Reviewed on: PS4

JRPG is a genre that has been gaining increasing prominence in recent times. Several studios have been giving life to games trying to “revive” the genre, and Cosmic Star Heroine is the bet from Zeboyd Games (of Cthulhu Saves the World) to redefine a whole family of classic games… and perhaps join it.

Narrative: 8.5

Cosmic Star Heroine follows the heroine Alyssa L’Salle, an agent of the API (Agency of Protection and Intelligence) who uncovers a great conspiracy within her organization. Using a dystopian and well-built setting, the game presents a world familiar to any fan of post-apocalyptic narratives… And does so without clichés.

The characters are interesting, with their own motivations and stories. Zeboyd Games showed great skill in composing dialogue that brings out each individual’s personality, with a well-judged tone and dose of humor.

At many different moments the game presents small hand-drawn cutscenes that help set the tone of the scene and lead the player’s imagination into the next chapter… The kind of effect we would have had in the best PlayStation RPGs in the 90s.

Mechanics: 8.5

CSH honors the JRPG genre by bringing a world with huge maps to explore, stuffed with secret passages and hidden treasures. There are no random encounters, and you can see your upcoming opponents in advance to prepare.

Each encounter is unique, with hand-crafted groups of enemies. There is a perfect balance in the game’s progression and difficulty, and you really feel that everything that happens is orchestrated (which fits very well with the themes addressed in the game). It is worth noting that you can’t grind in the game (fighting more enemies to level up and make the next encounters easier), making XP a scarce and precious resource.

Combat uses a classic turn-based system. On the right of the screen you can check the order of actions, on the left is the information about the heroes’ health and powers and at the bottom are the available command options… And it is in the command system that the game shines.

The available commands are organized into 3 tabs: Skills (attacks and support actions), Items and Programs (spells tied to equipment). There are 8 slots in each tab, and it is up to the player to choose the arsenal of actions to bring to battle. In addition, most actions wear out after use, requiring you to choose a rest/defend option to recharge everything that is depleted (including items and programs). This is the most elegant and versatile system ever seen in a traditional JRPG – it works well and brings a variety of strategies.

One point that needs to be highlighted is the technical problems: playing on the PS4 I didn’t notice anything, but there are many complaints (especially from users of the PC version) about sprites that don’t move and aren’t animated properly, causing discomfort and breaking any immersion.
One problem I did notice was the sensitivity of the action/confirm button. If you hold the button for more than a fraction of a second at the end of a dialogue, the game understands that you are trying to start a new conversation with the same NPC. At times I lost minutes trying to escape the same repeated conversation.
It is hoped that a future patch will fix problems like these.

Audiovisual: 8.5

The game uses pixel art and sprites to emulate a 16-bit game. Even so, it takes advantage of existing technology to overcome the limitations of the time. Despite the sprites, the game renders more than double the colors a 16-bit console could support. The maps are rich in detail, the characters have an enormous variety of animations, and during combat there are countless different visual effects.

The soundtrack features quality music, with a highlight on the rock that plays during battles and its energy that heightens the immersion of the fights – you will rarely notice that this kind of sound didn’t exist on 90s consoles. The music uses a bit of the sound of old consoles, but at times adds layers of instruments and percussion.

It is worth highlighting the work done on the game’s cutscenes: you get the feeling that these scenes would have been possible in a game of the era, but that only a very talented team could produce this amount at this quality.

Final thoughts

The studio Zeboyd Games really did a great job convincing the player they are playing the best JRPG of the 90s… But Cosmic Star Heroine is not a 90s game, but a solid and well-executed work, capable of bringing back your memories of the golden age of JRPGs.

SCORE

Narrative = 8.5
Mechanics = 8.5
Audiovisual = 8.5

OVERALL : 8.5

PlayStation 4 version