Summary
Three creators behind Square Enix’sChrono Triggerhave praised one of the best RPGs released in 2023,Sea of Stars.Chrono Triggerwas first released in 1995 for the SNES, with its team led byFinal Fantasycreator Hironobu Sakaguchi from Square,Dragon Questcreator Yuji Horii from Enix, and Akira Toriyama, the creator ofDragon Balland character designer forDragon Quest. These three were internally known as the “Dream Team” within Square whenChrono Triggerwas in development. With these three creative minds,Chrono Triggerwould become one of the most revolutionary and influential RPGsof all time.
Sea of Stars' director cited thatChrono Triggerwas a direct influence, alongsideSuper Mario RPGand thePaper Marioseries, for the indie RPG.Sea of Starslaunched earlier in August, receiving nearly universal acclaim from critics across all platforms, with many praising how it recaptured the spirit of Square Enix’s 16-bit RPGs. Some of the creative minds behindChrono Triggerthink the praise is well-warranted.
Translated by Genki on Twitter, in a radio show episode hosted by Yuji Horii, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and Kazuhiro Torishima (a former editor of Akira Toriyama’sDragon Ballmanga), the three allpraisedSea of Starsas a beautiful game. The three were all initially discussing a possible sequel toChrono Trigger, which Horii and Torishima thought it would be hard to see themselves doing. This segued into Sakaguchi bringing upSea of Stars, along with him showing off a trailer for the game itself.
Torishima and Horii were blown away by the trailer, praisingSea of Stars' beauty. “Wow, they did a great job, it looks just likeChrono Trigger… it’s beautiful… that’s great!” said Horii. Torishima similarly praised the trailer, stating it was “nostalgic” for him. Sakaguchi then commented on how it looked and replicatedChrono Trigger, praising the developers for doing a great job. The team behindSea of Starsgetting praised by some of the creators behind one of the influences of their work is perhaps one of the greatest things they could hear.
Sea of Starsbeing one of 2023’s best RPGsis no small feat, considering that other amazing RPGs like Square Enix’s ownOctopath Traveler 2,Final Fantasy 16, andStar Ocean: The Second Story Rwere all released this year too. Even ifChrono Triggerdoesn’t get a direct sequel,Sea of Starsseems like it is a worthy successor in its place, with its original creators endorsing this notion as well.
Sea of Stars
WHERE TO PLAY
Set in the same world as 2018’s The Messenger, Sabotage Studio’s Sea of Stars is an RPG that takes inspiration from Japanese classics like Chrono Trigger. Featuring a dynamic turn-based combat system and platforming-based exploration, Sea of Stars is an ambitious and gorgeous addition to the role-playing genre.
