2, gotten your 100% achievements, the game FINALLY opens up with its most interesting artifacts, mechanics, and battles. By this point, I'd had enough, so I didn't do much more than dip my toes to see what it was about. Maybe I'll come back to it. I'm already burnt out.

In a sense, it's impressive how big this game manages to be when its world is so small. It achieves this with smart use of space, and by introducing new features all the way through to the postgame.

I just wish it didn't make me work so damn hard to enjoy it.

Sep 26, 2020·74h·8·Verified

Steam User 2089STEAMRecommended

Un jeu magique, façon rpg japonais comme on les connait si bien. Des paysages qui laisse rêveur, un système de gameplay simple à prendre en main mais qui reste efficace. Et un scénario qui m'a bien accroché et je suis assez pointu en général bien qu'habituer de ce genre de jeu.

Je ne peux que vous le conseiller.

Sep 25, 2020·46h

Steam User 6309STEAMRecommended

If you like chrono trigger and i am setsuna, you would like this game.

- The storyline is very good with alot of surprises, twists and turns. The pace of the story is very good.
- To get to know more about each character in depth by completing the side quests.
- However, the dialogue can sometimes be too long, esp without any animation like modern jrpg.

- The game play is very good. The pacer is very good. No need much grinding to proceed the storyline
- It has added alot more dynamic elements to its battle system, such as option to move the character for more optimal attacks, battle suit transformation, 4 playable characters at the same time and etc.
- However, being said that, it is frustrated that the multiple character combo is only available when they are in their vulco battle suits, which their vulco suit battle suits are limited to VP usage.

- Character, skill and weapon upgrades are very good. The skill upgrade is now much cleaner to manage.
- However, they should have a quick menu to switch between the artifacts you have already built rather than wasting alot of time of travelling and searching for the right one to switch.

Overall, I enjoy the game. I would have easily given 10/10 if the multiple character combo attack is available without being in their vulco battle suit... 9.5/10

Sep 10, 2020·55h·Verified

Steam User 5944STEAMNot recommended

The company behind this game seems intent ot making it comparable to Chrono Trigger, so let's compare the two then:

Story:
Chrono Trigger hardly had super detailed characters with depth, Lost sphere's characters do have more depth, we get to see them fleshed out far more than most characters in Chrono Trigger. However, Chrono Trigger's characters were infinitely more likable despite their simplicity. I cared about Frog and Ayla and Lucca. I don't care about Van or Lumina or any of them, I just don't care. Despite their depth none of them are really endearing.

Gameplay:
Whoooo boy, where to begin. Chrono Trigger had near-perfect pacing, it just flowed well. Sure it gets very easy after one play through and could have used some more challenge, but it just flows. Lost Sphere does not. You will coast through areas and then hit a boos that wipes the floor with you. Not only that, there are a metric ton of mini games and systems from a fishing game that is useless and literally is just you hitting a button, to the Spritnite Synthesis system which you could go most of the game without ever using or caring about, and no, it won’t make those aforementioned bosses easier. They packed so many ideas in here and did nothing with them. Chrono Trigger had the Millennial Fair and it was optional. Character progression is boring, and the Volcosuit system is clumsy and does little to aid you, they don’t even make you that powerful and are a chore to manage in battle. The “lost” system is cool but seems tacked on. Usually when you find something that is “lost” you already have the items to bring it back so you just hit a button. By a certain point fifteen hours in I just wasn’t having any fun…..at all.

Graphics

This is where it really falls apart. Chrono Trigger had gorgeous pixel art and is timeless, with designs by Akira Toryama. Lost Sphere looks like an early PS2 game, these graphics shouldn’t exist in 2018. Even if you’re going for a retro look, the graphics here are just lazy. They’re bland, areas are flat and lifeless even compared to I Am Setsuna, and most areas are foggy and lifeless. Character models and animations are bland as well, battle effects look like something the PS1 could do.

Sound

Here is a mild bright point, it isn’t the lifeless piano medleys of Setsuna but it could use a bigger variety of instruments. However songs are catchy, like the battle themes and town and inn music. A little more variety in songs would have been nice. Battle effects are relatively crisp and get the job done. Chrono trigger’s score is timeless and one of the best ever, nearly every track is memorable, this isn’t in the same league.

Overall

This game isn’t fun. There’s makings of a fun game here but it just doesn’t do it. Everything feels cobbled together and developers like this with this pedigree should know better, and need to understand that “retro style” doesn’t mean you match the quality of the greats they’re inspire by. If you can nab this for 80% of then maybe it’s worth it but be prepared for a slog. Games shouldn’t be a slog, they should be fun. I replay Chrono Trigger yearly. I don’t foresee myself ever replaying this. I have better things to do.

Aug 1, 2020·21h·7·Verified

Steam User 8326STEAMRecommended

good ole fashion rpg

Jul 22, 2020·29h·Verified

Steam User 8555STEAMNot recommended

Controller/Keyboard support is terrible and has constant issues. Shame because the game itself is good.

May 10, 2020·17h·1

Steam User 1495STEAMNot recommended

I have a lot of hours on this because I downloaded it twice, got bored, uninstalled, and this was the third time that I was determined to finish it, and...

Well, the story is pretty predictable, but not bad overall, I would say. It's a pretty nice story. The characters were nice as well, imo, although some of them were a bit flat.
The battle system is really nice, I liked it in I Am Setsuna as well. Except for the vulcosuits... I never really thought them any usefull, since it drained the "vulco points" to use skills, and I always thought better to keep it for something stronger, that never really came around to happening.
The music I must say, wasn't as good as in I Am Setsuna, which was the biggest selling points for me in the aforementioned game. It was nice, especially a couple battle boss fight soundtracks, but other than that, not really standing out that much.

As for why I'll never finish it, the final boss uses an AOE attack that deals 2/3 of my characters' HP THREE TIMES IN A ROW before I have enough time to react by healing / buffing or anything L M A O. The first time I battled this boss, that didn't happen until way later in the fight that I didn't expect him to be able to, but ever since then, he will just literally do it in the first 10 seconds of the fight (he starts with it, but usually he would continue with other moves... I've tried playing him 6 more times or something, and this has happened each time). I'm tired of this stupid RNG so I'll just uninstall it and see what happens in the ending from a video or something :)

Apr 23, 2020·33h·Verified

Steam User 2578STEAMRecommended

good games reminds me about childhood memories, like this game

Apr 22, 2020·8h·1·Verified

Steam User 3494STEAMNot recommended

ne vaut pas le coup....

Apr 19, 2020·42h·Verified

Steam User 2453STEAMNot recommended

If you want an updated review, hey I'm here.

So, this JRPG wasn't that bad, but definitely wasn't that good either. The game is not entrancing either, it's one of those, "SO - SO" games. It's not challenging too, I never got stuck in a boss battle, and earning exp. is not that hard either, heavy grinding is not required in this game, unlike the old Final Fantasy games. It is not a masterpiece, but definitely not a piece of sheet.

Let me start the review:

Story Line:
VERY VERY VERY CONFUSING. The story doesn't have a solid foundation, it's like a kid just woke up from a dream, and started writing the story board. It's not exciting, and thrilling, and most of the cut scenes are boring.
I'll give the story a depressing 3 DLs out of 10 DLs
"DLDLDL"

Graphics:
The graphics, and art of the game is the one of its best features. The game scenery is a master piece, specially the Mirror Lake location in the game. It's atmospheric, and beautiful for a JRPG game. You're eyes will definitely dazzle in the game's beauty.
I'll give it a good 9 DLs out of 10 DLs
"DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL"

Music:
The music is... STUPENDOUS, AMAZING, AND ALLURING. You can just simply close your eyes, and listen to the background music, and you can already imagine the beauty, and artistry of the game. Very. very, very, atmospheric, and very relaxing. I can say that the sound track DLC can definitely receive a higher review than the game, hahaahahah, AM I MEAN? NO I'M JUST HONEST. Words can't explain how beautiful the soundtrack is, specially "Light Sphear", I use this music when I am sleeping.
And because of that, I'll the music an DLighting (you get it? delighting?) 10 DLs out of 10 DLs
"DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL"

Gameplay:
The gameplay is not as traditional, as any JRPG games. The characters can be fully customized, but not as good as the Final Fantasy V character customization. It has the Vulcosuits feature that can be used in the fight, it'll make your characters stronger when they are wearing the suits, but this feature kinda ruined the whole JRPG vibe of the game, atleast for me. There are lots of gaming features for you to find out in the game, such as the World Buff, "Artefacts", etc. Honestly, some of the features of the game are completely rubbish, it's like they put it so that the game will have the "uniqueness" that other JRPG games doesn't have.
I'll give it a teary 4.3 DLs out of 10 DLs.

Price:
I'll frankly say this... IT IS OVER PRIZED, and it's definitely is not worth the prize.
YOU WANT THIS GAME, RIGHT?
W A I T F O R I T T O B E O N S A L E ! ! !
If I'll rate the price based on the game content, I'll give it a fair 5 DLs out of 10 DLs.
"DLDLDLDLDL"

Overall, its not something to be hyped about, I can't compare it to I Am Setsuna, because I haven't played the game yet. Will DL recommend this to you? NO. Find something else in the store. I didn't even played straight, and didn't even craved to play this game. But hey, if you want this, buy it, it's still fun. Play this if you have nothing else to play.

FOR OVERALL RATING (Mean)
I'll give it a meh 6.26 DLs out of 10 DLs

"DLDLDLDLDLDL.DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL"

Apr 4, 2020·29h·4·Verified

Steam User 0483STEAMRecommended

Ich bin überrascht, wie unbekannt dieses Spiel ist. Hier haben wir
ein verstecktes Juwel von Square-Enix, das als solides Old School Rpg
überzeugen kann.

---PRO---
+Malerische Grafik
+Schöne und spannende Story
+Absolut geiles Kampfsystem ala`Chrono Trigger
+Levelbare Skills
+Tag/Nacht System
+Charmante Charaktere
+Viel zu entdecken

---Contra---
-Anfangs sehr zähflüssig (das ganze entwickelt sich aber positiv!)
-Schwierigkeitsgrad lässt zu wünschen übrig...
(Bisher auch im Hardmode keine große Herausforderung)
-Leichte Übersetzungs/ Formfehler in Dialogen auf Deutsch

Mar 5, 2020·54h·2·Verified

Steam User 0433STEAMRecommended

play i am setsuna. then play this.
then be happy that you did that.

simple for me ^^

Jan 14, 2020·17h·1

Steam User 3744STEAMNot recommended

Черт это дерьмо у всех не работает и у меня тоже не играйте в это говно это же ♥♥♥♥♥ аниме фу быть пидарасом будьте натуральными мужиками играйте как я в нормальные игры я Куратор и ♥♥♥♥♥ вам не посовутую. Так еще и в конце 2019 года еще и Русского языка нет.

Dec 23, 2019·2·Verified

Steam User 9079STEAMNot recommended

This is shameful. Poor attempt at trying to improve on I Am Setsuna (IAS), which was a good game. They tried adding things that were missing on IAS but it feels off. Dialog is completely forgettable and adds nothing impactful. Characters have no charisma whatsoever. The vulcosuits should be scrapped completely. The battle system is just not good.
Honestly the time I spent on that game is time I will never get back and I really regret it, so do yourself a favour and don't waste your precious time on that title.

Dec 21, 2019·22h·3

Steam User 6422STEAMNot recommended

Great art and audio team, but this studio really needs new designers.

-Nice looking, big open world... with nothing to do.
-Most combat is really easy, even on hard.
-What little difficulty there is comes from purely cheap tactics from a few bosses.
-Over use of instant death attacks.
-Some bosses can blow up your entire team AFTER you've beaten them... wtf?!
-The mech suits are virtually useless and usually a detriment until late in the game.
-The gear upgrade system is nice, but tends to make the next round or two of gear useless without large re-investments

Nov 26, 2019·10h·2·Verified

Steam User 4701STEAMNot recommended

Meh. The system was more interesting than the story. I kept being distracted from the main plot by the fact that the game couldn't decide what was going on with Locke's character.

Nov 20, 2019·50h·1·Verified

Steam User 4558STEAMRecommended

I dont understand this negative reviews. The game is smooth, has a nice story by far and the combat is good.

Nov 10, 2019·32h

Steam User 4575STEAMNot recommended

This game has a ton of problems. For the keyboard/configuration issue, simply disconnect any other devices, including keyboard, and use mouse to load game with game controller, ( for me windows xbox one ) and then set the configuration to keyboard. After that my controller worked fine, with everything else plugged in. Madness though, and made me not want to play. Too much money for a breaking issue that makes people unable to get past loading screens.

Sep 5, 2019·16h·5·Verified

Steam User 4327STEAMRecommended

The game has a good story/universe but it's doesn't exploit all the potential of the gameplay.
We expect more after i am setsuna but the devs didn't have much time and we feel it.

Aug 26, 2019·48h·Verified

Steam User 3957STEAMNot recommended

First: I wonder if they feel any shame for misspelling "Sphere"

Story: The "dialog" is grit-your-teeth cringe-worthy bad. And they say the most OBVIOUS things as if it were an grand revealing.
Example: they spend 3 minutes talking about "terromite weapons"... then the main char gets an "!" over his head and says "I KNOW! They are making Terromite Weapons!"...

Gameplay: The game "balance" is off-the-chart bonkers. It goes from "I kill the entire enemy army before it has time to strike even a single time" to "Oh, that boss cheats so badly I guess I'm supposed to lose... what? Game over? But the boss just one shot my entire party and there's nothing I could have done to prevent it."

Trash fights are like killing kittens... boss fights are YOU'R THE KITTEN attacking an elephant.

Quality of life: And HOLY ******** run speed is soooooooo slow. It's like running through a swamp with cement boots, while trying to drag a tank. It's like they tried to pretend they have "content" by lowering move speed to about 10% what it should be. Then they make it dramatically worse by forcing you to backtrack across the massive city over...and over... and over... and over... 10-20 times. At *least* 90% of my game time is running around pointlessly.

Gear: This one pisses me off. You can "enhance" each piece of gear... but it's prohibitively expensive. You can fully upgrade 3-4 pieces early on... and the only use you'll get out of is a SINGLE boss fight before full set of upgrades are available... which needs enhancements. But since you blew your load on 3-4 pieces last time... now you only have the cash for 2-3 pieces.

This is by an astonishingly large margin, the worst Square Enix game I've ever played.

Every dungeon is : 4-5 trash fights that are so easy I feel bad... and 1 boss that essentially cheats. Like "Point finger and you die..." no damage... just insta-death... every 2 turns, and AOE for 50% of my entire party's heath the other turns... and healing is... VERY lacking in the game.

Aug 11, 2019·10h·8·Verified

Steam User 6961STEAMRecommended

Great Game, I enjoyed the story, the battle system, and the overall gameplay

Jul 30, 2019·32h·Verified

Steam User 8248STEAMRecommended

good stuff

Jul 26, 2019·7h·Verified

Steam User 6006STEAMNot recommended

This is one of the worst games I've ever played. I wanted it to be good, because the art and music were very pleasant at first, and the combat was fun. That's about all I have to say positively. I just kept on playing, hoping that the bland monotony would be revealed and worth it, as something I was missing, and then all would be right again. It never did. The game just meandered and went nowhere.

The story is awful, flat and boring. It's twists are hardly twists at all, just more and more information piled on. The villain is some nobody we don't even get to know really. All the characters are as hollow as the faded world. Really the devs should have followed their game and infused *something* onto the blank canvas. It's written as if by formula. The characters are bland and uninteresting, the stakes aren't clear, the locations are boring and you have nothing to do there, and the world map is wide open space with nothing in it but places for monuments, another boring mechanic.

The characters are standard rpg stock, which is usually fine, but these are 2d and just awful. Obaro and Dianto should have been cut completely. I hated every time they talked.

Vulcosuits are pretty stupid, like unimpressive gears from Xenogears. The were completely unnecessary and forced on the gameplay.

The music is pleasant at first but it all sounds same-y, and the world map music is among the worst I've ever listened to. Again I was desperate to go somewhere and do something, but that lonely flute just played on and on as I wondered the world map with nothing to do.

I'm glad I bought it for twenty bucks. I can't imagine pouring fifty into this mess. I wouldn't even put a dollar in, because it's not even worth considering, let alone playing.

Caveat emptor.

Jul 17, 2019·50h·5

Lost Sphear

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