Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness – Review
Star Ocean is probably one of the most popular RPG franchises, next to Final Fantasy and the Atelier games for example. Square Enix and tri-Ace worked together to create the fifth game of this series, where your expertise is needed to save a planet from destruction. Outer space, melee & magic, overrun cities and an intriguing story: the perfect combination.
Story
The narrative of this fifth instalment is situated between the second (Star Ocean: The Second Story) and third (Star Ocean: Till the End of Time) games. In this story, we’re venturing on the planet Faykreed, almost 6000 light years from Earth. Our hero is Fidel Camuze, son of a famous swordsman and guardian of the village Sthall. After some casual training, it seems that problems are just around the corner. Miki Sauvester, one of your oldest buddies, spots some unfamiliar scouts at the edge of town. After some investigation, the peaceful town of Sthall is going to be attacked by the notorious Eitalon. The available manpower can fend off one attack, but it is clear that they won’t hold out for long. Fidel and Miki decide to go to the capital to request reinforcements.
After their trip, they get into a sticky situation where they find the gifted child Relia. She doesn’t seem to have any memories and our two protagonists decide to help her to find her family. Their search leads them to unknown and dangerous places while they’re being followed by a mysterious force. It is your task to find the truth in this deep pool of mysteries.
Star Ocean is quite popular for its storylines and this game fits this description. You’ll be immersed in the story before you know it, always craving for more.
Graphics
Overall, the graphics are stunning although there is a clash between the playable characters and the rest of the game. First of all, the environments are amazingly well done and will leave you flabbergasted for a while. This might change a bit when you zoom in on the characters. The townsfolk look alright but the style of the protagonists’ faces feel out of place compared to the rest of the game. Whereas you’ll be presented with a more lifelike surrounding, the facial features resemble more of an anime-style and although you’ll get used to it quite fast, it might be a thorn in the side.
One other aspect is the amount of details and the smoothness of the clothing. It is natural for important characters to have a more striking garb but our protagonists have been spoiled. Each and every one of them have clothing that fit their personality and stand out perfectly. Even more, the movements of small chains, pieces of fabric and other details feel so realistic.
Sound
The music the game provides takes it all to the next level. You’ll be greeted by some magically great tunes that match the selected area perfectly. This makes it so much easier to have longer gaming sessions, as you won’t get bored by that fast. Even more, there are a ton of sound effects that makes everything more interesting and are the icing on the cake. Not only during battles, but also while venturing the vast lands. Next to the slashing and swooshing of your sword, fires will burn and ground will shake when spells are cast, making it quite a spectacle to hear.
During these battles, you’ll hear your comrades talking in the background which gives it a nice touch. Also, there is full voice acting during cutscenes and special events although it would have been nice if the townsfolk had some lines as well.
Gameplay
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is an action RPG where you will need to transverse the planet Faykreed to save the day. To do so, you’ll need to face several obstacles and swat as much enemies as you have flies at a hot summer barbecue while following the main quest line or venturing the lands to find items for sidequests.
Fighting is done in real-time, making it quite dynamic and chaotic at times. There are weak and strong attacks, which can be used by pressing the X and O button. Also, holding these buttons will trigger battle skills or signets. In this mind set, holding the X button will make you pop a weaker battle skill then when you would use the O button. If that isn’t enough, there are also two distances, melee and ranged combat. Depending on where you’re standing from your target, the X and O button will trigger other skills, depending on the ones you’ve equipped. Using stronger skills will drain more MP though. Guarding can be done as well, but there is a rock-paper-scissors tactic. This means that weak attacks interferes with strong attacks, while strong attacks break enemies’ guards and guarding can stop weak attacks and gives the chance to perform a counterattack. This attack can be triggered by pressing the square button at the right time and will interrupt your enemy. During battles, you can change the character you’re fighting with, which can be useful when you need certain healing magic or other specific actions.
After a while you’ll be able to use the reserve gauge, which can be filled by exploiting the rock-paper-scissors tactic. When you have at least stocked one gauge, you can use a reserve rush. This is a powerful attack or spell that can change the course of battle. You can choose how many gauges will be used and who will perform the rush. Also, when you stack up on reserves, you get extra bonuses. It is a good idea to save these for boss battles, as these extras can be important for levelling.
To guide your other members into a more suitable job, you can learn and set roles. When you assign these to characters, they gradually gain experience and level up. If you don’t want to wait, you can spend skill points. These are obtained after fights and can be used for roles and specialities. The latter are advantages that can be obtained by spending skill points and has its effect in battle or non- fighting situations. For instance, you can learn harvesting which will give you the possibility to find special points.
Next to fighting, there is also an extensive crafting section. Here, you can make new items by using the materials that you can find during your battles, harvest by specialities or obtain by side-quests. Next to crating items, certain object can be deconstructed as well by using ‘Synthesis’. Depending on the Quality and Impurity levels, you will get a new, random item. Finally, you can also enhance items by augmenting them with other materials.
One last, important aspect of the game is the PA or Private Actions. This can be triggered by stepping in specific areas and will give you the opportunity to get a private conversation with your party members. During these moments, you sometimes have to select an answer, which will in- or decrease your relationship with that character. This is quite important, as there are multiple endings and are accounted on your standing with your team members.
Conclusion
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is the fifth instalment of this franchise and will take you on a journey with the young Fidel, Miki and their companions. Next to the main storyline, you can also enjoy the scenery while doing some side quests, levelling up by exploiting your battle skills or gathering materials for your crafting. If you have a PS4 and like this franchise, it might be a good idea to check it.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness - Review,
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[…] Square Enix Ltd is proud to announce that STAR OCEAN First Departure R, HD -remaster is as of today, December 5th, 2019 available for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The original game was available in the West in 2008 on PSP. The game tells the story of a young swordsman Roddick, who embarks on a quest together with his allies to find a cure for a deadly disease. It wouldn’t really be a remaster if it didn’t have some upgrades. STAR OCEAN First Departure R, HD -remaster features a complete new voice-over, new character illustrations that can be turned on or off at will, a speed mode and a new difficulty system. You can find our review of another installment of the series called Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness right here. […]