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Sea of Stars DLC Throes of the Watchmaker Review
Sea of Steroids
It’s no secret that I fell in love with Sea of Stars. Of all the retro-style RPGs released over the years to emulate the likes of classics like Chrono Trigger, it comes the closest. It brilliantly mixes the simplicity of SNES-era games with some modern gaming sensibilities. It’s become one of my favorites of all time, with an immense level of replayability. And while it was received incredibly well, there were those who felt the game lacked in certain areas, mainly in story and complexity. I believe that Sea of Star’s final hurrah Throes of the Watchmaker will not only address some of these claims for people, but that it’s also an incredible DLC package that may even surpass its main game. And the beautiful part about it is that it’s simultaneously made for those who already loved the game in mind. That’s because Throes of the Watchmaker is Sea of Stars on steroids. Everything is hyper-charged to create a more challenging, deeper and more complex experience.
When member of the pirate team Keenathan realizes his name isn’t truly Keenathan, doom and despair looms. And so, with the strongest possible motivation ever for a journey to begin, our heroes travel to the Watchmaker, one of the last ovates, to see if she can help name him. What follows is an adventure inside of the Watchmaker’s miniature world Horlage, encased in a giant clock. Zale, Valere and newcomer party member Arty infiltrate the clock to bring an end to the puppeteer’s reign of terror.
Newcomer Arty adds a slew of new moves and techs
Make no mistake, Sea of Star’s DLC is just as whacky, down-to-Earth and kid-friendly as the original in its storyline, but we do tread somewhat darker territory here. From what I was able to surmise, the greatest issue most had with the base game were its main characters, Zale and Valere. I personally never understood this criticism since there are hundreds of protagonists in RPGs with no personality to speak of, and I found the two leads to be misunderstood, but that’s a topic for another day. For those who did feel this way, Throes of the Watchmaker addresses some of these claims by centering most of the narrative on these two characters.
It’s still a very kid-friendly simplistic adventure that emulates a Saturday morning cartoon, but Zale and Valere are no doubt made to be deeper characters in this DLC. We get a closer look at their flaws and the traits they are afraid to admit about themselves. The new story material isn't groundbreaking and it won’t win any narrative awards, but I quite enjoyed taking a closer look at these characters in an adventure that finally lets them take the spotlight. The Watchmaker herself finally gets to have her story told as well. If I did have one disappointment with the story, however, it’s that there is not nearly enough time focused on her.
I have always felt Sea of Star's narrative strength lies in its out-there level of imagination. Throes is no different. It emulates the likes of Mario RPG with its light-hearted tone and focus on whimsical, fairytale-like lore. It's all about the absurdity of finding yourself facing off against a moving train that is trying to eat you (Hello FF6 reference!) or traversing the golden sanctum of a narcissistic prince. There is often little rhyme or reason to it, but it's incredibly imaginative. Those who enjoyed that aspect of the first game will not be disappointed. The humor is also just as on point as it was in the base game, with one particular joke being the new funniest in both adventures.
Throes also addresses a few other concerns people had with the main game, including a little more of a handle on character builds with the inclusion of candies found in the wild that raise stat points. I was always a huge fan of this trope in RPGs and was happy to see it make an appearance here. I wish it had been in the main game. There are also new activities to do beyond the adventure and fishing. The central town of Horlage features a few mini-games for players to take part in. I was disappointed to find that they were easy, but they still presented a nice change of pace from the main game. It also needs to be said that while I have personally never attributed the value of art to its price tag, you are getting all of this for free. That's staggering. If one were to grade based on value alone, Throes is perhaps the greatest DLC ever made. But hey, that's Sabotage studios for ya.
Throes of the Watckmaker addresses one of the main game's biggest cricisims by shedding more light on its two main protagonists.
All of these extra elements are just icing on a cake, however, and where Throes truly outshines its predecessor and culminates in an amazing adventure is in its combat. While the base mechanics are still exactly the same, with the exception of the much requested triple techs, Zale and Valere are given two completely new classes, basically resulting in three completely new characters with the addition of Arty. As some of the best DLCs manage to do, Throes is a much more difficult game than the one that spawned it. Everything is supercharged here.
Not only are the new moves flashier, trickier to time and more fun than the already great ones in the main game, but the timing for blocks on enemy attacks are also much more ambitious and complex this time around. This couldn’t have made me happier, as someone who has replayed the main game over 7 times and has mastered the timing for all of its attacks. Throes was genuinely challenging for me at times. Enemies hit harder and faster, and even my main character’s attacks took a while to get used to and fully grasp. But once I got to that point, Sea of Star’s beautiful and simple rhythm to its combat hummed louder than ever.
I played the game using the tactician’s mettle (essentially hard mode) and while I don’t believe it's necessary for players to enjoy the experience, I highly recommend that particular relic for not just Throes of the Watchmaker, but for the main game too. It becomes clear pretty quickly that this was the original intended way to play the game, but that Sabotage studios made it easier when demo players felt it might be too difficult. The combined challenge of this new DLC with the tactician’s mettle active forced to me to think very carefully about every move I made. I am confident in saying that more than half of my enemy encounters in this new DLC ended with my characters barely clinging onto life. But oh, how satisfying it was…
Combat is tougher, more complex and the timing of moves is trickier to lock down.
Which brings me to the absolute main event, the crème de la crème, and shining star of Throes of the Watchmaker: the boss battles. I cannot express how happy it made me to see every boss encounter in this DLC to be just as good, if not better than all of the best ones in the main game. And that’s because my biggest complaint about the original Sea of Stars was how easy late-game boss battles eventually became. That is not the case here. In fact, as someone who considers herself an expert on the game, I died to one boss fight 7 times before I beat it.
It's not just their difficulty that makes them so engaging, however. Each boss is fought with its own unique mechanic, ensuring not a single one feels like filler. And while it might sound like a criticism at first, each one has a gimmick players need to exploit in order to win. I found every single one to be not just exhilarating to take part in, but also completely unique from another. There is not a single dud in the whole bunch. Throes of the Watchmaker’s bosses are Sea of Stars at its absolute best: complicated, difficult and unique. The second-to-last might just become everyone’s new favorite. To say more would be criminal
The DLC’s increased complexity doesn’t stop there, however, as dungeons are also supercharged. Although there are only a few, each zone in Throes of the Watchmaker is massive, with most of the gameplay in this entire adventure dedicated to its dungeons. Three in particular are longer than any single dungeon in the base game. What I found most surprising of all, however, was how many puzzles populated these dungeons. I cannot stress this enough: There are a LOT of puzzles in this DLC, and as one would expect from the rest of the game’s philosophy, they are trickier and more clever than the majority of the original game’s. I was actually stuck on one for over 20 minutes. While a lot of these are your typical pushing block fair, some are more unique and creative. What truly matters, however, is how none of them annoyed me or hurt the pacing.
These boss battles, especially on hard mode, are AMAZING
Sabotage studios has confirmed that sadly, Throes of the Watchmaker represents the end of the long and memorable adventure that has been Sea of Stars. As a girl who absolutely fell in love with it every step of the way, I’m sad to see the end. But without spoiling anything, make no mistake, there are plans for the future, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that The Messenger and Sea of Stars are just pieces in a much larger puzzle. Sabotage is building something here, and while one would originally think each of their games is standalone, that is most definitely not going to be the case when this saga is complete. I’ll say no more on that.
I don’t know if Throes of the Watchmaker will change the minds of those who felt the original game was too simple for its own good. But what I can confidently say is that it addresses many of the criticisms people had with the game. Sea of Stars has always been a game that embraces simplicity. It is clearly meant to feel like it could have launched on the Super Nintendo itself. I still believe that it is utterly spectacular in that regard. If you felt the same way, then Throes of the Watchmaker will absolutely floor you. It’s the original game with everything turned up to 11. And it culminates in an adventure that is twice as hard, combat that is more complex and more frantic, puzzles that are trickier, and some of the best boss battles I’ve ever seen in a retro-style RPG. Sea of Star’s swansong is going to amaze you if you enjoyed the original game. It is undoubtedly a brilliant encore.
Final score: 9/10
. Sea of Stars on steroids
. More on its main characters
. Amazing boss battles
. Mini-games too easy
. Will greatly satisfy SoS fans
. 8 hours of content completely FREE
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