Square Enix’s Western arm is currently riding high on the announcement of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and their main Japanese branch will also be expanding a hot sci-fi property in the company’s portfolio!
After the whistle was blown on the project a day in advance by Famitsu, ironically after Game Informer also leaked Deus Ex: Mankind Divided a day ahead of Square Enix’s planned announcement, Square Enix has officially announced Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. This confirms the already-deduced secret that Square Enix Japan’s drawn out teaser campaign was indeed for a new Star Ocean game.
As with its predecessors, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness will be an action-RPG with an epic storyline, and lots of cinematic cutscenes. The game promises seamless real-time battles, as well as special events where players can be ambushed, with party members potentially being captured, which can alter the story, and even the game’s ending. The main character will apparently be a swordsman called Fidel Camus, and the game apparently takes place on an unsettled planet called ‘Feycreed’. Bear in mind however that these are the names of the Japanese version, and may be subject to change, as could the game’s title by the time it reaches the West.
Square Enix also confirms that Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness will continue to share a persistent canon with the former games. Specifically, it will take place between the events of Star Ocean: A Second Story/Second Evolution, and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.
On that note, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness will once again be developed by the series’ regular studio, Tri-Ace, with Square Enix publishing. The game is so far only confirmed for Japan, though a Western release is no doubt inevitable, given that each game has made it to the West at some point or another now.
Those who appreciated 2009’s previous Star Ocean: The Last Hope launching as a timed Xbox 360 exclusive however may be disappointed. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is only in development for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, with no Xbox version of any kind in the works. This isn’t surprising, as the vast majority of the Star Ocean games have been PlayStation-exclusive releases. Star Ocean: The Last Hope even quickly abandoned its plans to be Xbox 360-exclusive, seeing an upgraded release on PlayStation 3 just one year later.
Keep charting Eggplante for all news and updates on the Star Ocean series.