Review: Star Ocean: The Last Hope –International

New to Star Ocean 4 is the jump defense system called the Blindside ability.  Holding down the Jump button at any time fills up a certain gauge, and moving the analog stick at the right time before the enemy attacks, makes the character go into the Blindside mode, where he or she jumps and moves to the back of the enemy. The opponent has no clue where you are, so attacks after you Blindside them deal extra and critical damage. This is a very cool feature, because it lays as much importance on defense and timing as it does on attacking, so the already chaotic battle system becomes just a bit more fun.

Another new inclusion is the Bonus board. Yes, you guessed it, it’s a board on the side of the screen that fills up as you perform certain feats in battle, and grants certain percentage bonuses to your XP, Money, HP and MP regeneration and Skill points. This gives you incentives to try new things – blindside an enemy to finish it off and you get a blue gem that increases the XP you receive from a battle by 10%. Finishing multiple enemies off with one attack nets you a money bonus, and defeating an enemy using only your Sybolisms gives you a boost to your HP and MP recovery. Careful though, as these boards can be broken when an enemy lands a critical hit on you, but shrewd character management and tactics will go a long way to help you in maintaining your bonus board.

Closing comments:

Star Ocean: The Last Hope International is a fun game to play, but it’s let down by a rank woeful story. Item creation is addictive, and the chaotic battle system is immensely fun, but at some point you’ve got to wonder just how many random enemies and battles you can face without caring for the events in the story, or for the characters themselves. If you’re a hardcore Star Ocean fan, you might just be able to ignore the plot and enjoy this game. Otherwise, give this one a miss.

What Clicked:

• Fun, fast-paced battle system
• Item creation is addictive
• Good looking game, easy on the eyes.

What Bombed:

• Terrible plot.
• Poor dialogue + Wooden and awkward facial expressions = Awful cutscenes.

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