I’m about 19 hours in Star Ocean The Divine Force and I gotta say this is the best Star Ocean since the first 3. Depending on how the story ends it could be my new second favorite Star Ocean game behind 2.
I’m about 11 hours in and, out of the mountain of new games I have to play this year, I keep wanting to play this over everything else. I had zero expectations for this, and the only other SO game I played I hated, but I’m loving Divine Force. Really glad I gave it a shot! Thanks for the review!
Hi David! Just wanted to give this vid a quick like and comment for the algorithm. Since I am going to be purchasing the game, I want to avoid any info about it.
The font size is horrendous! I had to move and connect my ps4 to my desktop monitor next to my bed just to read the text. It was impossible to play on my TV. Other than that I'm enjoying it, as it gives me ps2/ps3 era nostalgia vibes.
Super happy you enjoyed and recommended it. I still can't start until trails on the sky 2 is finished though. Must. Resist. Urge :D Thank-you for your review
I picked this up day one after you said it's prob the best hope to keep tri-ace going, I put about 2 hours in but will return soon as almost finished smt5 and don't want to put that down this close to the end! Thanks! glad to hear you loved it despite the gripes, thanks David ❤️
I have the game purchased since release and this kind of video hypes me up even more to play it (currently playing another game, so when I'm finished I'll tackle SO). My only experience with this franchise was the previous game, which I could only stand it for a couple of hours...
Fantastic review, David! I'm only around 6 hours in, and I'm really loving it. My only addendum to your list of minor gripes would be Raymond's hair, which he clearly stole from Rod Stewart circa 1970!
His hair reminds me of chucky lol. I love Raymond anime look but I don't think the developers translated that correctly to 3d. I would love to fix his hair but it is what it is lol. Something fun to look at.
@@juststeve2579 Hah good analogy! It's just so off-putting. I can't believe the devs sat there with the artists and went "Yeah.... YES! This is exactly the hair we want the players to be staring at for 30+ hours! BRAVO!"
30 hours in. I'll probably double dip. I stupidly got digital. Now I know it's a damn fine game. I want the physical. I'm singing it's praises most places I go, both internet land, and friends. It's great for Tri-ace. You can see the budget in this game. But you can also see they spent almost every penny of it exactly where it needed to be spent. Solid, solid game. Bravo.
I hear tri ace they had no money coming in after their mobile game had to shut down while divine force was still in production. Still can't believe it came out.
@@jitaon yeah, I mean, by all metrics, this game should probably suck (which I think even the most fervent fans were like "i am ready for this possibility" it's been a rough road following this series. But this is a stellar game. Fun as hell. It has no right to be as good as it is. It proves there's real talent at that company. Even with budget restrictions and a company burning down, they can still make a hit. That's not easy. It's just really goddamn good to be talking about a NEW star ocean, in a positive light, no less.
I'm really on the fence about the game. Never played a Star Ocean game before but am so tired of everyone complaining that all games aren't 90+ hours like Persona 5. I don't want a game that's takes up so much time I could use with family and friends. I'm really tired of games being padded to make them artificialy longer 😅
You can definitely see places they cut corners that are things that don't matter too much. Things such as barely any townsfolk can be spoken to except the quest givers and Esowa competitors. Also, you cannot go into most buildings, and the few that you can go into are pretty limited. For example, inside of an Inn there may be like 5-7 rooms, but you can only actually walk into 1 or 2 of them.
So my most important concern is that like 5 we are severely limited on worlds. I need 3 min worlds not counting space craft or space stations for Star Ocean to land right. Please tell me that is the case like in 4 or before. Thanks for the notes warning. Have yet started my play through... and I do have years or months between time on some games.
Just beat this last night. I really enjoyed it. Idk if I like it more than 1 & 2, but it's def up there. Great review, I'm glad you enjoyed it as well.
I actually love the detailed encyclopedias in the later Star Ocean games, especially the entries listing real world facts. As a science nerd, I got a kick out of that.
If I may add a few more gripes: -The auto target system is your enemy. Sometimes, it likes to target things that are behind you, or on the other side of the battlefield. To remedy this, get used to using the stop mode feature when you want to pick your own target. Being able to pick one while paused will save you a lot of headaches in tense situations. -There is a lot of repeated/repetitive dialog when travelling. I think that's what the fast travel warning is referring to when it says you'll miss some events. But... Oh nooooooo... The same line where they tell me to head south or wherever for the 5th time is soooooooo important that you have to warn me that I'll miss out on it /s All that said, this is my favorite Star Ocean now. It has finally eclipsed 2 as my king of the series. If they continue down this path and make some improvements in a new entry, I daresay I will become a fan again.
I agree with everything. They definitely need a patch for that super tiny text, some trackers on the map, check boxes letting you know where esowa players are and ones you’ve beaten checked off. And even a 3D item checker to see how the pawns look as you inspect and collect them and spin them around. It’s the history of Star Ocean in those pawns. It’s awesome to see 3D models of old SO characters. Shows you how the pixel characters would have looked in a remake. Hopefully there will be DLC for an extra world you can travel to with a few towns and dungeons. Loved this game. Especially the customizable combat and Esowa
Fullscreen on my 1080p 27" IPS within arm's reach and I am convinced, devs and QA were with 55" or larger screens at a similar range. However, the Japanese version fonts are a good bit more legible at their size? Could be an unfortunate miss turned into a mistake. Thank you for the review, happy to hear the opinion.
It's like a love letter to SO2. Item Creation is so similar to how it worked in SO2, there's two protags (they even have a blue-haired girl and a blonde guy), exclusive characters...it just feels like a return to form with only a few trips.
item creation in this game is the only thing I hated...idk how they did it but its somehow worse than I F and last hope. Like dood if i see one more fucking claymore when i am using JJ to craft katanas im gonna throw ray off a f**ing bridge xD
I still haven't gotten to play it much since you put out your first impressions video a while ago, but I've still been loving this game nonetheless! I really, really hope they release an update to let us change the font size in the menu. Ludicrously small font size is a trend that really needs to stop
Oh my god! Yes! What is with the tiny text in games now a days. Even with great vision it’s hard to see and even harder to read. I like playing with the Japanese dialogue, because I want to learn the language. Unfortunately the text is almost microscopic. What’s worse is the menu having the same text size. And it’s not just this game but several games have tiny text.
Just finished it last night and it was fantastic! Absolutely love the character dynamics and the combat was super fun. It was on the easy side even on the hardest difficulty but it was still a blast to play through. Soon as I’m finished with Ragnarök I’m going to double back and do Star Oceans endgame content.
I was surprised this game was even made. Even more surprised it was good. However, there was no real incentive to explore the large maps when item creation exists, and the difficulty was way too easy.
The emphasis on weird terminology in JRPGs seems similar to how a lot of Western YA fiction also relies on massive amounts of unique terminology. It can be cool the first few times it's encountered but after a while it almost becomes a reverse-cliche of "we can't use recognizable words for things!"
Most of the time in games that is somewhat anoying. But in this series it works , at least lore wise . The whole people having different terms for things on different planets.
I was so excited when this game was announced. I put aside my money to buy it and waited patiently. Thankfully I didn't pre-order it. (more on that later) I wanted to buy it day one because I didn't want the series to die. I want to support jRPGs because for so long I was starving for them. (This was a great year for them!) However on release day, before I bought it, I read the PC specs and found out I don't meet the minimum requirements (I have a i7 6700k, but it says I need a i7 7700 minimum) My steam deck has even lower specs. I guess I'm gonna have to pass on it.
I seriously doubt that a 6700k would not run this game, especially when that CPU is much faster than the AMD 1500X that is also listed on the system requirements. You can always get a refund if you notice performance issues on your system. In fact, I imagine that any 8-thread desktop CPU from the last 10 years would play the game fine, even the old i7 2600K, unless the game makes heavy use of AVX2 instructions, which would set the bar at the 4770K.
@@Bayonet1809 I'm not talking any chances. If I don't meet the minimum standards or specs, I won't touch it. If they made the specs too high, it's their fault. I also don't do refunds or resale anything I've bought. That feels scummy to me.
Nice i agree if you like star ocean or a good JRPG buy this game i'm at very end taking and break because i don't want it to end i always milk last few hours of every game i really enjoyed LMAO.. Honestly tho for me 4 is still best but this game rocks combat is so fast and fluid its insane.
Here's an idea. Star Ocean 7, the true final game in the series, takes place centuries after Til the End of Time, and deals with the collapse of the universe as entropic forces destroy planets and stars. Our heroes, culled from numerous worlds, go on a journey to solve this crisis, and discover something shocking about midway through: Their enemy...is The Profound Darkness. As in, the unknowable eldritch entity from Phantasy Star. Then you realize why Sega had a hand in this game. It's not just Star Ocean 7--it's Phantasy Star 5. Two long-dormant franchises, joining forces to give their respective universes the grand finale we all know they deserve! I guess you could call it "Phantasy Star Ocean". Just a thought.
Despite the small complaints and QoL features they didn’t add, this game is easily my personal game of the year and my favorite in the series. Just solid and so much fun to play! They really redeemed the series since Integrity and Faithlessness.
Those ding danged fonts! I can't believe the game shipped with them! Glad to see you liked The Divine Force as well! It's so strange to me how I had so many nagging little complaints here and there and the game still pulled me in! I'm a bit amazed by that still!
I’m approximately 14 hrs in and am about to spend the rest of my day off playing. I’ve been deeply enjoying the game. The Esowa game is fun. I started with The last hope a few years ago as my introduction into the series.
4:33 So true. What even happened in FF13? Two Australian Sheilas sacrificed themselves to save the world by ice-sculpture? I'm pretty sure I'm not far off.
Nothing like a touch of Nostalgia to keep the fires burning. With people like you giving an amazing review, it would be hard for this franchise to die without a fight.
Great review as always David!!! I do agree with all your points, and your opinion was the one I realley wanted to hear, I'm having a blast with the game, specially with the story
Despite playing the Demo and Pre ordering the the full game 3 Months before its not for me even in the full game the camera for trying to see the chests on the MINI world map sucks even with DUMA having a 100% world map scan and while the game DOES use IC through the menu with 2nd story/Evolution being the LAST game that did that using up Fol to make anything makes that system harder to abuse early game I decided to NOT play the Full game at all even on Earth mode.
OMG! You killed me at 4:34 because I have been playing rpg's/jrpg's since FFVII and it's soo true! I believe the reason for this is because nowadays with the internet and the fact some people don't like to dish out the extra $$$ for the strategy guide ect. they feel it's a need to know within the game. It could be worse like the release of FFXV where they wanted you to read a book, watch a movie, fly to Japan for an Expo ( lmao ) BEFORE even playing the damn thing.
I liked the characters, the story was not pulling me so I put it down. And the combat was very blah I preferred older versions. I do plan to try and pick it up again. Sadly I don’t see this series making a strong comeback. I think it os just dead and will have hope Trails of and other rpg series keep going strong.
There IS a quest list though. Press Triangle while viewing any area's map :) It's so weirdly hidden, and the mini font in the UI does not help. I was confused the same way, but someone on a forum told me about how to access the quest list lol I'm loving the game too btw! :)
Yeah I know about the quest list. I mentioned it and showed it on the video. But it still doesn’t list the pertinent information on how to complete the quest.
If this game happens to be the last in the series, then I’m simply going to choose to remember Star Ocean: Ananmesis as the swan song of the franchise. That game was pure beauty when it came to references and fan service. Maid and bride costumes for Nel? Hell yeah~
Sales are significantly down from SO5 so it isn't looking good so far, hopefully reviews like this and good word of mouth will give it a longer shelf life though.
Been waiting for this review, David! Glad it's the hit you were hoping it would be! I got my copy on release day, but still haven't had the chance to crack it open. Hoping for a break this upcoming weekend, though, and your review really has me excited to return to the world of Star Ocean. Thank you!
I finally went around and tried this game. I'm not very far in, but the Duma is a great gimmick. I wasn't sure as first but it finally clicked at the mother worm boss.
David, I trust your judgment! Thank you for this. I have a question for you as well as those in the comments section: I have a birthday coming up and I want to choose a game and I have narrowed it down to three options: 1. Star Ocean - The Divine Force 2. Valkyrie Elysium 3. The DioField Chronicle I have an idea of which one I want but I would like to hear your thoughts on this one.
I would love to play SO6 because in a way it reminds me of SO2 (Like having 2 protagonists and even having blue/blonde hair like Rena/Claude) but I don't own a Playstation and I've heard the game runs like poop on PC right now due to bad optimization. Right now I have to live vicariously through others as they play. Great review as always and if the PC optimization improves this is a DEFINITE buy for me
You weren't kidding about the text being small though. 😳 I wear glasses and had to move close to the screen to be able to read some of the text! Not really a game-breaking issue but a very odd design choice that makes things unnecessarily difficult.
Gonna be honest, can't get over just how good this game is compared to, essentially, every 3D game in the series. Blows them out of the water in a way only SO2 and First Departure could.
coming from someone who enjoys action adventure a bit more than the turn based jrpgs I was pleasantly surprised with the divine force I honestly thought Tri-ace was done for after Integrity and Faithlessness but I'm glad they're back and in the right direction this time I mean,it kinda doesn't feel like a low budget game at all tbh -solid gameplay -solid cut scenes ( I LOVE the sci fi elements in the series) -fun crafting system -decent mini game and collecting deck pieces -dealing with Chloe's drivel aside from the interestingly weird graphics and character looks they went for i think it's easily an 8 out of 10 for me
Just picked it up today with saints row got both at a pretty good discount. I know saints row not that great but for $25 i’ll try it for myself. As for star ocean the last game in the series i played was the last hope for the 360. Ive been playing games since the master system days but didn’t get into rpg’s and especially jrpg’s until later in life. I missed out on so many great games on the Super Nintendo and PS1. Been trying to go back and play many games I missed i try to buy them if i can but man some of the prices on older games are getting crazy so I use emulators on some.😢
The creepy doll faces killed any chance this game had to sell really well, not matter how good the combat is. They really needed to go with a more pleasing anime face style like Tales of Arise, would have boosted their sales like double...
I'm a latecomer to the SO franchise, having only played a small part of the third game and beating The Last Hope on Xbox 360 years ago. I've not played any of the others, would definitely check out the first two and give the third another shot. But as far as this game goes, it looks pretty fun and interesting, and thanks largely to your positive videos on the game so far, I'm going to have to pick this one up and give it a go.
"Is it another Second Story or another Integrity and Faithlessness?" This is a problem I have with how people judge games right here. Is it the best thing ever or is it total trash? How about it's somewhere in between? Integrity and Faithlessness isnt even bad. Tranwreck is harsh, as usual people being hyperbolic about SO5. It's ok. Not great. Not terrible.
I may buy this. I never got into Star ocean. I just purchased Star ocean till the end of time and I could not get into it. I wanted to love it but it never clicked for me. Hopefully this one will be different
Just curious, but has the game been updated since this review? Your one complaint seems like something they could have patched in by now. I'm working on second story ATM, and intend on making my way through the whole series. I don't mind simply writing notes. It's sorta nostalgic because I did that a lot as a kiddo. But it would be nice of they implemented simple trackers as to tell you who you have and haven't played against yet. Love your content man.
Well SO6 apparently did well enough to where we got a semi remake of Star Ocean 2, so here is hoping that does well enough to where SO7 becomes a thing or Remaster of 3 comes down the pipeline
I bought first departure R, last hope, and integrity and faithlessness all for $21 I have not played them yet but I was curious about them they look like final fantasy with a SIFI edge.
Been playing bayonetta 3, absolutely happy with my choice, I’m glad to hear that Star ocean is a return to form…sounds like when i pick it up on discount I’ll be satisfied!😊
I actually platted Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope eight years ago. I like the game, but I won't do that again. Lol. I haven't played the fifth game in the series, so I cannot comment on its quality. I heard it isn't well received by fans, sadly. Late to the party, but I'm liking much from what Star Ocean 6 has to offer thus far. However, I think I'm playing it on the wrong console. I still have an old ps4 model, and there have been some stuttering with the animation of the combat sequences. Play it on your ps5 if possible - which would be my personal suggestion. Unfortunately, I don't think this game will save tri-Ace from insolvency. As a franchise, Star Ocean will be dormant indefinitely until their rights are bought from Square Enix, methinks. Tales of series has the monopoly in the action jrpg market.
I have a few questions: 1. Did ya'll have a problem with the battle cam? 2. Was standard difficulty too easy? 3. Any bugs dampened your enjoyment? 4. Were there any returning races from the older games? 5. How many explorable planets are in this game?
Great review. Bout a dozen hours in now, and my only gripes are some of the character designs are kinda meh, and keeping track of the side quests is a pain in the ass. I love absolutely everything else. The prospect of playing again from rays perspective is giving me big nostalgia hits for 2nd story. Might go dust off the ol PS2 fter I finish this up...
Integrity amd Faithlessness was really faithless indeed. The Last Hope was the best one to me imo. I have a serious hatred for that other trash game Till the End of Time, mainly the story. I seriously hated the turn it took right towards the end and I couldn't stand some of it's gameplay. Now let's see how this one does. I'll plan on getting this real soon. Thanks for the review.
Honestly I’ve been enjoying this game so much… BUT THE FONT I have 20/20 vision and I STILL CANNOT SEE lmao. Like please they need to patch fix this or something because besides that it’s really a smooth game. Although another minor complaint is the FPS dropping in some areas or fights. My poor ps4 sometimes struggles in certain locations. But overall, one of the best SO games up to date!
okay. according to the games timer, im 30 hours into this game. and im baffled at that? I feel like ive been playing for maybe 13 hours. I have no memory of accidentally leaving this game on while I was away.im having loads of fun flying around. the story is... good. but im still waiting for it to truly grab me
This game feels objectively better than Star Ocean 5 in many ways, but weirdly, I think I might like 5 more. This game, despite feeling larger in scope, seems to feel more cheaply made. The visuals are awful. It looks like a PS3 game from 2006 and has no business running as poorly as it does (even after the patch). The combat system feels like a mess. The camera is all over the place, and half the time I cannot tell what is going on. The character progression feels so dull compared to 5 or the earlier Star Ocean games, and the skill tree in this game is one of the worst I have ever seen. Also, despite the world at first seeming like it's going to be much larger than 5, it's really not that much different. You still blaze through all the new areas/towns within the first few hours of the game and then spend the rest pingponging around. I think overall, I wish SquareEnix would give Tri Ace the budget to do a proper Star Ocean game again in the vein of Star Ocean 2, 3, or 4. These games feel almost like indie titles that are trying too hard to punch above their weight.
