September 5, 2007 - Following its surprise announcement at the Square Enix Party this past May, we at last have first details on Star Ocean 4. The latest issue of Famitsu has an interview with SO4 producer Yoshinori Yamagishi and assistant producer Hajime Kojima. The two spilled out a few tantalizing bits prior to the game's proper unveiling at the Tokyo Game Show.
Currently, the game is in a running state, Kojima revealed, with players able to take control of battle. Although, he admitted, the current battle system is, at best, temporary. Clarifying, Yamagishi stated that the basics of the battle system are currently in place, but the development team has to add and remove elements, and perform balance work.
The battle system, incidentally, will be party-based and support up to four allies. Kojima expects it to offer a different feel from the battles of SO3
The game's storyline is currently complete. But, it turns out, the first bit of story information was available as far back as the Square Enix Party, as Square Enix had figures of the characters on display! Most people didn't notice, Kojima regretfully admitted to the magazine.
The name of the game's hero is Edge Maverick. The heroine's name is Reimi; Kojima wouldn't reveal if that's just part of a full name, or if the heroine really does have just one name. These two characters are childhood friends who are now part of the same organization and have been stationed on the same ship.
Yes, ship. Star Ocean 4 will, expectedly, continue the same space theme of past entries. Players have their own ship this time around and can travel freely through the stars, landing and exploring as they like. The game will feature a large number of planets, although Kojima noted that players will be able to land their ship in places that aren't really properly formed planets.
Your ship is quite big. Yamagishi referred to it as a survey ship rather than a battle ship. He wouldn't confirm if the game will have ship-based battles.
Typical of the series, the game will offer a mix of science fiction and fantasy elements. Kojima feels that while the ability to get your own ship may make players picture a more sci-fi slant, the game's fantasy side hasn't taken a hit. He feels that more than previous titles, SO4 fits the "Star Ocean" name. Yamagishi chimed in here, stating that the balance between science fiction and fantasy will be better than any previous entry in the series.
The two wouldn't give out the details on the game's time period, but Yamagishi said that we should look forward to TGS, where the time period would be revealed in the form of a surprise. Don't worry too much about major changes, though, as the game will have characters and races connected to previous entries.
Sadly, the game's platform is still a mystery. As a hint, Kojima said the game would be released for a system capable of delivering beautiful graphics. In closing comments, Yamagishi added that the series traditional sees one game for one piece of hardware (this was true of part 1 for the SNES, part 2 for the PlayStation, and part 3 for the PS2 -- bug-free director's cuts aside). Star Ocean 4, he said, is also being made with the abilities of its hardware in mind.
Does that mean PS3 exclusive? Or PS3 and Xbox 360? Or, just for kicks, maybe even X360 exclusive? We're hopeful that the Tokyo Game Show will provide some clues. A trailer will be shown at the show, which kicks off on 9/20.
Fonte: IGN
