Cosmic Star Heroine

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 47 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 47
  3. Negative: 7 out of 47
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  1. Hincy89
    Jul 10, 2017
    9
    Great entry to the Zeboyd collection, probably my favourite. If you've have never heard of the them, check out one of their older titles prices are very reasonable and you'll find yourself also playing their entire collection.

    Only a few hours in but it has a intriguing storyline, a very intuitive style to the turn based system and amazing pixel art. Plus a great length at approx 20    Great entry to the Zeboyd collection, probably my favourite. If you've have never heard of the them, check out one of their older titles prices are very reasonable and you'll find yourself also playing their entire collection.

    Only a few hours in but it has a intriguing storyline, a very intuitive style to the turn based system and amazing pixel art. Plus a great length at approx 20 hours the game doesn't overstay it welcome for gamers with a life.    … Expand
  2. Dokiir
    Apr 17, 2017
    10
    The game has bugs, and glitches, yes, it's also not polished, least not as much as it should be. That said, it's not a cash-in, it's a heartfelt, and well thought out game, that harks back to an era that makes my nostalgic muscles twitch to no end. Phantasy Star, Lunar, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden. I could keep listing, if you've been around for long enough, or haven't but still loved theseThe game has bugs, and glitches, yes, it's also not polished, least not as much as it should be. That said, it's not a cash-in, it's a heartfelt, and well thought out game, that harks back to an era that makes my nostalgic muscles twitch to no end. Phantasy Star, Lunar, Chrono Trigger, Suikoden. I could keep listing, if you've been around for long enough, or haven't but still loved these games, this game is for you, no question about it. The battle system is excellent; interesting to work with, at Heroine difficulty (the 3rd of the 4, which I recommend playing it on) - it really pushes you to think a few moves ahead with each character, and as a whole team, to ultimately get extremely satisfying results once you figure out that tactic for each fight. It's not just the boss fights that are interesting, every fight is, and as you progress, level up, get more gear and get wiser, you enjoy it more, you're rewarded for being a good player and a tactician in the field of battle. I love it.

    The characters are charming, with a zany sense of humor that is reminiscent of that in the Lunar series. Zeboyd know how to handle subtle references, and they know how to handle humor, so there are a few good times I've both smiled and laughed out loud. There's a wealth of NPCs with funny tidbits here and there to share, as well as being useful for tips on battle, items, techniques, and quest clues. It's all in the world around you, you just need to look.

    The resolution at 1920x1080 is NOT blurry - i'm playing on a 43" TV at 1080 and it looks terrific, so I can wholeheartedly say that's not true at all. I've not had any stages where my game save has become corrupt, nearly 16 hours in now and I've not encountered any bugs, actually. That said, they're there, I've spoken to others, and I've seen them. However the developers have patched since these other rancid reviews were posted, and are working to another patch extremely soon. Rather than slate the developers in to the ground, these users could have reported the bugs, yes stil be annoyed because a buggy game is an annoying game, but at the very least communicate that frustration to the developers. They're not trying to get away with anything, they're 4 years in on a labor of love and they could have used more time, yes, but they didn't have it, so whatever small bugs are being encountered, and big ones, they've tackled most of them already and are weeding out the remainders.

    The story is good, characters are charming, the artwork is fantastic and the overall aesthetic will pull you in if you've a nostalgic bone in your body. At an estimated 15-20 hours gameplay, for the price of $14.99 (currently $11.99 for another 24 hours I think) you cannot ask for better value for money. People raging on this game at the loud minority, and I only wish people who have played and enjoyed the game thoroughly would speak up for their experiences, both good and bad, but at some way to support the vision of CSH and the development team, tiny a team as it is.

    If you're not sure, watch some playthrough of it on youtube, but if you are liking it, stop watching, and go grab it, to avoid spoilers.    … Expand
  3. SlidingSiv
    Apr 11, 2017
    9
    If your going in and looking for a classic 16-bit style JRPG, then this is the game for you my friend. Everything about the game oozes sci-fi, from the artsy environments to the almost trance like techno music. This is a great game, combat is challenging and addicting.

    Highly Recommend!
  4. kuehnau
    Apr 11, 2017
    5
    Cosmic Star Heroine is a JRPG from the makers of Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death 7. Designed to resemble a 16bit SNES RPG, Cosmic Star Heroine is clearly inspired by other classic JRPGs such as Chrono Trigger. Just looking at it causes the nostalgia to drag me back into my childhood.

    With that being said, there are issues that bothered me as I played the game. One of the    Cosmic Star Heroine is a JRPG from the makers of Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death 7. Designed to resemble a 16bit SNES RPG, Cosmic Star Heroine is clearly inspired by other classic JRPGs such as Chrono Trigger. Just looking at it causes the nostalgia to drag me back into my childhood.

    With that being said, there are issues that bothered me as I played the game.

    One of the first things that really bugged me was interacting with NPCs. You can walk through (most) NPCs and for whatever reason you have to be in a perfect spot to trigger dialog, which can be really frustrating, I often found myself walking around in circles around a NPC until I could actually get the chance to open dialog with them.

    The combat, while it didn't really seem to be a big issue at first, ended up being one of the most frustrating factors of the game. I am sure the developers thought they were doing something "cool" or "unique", but all it really did was make fights longer and more annoying.

    Characters have skills, abilities, items and "programs", all of these things have like a cooldown on them, so while in the midst of combat you can't just spam one thing. The issue is, not all characters have a basic attack to rely on while in combat, so eventually you are going to find some of your party members have nothing else to offer besides waiting a few turns to recharge their skills or abilities. It's stupid and poorly thought out.

    Besides that, you can't really "grind" in this game, because from what I've seen, monsters are not recurring, they are scripted, so while you might encounter a monster in a area, you can't simply walk around to continue to fight it for more money or experience. And grinding is one of the biggest draws to RPGs, it's watching numbers go up.

    The writing is yawn inducing. With RPGs of this nature there should be a balance that you strive to achive as far as it comes to dialog, unfortunately I often found myself just autoscrolling through mounds of text because I really couldn't find the energy to care about their poorly written story.

    The map layouts are really forgettable, for the most part they take a fairly linear path, which may occasionally branch out for a few steps or walk back up upon itself, but it never really goes far enough to actually encourage exploration.

    The game is mostly fine, even with it's tedious combat, terrible writing and uninspired maps. I just feel like it was really overhyped and as a direct result, the end product just doesn't look as good.    … Expand
  5. dubloon7
    Apr 24, 2017
    9
    PROS:
    -Superb JRPG fighting mechanics
    --Every fight felt different and fresh -Exceptional soundtrack -Quests -Optional Bosses -NEUTRAL: Buggy (currently being patched) so pro and con -No Random encounters -VR fighting -CONS: -Average 16 hour gameplay through story, desire MORE -Too many playable characters, some pretty useless to my gaming strategy -No recurring enemy    PROS:
    -Superb JRPG fighting mechanics
    --Every fight felt different and fresh
    -Exceptional soundtrack
    -Quests
    -Optional Bosses

    -NEUTRAL: Buggy (currently being patched) so pro and con
    -No Random encounters
    -VR fighting

    -CONS:
    -Average 16 hour gameplay through story, desire MORE
    -Too many playable characters, some pretty useless to my gaming strategy
    -No recurring enemy fights, once killed NEVER return unless using VR fights    … Expand
  6. Quezkatolen
    Apr 25, 2017
    7
    I´m Swedish, and while I didnt understand english as a kid, I still played (and enjoyed) games such as CT,FF6,SD/SF,Lunar and PS IV they had something this game doesnt: a fun combat system. Now, to be clear, this game has a great combat system vs bosses you debuff,you buff,you defend or heal, you charge style etc and you unleash powerful attacks. This is all fine vs bosses and beingI´m Swedish, and while I didnt understand english as a kid, I still played (and enjoyed) games such as CT,FF6,SD/SF,Lunar and PS IV they had something this game doesnt: a fun combat system. Now, to be clear, this game has a great combat system vs bosses you debuff,you buff,you defend or heal, you charge style etc and you unleash powerful attacks. This is all fine vs bosses and being strategical, but its not fun vs regular mobs, and they shows up a lot. Now this isnt an issue if the game was longer than 12-15 hours, but in this game the story feels like an after thought, it lack a soul almost. the visuals are all great and retro, the animations as well (for what it trying to be) but its just not that much fun. There are 4 difficulties, and even on the 2nd (while not being hard at all) early on in the game regular attacks does maybe 100-200 dmg, and regular enemies have roughly 3-4k hp (if not much more). Now you might say, well you can dish out a lot of damage if you debuff/buff and charge - right, but its not fun vs trash mobs. Its just not.
    I just finished Persona 5, and they arnt stuck in the 90´s when it comes to combat, you can expose weaknesses and dismantle enemies very quickly with right tactics. In this game, not at all.
    In fact, even on the highest difficulty, you have to defend, heal and charge vs the first regular enemy. Who is enjoying this combat again? Seeing how the game is only 12-15 hours long, I start to suspect the game is in reality not even half, if you remove the combat and how much it ask of you to do while getting back so little.

    To sum it up: Great visuals (for a retro look) and the audio is all fine, the combat system would have been fine vs bosses, but enemies with less HP would have been prefered, and not a story that is just run straight to A-B and C (while fighting,fighting and fighting). I honestly feel like the story was an after thought after they made the world...im sad to say, I can recommend this game to die hard jrpg fans, but no one else. And to be fair to this game: if you come from Persona 5 (like I did) you realize how good a turn based combat system can be (this game isnt it).    … Expand
  7. Underpants158
    Oct 4, 2020
    7
    I'll try to keep this short. The gameplay is fun. Your abilities getting disabled after you use them until you defend and replenish gives the fights more depth. Also timing your strong attacks to be up when your character has a "limitbreak" gives it even more depth. I would recommend any JRPG developer to take a strong look at this system. Where the game falls flat for me is the world andI'll try to keep this short. The gameplay is fun. Your abilities getting disabled after you use them until you defend and replenish gives the fights more depth. Also timing your strong attacks to be up when your character has a "limitbreak" gives it even more depth. I would recommend any JRPG developer to take a strong look at this system. Where the game falls flat for me is the world and story. So, because this is a game that is supposed to be about 10 hours long and its trying to tell a grander tale than 10 hours would really allow for...the result is everything seems pretty shallow. For example, near the beginning there is a revelation that turns your world upside down and...two sentences later you are merrily going on your way. Because I play games for story and world immersion this really brings down the game to me. If I cared about the story even a little bit this would be an 8.… Expand
  8. SketchesofPlain
    Aug 15, 2017
    8
    My only complaints about this game are size related. It's too short and too small. The maps are too small, there aren't enough places to go or explore, and there aren't enough battles (unless you replay them using the "VR" battle mode).
    Worst of all, it's too short. The characters and the story are interesting enough to have stretched the narrative out more. If this had been a later SNES    My only complaints about this game are size related. It's too short and too small. The maps are too small, there aren't enough places to go or explore, and there aren't enough battles (unless you replay them using the "VR" battle mode).
    Worst of all, it's too short. The characters and the story are interesting enough to have stretched the narrative out more. If this had been a later SNES RPG, and clocked more like 35-40 hours, it would have likely been a 10/10 for me, as I also really loved the battle system.    … Expand
  9. Intervals
    Apr 16, 2017
    8
    Cosmic Star Heroine is all about nostalgia, while it takes some pages from Phantasy Star it is really a Chrono Trigger game. I'm not finished completely but giving an idea of my thoughts on everything so far.
    The story is good, although somewhat basic, all the best JRPGs kept is somewhat simple. The dialogue is decent but campy and cheesy at some points but definitely not the worst I've    Cosmic Star Heroine is all about nostalgia, while it takes some pages from Phantasy Star it is really a Chrono Trigger game. I'm not finished completely but giving an idea of my thoughts on everything so far.
    The story is good, although somewhat basic, all the best JRPGs kept is somewhat simple. The dialogue is decent but campy and cheesy at some points but definitely not the worst I've seen.
    I've ran into some weird glitches, players freezing while following me, dialogue spamming sometimes, and issues in combat (very minimal though)
    The combat is what this game is all about, very strategic for a JRPG and on the difficult side if you play it one Heroine difficulty (Super Spy is unplayable, I think it is for New Game Plus or something). Each character has their own abilities and are extremely customizable which makes the combat a blast. Sometimes you have to decide between using an attack with one person while healing with another although you may not be able to if that person used their heal ability which you would then have to defend to recharge (I love the fact a JRPG finally made defend a useful option). It gets pretty tense and is greatly thought out.

    Personally I love the game and keep coming back to it even though I have a ton of other games to finish. For a casual player I would rate the game a 6 but with my love of turn based RPGs and the 16 bit graphics it's a solid 8 for me.    … Expand
  10. SaviorGaming
    Dec 7, 2017
    8
    While Cosmic Star Heroine isn't perfect and has its faults, the occasional glitch or bug and I didn't really enjoy the fact that I could use a move one time before having to recharge it. The story however is great an the classic JRPG feel was really well done as well as that great chrono trigger battle style.
  11. elitegeek79
    Sep 22, 2018
    9
    I was a little skeptical with some mediocre reviews, but I have to say I'm really enjoying this game! If you liked snes/pc-engine jrpgs, this game is for you! The music is surprisingly catchy, a somewhat unique combat system, interesting characters and a lot of fun. My only wish would be for a little more freedom in exploration, but the story makes you feel pretty engaged, so I didn'tI was a little skeptical with some mediocre reviews, but I have to say I'm really enjoying this game! If you liked snes/pc-engine jrpgs, this game is for you! The music is surprisingly catchy, a somewhat unique combat system, interesting characters and a lot of fun. My only wish would be for a little more freedom in exploration, but the story makes you feel pretty engaged, so I didn't mind as much.… Expand
  12. ThaFlu84
    Sep 4, 2019
    8
    A solid RPG with cool characters, an excellent soundtrack, an interesting battle system, and a decent story.
  13. peter1324
    Apr 4, 2020
    8
    This game is definitely on the right track, I hope if they have a sequel that they will have a much better story and make the game at least 3x longer with more side quests and areas and planets to explore. Also make it a little more expansive when it comes to equipment and special abilities. I love the art style and music also has great battles mechanics. They need to go all out and makeThis game is definitely on the right track, I hope if they have a sequel that they will have a much better story and make the game at least 3x longer with more side quests and areas and planets to explore. Also make it a little more expansive when it comes to equipment and special abilities. I love the art style and music also has great battles mechanics. They need to go all out and make a sequel that expands the story and exploration.… Expand
  14. Sk8erboi79
    Sep 9, 2023
    6
    Excellent graphics and atmosphere, but the writing and characters are a big let down. Battles are also tedious and drawn out.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. RPG Fan
    May 23, 2017
    83
    While the 16-bit-RPG-throwback genre is certainly not lacking for participants, Cosmic Star Heroine stands near the head of the class in terms of accurately capturing the audiovisual essence of the era. It falls short on invoking the character and captivating allure of the worlds imagined by the forebearers it aims to honor, however. It's a solid game in its own right, but going in understanding it's more homage than classic will temper expectations and enable you to appreciate it for what it is rather than what it is not. After all, even the best cover bands aren't able to completely emulate the enduring magic of their source material.
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  2. Video Chums
    May 5, 2017
    74
    The robust world and intricate combat system are Cosmic Star Heroine's shining stars but neither aspect is without flaws. Still, it's an enjoyable and accessible game that will appeal to both the JRPG faithful and casual genre fans alike.
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  3. 4P.de
    May 3, 2017
    77
    Inspired by classics like Chrono Trigger, Phantasy Star, or Suikoden, and filled with dynamic turnbased battles, this is a gem for any aficionado of 16-bit-roleplaying.
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