Star Renegades (Massively Freaking Difficult Space Rebel JRPG)
A debate raged in my head as to whether I should review this one. Dark enough? Misanthropic enough? Well there’s some empire in space taking over stuff and subjugating rebels and all that, so within such strife there’s inevitably suffering. We’ll go with it, primarily because I love Raw Fury and they’ve been just so good to me. Plus I haven’t played a good JRPG in awhile and this be lookin’ like the 16-bit era so I had to. And sure, it drew me, what with its absolutely brutal difficulty that created in me a desire to kill. But, please note, I give the score below with much reservation. If there’s one thing Star Renegades is clear on, it’s that it looks and sounds spectacular. All of that will get you certainly rallying behind the resistance but it’s also hard as goddamn piss holy shit.
After the tutorial play is generally the same arrangement for each planet. I can deal with that. What was infuriating was the complete destruction the computer deals upon you from the beginning. Star Renegades jumps right into assault and battery once it starts with even mid-tier enemies ruining your sense of worth and bosses with single kill shots that crush your team into dust. Unfortunately until you lose and get some unlocks (what?) your character selection is weak. I thought for sure I was missing a detail or some mechanic, but no, even on “normal” this game hurts like like pissing knives. I enjoyed it, but it will 2,000,000% enrage lower-level gamers looking for a story and grinding for stats and gear. Star Renegades requires ultimate strategy and, at times, battles hinge on player combinations to build camaraderie that leads to your own kill shots almost leveling a boss in a single turn. As such, the reservation here is on the overall balance, which needs some serious work.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Star Renegades
Massive Damage, Inc. (developer), Raw Fury (publisher)
4 / 5
