Is Star Ocean back with a splash?
It’s been 5 long years since the last Star Ocean game. The latest version “Integrity and Faithlessness” is also the 5th game in the series and it’s timeline is set in-between “The Second Story” and “Till the End of Time” on a planet in the distant Faykreed star system, the swordsman Fidel Camuze and his childhood friend Miki Sauvester set out to protect their village from being swallowed in the tides of civil unrest.
So how does this hold up to the previous versions? Well, it’s been 5 long years and most JRPG’s have struggled to keep up with the times. Integrity and Faithlessness sadly falls into this trap, that’s not to say it’s a terrible JRPG…I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that it’s somewhat stuck in it’s ways, refusing to move along with what gamers truly want nowadays…which is a great story, characters that you connect to and most of all, competent AI.
I did enjoy the story of Integrity and Faithlessness, even if the English voice-acting is awful. My problem with the story itself is that it’s been done before and as you can guess, I felt no connection to the characters this time around…unlike past Star Ocean games where I have done so. The combat remains the same as before as you control one player and can switch to others in your party, much like the combat in Dragon Age for example. It’s a great combat system, even if your opponents aren’t the smartest bunch.
The scale of this Star Ocean is much smaller than past entries, perhaps due to the development cycle that led to it being worked on in secret after series creator Yoshinori Yamagashi left the company. The game does switch nicely and seamlessly in and out of combat, but the cutscenes that are labelled as interactive and dynamic, feel low budget and lack the cutting edge you would hope for the series.
The Verdict
All in all, Integrity and Faithlessness plays it safe with it’s traditional JRPG roots. That’s not a bad thing, I just wish that it was bigger in scale and with a bigger budget, it could have been something truly special instead of just another old-fashioned JRPG.