Well, this was unexpected! The latest issue of Famitsu magazine reveals that the next entry in the Star Ocean series is coming to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

The game, entitled Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness, is being developed by Tri-Ace and published by Square Enix. According to the game's producer, Shuichi Kobayashi, he wants this to be a game "worth staking my life and legacy on," and that the gave will take overt cues from Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time, right down to a similar-looking logo.

The game's lead staff include director Hiroshi Ogawa, producer Shuichi Kobayashi, character designer Akira Yasuda, and lead programer Yoshiharu Gotanda.

Star Ocean 5 takes place on the uncivilized planet of Feycreed, 6000 light-years away from Earth. The two characters we know about thus far are named Fedel Camus, a young fencer, and his childhood friend Miki Sorvesta. The game will feature seamless battles and the series' trademark real-time combat, with distance from enemies playing a role in battle. An official plot synopsis is included below.

According to the developers, the game is 30% complete as of now. Star Ocean 5 is being developed using the PS3 as a base, but will be ported to the PS4. DLC and other add-on content are not being considered at this time, as Kobayashi doesn't "want to do anything with this game that’ll upset people even a little bit."

The story is set in the year 537 of the space calendar, putting it between the events of Star Ocean 2 and Star Ocean 3, when the development of Warp Drive allows for exploration of far off planets. The main character Fedel learned his swordsmanship from his father, one of Leslia kingdom's top swordsmen. He is said to be calm and mindful of his friends. The female lead Miki is Fedel's childhood friend and a healer with a cute, yet gluttonous character. She is the only character not designed by lead character designer Akira Yasuda. Finally, Lilia is a mysterious young girl with amnesia who has also lost her emotions.

As mentioned, combat will flow seemlessly from both the field and in-game events, a first for the series. In addition, players can switch between characters, and attack patterns and skills will play a larger role than ever. Skills can also be used in combos and will have different effects depending on the distance from the enemy.

It looks like they're trying to both appeal to old fans of the series and bring in newcomers with Star Ocean 5. Either way, I'm excited to see how this turns out! Stay tuned to RPGFan as we uncover more information. In the mean time you can check out some scans from Famitsu.

Update: The game's official website is now live and it has the first official trailer. Watch it below.

• Kotaku
• Gematsu