However, one thing you can’t accuse the game of being is bloated. The Divine Force is a quirky game top to bottom, and its design decisions definitely don’t always work in the game’s favor. So I find it refreshing how Star Ocean: The Divine Force from tri-Ace and Square Enix is committed to just being small, in almost every sense. This sense of “hugeness,” whether in terms of literal physical environments or general game scope, feels like a trend in mainstream 3D JRPGs. With the exception of SMTV, you’re looking at potentially more than a hundred hours to complete each game, unless you just start skipping sidequests and/or nonessential cinematics. Persona 5, Dragon Quest XI, Shin Megami Tensei V, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 all have a couple things in common: They’re fantastic JRPGs, and they’re huge.
