SO4 isn't as bad as people say it is. But is anyone defending SO5? I was so hyped for it... only to be disappointed.
I like SO5 quite a bit, as a fan of Star Ocean 1. It came at a good time for me, when I was completely exhausted by open world games that are simply way too large. Playing a game with a smaller scope just felt really good. It reminded me very much of SO1, especially in terms of brevity of the script. It's not for everyone (or, apparently, anyone other than me; I've never actually seen anyone else really speak very highly of it), but I'm glad it was made.