Celestial Lake

While Star Ocean: The Second Story was one of my favorite PS1 JRPGs, the rest of the series never grabbed me. It's not that it's bad in any way -- each entry is pretty consistent, actually -- it's just that every time I'd feel inclined to play a tri-Ace game, I'd go back to Valkyrie Profile again.

That same feeling swept over me as I watched the credits roll for Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (PS3 [Japan only], PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: tri-Ace
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: March 31, 2016 (Japan), June 28, 2016 (NA), July 1, 2016 (EU)
MSRP: $59.99

Worry not, lapsed fans -- it's easy to jump back into Star Ocean once again even if you haven't kept up with the overarching plot. Taking place after Second Story and before Till the End of Time, this tale is on the planet Faykreed, featuring a populace that must now face an alien in?vasion from an advanced race. Spooky!

Immediately following the intro you'll be introduced to the plucky protagonist in record time -- a boy named Fidel -- along with his best friend Miki. They're already trained and ready to go, which presents its own unique set of problems, mostly relating to the development side of the cast. You see, Integrity moves at a race pace that is a blessing and a curse, seeing as the main story will probably run you less than 30 hours (as for the rest, there's a dece??nt amount of sidequests, post-game dungeons, and extra difficulty settings, but no extra characters or significant content besides that).

When it comes to most RPGs, it can be boring to have to watch a heroes' journey unfold all over again, taking upwards of 15-20 hours just to see them become "the legend they were meant to be." But if the charm is there (see Legend of Dragoon), I can deal with a ragtag gang of misfits, rogues, and ne'er-do-wells for as long as it takes. Here, Fidel isn't as enigmatic as I'd like, and ver??y quickly, we're even introduced to the amnesiac mystery trope with a character named Relia. It never really hits groan territory, and you can't say that it wastes any time, but that also makes it truncated to a ?fault. The dub is serviceable, but like several characters isn't worth talking about specifically.

Star Ocean employs a "seamless" approach to actually presenting said story, and again, I'm mixed on it. You see, instead of providing static dialogue boxes or cutscenes, the game integrates chats in the world itself, allowing players to walk around and manipulate the camera. I like it in theory, but a few huge caveats spring up every now and then that expose its shortcomings. Like the fact that you can't skip dialogue, so after failing a major boss fight you have to watch it all over again (exacerbated by the old-school strict "save point" system, when games like the Xenoblade franchise allow "save anywhere"). Then there's the camera itself, which can't quite get in to look at party member's faces in some ?instances. The subtitles are also bad in that they don't show who's talking, but I can deal with it given tha?t the game has dual audio.

The good news is that the garbage hour-long intro concept is gone. Players have access to a full menu w?ithin minutes, seconds if they skip the opening combat tutorial. 15 minutes later you're out of the town and into the world starting your adventure. And really, that's not bad at all. Featuring a series of wide open environments, it can be a lot of fun to roam around and beat up creatures (sans lengthy load times and annoying random battle transitions), and locate nooks and crannies to gather resources -- wh?ich play into the basic crafting system. The scenery is also beautiful, and many times I just stopped to take it in (the game also runs at 60fps on PS4, which is a plus).

Combat is probably the smoothest part of the game. It's a full-action system with weak and strong attacks (both at short and long range), as well as guard and sidestep options. A rock-paper-scissors system is employed where weak interrupts strong and strong breaks gu??ards, with a light amount of telegraphing on the enemy models to assist in the transp??arency of the system. At first it's easy to pick up, and by the time seven characters are added to the fray it doesn't even feel that chaotic, which is a triumph.

You will want to swap between allies though, because the AI mechanic (featuring gambits) isn't as sound as it could be. Don't get me wrong, it???'s good in that you can fine-tune everyone down to actions within roles, but it's not sufficient to go on auto-pilot for several major boss battles. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you like micromanaging, it's just something to be aware of. To clarify a bit, there's roughly 100 roles available (like "Savior," which inspires AI to heal more) so nearly every option is on the table, but it's clunkier than just fine-tuning everything at will.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is a weird game in that it's a by-the-books RPG one minute, and a completely new feeling the next. Any future iterations after this o??ne will be a tough sell, but if this is where its journey ends, it had a good run.

_{[This revie?w is based on a retail build of the?? game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness appeared first on Destructoid.

A month later

Despite the fact that tri-Ace was acquired by a mobile publisher, it seems as if it is going to keep on trucking with console games. One such project is Star Ocean 5, which will be published by Square Enix. It was originally set for a February 25, 2016 date for Jap??an, but it's just been delayed to March 31 of that same year. Apparently the reason for the delay was due to quality reasons.

The game?? has already bee?n confirmed for the PS3 and PS4 platforms, and will be localized at some point next year.

Star Ocean [Square Enix via Siliconera]

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That's not body paint

Back when Square Enix revealed Star Ocean 5, I recall a few D??estructoid editors debating whether the green-haired gal's checkered outfit was half skin-toned or, you know, it was just actual skin.

It seems we weren't the only ones wondering about the strange getup. During a special event at Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix was asked about the character (now known as Fiora B??urnelli) and whether her ensemble is made of cloth or body paint -- a possibility that never crossed our minds.

Nope. It's not body paint, Square Enix replied??; those are clothes. I'm glad we cleared that one up.

[Via Siliconera]

The post CONFIRMED: Star Ocean 5 lady wears clothes appeared first on Destructoid.

The market is moving on

There comes a point in every console's life cycle where we?? all collectively decide the party ?is over. Some people start filing out around midnight. Others will disappear later on. Eventually it's just one guy trying to keep the night alive, even though the sun is rising and nobody else is around.

The PlayStation 3 isn't quite the??re yet, but it's getting close. And Square Enix is slowly edging toward the door, trying to make its escape as soon as pos??sible without being impolite. 

The publisher announced Star Ocean 5 for a western release last week at E3. However, unlike the Japanese version, which is coming to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 this winter, the localization?? is skipping out on the older system. You'll need a PS4 if?? you want to play it in English (or French). 

Speaking with Star Ocean 5 producer Shuichi Kobayashi following Square Enix's E3 media event, I asked him to explain why the publisher is choosing to forgo a PS3 re??lease here in ?the West.

"It's simple," Kobayashi replie?d (through an interpreter). "The PS3 still has a fairly large market in Japan??, but in the West, particularly the United States, people have just moved on to PS4. The PS3 market has almost diminished to nothing."

Meanwhile, Dragon Quest Heroes, also released for both PS3 and PS4 in Japan, is only ??coming to North America and Europe on the new hardware.

That isn't to say the publisher is completely finished with the last generation at this point, though. Rise of the Tomb Raider (which Microsoft is distributing) is still scheduled to ??launch on Xbox 360 this November, for instance. Just maybe don't expect that trend to go on too much longer.

If you've yet to acquire one of the n??ewer machines, the time to do so is likely fast approaching.

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It's not a mobile game factory just yet

Back when word broke regarding Tri-Ace's acquisition at the hands of mobile group Nepro Japa??n, the early speculat?ion was the studio's days making ga?mes for consoles were over.

Then, just a couple months later, Square Enix announced a new entry in the Star Ocean franchise was in development at Tri-Ace, indic?ating fears may have been overblown. Perhaps the developer wouldn't ??be relegated to churning out smartphone games for the rest of its days after all.

While catching up with Star Ocean 5 producer Shuichi Kobayashi? at E3 last week, I inquired about the acquisition and what, if any, im??pact Tri-Ace's new parent has on the title's development.

"We are not expecting any impact," Kobayashi told ??me through ??a translator. "When you say Tri-Ace has been bought by another company, you think they must be troubled. But that's not the case.

"They just wanted to reinforce their capital base. When they were negotiating the contract, they made sure that the new company were not going to poke their n??ose in their creative direction or development policy. On the creative side, they have 100 percent control."

So, that's encouraging. If Tri-Ace wants to ?start making apps, it will be of its own volition, at least.

The post Reports of Tri-Ace’s death have been greatly exaggerated appeared first on Destructoid.

Premier screenshots show off characters, environments, and more

Square Enix recently unveiled Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, the latest entry in the company's interg??alactic role-playing game series, but details on?? the title have been pretty scarce. 

We know it's in development for PlayStation consoles and Tri-Ace is once again at the helm, despite earlier speculation that the studio's recent acquisition by mobile outfit Nepro Japan would mean the longtime Star Ocean developer's days o?f making full-fledged console games were over.

It see?ms like Tri-Ace still has one good bullet left in the chamber, at the very least.

The story sounds like the stand?ard fare, taking place several centuries after humans first departed Earth for the stars. It will follow the exploits of a young swordsman named Fidel and his childhood friend Miki, a healer who considers Fidel her onii-chan. Awkward romantic subplot confirmed!

The debut screenshots also give us a look at a blonde warri??or, a green-haired witch-like gal wearing a revealing checker-pattern outfit, some lush environments and even the?? battle system.

Anything in particular catch your eye?

[via 4Gamer]

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