Sea of Stars review – like a lost, late classic of the Super Nintendo era
There is more than a little of Chrono Trigger and the early Final Fantasy games in Sea of Stars, setting expectations that are both high and highly specific. This game is a clear reflection of its classic Japanese RPG influences, artfully pixellated like some late, lost classic of the Super Nintendo era. It opens with a story told in dense, fabulist prose by a mysterious figure, then introduces us to a pair of elementally opposed teenage heroes, Zale and Valere, supported by their lesser-destinied but charismatic friend, Garl.
Then the game picks up its stride. The cast widens, and things deepen and change. There is a lot more beneath the surface here than may first appear.
After a purple-y beginning, the prose and writing in the game really blossoms (if you can ignore all the comma splices). Not only is the dialogue bright and natural, but the storytelling and narrative design are outstanding. It introduces character after character, but their emotional beats don’t feel laboured. The story is full of surprises, though it is at times staggered by fetch-quests, and there was no area of the map I didn’t enjoy. If there was a MacGuffin for me to seek out, I was happy to do so – the combat and the world were both so lively that I was in no hurry to move the story along. An important technical detail players will appreciate is characters’ quick walking speed: we move at a smooth clip through this world, making it all the more delightful to explore.
Turn-based battles operate smoothly, and become more varied over time. Players can strike out with magic then recharge using physical attacks, which generate mana that heightens the power of the next character’s attacks. It all works in harmony, lifted further by a rhythmic component reminiscent of Super Mario RPG or the Paper Mario games. The style of these battles is another signal that Sea of Stars is a game that absolutely loves its genre, and has picked the best parts of the classics to combine into something original.
The maps are a real achievement; the last time I saw this level of compelling detail drawn out in pixels was in Pixpil’s Eastward. Each vignette and area is rendered and lit with real consideration. Sea of Stars does not use its art style for nostalgia alone: the world feels rich and alive. Every area is almost a puzzle in itself, laid out like an unfolding diorama, full of places to jump towards and little walkways to creep down. It invites exploration and curiosity. Sometimes all that detail and good design is hidden a little too effectively under a patina of atmospheric darkness, however – a shame when there is such beauty beneath the shadows.
Many good RPGs of late have eschewed melodic soundtracks for a more ambient route, but Sea of Stars is full of great tunes. The battle music in particular is both enlivening and nostalgic, and changes ever so slightly from area to area. This attention to detail is what makes the game such a fabulous way to while away endof-summer evenings. There are pirates and curses, necromancers and spies; there are moonbeam boomerangs, and stealthy stabbings through green portals in the air. Sea of Stars is no shallow mirror of RPGs past. Its depth and sparkle make it a modern classic in its own right.
Sea of Stars is out now; £29.50
second-round match at Wimbledon. But Murray is yet to reach the fourth round of a major since his hip problems began in 2017.
“Today is obviously a really disappointing defeat and probably the manner of it as well,” he said. “I mean, I fought hard enough but just didn’t play well enough. Ultimately these are the events that you want to play your best tennis in, and create more great moments, and [I] didn’t do that this year.”
Despite the congeniality between Murray and Dimitrov, it was a match that came with some added spice. Dimitrov now works with two of Murray’s former coaches: Dani Vallverdú, Murray’s old friend, and Jamie Delgado, who Murray worked with until 2021. Before the match, a smile flickered across Murray’s face as he noted that it probably was an advantage for Dimitrov to have them in his corner, but the match would be won on the court.
In the early stages of a ballistic first set, the contest had all the ingredients of a brutal, physical battle.
After trailing 2-0, Murray broke back after an astonishing 15-minute game that included dazzling all-court rallies and six deuces. After 47 minutes, only five games had been played.
But those tight early games eventually made way for a more one-sided contest. Throughout the match, Murray struggled to impose his game and hit through the conditions along with Dimitrov’s excellent backhand slice and defence.
Dimitrov took the decisive break of the first set after a dire service game from Murray, which included two double faults and two service games, and he was soon up a set and a break after another poor game on serve from Murray to open the second set. A potential turning point came for Murray as Dimitrov served with the break at 4-3 in the second set, the Bulgarian double faulting twice to offer Murray a break point.
The long 33-stroke rally that followed on break point illustrated Murray’s problems as he dictated most of the action but simply could not hit through the court and conditions.
Dimitrov survived the service game, he served out the set and went from strength to strength as he sealed the lengthy, physical match in three sets.
Murray said he simply did not play well enough: “I think I got broken at the beginning of every set so could never sort of get any scoreboard pressure, really. Then the times when I did sort of get back into sets or sort of break back, I just didn’t play well enough. Didn’t serve well enough.”
Asked what keeps him motivated after not making as much progress as he hoped to make, the 36-year-old said that he has continued to feel like he is still making progress. It is a feeling backed up by his ranking, which is currently No 37 and continues to gradually rise.
Murray also noted his positive matches in Australia and how he felt he was close to having a good run at Wimbledon.
“I still enjoy everything that goes into playing at a high level,” he said. “I enjoy the work. The training and trying to improve and trying to get better, I do still enjoy that. And that’s what keeps me going. If things change and I stop enjoying that or my results, my ranking and everything; like, if I start to go backwards in that respect [and] in a few months’ time I was ranked 60 in the world or whatever instead of moving up, things might change.”
Elsewhere, the 38-year-old former US No 1 John Isner ended his singles career on Thursday as he was unable to close out a two set-lead, eventually losing 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (7) to fellow American wildcard Michael Mmoh.