Lost Sphear

Lost Sphear is a role-playing video game developed by Tokyo RPG Factory and published by Square Enix for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows. It was released in Japan in 2017, and worldwide in 2018. Set in a world where the Moon is treated as a deity, the player takes on the role of Kanata, who is granted the power to prevent the world from vanishing. The gameplay has Kanata and his party exploring different regions of the world to restore vanished zones, with combat making use of a version of the Active Time Battle system.

The game began development after the release of I am Setsuna (2016), with multiple returning staff including director Atsushi Hashimoto, writers Hirotaka Inaba and Makoto Goya, and composer Tomoki Miyoshi. The team's aim was to refine the earlier title's mechanics, while creating a new setting and story themed around memories. The game met with low sales, and critical reception was mixed. Praise went to its battle system and music, but many faulted its storyline and a lack of originality.

Lost Sphear is a role-playing video game in which players take on the role of protagonist Kanata and a growing party of companions. Players explore between non-hostile towns, a semi-open world map, and dungeon environments featuring enemy encounters; they complete both main story quests and side quests given by characters in town areas. The main goal of the game is for Kanata to restore parts of the world that are fading away. Restoring areas and landmarks is done with items representing the memories of a place. Some areas called Monuments can have their properties changed using different memories, which impacts factors such as movement speed and gains of experience points, ingredients for cooking, and in-game currency. Items and equipment can be found while exploring, or bought from shops in towns.

While exploring dungeons, enemy encounters are represented as visible monsters the player can avoid, and items and treasure chests are scattered around an area. Some areas include a puzzle. Combat, triggered by running into enemies, uses a version of the Active Time Battle system; characters will attack when a meter fills in real-time, though an option pauses the timer while players are selecting skills. Characters can attack normally, or use special moves from items called Spritnite. A timed button press strengthens the attack through a "Momentum" system, while a secondary "Sublimation" system builds up passive effects on the party during battle.

Characters can also reposition themselves, with attacks and skills having an area of effect. Multiple active characters can also activate a united attack move. After a certain point in the game, the party can use mechs called Vulcosuits, which have access to their own sets of skills and require their own fuel to operate which can only be recharged at specific points. Items gained at the end of combat can be influenced by how enemies were killed. Character statistics can be shifted using their equipment, and new moves can be unlocked for characters by equipping Spritnite stones and paired with other moves to unlock new effects.

Lost Sphear takes place on an unnamed world where its Moon is treated as its creator. The opening scene shows Oboro, a king of the ancient Plated People, watching his soldiers and world vanishing into nothing. An unspecified time later, the young Kanata, together with his friends Lumina and Locke, explore the land outside their village Elgarthe, encountering a rise in monsters. Returning to Elgarthe, they find it transformed into a white void called "Lost". Using the memories of prayers from the villagers to a local alter, Kanata unlocks a power to restore the town, and upon learning that other parts of the world are also becoming Lost, he resolves to save the Lost using his powers. He is initially employed by the powerful Gigante Empire, but upon learning their lack of ethical methods and the fact that their actions are worsening the problem, he defects and sets out on his own.

During his journey, Kanata's group is joined by Van, crown prince of a kingdom that became Lost; Oboro, whom Kanata rescues from being Lost; Shera, lead warrior of a tribe who oppose the Empire's exploitation of their land; Dianto, a sentient monster born from a village's prayers; and Galdra, female Commander of the Imperial forces who defects with Kanata's encouragement. During an early mission for the Empire, Locke is severely injured, and is secretly turned into a mechanical soldier who initially fights the party before regaining his memories and rejoining them. Van briefly betrays the group after Kanata fails to restore his kingdom, but is in turn betrayed by his former ally Krom, a man with strange powers who has been influencing the Empire's actions. It is revealed that the Moon is a techno-magical system which is striving to create a world free of conflict, repeatedly destroying and recreating it. During an earlier cycle, Krom helped steal the Moon's power and merged with it in an attempt to recreate a world free of its influence. The current crisis is Krom beginning his attempt.

After initially defeating Krom, the group are forced into a version of Elgarthe in the realm of Lost. There they learn that Kanata and Lumina were born directly from the Moon, able to harness its powers. Returning to the world, the group rally their allies and discover a way to reach the Moon and defeat Krom, who has permanently merged with the Moon. With Krom's defeat, the Moon begins to disintegrate, and after the others flee, Kanata and Lumina unsuccessfully attempt to restore it. Lumina decides to sacrifice herself by returning to the Moon. Kanata can choose to either allow this, or use his powers to rescue her. If Lumina sacrifices herself, the Moon is restored and Kanata finishes restoring the world to create a future ruled by humans. If Kanata saves Lumina, the Moon's destruction is halted, but the Lost remain a threat and Kanata resolves to continue restoring the world despite hopeless odds. The game ends with a shot of the cast, including Lumina depending on the final choice, gazing up at the completed Moon shining on an intact landscape.