The history of the Star Ocean series is an interesting one, to say the least. The first entry in the series, released in 1996 on Nintendo’s Super Famicom system in Japan, was the first game developed by tri-Ace in response to Namco’s Tales of Phantasia.
In many ways, the original Star Ocean surpassed the first installment in the Tales series by offering a more dynamic story whose end result was in part influenced by the choices players made during gameplay.
The popularity of the Star Ocean series was further strengthened by the second and third entries in the series, Second Story and Till the End of Time, which, unlike the first entry in the series, were released in the West.
But after this release, the series suffered such a number of failures that it seems the franchise has come to an end.
But tri-Ace isn’t done yet, releasing a solid mobile RPG called Star Ocean: Anamnesis that proves that the team still has what it takes to create an engaging experience.
The mobile game worked so well for the tri-Aces that they got the chance to do another full entry in the series called Star Ocean: The Divine Force, which, although not on the same level as the first three entries in the series. , that’s pretty close to that.
The new Star Ocean story
Star Ocean: The Divine Force features two different main characters. Raymond Lawrence, a young man from the unallied planet Verguld who leads the merchant ship Ydas under Lawrence Logistics, his family’s company.
On the other hand we have Laeticia Aucerius, the princess of the kingdom of Aucerius who dominates vast areas of the undeveloped planet Aster IV, where most of the story takes place.
While the stories of the two characters are not much different, they provide a different point of view on the story: Raymond focuses more on science fiction, while Laeticia focuses more on fantasy.
The two characters go their separate ways quite often during the adventure, so to get the full picture, players will have to play through both campaigns, each of which takes about 40 hours to complete.
Even with a different perspective, the basics of the story are pretty much the same.
After the emergency landing on Aster IV following the destruction of Ydas, Raymond encounters Laeticia and her sworn shield Albaird, who don’t seem too affected by her unusual appearance and the alien technology she uses.
Determined to find his missing crew member, Raymond embarks on a journey together with Laeticia and Albaird, who are also on their way to meet one of the kingdom’s former maesters, whose help is needed to keep the kingdom together over time. located in front
During this journey, they will learn of a massive conspiracy that, if not stopped, could change not only Aster IV but the entire universe.
A very traditional JRPG that you will find in Star Ocean
Star Ocean: The Divine Force feels quite traditional even in the game.
While it generally feels like a PS3-era JRPG, Xbox 360, tri-Ace updates the formula in some interesting ways to make exploring and combat more engaging than previous entries.
Like most modern JRPGs, Star Ocean: The Divine Force does not feature a traditional world map, so players have to physically move from one place to another, such as a small town, small town, temple, cave, etc. across various fields.
Aster IV has some pretty diverse biomes ranging from forests to plains to hills and mountains, which feel a lot more open than they really are, thanks to a design that affords incredible scale and features lots of optional areas for players to explore.
DUMA great differentiator in gameplay
After reaching a certain point in the story, Raymond will pick up the DUMA, a mysterious little robotic jetpack that can be used to briefly fly anywhere, allowing the party to reach many places that would normally be inaccessible.
Flying through fields and cities feels great, speeds up your journey significantly, and opens up new possibilities for exploration.
Some locations, for example, have simple platforming sequences that provide some welcome variety, considering they feel a bit empty.
In other cases, getting to some high ground isn’t all that easy to aim for the DUMA and fly, so sometimes finding the right spot to take off is part of the fun.
In addition to items and resources for item creation, fully exploring players will earn DUMA points, which can be used to improve their battlefield and combat skills.
This combat ability is very important, because small robots also play an important role in combat.
Entertaining battle system
Among the best features of Star Ocean: The Divine Force, without a doubt, is its combat system, which would feel quite enjoyable even with the mechanics tied to DUMA.
Like its predecessors, enemies fight where they are with a group of four characters, one controlled by the player and the other three by the AI.
Switching between characters is very easy and fast, so players can adjust quickly if needed.
In addition, the game has a pause mode that stops time completely, allowing players to switch targets, change characters and use items without worrying about being overwhelmed by enemies.
The quick character switching and pause mode are very reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII Remake’s combat system, although character switching isn’t as important in Star Ocean: The Divine Force.
Battles in Star Ocean: The Divine Force are real-time action combat in which characters can use various active abilities or chains assigned to three face buttons by depleting AP, which naturally refills within seconds. no.
Skills and lots of action
Chain skills are attack skills, while active skills are special skills that provide various benefits.
A total of four abilities can be assigned to each button, three to press the button and one to hold, for a maximum of 12 abilities providing lots of flexibility and combo potential.
The basics of the battle system outlined above are enhanced by the DUMA mechanics, mastery of which is critical to getting the most out of battle and surviving the most challenging encounters.
By holding down the right shoulder button, players can activate DUMA and use it to unleash a VA or Vanguard Attack, a powerful dash attack that has different properties between characters.
While all of these elements sound a bit complicated on paper, they come together pretty well in-game.
limited visuals
While Star Ocean: The Divine Force primarily offers story and gameplay, although it doesn’t push the boundaries of the series, the same cannot be said for the visuals and presentation, which should come as no surprise to those familiar with the story. .
The visuals aren’t too bad, though, as the locations around Aster IV and its surroundings are well laid out and provide good scale, which, while not as important as in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, makes the world feel bigger and believable.
They’re also pretty detailed, though it’s hard not to notice poor quality textures in close-up shots and some other visual disturbances with shadows and image spacing. The character models have also been greatly improved compared to those seen in previous entries in the series.
Try The Divine Force
All things considered, we can safely say that while Star Ocean: The Divine Force isn’t the glorious return fans have been waiting for years, it’s a reality that has major upgrades that place it well above the fourth and fifth entries in the series. with respect to story and gameplay.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force is a solid effort that shows how the tri-Aces still have what it takes to create an exciting space adventure.
It’s clear that much remains to be done but this new installment is a solid step forward.
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