Star Ocean: The Last Hope
- Gameplay updates including: the navigable spaceship Calnus, and combat enhancements Rush Mode, Sight In/Sight Out, and “BEAT” system.
- Classic sci-fi/fantasy RPG action set across the immensity of space that recounts the origins of the Star Ocean universe.
- Perfectly rendered combat expanding on the franchise’s legendary real-time battle system and only possible on Xbox 360.
- Breathtaking CG cinematics by Visual Works, the studio whose previous work includes cutscenes for the Final Fantasy RPG series.
- An unrestrained cast of playable characters, each with his/her own personality, signature moves and weapons.
Product Description
STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE is the latest entry in the futuristic space opera RPG series, STAR OCEAN. Science fiction and fantasy meld in this long-awaited continuation of the celebrated franchise from developer tri-Ace Inc. The year is S.D. 10. In the aftermath of World War III, humanity voyages into the stars in search of a new home…and a second chance. A prequel that combines sci-fi and fantasy elements, across multiple planets and the immensity of space itself to recount the origins of the STAR OCEAN universe. Exhilarating combat expands upon the franchise¿s legendary real-time battle system, including the incredible graphics and visual effects only possible on the Xbox 360. Features breathtaking CG movies by Visual Works, the cutting-edge studio whose previous work includes cut scenes for the acclaimed FINAL FANTASY RPG seriesAmazon.com Product Description
Star Ocean: The Last Hope is the latest release in the celebrated science fiction and fantasy Star Ocean RPG series. This prequel set during the aftermath of Earth’s fictional World War III combines sci-fi and fantasy elements across multiple planets and the immensity of space itself to recount the origins of the Star Ocean Universe. Exhilarating combat expands upon the franchise’s legendary real-time battle system, introducing incredible graphics and next-generation visual effects brought to life on the Xbox 360 gaming system.
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Tale
A.D 2064…Planet Earth was on the brink of destruction as clashes between the World Republic Federation and the various nations that opposed it sparked the outbreak of World War III. Weapons of mass destruction, deployed with complete impunity razed the land in the blink of an eye. The dire situation mandatory the two opposing factions to negotiate a stop-fire and an agreement was quickly reached, but although the war may have finished, its effects remained. With the fading environment, Earth’s population was drastically reduced and those who survived lived a confined being trapped in underground cities. Eventually countries joined together to form the Greater United Nations and turned their eyes skyward, to space. With the establishment of the USTA, the Universal Science and Technology Administration, man started to seek new worlds beyond the stars.
Players of Star Ocean: The Last Hope will meet and cooperate with a wealth of characters from different parts of the galaxy, each with their own history and weapons of choice. Just a few of the more prominent characters to familiarize yourself with include:
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Edge Maverick Although generally possessing excellent judgment, this young Earthling commander of the maiden deep space voyage of the SRF ship the Calnus, can be reckless. His signature weapon is the sword. |
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Faize Sheifa Beleth A young Eldarian committed to etiquette and logic, and capable of astounding feats of engineering, Faize is always honorable of those possessing abilities he lacks. His signature weapon is the rapier. |
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Reimi Saionji The kind and levelheaded navigator of the Calnus, Reimi was born in an aristocratic Saionji family and has a shared history with Edge back on Earth. Her signature weapon is the bow. |
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Lymle Lemuri Phi Orphaned on her home planet of Lemrick long ago, Lymle is prankish, but friendly and inexplicably retains the appearance of a young girl. Her signature weapon is the wand. |
Gameplay and Combat
Although Edge Maverick is the main character in Star Ocean: The Last Hope, players will of course experience gameplay action in the form of a number of different characters and utilize the signature attacks assigned to each. The game features a real-time combat system which allows for up to four party members to remain active in battle at a time. Improvements to the game’s combat system include ‘Rush Mode,’ where players can switch out active members of their combat groups for set aside members in real-time; ‘Sight In/Sight Out’ which allows for timed evasive and counter moves against enemies; and the BEAT (Battle Enhancement Attribute Type) system, owing to which players can change a character’s fighting stylishness at will. Other actions players will master owing to gameplay include piloting of the spaceship Calnus, a first in the Star Ocean series; item creation in the form of weapons, healing items and accessories; and Confidential Actions (PAs), a cause and effect relationship between character in-game actions and the acquisition of new abilities and scenarios. Owing to the increased flexibility mastery of all these skills provides, players should be able to more easily increase their team and individual team member’s combat experience and status, and so unlock more advanced combat styles and linked combinations.
- Series prequel – Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a prequel in the classic series, combining sci-fi and fantasy elements, across multiple planets and the immensity of space itself to recount the origins of the Star Ocean universe.
- Exciting Battles – Exhilarating combat expands upon the franchise’s legendary real-time battle system, including the incredible graphics and visual effects only possible on Xbox 360.
- Compelling Scenes – The game features breathtaking CG movies by Visual Works, the cutting-edge studio whose previous work includes cutscenes for the acclaimed Final Fantasy RPG series.
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Wow, this is a disaster. The localization choices, including hacking out the anime-theme character portraits and adding pathetic English voices show how far out of touch SquEnix USA has become with its consultation.
There’s no option to choose the Japanese voices, even though the developers had over a GB of free space left on each DVD for them.
Just getting moving your character from point A to B is slow and painful dealing with an awkward camera, messy cutscenes, and even a sprint button that doesn’t always work when re-entering the field…
It does look splendid at 1080p, and the soundtrack sounds splendid.
But I’d highly recommend you spend your cash on “Tales of Vesperia” instead of this steaming space-age POS.
Rating: 1 / 5
with the announced Playstation 3 international version it’s hard to recommend the 360 version since the dubbing will ultimately make your ears bleed till you die where as the upcoming ( February 9th, 2010 ) version for ps3 will most likely have the Japanese voice track ( international version ) so not only can you delight in this splendid game but have voices that won’t literally kill you
Rating: 1 / 5
I’ve been a huge rpg fan from way back in the 80’s. This game is horrible. I started out sceptically about how an RPG could have a space theme, Although i was pleasantly surprised. The irritating aspects of the game don’t really show up till several hours into the game. Initially the combat system is incredible, Blindsides are a lot of fun. HOWEVER as the game goes on blindsides become practically useless, either you get ganged up on and can’t set up a B.S., OR the terrible guys counter your blindside. In general it’s way to simple to interrupt your characters actions. A splendid example of this is the spell Cure Condition. really useless in most combat situations, due to the fact if your poisoned the poison hurt ticks interrupt your attempts to cast the spell. The interrupts combined with stun locks are ridiculous, am i playing WoW all over again?
Next on my list of disappointments is all the female characters in the game. Between the horrid voice actors, and the inability to act like a normal female its seriously irritating. Who gives a outcome a baking adult woman voice? Kay… Next is the stupid Cat character.. wtf? all i gota say kay… Whats with RPG’s not being able to design and code a normal female character personality? Although Reimi is honestly cool.
Next i get into the progressively lame boss fights… Why would you design a boss encounter to take 3 hours? You play owing to the game just fine killing the encounters with ease… then you run face first into the wall, and aren’t able to effectively end a boss. Blindsides become nearly useless, with all the bosses having aoe whirlwind type attacks, setup a blindside just to get “interrupted,” or even worse countered. Set up for this super super cool attack, just to find out your DENIED, kay…
As far as graphics are concerned? the graphics are honestly splendid, with exception of the text. for some reason the text, for example item and character screens are nearly impossible to read. blurred white lettering with a golden-haired social class? yea what ever kay..
Hopefully another decent rpg will come out for the Xbox360, For now if i need a fix I’ll go back to Lost Odyssey or Nothingness. Better graphics, better characters, less annoyance factor.
Rating: 1 / 5
First, I like this game. I’m only about 3 hours in, but I believe I will end this game.
Quick pace, and the battle system is a nice change from the norm of JRPGs.
The plot is so-so.
The beginning of the game is very shallow, plot wise. Most JRPGS introduce you to the main protagonist very early, or at least give you some sense of where you’re going, even if they throw in a plot twist later. In this game, the backstory is minimal. Your brother is a captain, you’re a small jealous, and you’re going owing to a warp hole to scout a supposedly safe planet. There’s no overshadowing threat, and no matter what kicks you out of the warp hole and forces you to crash land is just glossed over. Your brother disappears in this catastrophe, but nobody in the game really seems that concerned about it. Very weird. Also, they don’t make your relationship to Reimi very clear. They hint that there may be a hidden childhood like there…but neither of them seem to pay it (or each other) any mind…
My largest complaints: If you can’t get over the TERRIBLE voice acting, you will probably not like this game. There SHOULD have been an option to use the original japanese speech with english subtitles, but there isn’t. Also, the main characters name is the cheesiest name I can remember in recent history…”Edge Maverick?” Really? The best minds a Squenix couldn’t come up with something better than “Edge Maverick?”
Rating: 3 / 5
This game sent me staying up till 4 in the morning nearly every day. That being said….
First, the Pros:
-Brilliant fighting system. The combat is very flashy yet well-balanced, and quick but clear enough so you can in fact see what type of moves you’re doing.
-Splendid level design, even better character design. Engaging environments, characters, and plenty of side quests.
-TREMENDOUS possibilities in terms of making new items, and boosting your party’s skills. Tons of weapons, armor, magic skills etc.
-No random encounters, and plenty of freedom to explore new worlds. Alacrity owing to the game, pick your battles, or just screw around in all the towns doing side quests, it’s up to you!
-Pretty engaging storyline, but requires a excellent deal of time investment to become fascinating.
Cons:
-Rather unpleasant dialogue hurts your ears occasionally.
-Limited backstory requires you to play owing to the game a small bit to truly appreciate each character’s place in the game.
-Rather long cutscenes, taking you back to the Metal Gear Solid days. Some scenes last as long as 30 min! If you do choose to skip a scene but, the game provides a quick text synopsis.
-Unpolished graphics in some areas, particularly in the cutscenes, make it look like a ps2 game.
Star Ocean: TLH is all around a splendid game that mainly has its hangups in the unpleasant dialogue and a limited backstory, but these cons don’t take too much away from the ultimate rpg experience from a game with a unique fighting stylishness and unprecedented level of freedom; dare I compare it to Grand Theft Auto freedom? The game is set in the year 2087, and has a very sci-fi feel to it, a refreshing change of pace from traditional RPGS.
The cutscenes can be quite long, but they do advance the plot by the side of just fine. The tale itself is brilliant as well, with plenty of amusing twists and turns, by the side of with more depthy elements (you’re doing not anything small of reduction the universe of course) by the side of with the colorful characters that do their part to add to it. Another cool thing about the game is that you get to control your own space ship. Confidential Actions also return; For first timers, they’re certain scenes in the game you can trigger to raise/lower affinity between certain characters, providing some pretty fascinating possibilities….
But, one MUST get over the early unpleasant dialogue and the protagonists name: Edge Maverick? Sounds like a super-hero a 4th grader would make up in his spare time. Look over these main hang-ups, and you’ve got yourself a splendid RPG guranteed to rock your social life into nothingness for at least 2 weeks!
Rating: 4 / 5