Japanese role playing games are something of a hit and miss territory for me. I enjoyed some but not so much others. I have to really fancy a JRPG in order to play it. I’m sure there are others out there like me. It’s weird, Square-Enix are the guys that tend to make and publish more of the ones I enjoy. It may be a coincidence but let’s face it, they do make the Final Fantasy games.
I walk into this review a newbie of a much loved and highly spoken of series of role playing games. One that has never really pulled at me until now. I’m talking about the Star Ocean series. Yep, I hang my head in shame. They have always passed me by without me even giving them a second look. But with Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, something made my senses tingle. Gameplay snippets and trailers really attracted me. It had silky smooth framerates, slick graphics, and an intriguing plot. Or it certainly seemed so.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, which sure is a mouthful, is set between the second and third instalments of the famed series, The Second Story and Till the End of Time. A war is raging on the planet Faykreed with protagonists Fidel Camuze and his long time best friend, Miki Sauvester entangled in the thick of it. Worry not though as soon into your adventure as Fidel, a huge spaceship crash lands with a mysterious little girl emerging from its cockpit. It speaks volumes when two otherworldly goons follow her out of the ship just as you try to carry her to safety harshly instructing you hand her over or die. The plot grows from there as you attempt to look for her parents and find out what secrets she holds as she seemingly loses her memory (of course).
The plot held onto me. Fully voiced dialogue eased me in as Fidel at a pleasing pace. I’m not explained any backstory, nor do I have any clue about my location or affinity with my Kingdom. I’m told as I played on. A property which gripped me until the very end. A couple of hours in and I started caring for Fidel, Miki, and the band of merry men and women who help them. Who is this girl? What secrets does she hold? Where did she come from, and why did her ship crash? All in due course, I was hooked. The story is told through cutscenes here and there but also predominantly through in game conversation sections which play out seamlessly without interruption or loading screens. I liked them. Characters move appropriately corresponding to what’s being said, although I did have an issue where I missed some actions as I had the camera pointing the opposite way. It wasn’t too big of an issue.
The game plays like any third-person RPG. You control Fidel as you traverse numerous environments such as caves, fields, towns, and cities buying fruit or potions from merchants or weapons and armour which don’t change how you look, unfortunately. Fidel can upgrade and learn Specialties which allow him to do things such as harvest crops or create concoctions on the fly using certain ingredients. There’s more to do here than run and fight.
Speaking of fighting, Integrity and Faithlessness has a great battle system. Adopting the free roaming combat seen in later Final Fantasy games, Fidel and up to seven companions can navigate the combat area using four attacks at a time. The “X” and circle buttons are your main attacks, whereas holding either one utilizes mana attacks which are flashier and stronger. Some can also rack up the hit points in one fell swoop. Fidel can also block attacks but thanks to a rock-paper-scissors paradigm which affects enemies as well, blocking can be smashed through using a powerful charged move which in turn can be cancelled out using a regular attack. It’s a simple battle rule that is essential to master. The problem is, during busier periods, it’s tough to see who is doing what. With seven team mates battling a group of lizard warriors, there is so much going on that I couldn’t utilize any sort of strategy as the back end of attacks can catch other characters if they are too close. More importantly though, the combat is fun and it transitions seamlessly.
There are loads of new abilities to learn and experiment with, as well as roles which can be set to your team to allow the AI to act accordingly. Do you want Miki to hang back and be a saving grace or get stuck in the heat of it all? The choice is yours.
Integrity and Faithlessness, as a whole, looks fantastic. It’s clear that developers tri-Ace have took a lot of care rendering every character. They are rich in detail and brilliantly animated. I wish the same could be said for the environments. The opening village of Sthal feels blocky with the only eye-catching detail being its ever rotating windmill. Outside towns and cities, the coasts and fields are largely open with little obstacles apart from the groups of nicely varied enemy types that roam them. A big downer for Integrity and Faithlessness is its reliance on backtracking. Too often did I have to go back and forth on the same levels to get to where I needed to be. It’s a missed opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, the sunrises and night time skies are beautiful to stare at, it’s more level design rather than actual rendering.
Another big issue is the camera. It’s downright nauseating, even if the sensitivity is decreased. It worsens during combat as it swings left and right during attacks trying to get the perfect shot. It ends up failing. Outside of combat, it stays put. Holding the sprint button to speed up, I constantly had to straighten up the camera instead of it straightening automatically so I could see where I was going. It’s an ever present issue that needs addressing.
Developer: tri-Ace
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PS4, PS3
Release Date: 1st July 2016