Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness Reviews
In my 26 hours of playtime, I finished the main story, saw a bunch of optional conversations, and completed 45% of the side quests. It’s fun in a mindless sort of way and it isn’t terrible but you’re not missing anything by skipping it.
Wiping away the Star Ocean part off of Star Ocean : Integrity and Faithlessness, this is actually pretty decent. It's a standard fantasy RPG that tried out some new ideas, did well in some, faltered at others, but came out easily on the fun side. However, remembering what series this title is actually in, it feels more like the development crew tried to read off of the Tales' series homework notes, but didn't manage to fully copy them down. Their competence saves it from failure, but it feels like they were trying to copy from another series and didn't really try to give it the distinct Star Ocean feel it should have. Decent, enjoyable, but not a "true" Star Ocean.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is the kind of game that is full of potential but needed a lot more development time. The final product is about one-third of the game that it needs to be. The lack of environments, weak combat and bizarre pace makes it difficult to recommend even to die-hard RPG fans. There are a lot of strong individual bits, but they don't gel into a cohesive whole. It might be worth a shot once it comes down in price and if you're aware of the flaws going in. Even fans of the franchise will find this to be a step backward.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness will probably not be remembered as one of the PlayStation 4’s finest. It’s greatly let down by technical issues with a camera that actively works against the game’s strengths: the epic sense of scale and the beautiful presentation. Dig beneath that, however, and you arrive at a game with an enjoyable narrative, fun characters, and a solid action JRPG combat system – all the stuff that’s actually important, in other words.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithless does a lot of things right but at the same time makes some amateurish mistakes that greatly take a way from the experience. The game had massive potential but some glaring design choices will leave fans disappointed.
It’s a very solid RPG that will likely appeal to fans of the series more than anything, but it certainly does appeal.
This latest installment of the Star Ocean series leaves a blemish on its otherwise good track record.
Integrity and Faithlessness is a little less than stellar it has to be said, it’s possible that my expectations going in were a little too high maybe. It’s definitely not a bad game, though I feel a large portion of this review was negative, but just not as good as I had hoped. The game does feature some gorgeous visuals, a vast open world to explore and a really fun battle system. Did the bare-bones plot affect my enjoyment, yes somewhat, but it’s still a fun and enjoyable game and I’m sure Star Ocean fans will enjoy it.
Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness had so much potential. The game looks stunning but there are way too many flaws for this game to be considered a good game.
Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness is not a bad game. Unfortunately however it plays it a bit too safe and doesn’t stir the pot too much even with all of the alchemic experiments and synthesis within it. The art style, the music, the voice acting, and gameplay are good to great, but if you’re looking for something “new”, you won’t find it here. If you’re looking for something comfortable and nostalgic however then Star Ocean 5, my apologies Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness, awaits you.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness offers an impressive experience that accomplishes what it sets out to do. While the bulk of the game is relatively short (though with how the actual plot runs its course, that seems to make logical sense), the gameplay more than makes up for it.
If you are willing to spend some time experimenting with the menus and characters then you’ll enjoy Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness a lot more. The issue is the game has so many flaws and fails to take the series to the next level. It lacks basic things expected of a JRPG, whilst failing to include anything that ever feels remarkable.
Overall, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is a step up from Star Ocean IV and also a step in the right direction for the series.
The things the game does well are worth an experience, but only at a budget price. Until then, I’d recommend looking elsewhere for your JRPG fix, and spare yourself the disappointment.