Star Ocean: The Divine Force

6 years after the disappointing Integrity and Faithlessness, fans can now sink their teeth into The Divine Force and it's one great RPG.

As the sixth main installment in a JRPG series that dates to the 16-bit era, one with a slightly tarnished reputation in recent years, Star Ocean: The Divine Force evokes a comforting sense of familiarity even as it experiments with some of its expected returning elements and pushes in exciting new directions. There’s a lot of ground to cover, and Tri-Ace has done a wonderful job of crafting a new...

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is labeled as a 25th-anniversary project for the series, and that shines through in its liberal adoption of best ideas from across the franchise. The Divine Force riffs on the dual protagonists from Star Ocean 2, the fantasy-inspired wår story from Star Ocean 3, and an action-heavy combat system from Star Ocean 4. It feels like Tri-Ace really distilled what makes the s...

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is a throwback to the PS2-era, but that's part of what makes it fun.

While Star Ocean: The Divine Force may not be the most revolutionary, prettiest, or most action-packed JRPG out there, its fantastic cast of characters and generally fun story do quite a bit to make the game’s 40+ hour journey feel quite cozy. Add in the fact that you’re guaranteed to get some uniqueness through its two protagonists having their own bespoke story beats that warrant multiple playth...

Star Ocean: The Divine Force has some great mechanics and a beautiful world, but performance on the Deck has some minor stuttering and some heavy areas.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force isn't the best JRPG of the year, but it's still full of heart, charm, and an unforgettable adventure. The game might have some lifeless character models and slightly janky AI, but the script brings those characters to life, and the AI is easy to ignore when the rest of the gameplay experience is so refreshing. This is the kind of fresh and fun Star Ocean sequel that lo...

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is an excellent step forward for the series, and should mean plenty to longtime fans of the series. Between the changes to combat and the enhanced exploration abilities, there has never been a better time to sink your teeth into this action RPG series. However, Divine Force doesn't shy away from delivering an epic journey that might wear players down before they ever g...

Star Ocean: The Divine Force feels drained of life. It has a strong, highly-customizable combat system along with a solid soundtrack, but there’s not much praise to speak of outside of that. The two hero option is a fun gimmick we haven’t seen since The Second Story, only observing one perspective of the story at a time, but the problem is that there are so few compelling characters. The cast and ...

Star Ocean has returned with its latest entry, Star Ocean: The Divine Force. While there are attempts to evolve the series, they bring their own issues that hold back some of its good ideas.

After forty-five hours, a few smiles, and one or two frowns, we walked away from Star Ocean: The Divine Force with a shrug. It’s a middle-tier Japanese role playing game that at no point, ever, threatens to get promoted to top-tier status nor sink so low that it ends up sandwiched between Hyperdimension Neptunia and Unlimited Saga. Mid-table mediocrity. The Crystal Palace of JRPGs.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is a competent game in the Star Ocean franchise but it is hindered by some in game decision with menus, quest logs, and the party member AI. It isn’t the best transition to 3D from the art, but playing and fighting enemies is very enjoyable.