This is probably obvious, but I just try to avoid buying games unless I will play it immediately. I KNOW I will play FF16 after I finish up Zelda, but I still haven’t bought it.
I also don’t look at steam sales unless I’m looking for a new game to play. I know too many people who buy games cause it’s on sale but never plays them
Had the same expectations for I am Setsuna, but from what I saw in gameplay and reviews, it was disappointing. Hopefully Sea of Stars will be a good one.
Octopath is the closest one to bringing back a RPG experience of that era, but it fell short in some key areas. The story’s cohesiveness suffered due to the freedom you get for choosing what character’s arc to progress. Also, compared with games of that time, there is too much backstory. I enjoy world building but most games nowadays have a little too much of it. The side quests are also chores and the story of the quest is hard to follow since you might not complete it hours later. I think the last, most crucial problem is the cut scenes. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, Mario RPG, etc had such dynamic cutscenes. Octopath is very static in comparison — most “cut scenes” are just people talking.
For me, in Chrono Trigger, the most exciting moment was Frog splitting the rock with Masamune. I was shivering with excitement when I saw that.