Star Ocean: Anamnesis

Star Ocean: Anamnesis
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
SeriesStar 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.

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]

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. ^ a b 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.