star ocean the last hope international review

#Star ocean the last hope international review how to
#Star ocean the last hope international review series

It's a minor annoyance, and these fights really stand out as being both smart and challenging.Īside from the main story, there's a ridiculous amount of side content, although it's not going to entice everyone. The life meter is there, but instead of showing the boss' health, it just has question marks and never counts down as the boss takes damage. The worst part of the bosses is that they do not have a life meter like all other enemies do. For this writer, it's frustrating, but critical to making battles more strategic and thoughtful. Bosses have weak spots that must be exploited (although this being smart design or an absolute nuisance is really up to the player to decide). This results in a lot of needless deaths, which results in the player having to stop whatever they are doing and revive a fallen teammate, who is likely to be dead again in moments.Īgain, button mashers beware, The Last Hope is not kind. The AI doesn't seem to notice this, and runs in, flailing like a scared child on Halloween. During the second big boss fight, for instance, it's important to keep your distance. The AI seems dead set on haphazardly running into danger pretty much all of the time. The less fun part comes from the AI controlling your teammates.Īs the player is only able to control one party member at a time (although they can change control whenever they want), the remainder are controlled by AI.

#Star ocean the last hope international review how to

Skills (all of which can be boosted over time), Blindsides (a way to swoop around the enemy and attack from behind), and learning how to manage your parties attacks, are all extremely critical and fun. Getting good at balancing attacks is important, as you can't just mash the attack over and over without the controlled character having to stop momentarily. There's non-English voice acting, and there's also a summary of every cut-scene if you skip it, but still, it's all a little weird.Ĭombat is always an important feature in an RPG, and it shines brightly here, at least for the most part. Mixed with the awful English voice acting, it's hard to enjoy most of the cut-scenes without feeling like you're watching possessed porcelain dolls come up with a plan to thwart the Justice League. It's like the artistic team wanted to transfer Till The End of Times' anime attributes onto real people, and the result is kind of creepy. Characters have a certain marionette puppet quality to them. This same degree of care doesn't shine quite as well when talking about the character models. Early towns, like Woodley, feel like they were ripped out of small town Kentucky, while a nearby temple feels like a lost ruin of an ancient civilisation. This same care goes into every building and town. Beautiful lighting (it's insane, honestly) makes every environment look crisp, clean and, above all else, very real. Every environment is positively enormous deep forests, beautiful snowy lands, terrifying alien ships.

#Star ocean the last hope international review series

Star Ocean is a series that often basks in how big it is, and The Last Hope is no exception.

Together, they will explore the universe, meeting friends, saving civilisations, and fist pumping every time they kill even the lowliest of woodland squirrel. By his side is Reimi Saionji, a lifelike friend and apparent Final Fantasy VIII cosplay enthusiast.

Still, he's now in charge of exploring the universe. He's blonde, he's bold, and he's barely old enough to rent a car. A young man, soaked from head to toe in the very juices that create J-RPG stereotypes. Exploit the weaknesses of your enemies, choose the most damaging skills for combination attacks, and tweak the AI settings of your comrades to create an unstoppable force.Meet Edge. Show courage and strength in the face of the enemy with our battle proven tips. Get the most out of your game and achieve the best endings with our in-depth coverage of all of the side quests and Private Actions. Your complete guide to the universe of STAR OCEAN featuring item locations, puzzle solutions, quest objectives, and crafting information.įULL SIDE QUEST AND PRIVATE ACTION COVERAGE Together, with the help of their new found comrades, they must explore the reaches of space to deal with an unprecedented threat.

NEW HEROES LAUNCH INTO THE GREAT STAR OCEANĮdge Maverick and his friend Remi Saionji have volunteered for the maiden voyage of the SRF (Space Reconnaissance Force) in order to journey into the vast universe and save humanity from the brink of extinction.