In the run up to the most recent State of Play, many suspected that there would be a new trailer forFinal Fantasy 16. While the game continues to be absent since last year’s reveal, Square Enix still had something else to announce during the presentation. Much to everyone’s surprise, the publisher unveiled a new entry in theStar Oceanseries, which is already scheduled to release in 2022 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
TitledStar Ocean The Divine Force, a trailer showcasing a mixture of exploration, combat, and story was shown during theState of Play, and a PlayStation Blog post with more in-depth details on the game has since been shared.Star Ocean The Divine Force’s story features two lead protagonists, Raymond and Laeticia, who hail from two different civilizations and join forces during a chance encounter.
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The game also has something referred to as the Double Hero system, which basically means how the story unfolds will change depending on which protagonist the player picks and other choices that they make throughout the adventure. As for gameplay, it promises fast-paced action and combat (as demonstrated in the trailer) and the ability to fly freely through the air with full 360-degree movement, somewhat reminiscent ofAnthem.
While it’s possibly one ofSquare Enix’s lesser-known franchises, Star Ocean has quite the history, having started out in 1996 on the Super Famicom. It was originally published by Enix before the company merged with Squaresoft in 2003. The first game initially only released in Japan, but the series would find itself a home in the West starting with the sequel,Star Ocean: The Second Storyfor the PlayStation One. With the exception ofStar Ocean: Blue Spherefor the Game Boy Color, every entry in the series has made it to the West.
The new game is once again being developed by tri-Ace, which has handled the entireStar Oceanseries since its inception. While Square Enix is the series’ publisher, tri-Ace itself is not a subsidiary of Square Enix and has collaborated with other publishers, such as Sega which publishedResonance of Fate. It is currently owned by Japanese mobile game company Nepro Japan. Despite the acquisition, the studio continues to make console games.
Not counting the free-to-play mobile gameStar Ocean: Anamnesis, the last entry in the series was 2016’sStar Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. At the time, it received average reviews, with common criticisms being the graphics and story. No doubt fans disappointed with the last game are holding out hope that the new one will be an improvement.
Star Ocean The Divine Forcereleases for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2022.
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