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. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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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