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Story

This latest instalment of the cult RPG series Star Ocean is a prequel. Much like the recent J.J. Abrams theatrical release Star Trek, the newest Star Ocean takes place in an alternate time line showcasing the origins of an epic Sci-Fi universe. The story follows Edge Maverick, a recent graduate of the Space Reconnaissance Force, as he and a group of fellow soldiers & scientists leave a decaying Earth to find a new home for humanity.

Along the way he discovers that the high-ups in the SRF have been in contact with an alien race known as the Eldarians for the last decade, and that the Eldarians are assisting humanity with locating a suitable planet for colonisation. Edge, along with his childhood friend and co-worker on the mission Reimi, befriend a young Eldarian named Faize who after a series of incidents joins Edge & Reimi on their quest to look for a new Earth.

The problem with writing a decent Science Fiction story is that you’re going to end up having people draw similarities between your story and any number of other Sci-Fi universes like Star Trek, Star Wars or a vast number of other shows whose names may or may not contain the word “Star”. That being said, the story for Star Ocean doesn’t do much to prevent these similarities from cropping up. It’s quite laden with clichés, but not just from Sci-Fi. There are also quite a few RPG clichés involved including, but not limited to, the little girl who just happens to be a spell casting powerhouse.

With all of that being said, I still wouldn’t call it a bad story. It’s told well and is plentiful, unlike a lot of RPGs these days which believe having a levelling system is all you need to qualify in the genre. The story is well-paced, quite entertaining, and sticks well with the previous games if you’re familiar with those instalments, but it’s nothing exceptionally fresh or new.

Visuals

This game is incredibly pretty. It utilises a refined version of the engine from Infinite Undiscovery, and uses it very well. The outdoor environments are beautifully designed with a pleasing amount of detail that makes them look vibrant, but not too cluttered. On the opposite side of the spectrum, most of the cities and villages you visit tend to be a bit drab and repetitive, making them feel a bit rushed.
The models for the various creatures and characters you’ll encounter were crafted with a great eye for detail. Some of the monsters are your traditional RPG “Palette Swap” enemies, where it’s the same design as another monster but it’s stronger because it has blue skin or something akin to that. During cut scenes some character movement can look a bit stiff or robotic, and the lip syncing isn’t exactly in pace with the voices, but all in all they are far from ugly.

The lighting effects both in and out of battle are a sight to behold. As you travel through the various fields and forests in your search for a new home, clouds will dim the sun as they laze their way across the sky and brilliant shafts of light will lance through dim cavern tunnels. The various spell effects are detailed and vibrant, as are the special attacks, both of which appear to benefit quite well from this tuned-up engine and the spectacular lighting effects.

All in all this game is quite a pleasant experience on the eyes, giving you a great many visual delights to partake in as you travel the known universe and far beyond.

Sound

I am going to be very blunt: This game’s voice acting is so abominable I’m shocked it doesn’t violate some part of the Geneva Conventions. I’m pretty sure this is the first game I have ever actually muddled through the options on to find how to turn off just the voices, and I have played some shockers in my time. Normally voice acting isn’t such a big deal with games but this game has a metric tonne of voice in it, including during combat.

It continues to baffle me why RPG companies don’t think to include the Seiyu, or Japanese Voice Actors, voice tracks as an option. Some companies have figured this out, like Nippon Ichi Software & some Atlus titles, but Square Enix & Tri-Ace both continue to ignore the atrocious voice acting elephant in the room. Some people will cry “Disc Space!” and I will respond “Rubbish!” This game is three discs long and lack of space is not a good enough excuse to warrant not including the option, or at least getting some decent Voice Actors. Sound quality takes up space, sure, but talent has no system requirements.

But, I digress. While the voice is terrible, the music and sound effects are both brilliant. The sound track, composed by Motoi Sakuraba, is fantastic and does a great job of conveying the emotion of what’s happening on-screen. The battle music is frantic and charged, while town music tends to be cheery and relaxed. The various planets have varied music as well, and it all does a good job of adding to the atmosphere of the game. The sound effects do the job they’re intended to and they do it well, definitely no complaints there.

Gameplay

Star Ocean: The Last Hope doesn’t do much different from its predecessors. That being said, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As with previous instalments you move around the different locations on overland maps, and enter a separate screen to engage in combat. The overland controls are simple and familiar with almost anyone who has played an RPG before. The left control stick is movement, the right is the camera, and the A button interacts with people and objects. One thing that was a welcome change in Star Ocean 3, and remains so in this game, is that enemies can be seen on screen. Approaching them initiates combat, so if you want you can sneak up on them from behind for a surprise attack or avoid them altogether.

As with most RPGs, you gain experience and money by battling various monsters and performing quests. As you gain experience you will attain new levels, and with them you get new skills and stat increases. Your skills can also be levelled up with skill points you obtain from fighting monsters, finishing quests, and even harvesting items from the field map.

Combat is done in real time with you controlling one character and the computer controlling your comrades. The AI for the most part is pretty good at doing the job, but can occasionally make a few less than fantastic choices during battle, like attacking the enemy when you’re in dire need of healing. To combat this you can turn off the AI and manually switch between characters but this is incredibly burdensome considering combat is done in real time and monsters move about the map and take actions even if you stand still. A new addition to combat is Blindsiding, the ability to dodge an enemy attack by holding the B button and pressing the movement stick at the right time and get behind you enemy for a few free hits.

The only real problem with combat is the targeting system. The targeting system, or lack thereof, can be a problem when you’re fighting a lot of enemies. You simply target the enemy you’re facing most of the time, and can change enemies by facing a new one, but occasionally the reticule becomes stuck on a passing enemy. So as you are attempting to attack the monster in front of you, your character promptly turns around and runs across the entire combat field to attack a completely different creature.

An integral mainstay of Star Ocean, item creation, returns, and has been streamlined for this title. By finding various items and recipes during the game you can combine them to make all kinds of stuff from weapons & armour to food & potions. Each of your characters can learn different skills like smithing or alchemy, and has a skill level associated with it. When creating recipes you can put your characters in groups, and if they have the appropriate skill level they will create recipes which you can use to make new items if you have the materials. Materials are available to be bought from merchants, dropped from monsters, or even harvested from various points on the overland maps making item crafting a very in-depth and fruitful feature of the game if you choose to explore it.

I could easily go on & on about the new additions to the game, like actually getting pilot your space ship or the BEAT System, or the old, like Private Actions, but if I did then there wouldn’t be enough room for the rest of the review.

Replay Value

Japanese RPGs tend to come in two flavours: Replay & Play for Ages. The former are games that can take a little while but you can start a New Game Plus after beating them to get a bunch of bonuses or secrets on a new play through. A good example of this is Chrono Trigger or Persona 4. The latter, Play for Ages, is a game that even after you finally put down the big bad at the end, the game keeps going, unlocking hidden bosses and new optional dungeons. Star Ocean: The Last Hope falls squarely between the two.

If you keep playing after the end credits, though, you can save your game and go exploring the galaxy, finishing up any remaining quests, doing some item creation, or trying out the two secret dungeons built specifically for the hardcore RPG fan with a masochistic streak. The main game takes about 35-40 hours to complete, and if you include all of the side quests and secrets it practically doubles that time.

While this sounds like a lot, in the end a lot of these things can be completed during the main game except for the secret dungeons. On the Replay side of the spectrum, though, the game has four difficulties: Earth, Galaxy, Universe, and Chaos. Earth & Galaxy are available from the start but Universe can only be unlocked by completing the game in Galaxy, and Chaos can only be played by completing it on Galaxy difficulty. While the first three difficulties steadily progress, playing Chaos mode is a lesson in pure masochism with enemies that will wipe you and your party out if you even blink at the wrong time.

Overall

Overall, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is an enjoyable experience worth a buy, and a very welcome addition to the 360 which has suffered from a severe lack of quality Japanese RPGs. While not every gamer is going to appreciate this title, it keeps the spirit of the series alive and should keep most RPG fanatics sated until the next big title comes along.

Make no mistake, this game does have flaws, and I feel the score I have given here is appropriate, but that doesn’t make it a bad game. Far from it, I enjoyed this game a great deal and as someone who has played all the previous titles in the series, including the original when the only Japanese I knew where the names of the special attacks from Ranma ½, and firmly believe it’s worthy of the name Star Ocean.