Star Ocean: The Divine Force is absolutely the return to form I so desperately wanted for the series, and it’s a game I legitimately, whole-heartedly adore, but it’s also held back by some baffling design decisions and outright unacceptable performance issues. The music is fantastic and the cast even more so, with strong performances across the board. The story is serviceable and does a fair job at touching on some fundamental philosophical questions about governance and humanity, though it lacked the “wait, what?” surprise factor I expect from SO titles. Despite the hurdles, there is a lot to love here, and I consider this my second favorite entry in the franchise. I seriously adored playing this, but I cannot in good conscience give it a higher score due to the performance issues that plagued my playthrough.

https://operationrainfall.com/2022/11/17/review-star-ocean-the-divine-force/