Despite some lingering flaws of the genre, Star Ocean: TLH is the strongest addition to the Xbox 360's JRPG library
Even though The Last Hope is the fourth installment in the series, the story actually takes place before any of the previous games. Not only does this make the game accessible for newcomers, it also streamlines a story that could have easily been marred by attempts to connect it to the convoluted canon. Long time fans shouldn't worry too much, though, as there are a few subtle nudge-and-wink references to previous games. Some names may sound familiar and you even get to visit an important planet from a previous installment.
The Last Hope takes place after a devastating nuclear war has totally ravaged the ecosystem of Earth rendering it uninhabitable. Thus, nations all over the world set aside their differences and band together to fund a massive amount of research. But not to save the Earth, no way…we're going to look for a new planet to mess up! Social commentaries aside, the setting finally allows the series to take place IN SPACE unlike previous installments which all focused on one particular underdeveloped (read: medieval) planet.
For the duration of your space travels, you control (deep sigh…) Edge Maverick. The SRF, or Space Reconnaissance Force, gives Edge the task of exploring planets to determine if they're worthy enough to be trounced by humanity (OK, OK I'll stop). As you start your journey, Edge is only accompanied by his childhood friend/love interest Reimi, but as you travel you are joined by a giant robot man, a buxom magic user, a helium-voiced angel, and a shockingly annoying cat girl. Eventually, you discover an anomaly in space that could trigger cataclysmic events. Many JRPG veterans are probably moaning right now and sadly, the clichés only get worse from there. Plot twists are incredibly predictable and some of the character interactions will make you cringe in agony. However, if you manage to bare with those elements and a long stretch of the game where Edge is insufferably emotional, you will be treated to some spectacular large scale space battles which by far are the highlight of the story.
If the space battles are the highlight of the story, the combat system has to be the highlight of the entire game. Much like the previous games, the combat takes place in real time and you can freely move any character you select and attack at will. While many battles can be won by simply mashing the A button, the real fun lies in using precise timing and combos to earn bonuses, acquire battle trophies, and deal massive damage to unsuspecting foes. Bonuses are gained by fulfilling certain conditions in battle. The bonuses can be combined or stacked on a board that tallies up a number of benefits. For example, the bonus for defeating an enemy with a critical hit is a 10% boost to experience earned. If you manage to do that numerous times, you can keep stacking bonuses until eventually you gain 120% more experience, which is a great way to keep up with some difficult dungeons in the game's final hours.
A nifty trick to use in battle to help gain those bonuses is the Blindside attack. By holding down the B button, you charge up a dash that can be used to catch an enemy from behind and deal critical hits. Not only is the effect cool as the camera slows down in dramatic fashion to follow your movements, but it proves to be a crucial tool in battle as some bosses can only be heavily damaged with Blindside attacks. In addition to Blindsides, there is a Rush mode that boosts a character's attack and defense, Rush combos that use several members of the party in one ultra combination attack, and Skill Points that allow you to boost HP or status resistances. Using different tactics and characters in battle rewards you with battle trophies that range from easy tasks such as "Deal at least 1,000 damage" to ridiculous ones like "Recover HP to the exact maximum capacity". With about 900 trophies to earn, an extremely robust item creation system, several different endings, and a decent number of side (mostly fetch) quests, look forward to playing the game for hundreds of hours if you want all of those shiny achievement points.
Visually, the game is kind of a mixed bag. The game looks its best when the focus is placed on large scale environments. The first shot of Edge's spaceship as it leaves the hangar is amazing, and every outdoor environment you explore absolutely shimmers with its lush vegetation, mountains, and impressive draw distances. It can take quite a while to travel around these environments since for some reason, the game forces you to repeatedly push a super dash button instead of allowing you to keep it held down, but those are small issues that only pop up in certain areas. Plus, once the camera pulls in for a close up of your characters, you'll long to see those outdoor areas again.
The character designs are actually quite good on the surface, especially if you're a fan of anime. However, developer Tri-Ace forgot to add emotion, animation, and skin texture (try not to stare at the bare midriff of the magic user for too long) to their impressive models. At times, while playing, it felt like I was watching an episode of Thunderbirds, which didn't help the already ridiculous emotional scenes. The lack of animation also hurts the comic relief scenes that would have worked wonderfully in a hand drawn anime, but fail miserably (as they often do) in an English dubbed video game. The English voices aren't bad overall, but a couple roles are extremely grating (You can probably guess which ones meow) and one actor's voice is recycled so often it becomes insulting. The music is handled by Tri-Ace's veteran composer Motoi Sakuraba. The musical score is competent but redundant, sounding nearly identical to pieces from every other Star Ocean game right down to the synthesized progressive rock tracks. With such a overall visual leap, its disappointing to have a soundtrack that sounds no better than a Playstation 1 game.
Despite its setbacks, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is still a great game overall. The battle system is polished and fast paced, and the game builds up to a respectable crescendo for its conclusion. Most of the grievances I've listed are coming from a RPG veteran, so if you've never played a Japanese RPG before, the clichés and shortcomings will be far less apparent. On that same note, if you're a Japanese RPG fan just looking for a new title to have fun with that isn't looking to reinvent the genre, Star Ocean is definitely worth picking up.
Cain