'Lost Sphear' Update: Square Enix, Tokyo RPG Factory Team Up in Developing Upcoming Game
Game publisher Square Enix announced before the end of May that "Lost Sphear" was already in development. The game is a follow-up to the 2016 release "I Am Setsuna" by Tokyo RPG Factory.
Although the upcoming game will have some resemblance to its predecessor, Square Enix recently gave a statement that pointed out that "Lost Sphear" will feature a different design direction.
According to Square Enix, "Lost Sphear" is an adventure game that starts "in a remote town where a young boy, Kanata, awakens from a devastating dream to find his hometown disappearing."
Players of the upcoming game will have to organize a party to take down the evil plaguing his hometown. Those who previously played "I Am Setsuna" will certainly find the game familiar. The cult classic took inspiration from the Japanese role-playing game classic "Chrono Trigger," whose elements "Lost Sphear" will also continue to adopt.
According to reports, "I Am Setsuna" bears some similarity to "Lost Sphear" as the former carries over "Chrono Trigger's" battle system to the upcoming game, including its character design and story structure. However, the upcoming game will differ from its predecessor in the sense that it will feature an expanded ATB battle system that lets characters change places in the middle of the battle so they can take advantage of new attack techniques.
Although Square Enix has yet to confirm if the upcoming game will have an open-world system, the game developer has announced that the game will feature "seamless environments" and more diverse locations. The additional locations are meant to address the criticisms to "I Am Setsuna," which featured a very limited environment.
The world in "Lost Sphear" will be rendered with 3D visuals when seen from different camera perspectives. Square Enix has yet to announce the exact release date of the new game, but it is expected to be made available in early 2018.