The 1UP Network features reviews from our panel of experts, including our editors at Electronic Gaming Monthly. We rate games on a scale of A+ through F. Anything we score in the A+ through A- range is considered excellent, B+ through B- is good, C+ through C- is average, D+ through D- is bad, and F is terrible. Here are our Star Ocean 4 Xbox 360 reviews from editors and members.
Reviews
You have to take the good with the bad in this lengthy and deep (but also generic and over-acted) JRPG.
As a franchise prequel, Star Ocean 4 charts mankind's tentative first steps into space as they seek to colonize a new planet after World War III leaves Earth decimated. Much like the rest of the series, it's an unapologetically Japanese-style RPG, the main differences here being terrible pacing and refined combat.
Being a JRPG, you can assume the following: you use swords and magic, you lead a band of plucky androgynous teenagers and "old" battle-hardened thirty-somethings against an "ultimate evil," the main protagonist has a ridiculous name (Edge Maverick), and you possess mysterious powers that you don't yet fully fathom. And although you try to blend in on the planets you visit, none of your characters can be bothered to change out of their gaudy space suits, put on different clothes, or hide their fancy space swords. But clichés and gaping plot holes aside, the story's twists and turns are engaging -- especially with the extensive in-game dictionary to help sort out the details. And if things get too convoluted, you can always check the synopsis, which highlights everything you've experienced up to that point.
Click the image above to check out all Star Ocean: The Last Hope screens.
Unfortunately, the narrative gets bogged down by ham-fisted voice acting and the fact that you spend the first 10 hours jungle crawling and reading character introductions. Line by line, the localization is well written, but it takes too long for characters to get to the point in the game's rambling monologues; cut-scenes can drag on for up to 45 minutes. The characters keep repeating themselves, pounding basic plot points into the ground. No audience would tolerate such heavy-handedness in a movie or TV series, and there's no reason they should in a game.
The flora and flauna don't add much to the game's overarching interstellar theme either. No matter where you go, you'll find chests sitting around filled with blueberries. A game needs consistently named restoration items, but this makes the separate planets feel more connected than the light years of distance separating them would indicate. And the creatures on each world are mostly palette-swapped doppelgangers.
Click the image above to check out all Star Ocean: The Last Hope screens.
The enemies might not be too exciting, but the combat system keeps the game from feeling like a chore. You can freely switch between any of your four characters on-screen (or swap anyone out with other characters in reserve) on the fly. So if you get tired of Edge's melee combat, there's always a ranged fighter (or a spellcaster) with a completely different set of abilities, one button click away. Combat can get button-mashy, but you can pre-set combos so your character pulls of their most devastating moves one after the other.
You only control one character at a time, but your allies are pretty good at taking care of themselves. The game lacks a gambit system like in FFXII, so you're limited in your leadership choices to basically "fight" or "don't fight." But as long as you keep everyone leveled up, they use their attacks well, stay out of enemy fire, and use healing and support spells to keep help keep you alive. I experienced a few close calls in my battles, but for the most part, the AI acted accordingly. Most importantly, you can turn off character combat voices. Like in other JRPGs, everyone in your party constantly repeats the same stock phrases ad infinitum during combat, but here you can turn down their annoying voices while still enjoying the game's exciting battle music.
Star Ocean contains an interesting plot buried in its depths, but it's incredibly demanding of your time and your patience. The long-winded, poorly conceived dialogue, and formulaic cut-scene, dungeon crawl, cut-scene, dungeon crawl design isn't getting any fresher. I still enjoyed the game and its comforting, monster-slaying grind, though. Anyone picking up this title probably knows what they're getting into, and there's always room for another decent (if not altogether memorable) JRPG. If you're in the mood for a Japanese space opera, Star Ocean can fill that void.
I personally think that Star Ocean: The Last Hope is by far the best JRPG I have played in a long time. The graphics are top notch, the voice acting is good, and the battle system by better than ever. I really like the concept of the blindside attacks and chain combos. I haven't had any problems with the cut scenes dragging out. I have played it for about 10 hours on lvl 20 and really enjoying this game. I'm really glad I bought this game. I also have to agree with the guy below me about how everybody praises DQ when the don't make them any different besides the story. I find DQ very slow and boring most of the time.
Dragon Quest gets a free pass for being generic and traditional, yet Star Ocean, a game which is far more innovative (though not in the top tier of RPGs) gets beat down in the press yet again. I realize you're not the same reviewer, but I just find it absurd how Dragon Quest gets so much credit for barely innovating in each new installment, while Star Oceans environments at least look different each time. In Dragon Quest games, towns and dungeons look bland and don't make you feel like you're on a grand adventure. It worked in the NES days, but not anymore.
This comment isn't about your point score or opinion on the game, but I just think its strange how Dragon Quest games get lavished with praise for doing pretty much the same thing over and over again, while other RPGs are criticized for having anything that is traditional.
Also, I can understand your annoyance with the cutscene-dungeon-custcene, but don't games like GTAIV and Gears of War 2 have that? Last time I checked, they do, and I've beaten both of them. Yes, we get it, quite a few RPGs have some generic elements, but it isn't like fps games don't either. It gets annoying when editors continually say the same thing over and over again when they don't do the same to games they particularly enjoy. I'm sure Star Ocean 4 has its fair share of negative aspects--the voice acting was terrible in SO3 after all, but I know there's some good elements there too. Star Ocean doesn't have a plot as good as something like Xenogears or FFT, but it at least beats Dragon Quest. I actually was quite surprised by the huge plot twist in Star Ocean 3. Sure, it pissed a lot of people off, but at least the producer had the balls to do something out of the ordinary. I have respect for that, even if things don't always turn out perfect.
Having dived deep into Star Ocean's universe three times previously on Sony consoles and having just come off the PSP remake of the original, seeing what Tri-Ace and Squeenix could do with the series on the Xbox 360 was high on my list. Last Hope represents the first truly established JRPG series to hit the 360 instead of Squeenix's B-list scraps (I'm talking to you, Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery!) or Mistwalker's middling offerings (I'm talking to you, Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon!) and means the 360 has finally arrived and garnered the attention it deserves as a serious JRPG platform.
Unfortunately, that harsh spotlight is too much to handle. A truly excellent combat system with considerable depth at both the tactical and strategic level goes a long way towards validating players' hopes, but the ridiculous story, atrocious voice acting, and cringeworthy dialogue are three major strikes against picking up this one. The game's real sin however is combining all three into excruciatingly bad Xenosaga-length cutscenes that should be violations of the Geneva Convention.
You will want to kill half your crew, stocked full of every space opera anime cliche imaginable: the nerdy but earnest space elf, the pre-teen magical powerhouse, the emotionless cyborg scientist, and oh yes, toss in Bow Chick, Wing Chick, and Obligatory Androgynous Anime Cat Thing all under command of the highest ranking guy in the space fleet who doesn't have a major injury (dead serious on that) and you have the goofiest crew of misfits ever to ply the warp lanes with humanity's entire existence on their shoulders.
Along the way you'll fight alien bugs that are immune to advanced magnetic accelerated railgun technology (but they die in droves to bow and sword), get mistaken for gods, marvel at the wonder of instant pre-fab base technology, rescue stranded crewmates, and eat blueberries. All within the first three hours.
Or should I say five. Or more. Star Ocean has tremendously bad pacing problems on top of everything else. You'll be confused where to go next, save points on a planet you can count on one hand, difficulty is surprisingly uneven and even a cinch battle can turn into a nightmare if you get cornered, surprised, and ambushed by a number of foes. In fact, if it weren't for the really, really excellent combat system allowing you to pull off devastating critical hit combos with Blindsides (if you've got the skills for it) or chaining multiple combos with multiple characters together with Rush Mode (if you don't) this game would be a college-level course in JRPG frustration.
I will say that the combat system is outstanding. Landing certain attacks under certain conditions (finishing a foe with a critical hit, killing multiple foes with one blow, etc) allow you to fill your Bonus Board on the side. These bonuses can really add up quickly and being able to say, recover 5% of your HP and MP and getting +50% EXP on top of that, then throw in a 20% cash bonus and an extra 2 skill points to spend on your abilities after every battle really rewards players who are skillful enough with the game's combat system. Star Ocean veterans will feel right at home here, and the deeper you go in the combat system, the more rewarding it becomes.
So, if you're willing to overlook the game's myriad out-of-combat flaws, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a hell of a ride across space. Unfortunately, it's a ride across space with people you will learn to come to hate. Star Ocean fans will rejoice at the Tri-Ace goodness, but anyone else will be Blindsided at how bad the voice acting, story, and pacing are.
If you're still willing to dive in, take the plunge....nothing I say will stop you, but be warned, the uncharted reaches of space are full of craptastic JRPG cliches. Otherwise, if you need a space opera fix for the 360, pick up the Greatest Hits 2-disc version of Mass Effect instead...at one-third the price.
I'm probably only really 2 or 3 hours into the actual game, but because of my obsession with the battle system and the Bonus Board I've got a total of 9 hours of gametime so far. Power leveling has never been so easy/fun! So far the game is alright. I dunno if it was worth dropping the $60 on the game and the $20 for the walkthrough but ahh well. It will keep me occupied for the time being. My only complaints would be the fast moving camera speed and the inability to open pods and chests from more than one angle. I've literally had to turn off Run so that I could maneuver to the right spot to open the sucker. The game has a lot of options for crafting as I can see and you'll be lookin into how you can best customize your characters abilities with the skill points you gain straight from the get go. This is my debut on the Star Oceans series, and as I mentioned thus far I've enjoyed the game. Definately a credit to the 360 on an RPG stand point. I dunno if I'd say it is better than Tales of Vesperia but it's up there with Lost Odyssey in my eyes. Oh and just a word of warning, I definately don't want to discourage anyone from getting the game but this game is one of those games that Microsoft demanded it be created with 780p resolution. For those not savvy on the technology it means if you don't have an HD tv you may wanna hold off bc there are a LOT of subtitles and text throughout the game, and you may have difficulties reading a lot of it. I've got a 36" old school tube and it's crazy difficult to read sometimes. Just some advice is all. Go get the game though and enjoy!