"Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness" was just announced by Square Enix last week and new information has been published by gaming magazine Famitsu, later translated into English by Gematsu. Revealed are new screenshots, interviews, release date, and a look at the title's combat system.
According to Gematsu, the game takes place on a planet known as Feycreed, located 6,000 light-years away from Earth. After decades of unified peace, the translated prologue states that conflict is starting to rise up once again.
The official "Star Date" for the game is S.D. 537, putting the events of this game 235 years prior to the events of "Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time."
Showcased were the game's main cast of characters. The primary protagonist is a 23-year old swordsman named Fidel Camus. He is constantly accompanied by Miki Sorvesta, his best friend and somewhat of a surrogate sister. There is also Lilia, a young girl with amnesia. She is rescued by Fidel's group and joins them as she tries to learn about her past.
Combat in "Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness" will retain the real-time system of previous titles but this time, it will be far more engaging as scripted events may directly shift to combat and players will be able to chain combos with consecutive button presses. Moves and attacks differ according to distance from an enemy. Players will also be able to cycle through characters during combat, allowing them to create dynamic attack and spell combinations when done with the right timing and distance.
A Famitsu interview with director Hiroshi Ogawa and producer Shuichi Kobayashi states that there is no plan for a DLC. Kobayashi explained that if the team was going to work on a DLC, they might as well use the time to work on the next game in the franchise.
The game is in development for both the PS3 and PS4. No official release date has been given but according to Forbes, the title may be released by 2016 due to how far along the development has already gone.
