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Star Ocean: The Last Hope Official thread

E

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
so4-1.jpg


-------------------------
General Information
-------------------------

Japan - 2/19 (￥ 8,925)
North America - 2/24 ($60)
Europe - 4/24 (???)

----------
Boxarts
----------

51eedc%2BlVfL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
51haQim2AUL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


---------------------------------
Changes for NA/JP versions
---------------------------------

User interface:
Japanese
sojmen2.jpg

North America
somen1.jpg


Battle interface:
Japanese
sob2.jpg

North America
sob1.jpg


--------------
Story
--------------

Following the aftermath of WW3, which left planet Earth inhabitable, mankind begins to search for a new home... Beyond the stars. After the success of Professor Bachtein Warp Drive experiments, man inch ever closer to space travel. SRF units are dispatched with only one mission, to find a planet suited for humans to live.

--------------
Gameplay
--------------

Spaceship

- The Calnus: For the first time in a SO game, you are given command over your own spaceship. You are able to travel to different planets, and engage in various activities within it.


Battles

- Real time battles: Like its cousin the Tales of series, Star Ocean battles are real-time. After encountering an enemy on the field, you are transported to a battle arena. In which you can freely move around. You are also able to pause the action at any time; to use items, switch party members, change equipment, change skills, change AI settings etc... etc...

- Rush: New to Star Ocean is the Rush gauge. Everytime to you hit or take damage you rush gauge increases, once it's at 100% you are able to either do a Rush combo or go into Rush mode. Enemies also have their rush gauge.
  • Rush combo: allows you to chain battle skills for damage.
  • Rush mode: grants you two abilities "Perfect Guardless" (makes you immune to staggering) and Speed Up (Lets you move faster on the field) in addition it boosts your attack power.

- Sight-out/Blindside: This new battle feature allows you to sneak behind enemies to confuse enemies and land critical hits. To use it, hold down B and charge, if an enemy targets you a crosshair appears once you see the crosshair let go of the B button to perform a Blindside. Holding down B for too long will exhaust the character making her/him vulnerable to attacks.

- Chain Combo: chain combo system allows you combine multiple battle skills in one combo, each time you link a battle skill the damage output increases.

- Bonus Board: Returning from Star Ocean 3, the BB grants you several bonuses depending on stuff you do in Battles. Some of the bonuses include more exp, more FOL (money in SO), bigger HP/MP recovery after battles etc...

- BEAT: This system allows you to customize your character based around his/her playstyle, each style grants several abilities to benefit the playstyle chosen.

Item Creation

- Item Creation: it's a Star Ocean tradition. item creation as the name implies, allows you to create different items from raw material. IC process is only possible inside the Calnus

- Recipes: Unlike past SO games, the party must first do a meeting and come up with recipe before creating an item. Once this process is done, the recipe tells you the materials you need to create the item. Materials can be found within spots on the field maps, dropped by enemies or bought in stores. Recipes can be used over and over, and you can look at recipes in the main menu.

Private Actions


- Private Actions: another Star Ocean traditions. The PAs allow you to see the character in their daily life. Most of the PAs occur in the Calnus now, but some of them can also happen in towns.

- Emotion levels: The game keeps a hidden chart of each character emotion level, it either increases or decreases depending on your decisions in PA events. EL also affect battles, if a character gets knocked out in the middle of a fight, another character that had high affinity toward the one that got knocked out will receive a boost in attack power and will instantly go into Rush Mode (regardless of whether his/her rush gauge was full or not). EL also affect the ending of the game.


------------------
Screens
------------------



More pics here: http://scrawlfx.com/gallery/star-ocean-the-last-hope/

----------
Trailers
----------

PV 1 (TGS trailer) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq_Ei89rOTI&feature=channel_page
PV 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czRZ0moKIu8&feature=channel_page
PV 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1cuzpIbpi8&feature=channel_page

----------------------
Official Sites
---------------------

JP site - www.eternalsphere.com/so4
NA site - na.square-enix.com/starocean/

----------
Reviews
----------

Famitsu 360 - 34/40
Famitsu - 34/40

-----------
Notes
----------
- use spoiler tags
- no talk about about PS3 ports (mod approved)
- No flame wars between Tales and Star Ocean fans
- Enjoy the game!
 
D

Dead Prince

Banned
I think this might be the second JRPG i get for my 360 :D

PepsimanVsJoe said:
I'm so hyped I canceled my RE5 preorder for this game.

Two weeks.
Click to expand...


i think i may do that. since my brother is going to get the game anyways ;o
 
G

glaurung

Member
Is there any talk about whether the early English versions (NTSC and Chinese) are region free?

I'd hate to wait two more months just to get a legit PAL copy...

Curse this for not being on PS3
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
Can you switch the battle interface for which one you prefer? The models of the characters look pretty dull.

If I play this, I guess I just can't think about the story. SO3 completely ruined this series for me in that regard :(
 
Diseased Yak

Diseased Yak

Gold Member
Oh yes, can't wait for this! I'm playing through Second Evolution right now, and had plans to beat SO III before this one, but I won't have time. Don't really need to anyway, just figured I would.

Anyhoo, had The Last Hope preordered for weeks now, very much looking forward to it.
 
T

truly101

I got grudge sucked!
Just about 2 weeks, I'm really looking forward to this more than any other game in 09, except maybe ME 2, depending on its release date. I'm one of the few who will admit to liking SO3, so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one too.
 
Nemesis_

Nemesis_

Member
The fact that this is coming out really late is a plus for me, I'm really happy because all my spendings will be rationed out much better.

Still, extremely excited for this one! =D
 
L

Llyranor

Member
Well, preordered the game, but I'll probably get it late since it's Amazon.ca

OP should include details on how you set your abilities in order to customize what kinds of combos you can pull off (RT x 3, LT x 3).
 
E

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
The order you choose to chain combos doesn't matter, could be LT-->LT-->RT-->LT-->RT-->RT or RT-->LT-->RT-->RT-->LT etc... as long as it makes (ie shouldn't chain moves together that will disrupt your combo, think VP2).
 
S

SpokkX

Member
glaurung said:
Is there any talk about whether the early English versions (NTSC and Chinese) are region free?

I'd hate to wait two more months just to get a legit PAL copy...

Curse this for not being on PS3
Click to expand...

this

need to know if ntsc release is region free
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
I have been looking forward to buy this game. Might do..... I never played a SO game before, but I like JRPGS and I absolutely love the Tales of series. The trailers make the game look awesome (the characters are a bit meeeeh, but I can survive them). So... will i like this game? Any backstory I should be aware of?
 
L

Llyranor

Member
If you like JRPGs and the ARPG combat of Tales, you should probably give this a try. Caveat, though, this doesn't have co-op like Tales does.

Backstory shouldn't matter too much, since this takes place BEFORE the previous games. Well, WW3 happened. Then we went into space.
 
H

HamPster PamPster

Member
So how does the space ship work? Is there stuff to "explore" or would you see everything there is on a normal play thru? Can you explore early on or are there basically high level enemies keeping you ont he story path until the end of the game? Theres no gummy shipping is there (crappy shooter levels between worlds)?

Also, how does leveling work? (do enemies level up with you?)

Hopefully these questions can be answered because Circuit City is running out of 20% off Arcades! (if they haven't already)
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
Llyranor said:
If you like JRPGs and the ARPG combat of Tales, you should probably give this a try. Caveat, though, this doesn't have co-op like Tales does.

Backstory shouldn't matter too much, since this takes place BEFORE the previous games. Well, WW3 happened. Then we went into space.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Day one purchase then.
 
E

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
HamPster PamPster said:
So how does the space ship work? Is there stuff to "explore" or would you see everything there is on a normal play thru? Can you explore early on or are there basically high level enemies keeping you ont he story path until the end of the game? Theres no gummy shipping is there (crappy shooter levels between worlds)?

Also, how does leveling work? (do enemies level up with you?)

Hopefully these questions can be answered because Circuit City is running out of 20% off Arcades! (if they haven't already)
Click to expand...
I think it'll be fairly linear, but you are able to backtrack to previous planets you've already been to if you want to. No gummi ship-esque stuff. The Calnus, like I said in the OP, it's a general HQ for you party. You can create items, practice in the battle simulator, engage in PAs, listen to the game's BGM and other stuff.

Enemies don't level up with you, their stats are static. There's no level scaling.
 
neoism

neoism

Member
Awesome thread Error,can't wait for SO4, its been soo long. Playing SO2 right now, that should tide me til the 25th!!:D :D
 
T

truly101

I got grudge sucked!
Is there a battle bonus system like SO3? I exploited the hell out of that thing on that mountain level and had uber characters when I left. That plus item creat meant it was really easy to break the game, beat the final story boss in 1 minute (maybe 2 minutes).
 
J

john tv

Member
Just got back from the wrap party. So psyched to play the retail game! :) BTW, I confirmed first-hand that the CG stuff in the NA version was a tri-Ace decision, not SQEX USA. And kudos to them for making it. :)
 
T

truly101

I got grudge sucked!
Error said:
Man... I mentioned the Battle Bonus board on the OP.
Click to expand...

Ok I missed it, I saw the stuff about the new combos and other things you could do in battle, eyes completely skipped the battle bonus board. Great, one thing I love about Tri-ace games is you can exploit the shit out of the battle system if you know how. VP2 seemed to reward you for it.
 
B

badrockjones

Member
I've never played a Star Ocean game and am currently about halfway through Infinite Undiscovery. I've played a ton of RPGs in general though. Can someone contextualize this game for me using other RPGs? Why should I play this?

Basically, I want to want it. Help me want it, please!
 
M

MoogPaul

Member
Do we know what interface the asian version of the game has? I'd prefer to have the anime battle interface, not the end of the world but...
 
F

FrankT

Member
Neo-Sheperd said:
Me so wants this game. Has there been any reviews yet ?
Click to expand...

Just the Famitsu reviews (in the OP). I believe IGN said they are posting there review on the 19th IIRC.
 
E

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
Translation of the Famitsu review, for those who missed it. Courtesy of mujun.

cheap and nasty translation of the famitsu review:

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

reviewer 2 : 9/10, the combat is similar to what the previous games in the series offered. you are guaranteed to have fun playing it. the battles are very active with heaps of different moves all used at a fast pace. (hard to make out) boss battles aren't too easy(?) which is great! from creating items to collecting data on monsters, there is so much to do.

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

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

thaOwner

Member
Error said:
Translation of the Famitsu review, for those who missed it. Courtesy of mujun.
Click to expand...

Cool. Thanks guys, I was aware of the famitsu score I meant other publications but this game looks very good from what I have seen and I could see me liking the battle system very well after seeing the video posted above.
 
H

HBroward

Member
I can't wait for this. I just got done playing First Departure(hurray for an official translation and updated graphics!) and am playing through Second Evolution now. I am hoping for massive improvements over IU!
 
E

Egg Shen

Member
badrockjones said:
I've never played a Star Ocean game and am currently about halfway through Infinite Undiscovery. I've played a ton of RPGs in general though. Can someone contextualize this game for me using other RPGs? Why should I play this?

Basically, I want to want it. Help me want it, please!
Click to expand...
Hmm, I guess I can say that in general, Star Ocean's real-time combat system is similar in some ways to Infinite Undiscovery. SO has always had so-so stories, but I'd take any of them, and their characters, over IU's.

I'm just hoping that this time, Last Hope doesn't stick the characters on yet another medieval planet for most of the game. After three iterations of this, I'm at least hoping for some change in that direction.
 
K

KurowaSan

Member
Vorador said:
Yes.

And probably the NTSC version won't be region free, since Square-Enix has not released a region free game yet on the xbox 360.
Click to expand...

for what's worth, the Asian version of Project Sylpheed was region free :lol . Anyway, I've said it a couple of times in the previous thread too, looking at the two most recent SE releases, I very much doubt it will be region free. I'll be sure to check it though, just in case :,I
 
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