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jm795's Star Ocean: The Last Hope (360)
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| [April 20, 2009 03:22:42 PM]
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Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a role playing game developed by tri-Ace and
published by Square-Enix. It was released in February 2009 in the U.S. and
is an XBox 360 exclusive game. The theme of the game is sci-fi, but it
also includes some fantasy elements. There have been 4 other games in the
series, not including 2 remakes for the PSP.
-Story-
You begin the game as Edge Maverick. Since this is an RPG, you are tasked
with saving the people of earth who are faced with uninhabitable surface
conditions following the nuclear fallout of World War III. To complete
this objective, you have been sent out into uncharted space to find a new
Earth.
-Game Play-
There are two main game modes: exploration and battle. I will talk about
exploration first. In exploration mode, you are free to run, walk, or ride
to any accessible areas on a particular map. Maps are the basic components
that make up the entire game world. While exploring, you are free to
interact with objects and NPCs, use gathering/mining points, and engage
enemies. There is a mini-map available on-screen, and a larger map can be
viewed at any time. Cutscenes also occur during exploration mode and are
usually done using the in-game graphics engine.
If an enemy and your character collide during exploration, the game
switches to battle mode. During battle, there can be up to 4 characters in
your party on the screen. You control one character directly, and the
other characters follow preset tactics. Battles are real-time, and your
characters have 3-D range of movement. It is also possible to switch
control to another party member during battle at any time. Furthermore, a
battle menu can be pulled up. At this time, the action pauses, and a
selection can be made. Some choices are to use an item, use a symbol, use
a special art, and switch in a non-active character. Once all enemies have
been defeated or all party characters have been defeated, the battle ends.
If all party characters are defeated, the game ends.
-The Bonus Board-
During battle, you can acquire up to 14 bonuses that will take effect after
each battle. There are 4 different bonus tiles that take up one slot each
on the bonus board. A blue tile, gained by defeating an enemy with a
critical hit, provides 10% more experience after battle. A red tile,
gained by defeating an enemy using only special attacks, provides 1% HP and
MP regeneration after battle. A yellow tile, gained by defeating 2 enemies
at the same time, provides 10% more Fol(money) after battle. A green tile,
gained by triggering an ambush, gives you 1 more SP after battle. These
bonuses stack, but the number you can have maxes out at 14. However, your
bonus board will be broken if the character you are controlling is hit with
a critical attack or is knocked unconscious. When the board is broken, you
lose all tiles unless there was more than one of the same color adjacent to
each other. In this case, you only lose half of that group of tiles.
-Blind Sides-
Another interesting part of battle is the ability to blind side an enemy.
If an enemy is targeting your character and your character is targeting
that enemy, it is possible to execute a blind side. You charge a blind
side by hold down the B button. When the enemy attempts to attack, simply
tilt the left analog stick in any direction and your character will
maneuver behind the targeted enemy. These are not guaranteed. You can be
knocked out of your blind side animation by other enemy attacks and even
running into a wall. There is also the possibility that an enemy can
counter a blind side(indicated by a red targeting reticule). When you see
a red reticule, you have to wait until it begins to flash before you start
the blind side, or you will be countered. This is a great way to get blue
tiles.
-Special Abilities/Symbology-
These are your special attacks and magic in the game. They both use MP,
but symbols have a charge time. On the other hand, special abilities are
instantaneous. Both can have elemental properties, but symbols have an
almost unlimited range. Both types must be assigned to either the right or
left triggers in order for you to use them.
-Rush-
There is a special rush meter for each character in battle. This meter
fills as the character hits and is hit by enemies. When the meter is full,
that character can enter rush mode. This can be done by pushing the X
button. Once in rush mode, the character is not stunned by attacks, cannot
be knocked back/juggled, is faster, and has a higher critical hit chance.
A rush combo can also be performed instead of entering rush mode. To do
this, you must push X and immediately use a special ability or symbol. If
done correctly, the character will perform a special and you must push a
button displayed on screen. If the button is pushed, the closest character
to the player's with perform a special. This can be repeated up to 2 more
times.
-Item Creation-
This is one of the major parts of the game. Each character has a certain
type of item that he/she is good a making. For example, Edge is good with
smithery. These are represented as skills that the character possesses. 4
groups of up to 3 characters can be put together. Each group will make new
item recipes until they run out of ideas. The recipes created depend on
character stats and the characters in the group. Also, the process of
recipe creation consumes SP. Once a recipe is made, you can create the
item it refers to if you have the necessary materials.
-BEAT-
The BEAT system allows characters to focus more on defensive or offensive
play styles. BEAT:S promotes blind side attacks and offers bonuses for
this actions. BEAT:B promotes rush and offers bonuses for it. Each
character can level these up to level 20 to obtain all bonuses. There is
also a BEAT:N that provides the stat bonuses of BEAT:S and BEAT:B but none
of the additional bonuses.
-Private Actions-
Character relationships are a big part of the Star Ocean series. They are
used mainly to further story lines and gain additional ending scenes. Most
private actions occur on the ship during flights to new planets and
typically involve Edge and another character in the party. Some require a
response from a list of choices. This response determines the rise or drop
in affinity applied to one are all characters involved.
-Graphics-
This is an XBox 360 game, so the graphics are very flashy. There are a lot
of highlights and glow effects. This is especially nice when you run
around in the desert and the glow from the sand is almost blinding. The
lighting adds a nice feel to the game overall.
-Sound-
The sound in the game is nice. It mostly consists of background music for
different areas that is meant to set the mood. Towns usually have an
upbeat tune while dungeons have a more mellow feel. You can also hear
enemies sneaking up on you which is very nice.
-Conclusion-
I really like this game, but there is a lot of stuff to do. I can
definitely understand someone not wanting to play it because of this.
There are records for everything in the game and even a dictionary. This
game really likes information and tries to provide as much as possible. On
the plus side, I spend most of my time in battle, so the game consists of a
lot of action. However, the quests and need to obtain certain item drops
can become very tedious.
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jm795's Star Ocean: The Last Hope (360)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 20 April, 2009
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