Análisis Star Ocean: The Divine Force

Star Ocean: Divine Force is a JRPG game Square-Enix developped by Trias, available from October 27. This veteran saga is already more than 20 years behind it, but Will this title live up to it? To carry out this analysis, I played on an Xbox Series X in the version for Xbox Series X/S.

To the escape pods!

First of all, the game lets us choose between two protagonists like Raymond and Laeticia. This decision will have not only aesthetic importance, since certain events or allies will be modified according to our selection. In addition, we will have the possibility to choose between three levels of difficulty.

In Raymond’s eyes, the game puts us in our ship sailing through space. Suddenly, a threat manages to bring us down and we are forced to evacuate the ship to a inhospitable planet (Aster IV). This planet will be inhabited by creatures that will put us in more than one impasse and also by a technologically backward civilization compared to our team. In the case of Laeticia (native of said planet) she will be accompanied by Albaird and they will start their adventure looking for the whereabouts of what fell from the sky, which is none other than Raymond’s escape pod.

The adventure manages to capture our attention and keep us on our toes because of the events that brought our protagonists together. It develops organically and allows us to explore the scene. We will have different conversations with secondary characters who are also up to the job but who never rediscover the wheel. In addition, has interesting side quests. A very favorable point is replayable character of the work, since we can enjoy both versions of the story depending on the character we have chosen. It’s similar to what we can see in other games, as is the case with Resident Evil 2 remake with Leo and Claire.

So, is Star Ocean: The Divine Force open world?

Not entirely, it has a zoned level design. This, yes, the playable terrain is very wide and the body asks you to explore it. The scenarios are quite different from each other, with varying climate and biomes. As is often the case in the saga and in games of Square-Enix, we will have towns where we can interact with NPCs. We will occasionally carry out secondary missions there or restock our team, among other actions.

Each zone will be differentiated by a loading time, this transition is relatively fast on new-gen consoles, but slower on old ones.

Star Ocean is a pure action RPG

But let’s get down to business. We will be accompanied by alliesthat we can both control and customize. Battles take place in real time, the scene has many enemies that we can face or avoid. We will be able to attack from behind and surprise the enemies, it can also shock their allies. During the fight we will have the possibility of escaping if we end up seriously injured.

We and our allies will count with a bar of health and AP. as in a hack and slashwe’ll push the buttons with effusion always taking into account this fatigue bar. As is logical, we will have an essential use dodge button. Chains of combos will be of great importance in battles.

We will have three types of attacks, as we advance in the game we will unlock different skills through the skill tree. These can be assigned to each button, as well as items that improve our passive skills. In this, the game leaves us absolute freedom, so we can make the combinations that suit us best at all times. Also, our allies have very different techniques, like healing, strength, dexterity, etc.

But, he wasn’t going to stop there; because our “best” ally will be DUMA A drone that will accompany us throughout the adventure and that will allow us to carry out exploration actions, such as being able to fly for a limited time. In addition to helping us enormously in combat, it has abilities and, above all, a block button that will allow us to make spectacular counterattacks if we press it at the right time. The other skills are very interesting and useful depending on the enemy we face and we will unlock them as we progress.

There are a large number of enemies for each region we visit, although these are usually repeated. In addition, the levels generally have their final boss who we must overcome. This is where the game’s biggest challenge lies, though they’re not overly difficult to defeat if you’re serious about gearing up properly.

Lots of on-screen graphical effects, but not always at the expected level

About the technical part of Star Ocean: Divine Forcewe can decide that it’s irregular. It has awesome shots, but the drawing distance makes the end result too blurry. The characters have facial expressions (sometimes not even that), quite inexpressive and energetic. The lip-synch, at least in the English version, is really bad.

In fight? here it shows its best version with a massive range of vivid on-screen colors and stunning effects, with more than adequate lighting. The main issue it has is the frame rate. Although we have two graphics modes (version X-Series: quality and performance), there are large drops in FPS when moving the camera in certain circumstances or in combat. Vegetation, as well as other elements on the screen, disappear depending on the point of focus.

Another problem is the camera, because especially in combat, he sometimes positions himself very badly. Above all, in enclosed spaces in which any object can cover our complete view of the battlefield.

Correct sound section, but with a big downside

The sound section is of a very good level, mixing a medieval symphony with a rather interesting futuristic touch. It accompanies us perfectly both in moments of exploration and combat. He is also present in some cutscenes, giving emotional meaning to many of the story’s actions.

The voices are located at English or Japanese, and the texts too (in addition to French). This can tarnish the final result since the need for at least, a little command of English is essential to understand the story together. For the rest, the voice level, as well as the subtitles, are of a good standard.

conclusion

Star Ocean: Divine Force It’s an interesting game, with an adventure that captivates from the first moment. The action is as frenetic as it is fun and the customization options it offers make it never (or almost) repetitive. The levels have a certain freedom and we appreciate that we can avoid or face the enemies, as well as the exploration. Although graphically it could be improved and the frame drops darken the end result. In short, it’s a game more than recommended for JRPG lovers and this veteran saga.

This game is available in physical and digital format for XboxOne, Xbox series X/S, PS4, PS5 there computer. For more video game reviews, click here.