Impressions - Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Sorry about the lack of posts. RL and my other blog have consumed most of my time. I'll try to post here more.

I love JRPGs (Japanese Role-Playing Games). Been dying to get into another one since I finished .hack//G.U. I purchased the latest Star Ocean game for the Xbox360. I've just recently gotten to the second DVD, so I think I've covered enough to get the general idea of where the game is going. I'll cover this in a good vs. bad format.


THE GOOD.

- Real-time combat. Some of my favorite RPGs are departures from the turn-based format most commonly known from the Final Fantasy series. I have an appreciation for turn-based, but RT just has more kick to it.

- Length. I knew it would be a lengthy affair as the case contained 3 DVDs. This filled me with hope, since I hate short RPGs. I need to be consumed by the epic, and that can't be done properly in short amount of time. That's not a rule, but a pervasive observation.


THE BAD.

- The Characters. As bland and cookie-cutter as they get. Not just that, but the script is horrible.

- Way too many cutscenes. I love cutscenes, but they have to be good. MGS4 was good, so it didn't bother me. .hack//G.U. had quite a few and they were awesome. These are long and quite boring.

- Graphical detail. This is a Square Enix game. I've seen what they're capable of and this would have been disappointing 5 years ago. bland designs, no detail and spotty movement. Total lack of commitment to quality. This is probably the most glaring and disappointing part of the game, and since there are so many long cutscenes, the player is subjected to sub-par work constantly.

- Verbose combat system. I like they RT aspect, but there's just too much here. Blindsides and bonus boards and chains and on and on. Less would have been more here.


All in all it seems like a game they put out just to have something on the market. Quantity well over quality, but the market seems to like it. It's not a horrible game and if you like JRPGs then you'll probably enjoy this to some extent.

At least it's something to keep my busy until Final Fantasy XIII comes out.

o7