Star Ocean has been missing in the current generation of consoles and Square Enix’s recent announcement is meant to address that, albeit with a different spin than what most fans are used to with the series.

Yes, Star Ocean is set for a come back but it’s no longer the the traditional JRPG that we grew up to and loved, as the next Star Ocean title is a  social card game RPG for GREE, called Star Ocean: Material Trader.  Seeing the fall off yet?

Players progress through the game by helping the game’s protagonist Tina in collecting “star shards,” tackling quests, gathering experience and hoarding money.

Item Creation is still the centerpiece of the game – allowing players to create and equip powerful accessories to their favorite cards

If you were hoping to play Star Ocean on your favorite console, there’s a bit of bad news as Star Ocean: Material Trader is set for iOS and Android.   The game is going to be developed by Hippos Lab, Square Enix’s smartphone division and is expected for release sometime this year.