A recent Famitsu interview with some of the developers of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has shed some light on the party size. Creative producer Tetsuya Nomura confirmed "There are others" you can add to the party, and director Daisuke Inoue added, "However, the battle is limited to a party of three people." Pretty standard fare for a Final Fantasy game.
Origin is a hack and slash, action RPG set in the world of the first Final Fantasy game, hence the Origin subtitle. The game is being developed by Team Ninja, the studio behind Nioh, Dead or Alive, and Ninja Gaiden, so it's in good hands.
News of Origin's existence was leaked by industry insiders back in May, and was confirmed at E3 during the Square Enix Showcase a few days ago, where the spin-off title was officially revealed. A demo was released, but some corrupted files meant no one was able to play it until Square Enix devised a fix two days after its initial launch. This has angered some fans, as the demo is only available until June 24, so if you're still waiting to play it, you'd better play it quickly. We also have a guide to beating the final boss if you're stuck.
The game has so far been met with a rather lukewarm reception, and memes, so many memes. People have been quick to point out how disjointed the three default party members look - they could all be from different games. The protagonist, Jack, shouts "I'm going to kill Chaos!" so much that it sounds like he's doing it just to remember what his purpose is.
Jack has also drawn ire for wearing a t-shirt, a decidedly boring sartorial decision in a game series known for extravagant, over-the-top fashion - think Sepiroth or Lightning. Everyone has armour of some sort, be it leather, magical, or spikey and metal, so a t-shirt just looks really out of place.
If you aren't excited about Origin, then E3 has you covered. Loads of new games were announced, from fantastic indies to new entries in triple-A franchises. If you just want to see which ones are most anticipated, check out the E3 Awards list.