Star Ocean 6: A classic done justice, and redefined. Redeemed.

The following review contains no spoilers.

Concerns seem to be abound after the previous entry - but, I aim to focus on the present and now - and Star Ocean 6 does not disappoint. In fact, this newly numbered title was surprise after surprise. Tri-Ace has not lost their touch - it's only gotten better. They have written fans a love letter of a game chock-full of references to earlier entries - it feels like a true swan song of a title that had a bit of the best of the entire series. It did not disappoint. To be perfectly clear - I have played every Star Ocean title - including 5 - and I have enjoyed nearly all of them for various reasons. To be completely fair - there may be a slight bias as I enjoy sci-fi stories above all else, but I hope to present the facts of Star Ocean 6 in a way that does not allow that bias to shine through.

First up - the big question on everyone's minds. How does it hold up as a title? Well, in my opinion, it surpassed all my expectations of a Star Ocean title. This is not to say I didn't have hope or expectations for the game - I had tempered them. Star Ocean 6 went on to surpass that feeling by a huge margin. My views below are based off of the Universe difficulty - the highest difficulty available at the start of the game.

General exploration & gameplay -

The gameplay incorporates new innovative combat techniques in the form of flying and gliding, leading the player to create new strategies for each decisive foe they run into, as well as exploring new ways to traverse the field and dungeons. It didn't feel like a gimmick - it felt well thought out, and utilized in many different ways. This was brilliant to see something new to not only Star Ocean, but JRPGs in general, in my opinion.

Combat & customization -

The combat was able to utilize new elements in a way to allow you to 'blindside' enemies, and perform staggering combos on them, based on the field of vision (if they have a field of vision at all.) This made for encountering enemies on the field different, and allows you to approach combat in the same fight in many different ways, as well as changing the battlefield for bosses and has the player incorporate different ways of using the mechanics presented. By the way, the boss encounters all felt very unique and varied. From twin-headed double elemental dragons, to hybrid missile flailing turbocharged mechs, down to simple worms. Each fight felt different, and required strategical thinking in different ways in the form of the flying utilization, or playing a different character to your own style, in order to defeat the boss.

The customization aspects of the game are back and with a blindsiding vengeance - original crafting is back in the game to a staggering degree, passive skill customizations, massive skill trees, and even customizable skill combo palettes - a far cry from the few buttons of the older games. Star Ocean 6 truly delivered a next generation experience of Star Ocean, and did the name justice. The new Variable Action system based on the flying mechanisms - but not only limited to flying - allowed each character to have their own pros and cons to their fighting style and lets you truly bring out the best of each character available. From melee great sword wielders, to ranged damage dealers, all the way to hybrid fast melee-attackers with spells - this entry has some incredibly well-done character depth from a combat perspective.

Field exploration was expansive, and each new zone felt enormous upon first entry. The variety of monsters generally adjusted to the area, and some zones even had hidden encounters for those that dare to explore the entirety of the map. The flying elements also come into play here in a great way, which allows the player to expansively explore the world on a Z-axis level, creating a new dynamic for both fields and dungeons alike, hiding treasure in harder to locate areas rewarding those with the appetite for exploration.

Caveats & QoL to be desired -

My experience on a PS4 Pro (prioritized image quality over framerate) wasn't perfect - nothing truly can be, of course. The majority of zones were fine with little to no lag, but there were certainly quite a few zones towards the late-game that lagged the console a decent amount. There were two zones that almost lagged for the whole zone, too and weren't simple spikes. There are quite a few instances as well where you can fly into little pockets in some zones that are immensely hard - but not impossible - to get out of, almost making you stuck. (By the way, if this happens to you, hold the R1 button to keep flying, while spamming L1 to dodge and X to jump, never letting go of R1. You'll eventually get a chance to fly out.)

Of course, there were some quality of life issues that could have been addressed as well such as item purchasing not allowing you to buy the maximum at once, and while the sorting system for accessories was incredibly useful - it could have been a bit more detailed and allowed for more factor(crafting effects) filtering, but there were likely far too many to consider. During our playthrough, there were a couple game freezes during mid-load - specifically twice, out of the game's duration, before the auto-save triggered. Nothing can be flawless. However, none of these detracted from my experience with the game, or left me with any lasting negative sense at all. In fact, most of these were laughed off and were not really a big deal - though, I may have gotten lucky.

As I was on a PS4, it's hard to completely fairly mention this next point, but graphically -some- characters faces did feel a bit jarring at times. It seemed as if the anime and real life blend didn't always work in their best favor, and some characters felt a bit off. Personally, the vast majority felt fine to me, but there were certainly some side characters that you can see facial features and textures were not fully fleshed out or completed. Some appeared 'doll-like', but it was not all characters, and the ones that did, kind of grew on me by the end of the game as the animations helped them, and personally, I think some players will grow attached to the characters regardless of how this blend worked out, but it may be jarring for some. Overall, it didn't retract from the game experience.

Characters & Relationships -

The characters in this title were stellar, unique, interestingly and fantastically intertwined. Each character felt as if they had their own motives as well as their own story behind them - some even appeared to have linked pasts, or hinted at relationships previously. Coming down to the planet in the middle of these stories, disrupting some of the cast's daily lives, while not always intruding and hearing their perspective and motives for continuing the journey with the character was a joy to see. There was clear character progression, warming-up-to, and in some cases, relationships made more apparent. These were accompanied by the return of the P.A. or private actions Star Ocean has had; a way for the character to roam solo through the town and interact with their fellow comrades on mostly one on one conversations in order for both sides to learn about each other more.

Story thoughts -

As for the story (no spoilers are present) - while it certainly did leave a little to be desired by the end, it by no means was poor. I was enthralled with the characters present, and felt very attached to the story. There were twists and turns, and almost none of my predictions that I had initially thought would happen came true, with the exception of things heavily hinted at in trailers. This led to some pretty interesting discoveries throughout the game's plot, and at no point did I feel fatigued from going through the story. I enjoyed everything I witnessed and the pacing felt incredibly spot on. There were no areas that overstayed their welcome, and no plotlines that dragged on.

While the overall story was not revolutionary, it was incredibly well paced and carried itself as a great story on its own. Prior to postgame, the story clocked in at a reasonable 38 hours, before spending time on bonding events and crafting, which feels like a respectable time-frame, especially given the alternate story which will presumably have more character development, depth, and possibly other dungeons and characters in general. I look forward to continuing this adventure on the other side.

The power of song -

The soundtrack - Motoi Sakuraba nailed it out of the park again with songs full of nostalgia as well as very new tracks that made me feel right at home with a Star Ocean title. They fit the scenes and the scenarios perfectly, while being reminiscent of older games and being their own songs, at the same time. I am not sure what to say other then the soundtrack felt like comfort food - I enjoyed every single song, and felt the soul and spirit of Star Ocean in every song as well. To me, music is important in the game, because it is one of the empowering energizing things to pump you up for scenes. Motoi absolutely nailed it in this title, and every song was completely fitting, and also evoked some nostalgic feelings as some songs such as the one a certain village reminded me of a song from previous games.

Initial postgame thoughts - an addendum will be required -

Lastly, the postgame - as of this time of writing, I have just finished the first playthrough of the two characters in the game - the Raymond route. This means that there is still at least an entire postgame dungeon to tackle, as well as the other story route - which may uncover more things left unanswered in the one side of the story that was completed. However, I can say, without a doubt that this postgame within minutes harkened back to the older titles, and felt like true postgame. There were at a minimum 4 initial doors to proceed through, with at least two entire zones to explore on both sides, with a familiar tune to grind out to in the new endgame dungeon.

Final thoughts -

I would recommend Star Ocean 6 to any old fan of the series, looking to test the waters again, or to any action RPG fan looking to get the sci-fi kick that Star Ocean offers. New fans as well as old should be able to join in and unite together in this brilliant sci-fi adventure that truly lives up to its name - it's a divine force in an ocean of stars. I am incredibly thankful to Tri-Ace for giving this title another game, and I truly hope we are able to see more Star Ocean in it's true caliber in the future, and I look forward to the next entry, or wherever we end up going, after this game. Thank you Tri-Ace. Your passion shown with this entry is truly inspiring, and I pray we are able to see more in the future. Thank you for continuing to explore this expansive universe.

Thoughts or comments? Leave a post! - https://reddit.com/r/fayttt/comments/yh4aze/star_ocean_6_review_comments_thoughts_etc/