Star Ocean
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is a franchise of
action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
video games developed by the Japanese company
tri-Ace is a Japanese video game developer, video game development company formed in March 1995 by former Telenet Japan employees Yoshiharu Gotanda (programmer, current tri-Ace President), Masaki Norimoto (game designer) and Joe Asanuma (director). Th ...
and published and owned by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
(formerly
Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . Th ...
).


Development


History

The series is also known for being some of the earliest action RPGs to allow players to alter the storyline's outcome through the player's actions and dialogue choices, mainly through a social relationship system referred to as "private actions". The original '' Star Ocean'', published by
Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . Th ...
in 1996, introduced a "private actions" social system, where the protagonist's relationship points with the other characters are affected by the player's choices, which in turn affects the storyline, leading to branching paths and multiple different endings. This was expanded in its 1999 sequel, '' Star Ocean: The Second Story'', which boasted as many as 86 different endings, with each of the possible permutations to these endings numbering in the hundreds, setting a benchmark for the number of outcomes possible for a video game. Using a relationship system inspired by dating sims, each of the characters had friendship points and relationship points with each of the other characters, allowing the player to pair together, or
ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
, any couples (both romantic
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" ...
relationships as well as friendships) of their choice. However, the relationship system in ''Star Ocean'' not only affected the storyline, but also the gameplay, affecting the way the characters behave towards each other in battle.


Creation and design

As fans of
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
and space travel, the developers at
tri-Ace is a Japanese video game developer, video game development company formed in March 1995 by former Telenet Japan employees Yoshiharu Gotanda (programmer, current tri-Ace President), Masaki Norimoto (game designer) and Joe Asanuma (director). Th ...
created the ''Star Ocean'' series with a sci-fi setting in mind and have cited ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' as one of their main influences for the visuals of the games as well as being an underlying, but noticeable, influence to the series as a whole. While the first '' Star Ocean'' game included more fantasy elements to appeal to a broad audience, subsequent installments naturally moved towards a more sci-fi oriented feel, with '' Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' described by its producer Yoshinori Yamagishi as tri-Ace's "ultimate vision" of the "whole ''Star Ocean'' world". The large gap of time between '' Star Ocean: The Second Story'' and ''Till the End of Time'', in terms of in-universe chronology, can be explained by the series' choice to emphasize the setting of its fictional world rather than focus on its characters. In '' Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness'', producer Shuichi Kobayashi noted that one of the game series most important themes is first contact between two different societies and planets.


Games

The first game in the series was simply titled '' Star Ocean.'' It was released on July 19, 1996 for the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
and never released outside Japan; however, it was unofficially translated into English through
ROM hacking ROM hacking is the process of modifying a ROM image or ROM file of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, levels, gameplay, and/or other elements. This is usually done by technically inclined video game fans to improve an old game ...
by DeJap Translations, and the resulting game can be played through
emulation Emulation may refer to: *Emulation (computing), imitation of behavior of a computer or other electronic system with the help of another type of system :*Video game console emulator, software which emulates video game consoles *Gaussian process em ...
. It established the series' staples, including the futuristic setting, real-time battle system, item creation, and private actions. It takes place in 346 SD, and follows the adventures of Roddick Farrence as he searches for a cure for a sickness on his planet with the help of two Earthlings. An
enhanced remake A video game remake is a video game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game with updated graphics for newer hardware and gameplay for contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake of such game software sh ...
entitled '' Star Ocean: First Departure'' was released for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
on December 27, 2007, in Japan, October 21, 2008, in North America, and October 24, 2008, in Europe. The game was remade using Star Ocean 2's engine, adopting prerendered backgrounds and 3D battlefields, as well as new character art and animated cut-scenes provided by
Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
, and fully voiced dialogue. There are also new playable characters. '' Star Ocean: The Second Story'' was released for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
on July 30, 1998, in Japan, May 31, 1999, in North America, and April 12, 2000, in Europe. It retains the features of its predecessor while introducing prerendered backgrounds,
full motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...
s, and 3D battlefields. Taking place in 366 SD, it features a new cast of characters, including Claude C. Kenny, the son of Ronyx J. Kenny from the original Star Ocean, and Rena Lanford, who both investigate the Sorcery Globe, which has landed on Planet Expel and has been causing disasters ever since. An enhanced
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
entitled ''Star Ocean: Second Evolution'' was released for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
on April 2, 2008, in Japan, January 19, 2009, in North America, February 12, 2009, in Australia and February 13, 2009, in Europe. It was announced alongside ''First Departure'', and features similar enhancements, including fully voiced dialogue, new playable characters, and new character artwork and animated cut-scenes provided by
Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
. '' Star Ocean: Blue Sphere'' is a direct sequel to ''The Second Story'', released for the
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
on June 28, 2001, in Japan (a North American version was planned but canceled). ''Blue Sphere'' adapts the ''Star Ocean'' series to hand-helds altering several aspects in the process, including interactive item creation, auto private actions, 2D side scrolling battles, Field Actions, and the removal of random battles. It takes place in 368 SD, two years after ''The Second Story'', and features the return of all twelve main characters as they attempt to solve the mystery of the Planet Edifice and its destructive nature that eradicates the planet's civilizations every 200 years. In 2008 it received a Japanese-only remake for mobile devices with new graphics, new controls, and a retooled battle system. '' Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' was released for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
in Japan in 2003. A
director's cut A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...
of the game with bonus dungeons, new playable characters, a versus mode, and tweaked gameplay was released in 2004, and that version was brought to North America and Europe the same year. ''Till the End of Time'' is the first fully 3D game in the series and features fully voiced dialogue. It retains most aspects of the previous games with new features, such as the fury and bonus battle gauge, as well as the ability to patent items created during item creation and recruiting inventors to create items for the player. The game takes place nearly 400 years after the last ''Blue Sphere'', in 772 SD. Fayt Leingod is the main character, and after finding himself separated from his family during an alien attack on a resort planet, is pursued by the same Vendeeni forces across space for reasons beyond his imagination. '' Star Ocean: The Last Hope'' was released for the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
on February 19, 2009, in Japan, February 23, 2009, in North America, June 4, 2009, in Australia and June 5, 2009, in Europe. It was also released for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
worldwide in February 2010. It is a prequel to the entire series, chronicling the aftermath of World War III in which humanity must find a new home to survive. The protagonist is a young man named Edge Maverick who is accompanied by his childhood friend Reimi Saionji. ''Star Ocean: Material Trader'' is a free-to-play card and item creation RPG for the GREE mobile phone social network in 2013. GREE and Square Enix has terminated the service as of February 28, 2014 and the application has since been delisted. '' Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness'' was released for the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
on March 31, 2016, in Japan, June 28, 2016, in North America, and July 1, 2016, in Europe, and on the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
on April 28, 2016, in Japan. The story takes place between ''Star Ocean: The Second Story'' and ''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'', in 537 SD, as seen in the first teaser. '' Star Ocean: Anamnesis'' is a
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
featuring three-dimensional characters and environments. Players take part in real-time battles against enemies that support up to four players. It was released in Japan on December 7, 2016 for Android and iOS devices. '' Star Ocean: The Divine Force'' is set to be released for PlayStation 4,
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
,
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
, and PC via
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
in 2022. The game will feature two protagonists and a story that changes based on player's choices.
Akira Yasuda (born July 21, 1964) is a Japanese animator, character designer, game designer and mecha designer, who works under the pen name "Akiman". Yasuda is a former employee of the video game company Capcom (joining in 1985) and has worked on many Capcom g ...
, also known as Akiman, returns as character designer from ''Integrity and Faithlessness'' and ''Anamnesis''.


North American releases

Of the seven games in the series, six have been released outside Japan. '' Star Ocean: The Second Story'' was the first game to be published in the USA, by
Sony Computer Entertainment America Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
. With the PlayStation 2's installment, '' Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'', Square Enix hoped to attract more gamers, especially in the United States, where the franchise has not been very popular. The Director's Cut 2 Disc version of ''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' has been released in North America, with more playable characters, more games and additional storyline tangents. As of July 2005, ''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' is a part of Sony's
Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
line, indicating that the game had done reasonably well in North America. In 2008, Square Enix released an
enhanced remake A video game remake is a video game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game with updated graphics for newer hardware and gameplay for contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake of such game software sh ...
of the original '' Star Ocean'' title for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
called ''Star Ocean: First Departure''. This was followed in 2009 by an enhanced port of ''Star Ocean: The Second Story'' for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
called ''Star Ocean: Second Evolution''. '' Star Ocean: The Last Hope'' was released in North America within one week of its Japanese release on Xbox 360. An enhanced version called Star Ocean: The Last Hope International edition was later released as a PS3 exclusive worldwide in the first quarter of 2010. This port included the Japanese audio, new character portraits, as well as a few other new features exclusive to that version. ''Star Ocean: The Last Hope'' is also available on Steam as 4K & Full HD Remaster. '' Star Ocean: Blue Sphere'' remains the only game in the series not released outside Japan in any form.


Common elements

The characters of the series were designed to be "action-figure-like". A feature adjusting the characters' appearance when changing their equipment was considered for the series but ultimately was scrapped because of the large number of characters to design. However, in the later installment of ''Star Ocean: The Last Hope'' the appearance of the characters did in fact change to reflect the type of weapon they were using. Another recurring gameplay feature is that many of the branching story choices and different endings are not easily accessible, as things like “affection points” are not exposed to the player. This has proven both frustrating to some players who feel they are missing out on choices they didn't know about, but for others it opens up further replayability as newly discovered choices will yield a new story. ''Star Ocean'' games also take an all-encompassing approach to items. Party members can create new objects or improve existing ones through crafts like
metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...
,
alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
, writing, painting and cooking. The strongest items and equipment are usually only available via Item Creation, and many others can be sold for a profit or provide other benefits (books can be used to transfer skills and abilities; cooked foods can be used to circumvent the 20-of-each-item inventory limit), placing great importance on Item Creation. ''Star Ocean'' games are known for their real-time battle engines, and, for being one of the first of its kind to come to the consoles. Battles take place on a separate screen, but all characters (rather than waiting in one spot and taking damage) are fully mobile in three dimensions, can dodge and chase foes, and must cast their spells and deploy attacks despite enemy harassment. In the earlier games, magicians had spells, whereas fighters had special physical attacks called "Killer Moves"; both are learned after passing certain level requirements (or through specific items and
sidequests A quest, or mission, is a task in video games that a player-controlled character, party, or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward. Quests are most commonly seen in role-playing games and massively multiplayer online games. ...
) and cost HP or MP to use. In ''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'', all the characters are able to use spells and battle skills (i.e. killer moves).


Music

The first ‘’Star Ocean’’ was composed by Motoi Sakuraba, and included orchestral samples, including flutes, and even included digitized battle cries during combat. The scores for ''Star Ocean'' and ''First Departure'' were composed and arranged by
Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
. Critics praised Sakuraba's
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
style, and highlighted his musical experimentation throughout the original ''Star Ocean'' score and ''First Departure''. Tracks added from '' Star Ocean: The Second Story'' received mixed reviews on the ''First Departure'' album, adding some familiar ''Star Ocean'' themes but also some lesser known songs to the mix. Several musical pieces were missing from the original album and were added to the remake's release. The ''First Departure'' remake features the theme song "Heart" performed by Japanese music group Asunaro, which accompanied the game's opening animation as well as the end credits, and was included in that version's official soundtrack in 2008. This theme was replaced for the ''First Departure R'' release with the song by Yauchi Keiko of Shadow of Laffandor. The music of '' Star Ocean: Blue Sphere'' was composed by regular series composer
Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
: he created the soundtrack on a
PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...
Composing for the Game Boy Color presented multiple limitations in cord numbers and quality. The battle theme, "Hand to Hand", was a track Sakuraba particularly remembered, as he tried to capture the momentum of battle despite the limited hardware. The music for '' Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' was composed by
Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
, a long-time collaborator with tri-Ace. The soundtrack was eventually released in four parts. The limited edition of Volume 1 also came with box to hold all four albums. When the game was revised into the Director's Cut, Sakuraba composed a few new pieces of music and released an album for them. The song "The Small Bird That Forgot How To Fly" (飛び方を忘れた小さな鳥, ''Tobikata Wo Wasureta Chiisana Tori'') by the JPop singer
Misia Misaki Itō, commonly known as and stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Born in Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended ...
was used to accompany the game's ending credits. The music for ''Star Ocean: The Last Hope'' was composed by
Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
, who has worked on the soundtrack for the previous ''Star Ocean'' games and many other games developed by tri-Ace. The soundtrack will be released in two parts: ''Star Ocean: The Last Hope Original Soundtrack'' - A 3-CD set containing all the music tracks in the game, with a total of 71 tracks. It also contains a DVD extra of an interview with Sakuraba himself, plus video footage of his workshop and some original music performed by him. The other is ''Star Ocean: The Last Hope Arrange Soundtrack'' - A selection of tracks from the original soundtrack performed in different remixes. Sakuraba is a “series mainstay”, and included a “synth-rock” soundtrack in ''Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness''. As with the other games in the ''Star Ocean'' series, '' Star Ocean: Anamnesis'' soundtrack was composed by
Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
.


Manga and anime

There was an incomplete manga series by
Mayumi Azuma is a Japanese manga artist, who is the creator of the now completed manga ''Elemental Gelade'', which finished with eighteen volumes and was adapted into a 26-episode anime television series, and its ongoing spinoff manga ''Elemental Gelade: Fl ...
based on ''Star Ocean: The Second Story'', which became a similarly incomplete anime series ''Star Ocean EX''. The anime series saw release by
Geneon Entertainment (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan. Th ...
in the United States. The anime features 26 episodes covering events that happened on the first disc of the PlayStation game. The show was continued on Drama CDs afterward.


Reception

By 2013, the game series had shipped over 4.2 million copies. In a 2009 retro review, NintendoLife praised '' Star Ocean'' technical aspects calling it "one of the best-looking Super Nintendo games ever created" and that the soundtrack "never ceases to amaze". ''Famitsu'' reviewed '' Star Ocean: The First Departure'', a remake of the original ''Star Ocean'', saying the title's animation and characters were well done and the story was "charming" though they lamented that players could only save their progress at certain points such as the world map, which they also felt was too large and had a limited field of view.'' Star Ocean: The Second Story'' is one of the most popular games of the series. While most reviewers gave positive reviews, some considered the game only mediocre. Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for '' Next Generation'' stated that "It has its pluses and minuses, but they balance out to become one of the most average RPGs you can imagine." '' Star Ocean: Blue Spheres'' popularity in Japan, primarily for its story and gameplay systems, prompted tri-Ace to remake it for mobile devices. The remake included redrawn graphics and a remastered soundtrack. Initially, '' Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' received a somewhat negative impression in Japan. Parts of the game were alleged to be buggy, and the game refused to work at all in older SCPH-10000 PlayStation 2s. Enix blamed
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, as they had coded ''Star Ocean 3'' with features from updated libraries that were apparently not backward-compatible. '' Star Ocean: The Last Hope'' was reviewed by ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' which stated that despite the rough pacing in the storyline that could be told in a much more engaging manner, tri-Ace and Square Enix's latest RPG holds together quite well with action-packed gameplay. One of the small annoyances encountered during the game is the disc-swapping, which requires players to switch discs if they need to travel between planets later in the game. '' Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness'' was noted by ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' for having graphics that varied widely in quality, from very high quality to ''
Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...
'' and noting there were no cutscenes, so the acting had less emotional impact. They did, however praise the game's score and cast of characters.'' Star Ocean: Anamnesis'' was described by ''Kotaku'' as “exploitative but charming”, praising the game's use of nostalgia, but abhorring the “blandness” of its free to play formula.


See also

*
List of Square Enix video game franchises This is a list of video game franchises by Square Enix, a Japanese video game development and publishing company formed from the merger of Enix and Square on April 1, 2003. Square Enix acquired Taito in September 2005, which continues to publish ...
*
List of Japanese role-playing game franchises This is a list of best-selling Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) franchises. For inclusion on the list, a franchise must have sold or shipped at least one million copies. For the purpose of this article, a JRPG is defined as a franchise which: (1 ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Product page from tri-Ace
{{Authority control Tri-Ace Science fantasy video games Space opera video games Square Enix franchises Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1996 Video games set on fictional planets