CIVILIZATION 6 PS4 SERIES

There are goodies, baddies, and those in the middle - and all of this seems rote, lacking in creativity, and like so many other games we’ve seen before. That hasn’t changed with Divine Force, as the latest trailer features a bland ensemble of characters seeking to protect a vulnerable female party member while also taking the fight to an omnipresent space federation.

Final Fantasy and Persona are modern examples of that success, but Star Ocean plays it completely straight and suffers as a result. Now, I don’t have a problem with JRPGs embracing tropes, and I often adore when such things are subverted and make up an adventure that we’ve never seen before while feeling oddly familiar. Final Fantasy in Space is a really cool idea, but apparently too complicated to make work without showing your ass. I’d accepted that loss, mourning a compelling concept that failed to deliver on its potential time and time again despite its simplicity. Given the game was a commercial and critical flop and a new low point for the series, part of me expected it to fade into obscurity and never surface again. It was seemingly made on a shoestring budget and once again relied on rubbish characters and tired genre tropes that would have felt outdated 20 years ago, let alone in the modern era. Integrity and Faithlessness was just bad. The Last Hope was okay when it launched for the Xbox 360 back in 2009, although was held back by awful characters and so-so storytelling, with its solid battle system not being quite strong enough to prop up the entire experience.

CIVILIZATION 6 PS4 SERIES

I grew up with the Star Ocean series and with the reveal of each new game, my spark of hope was reignited as I found myself wishing the creators had learned their lessons and didn’t plan to release a creatively bankrupt piece of garbage. I don’t take joy in being a party pooper here. Related: Here’s Why People Are So Excited For The Shin-Chan Game

I've written about the potential mediocrity of this upcoming JRPG before, expressing worry about its generic anime character designs and archetypal approach to the genre that was struggling to paint anything other than a very forgetful picture. But here we are, with Star Ocean: The Divine Force set to receive a worldwide release this October. The studio has been failing this task for 13 years now, and part of me can’t believe the series is still going. Tri-Ace don’t make a terrible Star Ocean game challenge.

Civilization 6 ps4