Lost Sphear

Lore & Background

Lost Sphear was developed by Tokyo RPG Factory as one of three concept titles following its founding as a Square Enix subsidiary, with the goal of creating homages to RPGs from the 1990s. Development began after the release of I am Setsuna (2016), with returning staff including director Atsushi Hashimoto, writers Hirotaka Inaba and Makoto Goya, and composer Tomoki Miyoshi. The team aimed to refine the mechanics of the earlier title while creating a new setting and story themed around memories. The game was built using the Unity game engine.

The story follows Kanata, who with friends Lumina and Locke discovers his power to restore areas that have become a white void called 'Lost'. He initially works for the Gigante Empire but defects after learning their methods worsen the crisis. The party grows to include characters such as Prince Van, the ancient king Oboro, warrior Shera, sentient monster Dianto, and defecting commander Galdra. The plot reveals that the Moon is a techno-magical system that repeatedly destroys and recreates the world, and the antagonist Krom has merged with it to attempt his own recreation. The ending offers a choice: allow Lumina to sacrifice herself to restore the Moon, or save her and continue restoring the world despite hopeless odds.

The game's visual theme was inspired by the Japanese phrase setsugekka (Snow, Moon and Flowers), with Lost Sphear using the moon. The team drew inspiration from the Japanese word 'hakanai' (fleeting) for the somber tone. The art style emulated hand-drawn art, and the soundtrack, composed by Tomoki Miyoshi, was piano-heavy with more variety than I am Setsuna due to the greater diversity of environments.

Reader's Guide

Lost Sphear met with low sales and mixed critical reception. Praise was directed at its battle system and music, while fault was found with its storyline and a lack of originality. The game's combat uses a version of the Active Time Battle system dubbed 'ATB 2.0', inspired by Chrono Trigger, and incorporates in-battle movement, directional attack bonuses, memory artifacts, and Vulcosuit mechs. The team used player feedback from I am Setsuna to improve and expand the design, adding party talk for more character interaction. Despite being a standalone story, Lost Sphear explores similar themes to its predecessor, such as memory and fleetingness. The game's legacy is as part of Tokyo RPG Factory's effort to evoke the golden age of 1990s RPGs, though it did not achieve the commercial or critical success of the classics it sought to honor.

Did You Know?

• Lost Sphear was developed by Tokyo RPG Factory, a subsidiary of Square Enix founded to create homages to 1990s RPGs.
• The game uses a version of the Active Time Battle system called 'ATB 2.0', inspired by Chrono Trigger.
• The soundtrack was composed by Tomoki Miyoshi, who also composed the music for I am Setsuna.
• The player can choose between two endings: one where Lumina sacrifices herself to restore the Moon, and one where Kanata saves her and continues restoring the world.