Star Ocean: Anamnesis

Last updated
Star Ocean: Anamnesis
Star Ocean Anamnesis.jpg
Developer(s) tri-Ace
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Director(s) Hajime Kojima
Producer(s) Shuichi Kobayashi
Designer(s) Ryoko Mizuno
Tatsuo Miyoshi
Yuji Nohara
Programmer(s) Hidenori Iwakiri
Artist(s) Akira Yasuda
Writer(s) Mitsuhiro Nakazawa
Composer(s) Motoi Sakuraba
Series Star Ocean
Platform(s) Android, iOS
Release
  • JP: December 7, 2016
  • WW: July 10, 2018
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Star Ocean: Anamnesis [a] was a free-to-play role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix for Android and iOS devices. It was created in celebration of the Star Ocean series' 20th anniversary, and featured characters from all previous titles in the franchise, as well as music from series composer Motoi Sakuraba. The game was released in Japan in December 2016, and worldwide in July 2018. The global version of the game was shut down in November 2019, and the Japanese one in June 2021.

Contents

An offline version is available with the first three episodes and acquired character models, but with only a limited number of collaboration characters.

Gameplay

Star Ocean: Anamnesis is a role-playing game featuring three-dimensional characters and environments. Players could participate in real-time battles against enemies that supported up to four players. [1]

Plot

Set in S.D 539 (A.D 2625), the players controlled the captain of the Pangalactic Federation starship GFSS-3214F, which was exploring deep space following the events of Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness two years earlier. After a surprise attack by pirates, the entire crew jettison the vessel in escape pods while the captain stays on board with only the AI robot Coro (voiced by Ryūsei Nakao). Making the decision to activate the ship's hyperspace drive, the warp fails and ends up sending them to a distant region of space outside the Federation's borders. While investigating a seemingly barren planet, they happen upon a mysterious woman being chased by a monster. The woman, named Evelysse (voiced by Sumire Uesaka), uses a powerful form of Symbology magic that allows her to summon warriors from throughout time, and manages to escape with the aid of her time-warped allies. After she joins the captain back on the ship, the course is set to return home to the incredibly distant Earth. [2]

Development

In October 2016, Square Enix launched a website teasing Star Ocean: Anamnesis for iOS and Android devices, and that it would feature characters seen in previous installments in the series. [3] [4] The company later launched an official website for the game providing the first details, preview trailer, and a release date of 2016 in Japan. [2] A representative on the game's official Twitter account later announced that it would feature "full 3D real-time action battles" and "HD graphics". [5] The game was meant to coincide with the series' 20th anniversary. [6]

Producer for Square Enix Shuichi Kobayashi has stated that tri-Ace's Aska game engine, as well as backgrounds, texture and other character model data from Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness were used as a base during the early phases of the game's development. [7] As with the other games in the Star Ocean series, the game's soundtrack was composed by Motoi Sakuraba, [8] and features artwork by Akira Yasuda, character designer for Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness . [9] The game's theme song is "Dakara Boku wa Fukou ni Sugatte Imashita" by the band Kami-sama, Boku wa Kidzuite Shimatta. The game was localized in English and released on July 10, 2018. [10] The English version of the game was discontinued on November 5, 2019, [11] and the Japanese version on June 24, 2021. [12] The game featured crossover events with Valkyrie Profile , Resonance of Fate , Final Fantasy Brave Exvius , Infinite Undiscovery , Nier: Automata , Radio Ocean, Sakura Wars , Attack on Titan , Radiata Stories , Guilty Gear , Tales , Gunslinger Stratos , Million Arthur , and the Persona series. [13] [14]

Reception

Kotaku described the game as "exploitative but charming", praising the game's use of nostalgia, but abhorring the "blandness" of its free to play formula. [15]

By December 2016, Anamnesis had over three million downloads. [16]

Related Research Articles

Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, including the Tales, Star Ocean, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Golden Sun, and Dark Souls series, as well as several other anime series, television dramas, and progressive rock albums.

Star Ocean is a franchise of science fantasy role-playing video games developed by the Japanese company tri-Ace and published by Square Enix.

tri-Ace, Inc. is a Japanese video game developer founded in 1995. They are known for their role-playing games, most notably the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile series.

<i>Star Ocean</i> (video game) 1996 video game

Star Ocean is a 1996 action role-playing game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix for the Super Famicom. The first game in the Star Ocean series, it was released only in Japan in July 1996, and was the first game developed by tri-Ace, consisting of staff that had previously left Wolf Team due to being unhappy with the development process for Tales of Phantasia with Namco in 1995. The game used a special compression chip in its cartridge to compress and store all of the game's data due to possessing graphics that pushed the limits of the Super Famicom. Additionally, the game had voice acting for the game's intro and voice clips that played during the game's battle gameplay, a rarity for games on the system.

<i>Star Ocean: The Second Story</i> 1998 action role-playing game

Star Ocean: The Second Story, known in Japan as Star Ocean: Second Story, is an action role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix for the PlayStation. It is the second game in the Star Ocean series and the first game in the series to be released outside Japan, arriving in North America in June 1999 and Europe in April 2000, by Sony Computer Entertainment. Taking place in a science fantasy universe, the story centers around a young man named Claude C. Kenny, a cadet from a space-faring Earth organization who is stranded on an undeveloped, medieval-level planet. There, he meets several companions and must stop a plot from an evil organization that spans multiple worlds before finding his way home. The game was the basis of manga and anime adaptations.

<i>Final Fantasy XV</i> 2016 video game

Final Fantasy XV is a 2016 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The fifteenth main installment of the Final Fantasy series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2016, Windows in March 2018, and as a launch title for Stadia in November 2019. The game features an open world environment and action-based battle system, incorporating quick-switching weapons, elemental magic, and other features such as vehicle travel and camping. The base campaign was later expanded with downloadable content (DLC), adding further gameplay options such as additional playable characters and multiplayer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CyberConnect2</span> Japanese video game developer

CyberConnect2 Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development studio mostly known for its work on the .hack series, along with a series of fighting games based on the Naruto franchise. They are also known for creating the Little Tail Bronx series. In 2016, they expanded their workforce into the international market by opening a studio in Montreal, Canada; however, the studio ceased operations in July 2023 after seven years of service.

Vanillaware Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. An independent company, it was founded in 2002 under the name Puraguru by George Kamitani, a game developer who had previously worked at Capcom and Atlus, and directed Princess Crown (1997) for the Sega Saturn. Beginning as a small studio developing Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion for Enix, in 2004 the company moved to Osaka, Kansai, and changed its name. Kamitani wanted Vanillaware to create successor projects to Princess Crown, beginning with Odin Sphere.

<i>Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness</i> 2016 video game

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is an action role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. It is the fifth major installment in the Star Ocean series, following Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

<i>Nier: Automata</i> 2017 video game

Nier: Automata is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix. It is a sequel to Nier (2010), itself a spin-off of and sequel to the Drakengard series. Nier: Automata was originally released for the PlayStation 4 and Windows via Steam, and an Xbox One port was published the following year. A Nintendo Switch port was released in 2022.

Valkyrie Profile or Valkyrie is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto and Yoshiharu Gotanda, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix. The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology.

<i>Dragon Quest XI</i> 2017 video game

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a role-playing video game by Square Enix. The eleventh entry in the long-running Dragon Quest video game series, it was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 in July 2017 and worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in September 2018. An enhanced version, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition, was released for the Nintendo Switch in September 2019; for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2020; and for Stadia in March 2021. Taking place in a world called Erdrea, the game follows the hero's quest to save the world from an impending darkness. Throughout the game, he explores challenges related to his prophesied Luminary identity as he endures persecution from those who demonize him.

The development of Final Fantasy XV, a Japanese action role-playing video game, began in 2006 shortly before its announcement at that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Square Enix handled primary development on XV, and the game was released worldwide in November 2016; the total development time covered approximately ten years. The game was originally announced as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, a PlayStation 3-exclusive spin-off title. It was part of Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, a subseries of games linked by a common mythos: while retaining thematic links, specific references were removed to aid with marketing. Additional media was created to portray the world of XV without using sequels; dubbed the "Final Fantasy XV Universe", it included a feature film, an original net animation, a virtual reality simulation game, multiple mobile projects including an abridged version of the game, ports to Windows and Stadia, and a novel The Dawn of the Future depicting an alternate finale.

<i>Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3</i> 2016 video game

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Tose and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the sequel to Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (2010), and is the sixth game in the Dragon Quest Monsters series.

<i>Root Letter</i> 2016 video game

Root Letter, stylized as √Letter, is a 2016 visual novel adventure video game developed and published by Kadokawa Games for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, Android, and iOS. It is the first entry in the Kadokawa Game Mystery brand, and was followed by Root Film in 2020.

<i>Valkyrie Anatomia</i> 2016 video game

Valkyrie Anatomia: The Origin was a role-playing video game developed by Dokidoki Groove Works and published by Square Enix for Android and iOS. The game is set in an alternate world from Valkyrie Profile and was released in Japan in April 2016 and worldwide in April 2019. The worldwide server of the game was shut down in August 2020 and the Japanese one in April 2021.

Million Arthur is a Japanese media franchise created by Square Enix, consisting primarily of a series of video games. The first release was an online free-to-play card battle game titled Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur, which was released for iOS and Android in 2012. A sequel game titled Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur was released in Japan in November 2014.

<i>Star Ocean: The Divine Force</i> 2022 video game

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix. It is the sixth major installment in the Star Ocean series and was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 27. The game's score was composed by series regular Motoi Sakuraba, with character art designed by Akira Yasuda. The game received mixed to positive reception from critics, with some praising the combat, characters, and narrative but many feeling that it was a step down in terms of graphics and that there was some performance inconsistency.

References

  1. ↑ Japanese: スターオーシャン：アナムネシス, Hepburn: Sutā Ōshan Anamuneshisu
  1. ↑ Sato (October 18, 2016). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis Will Feature 4-Player Multiplayer". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Romano, Sal (October 19, 2016). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis teaser trailer, details, and screenshots". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  3. ↑ Sato (October 14, 2016). "Square Enix Teases A New Smartphone Game With A Robot That Has Frieza's Voice". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  4. ↑ Sato (October 17, 2016). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis Announced, Takes The Series On A Smartphone Voyage". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Romano, Sal (October 19, 2016). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis has full 3D real-time action battles". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ "『スターオーシャン：アナムネシス』シリーズ最新作は最大4人でのマルチプレイ対応！" ["Star Ocean: Amanesis" Latest in the Series Multiplayer Support Up to 4 People!] (in Japanese). Famitsu. October 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ Sato (November 29, 2017). "Star Ocean Producer On Rebooting The Series And Hopes For The Next Star Ocean Game". Siliconera. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  8. ↑ Romano, Sal (October 18, 2016). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis has four-player multiplayer battles". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ Romano, Sal (October 27, 2016). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis live stream set for November 19". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  10. ↑ Sato (June 2018). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis Headed Westward, Gets First Footage With English Dubs". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  11. ↑ Fuller, Alex (6 August 2019). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis Shutting Down in November, SQEX-UBIA's Million Arthur Arcana Blood and Star Ocean Anamnesis are the official game of the Seoul-Tokyo 2020 Campaign in Japan towards "KKG 15th: Starlight Heroes vs. Camelot Union"!". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  12. ↑ Romano, Sal (April 22, 2021). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis to end service on June 24 in Japan" . Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ Madnani, Mikhail (13 November 2018). "'Star Ocean: Anamnesis' Adds 2B, 9S, and A2 from 'NieR: Automata'". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  14. ↑ Luster, Joseph. "Yu Narukami and Persona 5's Joker Leap into Star Ocean: Anamnesis". Crunchyroll . Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  15. ↑ Gach, Ethan (July 11, 2018). "The Star Ocean Mobile Game Is Easy To Hate And Still Play Anyway". Kotaku. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  16. ↑ Sato (December 28, 2016). "Star Ocean: Anamnesis Tops 3 Million Downloads". Siliconera. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.