Review
Star Ocean: The Last Hope Review (Xbox360)
The Star Ocean series is one of the lesser well known JRPGs to emerge from the island nation we all know and love. (No, the other one.) The first game only recently made it to the West in the form of a PSP port/rework, and the fourth instalment – Star Ocean: Till the End of Time – was the series’ first console debut on the PlayStation 2. The universe itself is known for its rich diversity, as well as its unique take on the genre on blending the sci-fi and fantasy themes. Now we come to the latest game, The Last Hope, which takes the series back to its roots...
You can understand why developer Tri-Ace felt that going back to the past would be a better option for their next game. All the cool kids are doing it, right? Just look at Star Wars. Not to mention it would probably be hard to keep going after the last game, whereby it turned out everyone was just part of a massive computer program to amuse some higher beings. Then again, game producer Yoshinori Yamagishi did say in an interview that this game apparently takes place in a “parallel universe” to the first three – a move that is as clichéd as it is redundant, given that it’s set in the past. Still, prequels are the new sequels, and The Last Hope manages to set the universal scene for the universe you already know quite nicely.
The premise is quite simple: World War III devastates the earth, causing humanity to realise how silly the whole thing was. But with their home planet nearly destroyed, the human race must look to stars to find their salvation. You play Edge Maverick, a young man who is part of the Space Reconnaissance Force tasked with finding colonisable planets. With you is your childhood friend Reimi, and as you progress through the game you acquire a total of 8 party members, four of which you can take with you at any one time. Whilst Edge is the main protagonist, and the person you control for most of the time, in combat you can change between whoever is in your party.
Edge’s first foray into the unknown naturally meets with disaster, but help arrives from an unexpected source allowing him to continue on his way into the great ocean of stars.
Like previous Star Ocean games, The Last Hope is a blend of science fiction & fantasy. The first couple of worlds you visit are ‘undeveloped’, and so naturally lend themselves to the more hack & slash grinding. However, The Last Hope plays up the space theme slightly more than previous titles, especially when you get further into the game. The weapons you use however don’t evolve much, but by this point you are so engrossed in the game it doesn’t really matter.
The game is spread across several discs, which is not often seen in an Xbox game, although other JRPG’s like Lost Odyssey were also multi disc. This isn’t necessarily a problem, as veteran Final Fantasy players will remember the obligatory disc changes, however the way they’ve constructed the game will eventually get annoying. Unfortunately, whenever you want to visit a planet that appears on a previous disc, you have to do a disc swap just to go there, and then do another one when you leave. Tedious, but there you go.
The combat hasn’t changed a bit either. Star Ocean is best known for introducing real-time battles into JRPGs, and The Last Hope features a more polished version of that. Unlike the more revolutionary RPG’s, there is a separate battle arena that you ‘warp’ to whenever you encounter an enemy, however the loading time isn’t that long. Thankfully enemies also appear on the main map, so it’s possible to avoid them if you don’t feel up to the grind. Up to four characters can fight in real time, one controlled by you and the other three controlled by the computer. You can also switch out characters in real time provided they’re not dead.
New to this game is the concept of blindsides, a rather interesting twitch-based mechanic where you can dodge behind enemies to land a critical blow on them. It’s a combination of timing and reflexes that can be quite addictive, and yields goods results if pulled off correctly. This is part of a general Sight In/Sight Out mechanic where enemies have to ‘lock’ you before they can attack. Other new battle modes include ‘Rush Mode’, whereby it allows you to do more damage and more critical hits. When combined with a special attack, it launches into a QTE combo scene whereby compatible party members can all have a go at hitting the one enemy in a chain.
Item creation and private actions also make a comeback, allowing you to create and customize your own equipment, as well as to build up and form relationships between the various crewmembers, the ultimate reward being you can place them in the same room together! Sarcasm aside, like previous Star Ocean games your status with your friends will probably affect the ending, so pay attention. Think of it like the choice between Ashley & and the blue alien girl. The only drawback with the item creation system is that you have to interact with a really really annoying character who you wouldn’t mind throttling and shoving that stupid stick of hers down her... I digress. You’ll see what I mean soon enough.
Your ship, the Calnus, is another new addition to the series. It’s a first for the series, as the protagonist gets to control the ship (sort of) and take it to where you want to go, a la KOTOR or Mass Effect. Like all RPG’s, the start of the game is pretty linear, but it will open up and allow you to move about wherever’s available.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a solid addition to the series, and a stunning return to form after going handheld for a while. The 360 lends it great visuals and stunning vistas, as well as dynamic environments. The combat is a nice change from the rigid turn based system you often see, and whilst you can’t quite escape the endless grind, there’s enough to do to make it interesting. Finally, the story is, as you’d expect, excellent. Despite some annoying characters and bad lip sync, the plot develops at a decent pace, drawing more and more into the beginnings of Star Ocean. A must buy for fans of the series, and a worthy addition to the 360 roster.
Top Game Moment: Pulling off a series of combos, including blindsides can actually be quite rewarding.
You can understand why developer Tri-Ace felt that going back to the past would be a better option for their next game. All the cool kids are doing it, right? Just look at Star Wars. Not to mention it would probably be hard to keep going after the last game, whereby it turned out everyone was just part of a massive computer program to amuse some higher beings. Then again, game producer Yoshinori Yamagishi did say in an interview that this game apparently takes place in a “parallel universe” to the first three – a move that is as clichéd as it is redundant, given that it’s set in the past. Still, prequels are the new sequels, and The Last Hope manages to set the universal scene for the universe you already know quite nicely.
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| The Star Ocean, isn’t it wonderful? | Crowe, the rival figure. You don’t get to have him in your squad. |
The premise is quite simple: World War III devastates the earth, causing humanity to realise how silly the whole thing was. But with their home planet nearly destroyed, the human race must look to stars to find their salvation. You play Edge Maverick, a young man who is part of the Space Reconnaissance Force tasked with finding colonisable planets. With you is your childhood friend Reimi, and as you progress through the game you acquire a total of 8 party members, four of which you can take with you at any one time. Whilst Edge is the main protagonist, and the person you control for most of the time, in combat you can change between whoever is in your party.
Edge’s first foray into the unknown naturally meets with disaster, but help arrives from an unexpected source allowing him to continue on his way into the great ocean of stars.
Like previous Star Ocean games, The Last Hope is a blend of science fiction & fantasy. The first couple of worlds you visit are ‘undeveloped’, and so naturally lend themselves to the more hack & slash grinding. However, The Last Hope plays up the space theme slightly more than previous titles, especially when you get further into the game. The weapons you use however don’t evolve much, but by this point you are so engrossed in the game it doesn’t really matter.
The game is spread across several discs, which is not often seen in an Xbox game, although other JRPG’s like Lost Odyssey were also multi disc. This isn’t necessarily a problem, as veteran Final Fantasy players will remember the obligatory disc changes, however the way they’ve constructed the game will eventually get annoying. Unfortunately, whenever you want to visit a planet that appears on a previous disc, you have to do a disc swap just to go there, and then do another one when you leave. Tedious, but there you go.
 |
 |
|
| Blindsides are a unique little extra to combat that are actually quite enjoyable. | You know what she wants... oh yeah... |
The combat hasn’t changed a bit either. Star Ocean is best known for introducing real-time battles into JRPGs, and The Last Hope features a more polished version of that. Unlike the more revolutionary RPG’s, there is a separate battle arena that you ‘warp’ to whenever you encounter an enemy, however the loading time isn’t that long. Thankfully enemies also appear on the main map, so it’s possible to avoid them if you don’t feel up to the grind. Up to four characters can fight in real time, one controlled by you and the other three controlled by the computer. You can also switch out characters in real time provided they’re not dead.
New to this game is the concept of blindsides, a rather interesting twitch-based mechanic where you can dodge behind enemies to land a critical blow on them. It’s a combination of timing and reflexes that can be quite addictive, and yields goods results if pulled off correctly. This is part of a general Sight In/Sight Out mechanic where enemies have to ‘lock’ you before they can attack. Other new battle modes include ‘Rush Mode’, whereby it allows you to do more damage and more critical hits. When combined with a special attack, it launches into a QTE combo scene whereby compatible party members can all have a go at hitting the one enemy in a chain.
Item creation and private actions also make a comeback, allowing you to create and customize your own equipment, as well as to build up and form relationships between the various crewmembers, the ultimate reward being you can place them in the same room together! Sarcasm aside, like previous Star Ocean games your status with your friends will probably affect the ending, so pay attention. Think of it like the choice between Ashley & and the blue alien girl. The only drawback with the item creation system is that you have to interact with a really really annoying character who you wouldn’t mind throttling and shoving that stupid stick of hers down her... I digress. You’ll see what I mean soon enough.
 |
 |
|
| The Environments are as varied as they beautiful. | Watch the teeth. |
Your ship, the Calnus, is another new addition to the series. It’s a first for the series, as the protagonist gets to control the ship (sort of) and take it to where you want to go, a la KOTOR or Mass Effect. Like all RPG’s, the start of the game is pretty linear, but it will open up and allow you to move about wherever’s available.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a solid addition to the series, and a stunning return to form after going handheld for a while. The 360 lends it great visuals and stunning vistas, as well as dynamic environments. The combat is a nice change from the rigid turn based system you often see, and whilst you can’t quite escape the endless grind, there’s enough to do to make it interesting. Finally, the story is, as you’d expect, excellent. Despite some annoying characters and bad lip sync, the plot develops at a decent pace, drawing more and more into the beginnings of Star Ocean. A must buy for fans of the series, and a worthy addition to the 360 roster.
Top Game Moment: Pulling off a series of combos, including blindsides can actually be quite rewarding.
Videos
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Star Ocean: The Last Hope Trailer
02:28 | 7,070 views | 2 comments -
Star Ocean: The Last Hope E3 2008: Trailer
01:28 | 1,132 views | 0 comments
