REVIEW: ‘Cosmic Star Heroine’ is a Passionate Sci-Fi JRPG From beginning to End (Switch)

As a huge sci-fi enthusiast, I have always been fascinated by the imaginations of futuristic cyberpunk sci-fi, especially the future depicted in anime, film, and manga. It’s a fascinating portrayal of where humans could be headed. In the case of JRPG Cosmic Star Heroine, the world is filled with fascinating possibilities, from colonizing different worlds to befriending alien bounty hunters, to placing computer devices in your brain to control guns with your mind. However, it also holds more sinister possibilities as well.

When a dark, sinister weapon is unearthed, threatening all of human existence, players will embark on a mission spanning an entire solar system, encountering challenges that are unlike anything ever encountered before. This is Cosmic Star Heroine, a sci-fi JRPG from Zeboyd Games made in the spirit of classic 1990’s JRPGS such as Suikoden II and Chrono Trigger.

The game features a plethora of characters, multiple worlds to choose travel to, and a wide range of enemies to fight. Whether you are an expert in the genre, or someone who has never before played a JRPG, Cosmic Star Heroine is out of this world.

In Cosmic Star Heroine, players don the jacket and beret of Agent Alyssa L’ Salle a top agent at the Agency Of Peace & Intelligence. Skilled with her Cyber-Bo, she is quickly dispatched on a top-secret operation to defuse a bomb planted by rogue terrorists. Joining her is Chan Kaneko, an agent that can control laser guns with her mind and Dave, a cyber-hacker.

The Agency of Peace & Intelligence works hard to ensure safety and security, providing virtually unlimited resources to its agents. After the terrorist threat is thwarted, the team is sent to a mysterious jungle planet, where a terrifying weapon is unearthed and a dark conspiracy has been uncovered. To save humanity, Alyssa L’ Salle and her crew will have to go rogue, acquire a starship, make friends with unlikely allies, and do what it takes to stop this evil plan from going into motion.

Cosmic Star Heroine plays like a traditional, turn-based JRPG, taking place from the top-down view. Players will form their party, explore areas, and take on various foes. As a turn-based game, players will engage various enemies and choose commands, taking turns with the enemy. Choosing the right weapons and abilities is important to surviving the deadliest of encounters.

Your party will consist of humans, aliens, robots, and cyborgs, each with their own unique abilities and skills. These range from a hacker sending DDoS to shut down gaming servers and attacks to a sci-fi punk rocker using their microphone to disable machines.

The characters are incredibly diverse, which also extends to their personalities. As diverse as your team is, expect to face a large variety of enemies, including cybernetic monstrosities, alien beasts, rogue robots, and authoritarian military forces. Each enemy will require strategic thinking and planning as the efficacy of a chosen attack ranges, depending on the enemy.

For example, using water-based attacks or hacking powers are great against machines, but an incendiary attack may not be so effective. The number of abilities are incredibly abundant, ranging from water, laser, fire, cybernetic punches, and so on. This also includes special attacks and group attacks. The biggest hook is the use of primed attacks as well as style. Style boosts stats, and those stats will play into your abilities.

After a few turns, a character will turn yellow, meaning the next attack they inflict will inflict an incredible amount of power. If players have a high style rating and use one of their special abilities, they can deal massive challenge. This strategy, as well as the party members you choose, will be absolutely important when handling the game’s many bosses and mid-bosses. They will put up a challenging fight, even on easier difficulty settings. It is recommended to save as often as you can.

Cosmic Star Heroine immediately grabs you with its astounding visual presentation. The game looks and feels like a game comfortable in 1993. Its sci-fi world is massive, immersive, and incredibly detailed, giving players the sensation that they are living in a living, breathing world. Futuristic cities, underground towns, and underwater bases are an inkling of what players will see during the course of their adventure. While there is no voice acting, the dialogue for the characters is very well told, giving a personality and emotion to each character. The world around the player is rife with mystery, transhumanism, and interstellar travel.

This is further compounded by an absolutely tremendous soundtrack, which is perfect for the entire adventure. The game uses an assortment of jazz, rock and roll, and electronic sounds for its worlds and combat. It makes for great listening, especially when in the thick of a boss fights. Personally, I’d rank Cosmic Stars Heroine’s soundtrack as incredibly distinguished, right up there with 2064: Read Only Memories, and VA11-HALLA.

The combat in Cosmic Star Heroine is polished extraordinarily well. it contains a very fine point, between being great for newcomers of the genre and those wishing to experience a great challenge. Experimenting with the different abilities feels refreshing and every enemy downed, especially the various boss fights, feels like a tremendous reward.

The variety of the combat and boss fights, which range from giant cybernetic dragons to sub-space demons, also feels refreshing and challenges the player to utilize different strategies and characters. While it can get a bit repetitive, especially during more crowded environments, the combat is incredible.

Cosmic Star Heroine quickly became one of my favorite games and an experience I won’t soon forget. It’s captivating sci-fi world with long and varied quest, stellar presentation, and intense combat should make it an instant buy for anyone looking for a game completely out of the ordinary, but also strongly familiar. Cosmic Star Heroine is a labor of love and passion for the sci-fi JRPG, and it shows from beginning to end. Cosmic Star Heroine is a quest for everyone in the universe.

Cosmic Star Heroine is available now on PlayStation 4, PC, PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch