Star Ocean: The Last Hope

It's incredibly marmite

It’s been out since February in the US, but only recently has it hit the shores of the UK. I’m only a fairly recent addition to the RPG fanbase. My first proper RPG was Final Fantasy X, which, I know, is criminal. But I’m making up for it, fast. Since Final Fantasy X, I’ve played the rest in the series, turned my attention to the Tales Of series, lost myself too many times in Phantasy Star Online, immersed myself in the Shin Megami Tensei series…

I guess it’s inevitable that I’d eventually look at Star Ocean and give it a whirl. And that’s exactly what I did.

While I was too late to find the first games on the SNES, I did pick up Star Ocean 3 when I found it for the PS2. I played it, and I’m afraid that I wasn’t impressed. I found the graphic style wasn’t to my liking, the battle system, while good, was frustrating because of the fact that you’d die if you lost all your MP (Magic Points for the uninitiated) as well as your HP (health points, or if you want to be picky, hit points) and the voice acting was enough to make me wish my ears would bleed, just because it would give me something better to do.

But looking around, it seemed that a lot of people had mixed reviews about the game. Some people gave it high marks, others had an even lower opinion of the game than me.

This led me to form one conclusion.

Star Ocean is a bit like the RPG genre’s version of Marmite.

So it was with some trepidation that I picked up Star Ocean: The Last Hope. The art style still didn’t appeal to me, but since when have graphics really mattered to the most hardcore of us? And after playing the game, I can safely say that I actually really like the game.

The plot takes place in the year AD 2087, after World War III takes place, and the game acts as a prequel for the rest of the series, making it the perfect game for those unfamiliar with the franchise to start with, and a nice reason for Star Ocean veterans to come back so they can learn more about the in-game universe.

I can’t tell you much about the story-line, but I can tell you that the plot’s not one of the best I’ve ever come across. However, the slick gameplay makes up for this. No two battles really feel the same thanks to the versatile control scheme, and the myriad of techniques you have available to you when battling (in real-time, no less). There’s the new Rush system that can be used at the press of a button, the option of jumping and dodging away from attacks that wasn’t there before, and believe me, while it sounds simple it really adds more depth to the battle-system. And levelling up your characters isn’t just a matter of grinding, you have the option of levelling up your items and evolving them.

But I still wish that my ears would bleed so then I don’t have to listen to the God-awful voice acting, however, the music fits each situation more or less perfectly. Sure the animation seems to be melodramatic and makes you want to cringe if anyone sees you playing a game where characters appear to be dancing when they’re actually brawling, but the gameplay’s so delightful that it’s almost worth suffering through some of the more tortuous cut-scenes so you can get back to the fighting. Yes, there are several annoying characters that make you want to bludgeon them with a sledgehammer, but which RPG would be complete without a few of those thrown into the mix?

In other words, Star Ocean: The Last Hope has its flaws, but even these aren’t enough to take away from the enjoyability of the main game itself. And there’s so much to do and so many side-quests that there’s enough to keep completionists happy.

The latest addition to the Star Ocean series is pretty standard fare. If you’re looking for something that’s groundbreaking, you’re not going to find it here. You’d be better off waiting for something else, maybe Final Fantasy XIII if it lives up to the hype. But if you simply can’t wait that long without a good RPG adventure to sink your teeth into, then you could definitely do a lot worse than play this.