Star Ocean: The Last Hope

[trobinson97]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

I'm assuming this was supposed to be in the FFXIII thread?

Yep lol.

Yeah, I still feel like I missed out on something with ToV, so I plan on checking it out at some point. Until this game is released I only have NBA 2K9 league games to hold me over, maybe I'll start a new character in Oblivion or finally level to 60 in Mass Effect and finish out the achievements.

[Cyros]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Yep lol.

Yeah, I still feel like I missed out on something with ToV, so I plan on checking it out at some point. Until this game is released I only have NBA 2K9 league games to hold me over, maybe I'll start a new character in Oblivion or finally level to 60 in Mass Effect and finish out the achievements.

Mass Effect is another game I need to jump back into. I put it in once over Christmas break and I had forgotten how beautiful and well done the game was.

[Flawless]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Gamespot Hands-On

Battles are fought in real-time, similar to the previous games. The Last Hope lets you have up to four members in your party instead of the usual three, with the ability to quickly switch between characters with the right and left bumpers. You can set the fighting style, or BEAT, of your party members so that they can be more aggressive, or more passive, using various techniques. Enemies are visible onscreen, so you can avoid them altogether by dashing by with the X button, or you can sneak up from behind for a preemptive strike. You must either avoid them altogether or take them head-on, because if the enemies catch you from behind, you'll be surprised and start the battle at a disadvantage. A new feature for the series is the ability to blindside your enemy. Hold the B button--which is used to jump out of the way--and once you've been targeted by your opponent and he's about to attack, use the analog stick to move out of the way. This will confuse the enemy and let you slip deftly behind him to unleash at least one critical hit. Timing is important; otherwise you'll get smacked around, or if you hold the B button too long, you'll become fatigued, leaving you vulnerable to attacks. Another addition is the rush gauge, which is a bar that fills as you fight and take damage. Once it's full, you can enter rush mode by pushing X, which will enable you to move quickly, take less damage, and stay in place when you're hit instead of being knocked back. Or, you can pull off a rush combo by hitting X and the left or right triggers, which are normally reserved for your special arts (attacks).

How well you perform in a battle will affect what you earn from the fight. Each time you perform a certain feat, the tiles on the bonus board on the right side of the screen will light up. These tiles will break if you take a critical hit, so it takes some practice to pull off specific moves and chain them as quickly as you can. There are battle trophies to earn as well, which are like in-game achievements that will benefit you later in the game. When in doubt about your fighting skills, you can access the battle simulator through the main menu, as well as on your ship, if you want to practice against virtual opponents. Even with practice, though, you'll find that, as in the previous games, dedicating some time to leveling is required if you want to get to the next chapter of the story safely. Whether this is annoying to you or not depends on your patience with RPGs, but what did bother us at times was the camera, which zooms in uncomfortably close at times--with gratuitous shots of Reimi's backside during victory poses. The camera is adjustable, which is great, but it generally likes to hover in a bit too close for comfort during battle, and it's always more advantageous to see the bigger picture.

An important aspect of the series is item creation, which returns here with a few tweaks. You'll meet Welch, an overly hyper and somewhat obnoxious young girl who is your link to item creation. To create anything, you need a recipe, which can be formed in the meeting room of the Calnus. Using the ship's interface, you hold an invention session by splitting your team into groups until they come up with new recipes. This drains your party's skill points until they've run out of ideas or you decide to stop the brainstorming session. Once you have a recipe, it's time to gather the ingredients, which will then let you create the item for you to use. If you find yourself drowning in information overload, the game does provide a dictionary and a synopsis of all the cutscenes are available in your menu for you to peruse at your leisure.

The Last Hope's computer graphics movies are done by Visual Works, the same studio that has lent its talents to the Final Fantasy series. The quality of the animation is superb as are the in-game graphics. Beautiful landscapes and a breathtaking ocean of stars are there to greet you as you set foot on this adventure. Everything from character models to the interior of the ship is colorful, detailed, and easy on the eyes. The characters may look like flawless porcelain dolls--all from the same collection--but they're attractive and their clothes are nicely designed too. The voices, however, don't always seem to fit with these bright-eyed characters, but the voice acting is solid and the characters do begin to grow on you. What does fit is Motoi Sakuraba's moving score, which helps accentuate this fantasy world with its rousing battle music and sweeping orchestrated themes.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope has multiple difficulty settings--two available from the beginning and another two to unlock. If you play the game again, you have the option of keeping your items from your previous game. The Calnus is also yours to control for the first time, so you have the freedom to go where your heart desires--within the limits of the game, of course. Since the story takes place before the events of the original Star Ocean, you don't need to have played any of the previous games to set sail on this voyage. Experience the Star Ocean universe again, or for the first time when The Last Hope is released on February 24.

[jfsolo]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

I didn't like reading about needing to "level up". Having to grind to beat certain bosses has caused me to quit dozens of RPG's before finishing them. I hope this won't be another one.

[trobinson97]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Lol, I'm the exact opposite, I love the grind.

[Flawless]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

IGN Hands-On

Star Ocean is transparent enough for a casual gamer to enjoy -- I haven't run into any situations where the directions were vague or things weren't fully explained -- but it is the hardcore that will really find a lot to like here. Using the battle board (a bonus system that rewards you for actions done in fights), you can grind your way to a top-tier squad. Each character can be equipped with a variety of skills and symbology spells, each of which can be leveled up and improved. And, of course, all of the Star Ocean favorites are back with an extensive battle trophy list, deep item creation system, and weapon and enemy data collections to fill out. You could spend hours and hours just collecting item synthesis components, harvesting resources, and creating items to deck out your squad.

Square Enix lists the game at about 40 hours, but I'm nearing the 20 hour mark and have only just finished the first disc. There is no shortage of things to do and I have barely even dug into the side quests yet. Every town you come across has a few folks wandering around who offer little tasks to complete and nearly every store allows you to accept delivery orders where you'll have to seek out a set number of a specific item.

Though I'm nowhere near that point yet, The Last Hope also offers two unlockable difficulties (you can carry your collection data through for a second play), bonus dungeons and bosses, and multiple endings. To get different endings, you'll have to take part in Private Actions, little optional story sequences that help to build character relations and give you insight into your squad mates. Each Private Action alters how the different party members feel about each other on a hidden scoreboard and their relationships ultimately determine which ending you'll see. In the last Star Ocean game, a lot of these PAs were nearly impossible to find without a guide. For The Last Hope, tri-Ace has made many of them more accessible.

The same engine that tri-Ace used for last year's Infinite Undiscovery is put to use here, but Star Ocean has far less trouble maintaining a solid framerate. There are a few slight moments of slowdown here and there, but the fact that battles take place in a separate arena from the battlefield likely helps the game run more consistently. The visuals are decent for a 360 game which means they're pretty good for an epic RPG that packs far more content than a typical game. Walking through the fields often presents some stunning vistas revealed in striking fashion through heavy use of HDR lighting. A lot of the game objects have a somewhat odd feathery, shimmering look to them which can be a bit off-putting. But if you need any example of pretty visuals in Star Ocean, just look at any characters' eyes. I swear Square Enix must employ an army of artists with the sole job of adding intricate eye detailing.

Star Ocean does have its foibles, but based on what I've seen and played so far, they aren't anything that should make any JRPG fan pass on playing it. There is some unattractive pop-in of both enemies and treasure chests as you wander out in the fields. For some reason, you can only walk or run with no speed in between, despite the fact that you're using an analog control stick. You can only save 20 files before having to overwrite an old save and you can only save at specific locations in the game. Only the English voices are included on the US release and some of them can be quite annoying. They're small oddities, but I guess you can't have everything.

The biggest concern I have with The Last Hope, though, is in the pacing. Long stretches of combat with little to no story progression are followed by extensive cutscenes with no combat. At the end of one multi-hour combat fest, I found myself getting agitated at the repetition and anxious to move on to something else. Then, during another long cutscene, I got a phone call and found that though you can skip cutscenes, you can't pause them. What's more, the first disc ends abruptly without a cutscene or any closure of smaller story arcs. The good news is that even with the awkward blend of story and combat, the adventure does change scenery often enough to prevent the environments from growing tired.

So far I'm enjoying Star Ocean quite a bit. The character voices are a bit off-putting and the cutscenes can be a bit overdramatic and under-animated, but the story is pretty interesting. Plus there are giant pink bunny rabbits. If that doesn't make any sense to you, it will. Just wait for February 24 and you'll see. Check back on February 19 for IGN's review of Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

[Flawless]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

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[trobinson97]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Man I cannot wait for this game! Just a few more weeks...

[Flawless]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Famitsu - 9988

Best score a Star Ocean game has got from them.

Reviewer 1 : 9/10, Overall it's very well put together with no major faults. Battles are deep especially when you factor in side outs and real time character changing. Even without installing the game everything loads at a nice pace. Whether you find the characters interesting or the game play compelling is something you'll need to discover for yourself but this is certainly a very well made game.

Reviewer 2 : 9/10, The combat is similar to what the previous games in the series offered. You are guaranteed to have fun playing it. The battles are very active with heaps of different moves all used at a fast pace. Boss battles aren't too easy which is great! From creating items to collecting data on monsters, there is so much to do.

Reviewer 3 : 8/10, It's all very well put together and there is nothing that will really trip you up letting you move along at a nice pace. The game also has well paced battles and deep gameplay. The only thing that bothered me really was the camera being a little wonky at times outside of battles especially in dungeons. Could the over the top character's personalities end up dividing people on this game to some degree?

Reviewer 4 : 8/10, This game not only gives you the ability to explore many worlds but also has a deep combat system, an easy to understand system of character development and good pacing. You'll enjoy all aspects of this game. I also like the item creation system, private actions, etc. I found the voice acting to be a little lacking but that said this is a game anyone can enjoy.

Collections
As with any good JRPG, Star Ocean 4 is stacked with multiple items, people, places, and enemies. To help you keep track of all of this good stuff, you are outfitted with several collections, which can also help you out in other ways.

Arts Collection
The Arts Collection replaces the old Battle Collection, and keeps a record of your successes in battle. Each individual character has his or her own special missions that can be completed through fighting. You will be rewarded by accomplishing these missions and increasing your collection.

Weapon Collection
The Weapon Collection, as you might guess, contains data and visuals of the various weapons that you come across throughout your journey. This collection is updated when you obtain a new weapon for yourself, or defeat an enemy that uses a weapon you’ve never seen before. This database is huge, but do your best to complete it.

Spaceship Collection
The Spaceship Collection keeps a record of all the various ships you encounter through your travels. It is updated when you investigate various bookshelves and/or computer terminals aboard the spacecraft that you board, and has valuable information regarding each vessel. It seems like it will be difficult to complete.

Monster Collection
The Monster Collection is, very obviously, a database of the various enemies that you encounter during your quest. These monsters are recorded in the collection once you have defeated them, along with their stats, where they are found, what items they drop, etc. Of particular interest, however, is that each time you defeat a monster, your database is able to analyze it better (according to a percentage). Once a given monster has been defeated enough times to bring your analysis to 100%, you will be able to make a Monster Jewel out of it. These Monster Jewels contain attributes of the monster slain, and can be equipped to increase your character’s stats. Additionally, some of these Jewels may be required in Item Creation.

Quests
As with other JRPGs, sometimes certain townsfolk will ask you to carry out quests for them. These quests can range from defeating monsters, collecting or synthesizing items, or searching for things or people. You will somehow be rewarded for each quest you fulfill, and there are many different quests to undertake.

Battle Arena
The Battle Arena from previous games is alive and well in SO4. Through winning battles in the Arena, you will be awarded with special Fight Coins, which can be traded for luxurious prizes.
As you continue to win battles in the Arena, you will be able to continue to increase your ranking there, qualifying for more challenging matches.

Bunny Races
Also making a return is the Bunny Races, which is a minigame where you can bet on your favorite Bunny as it hops its way through the race course and towards the finish. Though the Bunnies move on their own, you will be able to give your Bunny certain commands, like dash or jump. You will be able to raise and race your very own Bunny after completing a certain quest

[trobinson97]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Lol, am I crazy because I've been waiting on a Flawless bump of this thread for the past few days. All info sounds great. Can't wait.

[Flawless]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

IGN Review - 8.0

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is not an RPG for the ages, but it is a lot of fun to play. The way the story is delivered, through awkward dialogue and drawn out cutscenes, could be a lot better. The strong points of The Last Hope, namely the combat and level progression, keep things lively and engaging and help make this one a good way to kick off your JRPG gaming for 2009.

[trobinson97]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Even at level 70, my squad still has room to grow and is continuing to unlock new symbology spells and special attack arts.

Nice.

[Flawless]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

X-Play Review - 4/5

Star Ocean: Last Hope won’t make anyone forget that FF XIII is on the horizon. But as far as holding us over in the meantime, this game more than succeeds. Even if it wasn’t intended as such, this would still be an incredibly solid title, which is exactly what it is. Everything about the game feels epic, from the story to the exploration to the combat. It all has a fantastic sense of scope to it that really makes you feel like you are part of this universe-sized adventure. There are tons of places to go, people to meet, things to build, enemies to kill, skills to learn, sights to see, and on top of it all, some of the smoothest and most satisfying (not to mention downright nutty) combat you’re likely to see this year. If you can get past the annoying character voices and bad acting, and you have a few dozen hours to spare, then you should give Last Hope a chance. Even if you aren’t a fan of the genre (and believe me I have my issues with it), you owe it to yourself to check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

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[Flawless]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

TeamXbox Review - 8.5

Star Ocean: The Last Hope has a ton going for it. Forty-plus hours of varied gameplay, an intriguing story and one of the best combat systems that you’ll find in any RPG. But can it hold a candle to the RPG’s that the 360 faithful of the Western world consider epic? In areas, yes. Star Ocean: The Last Hope may not have the production values of Mass Effect, the legs of Oblivion or the intimate character progression of Fable II, but it makes up most of the ground in these areas with completely entertaining RPG combat.

It may not be for everyone, but Star Ocean: The Last Hope makes the perfect entry title for those that always wanted to kick back with a JRPG but never did because they were turned off by turn-based. In JRPG contrast, The Last Hope is for those that don’t consider waiting a part of battlefield etiquette. If you consider yourself a free-form fighter—a free-form star fighter perhaps—then Star Ocean: The Last Hope is your key to the JRPG universe.

[WDOgF0reL1fe]

Re: Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Im gonna have to find time between Street Fighter, Sonic collection, and MLB the show to play this game.
Def gonna pick this baby up, looks awesome after watching a couple video reviews