Star Ocean: The Divine Force, we tried out the new Tri-Ace title

this Triple Aces they are a particular team to say the least: blatant supporters of the ‘game first’ philosophy, they have long been known for establishing viable titles on the systems, but they are far from the technical sector that can be expected at a high level. productions. However, the lack of evolution of this eclectic team of developers hasn’t stopped them from collaborating on several occasions. Square Enix and a very choppy continuation of one of the most famous JRPG series. To be clear, we’re talking about Star Ocean, a sci-fi epic inspired by Star Trek that has managed to stand out as well as disappoint its fan base over the years.

The last episode of the series, Star Ocean: the Divine Force, is currently under construction and we were able to try it in London during the event. Square Games. We expect the demo to be public, so we will try to analyze what we saw today. And be careful, because on the one hand, the technical shortcomings of the Tri-Ace are once again crystal clear, on the other hand, it looks like there has been more than one evolution, despite elements that are still not definitively known. Let’s find out in ours Trial of Star Ocean: Divine Power.

Fantasy and sci-fi soup

We played as demo Raymond, a fleshy space trader whose ship is forced to make an emergency landing on an unknown planet due to an attack. We weren’t kidding when we talked about the effects of Star Trek, because the attack, Pangalactic Federation, an initially charitable organization that has grown into an expansionist empire in recent years. Lost on a planet on the “developing worlds” list, Raymond meets the princess, still far from the technology needed for space travel. LaeticiaRealizing his “alien” abilities, the attacker seeks his help to repel the attack from the neighboring kingdom.

As you may have noticed, the premise of Star Ocean: Divine Force in general, mix of fantasy and science fiction It’s pretty solid, sustaining two parallel conflicts: on the one hand, involving Raymond by the young princess, and on the other, with the Pangalactic Federation, which we have no doubt will reappear during the campaign. It’s impossible to judge the overall quality of the story right now, we’re aware of that, but solid foundations often lead to a respectable narrative, so we’re pretty confident. Let’s hope everything is done by separate criteria, without getting lost in the usual formulas typical of the more messy JRPG, often rich in fillers and remedies to prolong water.

Our experiment (which is quite large in terms of content) allowed us to at least try out not only the introduction of the game, but also a large part of the subsequent missions. Therefore, we were able to quite thoroughly test the core mechanics of this new Star Ocean’s combat and movement system, which once again appears to be the focus of the experience. Tri-Ace’s work also managed to surprise us in this respect, as what seemed like a very limited action JRPG from the first minutes of testing suddenly turns into something more elaborate as soon as a crucial drone called DUMA is reached. . . .

To fly, but also to lead

this DUMA centerpiece Gameplay Of Star Ocean: the Divine Force also lacks the drone, as the gameplay mechanics are actually extremely simple, the Base system is actually built on it. three possible combinations, each assigned to an attack button. These combinations can be customized with various skills (requires action points of a stick and cannot be abused), so it is useful to add techniques with specific functions between shots to ensure that you always have more than one option in battle; however, if you choose to hold the keys, a alternative actionoften useful for assigning an object. Overall this is a cheat that makes the battles a little more “active” than most of the JRPGs in circulation, but functionally the differences are really marginal compared to the more classic games.

But once you have the drone in your hands, everything changes: DUMA lets you perform. quick approaches in the air, and is the core of the game’s defense mechanics. Keeping it active creates a protective barrier, and if you change direction during the sprint approach, you’ll make sudden dodges that can confuse the enemy and increase the damage dealt. If that’s not enough, DUMA is very important against massively sized enemies, because combined with targeting it makes it possible to launch mid-air attacks at their raised weak points (a giant golem’s head, to give a practical example). ). Given that all these possibilities depend on an energy bar that recharges quite quickly, and characters can be switched at any time in the game – up to four can be used simultaneously – variety is certainly not lacking. After a few minutes, in fact, it becomes second nature to move around the field at wind speed or savagely attack opposing groups, or to activate obstacles and heals on one’s teammates (yes, magic and boosts are included, of course). characters in the game). The only complaint? There difficulty He felt too short on us and we never even remotely risked losing a member of the band in the demo. The level of challenge against bigger or harder opponents will be evaluated in more detail in the future.

The white talking drone hero of the fights also plays a central role during the war. discovery, moreover. In fact, it is possible to use DUMA to fly as you navigate between maps and glide gracefully from one place to another without difficulty. This cheat tends to make navigation very fast even though the locations are pretty wide, and we hope it will be used creatively in more complex locations (or maybe more linear dungeons) overall.

Instead it’s not great technical sector, predictable… Divine Force doesn’t seem like a modern title because of the particularly non-detailed three-dimensional models, certain grainy textures that send a chill down our spine, and often a graphic effect from far away perfection. . If nothing else, everything felt very fluid to us during testing; it’s already something.