Aside from old-school JRPG fans, the mention of Star Ocean might not mean much. The series has always been two or three steps down in popularity from the likes of Final Fantasy or even Dragon Quest, but those who have dug into this slightly more obscure series are quick to sing its praises. First established in 1996, the Star Ocean games have come at an irregular pace, with only five total games in the mainline series released so far, the latest being Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness in 2016. That game, and the previous entry, were not all that well-received, leaving fans unsure about this smaller franchise’s future.
Sony’s October 2021 State of Play event wasn’t full of many big surprises, but the announcement of Star Ocean: The Divine Force was one that meant a lot to fans of the series and also has made fans of JRPGs in general curious about this strange game that mixes fantasy elements into a sci-fi-inspired universe. The trailer we got was only a brief two and a half minutes, but more information has been trickling out. If you were intrigued by this unique-looking JRPG from the masters of the genre, Square Enix, here’s everything we know about Star Ocean: The Divine Force.
Further reading
Release date
Star Ocean: The Divine Force has been given the release date of October 27, 2022.
Platforms
While the trailer made for Sony’s State of Play event only listed Star Ocean: The Divine Force as coming to PlayStation 4 and PS5, it will also be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and S, as well as PC. It will hit every platform day and date, so there’s no platform exclusivity, timed or otherwise. Obviously, we expect the current-generation versions to have benefits over the previous ones, but for now, we don’t know what those differences will be. Graphics, load times, and frame rates are the usual suspects, however.
Trailers
The trailer begins with a crew flying through space as their ship’s warning alarm blares. They’re forced to abandon ship due to an incoming attack, where we cut to a sweeping shot of a lush planet with giant transparent spheres in the sky. We get to see some glimpses of one of the protagonists running through the world with a floating robot companion that allows him to dash and glide through the air.
As some gameplay and action play out, the text reads, “When our two heroes cross paths the fate of the universe awakens.” From there, we get quick lines from more characters, shots of more environments, including a majestic, castle-like city, and some massive enemies that are both fantastic, such as dragons, and futuristic, like a flame-spewing robot.
Overall, this trailer had little substance in terms of story or characters, but outside sources have sprouted up with much more information. Just like in Star Ocean: The Second Story, Star Ocean: The Divine Force will use the dual-protagonist system. Our two leads in this game, who we saw in the trailer, are named Raymond and Laeticia. Raymond is the captain of the ship we saw in the trailer, named the Ydas, and hails from a more technologically advanced civilization. On the other hand, Laeticia is a princess as well as a knight from the planet the crew finds themselves on, which is still early on in developing technologies.
Raymond is detailed as being from a planet not associated with the federation, called Verguld. He captains the Ydas for his family’s company named Lawrence Logistics and cares deeply for his crew.
Laeticia is the princess of Aucerius on the planet Aster IV. She is admired by just about everyone in her kingdom, yet hides her combat ability. When a rival country threatens her own, she embarks on a secret mission to find an unnamed ally to help, eventually crossing paths with Raymond, who has become stranded on her world.
The game’s narrative, including which characters will be included, will change depending on which of these two protagonists you play as and what choices you make during the story. The game is designed to encourage you to play through the game twice, once from each perspective, to see the full breadth of the story. The only other two named characters known so far are Elena and Albaird. Aside from that, nothing of the specifics of the plot have been shared, though we can expect the story to have wide-reaching consequences. The “fate of the universe” is repeated often, so it should be safe to expect an epic tale.
Another trailer was shown off when the release date was shared as well. It shows more interactions between the two leads and how their individual conflicts are not terribly different. It seems to be taken from when the two meet or at least agree to join forces.
We then get a lot of cuts between different characters and settings, with no real context as to what is what — it’s mainly shown for spectacle. One important new character, if you can call them that, is D.U.M.A. This robot attaches itself to Raymond and seems to be what gives him his enhanced mobility options, like gliding.
While it is impossible to make sense of the out-of-context lines, Star Ocean: The Divine Force is clearly going to be a game with a layered plot of betrayal, twists, double-crossings, and intertwining webs of politics.
Gameplay
While each game in the series is separate from the rest, fans of past games will recognize some returning mechanics in Star Ocean: The Divine Force. We already know there will be the dual-protagonist system, but whether you’re playing as Raymond or Laeticia, exploration and traversal were major points shown off. Verticality in particular was a focus, with characters flying in all directions up and around the environments. The game will encourage full 3D exploration, which should make the world even more fun to live in.
Combat also got a good deal of screen time, plus some more hints via official statements. Right off the bat, this JRPG is going full-on action combat, meaning it’s not a turn-based affair. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness used a mix of real-time and turn-based combat, but this time, they’re leaning in on the action side of things. Combat and exploration will have no seams between them and no random battles. Enemies all exist in the world for you to engage with or avoid at your discretion. If and when you do decide to fight, there’s no transition into fighting, and attacking looks swift and responsive so far.
Beyond normal strikes, skills and abilities will be a major component in combat. We see characters dashing around battles, leaving behind neon trails while attacking everything in their path, plus what look to be animations of the characters interacting with the robot companion leading up to massive attacks. Magic and other attack skills seem to have a small startup time that will leave you vulnerable if done at the wrong time.
Other systems appear on screen, like something called Best Avoidance and Sight Out, that give different bonuses. It’s unclear what will trigger these buffs at the moment.
The game will also support a more tactical style of play by letting the player pause the action and give commands, swap characters, or just take a moment to plan at any time.
Aside from Raymond and Laeticia, which you will choose between at the beginning of the game, the other party members also appear playable. We see moments of Elena running around a canyon-type environment and attacking with some sort of laser whip weapon, and Albaird casting ice magic. We can then assume that all party members, assuming the cast is larger than just these four, will be playable. Depending on which character you pick at the start, you will get a different cast of party members as well.
Outside of combat, you have a lot of freedom in mobility, such as jumping and gliding far across the terrain.
Multiplayer
While they technically haven’t denied it, there’s no reason to think there will be any multiplayer component in Star Ocean: The Divine Force. There was an optional versus mode in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Director’s Cutand the mobile game Star Ocean: Anamnesis does allow for players to team up, but it’s never been included in the proper game itself. JRPGs typically don’t incorporate multiplayer, and for the most part, fans don’t really want them to. This looks like it wants to follow in the footsteps of something like Tales of Arise and focus on reintroducing the series by focusing on making the most solid single-player experience possible.
Pre-order
Star Ocean: The Divine Force will be getting a few different editions you can pick from, though they are not yet open in the west. No matter which edition you pre-order, you will get a mini-game pawn pack. Here’s what each of them includes:
Digital Deluxe:
- The base game
- OST with over 80 songs
- Two armor pieces
- Four accessories
- Greatsword weapon pack for Raymond, Lionheart’s Blutgang and Dual blades for Laeticia, and Flashing Naglering
Limited Edition (PS4 and PS5 only):
- The base game
- Four-CD soundtrack
- Artbook
- Two Star Ocean keychains
- Code for all the items from the Digital Deluxe edition
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