Lost Sphear

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 69
  3. Negative: 17 out of 69
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  1. techtronics
    Jan 25, 2018
    10
    This is a classic JRPG at its finest. The piano music is simple and effective, the battle system is classic 90s, as is the story; straightforward, simple, compelling, and engaging. The characters are written as classic JRPG characters, with that cheesy, predictable sense that just makes one smile upon reading all of its charm. Fans of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and VII, and Ni NoThis is a classic JRPG at its finest. The piano music is simple and effective, the battle system is classic 90s, as is the story; straightforward, simple, compelling, and engaging. The characters are written as classic JRPG characters, with that cheesy, predictable sense that just makes one smile upon reading all of its charm. Fans of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and VII, and Ni No Kuni will find something in this game to cheer about. A beautiful return to form. I can only pray that more titles and IP come from this new, growing subsection of Square Enix.… Expand
  2. 17_jrpg
    Jan 25, 2018
    8
    Lost Sphear is a spiritual successor to I am Setsuna, so in this game Tokyo RPG Factory also used a similar formula for traditional JRPGs and battle system from Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy. When I compare these two games, I can say that they have improved certain elements of gameplay, and added some new ones, for example: Vulcosuits Armor and an improved ATB system. Vulcosuits ArmorLost Sphear is a spiritual successor to I am Setsuna, so in this game Tokyo RPG Factory also used a similar formula for traditional JRPGs and battle system from Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy. When I compare these two games, I can say that they have improved certain elements of gameplay, and added some new ones, for example: Vulcosuits Armor and an improved ATB system. Vulcosuits Armor can be used on field and in battle. On field, it helps you remove certain obstacles that prevent you from exploring the map, while in battle it helps you to do more damage to enemy, which can be useful when you are fighting against the boss. The most I like in this game is the battle system. The new ATB system is very interesting because they have added more strategic elements and is more active. The story of this game is good and interesting. Through the story you follow the adventures of Kanata and his friends. In their adventures, they face many challenges and must restore the Lost to save the world. On the basis of this I can conclude that Lost Sphear is a pretty good game, but it is still not perfect to get a perfect score. There is still room for improvement, so I hope Tokyo RPG Factory will continue to improve its game in their new project. Also, I want to add that in the last couple of years there is less and less turn-based RPGs on PlayStation, because an increasing number of developers force an action RPG. For that reason I support the work of Tokyo RPG Factory, because they return traditional JRPGs (turn-based RPGs) on PlayStation, and I hope they will continue in that direction.… Expand
  3. FabioSS
    Jan 31, 2018
    10
    A very good old-school game. Successor spiritual JRPGs and battle system from Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy. Excelent RPG!
  4. Amleida
    Feb 6, 2018
    8
    Lost Sphear is a charming JRPG that offers a fairly linear, open world and gameplay similar to that of the Final Fantasy games on the original Playstation system. It has a turn-based battle system, but with an added strategic element that makes things slightly more interesting. I like Lost Sphear. The music is mellow and relaxing, and I really appreciate how the game was, obviously,Lost Sphear is a charming JRPG that offers a fairly linear, open world and gameplay similar to that of the Final Fantasy games on the original Playstation system. It has a turn-based battle system, but with an added strategic element that makes things slightly more interesting. I like Lost Sphear. The music is mellow and relaxing, and I really appreciate how the game was, obviously, inspired by JRPGs from the 90s.

    That said, the game falls short in terms of character development and narrative quality. Overall, it's a good, retro-styled JRPG that will make you feel nostalgic if you've enjoyed this type of game in the past. I wouldn't say that it's an exceptional game, it's too lacking in the story and character departments to make such a bold claim, but I think it's a pretty good game that I wish had been a little bit more.

    In terms of character development, the game redeems itself to some extent by fleshing out each character's backstory through side-quests that become available towards the end of the game. These side-quests can be easily missed, and I find it incredibly odd that this is the only way to find out more about the characters that the game is based on. It would've added so much more overall quality to the game, if it had been part of the game's natural character development, rather than late game, optional quests that require some back-tracking to trigger.

    Once you've played through the entire game, you'll realize that the developers put a lot of love and effort into creating what seems like a very simple and generic, retro JRPG at first glance. However, the way the characters and story of Lost Sphear unfolds is structured in such a flawed way that I highly doubt it will ever be recognized for the love and effort that was put into making it.    … Expand
  5. GrumpyReviewer
    Feb 5, 2018
    6
    This is a mediocre game, plain and simple. And so not worth 50 bucks.

    I played and loved 'I Am Setsuna' - even with all its flaws - because it was clear to me that there was so much love and soul inside that little independent game. What SquareEnix and Tokyo RPG Factory did with Lost Sphere is an industrial product that works, but nothing beyond that. A simple, traditional RPG that will    This is a mediocre game, plain and simple. And so not worth 50 bucks.

    I played and loved 'I Am Setsuna' - even with all its flaws - because it was clear to me that there was so much love and soul inside that little independent game. What SquareEnix and Tokyo RPG Factory did with Lost Sphere is an industrial product that works, but nothing beyond that. A simple, traditional RPG that will keep you busy for 20 hours or so.

    The cast is completely forgettable, the story makes absolutely no sense, the graphics are mediocre, the soundtrack is boring and there is a lot of backtracking to compensate for the fact that you have a very limited map to explore. The combat system is the only good thing about the game; there are some nice, fresh ideas there and some place to experiment. But, overall, Lost Sphere is one of the most mediocre and boring games I've played recently.

    I really regret getting it day one at full price. This game is worth 19 bucks at most. 50 is ridiculous.    … Expand
  6. gasherz
    Jan 24, 2018
    6
    This is an average game with an average story. The character personalities and their individual developments are more than lacking and story-telling is at best, average.

    Gameplay is what you can expect from a title like this. It is "OK" and it somewhat delivers on it's overstated goal of being a 90's JRPG. The battle system has been slightly improved from "I am Setsuna" but still leaves    This is an average game with an average story. The character personalities and their individual developments are more than lacking and story-telling is at best, average.

    Gameplay is what you can expect from a title like this. It is "OK" and it somewhat delivers on it's overstated goal of being a 90's JRPG. The battle system has been slightly improved from "I am Setsuna" but still leaves quite a bit to be desired. 20+ years has gone by since the 90's... plenty of time to realize that games also need to evolve. With respect to graphics, Lost Sphear does a good job of leaning towards simplicity whilst at the same time adding enough enhancements to make the experience worth watching. The soundtrack and audio in general are enjoyable and somehow leaves an impression.

    If you enjoy 90's-style JRPG with a lot of grinding and can forgive the lack of character development, somewhat stale environment and what I would consider high retail price, then sure, this game may very well be for you.

    Just don't expect too much.

    6/10 - An almost nice enough experience from an average JRPG.    … Expand
  7. JazGalaxy
    Jan 26, 2018
    9
    Any review of Lost Sphere which mentions the word "nostalgia" should be summarily dismissed and discarded as trash. The games industry is trendy and insularly focused on it's own pop-culture. Lost Sphere exists outside of that... sphere. Like a really good Swing Band that gets it's start in 2018, Lost Sphere has to fight it's way through critics who hate it simply because it dares to existAny review of Lost Sphere which mentions the word "nostalgia" should be summarily dismissed and discarded as trash. The games industry is trendy and insularly focused on it's own pop-culture. Lost Sphere exists outside of that... sphere. Like a really good Swing Band that gets it's start in 2018, Lost Sphere has to fight it's way through critics who hate it simply because it dares to exist at a time when what it's trying to do isn't what last years Game Of The Year did.

    But what Lost Sphere DOES do, it does incredibly well. My only complaint is the soundtrack which makes a small-budget game FEEL smaller than it needs to. I BIG sounding soundtrack, ala Chrono Trigger, would make this small-budget game feel much more expansive and substantial than it's critics would like to make it out to be.    … Expand
  8. megabear
    Feb 9, 2018
    5
    As one of JRPG fans, I have to say this game is a disappointment that slides backward from the spirits of old JRPG's where the game was driven by well written plot. Unfortunately the most important element, story, falls short with this game, which is no longer surprising considering Square Enix's involvement. I cannot recommend this game. It simply tarnishes the reputation of old JRPG'sAs one of JRPG fans, I have to say this game is a disappointment that slides backward from the spirits of old JRPG's where the game was driven by well written plot. Unfortunately the most important element, story, falls short with this game, which is no longer surprising considering Square Enix's involvement. I cannot recommend this game. It simply tarnishes the reputation of old JRPG's such as Chrono Trigger and FF series.… Expand
  9. ryudoshi
    Jan 23, 2018
    0
    Low quality game with android phone graphics trying to take advantage of nostalgia from Chrono trigger and other similar titles.
    NOT WORTH 50$ at all. Would pay 19.99 max.
  10. Bunny
    Apr 13, 2021
    0
    A charming homage to old school JRPGs that I thoroughly enjoyed. Good soundtrack and fun combat system. It was very satisfying to 'restore' places and things. I really liked the recipes idea.
  11. chronofantasy
    Mar 22, 2019
    10
    I just platinumed this game, and purchased it off amazon for $40 earlier this month. I put in approximately 60 hours into the game, then came on here and I was disappointed to see a lower than expected rating. Sure, ratings don't always matter, since people can have such wrong or bias opinions. But some of these negative reviews are comical.

    People are comparing it to Chrono Trigger, of    I just platinumed this game, and purchased it off amazon for $40 earlier this month. I put in approximately 60 hours into the game, then came on here and I was disappointed to see a lower than expected rating. Sure, ratings don't always matter, since people can have such wrong or bias opinions. But some of these negative reviews are comical.

    People are comparing it to Chrono Trigger, of course it may not be as classic or nostalgic like it, because the game is newer and a fresh take on what JRPG fans have been looking for in their games. It has pretty much all the elements to make up that JRPG you miss playing.

    For what it is, it is really well done. It doesn't make sense to knock it for its graphics either, because it's a niche genre and this is the style its fans are looking for. If it didn't have the backing of Square Enix, it would almost be an indie game as well, since it's made from a smaller company as well.

    So I can never understand how people can praise a game like UnderTale, with its even lower graphics and subpar story and silliness, but give low praise to a well done and beautiful game like this one. This is where bias comes in, especially towards JRPGs it seems, from Americans and those outside of Japan. Their standards are way too high or most people tend to look down on the JRPG genre.

    Other than that. This game has a beautiful and amazing score. An interesting array of characters from various walks of life. A compelling and deep story, with a post game tying up the true ending of the story. Then there's side stuff to do if you want to dive in some more into the game. The battle system is a lot of fun as well.    … Expand
  12. TheNFROMO
    Jun 11, 2023
    4
    Lets start off with the gameplay
    The gameplay has three difficulty settings but I played on easy, because I wanted to enjoy my time and I believe JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Games) should not have difficulty settings at all.
    Their are options to disable movement and battle animations in battle. Their are artifacts in the game that basically gives you buffs in two categories: buffs that    Lets start off with the gameplay
    The gameplay has three difficulty settings but I played on easy, because I wanted to enjoy my time and I believe JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Games) should not have difficulty settings at all.
    Their are options to disable movement and battle animations in battle.
    Their are artifacts in the game that basically gives you buffs in two categories: buffs that affect the whole world vs buffs that only affect the region.
    The food system is pretty much useless and never used it unless I needed it for the platinum
    There are two gameplay modes semi active vs active combat. one is enemies wait to attack while you make your move and another enemies don’t care and will destroy your very existence.
    There is a dialogue and event skip feature that goes from x2 to x16, kinda weird you can’t use to control normal gameplay so you can move and grind easier.
    It’s a turn based game with skills and each class has a designated skill set but most of the time you’ll probably have the same party members.
    Combat is an average type of JRPG style of gameplay, nothing note worthy, you’ll probably find in previous entries of the games in general that almost have the same combat as this game.
    One thing about this game is that you can beat it in the high 50s.
    There are a few enemies that get introduced half way throughout the game but they start getting recycled near the end game. I would say It’s a minimum attempt at making a distinct amount of enemies.
    the specific armor for at least one character has combo moves but its very simple and not developed at all to show options. you have at most 5 options but realistically only use 3.
    skills can be upgraded with buffs and with a specific mechanic called sublimation you can keep some of its effects on it up to a 10 stack but you can only have a 4 stack of a specific momentum buff
    The gameplay is just more of the same, you would have experienced it already in some shape or form and nothing changes.
    JRPG or RPG in general determine its playability on its gameplay and this game does the bare minimum with its gameplay mechanics.
    For This Reason, it deservers a 1.0 out of 2.5

    Story
    The story of this game how would I say it, its average at best.
    You get memory abilities in which you can restore memory.
    you find out early on about your childhood friend circumstances on them in randomly which is weird and nothing to built up on it like a someone making a passing comment.
    The side characters are pretty uninterested except for Van but that’s pretty much it.
    The specific character quest, in which a couple of them were the highlight of the game.
    There are two ending in which its more less of a good or bad ending. Its more so one is a shortcut ending and one is a hard work ending.
    I think this game story is average at best as with its gameplay, its worth a 1.5. average as hell and cliché as hell

    Audio
    The audio in this game for an rpg was pretty pretty good.
    It fit most of the scenes.
    There is battle dialogue (Japanese) weird they didn’t go all the way.
    There is a whole load of audio sync issues where you walk on grass and stone it takes 1 second for it to kick in
    when loading, the audio just stops and you get a constant scare that it might have crashed.
    One time it took around 5-10 seconds to load hence it caused me anxiety because of this issue.
    This audio deserves a 1.5 out of 2.5 because of these two issues

    Performance
    The performance of this game was A to S tier, I couldn’t tell if it ran at 30 or 60 fps.
    It ran pretty smoothly.
    They treated the Queen of Gaming Correctly.
    2.5 is the reward.

    Price Point
    The price of this game is at MSRP at 49.99, this suffers from the same issue as I Am Setsuna.
    This game should have at max been at the 15-20 dollar range for this title especially in 2017.
    I am subtracting a 2 for overcharging for this game.

    In conclusion,
    The game sits at an average score of 4.5 because the story, gameplay, and audio all had issues while the performance was good. The price point was ridiculous selling for that much even after the whole debacle with I am Setsuna people arguing its worth around 15-20 dollar range.    … Expand
  13. Kai82
    Dec 10, 2022
    7
    A good RPG with the unique memory mechanic but also a weak beginning. I almost quit after a few hours and would have called it a boring and generic RPG. Luckily the story and gameplay took momentum and improved the experience. The game is a classic active time turn based RPG. I would describe it as similar to classic Final Fantasy with elements from Chrono Trigger and I think a bit ofA good RPG with the unique memory mechanic but also a weak beginning. I almost quit after a few hours and would have called it a boring and generic RPG. Luckily the story and gameplay took momentum and improved the experience. The game is a classic active time turn based RPG. I would describe it as similar to classic Final Fantasy with elements from Chrono Trigger and I think a bit of Xenogears. The story is set in a world that is created seemingly out of memories by the moon but most people think that is just a creation myth. After a flashback to a distant past we switch to the young protagonists Kanata, Lumina and Locke in the remote village of Elgarthe. While they are on a fishing trip something strange happens. The entire village vanishes into white mist and they have to solve this mystery which is just the start of a far bigger adventure. I stop here to avoid spoilers. The story is decent with some really good moments but they also use many tropes and stereotypes. I could foresee some twists and story events with ease. Also like I said the first 3-4 hours are a bit boring. It hits more than it misses in this regard but not by large margin. The gameplay is classical refreshing. It is an active time battle with manual movement / positioning for attack / special ability range (Chrono Trigger). Overall this is a good but not awesome RPG you can play or skip it. I recommend it for the memory ideas and later half.… Expand
  14. tomvs123
    Jan 13, 2020
    3
    This is a bare bones, badly written, JRPG with a poor combat system and nothing unique going for it. I've played fan-made RPG maker games that are better.

    Unfortunately, people seem to look at classic JRPGs and remember the grindy level up/progression systems first and disregard the often unique, weird, or existential stories. It's obvious that the creators had a grindy progression    This is a bare bones, badly written, JRPG with a poor combat system and nothing unique going for it. I've played fan-made RPG maker games that are better.

    Unfortunately, people seem to look at classic JRPGs and remember the grindy level up/progression systems first and disregard the often unique, weird, or existential stories. It's obvious that the creators had a grindy progression system foremost in their minds.

    The story mechanic of towns and people disappearing while you go about restoring them is very similar to Soul Blazer (SNES) and is no where near as good. In that game, the mechanic is vague and mystical, while in this game, it's fully-explained early on and ends up being silly and shallow. In Soul Blazer, the mechanic is fun and is primarily how you progress through the game, while in this game, it's just your standard means of going to a new area

    The dialogue is long-winded and not intelligent. Dialogue is about 4 times longer than it needs to be, with your characters frequently stating the obvious and making up far-fetched reasons for how to progress (which always turn out to be correct, despite almost no research being done). For example, in one section, you need to sneak into an area. And what do your characters determine should be done to do this? Make the sun set, which hasn't happened in the lifetime of the main character (yeah really, that's their first idea). So you create day/night cycles to the world by restoring a tower. This seemingly world-shattering event is then ignored by everyone else in the world - No one mentions it after sneaking into the area. The game is full of instances like this.

    Characters have nearly no background, and don't seem like real people. For no compelling reason, you go off on a quest to save the world and take a very heroic and stoic approach to this, and you remain that way for nearly the whole game, except for a few forced moments where your main character becomes slightly depressed, which are fixed by long-winded and unnecessary dialogue sections. In fact, all of your characters seem the same. Cover up their names, and I bet you couldn't tell who said what. There's very little personality to them and it seems as though the main writer just used the same template to each, even down to their speech patterns (which may be the fault of the localization).

    The world isn't very believable. You're dealing with a particular empire throughout the game that seems to be doing the opposite of what their king wants. The game deals with this by having the king disappear voluntarily for most of the game, which is just sloppy writing. And then you flip-flop allegiance to that empire several times depending on whatever general you're dealing with at the moment. And of course, that empire constantly makes stupid decisions, because of course they do. You're the hero after all.

    Early in the game, you're sent on a quest to obtain some supposedly-rare mech suits (that just serve to make combat slightly more annoying). Your three-character party gets them, because they're the chosen ones, of course. What's strange about this is that every other character that joins you just so happens to have their own rare mech suit. So this thing that starts out as special early-game ends up being a silly gimmick and bad writing later on since everyone ends up getting one with no effort.

    The combat system is basically pulled from the Hyperdimension Neptunia games, being area-of-effect based, but is poorly done. The biggest annoyance is that you can't accurately control your attack area. The Neptunia games solve this by having set buttons slowly move your attack area around after getting into position. In this game, the L2/R2 buttons are unused. So I ended up constantly dealing with the fiddly analog inputs to reposition my attack area. Also, there's skill cooldowns for some reason. Want to cast that heal spell again? Too bad, you need to wait 2 turns. This goes for attack skills too. So I couldn't use the most effective attack skills and instead simply went down the list of skills in every battle, since they at least do more damage then normal attacks. There's several bosses that, without warning, explode when they're killed, damaging all of your characters in the process. If they don't have 75% health or higher, then it's game over and back to the last save point - that makes no sense story wise, as you have backup characters that can switch in any time, but it's still game over if your main battle party dies.

    Your combat power is unfortunately level-based. If you skip battles, you'll end up not being able to progress, because all of your attacks will miss. So when you can't hit a boss, it's necessary to go back into the dungeon and grind a bit. This is not a DQ or FF combat system, where smart play is more important than levels.

    So I didn't like this one. At least it was only 20 hours.    … Expand
  15. Persona5GOAT
    May 1, 2020
    4
    I had to mute the game and put on LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE because the monotonous music was going to send me to the mental ward. The story was meh, I never really felt like I cared about the characters, setting, or world in general, though it wasn't horrible either. I really don't know what to say the whole thing was really just okay. I had a really hard time understanding the battleI had to mute the game and put on LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE because the monotonous music was going to send me to the mental ward. The story was meh, I never really felt like I cared about the characters, setting, or world in general, though it wasn't horrible either. I really don't know what to say the whole thing was really just okay. I had a really hard time understanding the battle system, I still have no idea what the hell sublimation or momentum charge is or how that works with spritnite. Thankfully, I never had to really care or try all that hard. I don't understand the comparisons to Chrono Trigger whatsoever either.… Expand
  16. Jaycebond
    Mar 31, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The last part is totally unnecessary oh God what a headache, why they have to add those stupid plot twist.… Expand
  17. Ventu
    Jul 31, 2022
    8
    Lost Sphear es un JRPG con un estilo propio de la época dorada del género. Aunque es la misma fórmula que hemos visto siempre dentro de este género, innova en algunos apartados, y todo lo que hace lo hace bien. La historia aunque típica tiene un par de enfoques interesantes, y te mantendrá entretenido de principio a fin. Los personajes son los prototipos habituales, aunque muy bienLost Sphear es un JRPG con un estilo propio de la época dorada del género. Aunque es la misma fórmula que hemos visto siempre dentro de este género, innova en algunos apartados, y todo lo que hace lo hace bien. La historia aunque típica tiene un par de enfoques interesantes, y te mantendrá entretenido de principio a fin. Los personajes son los prototipos habituales, aunque muy bien desarrollados. A nivel técnico cumple bien, y a nivel gráfico y sonoro es muy bonito y agradable. La jugabilidad es por turnos, pero con una mecánica especial muy entretenida, y con bastante profundidad gracias a todo lo que nos permite personalizar nuestro equipo y habilidades. Es un poco corto para el estándar de este tipo de juegos, pero se agradece para variar. Lo mejor es el producto que queda en su conjunto, siendo un JRPG muy bueno y que gustará a los fans del género.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 53
  3. Negative: 0 out of 53
  1. Games.cz
    Apr 24, 2018
    60
    Lost Sphear ended average in its feverish effort to combine all the fun elements from the classic JRPGs into one game. The battles are overcomplicated, and the gameplay is totally flat. Only the story would achieve a better verdict.
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  2. RPGamer
    Mar 12, 2018
    80
    The game's overarching plot is a little derivative, the main conflict less impactful the more abstract the story gets, but it's grounded by likeable characters with personality and a satisfying abundance of actual story-telling. Topped off by a beautiful presentation, in particular an amazing musical score, and a combat system that offers a lot of player choice, and it's easy to become captivated by the charms of classic RPGs all over again.
    Read full review
  3. Softpedia
    Mar 9, 2018
    80
    Lost Sphear is one of the few JRPGs that retains the Chrono Trigger feeling, but improves many aspects of the gameplay to offer a modern approach to fans of the genre. It's a true classic JRPG featuring a charming art style, nostalgic music and an interesting combat system.
    Read full review
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