Star Ocean: Anamnesis

{{Infobox video game

| title = Star Ocean: Anamnesis

| image = Star Ocean Anamnesis.jpg

| developer = tri-Ace

| publisher = Square Enix

| director = Hajime Kojima

| producer = Shuichi Kobayashi

| designer = Ryoko Mizuno
Tatsuo Miyoshi
Yuji Nohara

| programmer = Hidenori Iwakiri

| artist = Akira Yasuda

| writer = Mitsuhiro Nakazawa

| composer = Motoi Sakuraba

| series = Star Ocean

| platforms = Android, iOS

| released = {{Video game release|JP|December 7, 2016|WW|July 10, 2018}}

| genre = Action role-playing

| modes = Single-player, multiplayer

}}

{{Nihongo foot|Star Ocean: Anamnesis|スターオーシャン：アナムネシス|Sutā Ōshan Anamuneshisu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/18/star-ocean-anamnesis-will-feature-4-player-multiplayer/ |title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis Will Feature 4-Player Multiplayer |author=Sato |date=October 18, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016 |publisher=Siliconera |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023164133/http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/18/star-ocean-anamnesis-will-feature-4-player-multiplayer/ |archive-date=October 23, 2016 |url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-teaser-trailer-details-screenshots |title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis teaser trailer, details, and screenshots |date=October 19, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016 |author=Romano, Sal |publisher=Gematsu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023025949/http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-teaser-trailer-details-screenshots |archive-date=October 23, 2016 |url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/14/square-enix-teases-new-smartphone-game-robot-friezas-voice/ |publisher=Siliconera |author=Sato |date=October 14, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016 |title=Square Enix Teases A New Smartphone Game With A Robot That Has Frieza's Voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025131826/http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/14/square-enix-teases-new-smartphone-game-robot-friezas-voice/ |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/17/star-ocean-anamnesis-announced-takes-series-smartphone-voyage/ |publisher=Siliconera |author=Sato |date=October 17, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016 |title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis Announced, Takes The Series On A Smartphone Voyage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025130748/http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/17/star-ocean-anamnesis-announced-takes-series-smartphone-voyage/ |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |url-status=live}} The company later launched an official website for the game providing the first details, preview trailer, and a release date of 2016 in Japan. A representative on the game's official Twitter account later announced that it would feature "full 3D real-time action battles" and "HD graphics".{{cite web |url=http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-full-3d-real-time-action-battles |title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis has full 3D real-time action battles |author=Romano, Sal |publisher=Gematsu |date=October 19, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023121212/http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-full-3d-real-time-action-battles |archive-date=October 23, 2016 |url-status=live}} The game was meant to coincide with the series' 20th anniversary.{{cite web |url=http://www.famitsu.com/news/201610/18118368.html |language=Japanese |publisher=Famitsu |title=『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！|trans-title="Star Ocean: Amanesis" Latest in the Series Multiplayer Support Up to 4 People! |date=October 18, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021173932/http://www.famitsu.com/news/201610/18118368.html |archive-date=October 21, 2016 |url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.siliconera.com/star-ocean-producer-rebooting-series-hopes-next-star-ocean-game/|accessdate=April 19, 2020|date=November 29, 2017|publisher=Siliconera|author=Sato|title=Star Ocean Producer On Rebooting The Series And Hopes For The Next Star Ocean Game}} As with the other games in the Star Ocean series, the game's soundtrack was composed by Motoi Sakuraba,{{cite web |url=http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-four-player-multiplayer-battles |title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis has four-player multiplayer battles |author=Romano, Sal |date=October 18, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016 |website=Gematsu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021155242/http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-four-player-multiplayer-battles |archive-date=October 21, 2016 |url-status=live}} and features artwork by Akira Yasuda, character designer for Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness.{{cite web |url=http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-live-stream-set-november-19 |publisher=Gematsu |date=October 27, 2016 |accessdate=October 27, 2016 |author=Romano, Sal |title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis live stream set for November 19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028021910/http://gematsu.com/2016/10/star-ocean-anamnesis-live-stream-set-november-19 |archive-date=October 28, 2016 |url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web |author1=Sato |title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis Headed Westward, Gets First Footage With English Dubs |url=http://www.siliconera.com/2018/06/01/star-ocean-anamnesis-headed-westward-gets-first-footage-english-dubs/ |website=Siliconera |date=June 2018 |accessdate=2 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604015450/http://www.siliconera.com/2018/06/01/star-ocean-anamnesis-headed-westward-gets-first-footage-english-dubs/ |archive-date=4 June 2018 |url-status=live}} The English version of the game was discontinued on November 5, 2019,{{cite web |last1=Fuller |first1=Alex |title=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"! |url=https://rpgamer.com/2019/08/star-ocean-anamnesis-shutting-down-in-november/ |website=RPGamer |date=6 August 2019 |accessdate=7 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807014752/https://rpgamer.com/2019/08/star-ocean-anamnesis-shutting-down-in-november/ |archive-date=7 August 2019 |url-status=live}} and the Japanese version on June 24, 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.gematsu.com/2021/04/star-ocean-anamnesis-to-end-service-on-june-24-in-japan|title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis to end service on June 24 in Japan|last=Romano|first=Sal|date=April 22, 2021|access-date=April 22, 2021}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Madnani |first1=Mikhail |title='Star Ocean: Anamnesis' Adds 2B, 9S, and A2 from 'NieR: Automata' |url=https://toucharcade.com/2018/11/13/nier-automata-2b-9s-a2-star-ocean-ios-android-free-event/ |website=Touch Arcade |date=13 November 2018 |accessdate=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221115343/https://toucharcade.com/2018/11/13/nier-automata-2b-9s-a2-star-ocean-ios-android-free-event/ |archive-date=21 December 2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Luster |first1=Joseph |title=Yu Narukami and Persona 5's Joker Leap into Star Ocean: Anamnesis |url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2019/10/02-1/yu-narukami-and-persona-5s-joker-leap-into-star-ocean-anamnesis |website=Crunchyroll |accessdate=2 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002205848/https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2019/10/02-1/yu-narukami-and-persona-5s-joker-leap-into-star-ocean-anamnesis |archive-date=2 October 2019 |url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|url= https://kotaku.com/the-star-ocean-mobile-game-is-easy-to-hate-and-still-pl-1827512911|accessdate=April 21, 2020|date=July 11, 2018|title= The Star Ocean Mobile Game Is Easy To Hate And Still Play Anyway|author=Gach, Ethan|publisher=Kotaku}}

By December 2016, Anamnesis had over three million downloads.{{cite web|url=https://www.siliconera.com/star-ocean-anamnesis-tops-3-million-downloads/|accessdate=April 19, 2020|date=December 28, 2016|title=Star Ocean: Anamnesis Tops 3 Million Downloads|author=Sato|publisher=Siliconera}}

References

External links

{{Official website|https://staroceangame.com/home/}} {{in lang|en}}
{{Official website|http://www.jp.square-enix.com/soa/|Official game website}} {{in lang|ja}}

Category:2016 video games

Category:Action role-playing video games

Category:Android (operating system) games

Category:Delisted digital-only games

Category:Esports games

Category:Free-to-play video games

Category:Inactive multiplayer online games

Category:Inactive online games

Category:IOS games

Category:Products and services discontinued in 2019

Category:Products and services discontinued in 2021

Category:Science fantasy role-playing video games