Star Ocean: The Divine Force Details D.U.M.A, Vanguard Assault Systems in New Trailer

High-speed havoc

by Khayl Adam Thu 28th Jul 2022

We got a new Star Ocean: The Divine Force trailer today, introducing the enigmatic D.U.M.A, a sentient AI that will accompany you on your journey and, uh, function as a jetpack. The next entry in the long-running Star Ocean franchise rockets onto PS5 and PS4 on 27th October.

D.U.M.A can enhance the combat and movement abilities of whichever protagonist you have selected, scan the environment for interactable objects, and analyse enemies in the field. It can also be used to perform devastating Blindside attacks, which will allow you to get the drop on powerful foes.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is looking like it will have an engaging combat experience, and the more we see, the more we are interested.

What do you think of D.U.M.A, and the Vanguard Assault system? Propel yourself at high speed into the comments section below.

[source youtu.be, via gematsu.com]

Khayl Adam is Push Square's roving Australian correspondent, a reporter tasked with scouring the internet for the richest, most succulent PlayStation stories. With five years of experience as a freelance journalist and mercenary wordsmith, RPGs are his first great love, but strategy and tactics games are a close second, genres in which he is only too happy to specialize.

1
themightyant
Thu 28th Jul 2022

I haven't played a Star Ocean since the really early ones on SNES and PS1 but aside from the pretty woeful character models this one has me interested. Perhaps it's the seemingly Xenoblade like world exploration and combat. Will keep an eye on it.

2
Voltan
Thu 28th Jul 2022

@themightyant Yeah, can't say I'm a fan of some of the characters' looks (including the protagonist, unfortunately) but otherwise this looks pretty good.

3
AndyKazama
Thu 28th Jul 2022

Star Ocean The Last Hope had excellent gameplay, haven't played IAF, so quietly optimistic for this one.

4
themightyant
Thu 28th Jul 2022

@Voltan Yep. They look like bad models or waxworks. Raymond the protagonist looks like a cheesy Extra from Spinal Tap. But i've played games with worse looking characters, it's not a dealbreaker.

5
Titntin
Thu 28th Jul 2022

I've enjoyed previous star ocean games and was hopeful this one would deliver. I'm now more optimistic as I really like what I'm seeing here and the combat looks interesting.
The characters are meh, but I genuinely don't like the characters in most RPG's I play, they seem written for kids and have one dimension. I even dislike several characters in FF7. That wont be a problem as I learnt a long time ago that if I'm going to enjoy jap rpg's, I'm going to have to accept immature underdeveloped characters - its part of the genre.

6
Rmg0731
Thu 28th Jul 2022

Already preordered for me. Hope it gets some good sales numbers

7
Agramonte
Thu 28th Jul 2022

Nice... so excited for this.

One of a few games I will not care about reviews - I need to try out for myself and decide.

But God of War is my PS5 game for home in NOV - so StarOcean is on the SteamDeck list for commute and holiday Travels.

8
Amnesiac
Thu 28th Jul 2022

Using the DUMA to jet around looks pretty cool, and I enjoyed the PSP/PS3 releases way back when, so I’m up for this, but every time I see Raymond I want to give him a haircut. Now I know how my mother felt when I was going through my grunge phase.

9
rawzeku
Thu 28th Jul 2022

Very excited for this!

But I do find a bit odd how hard Square Enix is going in on ads and promos on this vs other niche titles of theirs.

10
Kingdom_Hearts95
Thu 28th Jul 2022

Being a long time Star Ocean fan, the series will always hold a special place in my heart. Star Ocean: The Second Story was not only my first Star Ocean game, but also one of the first games I ever played, and the game that launched my love for JRPGs. To this day, the only Star Ocean title that has personally disappointed me is Integrity and Faithlessness. I’ve loved all the other games in the series, though.

Fortunately, the more I see of this new one, The Divine Force, the more impressed I am and the more excited I get. I’m still keeping my expectations tempered after my disappointment with Integrity and Faithlessness, but regardless I think The Divine Force looks like it could be much better. In fact, it actually looks pretty good. I pre ordered it, and I eagerly look forward to its release date. So far, so good. You can do it, Tri Ace!