Star Ocean 5 producer on the lessons Tri-Ace has learned from Star Ocean 4’s foibles

LOS ANGELES — Star Ocean’s creators are hoping for a fresh start with its next release.

Square Enix is working with longtime series developer Tri-Ace on Star Ocean 5, with a release coming to Japan this winter, and to North America in 2016. The long-running role-playing series faltered with the release of Star Ocean 4, but the developers want to assure fans that they’re back on-track with the upcoming PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 release, calling it an evolution of an “old-school RPG.” But the company is also looking to move the franchise forward with some new ideas and philosophies on how studios present role-playing games.