012 The Star Ocean series really seems to just keep improving . Although the second in the series was my personal favorite this game is long , enjoyable , and has a lot to keep you hooked . It has a very fun fast paced action combat system , multiple worlds to discover , 8 playable characters and much more . The PS3 version is even better with no disc swapping , additional voice acting , and a button to switch between enemy targets .
045 Star Ocean is a good game . The battle system is fun , however the voice acting is bad at times and the dialogue can be very corny . Despite this , Star Ocean is a good game four out of five stars .
068 played it for about an hour and so far loved it . you get the feel of the old school previous star oceans but improved graphics and great story
087 Thanks for allowing me to buy a great game . It has great game play , and story , not to mention great graphics .
019 If you love good RPG games star ocean is one of the best . I played the last one for ps2 and loved it so I had high hopes for this . Turns out it lived up to everything and more . I played this for xbox but recently purchased a ps3 . The Major difference that I see is that this game is all on one disk unlike the xbox version which you had to keep switching disk . That alone is enough for me to purchase this game for ps3 . Gameplay wise this game is too good from its active battle systems to the very likeable characters and its quest and storyline . Any person who enjoys RPG's as much as i do should love this game . 5 stars all the way ! !
035 Just got the game and am already loving it ! ! ! ! The anime and 3d concept is a great visual joy . The gameplay is fun . . . . . difficult at times when switching between party members but very good overall ! I'm 20 + hours in an voice acting isn't too bad although I did start the game with japanese voice overs but know am using the English ones . I'll update once I fully complete the game ! Have a great day ! ! !
134 i started playing this game back when it was on the 360 and my impression was that the game was alright but i could not get passed the voices , thank god for the international version . seriously with the english dub what were they thinking did they license it in english just to destroy it good job if that was the plan good job you did it . i do not like to bash people but i am blunt and honestly i could have got a crew of toddlers to sound better . it is a great game just use japanese audio with english subs .
146 this game should be the better version of than of the 360 but in terms of graphics and comparison the 360 still wins . but I like the fact that it has Japanese voice overs that is a must buy for me after the gold box event thanks amazon
149 I must say this was a very addictive JRPG game but i been a fan of star ocean and i was very happy to play it on PS3 but they could have put a little bit more work on the combat side instead of the x-x-x L2 or x-x-x L2 then R2 . they didnt do the whole patch it up with glue then stick it out and see what happens routine , this story was thought out perfectly just like all JRPG games the vituals were beautiful and the voice acting is well done like watching star trek : the last hope , hahah . . . but the combat though i give it a 3 / 5 because it could have been much much much better even adding the blindside was fine but still x-o-x or o-x-o L2 whatever but other than the combat this is a wonderful very addictive game and its long 40 hours plus 20 + hours of extras so i spend about 4 hours on it and its still more in the game .
050 The game itself is good . I would compare the graphics to that of a little less of Final Fantasy 13 , plus its just like FF 13 the graphics never change between those of the cut scenes and the game itself . You have a total of 8 playable character , each with his or her own individual story line that you will learn of regardlessly . Game play is very indef where you like to go with a hack-n-slash or if u want to keep your distance with a gun or say magic . It is a very long game i would say the game by itself without doing side quest and not dieing would be a total of 110 hours or more and u have to be very devoted to play this game . All in all a very good game if you like it thumbs up to you if you don't well you just don't know what your missing .
106 This game was sick . I never played any other the pther games but im a huge fan of squareenix and i love the final fantasy series so i didnt expect anything less . If you want a game thats deep , long and great battle system this is the game to get until FFXIII .
118 The battle system is pretty entertaining and original , it's more action oriented than classic turn based , I personally like more FFVII style old school but this is one of the few titles that have caught my attention and that I have liked and enjoyed the most .
096 Loads of fun with this game , there is so much you can do in it , so far i put 60 hours into it and i am sure i can put at least another 60 before i decide to finish it , i love the crafting system to create your own items , classic star ocean style , but i must say tho that Star ocean till the end of time for ps2 was a superior entry on the series in my opinion.This is a good buy and for 30 bucks you cant go wrong !
065 Short Review :
Yea the English voices aren't good but are you surprised ? Just know you wont be bored like when playing final fantasy 13 . Its not linear and you can explore . Honestly if this was the ps1 / ps2 days this game would be lost in the mix . This generation of jrpgs have been like winning the lotto . Very few are worth playing . . . .
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i found star ocean a excellent game who those who feel the glorious jrpg days from the ps2 are over .
These offers you an impressive battle system and huge maps to explore and for those who are played other star ocean the create items options its amazing
Give the game a chance and buy it
120 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
i found star ocean a excellent game who those who feel the glorious jrpg days from the ps2 are over .
These offers you an impressive battle system and huge maps to explore and for those who are played other star ocean the create items options its amazing
Give the game a chance and buy it
121 i found star ocean a excellent game who those who feel the glorious jrpg days from the ps2 are over .
These offers you an impressive battle system and huge maps to explore and for those who are played other star ocean the create items options its amazing
Give the game a chance and buy it
112 This game is a solid game that has a deep synthesizing system , hundreds of sidequests to do , excellent graphics with large worlds to explore , and in exciting action battle system that sets this game apart from other RPGS in this genere . The storyline from what I have played so far is cliched but decent , but their may be a plot point or two that may hindered an almost excellent game , but that's okay it does everything else pretty good . Voice acting is fairly decent , but again there will a few voices that annoy the player , but overall rhe voice acting is tolerable given the material they have to work wirh . Music is fine , and the battle and gameplay is where thise game shines out . Not a bad purchase if you need to add a new game to the console library , and if you are fan of the Star Ocean seris that I highly suggest purchasing this game .
099 Me and my brother play for few times . we keep this as our collection . I recommend this game for other .
129 I think the mechanics of the game are good . I'm just a bit turned off by the cheesy acting during the cut scenes .
143 With the severe lack of JRPGs this gen average games like this are getting more praise than they should . It's nothing we haven't seen before , and feels like there just wasn't that much changed from the last game . The battle system is fun , and offers a good amount of challenge towards the end of the game , and through the post game dungeons . The story is boring and very predictable , and the dialogue is full of those cringe worthy moments . The English voice acting is horrible , but the Japanese voices are included on the disc as well . Quite a few generic anime character archetypes are all present here , there's the main character with the go get ' em attitude who just so happens to be irresistible to all the women he's traveling with , young and old , and he can accomplish anything as long as the power of friendship is with him . Along with them is the main characters child hood female friend who's also his main love interest . Then there's the loli , the cat girl , the buxom vixen , the genius scientist , the elfs , etc . If you're hurtin ' for some JRPGs then you'll enjoy this game . If not , then just know that it's an average game , and don't expect too much from it .
043 This is the last game to the Star Ocean Series , but it's the first game in the timeline . It follows Edge Maverick on his quest to find a new planet for Earth's inhabitants . Along the way you'll gather a diverse party of characters , you'll have your classic brawlers that are good at up-close combat , your ranged attackers , your mages and your healers . While the overall story may be short there are plenty of sidequests and other things to do to ensure that the game will last you for a while . There is also a dungeon at the end that will offer even more challenges . Your HP can reach over 9999 which is different from most RPG's . It's realistic-looking and colorful , and the battle system is entertaining ! The spells aren't THAT flashy , but they're still pretty cool . If you like the other games in the series , you will enjoy this one as well . If you like RPG's in general I recommend trying this one .
047 very good rpg but the only thing that i didnt like was that it wasnt like the previous star oceans where u decide ur outcome . everything is fixed . arumat was a good character buy since u get him late in the game u cant really develop anything with im but he is an excellent fighter . also u cant choose who will join ur party . everyone joins u and thats final . some characters i wish i could have had the choice of not letting them join . but overall the game was fun .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
. . . I'm forced to average the two . I commiserate with another reviewer about the This was on the X-Box , so it's worse here by definition ! reviews , but I can't co-sign on grade inflation .
And honestly , while this game has a lot going for it , it's flaws can be severe . The average player probably wouldn't notice ( i.e . the one that plays the game one time through ) , but I would guess that most people buying this game are hardcore ( and the developers believe the same - look at all of the postgame extras , and the ridiculous PSN trophies associated to the game ) .
So anyway :
The Good :
- I really like the battle system in this game . There is one major flaw ( targetting ) , but all in all , I've enjoyed fighting ( which is good for a game of this length ) . The blindside and rush combo systems are magnificent , IMHO . The characters clearly have different personalities on the battle field ( including the fighters - Faize's rapier combos act much different than Edge's , e.g . ) .
- The story . While the cutscenes are a major pain ( they are too long , and poorly written ) , I'm a sucker for a space exploration story . No , this isn't Mass Effect 2 , but I think the plot synthesizes much of what is good about various Japanese sci-fi animes ( ridiculous science , absurd character interactions , a universe-threatening enemy , etc . )
- The extras . Tri-Ace has ALWAYS given the player more for completing a game , and this is no different . A huge battle arena , two long and rewarding post-game dungeons , billions of battle trophies to test your skills and patience ( OK - there are only 900 , but it will feel like billions by the end ) . SO : TLH delivers . However , there is one major flaw here , as I will state below .
The Bad :
- Battle targeting is atrocious . The computer NEVER fixes on the proper target ; your character will often run the length of the battlefield to attack another enemy , instead of the one in front of him . In order to change targeting , you have to use the start button ( who in the world thought of that ? ) . . . but this is a pain in the heat of battle against an enemy such as , say , Kokubei ( who has about 10 other small enemies constantly circling her ) . Ugh .
- Where are the save points ? It takes FOREVER to get to one ! I've heard that autosaving doesn't work in JRPGs ( with citations of other 360 RPGs as evidence ) . I don't buy it . There HAS to be something better , and if we ARE fixing ourselves to this archaic system , at LEAST make it reasonable . At time , you will find yourself going an hour or more between save points in dungeons . At the end of the game , adding together the cutscene time , the credit time , and the battles , it took over 2 hours before I could save my game ! That's ridiculous .
Also , when you finally do save , the game asks you , Do you want to keep saving ? The default answer is YES the first time this question is asked . What the heck ? I guess even the game realizes that saving is a luxury that you never want to end . : - P
- While battle trophies carry over to different playthroughs , battle trophy progress does not . What are you thinking , Tri-Ace ? So , if I kill 29,999 enemies with Edge in one playthrough , and don't get the trophy , I STILL have to kill 30000 in the next playthrough . All I can say is , if you care about these things , keep your old save files intact .
- The cutscenes . They are WAAAAAY too long . Now , I'm not a fan of cutscenes in general , but when the writing is as bad as it is for these , it's particularly atrocious . In fact , I would suggest just skipping them entirely ( the game is nice enough to provide you a synopsis of any scene you skip , and the synopsis is both short AND well-written ) .
The unforgivable :
- Missable trophies . OK - I can accept that some games should have PSN trophies that require work . But this is ridiculous . For example , there is one trophy for completing all the quests in the game ( and there are hundreds , plural , by the way ) . The catch ? Near the beginning of the game , some quests simply . . . disappear . Forever . There is nothing telling you that this might happen , but it can . Later on , other quests disappear . Forever . So , what do you do ? YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE ENTIRE GAME AGAIN . Clearly , this is implemented solely to sell strategy guides . There are other egregious examples ( what , I can't make every item in the game because one of my party members left permanently ? ) , but you get the point . Everything about the trophies is meant to anger you . I kid thee not .
Anyway , there you have it . If you are going to play through once , I would rate this from 4 to 5 stars . It's pretty fun . But if you are like so many others that requires that platinum trophy , expect lots and lots of frustration . Happy gaming !
009 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
. . . I'm forced to average the two . I commiserate with another reviewer about the This was on the X-Box , so it's worse here by definition ! reviews , but I can't co-sign on grade inflation .
And honestly , while this game has a lot going for it , it's flaws can be severe . The average player probably wouldn't notice ( i.e . the one that plays the game one time through ) , but I would guess that most people buying this game are hardcore ( and the developers believe the same - look at all of the postgame extras , and the ridiculous PSN trophies associated to the game ) .
So anyway :
The Good :
- I really like the battle system in this game . There is one major flaw ( targetting ) , but all in all , I've enjoyed fighting ( which is good for a game of this length ) . The blindside and rush combo systems are magnificent , IMHO . The characters clearly have different personalities on the battle field ( including the fighters - Faize's rapier combos act much different than Edge's , e.g . ) .
- The story . While the cutscenes are a major pain ( they are too long , and poorly written ) , I'm a sucker for a space exploration story . No , this isn't Mass Effect 2 , but I think the plot synthesizes much of what is good about various Japanese sci-fi animes ( ridiculous science , absurd character interactions , a universe-threatening enemy , etc . )
- The extras . Tri-Ace has ALWAYS given the player more for completing a game , and this is no different . A huge battle arena , two long and rewarding post-game dungeons , billions of battle trophies to test your skills and patience ( OK - there are only 900 , but it will feel like billions by the end ) . SO : TLH delivers . However , there is one major flaw here , as I will state below .
The Bad :
- Battle targeting is atrocious . The computer NEVER fixes on the proper target ; your character will often run the length of the battlefield to attack another enemy , instead of the one in front of him . In order to change targeting , you have to use the start button ( who in the world thought of that ? ) . . . but this is a pain in the heat of battle against an enemy such as , say , Kokubei ( who has about 10 other small enemies constantly circling her ) . Ugh .
- Where are the save points ? It takes FOREVER to get to one ! I've heard that autosaving doesn't work in JRPGs ( with citations of other 360 RPGs as evidence ) . I don't buy it . There HAS to be something better , and if we ARE fixing ourselves to this archaic system , at LEAST make it reasonable . At time , you will find yourself going an hour or more between save points in dungeons . At the end of the game , adding together the cutscene time , the credit time , and the battles , it took over 2 hours before I could save my game ! That's ridiculous .
Also , when you finally do save , the game asks you , Do you want to keep saving ? The default answer is YES the first time this question is asked . What the heck ? I guess even the game realizes that saving is a luxury that you never want to end . : - P
- While battle trophies carry over to different playthroughs , battle trophy progress does not . What are you thinking , Tri-Ace ? So , if I kill 29,999 enemies with Edge in one playthrough , and don't get the trophy , I STILL have to kill 30000 in the next playthrough . All I can say is , if you care about these things , keep your old save files intact .
- The cutscenes . They are WAAAAAY too long . Now , I'm not a fan of cutscenes in general , but when the writing is as bad as it is for these , it's particularly atrocious . In fact , I would suggest just skipping them entirely ( the game is nice enough to provide you a synopsis of any scene you skip , and the synopsis is both short AND well-written ) .
The unforgivable :
- Missable trophies . OK - I can accept that some games should have PSN trophies that require work . But this is ridiculous . For example , there is one trophy for completing all the quests in the game ( and there are hundreds , plural , by the way ) . The catch ? Near the beginning of the game , some quests simply . . . disappear . Forever . There is nothing telling you that this might happen , but it can . Later on , other quests disappear . Forever . So , what do you do ? YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE ENTIRE GAME AGAIN . Clearly , this is implemented solely to sell strategy guides . There are other egregious examples ( what , I can't make every item in the game because one of my party members left permanently ? ) , but you get the point . Everything about the trophies is meant to anger you . I kid thee not .
Anyway , there you have it . If you are going to play through once , I would rate this from 4 to 5 stars . It's pretty fun . But if you are like so many others that requires that platinum trophy , expect lots and lots of frustration . Happy gaming !
024 There are not a tremendous number of options when it comes to RPGs on modern consoles . In my opinion , Star Ocean is the best one available on PS3 , and perhaps XBOX 360 as well . If you've played previous Star Ocean titles , then buy this one right now . If you've never played one more , just know that you will buying an action packed RPG that blends fantasy and sci-fi seamlessly and beautifully .
The worlds and environments are incredibly designed . The landscapes are beautiful , each planet has its own unique style and atmosphere . The monster design is great , and bosses are menacing . Spell effects are varied and fun to watch , but since battles are real time they do not break the flow of the game .
The voiceover work is done well , but not amazing , and often mouth animations are out of sync with the audio . But overall the game is aesthetically pleasing .
But since this is an RPG , the most important elements are the story and characters . There is a good number of characters , each with their distinct personalities and conflicts . You interact with them between major game phases through private actions , which are brief cutscenes that expound upon a character's story and relationship with the main character . By exploring all of these actions you will unlock bonus ending cutscenes .
Overall the character design is great . There are plenty of struggles and conflicts that bring life to each of them . On top of that , they all individually add to the overall story and plot . No character is just thrown in out of nowhere . By including them all in the overall story it gives them more life .
The story itself is well done . For the most part everything is explained and concluded . There are very few random wtf moments . Since it's sci-fi and takes place in space and on alien worlds , there is a refreshing sense that it is not just another recycled save the princess story .
On top of the main story , there are many sidequests and collection tasks given to you by shop keepers . These all award you money , experience , and party skill points that are used to boost your skill levels .
The gameplay is very fun . There is a fairly extensive crafting system and a basic gathering system . You can take advantage of these to create truly powerful weapons , but you can also ignore it altogether .
Battles happen in real time . You directly control one character at a time but can switch who you control with the press of a button . Some battles require you to skillfully take advantage of the blindside system , which allows you to dodge attacks and gain a tactical advantage over enemies . There is also a combo system that causes you to do more damage as you string attacks together .
One criticism I have is with the sometimes unpredictable AI of characters you aren't directly controlling . For instance , your entire party may be on the verge of dying but your characters with healing spells will ignore the fact and keep attacking enemies . Often , you need to directly control healers to get through moments of high damage .
For the most part though , fighting never seems to get old . Also , as you fight monsters you gain knowledge of them , which can later be used to convert monster stones into items you can equip . These collections of information will be fun for any perfectionists that must 100% complete any game .
In the end , Star Ocean is a wonderfully made RPG that mixes traditional elements with modern technology , blends sci-fi and fantasy , to deliver a 70 + hour masterpiece .
[ . . . ] this is a steal . Buy this game right now .
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I like grinding dungeon crawlers and if you like that kind of game , Star Ocean is an 8 out of 10 game . There are some annoyances worth mentioning :
1 . the characters look good enough but it is all in the typical anime fashion - - big eyed girls wearing tiny skirts . But the environments often look grainy and are covered with aliased jaggedy edges . Everything and I mean everything is normal mapped and therefore looks super shiny . The snow world looks good and there's some other times when the environments look OK , but generally the look of the game suffers from grainy and blurry textures .
2 . The save points are few and far between in the dungeon levels . Be prepared for a 60 minute long gaming session before you can save ! But that's not all - - there's never a point in the game when you can zip back to your ship ( which is the only place you can craft new items ) . There's no quick teleport option . The levels are large . So you will be walking around quite a bit .
3 . The real time combat is a plus and a minus . Action combos are cool but there are too many times when button mashing lets you win anyway . You often have no idea what your team is doing once the fight begins . It is not unusual for you to try to pull off a combo but you cannot because your team just killed all of the enemies and the combat ends . Your team's AI is almost too good and that sometimes makes the combat too easy . In fact that my biggest complaint about the gameplay - - it is too easy . Your enemies have elemental weaknesses but except with bosses , it rarely matters . You can hit an enemy with anything and it will be defeated . In an effort to make the combat real-time and action-based , the game designers lost some of the challenge in the combat .
Having said all of that that , I am enjoying the game . You can skip the cutscenes which is a nice feature and then get right back to the dungeon crawling . Over all I like the Persona and Megami games better than this game as far as dungeon crawlers go .
077 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I like grinding dungeon crawlers and if you like that kind of game , Star Ocean is an 8 out of 10 game . There are some annoyances worth mentioning :
1 . the characters look good enough but it is all in the typical anime fashion - - big eyed girls wearing tiny skirts . But the environments often look grainy and are covered with aliased jaggedy edges . Everything and I mean everything is normal mapped and therefore looks super shiny . The snow world looks good and there's some other times when the environments look OK , but generally the look of the game suffers from grainy and blurry textures .
2 . The save points are few and far between in the dungeon levels . Be prepared for a 60 minute long gaming session before you can save ! But that's not all - - there's never a point in the game when you can zip back to your ship ( which is the only place you can craft new items ) . There's no quick teleport option . The levels are large . So you will be walking around quite a bit .
3 . The real time combat is a plus and a minus . Action combos are cool but there are too many times when button mashing lets you win anyway . You often have no idea what your team is doing once the fight begins . It is not unusual for you to try to pull off a combo but you cannot because your team just killed all of the enemies and the combat ends . Your team's AI is almost too good and that sometimes makes the combat too easy . In fact that my biggest complaint about the gameplay - - it is too easy . Your enemies have elemental weaknesses but except with bosses , it rarely matters . You can hit an enemy with anything and it will be defeated . In an effort to make the combat real-time and action-based , the game designers lost some of the challenge in the combat .
Having said all of that that , I am enjoying the game . You can skip the cutscenes which is a nice feature and then get right back to the dungeon crawling . Over all I like the Persona and Megami games better than this game as far as dungeon crawlers go .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I got this title really late becuz I played the Star Ocean series on the PSP , and I do not enjoy them so that I did not check this title out until lately when I was waiting for Skyrim release , and WOW ! This game is simply amazing . . . AMAZING ! !
Reasons for you to must own this title :
1 . It's made by Tri-Ace , who made the famous Valkyrie Profile series , and the Resonance Of Fate ( gun x RPG , only Tri-Ace can come up with this kinda crazy ideas LOL )
2 . Very decent story line for a Galaxy Exporation type of Sci-Fic ! It actually reminds me of Star Trek kinda vast universe view , and the story is quite serious and people die along the way during this seeking-for-better planet journey .
3 . Action based complicated yet easy to control battle system ! Tri-Ace is famous for making fun game system , and Star Ocean 4 of course has also inherited this feature . Moreover , the leader switching / teammates swap / skills usage can all be easily done by a single button , which I found very critical on this kinda game . Since I played Tales Series before , I can 100% ensure you that , this game has better combatting system than Tales : D
4 . Many hidden elements in the game , such as , hidden harvest / mining spots , Spaceship furnishing , Cactus on Roak , etc etc etc , it's very fun when you realize there are many more things you can do ( though hidden ) LOL
5 . This International Version has Jap voice option which I found MUCH MUCH MUCH better than the English dub ! Plus you get the classic / CG view for menu and ALL ingame conversations ! Simply awesome !
6 . Remi is too cute ! ! ! ! XD hahahaha Love it when she said Edge ! H ! No wonder the main character's name is Edge > _
However , few warnings for some of you :
1 . If you are seeking to platinum this game , then prepare yourself a 500 hours + platinum time , because some of the Battle Trophies in the game just simply do not make sense ! And they will require hundreds of hours from you to complete them .
2 . International version fixed the Experience Sythesis exploit , ie . you can no longer put Exp + 80% on a single weapon , and Exp + 45% on accessory . The max you can have now is 40% on weapon and 15% on accessory .
3 . Yes , you will need a guide and an index in order not to miss anything , and experience the game fully ( such as getting all endings in one playthrough )
In short , if you are a RPG lover / Tri-Ace lover / Tales type lover and don't care about trophies , this is a title that you MUST GET ! It definitely considered as one of the top tier RPG out there for PS3 . However , if you care about trophies , care about your completion rates , then think twice before buying , as this can be a very long / boring platinum for you .
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I had never played the original Star Ocean game so I cannot judge based on that issue . However being an Old Guy ( 53 ) my desires are different than the younger generation . This is pretty good actually . I like games that make me want to move forward . Find out what is around the next corner . Hot babes maybe , who knows . I rated this a 4 for being fun and 4 overall . I like the interface , ( buttons ) . and the fact it lets you pause in the middle of being destroyed to change your tactics at certain parts of the battle where I DIE ! ! because some enormous monster destroyed my party and had a good lunch . I like the mapping system to a certain degree . It has repetitive ending battle cut scenes however with these it lets you know how you did during the battle , gives me some numbers . There are lots of fun little things to do on the ship you fly between planets with . Sleep , make meals , etc . ( Other than that folks if you like RPG's I don't think you will be disappointed at all . I recommend you buy the strategy guide .
STAR OCEAN THE LAST HOPE : INTERNATIONAL Signature Series Strategy Guide ( Bradygames Signature Series Guides )
Your going to need it to help you plot and plan your strategy throughout the game . For me anyhow the game is worth buying new .
007 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I had never played the original Star Ocean game so I cannot judge based on that issue . However being an Old Guy ( 53 ) my desires are different than the younger generation . This is pretty good actually . I like games that make me want to move forward . Find out what is around the next corner . Hot babes maybe , who knows . I rated this a 4 for being fun and 4 overall . I like the interface , ( buttons ) . and the fact it lets you pause in the middle of being destroyed to change your tactics at certain parts of the battle where I DIE ! ! because some enormous monster destroyed my party and had a good lunch . I like the mapping system to a certain degree . It has repetitive ending battle cut scenes however with these it lets you know how you did during the battle , gives me some numbers . There are lots of fun little things to do on the ship you fly between planets with . Sleep , make meals , etc . ( Other than that folks if you like RPG's I don't think you will be disappointed at all . I recommend you buy the strategy guide .
STAR OCEAN THE LAST HOPE : INTERNATIONAL Signature Series Strategy Guide ( Bradygames Signature Series Guides )
Your going to need it to help you plot and plan your strategy throughout the game . For me anyhow the game is worth buying new .
008 I had never played the original Star Ocean game so I cannot judge based on that issue . However being an Old Guy ( 53 ) my desires are different than the younger generation . This is pretty good actually . I like games that make me want to move forward . Find out what is around the next corner . Hot babes maybe , who knows . I rated this a 4 for being fun and 4 overall . I like the interface , ( buttons ) . and the fact it lets you pause in the middle of being destroyed to change your tactics at certain parts of the battle where I DIE ! ! because some enormous monster destroyed my party and had a good lunch . I like the mapping system to a certain degree . It has repetitive ending battle cut scenes however with these it lets you know how you did during the battle , gives me some numbers . There are lots of fun little things to do on the ship you fly between planets with . Sleep , make meals , etc . ( Other than that folks if you like RPG's I don't think you will be disappointed at all . I recommend you buy the strategy guide .
STAR OCEAN THE LAST HOPE : INTERNATIONAL Signature Series Strategy Guide ( Bradygames Signature Series Guides )
Your going to need it to help you plot and plan your strategy throughout the game . For me anyhow the game is worth buying new .
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Star Ocean International is an exciting game for those who enjoy having a group of diverse players helping to does evil in different worlds . Like most the games the object to find and destroy the evil from which it was created .
Things I enjoyed from this game :
- The graphics are incredible ! From oceans , to land . From Buildings , to monsters . The graphics are exquisite in my opinion when traveling around from place to place .
- Characters : You meet a lot of interesting characters each with their own story to tell . Every one of them are helpful in some way . Each one has the same and different special attacks and symbology they can use in battle which will defiantly change the tide of battle .
- PA's ( Private Actions ) and Item Creation : Different from Star Ocean : Till the End of Time , in this version you create items using your characters but will be using your SP ( Skill Points ) instead of Fol . Also Synthesis of weapons and items will be very helpful while traveling from place to place .
- Bonus : There are new things to look forward to after the end . This game will keep you looking for more , at least it has with me .
Things I was disappointed in :
- Voices : The characters voice get pretty repetitive in battles . An Idea would be just to change from English to Japanese to get the effect of the International affect .
- Monster Battles : This is not a bad thing for leveling up and filling up a monster jewel ( learn more about in game ) but when it comes to trying to receive a item from the monster than it can sometimes take a while . But the monster list is very diverse and keeps battles interesting .
Other than that this is an excellent game for those who are looking for something new and challenging . I recommend it to anyone who : enjoys battles , enjoys multiple partners , enjoys bosses with a challenge , and enjoys beautiful scenery .
061 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean International is an exciting game for those who enjoy having a group of diverse players helping to does evil in different worlds . Like most the games the object to find and destroy the evil from which it was created .
Things I enjoyed from this game :
- The graphics are incredible ! From oceans , to land . From Buildings , to monsters . The graphics are exquisite in my opinion when traveling around from place to place .
- Characters : You meet a lot of interesting characters each with their own story to tell . Every one of them are helpful in some way . Each one has the same and different special attacks and symbology they can use in battle which will defiantly change the tide of battle .
- PA's ( Private Actions ) and Item Creation : Different from Star Ocean : Till the End of Time , in this version you create items using your characters but will be using your SP ( Skill Points ) instead of Fol . Also Synthesis of weapons and items will be very helpful while traveling from place to place .
- Bonus : There are new things to look forward to after the end . This game will keep you looking for more , at least it has with me .
Things I was disappointed in :
- Voices : The characters voice get pretty repetitive in battles . An Idea would be just to change from English to Japanese to get the effect of the International affect .
- Monster Battles : This is not a bad thing for leveling up and filling up a monster jewel ( learn more about in game ) but when it comes to trying to receive a item from the monster than it can sometimes take a while . But the monster list is very diverse and keeps battles interesting .
Other than that this is an excellent game for those who are looking for something new and challenging . I recommend it to anyone who : enjoys battles , enjoys multiple partners , enjoys bosses with a challenge , and enjoys beautiful scenery .
082 Amazon Verified Purchase
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I got this title really late becuz I played the Star Ocean series on the PSP , and I do not enjoy them so that I did not check this title out until lately when I was waiting for Skyrim release , and WOW ! This game is simply amazing . . . AMAZING ! !
Reasons for you to must own this title :
1 . It's made by Tri-Ace , who made the famous Valkyrie Profile series , and the Resonance Of Fate ( gun x RPG , only Tri-Ace can come up with this kinda crazy ideas LOL )
2 . Very decent story line for a Galaxy Exporation type of Sci-Fic ! It actually reminds me of Star Trek kinda vast universe view , and the story is quite serious and people die along the way during this seeking-for-better planet journey .
3 . Action based complicated yet easy to control battle system ! Tri-Ace is famous for making fun game system , and Star Ocean 4 of course has also inherited this feature . Moreover , the leader switching / teammates swap / skills usage can all be easily done by a single button , which I found very critical on this kinda game . Since I played Tales Series before , I can 100% ensure you that , this game has better combatting system than Tales : D
4 . Many hidden elements in the game , such as , hidden harvest / mining spots , Spaceship furnishing , Cactus on Roak , etc etc etc , it's very fun when you realize there are many more things you can do ( though hidden ) LOL
5 . This International Version has Jap voice option which I found MUCH MUCH MUCH better than the English dub ! Plus you get the classic / CG view for menu and ALL ingame conversations ! Simply awesome !
6 . Remi is too cute ! ! ! ! XD hahahaha Love it when she said Edge ! H ! No wonder the main character's name is Edge > _
However , few warnings for some of you :
1 . If you are seeking to platinum this game , then prepare yourself a 500 hours + platinum time , because some of the Battle Trophies in the game just simply do not make sense ! And they will require hundreds of hours from you to complete them .
2 . International version fixed the Experience Sythesis exploit , ie . you can no longer put Exp + 80% on a single weapon , and Exp + 45% on accessory . The max you can have now is 40% on weapon and 15% on accessory .
3 . Yes , you will need a guide and an index in order not to miss anything , and experience the game fully ( such as getting all endings in one playthrough )
In short , if you are a RPG lover / Tri-Ace lover / Tales type lover and don't care about trophies , this is a title that you MUST GET ! It definitely considered as one of the top tier RPG out there for PS3 . However , if you care about trophies , care about your completion rates , then think twice before buying , as this can be a very long / boring platinum for you .
083 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I got this title really late becuz I played the Star Ocean series on the PSP , and I do not enjoy them so that I did not check this title out until lately when I was waiting for Skyrim release , and WOW ! This game is simply amazing . . . AMAZING ! !
Reasons for you to must own this title :
1 . It's made by Tri-Ace , who made the famous Valkyrie Profile series , and the Resonance Of Fate ( gun x RPG , only Tri-Ace can come up with this kinda crazy ideas LOL )
2 . Very decent story line for a Galaxy Exporation type of Sci-Fic ! It actually reminds me of Star Trek kinda vast universe view , and the story is quite serious and people die along the way during this seeking-for-better planet journey .
3 . Action based complicated yet easy to control battle system ! Tri-Ace is famous for making fun game system , and Star Ocean 4 of course has also inherited this feature . Moreover , the leader switching / teammates swap / skills usage can all be easily done by a single button , which I found very critical on this kinda game . Since I played Tales Series before , I can 100% ensure you that , this game has better combatting system than Tales : D
4 . Many hidden elements in the game , such as , hidden harvest / mining spots , Spaceship furnishing , Cactus on Roak , etc etc etc , it's very fun when you realize there are many more things you can do ( though hidden ) LOL
5 . This International Version has Jap voice option which I found MUCH MUCH MUCH better than the English dub ! Plus you get the classic / CG view for menu and ALL ingame conversations ! Simply awesome !
6 . Remi is too cute ! ! ! ! XD hahahaha Love it when she said Edge ! H ! No wonder the main character's name is Edge > _
However , few warnings for some of you :
1 . If you are seeking to platinum this game , then prepare yourself a 500 hours + platinum time , because some of the Battle Trophies in the game just simply do not make sense ! And they will require hundreds of hours from you to complete them .
2 . International version fixed the Experience Sythesis exploit , ie . you can no longer put Exp + 80% on a single weapon , and Exp + 45% on accessory . The max you can have now is 40% on weapon and 15% on accessory .
3 . Yes , you will need a guide and an index in order not to miss anything , and experience the game fully ( such as getting all endings in one playthrough )
In short , if you are a RPG lover / Tri-Ace lover / Tales type lover and don't care about trophies , this is a title that you MUST GET ! It definitely considered as one of the top tier RPG out there for PS3 . However , if you care about trophies , care about your completion rates , then think twice before buying , as this can be a very long / boring platinum for you .
084 I got this title really late becuz I played the Star Ocean series on the PSP , and I do not enjoy them so that I did not check this title out until lately when I was waiting for Skyrim release , and WOW ! This game is simply amazing . . . AMAZING ! !
Reasons for you to must own this title :
1 . It's made by Tri-Ace , who made the famous Valkyrie Profile series , and the Resonance Of Fate ( gun x RPG , only Tri-Ace can come up with this kinda crazy ideas LOL )
2 . Very decent story line for a Galaxy Exporation type of Sci-Fic ! It actually reminds me of Star Trek kinda vast universe view , and the story is quite serious and people die along the way during this seeking-for-better planet journey .
3 . Action based complicated yet easy to control battle system ! Tri-Ace is famous for making fun game system , and Star Ocean 4 of course has also inherited this feature . Moreover , the leader switching / teammates swap / skills usage can all be easily done by a single button , which I found very critical on this kinda game . Since I played Tales Series before , I can 100% ensure you that , this game has better combatting system than Tales : D
4 . Many hidden elements in the game , such as , hidden harvest / mining spots , Spaceship furnishing , Cactus on Roak , etc etc etc , it's very fun when you realize there are many more things you can do ( though hidden ) LOL
5 . This International Version has Jap voice option which I found MUCH MUCH MUCH better than the English dub ! Plus you get the classic / CG view for menu and ALL ingame conversations ! Simply awesome !
6 . Remi is too cute ! ! ! ! XD hahahaha Love it when she said Edge ! H ! No wonder the main character's name is Edge > _
However , few warnings for some of you :
1 . If you are seeking to platinum this game , then prepare yourself a 500 hours + platinum time , because some of the Battle Trophies in the game just simply do not make sense ! And they will require hundreds of hours from you to complete them .
2 . International version fixed the Experience Sythesis exploit , ie . you can no longer put Exp + 80% on a single weapon , and Exp + 45% on accessory . The max you can have now is 40% on weapon and 15% on accessory .
3 . Yes , you will need a guide and an index in order not to miss anything , and experience the game fully ( such as getting all endings in one playthrough )
In short , if you are a RPG lover / Tri-Ace lover / Tales type lover and don't care about trophies , this is a title that you MUST GET ! It definitely considered as one of the top tier RPG out there for PS3 . However , if you care about trophies , care about your completion rates , then think twice before buying , as this can be a very long / boring platinum for you .
159 Amazon Verified Purchase
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I had high hopes for this game . I loved Star Ocean Second Story and Star Ocean Til the End of Time . However , with this game , I felt something was missing . The combat was exciting at first . Learning the dodge and timing sequences was fun , for the first 5 hours . Then the lack of any kind of progression became frustratingly boring . The characters have mostly shared spells , with only a handful of unique ability / attacks each . Most skills can be learned by all characters , reducing the fun of having multiple characters , as they are basically the same types . The battles are not challenging at all , especially after you obtain the double dodge . They basically consist of either dodge and attack , or double dodge and attack , as you will need criticals to hurt a lot of the later enemies . The story is cookie cutter fair , which can be fine when presented well , but I found myself guessing every plot point before they happened . Having a set amount of character slots also hurt the progression , as I knew after the first hour how many people I would have when I finished . And you can tell who is going to become a player character because they are the only character models that any time seems to have gone into . The enemies all draw from a few types with different colors being the only difference thrown in so they can be called different . They aren't , they are the same enemies with the same attacks and strategy's , with a different color scheme . Which would be fine , if their had been more than like 10 different character models . The whole thing felt small , and forced . It felt like I was playing a smaller , albeit prettier version of one of the older star oceans . And the worst part : I forced myself to finish the game thinking , hey , I'll play it on a harder difficulty that I open up with my powered up characters in a new game plus type of scenario , and that will make it more fun as I will have a few more options from the get go ( attacks-wise ; I'm telling you , 2 or 3 attacks to choose from gets old , FAST ) , but NO ! It isn't new game plus , it simply lets you start over , with only THE INFORMATION YOU。VE COLLECTED STILL OPEN . What a crock of crap . When I started writing this review , I gave the game 3 stars . But now that I've written it , I remember how absolutely disappointed I was when I beat it and found out it was all for naught , that I had to start completely over . I'm giving it a 1 ! > .
160 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I had high hopes for this game . I loved Star Ocean Second Story and Star Ocean Til the End of Time . However , with this game , I felt something was missing . The combat was exciting at first . Learning the dodge and timing sequences was fun , for the first 5 hours . Then the lack of any kind of progression became frustratingly boring . The characters have mostly shared spells , with only a handful of unique ability / attacks each . Most skills can be learned by all characters , reducing the fun of having multiple characters , as they are basically the same types . The battles are not challenging at all , especially after you obtain the double dodge . They basically consist of either dodge and attack , or double dodge and attack , as you will need criticals to hurt a lot of the later enemies . The story is cookie cutter fair , which can be fine when presented well , but I found myself guessing every plot point before they happened . Having a set amount of character slots also hurt the progression , as I knew after the first hour how many people I would have when I finished . And you can tell who is going to become a player character because they are the only character models that any time seems to have gone into . The enemies all draw from a few types with different colors being the only difference thrown in so they can be called different . They aren't , they are the same enemies with the same attacks and strategy's , with a different color scheme . Which would be fine , if their had been more than like 10 different character models . The whole thing felt small , and forced . It felt like I was playing a smaller , albeit prettier version of one of the older star oceans . And the worst part : I forced myself to finish the game thinking , hey , I'll play it on a harder difficulty that I open up with my powered up characters in a new game plus type of scenario , and that will make it more fun as I will have a few more options from the get go ( attacks-wise ; I'm telling you , 2 or 3 attacks to choose from gets old , FAST ) , but NO ! It isn't new game plus , it simply lets you start over , with only THE INFORMATION YOU。VE COLLECTED STILL OPEN . What a crock of crap . When I started writing this review , I gave the game 3 stars . But now that I've written it , I remember how absolutely disappointed I was when I beat it and found out it was all for naught , that I had to start completely over . I'm giving it a 1 ! > .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
So many people are saying how amazing this game is that I picked it up . It has very generic style-less graphics and the music / sound effects are annoying . It doesn't pull me in on any level . There's no way to remove the cheesy logos from the main menu so I feel like I'm playing a really bad 16 - bit game . Maybe it's just me . I have nightmares about the second Star Ocean on PS3 with it's painfully long prologue . The main character is named Edge ! It's just so bad . I want to like this game , maybe I'll update 20hrs in with a different opinion . Square-Enix just wants me to hate them so badly .
069 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I'm not much for long detailed reviews so I will keep this simple .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope has its faults as ALL games do but it is still very good and very worth the time and money you put into it .
The storyline starts off semi-interesting with a very common theme these days-then quickly turns into a much better RPG storyline .
Overall if you like the series you must buy this game . . . and if you like other RPG's , you should purchase the entire Star Ocean series and see that VERY few other RPG's compare .
075 this is really a good game , came in earlier than expected . . . replay value is VERY HIGH ! ! ! ! recommended by me 4 ALL RPG PLAYERS ! !
135 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
So many people are saying how amazing this game is that I picked it up . It has very generic style-less graphics and the music / sound effects are annoying . It doesn't pull me in on any level . There's no way to remove the cheesy logos from the main menu so I feel like I'm playing a really bad 16 - bit game . Maybe it's just me . I have nightmares about the second Star Ocean on PS3 with it's painfully long prologue . The main character is named Edge ! It's just so bad . I want to like this game , maybe I'll update 20hrs in with a different opinion . Square-Enix just wants me to hate them so badly .
165 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Towards the end of the game , the game could just freeze for no reason during the battles . Of course , Square gives you a normal cookie cutter answer about the problem and says it is just you . The internet has many people listing this problem , but they still will not do anything about it . They need to make a patch for the game , because it is a software problem . They say it is a hardware problem . DO NOT BUY if you plan on doing everything in the game .
166 Towards the end of the game , the game could just freeze for no reason during the battles . Of course , Square gives you a normal cookie cutter answer about the problem and says it is just you . The internet has many people listing this problem , but they still will not do anything about it . They need to make a patch for the game , because it is a software problem . They say it is a hardware problem . DO NOT BUY if you plan on doing everything in the game .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean : The Last Hope is a prequel to the Star Ocean Saga . If you have not played any of the previous games then you won't be left behind with the storyline . This makes this installment of Star Ocean very friendly to both die hard fans and new-comer's to the saga .
Gameplay :
Star Ocean has always been a great franchise that gave RPG's a nice twist for me . This was the first RPG saga I played which had a really good sci-fi edge to it . This installment is no different having you blast around the galaxy exploring planets , meeting new aliens and cultures etc . Combat in Star Ocean is extremely enjoyable . Battles are encounter based where you have to run into a mob . When you trigger the mob you go into the battle screen w / almost no load time . Depending on how you ran into the mob ( did it hit you from behind ? did you run into it from behind , from the side etc ) determines the battle mode . Is it a surprise attack by you ? by the mob ? Perhaps two mobs were close by and the second the first battle finishes you get jumped by more mobs . There is some variety to the battles . Ontop of that , you can earn bonus tiles during combat which boost XP , Item drops , SP earned etc . Combat is also real time . Once you are in combat you can control 1 of 4 characters , able to switch toons on the fly , and pretty much map skills and attacks to buttons on the controller . I kind of see the combat system as like RPG meets Hack n ' Slash without the button mashing . The nice Sci-fi elements and storyline mixed with a very fun combat system make for a great adventure ! !
Story
Without ruining the plot , pretty much humanity is just starting to venture out into the galaxy . This is the first trip being taken by Humanity so a bunch of ships are sent off into deep space to explore and either find planets to colonize / harvest or perhaps even meet some aliens ! no shocker , along the way some evil force exposes itself threatening the galaxy ! The storyline is a tad cliche but enjoyable . There are also elements in the game that will influence the storyline . . kind of little side events that will gain favor with your crew . More favor you have the more chance you have at viewing certain cut-scenes and getting their true ending . It also adds to their back story a little .
Sound / Graphics
The graphics are not bad at all . This game came out for the 360 originally and was then remastered for the PS3 . All in All both versions look identical from the standard view . . . if you zoom in on objects you'll notice the PS3 has more colorful , detailed map design but the characters themselves are a little faded ( especially the eyes ) . The audio is actually very good in this version . Unlike the 360 version where you had English Dub , this version contains multiple languages including the original Japanese . The English voices weren't bad but . . . * shiver * some characters were just down right ANNOYING . I played it using Japanese w / English Subtitles and found the voice acting to be very high quality compared to the English .
Replay Value / Length
The game itself easily kept me occupied well over 50 hours . It was a lot of fun , and once things kicked into high gear I began bouncing between planets to do side quests and all sorts of bonus objectives . Crafting , optional bosses etc . There is plenty of side and end game content to keep you busy for an insane # of hours . I beat the game at level 73 ; however the level cap is 255 that should tell you just how much stuff is to do on the side ( getting to 255 will take quite some time ) However , once you beat the game and run through the content there is virtually no reason to revisit this game except if you want to get a Platinum Trophy ( might need 2 or 3 runs of the storyline for it ) . However with well over 50 + hours of gameplay in a single playthrough you are getting great value here .
OVERALL ( 86% 8.6 / B + )
I give Star Ocean : the Last Hope International an 86% ( 8.6 / B rating ) This isn't anything new as the game came out on the 360 a year before this released .
If you never played this game before , or don't own a 360 it is worth picking up now . If you own a 360 and a PS3 the PS3 version is the better version to own actually as I will list below . If you are big into Sci-Fi themed gamed and also love a good RPG this game is def . for you . It will make you feel like you are traveling to distant worlds and exploring the galaxy .
360 vs PS3 editions
the versions are visually identical for the most part ( the differences are not worth arguing over ) HOWEVER the PS3 version contains many additional perks the 360 version will not
1 . Multiple languages ( english and japanese ) w / multiple subtitle options
2 . Additional content by having new playable characters
3 . No need to disk swap ( 360 requires a disk swapping )
4 . New UI layouts . You can pick between a more anime style or CG style . I actually liked the new style over the original as it organized better and text was more legible in my opinion .
5 . Revamped crafting system ( Fixed exploits in the crafting system and added a few new recipes . . . . also changed the recipes of the best armor and weapons to avoid being able to craft them really early on )
003 Star Ocean has been a long running franchise that many RPG fans appreciate ; this being said how is the game overall ?
- Xbox360 vs . PS3 -
Notable differences on the PS3 version :
+ Do not need to disc swap , since everything is on one disc .
+ Includes Japanese vocals as an option .
+ Able to switch between menu layout Classic ( Original JP Menus with the Animated dialog boxes ) and the CG ( NA / EU version of the menu , which was all done in CG , but lost the Anime feel and the portrait on dialog boxes ) .
+ Includes additional characters .
- I never played Star Ocean how does this fare with the storyline ? -
Star Ocean : The Last Hope ( aka Star Ocean 4 ) Has very minor relevance within the other three Star Ocean games , each game are not direct sequels so each game is independent of each other and you will not be missing anything at all if you haven't played the previous ones .
- How does the battle fare ? -
Just like all other Star Ocean , you control the leader of the party and able to set the other 3 on auto while having the ability to switch between each character .
- Difficulty and depth of the game ? -
The game itself can be challenging , since some of the bosses are rather difficult , I believe this is a good thing just because a lot of RPGs these day are just dumb downed . The depth of the game is amazing , also unlike other RPGs there are tons of character interactions and details required to achieve specific endings for the game . Yes this RPG requires you to grind a bit for levels and skills , but people tend to complain about this aspect of the game ; honestly I think RPG gamers have been spoiled over the years . Back in the days when players spent hours and hours unlocking secret weapons of leveling for boss fights since they were too hard , I find that enjoyable instead speed running through the game not requiring to grind or skills . So if you like a challenging RPG , this would be a good bet ( Nothing as challenging as Demon Souls of course ) .
- Length of game ? -
If you try to accomplish all the side quests and not speed through the game . The game itself can easily be 80 + hours long .
- Graphics -
The game is done very well with nice visual background .
- Should I get this or White Knight Chronicles ? -
Both game plays completely different , WKC would have a bigger replay value since majority of the game is online based versus SO is strictly offline . Both games are JRPG based , but some would argue that WKC does not have a great storyline and big character roster list , so if you are looking for a decent character roster and a well developed storyline I would go for SO .
- Conclusion -
Overall I would say that SO4 is a great game , just like the other SO games in the series . If you enjoy playing the other SO in the series I am sure you will enjoy this . Unfortunately PS3 does not have big list of RPG titles , but if you enjoy RPGs then this would be the game to buy .
004 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
So this game actually only deserves four stars . . . but since I know some other moron will post the obligatory Dis here game iz alredy on teh three-six-zeeero and give the game a low score I bumped it up to five stars . That should cancel out exactly one dipstick .
On to the game !
Beautiful game . COMES WITH A FREE $ ( * @ ) ( % ! MOVIE ! ! Holy ' effing mother of Gargonzola the game takes thirty friggen minutes to get going . I know it's supposed to be an epic tale of survival and exploration but I MADE A SANDWICH in the time it took for the game to start . Sure , people joke and say , . . . man , I could have gotten up and made a sandwich in that length of time . Yeah , well , not only did I MAKE the sandwich , I ate the damn thing too . Beautiful movie . . . but when it came time to move my guy around I looked at the controller with slight distrust . Hmmm . . . Lo and behold the damn game was ready for me to play it ! Battle tutorial ! AWESOME ! Ohh . . . nice and then I can explore the ship and then . . . AW F $ $ % ! ANOTHER damn cutscene .
When we FINALLY have control for REAL , the camera is fluid , the controls are accurate ( except when I sprint . I don't know who stuck a N0S bottle up the main character's butt to make him zip forward like that but it's slightly retarded . At least make the damn sprint last longer . I have to keep having my guy make grunting noises like he's plowing the remnants of Thanksgiving dinner through his colon . * sigh *
Combat is very nifty . Again , nothing groundbreaking but this is an RPG for frick's sake , what did you expect ? There's a little battle bonus board that you can add to by meeting special conditions in battle . A bonus battle feature where you can sneak around behind the enemy . . . the name of which escapes me at the moment . DIFFICULTY SETTINGS ! ! ! Very very cool . It's one thing to have a difficult RPG . . . it's another to have to get your guys to level 27 before you can fight the first boss . The Japanese are all sadistic , I think . You get used to whacking all this little stuff and THEN comes captain octopus that absolutely spanks your monkey until bananas come out of your ears . So frustrating . . . and this game avoids those frustrations with an easy button .
The voices . . . ugh . The obligatory cute asian-looking girl with perky . . . er . . . attitudes and tight pants is entertaining for the first five minutes . Then you want to go and grab that stick with a hand on it from the concorde grape-jelly character who runs the item making machine and strangle her with it . The main character dude says the same . . . damn . . . thing . . . every . . . friggen . . . battle . You can switch them over to the Japanese voices and laugh at them for awhile . . . but then it starts to feel like you're in an airport and you've gotta switch back .
Menu can be changed from modern to classic . Modern being what I have heard was available on the 360 and classic being a bright anime / cartooney style . I prefer the anime style personally .
In the end , if you didn't try this on the 360 then I say give it a go . I LOVE RPGs and this one has already provided me with hours of pleasure . Seriously , don't be afraid to buy the game . It's pretty damn good .
005 So this game actually only deserves four stars . . . but since I know some other moron will post the obligatory Dis here game iz alredy on teh three-six-zeeero and give the game a low score I bumped it up to five stars . That should cancel out exactly one dipstick .
On to the game !
Beautiful game . COMES WITH A FREE $ ( * @ ) ( % ! MOVIE ! ! Holy ' effing mother of Gargonzola the game takes thirty friggen minutes to get going . I know it's supposed to be an epic tale of survival and exploration but I MADE A SANDWICH in the time it took for the game to start . Sure , people joke and say , . . . man , I could have gotten up and made a sandwich in that length of time . Yeah , well , not only did I MAKE the sandwich , I ate the damn thing too . Beautiful movie . . . but when it came time to move my guy around I looked at the controller with slight distrust . Hmmm . . . Lo and behold the damn game was ready for me to play it ! Battle tutorial ! AWESOME ! Ohh . . . nice and then I can explore the ship and then . . . AW F $ $ % ! ANOTHER damn cutscene .
When we FINALLY have control for REAL , the camera is fluid , the controls are accurate ( except when I sprint . I don't know who stuck a N0S bottle up the main character's butt to make him zip forward like that but it's slightly retarded . At least make the damn sprint last longer . I have to keep having my guy make grunting noises like he's plowing the remnants of Thanksgiving dinner through his colon . * sigh *
Combat is very nifty . Again , nothing groundbreaking but this is an RPG for frick's sake , what did you expect ? There's a little battle bonus board that you can add to by meeting special conditions in battle . A bonus battle feature where you can sneak around behind the enemy . . . the name of which escapes me at the moment . DIFFICULTY SETTINGS ! ! ! Very very cool . It's one thing to have a difficult RPG . . . it's another to have to get your guys to level 27 before you can fight the first boss . The Japanese are all sadistic , I think . You get used to whacking all this little stuff and THEN comes captain octopus that absolutely spanks your monkey until bananas come out of your ears . So frustrating . . . and this game avoids those frustrations with an easy button .
The voices . . . ugh . The obligatory cute asian-looking girl with perky . . . er . . . attitudes and tight pants is entertaining for the first five minutes . Then you want to go and grab that stick with a hand on it from the concorde grape-jelly character who runs the item making machine and strangle her with it . The main character dude says the same . . . damn . . . thing . . . every . . . friggen . . . battle . You can switch them over to the Japanese voices and laugh at them for awhile . . . but then it starts to feel like you're in an airport and you've gotta switch back .
Menu can be changed from modern to classic . Modern being what I have heard was available on the 360 and classic being a bright anime / cartooney style . I prefer the anime style personally .
In the end , if you didn't try this on the 360 then I say give it a go . I LOVE RPGs and this one has already provided me with hours of pleasure . Seriously , don't be afraid to buy the game . It's pretty damn good .
010 . . . I'm forced to average the two . I commiserate with another reviewer about the This was on the X-Box , so it's worse here by definition ! reviews , but I can't co-sign on grade inflation .
And honestly , while this game has a lot going for it , it's flaws can be severe . The average player probably wouldn't notice ( i.e . the one that plays the game one time through ) , but I would guess that most people buying this game are hardcore ( and the developers believe the same - look at all of the postgame extras , and the ridiculous PSN trophies associated to the game ) .
So anyway :
The Good :
- I really like the battle system in this game . There is one major flaw ( targetting ) , but all in all , I've enjoyed fighting ( which is good for a game of this length ) . The blindside and rush combo systems are magnificent , IMHO . The characters clearly have different personalities on the battle field ( including the fighters - Faize's rapier combos act much different than Edge's , e.g . ) .
- The story . While the cutscenes are a major pain ( they are too long , and poorly written ) , I'm a sucker for a space exploration story . No , this isn't Mass Effect 2 , but I think the plot synthesizes much of what is good about various Japanese sci-fi animes ( ridiculous science , absurd character interactions , a universe-threatening enemy , etc . )
- The extras . Tri-Ace has ALWAYS given the player more for completing a game , and this is no different . A huge battle arena , two long and rewarding post-game dungeons , billions of battle trophies to test your skills and patience ( OK - there are only 900 , but it will feel like billions by the end ) . SO : TLH delivers . However , there is one major flaw here , as I will state below .
The Bad :
- Battle targeting is atrocious . The computer NEVER fixes on the proper target ; your character will often run the length of the battlefield to attack another enemy , instead of the one in front of him . In order to change targeting , you have to use the start button ( who in the world thought of that ? ) . . . but this is a pain in the heat of battle against an enemy such as , say , Kokubei ( who has about 10 other small enemies constantly circling her ) . Ugh .
- Where are the save points ? It takes FOREVER to get to one ! I've heard that autosaving doesn't work in JRPGs ( with citations of other 360 RPGs as evidence ) . I don't buy it . There HAS to be something better , and if we ARE fixing ourselves to this archaic system , at LEAST make it reasonable . At time , you will find yourself going an hour or more between save points in dungeons . At the end of the game , adding together the cutscene time , the credit time , and the battles , it took over 2 hours before I could save my game ! That's ridiculous .
Also , when you finally do save , the game asks you , Do you want to keep saving ? The default answer is YES the first time this question is asked . What the heck ? I guess even the game realizes that saving is a luxury that you never want to end . : - P
- While battle trophies carry over to different playthroughs , battle trophy progress does not . What are you thinking , Tri-Ace ? So , if I kill 29,999 enemies with Edge in one playthrough , and don't get the trophy , I STILL have to kill 30000 in the next playthrough . All I can say is , if you care about these things , keep your old save files intact .
- The cutscenes . They are WAAAAAY too long . Now , I'm not a fan of cutscenes in general , but when the writing is as bad as it is for these , it's particularly atrocious . In fact , I would suggest just skipping them entirely ( the game is nice enough to provide you a synopsis of any scene you skip , and the synopsis is both short AND well-written ) .
The unforgivable :
- Missable trophies . OK - I can accept that some games should have PSN trophies that require work . But this is ridiculous . For example , there is one trophy for completing all the quests in the game ( and there are hundreds , plural , by the way ) . The catch ? Near the beginning of the game , some quests simply . . . disappear . Forever . There is nothing telling you that this might happen , but it can . Later on , other quests disappear . Forever . So , what do you do ? YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE ENTIRE GAME AGAIN . Clearly , this is implemented solely to sell strategy guides . There are other egregious examples ( what , I can't make every item in the game because one of my party members left permanently ? ) , but you get the point . Everything about the trophies is meant to anger you . I kid thee not .
Anyway , there you have it . If you are going to play through once , I would rate this from 4 to 5 stars . It's pretty fun . But if you are like so many others that requires that platinum trophy , expect lots and lots of frustration . Happy gaming !
017 Where to begin ? Ahh , I know , the one thing that will immediately turn off gamers ! Before you get into this game , be advised that it IS a JRPG and the acting follows that of the typical japanese anime dub over by american actors who just don't cut it . There is however the option to turn on the original japanese dialog track , which may be easier on the ears . I love JRPGs and crappy anime acting ( why I don't know ) so it doesn't bother me one bit , but sometimes it can take away from the serious overtones the game should have .
That aside , be prepared for a HUGE world . Be prepared to run back and fourth between towns on different planets and be prepared to use the square ( dash ) button a LOT . The atmosphere that Star Ocean has created is immensively huge , and sometimes it feels as though things are lacking . Don't get me wrong , it is an absolutely beautiful game and looking around will keep you more than entertained while you explore . You can also encounter enemies , harvest materials and mine for materials on the world map , if that's what you want to call it .
Sprawled throughout the game are specific quests that you will come across , as well as the main story line . The quests are NPC specific and require you to talk to specific NPCs at certain times in the game to get the quests . They are usually simple in nature and are similar to quests in an MMORPG ( gather materials , get items from enemies etc ) . The most rewarding benefit of these quests are the skill points you will aquire , which allow you to level up certain skill sets each character has .
The main story line I will let the amazon description fill you in on , but alas it's alright . I'm not rivited by the story or sucked into the game because of it . All in all the atmosphere and the fun level of gameplay keep me entertained and the story is an added bonus . It's not to say it's a bad story , it's just lacking any real oomph . However , there are aspects of it that are excellently presented that make you wonder if at some point the remainder will be just as good as the scene you just witnessed .
To put things into perspective , I am aiming for getting everything in the game , I am 68 hours into it and only a third of the way through . Probably about half of those hours were spent traveling between places to complete quests . There is no easy warp option , it's you against the world .
020 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean : The Last Hope is a prequel to the Star Ocean Saga . If you have not played any of the previous games then you won't be left behind with the storyline . This makes this installment of Star Ocean very friendly to both die hard fans and new-comer's to the saga .
Gameplay :
Star Ocean has always been a great franchise that gave RPG's a nice twist for me . This was the first RPG saga I played which had a really good sci-fi edge to it . This installment is no different having you blast around the galaxy exploring planets , meeting new aliens and cultures etc . Combat in Star Ocean is extremely enjoyable . Battles are encounter based where you have to run into a mob . When you trigger the mob you go into the battle screen w / almost no load time . Depending on how you ran into the mob ( did it hit you from behind ? did you run into it from behind , from the side etc ) determines the battle mode . Is it a surprise attack by you ? by the mob ? Perhaps two mobs were close by and the second the first battle finishes you get jumped by more mobs . There is some variety to the battles . Ontop of that , you can earn bonus tiles during combat which boost XP , Item drops , SP earned etc . Combat is also real time . Once you are in combat you can control 1 of 4 characters , able to switch toons on the fly , and pretty much map skills and attacks to buttons on the controller . I kind of see the combat system as like RPG meets Hack n ' Slash without the button mashing . The nice Sci-fi elements and storyline mixed with a very fun combat system make for a great adventure ! !
Story
Without ruining the plot , pretty much humanity is just starting to venture out into the galaxy . This is the first trip being taken by Humanity so a bunch of ships are sent off into deep space to explore and either find planets to colonize / harvest or perhaps even meet some aliens ! no shocker , along the way some evil force exposes itself threatening the galaxy ! The storyline is a tad cliche but enjoyable . There are also elements in the game that will influence the storyline . . kind of little side events that will gain favor with your crew . More favor you have the more chance you have at viewing certain cut-scenes and getting their true ending . It also adds to their back story a little .
Sound / Graphics
The graphics are not bad at all . This game came out for the 360 originally and was then remastered for the PS3 . All in All both versions look identical from the standard view . . . if you zoom in on objects you'll notice the PS3 has more colorful , detailed map design but the characters themselves are a little faded ( especially the eyes ) . The audio is actually very good in this version . Unlike the 360 version where you had English Dub , this version contains multiple languages including the original Japanese . The English voices weren't bad but . . . * shiver * some characters were just down right ANNOYING . I played it using Japanese w / English Subtitles and found the voice acting to be very high quality compared to the English .
Replay Value / Length
The game itself easily kept me occupied well over 50 hours . It was a lot of fun , and once things kicked into high gear I began bouncing between planets to do side quests and all sorts of bonus objectives . Crafting , optional bosses etc . There is plenty of side and end game content to keep you busy for an insane # of hours . I beat the game at level 73 ; however the level cap is 255 that should tell you just how much stuff is to do on the side ( getting to 255 will take quite some time ) However , once you beat the game and run through the content there is virtually no reason to revisit this game except if you want to get a Platinum Trophy ( might need 2 or 3 runs of the storyline for it ) . However with well over 50 + hours of gameplay in a single playthrough you are getting great value here .
OVERALL ( 86% 8.6 / B + )
I give Star Ocean : the Last Hope International an 86% ( 8.6 / B rating ) This isn't anything new as the game came out on the 360 a year before this released .
If you never played this game before , or don't own a 360 it is worth picking up now . If you own a 360 and a PS3 the PS3 version is the better version to own actually as I will list below . If you are big into Sci-Fi themed gamed and also love a good RPG this game is def . for you . It will make you feel like you are traveling to distant worlds and exploring the galaxy .
360 vs PS3 editions
the versions are visually identical for the most part ( the differences are not worth arguing over ) HOWEVER the PS3 version contains many additional perks the 360 version will not
1 . Multiple languages ( english and japanese ) w / multiple subtitle options
2 . Additional content by having new playable characters
3 . No need to disk swap ( 360 requires a disk swapping )
4 . New UI layouts . You can pick between a more anime style or CG style . I actually liked the new style over the original as it organized better and text was more legible in my opinion .
5 . Revamped crafting system ( Fixed exploits in the crafting system and added a few new recipes . . . . also changed the recipes of the best armor and weapons to avoid being able to craft them really early on )
021 Star Ocean : The Last Hope is a prequel to the Star Ocean Saga . If you have not played any of the previous games then you won't be left behind with the storyline . This makes this installment of Star Ocean very friendly to both die hard fans and new-comer's to the saga .
Gameplay :
Star Ocean has always been a great franchise that gave RPG's a nice twist for me . This was the first RPG saga I played which had a really good sci-fi edge to it . This installment is no different having you blast around the galaxy exploring planets , meeting new aliens and cultures etc . Combat in Star Ocean is extremely enjoyable . Battles are encounter based where you have to run into a mob . When you trigger the mob you go into the battle screen w / almost no load time . Depending on how you ran into the mob ( did it hit you from behind ? did you run into it from behind , from the side etc ) determines the battle mode . Is it a surprise attack by you ? by the mob ? Perhaps two mobs were close by and the second the first battle finishes you get jumped by more mobs . There is some variety to the battles . Ontop of that , you can earn bonus tiles during combat which boost XP , Item drops , SP earned etc . Combat is also real time . Once you are in combat you can control 1 of 4 characters , able to switch toons on the fly , and pretty much map skills and attacks to buttons on the controller . I kind of see the combat system as like RPG meets Hack n ' Slash without the button mashing . The nice Sci-fi elements and storyline mixed with a very fun combat system make for a great adventure ! !
Story
Without ruining the plot , pretty much humanity is just starting to venture out into the galaxy . This is the first trip being taken by Humanity so a bunch of ships are sent off into deep space to explore and either find planets to colonize / harvest or perhaps even meet some aliens ! no shocker , along the way some evil force exposes itself threatening the galaxy ! The storyline is a tad cliche but enjoyable . There are also elements in the game that will influence the storyline . . kind of little side events that will gain favor with your crew . More favor you have the more chance you have at viewing certain cut-scenes and getting their true ending . It also adds to their back story a little .
Sound / Graphics
The graphics are not bad at all . This game came out for the 360 originally and was then remastered for the PS3 . All in All both versions look identical from the standard view . . . if you zoom in on objects you'll notice the PS3 has more colorful , detailed map design but the characters themselves are a little faded ( especially the eyes ) . The audio is actually very good in this version . Unlike the 360 version where you had English Dub , this version contains multiple languages including the original Japanese . The English voices weren't bad but . . . * shiver * some characters were just down right ANNOYING . I played it using Japanese w / English Subtitles and found the voice acting to be very high quality compared to the English .
Replay Value / Length
The game itself easily kept me occupied well over 50 hours . It was a lot of fun , and once things kicked into high gear I began bouncing between planets to do side quests and all sorts of bonus objectives . Crafting , optional bosses etc . There is plenty of side and end game content to keep you busy for an insane # of hours . I beat the game at level 73 ; however the level cap is 255 that should tell you just how much stuff is to do on the side ( getting to 255 will take quite some time ) However , once you beat the game and run through the content there is virtually no reason to revisit this game except if you want to get a Platinum Trophy ( might need 2 or 3 runs of the storyline for it ) . However with well over 50 + hours of gameplay in a single playthrough you are getting great value here .
OVERALL ( 86% 8.6 / B + )
I give Star Ocean : the Last Hope International an 86% ( 8.6 / B rating ) This isn't anything new as the game came out on the 360 a year before this released .
If you never played this game before , or don't own a 360 it is worth picking up now . If you own a 360 and a PS3 the PS3 version is the better version to own actually as I will list below . If you are big into Sci-Fi themed gamed and also love a good RPG this game is def . for you . It will make you feel like you are traveling to distant worlds and exploring the galaxy .
360 vs PS3 editions
the versions are visually identical for the most part ( the differences are not worth arguing over ) HOWEVER the PS3 version contains many additional perks the 360 version will not
1 . Multiple languages ( english and japanese ) w / multiple subtitle options
2 . Additional content by having new playable characters
3 . No need to disk swap ( 360 requires a disk swapping )
4 . New UI layouts . You can pick between a more anime style or CG style . I actually liked the new style over the original as it organized better and text was more legible in my opinion .
5 . Revamped crafting system ( Fixed exploits in the crafting system and added a few new recipes . . . . also changed the recipes of the best armor and weapons to avoid being able to craft them really early on )
027 Good Game . Probably one of the best old style Japanese RPG for PS3 . The combat is more action oriented , excellent graphics and interesting story plus the characters are very funny . You can interact with them inside your ship for some cool cut scenes .
If you are a fan of the RPGs , you wont be disappointed with this one .
029 I will just say . . . this Star Ocean is a prequel , before Star Ocean 1 from SNES ( First Departure on PSP ) . . .
If you played all the others Star Ocean games just like me . . . i'm sure that you will like the story behind the game . . . it is just so profound and philosophic ! ! ! . . .
Well . . . if you're not a fan . . . you can skip it . . . but if you like a good RPG with very solid story . . . this is for you ! ! ! . . . and it has looong hours of enjoyment ! ! ! !
032 Star Ocean's story explores the world and the prompting that they needed to explore the Star Ocean to support the future life of planet Earth . Following the inaugural launch of ships capable of warp travel , the main character and associated ships set out to find hospitable planets for the people of Earth . What starts out as an easy task soon involves a mystery that holds the uniting of numerous species , takes place across numerous planets and dimensions , and one that promises to be an emotional ride that has the entire universe at stake .
The story seems to last at no less than 40 hours ( for me it took 83 hours ) and spans about five or so planets . Each one is more diverse and filled with quite a bit of space for exploration purposes and dungeon variety . Yes , in this RPG you can actually explore the land and traverse it to get to the dungeons and such . There are numerous enemy types , weapons , chests to find , items / material to harvest . Players even have the ability to synthesis items , and return to each planet to complete numerous quests in each town and in locations too . The amount of things that can be done is actually quite exhaustive and can not be listed . The game is perhaps one of the best epitomes of replay value . There is even a coliseum with ranks to face numerous monsters , as well as post game content .
Gameplay wise enemies are visible on the overworld map and skills can be used inside and out of battle . Battles take place using an active system in which you use the trigger buttons to do specials and x to attack and such . Theres a nice battle simulator that goes over all the details of battle such as blindsiding to land critical attacks , counters , and etc , so the battle system is pretty enthralling and flashy . Unfortunately one can not control all their party members but one can freely switch to them in battle .
In terms of the presentation , the games looks gorgeous in battle in and out of battle . The planets look to be filled with lush life if appropriate , the scale of the way distances and objects looks makes you feel as if the world is big , and the detail given to places in dungeon and such is pretty remarkable . I thought it was pretty awesome indeed . This version allows for the switching of characters models from 3D models to 2D Portraits for onscreen dialog displays , which are quite nice , as well as six text language options ( two voiced , English and Japanese ) . The cutscenes are voice-mouth matched only to the Japananese track . The soundtrack has some excellent themes such as the battle one , the intro one , one used for whenever the ship is to take off , as well as the credits .
The game meets all expectations that people may have for their role playing games in this day and age . The game only flaws in the sometimes large number of enemies in many dungeons , the distance to some save points in dungeons is rather far , and there are some pretty difficult to get trophies , otherwise its an excellent and fantastic game .
070 I'm not much for long detailed reviews so I will keep this simple .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope has its faults as ALL games do but it is still very good and very worth the time and money you put into it .
The storyline starts off semi-interesting with a very common theme these days-then quickly turns into a much better RPG storyline .
Overall if you like the series you must buy this game . . . and if you like other RPG's , you should purchase the entire Star Ocean series and see that VERY few other RPG's compare .
109 If you're like me and you have already played the XBOX360 version , you're not really getting anything in terms of content . There's no additional enemies or additional dungeons , or even extra items or weaponry . The only differences I saw and agree with from previous reviews of the PS3 version are :
1 . An optional anime layout ( vs . the default CG layout ) of avatars and menu background .
2 . Japanese audio dialogue ( vs . the default English )
3 . Item synthesis has been altered . ( Perhaps to make it difficult for players to become too powerful too quickly )
4 . 1 disc instead of 3 ( When you reach Disc 3 of the XBOX version , you'll realize you have to swap discs to go back to previous planets - - which can get old really fast . )
# 2 and 4 were the main reasons I sold off my XBOX version of the game for this one . Some of the English dubbing was pretty awful and with Japanese-drawn characters with their Japanese-style mannerisms blended in with their personalities , you can't go wrong with the originally-intended language .
As for the game itself and for those who have never touched the XBOX version , PS3 version is the one you need to play . It's made by SQUARE ENIX - - the guys who made the Final Fantasy series , so you know the game has a decent enough story and character development going for it .
It has the graphics you'd expect of a next-gen console , though it can slow down a bit in terms of milliseconds when a lot is going on during a battle scene . It has quite a bit of CG scenes and side quests .
Music isn't great , but it isn't terrible .
It continues many of the same Star Ocean traditions including item creation and affinities with other characters .
I'd give this game a 8.5 out of 10 . I didn't like the fact that the final two secret dungeons could only be accessed after beating the game once . But this game is only less than $30.00 , so I think it's worth it . If you can get the $20.00 one from GameStop ( though it's sold out in the Bay Area , CA ) , that's even better .
115 There were a lot of RPG games that came out in 2010 on the PS3 . A lot of theme strayed from the traditional RPG path to chart new territory . This game is not one of them .
For the most part , this game is like its predecessors . Staying true to the original design set out in previous installments . Run around get in to a fight and grind the levels to beat the boss at the end of the level . You are reworded by a bit of story in a flashy eyed way only JRPGs can and will provide .
This game was not made for the new generation of consoles , it is a through back to the PS1 and PS2 with a little better graphics . If you love to hear a long and clich d story , that gets a little stupid at times . This game is for you .
This might sound like a contradiction to my rating of four stars . But I do think with all its faults , it's still a great game . It took me back to my early days playing RPG like it , their stories just as clich d and stupid as this one .
123 Probably shooting myself in the foot as I write this , but , this game suc . . . was not for me . I dont like to use guides or walkthroughs on my initial run and I like to think that after x-amount of years playing these things , I kinda get the idea .
Combat : is not turn based , I guess it was real time . . . to me it was like I jumped out of Star Ocean and into Street Fighter IV . . . juggle moves . . . in an RPG ? RLY ? ? ? Blind side attack , and some other attack that required way too much dexterity for rpg combat . It wasnt so much combat as it was me spamming x and running around like an 9yr old on Red Bull all over the place . Apparently successful combat is going ' Braveheart ' on your opponent before he can go ' BH ' on you .
Quests : Im sure I was on one during the time I played this , this is an RPG ya ? Ok let me check where I go to next . . . oh , wait , I cant . . . wtf do I do now ?
* E X A C T L Y *
Embarrassed as I am to admit this , my entire 8hrs playing this game was spent going back and forth across the starter island . I found the girl , I found the elf with the green hair . . and that's about it . From that point forward , I was in a nonstop loop running across this stupid a $ $ island , looking for . . . something . Anything to keep this already dead-horse going .
MAP : Atrocious . I've seen maps easier to navigate on 8bit NES games .
Controls : Akward . You get some kind of ' dash ' , at least that ; s what they call it in game . It was weak .
Now I'm sure someone will read this and tell me that I missed the next point by probably 2 inches , but that's ok .
When a game stumps me I dont throw my hands up and give up , in fact its kinda what I hope for ( what we all hope for , probably ) a mental challenge . I retrace my steps , makes lefts where I originally made rights , etc etc . But with a map that doesnt move , an invisible quest log and me not remembering to take my S / O mind reading pills , I decided that if it takes this much effort to get off the starter island , the rest of the game must be eqaully as bad / poorly designed .
A shame , cause I was hoping this would be the SP campaign that WKC ( amazing game , btw ) was not .
I hear this game has alot to offer as well as in NG + . Too bad I'll never see it , this game isnt worth playing to see all of it . Or any of it as the case may be .
Apologies if this sounds like a disgruntled 10yr old who immediately trashes a game because his favorite ( something ) wasnt in it , so the game sucks ! ! ! But if I ( who's played rpgs for 20 + yrs ) cant get out of your starter area in under 1hr , ur game design sucks . Or maybe I do ? Someone please let me know .
126 So , this game will seem very familiar for those of you who played Star Ocean : Til the End of Time . This is hopefully informative for those of you on the fence , and will help give a normal review without comments raving about minor details .
What's fun ?
- Lengthy RPG , plenty of time to spend on this title , which is both on a positive and negative .
- Ability to switch Battle voices on / off , AND switch to Japanese .
- Load times are SHORT . I do like this in a game . The game doesn't load too often , and if when it does it is a very short wait time .
- Different character endings , like the previous Star Ocean titles .
- Fun free-roaming combat system , new blindside system and rush system add more to combat .
- Decent enough story when compared to other RPG's available .
- The ability to switch who you play as ! On the fly as well , you can swap the leader mid-battle and control someone else for a change in gameplay . Don't like to slash up in someone's face ? Then pick another character and go have some fun .
What's boring ?
- This title is obviously dated , and with it already a port from the XBOX360 , don't expect the graphics to wow you at all . The open areas have pretty boring textures , and modeling / cutscenes are reminiscent of a PS2 game .
- As mentioned above , be prepared to invest some serious time into this game . If you're a trophy type of player , expect an absurd amount of hours to actually get the platinum .
- The music in this game is lacking when it comes to battles . I love hearing the same song for every battle that I encounter . ( Which is quite frequent in this title )
- The A.I . is not very unique , or smart . Think of Boomer from Socom , now give him a couple characters to control in an RPG and you have your A.I . Often times it almost looks as if they get bored and want you to do something , so they stop moving .
- Save points are far and few between , unless you do the spastic sprint by all the enemies . But in doing so , you make the bosses very hard .
- Boss difficulty does NOT scale well with the enemies you face leading up to the boss . They're challenging like in the past , but due to the combat system seem to be more challenging than they should be .
If you're in the market for a RPG , and weren't satisfied with FFXIII , then pick this title up . The story is decent , nothing that will be praised for years to come , but interesting enough . The biggest hurdle that I encountered with this game was the first few hours . It starts off very slow , a couple cutscenes , quick battle simulator , then talking , walking around lost , then magically you battle things . The combat system is enough to keep you playing , between a bonus board to stack battle bonuses , and new combat toys to play with and create more challenge , it's a refreshing game to play through . Throw in hours of bonus content for beating the game , and FOUR difficulty settings , you will have plenty of gameplay , and a RPG that is actually challenging . .
158 Except , its not as fun .
Given , I have about 9 hours logged , I have to force myself to play .
I have an SD TV , so I wont blame the game on this , but I cannot read any of the text , it may as well be in Japanese . I have no freaking idea what any of the menus say , and I wonder if other people can read it because it is so small . . . but the english dub will make you want to stab your own eye . It was the same in SO3 , but luckily this time we can change to japanese with subs , however if you are like me and have a crummy TV , then this will not be much help .
The ideas , story line , and flow are much the same now . our ship was attacked by some strange thing , now we are on a planet that looks like the middle ages , yadda yadda . . . The characters lack depth and do not make me like them . There is the always optimistic and unconflicted male lead , the shy sex object female lead who always screams and makes suggestive noises in between her self deprecating comments like Maybe I can be of some use now , and then the snobby polite fellow , and the token little kid character . This has always been a problem I had with SO . . . the characters do not let you into their world as they do in Final Fantasy , or other RPGs . ( I'm a FF fan ^ ^ ) The graphics are nice , but a lot does look like SO3 . Including the beginning of fight sequences .
I feel that the boss fights are unproportionatelly hard to the standard mob fights , forcing one to grind considerably ( because the mobs are much lower in level then you and it takes a long time to level up ) before each boss fight . This is rather annoying .
There is much that could have been incorporated to make this better . . . in game Battle Trophies could have been linked to your PSN , but they are not . The only trophy I won so far was one for defeating a boss . . . even though I've won a large amount of battle trophies . The item creation could have been linked online , though this is also separate from what I gather . . . things are much more convoluted then SO3 . . . and I have heard that it lacks the end game awesomeness and extra dungeons that where in SO3 . It seems ultimately like a step down .
That being said . . . its not AWFUL . . . I am playing it until FFXIII gets out . If my view changes of it before then , I will revise my edit , but for now , this is my experience with the game . It had so much potential , I'm let down for sure .
UPDATE :
I played the game to 50 + hours . . . and it just got worse and worse . The story is so insanely god awful , its not even funny . . . and it doesn't get better . The voice acting is atrocious , and the characters border on offensive , and never change . annoying cliche characters and no one having any emotions , not to mention writing that would make you gag on the dry blandness . . . its like they didn't even try . The game isn't worth the plastic it is packaged in . I enjoyed SO3 and SO2 . . . but this is just . . . horrific . Its obscenely awful , and even the fun battle system is destroyed by the ridiculous boss scaling makes it so that you have to grind for hours and hours to defeat a boss . Its horrific . I suggest you play ANYTHING but this . . . but if you want a better RPG , try Dragon Age , or Final Fantasy XIII now that it is out . . . its about a gajillion times better .
169 I'm sure others like this game , and good on them .
I've sort of played the original Star Ocean on the SNES , never played the second , and played a good amount of the third . For some reason , though I'm not going to go back and compare , I felt that this game was a HUGE step down from the third Star Ocean game , in every way other than screen resolution .
Graphically , this game is horrid . I wasn't a fan of the character styles in Star Ocean 3 , but over all the game was nice . Little did I know , Star Ocean 3 was going to actually look superior to the fourth game . The PS3 bonus menus ( because apparently someone complained about the Xbox360 USA menus ) are just as bad as the original . It would be fine if this was still 1991 , but it's not . This presentation of this game had absolutely no pride placed behind it , and is a terrible embarrassment .
I barely remember the combat , but I do remember feeling that it , too , was a step back from SO3 .
I quickly switched to the Japanese voice acting as the English was as horrid as everyone else will tell you . But that still didn't help me get sucked into the story . It felt like pretty shoddy writing and directing , and after only a few hours of playing ( 4 , I think ) I just couldn't take it any more and put the disc into it's case , and quickly went back to Amazon to sell it back to them .
I bought this thing on an Amazon sale for $35 with free shipping , and I ended up reselling it back to them a few days later for $37 and it shipped to them for free . So at least I made money off this crap .
I would NOT recommend this product . I wouldn't rebuy it if it dropped in price dramatically , even if it was $1 . ( I say , melodramatically . ) This game will never , ever be a part of my permanent collection .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
There are not a tremendous number of options when it comes to RPGs on modern consoles . In my opinion , Star Ocean is the best one available on PS3 , and perhaps XBOX 360 as well . If you've played previous Star Ocean titles , then buy this one right now . If you've never played one more , just know that you will buying an action packed RPG that blends fantasy and sci-fi seamlessly and beautifully .
The worlds and environments are incredibly designed . The landscapes are beautiful , each planet has its own unique style and atmosphere . The monster design is great , and bosses are menacing . Spell effects are varied and fun to watch , but since battles are real time they do not break the flow of the game .
The voiceover work is done well , but not amazing , and often mouth animations are out of sync with the audio . But overall the game is aesthetically pleasing .
But since this is an RPG , the most important elements are the story and characters . There is a good number of characters , each with their distinct personalities and conflicts . You interact with them between major game phases through private actions , which are brief cutscenes that expound upon a character's story and relationship with the main character . By exploring all of these actions you will unlock bonus ending cutscenes .
Overall the character design is great . There are plenty of struggles and conflicts that bring life to each of them . On top of that , they all individually add to the overall story and plot . No character is just thrown in out of nowhere . By including them all in the overall story it gives them more life .
The story itself is well done . For the most part everything is explained and concluded . There are very few random wtf moments . Since it's sci-fi and takes place in space and on alien worlds , there is a refreshing sense that it is not just another recycled save the princess story .
On top of the main story , there are many sidequests and collection tasks given to you by shop keepers . These all award you money , experience , and party skill points that are used to boost your skill levels .
The gameplay is very fun . There is a fairly extensive crafting system and a basic gathering system . You can take advantage of these to create truly powerful weapons , but you can also ignore it altogether .
Battles happen in real time . You directly control one character at a time but can switch who you control with the press of a button . Some battles require you to skillfully take advantage of the blindside system , which allows you to dodge attacks and gain a tactical advantage over enemies . There is also a combo system that causes you to do more damage as you string attacks together .
One criticism I have is with the sometimes unpredictable AI of characters you aren't directly controlling . For instance , your entire party may be on the verge of dying but your characters with healing spells will ignore the fact and keep attacking enemies . Often , you need to directly control healers to get through moments of high damage .
For the most part though , fighting never seems to get old . Also , as you fight monsters you gain knowledge of them , which can later be used to convert monster stones into items you can equip . These collections of information will be fun for any perfectionists that must 100% complete any game .
In the end , Star Ocean is a wonderfully made RPG that mixes traditional elements with modern technology , blends sci-fi and fantasy , to deliver a 70 + hour masterpiece .
[ . . . ] this is a steal . Buy this game right now .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean has been a long running franchise that many RPG fans appreciate ; this being said how is the game overall ?
- Xbox360 vs . PS3 -
Notable differences on the PS3 version :
+ Do not need to disc swap , since everything is on one disc .
+ Includes Japanese vocals as an option .
+ Able to switch between menu layout Classic ( Original JP Menus with the Animated dialog boxes ) and the CG ( NA / EU version of the menu , which was all done in CG , but lost the Anime feel and the portrait on dialog boxes ) .
+ Includes additional characters .
- I never played Star Ocean how does this fare with the storyline ? -
Star Ocean : The Last Hope ( aka Star Ocean 4 ) Has very minor relevance within the other three Star Ocean games , each game are not direct sequels so each game is independent of each other and you will not be missing anything at all if you haven't played the previous ones .
- How does the battle fare ? -
Just like all other Star Ocean , you control the leader of the party and able to set the other 3 on auto while having the ability to switch between each character .
- Difficulty and depth of the game ? -
The game itself can be challenging , since some of the bosses are rather difficult , I believe this is a good thing just because a lot of RPGs these day are just dumb downed . The depth of the game is amazing , also unlike other RPGs there are tons of character interactions and details required to achieve specific endings for the game . Yes this RPG requires you to grind a bit for levels and skills , but people tend to complain about this aspect of the game ; honestly I think RPG gamers have been spoiled over the years . Back in the days when players spent hours and hours unlocking secret weapons of leveling for boss fights since they were too hard , I find that enjoyable instead speed running through the game not requiring to grind or skills . So if you like a challenging RPG , this would be a good bet ( Nothing as challenging as Demon Souls of course ) .
- Length of game ? -
If you try to accomplish all the side quests and not speed through the game . The game itself can easily be 80 + hours long .
- Graphics -
The game is done very well with nice visual background .
- Should I get this or White Knight Chronicles ? -
Both game plays completely different , WKC would have a bigger replay value since majority of the game is online based versus SO is strictly offline . Both games are JRPG based , but some would argue that WKC does not have a great storyline and big character roster list , so if you are looking for a decent character roster and a well developed storyline I would go for SO .
- Conclusion -
Overall I would say that SO4 is a great game , just like the other SO games in the series . If you enjoy playing the other SO in the series I am sure you will enjoy this . Unfortunately PS3 does not have big list of RPG titles , but if you enjoy RPGs then this would be the game to buy .
002 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean has been a long running franchise that many RPG fans appreciate ; this being said how is the game overall ?
- Xbox360 vs . PS3 -
Notable differences on the PS3 version :
+ Do not need to disc swap , since everything is on one disc .
+ Includes Japanese vocals as an option .
+ Able to switch between menu layout Classic ( Original JP Menus with the Animated dialog boxes ) and the CG ( NA / EU version of the menu , which was all done in CG , but lost the Anime feel and the portrait on dialog boxes ) .
+ Includes additional characters .
- I never played Star Ocean how does this fare with the storyline ? -
Star Ocean : The Last Hope ( aka Star Ocean 4 ) Has very minor relevance within the other three Star Ocean games , each game are not direct sequels so each game is independent of each other and you will not be missing anything at all if you haven't played the previous ones .
- How does the battle fare ? -
Just like all other Star Ocean , you control the leader of the party and able to set the other 3 on auto while having the ability to switch between each character .
- Difficulty and depth of the game ? -
The game itself can be challenging , since some of the bosses are rather difficult , I believe this is a good thing just because a lot of RPGs these day are just dumb downed . The depth of the game is amazing , also unlike other RPGs there are tons of character interactions and details required to achieve specific endings for the game . Yes this RPG requires you to grind a bit for levels and skills , but people tend to complain about this aspect of the game ; honestly I think RPG gamers have been spoiled over the years . Back in the days when players spent hours and hours unlocking secret weapons of leveling for boss fights since they were too hard , I find that enjoyable instead speed running through the game not requiring to grind or skills . So if you like a challenging RPG , this would be a good bet ( Nothing as challenging as Demon Souls of course ) .
- Length of game ? -
If you try to accomplish all the side quests and not speed through the game . The game itself can easily be 80 + hours long .
- Graphics -
The game is done very well with nice visual background .
- Should I get this or White Knight Chronicles ? -
Both game plays completely different , WKC would have a bigger replay value since majority of the game is online based versus SO is strictly offline . Both games are JRPG based , but some would argue that WKC does not have a great storyline and big character roster list , so if you are looking for a decent character roster and a well developed storyline I would go for SO .
- Conclusion -
Overall I would say that SO4 is a great game , just like the other SO games in the series . If you enjoy playing the other SO in the series I am sure you will enjoy this . Unfortunately PS3 does not have big list of RPG titles , but if you enjoy RPGs then this would be the game to buy .
011 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The Star Ocean series really seems to just keep improving . Although the second in the series was my personal favorite this game is long , enjoyable , and has a lot to keep you hooked . It has a very fun fast paced action combat system , multiple worlds to discover , 8 playable characters and much more . The PS3 version is even better with no disc swapping , additional voice acting , and a button to switch between enemy targets .
018 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
If you love good RPG games star ocean is one of the best . I played the last one for ps2 and loved it so I had high hopes for this . Turns out it lived up to everything and more . I played this for xbox but recently purchased a ps3 . The Major difference that I see is that this game is all on one disk unlike the xbox version which you had to keep switching disk . That alone is enough for me to purchase this game for ps3 . Gameplay wise this game is too good from its active battle systems to the very likeable characters and its quest and storyline . Any person who enjoys RPG's as much as i do should love this game . 5 stars all the way ! !
022 Amazon Verified Purchase
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This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
There are not a tremendous number of options when it comes to RPGs on modern consoles . In my opinion , Star Ocean is the best one available on PS3 , and perhaps XBOX 360 as well . If you've played previous Star Ocean titles , then buy this one right now . If you've never played one more , just know that you will buying an action packed RPG that blends fantasy and sci-fi seamlessly and beautifully .
The worlds and environments are incredibly designed . The landscapes are beautiful , each planet has its own unique style and atmosphere . The monster design is great , and bosses are menacing . Spell effects are varied and fun to watch , but since battles are real time they do not break the flow of the game .
The voiceover work is done well , but not amazing , and often mouth animations are out of sync with the audio . But overall the game is aesthetically pleasing .
But since this is an RPG , the most important elements are the story and characters . There is a good number of characters , each with their distinct personalities and conflicts . You interact with them between major game phases through private actions , which are brief cutscenes that expound upon a character's story and relationship with the main character . By exploring all of these actions you will unlock bonus ending cutscenes .
Overall the character design is great . There are plenty of struggles and conflicts that bring life to each of them . On top of that , they all individually add to the overall story and plot . No character is just thrown in out of nowhere . By including them all in the overall story it gives them more life .
The story itself is well done . For the most part everything is explained and concluded . There are very few random wtf moments . Since it's sci-fi and takes place in space and on alien worlds , there is a refreshing sense that it is not just another recycled save the princess story .
On top of the main story , there are many sidequests and collection tasks given to you by shop keepers . These all award you money , experience , and party skill points that are used to boost your skill levels .
The gameplay is very fun . There is a fairly extensive crafting system and a basic gathering system . You can take advantage of these to create truly powerful weapons , but you can also ignore it altogether .
Battles happen in real time . You directly control one character at a time but can switch who you control with the press of a button . Some battles require you to skillfully take advantage of the blindside system , which allows you to dodge attacks and gain a tactical advantage over enemies . There is also a combo system that causes you to do more damage as you string attacks together .
One criticism I have is with the sometimes unpredictable AI of characters you aren't directly controlling . For instance , your entire party may be on the verge of dying but your characters with healing spells will ignore the fact and keep attacking enemies . Often , you need to directly control healers to get through moments of high damage .
For the most part though , fighting never seems to get old . Also , as you fight monsters you gain knowledge of them , which can later be used to convert monster stones into items you can equip . These collections of information will be fun for any perfectionists that must 100% complete any game .
In the end , Star Ocean is a wonderfully made RPG that mixes traditional elements with modern technology , blends sci-fi and fantasy , to deliver a 70 + hour masterpiece .
[ . . . ] this is a steal . Buy this game right now .
023 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
There are not a tremendous number of options when it comes to RPGs on modern consoles . In my opinion , Star Ocean is the best one available on PS3 , and perhaps XBOX 360 as well . If you've played previous Star Ocean titles , then buy this one right now . If you've never played one more , just know that you will buying an action packed RPG that blends fantasy and sci-fi seamlessly and beautifully .
The worlds and environments are incredibly designed . The landscapes are beautiful , each planet has its own unique style and atmosphere . The monster design is great , and bosses are menacing . Spell effects are varied and fun to watch , but since battles are real time they do not break the flow of the game .
The voiceover work is done well , but not amazing , and often mouth animations are out of sync with the audio . But overall the game is aesthetically pleasing .
But since this is an RPG , the most important elements are the story and characters . There is a good number of characters , each with their distinct personalities and conflicts . You interact with them between major game phases through private actions , which are brief cutscenes that expound upon a character's story and relationship with the main character . By exploring all of these actions you will unlock bonus ending cutscenes .
Overall the character design is great . There are plenty of struggles and conflicts that bring life to each of them . On top of that , they all individually add to the overall story and plot . No character is just thrown in out of nowhere . By including them all in the overall story it gives them more life .
The story itself is well done . For the most part everything is explained and concluded . There are very few random wtf moments . Since it's sci-fi and takes place in space and on alien worlds , there is a refreshing sense that it is not just another recycled save the princess story .
On top of the main story , there are many sidequests and collection tasks given to you by shop keepers . These all award you money , experience , and party skill points that are used to boost your skill levels .
The gameplay is very fun . There is a fairly extensive crafting system and a basic gathering system . You can take advantage of these to create truly powerful weapons , but you can also ignore it altogether .
Battles happen in real time . You directly control one character at a time but can switch who you control with the press of a button . Some battles require you to skillfully take advantage of the blindside system , which allows you to dodge attacks and gain a tactical advantage over enemies . There is also a combo system that causes you to do more damage as you string attacks together .
One criticism I have is with the sometimes unpredictable AI of characters you aren't directly controlling . For instance , your entire party may be on the verge of dying but your characters with healing spells will ignore the fact and keep attacking enemies . Often , you need to directly control healers to get through moments of high damage .
For the most part though , fighting never seems to get old . Also , as you fight monsters you gain knowledge of them , which can later be used to convert monster stones into items you can equip . These collections of information will be fun for any perfectionists that must 100% complete any game .
In the end , Star Ocean is a wonderfully made RPG that mixes traditional elements with modern technology , blends sci-fi and fantasy , to deliver a 70 + hour masterpiece .
[ . . . ] this is a steal . Buy this game right now .
025 Amazon Verified Purchase
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Good Game . Probably one of the best old style Japanese RPG for PS3 . The combat is more action oriented , excellent graphics and interesting story plus the characters are very funny . You can interact with them inside your ship for some cool cut scenes .
If you are a fan of the RPGs , you wont be disappointed with this one .
026 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Good Game . Probably one of the best old style Japanese RPG for PS3 . The combat is more action oriented , excellent graphics and interesting story plus the characters are very funny . You can interact with them inside your ship for some cool cut scenes .
If you are a fan of the RPGs , you wont be disappointed with this one .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean's story explores the world and the prompting that they needed to explore the Star Ocean to support the future life of planet Earth . Following the inaugural launch of ships capable of warp travel , the main character and associated ships set out to find hospitable planets for the people of Earth . What starts out as an easy task soon involves a mystery that holds the uniting of numerous species , takes place across numerous planets and dimensions , and one that promises to be an emotional ride that has the entire universe at stake .
The story seems to last at no less than 40 hours ( for me it took 83 hours ) and spans about five or so planets . Each one is more diverse and filled with quite a bit of space for exploration purposes and dungeon variety . Yes , in this RPG you can actually explore the land and traverse it to get to the dungeons and such . There are numerous enemy types , weapons , chests to find , items / material to harvest . Players even have the ability to synthesis items , and return to each planet to complete numerous quests in each town and in locations too . The amount of things that can be done is actually quite exhaustive and can not be listed . The game is perhaps one of the best epitomes of replay value . There is even a coliseum with ranks to face numerous monsters , as well as post game content .
Gameplay wise enemies are visible on the overworld map and skills can be used inside and out of battle . Battles take place using an active system in which you use the trigger buttons to do specials and x to attack and such . Theres a nice battle simulator that goes over all the details of battle such as blindsiding to land critical attacks , counters , and etc , so the battle system is pretty enthralling and flashy . Unfortunately one can not control all their party members but one can freely switch to them in battle .
In terms of the presentation , the games looks gorgeous in battle in and out of battle . The planets look to be filled with lush life if appropriate , the scale of the way distances and objects looks makes you feel as if the world is big , and the detail given to places in dungeon and such is pretty remarkable . I thought it was pretty awesome indeed . This version allows for the switching of characters models from 3D models to 2D Portraits for onscreen dialog displays , which are quite nice , as well as six text language options ( two voiced , English and Japanese ) . The cutscenes are voice-mouth matched only to the Japananese track . The soundtrack has some excellent themes such as the battle one , the intro one , one used for whenever the ship is to take off , as well as the credits .
The game meets all expectations that people may have for their role playing games in this day and age . The game only flaws in the sometimes large number of enemies in many dungeons , the distance to some save points in dungeons is rather far , and there are some pretty difficult to get trophies , otherwise its an excellent and fantastic game .
031 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean's story explores the world and the prompting that they needed to explore the Star Ocean to support the future life of planet Earth . Following the inaugural launch of ships capable of warp travel , the main character and associated ships set out to find hospitable planets for the people of Earth . What starts out as an easy task soon involves a mystery that holds the uniting of numerous species , takes place across numerous planets and dimensions , and one that promises to be an emotional ride that has the entire universe at stake .
The story seems to last at no less than 40 hours ( for me it took 83 hours ) and spans about five or so planets . Each one is more diverse and filled with quite a bit of space for exploration purposes and dungeon variety . Yes , in this RPG you can actually explore the land and traverse it to get to the dungeons and such . There are numerous enemy types , weapons , chests to find , items / material to harvest . Players even have the ability to synthesis items , and return to each planet to complete numerous quests in each town and in locations too . The amount of things that can be done is actually quite exhaustive and can not be listed . The game is perhaps one of the best epitomes of replay value . There is even a coliseum with ranks to face numerous monsters , as well as post game content .
Gameplay wise enemies are visible on the overworld map and skills can be used inside and out of battle . Battles take place using an active system in which you use the trigger buttons to do specials and x to attack and such . Theres a nice battle simulator that goes over all the details of battle such as blindsiding to land critical attacks , counters , and etc , so the battle system is pretty enthralling and flashy . Unfortunately one can not control all their party members but one can freely switch to them in battle .
In terms of the presentation , the games looks gorgeous in battle in and out of battle . The planets look to be filled with lush life if appropriate , the scale of the way distances and objects looks makes you feel as if the world is big , and the detail given to places in dungeon and such is pretty remarkable . I thought it was pretty awesome indeed . This version allows for the switching of characters models from 3D models to 2D Portraits for onscreen dialog displays , which are quite nice , as well as six text language options ( two voiced , English and Japanese ) . The cutscenes are voice-mouth matched only to the Japananese track . The soundtrack has some excellent themes such as the battle one , the intro one , one used for whenever the ship is to take off , as well as the credits .
The game meets all expectations that people may have for their role playing games in this day and age . The game only flaws in the sometimes large number of enemies in many dungeons , the distance to some save points in dungeons is rather far , and there are some pretty difficult to get trophies , otherwise its an excellent and fantastic game .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Just got the game and am already loving it ! ! ! ! The anime and 3d concept is a great visual joy . The gameplay is fun . . . . . difficult at times when switching between party members but very good overall ! I'm 20 + hours in an voice acting isn't too bad although I did start the game with japanese voice overs but know am using the English ones . I'll update once I fully complete the game ! Have a great day ! ! !
034 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Just got the game and am already loving it ! ! ! ! The anime and 3d concept is a great visual joy . The gameplay is fun . . . . . difficult at times when switching between party members but very good overall ! I'm 20 + hours in an voice acting isn't too bad although I did start the game with japanese voice overs but know am using the English ones . I'll update once I fully complete the game ! Have a great day ! ! !
036 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean 4 is great for rpg fans of this genre . The battle system is good , the graphics are good but not outstanding . I find myself enjoying very much . This is a great rpg that shouldn't go unnoticed . the battles are not to hard or too easy giving the gamer a challenge . My only advice is to get the strategy guide cause its real easy to get lost .
038 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This is one of the best RPG experiences that is currently out there . The battles are extraordinary , the cut seens are superb , and gameplay is a masterpeice . Although the some voice-overs can use work , you can switch the language to Jpn and keep the subtitles . Even after completion , there are tons of things to explore and conplete .
The PS3 version is far better than the 360 version .
I suggest trying it and loving it yourself .
9.7 / 10
042 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This is the last game to the Star Ocean Series , but it's the first game in the timeline . It follows Edge Maverick on his quest to find a new planet for Earth's inhabitants . Along the way you'll gather a diverse party of characters , you'll have your classic brawlers that are good at up-close combat , your ranged attackers , your mages and your healers . While the overall story may be short there are plenty of sidequests and other things to do to ensure that the game will last you for a while . There is also a dungeon at the end that will offer even more challenges . Your HP can reach over 9999 which is different from most RPG's . It's realistic-looking and colorful , and the battle system is entertaining ! The spells aren't THAT flashy , but they're still pretty cool . If you like the other games in the series , you will enjoy this one as well . If you like RPG's in general I recommend trying this one .
044 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Star Ocean is a good game . The battle system is fun , however the voice acting is bad at times and the dialogue can be very corny . Despite this , Star Ocean is a good game four out of five stars .
046 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
very good rpg but the only thing that i didnt like was that it wasnt like the previous star oceans where u decide ur outcome . everything is fixed . arumat was a good character buy since u get him late in the game u cant really develop anything with im but he is an excellent fighter . also u cant choose who will join ur party . everyone joins u and thats final . some characters i wish i could have had the choice of not letting them join . but overall the game was fun .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Short Review :
Yea the English voices aren't good but are you surprised ? Just know you wont be bored like when playing final fantasy 13 . Its not linear and you can explore . Honestly if this was the ps1 / ps2 days this game would be lost in the mix . This generation of jrpgs have been like winning the lotto . Very few are worth playing . . . .
064 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Short Review :
Yea the English voices aren't good but are you surprised ? Just know you wont be bored like when playing final fantasy 13 . Its not linear and you can explore . Honestly if this was the ps1 / ps2 days this game would be lost in the mix . This generation of jrpgs have been like winning the lotto . Very few are worth playing . . . .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
played it for about an hour and so far loved it . you get the feel of the old school previous star oceans but improved graphics and great story
067 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
played it for about an hour and so far loved it . you get the feel of the old school previous star oceans but improved graphics and great story
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
this is really a good game , came in earlier than expected . . . replay value is VERY HIGH ! ! ! ! recommended by me 4 ALL RPG PLAYERS ! !
074 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
this is really a good game , came in earlier than expected . . . replay value is VERY HIGH ! ! ! ! recommended by me 4 ALL RPG PLAYERS ! !
079 Amazon Verified Purchase
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Outstanding . I've played Star Ocean : The first Departure , The Second Evolution , Till the End of time and now The Last hope . I have also played the Final fantasy series and similar games . I had the XBOX 360 Version but switched to the PS3 version because it only has one disc so I wasn't scratching it by changing between 3 discs ( rather annoying I might add ) and the graphics appeared slightly better on the PS3 Version ( same game on same TV ) . The Game complements there rest of series . Game play pretty is easy to learn and you are always able to practice without having your game end . For those who want to find out more I recommend looking up the Star Ocean Wiki as it talks about all the games and has more screen shots .
080 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Outstanding . I've played Star Ocean : The first Departure , The Second Evolution , Till the End of time and now The Last hope . I have also played the Final fantasy series and similar games . I had the XBOX 360 Version but switched to the PS3 version because it only has one disc so I wasn't scratching it by changing between 3 discs ( rather annoying I might add ) and the graphics appeared slightly better on the PS3 Version ( same game on same TV ) . The Game complements there rest of series . Game play pretty is easy to learn and you are always able to practice without having your game end . For those who want to find out more I recommend looking up the Star Ocean Wiki as it talks about all the games and has more screen shots .
081 Outstanding . I've played Star Ocean : The first Departure , The Second Evolution , Till the End of time and now The Last hope . I have also played the Final fantasy series and similar games . I had the XBOX 360 Version but switched to the PS3 version because it only has one disc so I wasn't scratching it by changing between 3 discs ( rather annoying I might add ) and the graphics appeared slightly better on the PS3 Version ( same game on same TV ) . The Game complements there rest of series . Game play pretty is easy to learn and you are always able to practice without having your game end . For those who want to find out more I recommend looking up the Star Ocean Wiki as it talks about all the games and has more screen shots .
085 Amazon Verified Purchase
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Thanks for allowing me to buy a great game . It has great game play , and story , not to mention great graphics .
086 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Thanks for allowing me to buy a great game . It has great game play , and story , not to mention great graphics .
088 Amazon Verified Purchase
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Showed up 2 days early , very nice . Graphics rival ff 13 , excellent storyline . Battle system is way more refined . Invention system is somewhat lacking vs end of time , but still decent . Overall any SO fan will not be left wanting . Highly suggest getting the strat guide , but get it from a store at 6 to 8 bucks . Too overpriced on amazon / ebay
089 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Showed up 2 days early , very nice . Graphics rival ff 13 , excellent storyline . Battle system is way more refined . Invention system is somewhat lacking vs end of time , but still decent . Overall any SO fan will not be left wanting . Highly suggest getting the strat guide , but get it from a store at 6 to 8 bucks . Too overpriced on amazon / ebay
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
After buying the Star Ocean Last Hope for the Xbox 360 and while enjoying the game I was disappointed like may players were not so much with the game but that you couldn't hear the game with the original voice cast added on , now with the PS3 version you can play with either the English or Japanese voice cast during the game a true joy . The one thing you have to ask though is the game worth re-buying ? , for the price of for $30.00 dollars I say yes while you may have the 360 version there are benefits to owning both console versions . Like one reviewer has written the biggest is the dual audio voice cast the second would probably be no longer having to switch out disk during game play as the PS3 version is only on one disk instead of the 360 3 disk version . The graphics of the game are pretty much the same as on the 360 and while you can change the menu and character screens from the CGI to the animated pictures it doesn't make to much of a difference at least it didn't with me . The game is still real turn based free action combat meaning that you can control one character during fights and move him / her around the battle area and do what you want with them , you don't have to select on a battle menu than wait for you turn the next round to attack again . The graphics won't be up to par with games like Uncharted an the like but still there still very good . So is this game worth getting for your PS3 collection ? , again for the price it's going for I say a definite yes but if you're still not sure check out a demo or see if you can find some videos online either way I'm sure afterwords you'll be a fan of this game . . .
092 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
After buying the Star Ocean Last Hope for the Xbox 360 and while enjoying the game I was disappointed like may players were not so much with the game but that you couldn't hear the game with the original voice cast added on , now with the PS3 version you can play with either the English or Japanese voice cast during the game a true joy . The one thing you have to ask though is the game worth re-buying ? , for the price of for $30.00 dollars I say yes while you may have the 360 version there are benefits to owning both console versions . Like one reviewer has written the biggest is the dual audio voice cast the second would probably be no longer having to switch out disk during game play as the PS3 version is only on one disk instead of the 360 3 disk version . The graphics of the game are pretty much the same as on the 360 and while you can change the menu and character screens from the CGI to the animated pictures it doesn't make to much of a difference at least it didn't with me . The game is still real turn based free action combat meaning that you can control one character during fights and move him / her around the battle area and do what you want with them , you don't have to select on a battle menu than wait for you turn the next round to attack again . The graphics won't be up to par with games like Uncharted an the like but still there still very good . So is this game worth getting for your PS3 collection ? , again for the price it's going for I say a definite yes but if you're still not sure check out a demo or see if you can find some videos online either way I'm sure afterwords you'll be a fan of this game . . .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Loads of fun with this game , there is so much you can do in it , so far i put 60 hours into it and i am sure i can put at least another 60 before i decide to finish it , i love the crafting system to create your own items , classic star ocean style , but i must say tho that Star ocean till the end of time for ps2 was a superior entry on the series in my opinion.This is a good buy and for 30 bucks you cant go wrong !
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Loads of fun with this game , there is so much you can do in it , so far i put 60 hours into it and i am sure i can put at least another 60 before i decide to finish it , i love the crafting system to create your own items , classic star ocean style , but i must say tho that Star ocean till the end of time for ps2 was a superior entry on the series in my opinion.This is a good buy and for 30 bucks you cant go wrong !
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Me and my brother play for few times . we keep this as our collection . I recommend this game for other .
098 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Me and my brother play for few times . we keep this as our collection . I recommend this game for other .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
It has the open-hearted soulfulness of Eternal Sonata , Dragon Quest 8 , etc . People complain about the English voice acting , but I think it is good . The PS3 version doesn't freeze , doesn't require disc swapping , and you can manually switch which enemy you are targeting unlike the original 360 version . But the 360 version is still playable , it just might freeze a few times ( or not , if you're lucky ) .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The two main reason why I didn't purchase the 360 version was because it lacked jp voices and the anime themed interface . With these two fixed in the international addition along with the new ps3 bonus content , I knew I had to put this game on pre-order back when it was announced and i can say it doesn't disappoint . I'm having a blast so far though it took awhile to get used to the new interface . One of my favorite parts of this game thus far is the background music as it is simply spectacular ! If anyone enjoys playing JRPGS , don't hesitate to buy this game .
103 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The two main reason why I didn't purchase the 360 version was because it lacked jp voices and the anime themed interface . With these two fixed in the international addition along with the new ps3 bonus content , I knew I had to put this game on pre-order back when it was announced and i can say it doesn't disappoint . I'm having a blast so far though it took awhile to get used to the new interface . One of my favorite parts of this game thus far is the background music as it is simply spectacular ! If anyone enjoys playing JRPGS , don't hesitate to buy this game .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game is a solid game that has a deep synthesizing system , hundreds of sidequests to do , excellent graphics with large worlds to explore , and in exciting action battle system that sets this game apart from other RPGS in this genere . The storyline from what I have played so far is cliched but decent , but their may be a plot point or two that may hindered an almost excellent game , but that's okay it does everything else pretty good . Voice acting is fairly decent , but again there will a few voices that annoy the player , but overall rhe voice acting is tolerable given the material they have to work wirh . Music is fine , and the battle and gameplay is where thise game shines out . Not a bad purchase if you need to add a new game to the console library , and if you are fan of the Star Ocean seris that I highly suggest purchasing this game .
111 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game is a solid game that has a deep synthesizing system , hundreds of sidequests to do , excellent graphics with large worlds to explore , and in exciting action battle system that sets this game apart from other RPGS in this genere . The storyline from what I have played so far is cliched but decent , but their may be a plot point or two that may hindered an almost excellent game , but that's okay it does everything else pretty good . Voice acting is fairly decent , but again there will a few voices that annoy the player , but overall rhe voice acting is tolerable given the material they have to work wirh . Music is fine , and the battle and gameplay is where thise game shines out . Not a bad purchase if you need to add a new game to the console library , and if you are fan of the Star Ocean seris that I highly suggest purchasing this game .
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There were a lot of RPG games that came out in 2010 on the PS3 . A lot of theme strayed from the traditional RPG path to chart new territory . This game is not one of them .
For the most part , this game is like its predecessors . Staying true to the original design set out in previous installments . Run around get in to a fight and grind the levels to beat the boss at the end of the level . You are reworded by a bit of story in a flashy eyed way only JRPGs can and will provide .
This game was not made for the new generation of consoles , it is a through back to the PS1 and PS2 with a little better graphics . If you love to hear a long and clich d story , that gets a little stupid at times . This game is for you .
This might sound like a contradiction to my rating of four stars . But I do think with all its faults , it's still a great game . It took me back to my early days playing RPG like it , their stories just as clich d and stupid as this one .
114 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
There were a lot of RPG games that came out in 2010 on the PS3 . A lot of theme strayed from the traditional RPG path to chart new territory . This game is not one of them .
For the most part , this game is like its predecessors . Staying true to the original design set out in previous installments . Run around get in to a fight and grind the levels to beat the boss at the end of the level . You are reworded by a bit of story in a flashy eyed way only JRPGs can and will provide .
This game was not made for the new generation of consoles , it is a through back to the PS1 and PS2 with a little better graphics . If you love to hear a long and clich d story , that gets a little stupid at times . This game is for you .
This might sound like a contradiction to my rating of four stars . But I do think with all its faults , it's still a great game . It took me back to my early days playing RPG like it , their stories just as clich d and stupid as this one .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
So , this game will seem very familiar for those of you who played Star Ocean : Til the End of Time . This is hopefully informative for those of you on the fence , and will help give a normal review without comments raving about minor details .
What's fun ?
- Lengthy RPG , plenty of time to spend on this title , which is both on a positive and negative .
- Ability to switch Battle voices on / off , AND switch to Japanese .
- Load times are SHORT . I do like this in a game . The game doesn't load too often , and if when it does it is a very short wait time .
- Different character endings , like the previous Star Ocean titles .
- Fun free-roaming combat system , new blindside system and rush system add more to combat .
- Decent enough story when compared to other RPG's available .
- The ability to switch who you play as ! On the fly as well , you can swap the leader mid-battle and control someone else for a change in gameplay . Don't like to slash up in someone's face ? Then pick another character and go have some fun .
What's boring ?
- This title is obviously dated , and with it already a port from the XBOX360 , don't expect the graphics to wow you at all . The open areas have pretty boring textures , and modeling / cutscenes are reminiscent of a PS2 game .
- As mentioned above , be prepared to invest some serious time into this game . If you're a trophy type of player , expect an absurd amount of hours to actually get the platinum .
- The music in this game is lacking when it comes to battles . I love hearing the same song for every battle that I encounter . ( Which is quite frequent in this title )
- The A.I . is not very unique , or smart . Think of Boomer from Socom , now give him a couple characters to control in an RPG and you have your A.I . Often times it almost looks as if they get bored and want you to do something , so they stop moving .
- Save points are far and few between , unless you do the spastic sprint by all the enemies . But in doing so , you make the bosses very hard .
- Boss difficulty does NOT scale well with the enemies you face leading up to the boss . They're challenging like in the past , but due to the combat system seem to be more challenging than they should be .
If you're in the market for a RPG , and weren't satisfied with FFXIII , then pick this title up . The story is decent , nothing that will be praised for years to come , but interesting enough . The biggest hurdle that I encountered with this game was the first few hours . It starts off very slow , a couple cutscenes , quick battle simulator , then talking , walking around lost , then magically you battle things . The combat system is enough to keep you playing , between a bonus board to stack battle bonuses , and new combat toys to play with and create more challenge , it's a refreshing game to play through . Throw in hours of bonus content for beating the game , and FOUR difficulty settings , you will have plenty of gameplay , and a RPG that is actually challenging . .
125 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
So , this game will seem very familiar for those of you who played Star Ocean : Til the End of Time . This is hopefully informative for those of you on the fence , and will help give a normal review without comments raving about minor details .
What's fun ?
- Lengthy RPG , plenty of time to spend on this title , which is both on a positive and negative .
- Ability to switch Battle voices on / off , AND switch to Japanese .
- Load times are SHORT . I do like this in a game . The game doesn't load too often , and if when it does it is a very short wait time .
- Different character endings , like the previous Star Ocean titles .
- Fun free-roaming combat system , new blindside system and rush system add more to combat .
- Decent enough story when compared to other RPG's available .
- The ability to switch who you play as ! On the fly as well , you can swap the leader mid-battle and control someone else for a change in gameplay . Don't like to slash up in someone's face ? Then pick another character and go have some fun .
What's boring ?
- This title is obviously dated , and with it already a port from the XBOX360 , don't expect the graphics to wow you at all . The open areas have pretty boring textures , and modeling / cutscenes are reminiscent of a PS2 game .
- As mentioned above , be prepared to invest some serious time into this game . If you're a trophy type of player , expect an absurd amount of hours to actually get the platinum .
- The music in this game is lacking when it comes to battles . I love hearing the same song for every battle that I encounter . ( Which is quite frequent in this title )
- The A.I . is not very unique , or smart . Think of Boomer from Socom , now give him a couple characters to control in an RPG and you have your A.I . Often times it almost looks as if they get bored and want you to do something , so they stop moving .
- Save points are far and few between , unless you do the spastic sprint by all the enemies . But in doing so , you make the bosses very hard .
- Boss difficulty does NOT scale well with the enemies you face leading up to the boss . They're challenging like in the past , but due to the combat system seem to be more challenging than they should be .
If you're in the market for a RPG , and weren't satisfied with FFXIII , then pick this title up . The story is decent , nothing that will be praised for years to come , but interesting enough . The biggest hurdle that I encountered with this game was the first few hours . It starts off very slow , a couple cutscenes , quick battle simulator , then talking , walking around lost , then magically you battle things . The combat system is enough to keep you playing , between a bonus board to stack battle bonuses , and new combat toys to play with and create more challenge , it's a refreshing game to play through . Throw in hours of bonus content for beating the game , and FOUR difficulty settings , you will have plenty of gameplay , and a RPG that is actually challenging . .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I think the mechanics of the game are good . I'm just a bit turned off by the cheesy acting during the cut scenes .
128 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I think the mechanics of the game are good . I'm just a bit turned off by the cheesy acting during the cut scenes .
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This game came on the estimated delivery date and in new condition as described . Pretty decent game , maybe a 7 / 10 . I had no RPGs for PS3 and since I played a previous star ocean title on ps2 , thought I'd give this one a shot .
131 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game came on the estimated delivery date and in new condition as described . Pretty decent game , maybe a 7 / 10 . I had no RPGs for PS3 and since I played a previous star ocean title on ps2 , thought I'd give this one a shot .
133 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
i started playing this game back when it was on the 360 and my impression was that the game was alright but i could not get passed the voices , thank god for the international version . seriously with the english dub what were they thinking did they license it in english just to destroy it good job if that was the plan good job you did it . i do not like to bash people but i am blunt and honestly i could have got a crew of toddlers to sound better . it is a great game just use japanese audio with english subs .
139 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Start Ocean the Last Hope follows the trend of current Japanese RPGs , hence storytelling , theme , anime characters that become easily annoying , instead of amusing , and archaic gameplay concepts and graphics that make the player wonder , if this is not another PS2 title .
Let's break it down ; the presentation of the game is good , but doesn't offer anything we haven't seen before . Even if party characters can be tolerated , it's not easy to sympathize at times , especially the main character , which is rather unfitted to lead a team , to say the least . This game isn't heavy on story , so left me disappointed , since I had high expectation after playing its predecessor Till the End of Time .
The graphic are what we can expected from a mid to low budget RPG , a couple of things the developers failed where the lack of details on environments and the shadows are absolutely awful , the worst I've seen on a PS3 game to this date . Once again , feels like Japanese game industry thinks that , delivering a quality experience in terms of visuals and sound are not important . Just as a quick example : compare this title and other JRPGs to Mass Effect 2 or Elder Scrolls series .
The gameplay is really fun and never gets borings and this aspect saves the game from being a failure ; similar to previous games in the series , but introduces some new features that makes it truly enjoyable . Not all is great though , one thing that I can't understand is why JRPGs still instill of having such few save points ; one might argue that is because it adds challenge to the experience , but just let me say this : 5 to 6 hour dungeon without save point is abusing a players patience . Did happen to me not once but twice that , a power outage and the game got frozen during my gameplay , and it's highly frustrating to start all over , only because there were not enough save points .
Despite all the major flaws this game had , I still felt much rewarded at the end ; opinions might differ from player to player , but it's my humble opinion that Japanese developers need to take a look at US and European games , so that they know what the competition is doing .
140 Start Ocean the Last Hope follows the trend of current Japanese RPGs , hence storytelling , theme , anime characters that become easily annoying , instead of amusing , and archaic gameplay concepts and graphics that make the player wonder , if this is not another PS2 title .
Let's break it down ; the presentation of the game is good , but doesn't offer anything we haven't seen before . Even if party characters can be tolerated , it's not easy to sympathize at times , especially the main character , which is rather unfitted to lead a team , to say the least . This game isn't heavy on story , so left me disappointed , since I had high expectation after playing its predecessor Till the End of Time .
The graphic are what we can expected from a mid to low budget RPG , a couple of things the developers failed where the lack of details on environments and the shadows are absolutely awful , the worst I've seen on a PS3 game to this date . Once again , feels like Japanese game industry thinks that , delivering a quality experience in terms of visuals and sound are not important . Just as a quick example : compare this title and other JRPGs to Mass Effect 2 or Elder Scrolls series .
The gameplay is really fun and never gets borings and this aspect saves the game from being a failure ; similar to previous games in the series , but introduces some new features that makes it truly enjoyable . Not all is great though , one thing that I can't understand is why JRPGs still instill of having such few save points ; one might argue that is because it adds challenge to the experience , but just let me say this : 5 to 6 hour dungeon without save point is abusing a players patience . Did happen to me not once but twice that , a power outage and the game got frozen during my gameplay , and it's highly frustrating to start all over , only because there were not enough save points .
Despite all the major flaws this game had , I still felt much rewarded at the end ; opinions might differ from player to player , but it's my humble opinion that Japanese developers need to take a look at US and European games , so that they know what the competition is doing .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
With the severe lack of JRPGs this gen average games like this are getting more praise than they should . It's nothing we haven't seen before , and feels like there just wasn't that much changed from the last game . The battle system is fun , and offers a good amount of challenge towards the end of the game , and through the post game dungeons . The story is boring and very predictable , and the dialogue is full of those cringe worthy moments . The English voice acting is horrible , but the Japanese voices are included on the disc as well . Quite a few generic anime character archetypes are all present here , there's the main character with the go get ' em attitude who just so happens to be irresistible to all the women he's traveling with , young and old , and he can accomplish anything as long as the power of friendship is with him . Along with them is the main characters child hood female friend who's also his main love interest . Then there's the loli , the cat girl , the buxom vixen , the genius scientist , the elfs , etc . If you're hurtin ' for some JRPGs then you'll enjoy this game . If not , then just know that it's an average game , and don't expect too much from it .
142 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
With the severe lack of JRPGs this gen average games like this are getting more praise than they should . It's nothing we haven't seen before , and feels like there just wasn't that much changed from the last game . The battle system is fun , and offers a good amount of challenge towards the end of the game , and through the post game dungeons . The story is boring and very predictable , and the dialogue is full of those cringe worthy moments . The English voice acting is horrible , but the Japanese voices are included on the disc as well . Quite a few generic anime character archetypes are all present here , there's the main character with the go get ' em attitude who just so happens to be irresistible to all the women he's traveling with , young and old , and he can accomplish anything as long as the power of friendship is with him . Along with them is the main characters child hood female friend who's also his main love interest . Then there's the loli , the cat girl , the buxom vixen , the genius scientist , the elfs , etc . If you're hurtin ' for some JRPGs then you'll enjoy this game . If not , then just know that it's an average game , and don't expect too much from it .
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this game should be the better version of than of the 360 but in terms of graphics and comparison the 360 still wins . but I like the fact that it has Japanese voice overs that is a must buy for me after the gold box event thanks amazon
145 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
this game should be the better version of than of the 360 but in terms of graphics and comparison the 360 still wins . but I like the fact that it has Japanese voice overs that is a must buy for me after the gold box event thanks amazon
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I must say this was a very addictive JRPG game but i been a fan of star ocean and i was very happy to play it on PS3 but they could have put a little bit more work on the combat side instead of the x-x-x L2 or x-x-x L2 then R2 . they didnt do the whole patch it up with glue then stick it out and see what happens routine , this story was thought out perfectly just like all JRPG games the vituals were beautiful and the voice acting is well done like watching star trek : the last hope , hahah . . . but the combat though i give it a 3 / 5 because it could have been much much much better even adding the blindside was fine but still x-o-x or o-x-o L2 whatever but other than the combat this is a wonderful very addictive game and its long 40 hours plus 20 + hours of extras so i spend about 4 hours on it and its still more in the game .
148 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I must say this was a very addictive JRPG game but i been a fan of star ocean and i was very happy to play it on PS3 but they could have put a little bit more work on the combat side instead of the x-x-x L2 or x-x-x L2 then R2 . they didnt do the whole patch it up with glue then stick it out and see what happens routine , this story was thought out perfectly just like all JRPG games the vituals were beautiful and the voice acting is well done like watching star trek : the last hope , hahah . . . but the combat though i give it a 3 / 5 because it could have been much much much better even adding the blindside was fine but still x-o-x or o-x-o L2 whatever but other than the combat this is a wonderful very addictive game and its long 40 hours plus 20 + hours of extras so i spend about 4 hours on it and its still more in the game .
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Pretty good game . If you like any of the other star ocean games , then this is a good one . It has a lot of random dumb side-quests , and takes a lot of patience before the game picks up . Hell , you probably have to beat the game before you start having fun . Expect to spend over 500 hours if you want to max out the battle trophies . Very nice , with the audio swaps and all . Graphics are great , good gameplay , but gets annoying sometimes . Better storyline than Final Fantasy .
154 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Pretty good game . If you like any of the other star ocean games , then this is a good one . It has a lot of random dumb side-quests , and takes a lot of patience before the game picks up . Hell , you probably have to beat the game before you start having fun . Expect to spend over 500 hours if you want to max out the battle trophies . Very nice , with the audio swaps and all . Graphics are great , good gameplay , but gets annoying sometimes . Better storyline than Final Fantasy .
155 Pretty good game . If you like any of the other star ocean games , then this is a good one . It has a lot of random dumb side-quests , and takes a lot of patience before the game picks up . Hell , you probably have to beat the game before you start having fun . Expect to spend over 500 hours if you want to max out the battle trophies . Very nice , with the audio swaps and all . Graphics are great , good gameplay , but gets annoying sometimes . Better storyline than Final Fantasy .
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Except , its not as fun .
Given , I have about 9 hours logged , I have to force myself to play .
I have an SD TV , so I wont blame the game on this , but I cannot read any of the text , it may as well be in Japanese . I have no freaking idea what any of the menus say , and I wonder if other people can read it because it is so small . . . but the english dub will make you want to stab your own eye . It was the same in SO3 , but luckily this time we can change to japanese with subs , however if you are like me and have a crummy TV , then this will not be much help .
The ideas , story line , and flow are much the same now . our ship was attacked by some strange thing , now we are on a planet that looks like the middle ages , yadda yadda . . . The characters lack depth and do not make me like them . There is the always optimistic and unconflicted male lead , the shy sex object female lead who always screams and makes suggestive noises in between her self deprecating comments like Maybe I can be of some use now , and then the snobby polite fellow , and the token little kid character . This has always been a problem I had with SO . . . the characters do not let you into their world as they do in Final Fantasy , or other RPGs . ( I'm a FF fan ^ ^ ) The graphics are nice , but a lot does look like SO3 . Including the beginning of fight sequences .
I feel that the boss fights are unproportionatelly hard to the standard mob fights , forcing one to grind considerably ( because the mobs are much lower in level then you and it takes a long time to level up ) before each boss fight . This is rather annoying .
There is much that could have been incorporated to make this better . . . in game Battle Trophies could have been linked to your PSN , but they are not . The only trophy I won so far was one for defeating a boss . . . even though I've won a large amount of battle trophies . The item creation could have been linked online , though this is also separate from what I gather . . . things are much more convoluted then SO3 . . . and I have heard that it lacks the end game awesomeness and extra dungeons that where in SO3 . It seems ultimately like a step down .
That being said . . . its not AWFUL . . . I am playing it until FFXIII gets out . If my view changes of it before then , I will revise my edit , but for now , this is my experience with the game . It had so much potential , I'm let down for sure .
UPDATE :
I played the game to 50 + hours . . . and it just got worse and worse . The story is so insanely god awful , its not even funny . . . and it doesn't get better . The voice acting is atrocious , and the characters border on offensive , and never change . annoying cliche characters and no one having any emotions , not to mention writing that would make you gag on the dry blandness . . . its like they didn't even try . The game isn't worth the plastic it is packaged in . I enjoyed SO3 and SO2 . . . but this is just . . . horrific . Its obscenely awful , and even the fun battle system is destroyed by the ridiculous boss scaling makes it so that you have to grind for hours and hours to defeat a boss . Its horrific . I suggest you play ANYTHING but this . . . but if you want a better RPG , try Dragon Age , or Final Fantasy XIII now that it is out . . . its about a gajillion times better .
157 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Except , its not as fun .
Given , I have about 9 hours logged , I have to force myself to play .
I have an SD TV , so I wont blame the game on this , but I cannot read any of the text , it may as well be in Japanese . I have no freaking idea what any of the menus say , and I wonder if other people can read it because it is so small . . . but the english dub will make you want to stab your own eye . It was the same in SO3 , but luckily this time we can change to japanese with subs , however if you are like me and have a crummy TV , then this will not be much help .
The ideas , story line , and flow are much the same now . our ship was attacked by some strange thing , now we are on a planet that looks like the middle ages , yadda yadda . . . The characters lack depth and do not make me like them . There is the always optimistic and unconflicted male lead , the shy sex object female lead who always screams and makes suggestive noises in between her self deprecating comments like Maybe I can be of some use now , and then the snobby polite fellow , and the token little kid character . This has always been a problem I had with SO . . . the characters do not let you into their world as they do in Final Fantasy , or other RPGs . ( I'm a FF fan ^ ^ ) The graphics are nice , but a lot does look like SO3 . Including the beginning of fight sequences .
I feel that the boss fights are unproportionatelly hard to the standard mob fights , forcing one to grind considerably ( because the mobs are much lower in level then you and it takes a long time to level up ) before each boss fight . This is rather annoying .
There is much that could have been incorporated to make this better . . . in game Battle Trophies could have been linked to your PSN , but they are not . The only trophy I won so far was one for defeating a boss . . . even though I've won a large amount of battle trophies . The item creation could have been linked online , though this is also separate from what I gather . . . things are much more convoluted then SO3 . . . and I have heard that it lacks the end game awesomeness and extra dungeons that where in SO3 . It seems ultimately like a step down .
That being said . . . its not AWFUL . . . I am playing it until FFXIII gets out . If my view changes of it before then , I will revise my edit , but for now , this is my experience with the game . It had so much potential , I'm let down for sure .
UPDATE :
I played the game to 50 + hours . . . and it just got worse and worse . The story is so insanely god awful , its not even funny . . . and it doesn't get better . The voice acting is atrocious , and the characters border on offensive , and never change . annoying cliche characters and no one having any emotions , not to mention writing that would make you gag on the dry blandness . . . its like they didn't even try . The game isn't worth the plastic it is packaged in . I enjoyed SO3 and SO2 . . . but this is just . . . horrific . Its obscenely awful , and even the fun battle system is destroyed by the ridiculous boss scaling makes it so that you have to grind for hours and hours to defeat a boss . Its horrific . I suggest you play ANYTHING but this . . . but if you want a better RPG , try Dragon Age , or Final Fantasy XIII now that it is out . . . its about a gajillion times better .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The game play in the game is OK . Fans of the Final Fantasy series will the find the battle modes familiar .
163 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The game play in the game is OK . Fans of the Final Fantasy series will the find the battle modes familiar .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game illustrates a lot that is broken with today's next-generation games .
This game does have its good points . It was put together with a lot of technical skill : the graphics , models , and animations are excellent . The music is fantastically good . The user interface was pretty smooth - - you can tell this company has built many of these games before . The game was a reasonable length , and all the levels were pretty detailed . As far as I could tell , the Japanese voice actors did a great job .
However , the story was terrible . In fact , there really wasn't much of a story at all . The dialogue was so bad it hurt . The English dubbing was horrible . The game is just a long grind and there is nothing at the end that makes it worthwhile . Sure , some of the mechanics along the way are fun , but there was no story to pull you in . As others have noted , the combat targeting system was useless . In fact , at least one boss battle took advantage of the poor targeting system to make the battle even more of a challenge . At times there were no save points for long stretches . I left my PS3 on for a long weekend just because this game left me with no way to save progress and I had other things to do .
[ Yes , I finished it . I knew I was going to write a low-star review , and I didn't think that would be fair without finishing it . It took me several weeks to get through the last few levels because I really didn't want to play it . ]
Having finished it , I am pretty certain that this game was created by a directive : make a bunch of different levels and then see if you can stitch them together somehow . They obviously had a target demographic in mind ( I think it was 14 year olds , with a reading level of 12 years old maybe ? No offense to any 12 or 14 year olds out there - - you deserved better ) but some of the subject matter seemed jarringly inappropriate for anyone that age , and there wasn't anything that would appeal to older audiences .
The lack of quality writing was evident at every point . There was no plot . The characters were caricatures that never changed . I mentioned the dialogue was bad , but that is understating it . It reminded me of awkward middle-school fiction assignments . At times it was like a bad horror movie , with important plot turns being defined by people doing the absolute dumbest thing they could do . And the English dubbing was laughable . I tried the game in English at first , but it was terrible ( people just reading lines in near-monotone , not acting ) so I turned it off . I tried turning the English dubbing back on a few times , but it didn't seem to get better . The writing was terrible , but at least the Japanese voice actors did a good job with what they were given .
All of this meant that the cut scenes , while beautifully rendered and animated , were painful to watch . The cut scenes usually had little relevance or purpose other than to mechanically advance to the next level of the game , characters had emotional reactions that were totally unbelievable and usually aggravating , and again , there was no story to speak of . What meagre story there was seemed to center on powerful beings who preferred oblivion to existence . After several dozen excruciating cut scenes I started to see their point .
So what did I ( and other reviewers ) do ? We skipped the cut scenes . Which meant the company spent millions of dollars , and thousands of hours , on cut scenes that were never watched because the writing was so bad . When the final credits rolled by I felt sorry for the many people that spent so much of their time and effort just to see their work wasted .
I think a lot of today's games are like this : a high level of technical execution in most areas , completely undercut by a lack of writing . Other than flashy graphics , there wasn't much point to playing this .
Like many others , I bought this for something to do before Final Fantasy XIII came out . Having spent a lot of money on this , I don't think I'll go anywhere near FFXIII , since it looks like more of the same .
040 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game illustrates a lot that is broken with today's next-generation games .
This game does have its good points . It was put together with a lot of technical skill : the graphics , models , and animations are excellent . The music is fantastically good . The user interface was pretty smooth - - you can tell this company has built many of these games before . The game was a reasonable length , and all the levels were pretty detailed . As far as I could tell , the Japanese voice actors did a great job .
However , the story was terrible . In fact , there really wasn't much of a story at all . The dialogue was so bad it hurt . The English dubbing was horrible . The game is just a long grind and there is nothing at the end that makes it worthwhile . Sure , some of the mechanics along the way are fun , but there was no story to pull you in . As others have noted , the combat targeting system was useless . In fact , at least one boss battle took advantage of the poor targeting system to make the battle even more of a challenge . At times there were no save points for long stretches . I left my PS3 on for a long weekend just because this game left me with no way to save progress and I had other things to do .
[ Yes , I finished it . I knew I was going to write a low-star review , and I didn't think that would be fair without finishing it . It took me several weeks to get through the last few levels because I really didn't want to play it . ]
Having finished it , I am pretty certain that this game was created by a directive : make a bunch of different levels and then see if you can stitch them together somehow . They obviously had a target demographic in mind ( I think it was 14 year olds , with a reading level of 12 years old maybe ? No offense to any 12 or 14 year olds out there - - you deserved better ) but some of the subject matter seemed jarringly inappropriate for anyone that age , and there wasn't anything that would appeal to older audiences .
The lack of quality writing was evident at every point . There was no plot . The characters were caricatures that never changed . I mentioned the dialogue was bad , but that is understating it . It reminded me of awkward middle-school fiction assignments . At times it was like a bad horror movie , with important plot turns being defined by people doing the absolute dumbest thing they could do . And the English dubbing was laughable . I tried the game in English at first , but it was terrible ( people just reading lines in near-monotone , not acting ) so I turned it off . I tried turning the English dubbing back on a few times , but it didn't seem to get better . The writing was terrible , but at least the Japanese voice actors did a good job with what they were given .
All of this meant that the cut scenes , while beautifully rendered and animated , were painful to watch . The cut scenes usually had little relevance or purpose other than to mechanically advance to the next level of the game , characters had emotional reactions that were totally unbelievable and usually aggravating , and again , there was no story to speak of . What meagre story there was seemed to center on powerful beings who preferred oblivion to existence . After several dozen excruciating cut scenes I started to see their point .
So what did I ( and other reviewers ) do ? We skipped the cut scenes . Which meant the company spent millions of dollars , and thousands of hours , on cut scenes that were never watched because the writing was so bad . When the final credits rolled by I felt sorry for the many people that spent so much of their time and effort just to see their work wasted .
I think a lot of today's games are like this : a high level of technical execution in most areas , completely undercut by a lack of writing . Other than flashy graphics , there wasn't much point to playing this .
Like many others , I bought this for something to do before Final Fantasy XIII came out . Having spent a lot of money on this , I don't think I'll go anywhere near FFXIII , since it looks like more of the same .
041 This game illustrates a lot that is broken with today's next-generation games .
This game does have its good points . It was put together with a lot of technical skill : the graphics , models , and animations are excellent . The music is fantastically good . The user interface was pretty smooth - - you can tell this company has built many of these games before . The game was a reasonable length , and all the levels were pretty detailed . As far as I could tell , the Japanese voice actors did a great job .
However , the story was terrible . In fact , there really wasn't much of a story at all . The dialogue was so bad it hurt . The English dubbing was horrible . The game is just a long grind and there is nothing at the end that makes it worthwhile . Sure , some of the mechanics along the way are fun , but there was no story to pull you in . As others have noted , the combat targeting system was useless . In fact , at least one boss battle took advantage of the poor targeting system to make the battle even more of a challenge . At times there were no save points for long stretches . I left my PS3 on for a long weekend just because this game left me with no way to save progress and I had other things to do .
[ Yes , I finished it . I knew I was going to write a low-star review , and I didn't think that would be fair without finishing it . It took me several weeks to get through the last few levels because I really didn't want to play it . ]
Having finished it , I am pretty certain that this game was created by a directive : make a bunch of different levels and then see if you can stitch them together somehow . They obviously had a target demographic in mind ( I think it was 14 year olds , with a reading level of 12 years old maybe ? No offense to any 12 or 14 year olds out there - - you deserved better ) but some of the subject matter seemed jarringly inappropriate for anyone that age , and there wasn't anything that would appeal to older audiences .
The lack of quality writing was evident at every point . There was no plot . The characters were caricatures that never changed . I mentioned the dialogue was bad , but that is understating it . It reminded me of awkward middle-school fiction assignments . At times it was like a bad horror movie , with important plot turns being defined by people doing the absolute dumbest thing they could do . And the English dubbing was laughable . I tried the game in English at first , but it was terrible ( people just reading lines in near-monotone , not acting ) so I turned it off . I tried turning the English dubbing back on a few times , but it didn't seem to get better . The writing was terrible , but at least the Japanese voice actors did a good job with what they were given .
All of this meant that the cut scenes , while beautifully rendered and animated , were painful to watch . The cut scenes usually had little relevance or purpose other than to mechanically advance to the next level of the game , characters had emotional reactions that were totally unbelievable and usually aggravating , and again , there was no story to speak of . What meagre story there was seemed to center on powerful beings who preferred oblivion to existence . After several dozen excruciating cut scenes I started to see their point .
So what did I ( and other reviewers ) do ? We skipped the cut scenes . Which meant the company spent millions of dollars , and thousands of hours , on cut scenes that were never watched because the writing was so bad . When the final credits rolled by I felt sorry for the many people that spent so much of their time and effort just to see their work wasted .
I think a lot of today's games are like this : a high level of technical execution in most areas , completely undercut by a lack of writing . Other than flashy graphics , there wasn't much point to playing this .
Like many others , I bought this for something to do before Final Fantasy XIII came out . Having spent a lot of money on this , I don't think I'll go anywhere near FFXIII , since it looks like more of the same .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The game itself is good . I would compare the graphics to that of a little less of Final Fantasy 13 , plus its just like FF 13 the graphics never change between those of the cut scenes and the game itself . You have a total of 8 playable character , each with his or her own individual story line that you will learn of regardlessly . Game play is very indef where you like to go with a hack-n-slash or if u want to keep your distance with a gun or say magic . It is a very long game i would say the game by itself without doing side quest and not dieing would be a total of 110 hours or more and u have to be very devoted to play this game . All in all a very good game if you like it thumbs up to you if you don't well you just don't know what your missing .
049 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The game itself is good . I would compare the graphics to that of a little less of Final Fantasy 13 , plus its just like FF 13 the graphics never change between those of the cut scenes and the game itself . You have a total of 8 playable character , each with his or her own individual story line that you will learn of regardlessly . Game play is very indef where you like to go with a hack-n-slash or if u want to keep your distance with a gun or say magic . It is a very long game i would say the game by itself without doing side quest and not dieing would be a total of 110 hours or more and u have to be very devoted to play this game . All in all a very good game if you like it thumbs up to you if you don't well you just don't know what your missing .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Amazing game , I honestly can't find any major flaws . . . one of the best products of Square Enix , probably the 2nd best RPG on the PS3 ( after FFXIII , but thats just my opinion ) . Great graphics , nice soundtrack , funny cast , and a top-notch battle system . Can be difficult at times , but still an overall enjoyable experience that's definitely worth the money !
055 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Amazing game , I honestly can't find any major flaws . . . one of the best products of Square Enix , probably the 2nd best RPG on the PS3 ( after FFXIII , but thats just my opinion ) . Great graphics , nice soundtrack , funny cast , and a top-notch battle system . Can be difficult at times , but still an overall enjoyable experience that's definitely worth the money !
059 The story is compelling , the beginning of the Star Ocean universe , when mankind has all but destroyed Earth through nuclear warfare . So , man sets out to find other habitable planets of course .
These graphics look soooo crisp on my HDTV . The battle style is like an updated version of the style for Till the End of Time , which if you've never played a Star Ocean game , it's like a more engaging real-time Final Fantasy type system , with it's own set of sneak maneuvers , combos , spells , and counters occurring in real time . These characters are really engaging as well , despite being somewhat archetypical , you really fall into the role of Edge and Reimi and their friends , due to their charm . I am about 3 hours into it so far and I can't stop playing
062 Star Ocean International is an exciting game for those who enjoy having a group of diverse players helping to does evil in different worlds . Like most the games the object to find and destroy the evil from which it was created .
Things I enjoyed from this game :
- The graphics are incredible ! From oceans , to land . From Buildings , to monsters . The graphics are exquisite in my opinion when traveling around from place to place .
- Characters : You meet a lot of interesting characters each with their own story to tell . Every one of them are helpful in some way . Each one has the same and different special attacks and symbology they can use in battle which will defiantly change the tide of battle .
- PA's ( Private Actions ) and Item Creation : Different from Star Ocean : Till the End of Time , in this version you create items using your characters but will be using your SP ( Skill Points ) instead of Fol . Also Synthesis of weapons and items will be very helpful while traveling from place to place .
- Bonus : There are new things to look forward to after the end . This game will keep you looking for more , at least it has with me .
Things I was disappointed in :
- Voices : The characters voice get pretty repetitive in battles . An Idea would be just to change from English to Japanese to get the effect of the International affect .
- Monster Battles : This is not a bad thing for leveling up and filling up a monster jewel ( learn more about in game ) but when it comes to trying to receive a item from the monster than it can sometimes take a while . But the monster list is very diverse and keeps battles interesting .
Other than that this is an excellent game for those who are looking for something new and challenging . I recommend it to anyone who : enjoys battles , enjoys multiple partners , enjoys bosses with a challenge , and enjoys beautiful scenery .
071 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Finally , we have a true JRPG on the PS3 ! After trying Eternal Sonata , Folkore , FF13 and several others , this is the game I've been looking for .
I'm about 16 hours in and loving it . This is my first experience with a Star Ocean game and it is fun , quirky , and the battle system is great . I just wish MP would regenerate slowly on it's own . Also , the item creation is a bit complicated so I skipped it and rely on store bought or looted gear .
The story line is typical JRPG with an emo boy , annoying girl , and some other weird characters but it is enough to keep you moving forward . Some of the dungeons seem like they were designed to piss you off and drag the game out , and the ridiculous drought of save game spots keeps you on edge . Finally seeing one on your map is like finding a keg in a desert , and you madly dash towards it hoping not to trigger any fights .
The graphics seem subpar compared to other games of this console generation . I suspect it was developed for PS2 and ported to Xbox , then ported to PS3 . The textures are muddy and ugly with lots of jaggies everywhere . At least the character models are good , but anyone with a bigger HDTV ( 42 + ) will be slightly taken aback by the ugly environmental textures .
Overall , this game is still fantastic and is just the game to keep me busy all summer . I wish they truly remastered it and threw in some antialiasing and texture filters , but as it stands it is still a fun game .
072 Finally , we have a true JRPG on the PS3 ! After trying Eternal Sonata , Folkore , FF13 and several others , this is the game I've been looking for .
I'm about 16 hours in and loving it . This is my first experience with a Star Ocean game and it is fun , quirky , and the battle system is great . I just wish MP would regenerate slowly on it's own . Also , the item creation is a bit complicated so I skipped it and rely on store bought or looted gear .
The story line is typical JRPG with an emo boy , annoying girl , and some other weird characters but it is enough to keep you moving forward . Some of the dungeons seem like they were designed to piss you off and drag the game out , and the ridiculous drought of save game spots keeps you on edge . Finally seeing one on your map is like finding a keg in a desert , and you madly dash towards it hoping not to trigger any fights .
The graphics seem subpar compared to other games of this console generation . I suspect it was developed for PS2 and ported to Xbox , then ported to PS3 . The textures are muddy and ugly with lots of jaggies everywhere . At least the character models are good , but anyone with a bigger HDTV ( 42 + ) will be slightly taken aback by the ugly environmental textures .
Overall , this game is still fantastic and is just the game to keep me busy all summer . I wish they truly remastered it and threw in some antialiasing and texture filters , but as it stands it is still a fun game .
078 I like grinding dungeon crawlers and if you like that kind of game , Star Ocean is an 8 out of 10 game . There are some annoyances worth mentioning :
1 . the characters look good enough but it is all in the typical anime fashion - - big eyed girls wearing tiny skirts . But the environments often look grainy and are covered with aliased jaggedy edges . Everything and I mean everything is normal mapped and therefore looks super shiny . The snow world looks good and there's some other times when the environments look OK , but generally the look of the game suffers from grainy and blurry textures .
2 . The save points are few and far between in the dungeon levels . Be prepared for a 60 minute long gaming session before you can save ! But that's not all - - there's never a point in the game when you can zip back to your ship ( which is the only place you can craft new items ) . There's no quick teleport option . The levels are large . So you will be walking around quite a bit .
3 . The real time combat is a plus and a minus . Action combos are cool but there are too many times when button mashing lets you win anyway . You often have no idea what your team is doing once the fight begins . It is not unusual for you to try to pull off a combo but you cannot because your team just killed all of the enemies and the combat ends . Your team's AI is almost too good and that sometimes makes the combat too easy . In fact that my biggest complaint about the gameplay - - it is too easy . Your enemies have elemental weaknesses but except with bosses , it rarely matters . You can hit an enemy with anything and it will be defeated . In an effort to make the combat real-time and action-based , the game designers lost some of the challenge in the combat .
Having said all of that that , I am enjoying the game . You can skip the cutscenes which is a nice feature and then get right back to the dungeon crawling . Over all I like the Persona and Megami games better than this game as far as dungeon crawlers go .
105 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game was sick . I never played any other the pther games but im a huge fan of squareenix and i love the final fantasy series so i didnt expect anything less . If you want a game thats deep , long and great battle system this is the game to get until FFXIII .
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The battle system is pretty entertaining and original , it's more action oriented than classic turn based , I personally like more FFVII style old school but this is one of the few titles that have caught my attention and that I have liked and enjoyed the most .
117 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The battle system is pretty entertaining and original , it's more action oriented than classic turn based , I personally like more FFVII style old school but this is one of the few titles that have caught my attention and that I have liked and enjoyed the most .
137 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
As much as i tried to stay away from this game , due to square selling out to M $ , i just couldn't resist . If you're in the same boat as me with only a ps3 and are tired of the bull * * * * games that are being released then this is your savior . Finally a true rpg to the ps3 ! ! ! I have had this game for two days now and have already put about 30 hours into it . I just can't put the controller down . Maybe im overrating this game and under normal times this would only be a four star game but becuase it feels like such a breath of fresh air after i have been smothered with shooters and all those so called western rpg's that are just plain horrible , it definetly seems like a five star game . Uhh i guess i can actually review the game now that i'm done venting .
Story - This is what an rpg is all about . The story with SO4 is decent , nothing extraordinary , It's what you would expect with any square enix game . It's well paced with lots of twists in the plot . But sometimes you have to go back to the formula that works . This is exactly what this nextgen needed . I'm not a person that is into all the sci-fi space travel stuff but SO4 really keeps you interested in the plot . I love it . Also I have heard alot of complaints about the english voice acting . . . it deosn't bother me at all . I can see how it could be annoying to some people , but i find humor in all the voices . Also , this version comes with option to play with japanese language with english subtitles so if the voice acting really annoys you than you can just switch .
Battle System - Just about the same as the previos games . The AI isn't too retarded , although i still think they should try to come up with something similar to the gambit system from ffXII .
Music - Very good ! Fits nicely with battles and always has the right theme to go along with the plot .
Graphics - Excellent !
This is an excellent game so if you are a fan of rpg's do not miss this one . Tons of replay value to go along with a good story . I just wish it would have came out further away from FFXIII . Once i get my hands on that i don't think i will be playing anything else for awhile .
138 As much as i tried to stay away from this game , due to square selling out to M $ , i just couldn't resist . If you're in the same boat as me with only a ps3 and are tired of the bull * * * * games that are being released then this is your savior . Finally a true rpg to the ps3 ! ! ! I have had this game for two days now and have already put about 30 hours into it . I just can't put the controller down . Maybe im overrating this game and under normal times this would only be a four star game but becuase it feels like such a breath of fresh air after i have been smothered with shooters and all those so called western rpg's that are just plain horrible , it definetly seems like a five star game . Uhh i guess i can actually review the game now that i'm done venting .
Story - This is what an rpg is all about . The story with SO4 is decent , nothing extraordinary , It's what you would expect with any square enix game . It's well paced with lots of twists in the plot . But sometimes you have to go back to the formula that works . This is exactly what this nextgen needed . I'm not a person that is into all the sci-fi space travel stuff but SO4 really keeps you interested in the plot . I love it . Also I have heard alot of complaints about the english voice acting . . . it deosn't bother me at all . I can see how it could be annoying to some people , but i find humor in all the voices . Also , this version comes with option to play with japanese language with english subtitles so if the voice acting really annoys you than you can just switch .
Battle System - Just about the same as the previos games . The AI isn't too retarded , although i still think they should try to come up with something similar to the gambit system from ffXII .
Music - Very good ! Fits nicely with battles and always has the right theme to go along with the plot .
Graphics - Excellent !
This is an excellent game so if you are a fan of rpg's do not miss this one . Tons of replay value to go along with a good story . I just wish it would have came out further away from FFXIII . Once i get my hands on that i don't think i will be playing anything else for awhile .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This is a solid RPG if you are looking for a big game with a lot of content e.g . side-quests , trophies , item creation , monster data , etc . This game also does a very good job with it's fun and engaging battle system , which , unfortunately for some , will have a steep learning curve and you'll probably have to devote 10 - 15 minutes toward the beginning of the game just to figure it out , but after you understand how it works and how to kick trash , you'll love it . However , the story and characters were poorly created . Their dialogue isn't clever or real , the story can be predictable and over-the-top at times , and sooner or later most of the characters on you're team are so annoying that you'll likely start skipping the cut scenes and story altogether just so you don't have to hear them speak . The writers tried to make this game much more dramatic than it really is so although i said there is no clever dialogue , that doesn't mean you won't laugh at some of the things that are said , which has value in its own right . Most of the characters are pretty lame , for example : one of them is an 8 year old little girl . . . really ? I think she sucked too many helium balloons growing up because she speaks sooooo slowly . I could go on about the rest of the characters but of all of them there are only 2 that didn't really bug me .
So I found a lot of fun in this game , once i finally bit the bullet and started skipping the cut-scenes because it was ruining the game for me . Which is sad because the story of a good RPG should push the game along and further engage the player and this game did neither . FFXIII's characters and dialogue were better than this game . Wow , I keep digressing into a ranting about the bad story and characters . Okay , in summary , great gameplay , fun battle system , deep game as far as content goes , but with a low score on the things I mentioned previously : )
151 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This is a solid RPG if you are looking for a big game with a lot of content e.g . side-quests , trophies , item creation , monster data , etc . This game also does a very good job with it's fun and engaging battle system , which , unfortunately for some , will have a steep learning curve and you'll probably have to devote 10 - 15 minutes toward the beginning of the game just to figure it out , but after you understand how it works and how to kick trash , you'll love it . However , the story and characters were poorly created . Their dialogue isn't clever or real , the story can be predictable and over-the-top at times , and sooner or later most of the characters on you're team are so annoying that you'll likely start skipping the cut scenes and story altogether just so you don't have to hear them speak . The writers tried to make this game much more dramatic than it really is so although i said there is no clever dialogue , that doesn't mean you won't laugh at some of the things that are said , which has value in its own right . Most of the characters are pretty lame , for example : one of them is an 8 year old little girl . . . really ? I think she sucked too many helium balloons growing up because she speaks sooooo slowly . I could go on about the rest of the characters but of all of them there are only 2 that didn't really bug me .
So I found a lot of fun in this game , once i finally bit the bullet and started skipping the cut-scenes because it was ruining the game for me . Which is sad because the story of a good RPG should push the game along and further engage the player and this game did neither . FFXIII's characters and dialogue were better than this game . Wow , I keep digressing into a ranting about the bad story and characters . Okay , in summary , great gameplay , fun battle system , deep game as far as content goes , but with a low score on the things I mentioned previously : )
152 This is a solid RPG if you are looking for a big game with a lot of content e.g . side-quests , trophies , item creation , monster data , etc . This game also does a very good job with it's fun and engaging battle system , which , unfortunately for some , will have a steep learning curve and you'll probably have to devote 10 - 15 minutes toward the beginning of the game just to figure it out , but after you understand how it works and how to kick trash , you'll love it . However , the story and characters were poorly created . Their dialogue isn't clever or real , the story can be predictable and over-the-top at times , and sooner or later most of the characters on you're team are so annoying that you'll likely start skipping the cut scenes and story altogether just so you don't have to hear them speak . The writers tried to make this game much more dramatic than it really is so although i said there is no clever dialogue , that doesn't mean you won't laugh at some of the things that are said , which has value in its own right . Most of the characters are pretty lame , for example : one of them is an 8 year old little girl . . . really ? I think she sucked too many helium balloons growing up because she speaks sooooo slowly . I could go on about the rest of the characters but of all of them there are only 2 that didn't really bug me .
So I found a lot of fun in this game , once i finally bit the bullet and started skipping the cut-scenes because it was ruining the game for me . Which is sad because the story of a good RPG should push the game along and further engage the player and this game did neither . FFXIII's characters and dialogue were better than this game . Wow , I keep digressing into a ranting about the bad story and characters . Okay , in summary , great gameplay , fun battle system , deep game as far as content goes , but with a low score on the things I mentioned previously : )
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game is a peach . Any Star Ocean fans will love it . At times , the conversations can get a bit lenghty . However , the battles are awesome . I look forward to playing universe mode after finishing it on Galaxy .
The characters took some getting used to , especially Lymle . Although she's adorable , she finishes nearly every sentence with ' kay ? , even when it's completely out of context . The lead character , Edge Maverick , is the average protagonist / hero figure . At times he's a childish sissy , but at other times , he is straight BA . I like him . And the other characters are decent too .
Like I mentioned , the battles are awesome , and the bosses are a real challenge . Even some of the normal enemies will challenge your wits and cause you to develop strategies and methods to defeating them . My biggest complaint with battle : the classic enemy formula is still used : change the color pallette of a weaker enemy and use a more menacing name , and you've got a new enemy . I'd like to see a larger variety of enemies with different techniques .
The ability to travel to different planets is so awesome . This is by far the best improvement . The Calnus is a fricken sweet vessel .
The story is immersive , although it seems broken into smaller stories , led by a greater developing plot . It runs basically the same : go to a planet , discover a problem , get another party member , beat a boss . But it's not as redundant as I may've just made it sound .
I really enjoy the music . The battle tracks are different for situations , planets , etc . , and seem well fitted to combat , just like in the other installments .
My biggest complaint is the lengthy , pointless conversations . It's like , We gotta get outta here fast ! . . . But , let's stand here and hash out our issues for 10 minutes . Or , We gotta go save Sarah before she gets sacrificed to resurrect the Archfiend ! . . . but , let's talk about everything that's happened so far and spend the night first . There is absolutely no sense of urgency in dire dialog . It makes the plot that much less immersive .
Overall , I love this game , but as with any RPG , there are things that I would change . For Star Ocean fans and RPG players , GET SOME !
028 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I will just say . . . this Star Ocean is a prequel , before Star Ocean 1 from SNES ( First Departure on PSP ) . . .
If you played all the others Star Ocean games just like me . . . i'm sure that you will like the story behind the game . . . it is just so profound and philosophic ! ! ! . . .
Well . . . if you're not a fan . . . you can skip it . . . but if you like a good RPG with very solid story . . . this is for you ! ! ! . . . and it has looong hours of enjoyment ! ! ! !
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game is a peach . Any Star Ocean fans will love it . At times , the conversations can get a bit lenghty . However , the battles are awesome . I look forward to playing universe mode after finishing it on Galaxy .
The characters took some getting used to , especially Lymle . Although she's adorable , she finishes nearly every sentence with ' kay ? , even when it's completely out of context . The lead character , Edge Maverick , is the average protagonist / hero figure . At times he's a childish sissy , but at other times , he is straight BA . I like him . And the other characters are decent too .
Like I mentioned , the battles are awesome , and the bosses are a real challenge . Even some of the normal enemies will challenge your wits and cause you to develop strategies and methods to defeating them . My biggest complaint with battle : the classic enemy formula is still used : change the color pallette of a weaker enemy and use a more menacing name , and you've got a new enemy . I'd like to see a larger variety of enemies with different techniques .
The ability to travel to different planets is so awesome . This is by far the best improvement . The Calnus is a fricken sweet vessel .
The story is immersive , although it seems broken into smaller stories , led by a greater developing plot . It runs basically the same : go to a planet , discover a problem , get another party member , beat a boss . But it's not as redundant as I may've just made it sound .
I really enjoy the music . The battle tracks are different for situations , planets , etc . , and seem well fitted to combat , just like in the other installments .
My biggest complaint is the lengthy , pointless conversations . It's like , We gotta get outta here fast ! . . . But , let's stand here and hash out our issues for 10 minutes . Or , We gotta go save Sarah before she gets sacrificed to resurrect the Archfiend ! . . . but , let's talk about everything that's happened so far and spend the night first . There is absolutely no sense of urgency in dire dialog . It makes the plot that much less immersive .
Overall , I love this game , but as with any RPG , there are things that I would change . For Star Ocean fans and RPG players , GET SOME !
052 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
This game is a peach . Any Star Ocean fans will love it . At times , the conversations can get a bit lenghty . However , the battles are awesome . I look forward to playing universe mode after finishing it on Galaxy .
The characters took some getting used to , especially Lymle . Although she's adorable , she finishes nearly every sentence with ' kay ? , even when it's completely out of context . The lead character , Edge Maverick , is the average protagonist / hero figure . At times he's a childish sissy , but at other times , he is straight BA . I like him . And the other characters are decent too .
Like I mentioned , the battles are awesome , and the bosses are a real challenge . Even some of the normal enemies will challenge your wits and cause you to develop strategies and methods to defeating them . My biggest complaint with battle : the classic enemy formula is still used : change the color pallette of a weaker enemy and use a more menacing name , and you've got a new enemy . I'd like to see a larger variety of enemies with different techniques .
The ability to travel to different planets is so awesome . This is by far the best improvement . The Calnus is a fricken sweet vessel .
The story is immersive , although it seems broken into smaller stories , led by a greater developing plot . It runs basically the same : go to a planet , discover a problem , get another party member , beat a boss . But it's not as redundant as I may've just made it sound .
I really enjoy the music . The battle tracks are different for situations , planets , etc . , and seem well fitted to combat , just like in the other installments .
My biggest complaint is the lengthy , pointless conversations . It's like , We gotta get outta here fast ! . . . But , let's stand here and hash out our issues for 10 minutes . Or , We gotta go save Sarah before she gets sacrificed to resurrect the Archfiend ! . . . but , let's talk about everything that's happened so far and spend the night first . There is absolutely no sense of urgency in dire dialog . It makes the plot that much less immersive .
Overall , I love this game , but as with any RPG , there are things that I would change . For Star Ocean fans and RPG players , GET SOME !
053 This game is a peach . Any Star Ocean fans will love it . At times , the conversations can get a bit lenghty . However , the battles are awesome . I look forward to playing universe mode after finishing it on Galaxy .
The characters took some getting used to , especially Lymle . Although she's adorable , she finishes nearly every sentence with ' kay ? , even when it's completely out of context . The lead character , Edge Maverick , is the average protagonist / hero figure . At times he's a childish sissy , but at other times , he is straight BA . I like him . And the other characters are decent too .
Like I mentioned , the battles are awesome , and the bosses are a real challenge . Even some of the normal enemies will challenge your wits and cause you to develop strategies and methods to defeating them . My biggest complaint with battle : the classic enemy formula is still used : change the color pallette of a weaker enemy and use a more menacing name , and you've got a new enemy . I'd like to see a larger variety of enemies with different techniques .
The ability to travel to different planets is so awesome . This is by far the best improvement . The Calnus is a fricken sweet vessel .
The story is immersive , although it seems broken into smaller stories , led by a greater developing plot . It runs basically the same : go to a planet , discover a problem , get another party member , beat a boss . But it's not as redundant as I may've just made it sound .
I really enjoy the music . The battle tracks are different for situations , planets , etc . , and seem well fitted to combat , just like in the other installments .
My biggest complaint is the lengthy , pointless conversations . It's like , We gotta get outta here fast ! . . . But , let's stand here and hash out our issues for 10 minutes . Or , We gotta go save Sarah before she gets sacrificed to resurrect the Archfiend ! . . . but , let's talk about everything that's happened so far and spend the night first . There is absolutely no sense of urgency in dire dialog . It makes the plot that much less immersive .
Overall , I love this game , but as with any RPG , there are things that I would change . For Star Ocean fans and RPG players , GET SOME !
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The story is compelling , the beginning of the Star Ocean universe , when mankind has all but destroyed Earth through nuclear warfare . So , man sets out to find other habitable planets of course .
These graphics look soooo crisp on my HDTV . The battle style is like an updated version of the style for Till the End of Time , which if you've never played a Star Ocean game , it's like a more engaging real-time Final Fantasy type system , with it's own set of sneak maneuvers , combos , spells , and counters occurring in real time . These characters are really engaging as well , despite being somewhat archetypical , you really fall into the role of Edge and Reimi and their friends , due to their charm . I am about 3 hours into it so far and I can't stop playing
058 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
The story is compelling , the beginning of the Star Ocean universe , when mankind has all but destroyed Earth through nuclear warfare . So , man sets out to find other habitable planets of course .
These graphics look soooo crisp on my HDTV . The battle style is like an updated version of the style for Till the End of Time , which if you've never played a Star Ocean game , it's like a more engaging real-time Final Fantasy type system , with it's own set of sneak maneuvers , combos , spells , and counters occurring in real time . These characters are really engaging as well , despite being somewhat archetypical , you really fall into the role of Edge and Reimi and their friends , due to their charm . I am about 3 hours into it so far and I can't stop playing
101 It has the open-hearted soulfulness of Eternal Sonata , Dragon Quest 8 , etc . People complain about the English voice acting , but I think it is good . The PS3 version doesn't freeze , doesn't require disc swapping , and you can manually switch which enemy you are targeting unlike the original 360 version . But the 360 version is still playable , it just might freeze a few times ( or not , if you're lucky ) .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
If you're like me and you have already played the XBOX360 version , you're not really getting anything in terms of content . There's no additional enemies or additional dungeons , or even extra items or weaponry . The only differences I saw and agree with from previous reviews of the PS3 version are :
1 . An optional anime layout ( vs . the default CG layout ) of avatars and menu background .
2 . Japanese audio dialogue ( vs . the default English )
3 . Item synthesis has been altered . ( Perhaps to make it difficult for players to become too powerful too quickly )
4 . 1 disc instead of 3 ( When you reach Disc 3 of the XBOX version , you'll realize you have to swap discs to go back to previous planets - - which can get old really fast . )
# 2 and 4 were the main reasons I sold off my XBOX version of the game for this one . Some of the English dubbing was pretty awful and with Japanese-drawn characters with their Japanese-style mannerisms blended in with their personalities , you can't go wrong with the originally-intended language .
As for the game itself and for those who have never touched the XBOX version , PS3 version is the one you need to play . It's made by SQUARE ENIX - - the guys who made the Final Fantasy series , so you know the game has a decent enough story and character development going for it .
It has the graphics you'd expect of a next-gen console , though it can slow down a bit in terms of milliseconds when a lot is going on during a battle scene . It has quite a bit of CG scenes and side quests .
Music isn't great , but it isn't terrible .
It continues many of the same Star Ocean traditions including item creation and affinities with other characters .
I'd give this game a 8.5 out of 10 . I didn't like the fact that the final two secret dungeons could only be accessed after beating the game once . But this game is only less than $30.00 , so I think it's worth it . If you can get the $20.00 one from GameStop ( though it's sold out in the Bay Area , CA ) , that's even better .
108 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
If you're like me and you have already played the XBOX360 version , you're not really getting anything in terms of content . There's no additional enemies or additional dungeons , or even extra items or weaponry . The only differences I saw and agree with from previous reviews of the PS3 version are :
1 . An optional anime layout ( vs . the default CG layout ) of avatars and menu background .
2 . Japanese audio dialogue ( vs . the default English )
3 . Item synthesis has been altered . ( Perhaps to make it difficult for players to become too powerful too quickly )
4 . 1 disc instead of 3 ( When you reach Disc 3 of the XBOX version , you'll realize you have to swap discs to go back to previous planets - - which can get old really fast . )
# 2 and 4 were the main reasons I sold off my XBOX version of the game for this one . Some of the English dubbing was pretty awful and with Japanese-drawn characters with their Japanese-style mannerisms blended in with their personalities , you can't go wrong with the originally-intended language .
As for the game itself and for those who have never touched the XBOX version , PS3 version is the one you need to play . It's made by SQUARE ENIX - - the guys who made the Final Fantasy series , so you know the game has a decent enough story and character development going for it .
It has the graphics you'd expect of a next-gen console , though it can slow down a bit in terms of milliseconds when a lot is going on during a battle scene . It has quite a bit of CG scenes and side quests .
Music isn't great , but it isn't terrible .
It continues many of the same Star Ocean traditions including item creation and affinities with other characters .
I'd give this game a 8.5 out of 10 . I didn't like the fact that the final two secret dungeons could only be accessed after beating the game once . But this game is only less than $30.00 , so I think it's worth it . If you can get the $20.00 one from GameStop ( though it's sold out in the Bay Area , CA ) , that's even better .
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Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I'm sure others like this game , and good on them .
I've sort of played the original Star Ocean on the SNES , never played the second , and played a good amount of the third . For some reason , though I'm not going to go back and compare , I felt that this game was a HUGE step down from the third Star Ocean game , in every way other than screen resolution .
Graphically , this game is horrid . I wasn't a fan of the character styles in Star Ocean 3 , but over all the game was nice . Little did I know , Star Ocean 3 was going to actually look superior to the fourth game . The PS3 bonus menus ( because apparently someone complained about the Xbox360 USA menus ) are just as bad as the original . It would be fine if this was still 1991 , but it's not . This presentation of this game had absolutely no pride placed behind it , and is a terrible embarrassment .
I barely remember the combat , but I do remember feeling that it , too , was a step back from SO3 .
I quickly switched to the Japanese voice acting as the English was as horrid as everyone else will tell you . But that still didn't help me get sucked into the story . It felt like pretty shoddy writing and directing , and after only a few hours of playing ( 4 , I think ) I just couldn't take it any more and put the disc into it's case , and quickly went back to Amazon to sell it back to them .
I bought this thing on an Amazon sale for $35 with free shipping , and I ended up reselling it back to them a few days later for $37 and it shipped to them for free . So at least I made money off this crap .
I would NOT recommend this product . I wouldn't rebuy it if it dropped in price dramatically , even if it was $1 . ( I say , melodramatically . ) This game will never , ever be a part of my permanent collection .
168 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
I'm sure others like this game , and good on them .
I've sort of played the original Star Ocean on the SNES , never played the second , and played a good amount of the third . For some reason , though I'm not going to go back and compare , I felt that this game was a HUGE step down from the third Star Ocean game , in every way other than screen resolution .
Graphically , this game is horrid . I wasn't a fan of the character styles in Star Ocean 3 , but over all the game was nice . Little did I know , Star Ocean 3 was going to actually look superior to the fourth game . The PS3 bonus menus ( because apparently someone complained about the Xbox360 USA menus ) are just as bad as the original . It would be fine if this was still 1991 , but it's not . This presentation of this game had absolutely no pride placed behind it , and is a terrible embarrassment .
I barely remember the combat , but I do remember feeling that it , too , was a step back from SO3 .
I quickly switched to the Japanese voice acting as the English was as horrid as everyone else will tell you . But that still didn't help me get sucked into the story . It felt like pretty shoddy writing and directing , and after only a few hours of playing ( 4 , I think ) I just couldn't take it any more and put the disc into it's case , and quickly went back to Amazon to sell it back to them .
I bought this thing on an Amazon sale for $35 with free shipping , and I ended up reselling it back to them a few days later for $37 and it shipped to them for free . So at least I made money off this crap .
I would NOT recommend this product . I wouldn't rebuy it if it dropped in price dramatically , even if it was $1 . ( I say , melodramatically . ) This game will never , ever be a part of my permanent collection .
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Where to begin ? Ahh , I know , the one thing that will immediately turn off gamers ! Before you get into this game , be advised that it IS a JRPG and the acting follows that of the typical japanese anime dub over by american actors who just don't cut it . There is however the option to turn on the original japanese dialog track , which may be easier on the ears . I love JRPGs and crappy anime acting ( why I don't know ) so it doesn't bother me one bit , but sometimes it can take away from the serious overtones the game should have .
That aside , be prepared for a HUGE world . Be prepared to run back and fourth between towns on different planets and be prepared to use the square ( dash ) button a LOT . The atmosphere that Star Ocean has created is immensively huge , and sometimes it feels as though things are lacking . Don't get me wrong , it is an absolutely beautiful game and looking around will keep you more than entertained while you explore . You can also encounter enemies , harvest materials and mine for materials on the world map , if that's what you want to call it .
Sprawled throughout the game are specific quests that you will come across , as well as the main story line . The quests are NPC specific and require you to talk to specific NPCs at certain times in the game to get the quests . They are usually simple in nature and are similar to quests in an MMORPG ( gather materials , get items from enemies etc ) . The most rewarding benefit of these quests are the skill points you will aquire , which allow you to level up certain skill sets each character has .
The main story line I will let the amazon description fill you in on , but alas it's alright . I'm not rivited by the story or sucked into the game because of it . All in all the atmosphere and the fun level of gameplay keep me entertained and the story is an added bonus . It's not to say it's a bad story , it's just lacking any real oomph . However , there are aspects of it that are excellently presented that make you wonder if at some point the remainder will be just as good as the scene you just witnessed .
To put things into perspective , I am aiming for getting everything in the game , I am 68 hours into it and only a third of the way through . Probably about half of those hours were spent traveling between places to complete quests . There is no easy warp option , it's you against the world .
016 This review is from :
Star Ocean : The Last Hope International ( Video Game )
Where to begin ? Ahh , I know , the one thing that will immediately turn off gamers ! Before you get into this game , be advised that it IS a JRPG and the acting follows that of the typical japanese anime dub over by american actors who just don't cut it . There is however the option to turn on the original japanese dialog track , which may be easier on the ears . I love JRPGs and crappy anime acting ( why I don't know ) so it doesn't bother me one bit , but sometimes it can take away from the serious overtones the game should have .
That aside , be prepared for a HUGE world . Be prepared to run back and fourth between towns on different planets and be prepared to use the square ( dash ) button a LOT . The atmosphere that Star Ocean has created is immensively huge , and sometimes it feels as though things are lacking . Don't get me wrong , it is an absolutely beautiful game and looking around will keep you more than entertained while you explore . You can also encounter enemies , harvest materials and mine for materials on the world map , if that's what you want to call it .
Sprawled throughout the game are specific quests that you will come across , as well as the main story line . The quests are NPC specific and require you to talk to specific NPCs at certain times in the game to get the quests . They are usually simple in nature and are similar to quests in an MMORPG ( gather materials , get items from enemies etc ) . The most rewarding benefit of these quests are the skill points you will aquire , which allow you to level up certain skill sets each character has .
The main story line I will let the amazon description fill you in on , but alas it's alright . I'm not rivited by the story or sucked into the game because of it . All in all the atmosphere and the fun level of gameplay keep me entertained and the story is an added bonus . It's not to say it's a bad story , it's just lacking any real oomph . However , there are aspects of it that are excellently presented that make you wonder if at some point the remainder will be just as good as the scene you just witnessed .
To put things into perspective , I am aiming for getting everything in the game , I am 68 hours into it and only a third of the way through . Probably about half of those hours were spent traveling between places to complete quests . There is no easy warp option , it's you against the world .
