Star Ocean V Coming to PS4 in 2016

The next entry in the Star Ocean series has had some new details and a trailer shared recently.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness will release on PS4 in Japan this winter, followed by North America and Europe in 2016.

Developed by Tri-Ace, the team hopes to create a game based around seamlessness, where events and battles will play out and be entered seamlessly. Set between Star Ocean: The Second Story and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, this next chapter in the franchise stars Fidel Camuze and Miki Sauvester, as they attempt to prevent their village from being "swallowed in the tides of civil unrest," as Square Enix puts it.

Producer Shuichi Kobayashi comments that the fifth game in the series will be very different to Star Ocean 4, which was poorly received by most critics and fans, with Kobayashi saying something didn't feel right when the team was making the game - the attitude about development wasn't the same, and they tried to cater to Westerners, instead of sticking to their established image. This time around, they will be going all out to ensure Star Ocean 5 feels like a direct sequel to the original three games.

As the trailer shows, six party members can be in the field of play at any one time, but Kobayashi says there will actually be more than this. Different to most other RPGs, players won't need to pick and choose which party members to place in the main party, and they will, instead, all participate.

Finally, Private Action scenarios and item creation will return, and more complex AI will be a big part of the game, now that so many characters will be in battle at once.