[PSP] Star Ocean (PSP), Star Ocean 2 (PSP), Star Ocean 4 (Multiplatform confirmed. Yay.)

Originally Posted by SILBER-5

Then again, it's still better than SO2.

Why the fuck do people who say this think it'll ever be true?

C'MEREEEEE BARNEEEEEEEEEEEEY!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'll help with that. Both games are great. As far as music goes, SO2's better ;p.

WAAH

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Dunno about the hate in FD because I'm fine with it. Still with them 3 folks for now and had to adjust to its battle system (started with SO2). Question: does that gauge under your MP also appeared on the original too? Just curious!

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Ah, got about... 6-7 Hours into the game now, and its been an enjoyable experience, even if its partially nostalgic.

The music sounds Star Oceany, the Battle System takes a little getting used to (I felt like I had more control in SO2), but the presentation is excellent in most aspects. The voice acting is decent, and yes, there's a little gauge under your HP/MP Bars.

The game has been a little unclear on where you're supposed to go sometimes, more-so in the first hour, but then again I got extra battles in as a result, so not a big deal there.

The only major difference is that instead of 3D Polygonal Items, its just pictures. Which I guess is either to save on room or processing power or something. However if you've ever played Star Ocean 2, this will be familiar territory. I got a little when they made a very vague, but still foreseeable connection to Star Ocean 3 in one cutscene. I won't spoil it, but I had to squint my eyes all suspicious like when I saw the part that I'm talking about.

Well, can't wait to get through more of the game, and for Second Evolution in January!

Also, something I kind of had to chuckle about: This game makes clear and unmistakable references to drinking and alcohol, almost to the point where I think they were trying to get across
that this game won't be censored, or maybe that's just me.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

There is an optional event that happens a few hours into SO1 if I remember correctly from playing this game on my computer for the SNES, can anyone tell me if they kept that event in the game? Anyone who's pretty far into this game or doesn't mind risking a spoiler can take a look at what I'm talking about.

Spoiler:

It's the event where the main character and this swordsman guy that joins you get drunk in a bar and end up beating up a bunch of guys.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well since this thread hasn't seen action in a bit, figured I'd bump it with a small update.

It looks like Star Ocean: The Last Hope (360) will be bumped up a week to February 24th, which is closer to the release date of Star Ocean: Second Evolution, the "Star Ocean: Second Story" remake for the PSP. Note that this only applies to North America, Japan and Europe's dates remain the same (Feb. 19th and April 24th respectively), so Euros get it about 2 months later, which isn't too bad I guess.

Source: ‘Star Ocean: The Last Hope’ Release Moved Up a Week in US; Now Set for 2/24/09 | GameCyte

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Well I've been playing Second Evolution so far and I have to say I'm impressed. The only problem I have is a silly one. The items and item creation are not in 3D like in the PSX version.

I don't understand why they would use 2D. It's not like the PSP cant handle it. If it can play the PSX version just find, why cant the remake have it too. I always liked those little 3d pictures for the items. :/

FELIPE NO

Its the same way in First Departure and as best as I can work it out, its to save space (After all, in the original they only had battle quotes where as in here they have a lot of spoken dialogue).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

At least no one's gonna criticize the voice dub. Glad to notice Spike Spencer worked on Claude's voice. Reminds me of Akito Tenkawa =D

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Dark Nation

Its the same way in First Departure and as best as I can work it out, its to save space (After all, in the original they only had battle quotes where as in here they have a lot of spoken dialogue).

Oh, I didn't even think about that. I guess that's understandable then. UMD discs are only around 1GB, aren't they? The PSX version was two discs so I can see how you would run out of space if you took the old game and slapped more audio in the game.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Shonos

UMD discs are only around 1GB, aren't they?

1.8Gb if memory serves, though I'd have to look it up to make sure.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

1.8Gb if memory serves, though I'd have to look it up to make sure.

Correct.

Quote:

From Wikipedia
The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on the PlayStation Portable. It can hold up to 1.8 gigabytes of data

Capacity: 900 MB (single layer), 1.8 GB (dual layer)

The pictures of the items seen in-game are very close to their 3D counterparts, and some of the items resemble different items from the third game.
I haven't had a chance to get Second Evolution yet, but I expect it would be the same way. Battle Spells and the overworld is still 3D though, in case someone was fearful about that part.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

What's this about the interface being different in the US version of Star Ocean 4? Apparently they also removed the anime portraits as well. Now they're 3D CG instead?

What the hell is the reasoning behind this? They redid Star Ocean 1 and 2 with all new anime portraits, and kept the interface on those the same. What the heck is the point of removing that stuff from Star Ocean 4..?

I was speaking idiomatically.

I heard that SO4 will run on IU (Infinite Undiscovery) engine so kinda skeptical.

Then again, they should at least release a demo, but this sort of thing happening will be vague at best.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Where did you hear about this? I wouldn't mind at all if SO4 used the same engine as IU, although I know there are many people out there that would definitely disagree with that happening.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Star Ocean: The Last Hope was originally announced at the "Star Ocean Special Stage" at the 2007 Square Enix Party as the tentatively titled Star Ocean 4 with no platform. An Xbox 360 release was revealed during the 2008 Xbox 360 RPG Premiere. In a special interview with Xbox Japan, weeks before the game's release, game producer Yoshinori Yamagishi revealed that the team began planning out Star Ocean: The Last Hope immediately after they finished developing Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, so actual development time took about 5 years. The game uses an improved version of the game engine used in Infinite Undiscovery, where it is able to generate much better graphics, and the stunning expression of light in real time. He also mentioned that the biggest problem the team encountered while creating the game is capacity, as making a RPG on a latest generation console requires vast amounts of data and coding thanks to the complexity of graphics and animations. The game will also be running at a constant 60 fps. Pre-rendered movies are done by a collaboration between tri-Ace and Visual Works, while character design and illustration (only in the Japanese version) is handled by Katsumi Enami, best known for her illustration work in the light novel and anime series Baccano!.

Sources (in Japanese):
Xbox.com | ??????RPG
Xbox.com | ??????RPG

Alternate source can be found here.

May be true I guess. Don't know Gamasutra's rep for the info to be considered credible. So basically yeah, an improved version of the IU engine.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Shonos

What's this about the interface being different in the US version of Star Ocean 4? Apparently they also removed the anime portraits as well. Now they're 3D CG instead?

What the hell is the reasoning behind this? They redid Star Ocean 1 and 2 with all new anime portraits, and kept the interface on those the same. What the heck is the point of removing that stuff from Star Ocean 4..?

The 3D Faces versus Anime I don't care about much. However the graphics in the menus are DEFINITELY easier on the eyes for US Gamers:

Square Enix: Star Ocean 4 Differences For Japan And The West

Japan on the left, US on the right (Faces):


US on the left, Japan on the right (Menu):


How ya doing, buddy?

I think you got those directions backwards there, my friend.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah DN. It is the other way around.

The NA version has CG with the menu being the darker one (though I have to applaud S-E for reminding me what game I am playing when I hit the menu button. Thanks S-E!) while the Jap version has the animu graphics and whatnot.

Another difference would be the removal of animu portraits during dialogue.

Jap:


NA:


In before this gets removed soon.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Okay, fixed it. Every once in a while I get my rights and lefts mixed up it seems

The removal of portraits might be good or bad, provided they animate the character's models appropriately for the NA version.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Focus on the character models for just about everything in the US version really highlights just how stupid most japanese character designs look in 3D. Tales of Hearts was another instance of this.

If it has really shitty motion capture in the cutscenes, it'll really be a complete next-gen JRPG experience.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Been playing SOSE for a bit now and I rather enjoy it. Though I also miss the 3D items (especially the morphing), I can understand why they cut them out.

I think my only big qualm is the inability to hurry through spoken dialogue. You HAVE to wait for the character to stop speaking if they're using voices, and that's kinda annoying for a game with replay value.

Otherwise, much love. I'm gonna try doing some stuff I never got to in the PSX version.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Alright, Star Ocean: The Last Hope shipped yesterday which means I picked it up today. The game comes on 3 Discs, supports "Friends", "Voice", "Achivements" and 1080p and all the other standard stuff. Gonna dive into the game and see how it goes.

FELIPE NO

Just watched the video review from X-Play. Apparently this game has a lot of innuendo.

"This heat brought me closer to everyone in here".

Whoever has the game already and does see innuendo falling left and right, post 'em here.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I might not be able to finish the game for a while, at least until I get a newer TV. Half the text is barely legible. ;_;

Three things stand out right away that I find irritating (But aren't game-breaking): They elected to NOT use motion capture for the movements of characters in cutscenes, which makes a lot of the character move around like awkward robots almost, its like... come on, this is the kind of thing you'd expect from a student learning skeleton manipulation in 3ds max. Secondly I can't pause during a cutscene, instead I get the option to skip it or cancel. The Xbox Guide button serves as a makeshift Pause. Also, despite being from Square Enix / Tri-Ace, they did not even ATTEMPT to lip sync a character's voice to their mouth movements.

On the upside of things, the enviroment is detailed and georgeous to look at sometimes, the battle system takes a little bit getting used to, but its pretty fun. I say getting used to, because the first time I tried it out in the battle simulator, they killed me ;_; However after some more practice I got the hang of things and now I don't mind running into things. The combat is a lot like Star Ocean 3, with Battle Trophies returning. The music is nothing to sneeze at, with a few really nice tracks already heard.

One thing that stood out for me was that, in the opening cutscene, the characters looked realistic, but once you started the game, well it was all "Anime generic-o character face". Also like Star Ocean 3, SAVE points and HEAL points in the field return.

Finally in this post: For those curious (And slightly spoilerish): Welsh somehow returns, and she's got a new design. That also means Item Creation is back as well, although it works a little differently then SO3.

Jam it back in, in the dark.