Two things exemplify the way I entertained myself during childhood - science fiction and JRPGs. Sci-fi is still a go-to entertainment pillar for me, with its usually optimistic promise of progress that helps us transcend our physical and existential limits. JRPGs, by contrast, have dwindled to hold basically no space in my life anymore.
Though I appreciate and respect the turn-based combat that the old 16-bit era made famous, I no longer have the time for such lengthy adventures in which the necessity of grinding random battles outside of the context of progressing the story is an unspoken understanding.
This is why Star Renegades, with its old-school aesthetic and modern take on the Final Fantasy-esque turn-based battle, rang a few important bells for me all at once. Over a dozen hours in, Star Renegades still rings, but maybe not with the same crisp tone it did in those first few runs. Its mash-up of Into the Breach-style determinism in combat, with its FTL or Slay the Spire-style metagame decision-making, keeps the goal of saving all of reality a difficult and engaging one. But you stop seeing new things or getting new rewards earlier than in most games like it, leaving the incentive to return after your first clear pretty light.
