While in this day of free-to-play, download-and-delete frippery, we're seeing fewer and fewer longer, more complex, more involved story driven games, at least we can rely on Square Enix to give us something a bit more substantial. Along with prepping new instalments in their hugely popular Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest series, the Japanese role playing giants are showing no signs of slowing down, recently lifting the lid on a brand new game in its Star Ocean series, bringing a unique mix of bouffant hairstyles, bright colours, and light sci-fi fun to the PS3 and PS4.
Carrying the title of Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (quite a mouthful), the fifth instalment in the franchise is being developed by Japanese studio tri-Ace, a company who are more than acquainted with the series, having been the ones responsible for the original game, way back in 1996 on the Super Nintendo.
Similarly to the Final Fantasy series, every Star Ocean game features brand new characters, but where it differs is that each game in the Star Ocean series takes place at different points on the same timeline, with the latest game taking place in 537 SD, between the events of Star Ocean: The Second Story and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, the second and third titles in the series. So, in traditional logical fashion, the fifth game is set between the second and third ones.
In terms of story, little has yet been revealed about what sci-fi wonders await - but we do have a rough translation of the game's intro, courtesy of Kotaku:
Do the depths of space forbid peace for mankind? Centuries after leaving Earth, after a multitude of trials, with the creation and spread of the 'Galactic Federation,' humanity was on the verge of unified order and peace. But the embers of conflict have begun to burn again. Over 6,000 light years from Earth, on the unsettled planet, 'Feycreed.' Just as so many times before, the waves of history begin from a remote planet.
So. That's that cleared up then.
While we may not know much about the story, though, thankfully, a few more details have been revealed about the combat. Much like every other modern Japanese role playing game, Star Ocean will feature (*hack spit*) seamless real-time battles, with enemies populating areas and attacking you without any random battle transitions. Letting the game throw more enemies at you at once, as well as placing an extra emphasis on co-operation with allied party members, Star Ocean's battle system will be of the button mashing variety, letting you chain together combos of attacks, with the strikes you perform differing depending on your distance from your foes.
Here's a look at some of the key characters in the game.
Fidel Camus
The main protagonist of the game; a young man from the village of Stahr, aged 23 and son to the most prominent swordsman of the Leslia Kingdom.
Miki Sorvesta
Fidel's childhood friend, who treats him as an older brother; a very caring and dependable mage, with a rare healing ability.
Lilia
A young girl, whom Fidel and Miki run into on their adventure, who's lost her memories and emotions.
While no other details have been given, in some screenshots from Famitsu, we can see at least two other characters interacting with Fidel and Miki; first a young green hair girl wearing white and black attire, looking similar to a witch with the long pointy black hat.
The second is a long haired man wearing a red and black outfit and brandishing a long sword. Could this be Fidel's father? The man mentioned as being the most prominent swordsman of the Kingdom of Leslia? No official confirmation has been given yet as to whom these characters are but fans are already speculating.
It seems that tri-Ace are looking to cater to long-time fans and newcomers alike with this instalment, and many have noticed that the game looks very reminiscent of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Apparently even the main protagonist Fidel's age is linked to the fans who have grown up with the series:
"It's worth pointing out that Fidel, the protagonist, is 23 years old. Star Ocean fans are becoming adults, and the type of people who own PS3s and PS4s are going to skew a little older, so we made Fidel as old as he is to better enable those players to more readily project themselves into him. There are other reasons why his age is what it is, but you'll have to play the game to find out." Producer Shuichi Kobayashi on protagonist Fidel's age
What could all these cryptic comments be alluding to? Sadly we'll have to wait and find out, but I think it's safe to say that our curiosity has indeed been piqued and we can't wait to find out more.
Scheduled for the Playstation 4 and Playstation 3, currently the game's release date is TBA with the previous fourth entry; Star Ocean: The Last Hope having been released back in 2009, a little over six years ago.
With Final Fantasy XV, Dragon Quest XI and Kingdom Hearts III already having whet our appetite, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is yet another reason that we'll be keeping a close eye on this year's giant gaming convention, E3. For now, here's the latest trailer:
