http://ps3.ign.com/articles/863/863798p1.html
Square Enix Still Quiet on Star Ocean 4 Platform
New details continue to emerge without a hint on who will be able to play.
by John Tanaka
April 2, 2008 - The mystery surrounding Star Ocean 4's platform looks like it's going to continue for the time being. The latest issue of Famitsu has a new look at the next entry in tri-Ace's space opera RPG series, but the magazine once again lists the platform as TBA.
This comes despite a bunch of new details being disclosed in the magazine, including the first two cast members. Star Ocean 4 features a hero named Edge Maverick and a heroine named Reimi Saionji. From what we gather, these two have been friends since childhood.
We don't have too many story details at the point, but fans of the series should take note of one important fact. Star Ocean 4 is actually a prequel. It takes place before Star Ocean 1 as warp drives first come into being and humans take their first steps into space. Speaking with the magazine, the game's developers actually admitted wanting to originally call the game "Star Ocean 0."
Fans can expect to note a few connections with part 1 in the series. The developers suggested that players play through that game. If you find a certain person who makes you think he'll make an appearance in Star Ocean 4, he probably will.
The magazine also gave a few hints at some of the gameplay aspects of the title. Expectedly, you will have a party. The number of characters you can make into allies is at the level as in Star Ocean 3. The game's battle system will be similar to past titles, offering players real time control over one character while the computer AI operates other party members.
Outside of this, it seems that there may be some sort of network functionality included. Nothing is set, but the developers are currently considering a few things.
It doesn't have a platform at the moment, so it obviously doesn't have a date either. However, with this new update in Famitsu, and the impending Japanese release of Star Ocean 2 for the PSP this week, there's a strong possibility that Square Enix will be opening up the flood gates shortly. We will hopefully know soon what platform Star Ocean fans will have to buy to get the next entry in the series.
Now that I know that they actually considered calling it Star Ocean 0 I'm kinda wishing that they did. Also my theory about SO1/4 crossover was true, SO1's past portion is only about 36 years after SO4.
