The Star Ocean thread - Now fake news free!

RainbowDespair

From RPGFan:

"The newest installment in tri-Ace's flagship Star Ocean series, Star Ocean 4, has been confirmed to be in development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The newest addition to the critically acclaimed franchise is apparently too big for one game, so developer tri-Ace decided to split it up into the following three episodes: Star Ocean 4: First Departure, Star Ocean 4: Second Evolution and Star Ocean 4: Till the End of Time. Series fans should recognize the subtitles as being the same for the first three games of the series (the first and second subtitles being newly added for the PSP remakes).

Star Ocean 4: First Departure will be available in Japan sometime next year."

We already knew it was coming to the PS3, but it's nice to know that the 360 will be getting it as well. And I must say that using the titles of the first three games as a subtitles for the SO4 episodes seems a bit weird. I wonder how much of a connection SO4 will have with the previous games.

EDIT: Looks like this "news" was fake. Carry on w/Star Ocean discussion.

Blackjack

So you know how the "giant epic" (replace epic with retarded for factual clarity) twist in Star Ocean 3 was that everything that had happened in all the games this far were actually just futuristic video games?

Based on the subtitles, I posit Star Ocean 4 is going to be about the people that played those video games.

Seriously, though, it can't be any worse than the third one, right?

Slicer

I hope the party AI is better than the AI in SO3.

I gave up after awhile because it was frustrating to give commands to party members (since you couldn't issue commands to be done after they were doing whatever, you had to wait for them to be doing nothing). The crappy AI was just icing on the cake compared to that.

urahonky

I really hope it's not as bad as SO3. I wanted to love that game SO much... I just... Couldn't do it.

Gennenalyse Rueben

Episodic? Same subtitles as the remakes and the third game? Did somebody translate something wrong somewhere, because honestly that seems highly suspect to me. Unless they're pulling some time travel crap, which would eliminate the whole point to the game supposedly taking place before the Federation's predecessor. Really was looking forward to a more exploratory game...

EDIT: Also, SO3's AI was way better than SO2's. Which was infinitely better than SO1's, where they'd never target the same enemy as you.

Pb

SO3 has pretty much killed me on the series. Spending half the damn game on that one planet, coupled with the twist and AI that literally could no be any worse if it tried soured me on it. No AI is going to be perfect, but if that fucking wind guy keeps using the tornado rape skill around his body maybe you should BACK UP A BIT YOU FAGGOTS. GOD DAMMIT. I left people dead half the time because it was easier, and that just shouldn't happen.

Xagarath

I remember when this was meant to be PS3 exclusive.

RainbowDespair

Gennenalyse Rueben wrote: »

Episodic? Same subtitles as the remakes and the third game? Did somebody translate something wrong somewhere, because honestly that seems highly suspect to me.

○スターオーシャン４ＦｉｒｓｔDeparｔure（ＰＳ３，Ｘｂｏｘ360） 2008
　・新作ゲーム通信の最後にタイトルロゴのみ発表
　・３つに分けて発売されるＳＯ４、３部作の第一弾
　・タイトルロゴとキャライラストの広告が４ページ。ゲーム画面は載ってない
　・第２弾の副題はSecondEvolution、第３弾はTilltheEndofTime
　・新年第一号で詳細発表

Nope, looks pretty accurate to me.

Septus

So, I'm guessing it will be yet another initially Sci-fi game that turns into a less interesting fantasy game?

Blackjack

Seeing as how that's the way the entire series has been (seriously, that's the one critique of SO3 that I don't get), that's a safe bet.

RoyceSraphim

Honestly, I will be happy to get the first one without resorting to CENSORED and getting another version of teh second, I should probably beat it on the PS2 but I forgot where I was and what I was supposed to do, I just remember hating the magnificent 10 for what they did.

Septus

Blackjack wrote: »

Seeing as how that's the way the entire series has been (seriously, that's the one critique of SO3 that I don't get), that's a safe bet.

Oh, it was not much of a surprise for me in SO3, but it was a disappointment in SO2 which continued for me in SO3 and would do so again in a new game.

Joule

RainbowDespair wrote: »

Gennenalyse Rueben wrote: »

Episodic? Same subtitles as the remakes and the third game? Did somebody translate something wrong somewhere, because honestly that seems highly suspect to me.

○スターオーシャン４ＦｉｒｓｔDeparｔure（ＰＳ３，Ｘｂｏｘ360） 2008
　・新作ゲーム通信の最後にタイトルロゴのみ発表
　・３つに分けて発売されるＳＯ４、３部作の第一弾
　・タイトルロゴとキャライラストの広告が４ページ。ゲーム画面は載ってない
　・第２弾の副題はSecondEvolution、第３弾はTilltheEndofTime
　・新年第一号で詳細発表

Nope, looks pretty accurate to me.

I assume that their source is the same as that of the neogaf thread on the same subject. If that's the case then I'd rather wait on some more confirmed info with scans from the regular sources.

The way it's structured just sounds very off to me.

Gennenalyse Rueben

RainbowDespair wrote: »

Gennenalyse Rueben wrote: »

Episodic? Same subtitles as the remakes and the third game? Did somebody translate something wrong somewhere, because honestly that seems highly suspect to me.

○スターオーシャン４ＦｉｒｓｔDeparｔure（ＰＳ３，Ｘｂｏｘ360） 2008
　・新作ゲーム通信の最後にタイトルロゴのみ発表
　・３つに分けて発売されるＳＯ４、３部作の第一弾
　・タイトルロゴとキャライラストの広告が４ページ。ゲーム画面は載ってない
　・第２弾の副題はSecondEvolution、第３弾はTilltheEndofTime
　・新年第一号で詳細発表

Nope, looks pretty accurate to me.

...I can't read that. :P Seriously, if they pull some Time Travel stuff and make it so you team up with people from the respective games to combat The New Universal Threat (tm), I'm not sure I'll even get it. I loved the other three games [never touched Blue Sphere], but that'd just be...not that exciting. In my opinion, of course.

LewieP

but the 360 only has FPSs?

Silpheed

I know how the drill about how the SO games work. Start in a Sci-Fi enviroment->Get dumped into a fantasy (less advanced) setting for the rest of the game. I would just want to see a deviation from that formual, hell, I'd even like a reverse of the usual SO story. Start in a standard fantasy fare world for the first hours of the story and then you end up in space, with plenty of starship combat and pew-pew lazers.

Malkor

Man. I'll probably buy it.

Furu

Silpheed wrote: »

I know how the drill about how the SO games work. Start in a Sci-Fi enviroment->Get dumped into a fantasy (less advanced) setting for the rest of the game. I would just want to see a deviation from that formual, hell, I'd even like a reverse of the usual SO story. Start in a standard fantasy fare world for the first hours of the story and then you end up in space, with plenty of starship combat and pew-pew lazers.

To be fair the first one started you out in said fantasy enviroment before suddenly springing the space stuff on you out of nowhere.

Anyway, yeah, I'll get this. Can't be as bad as 3 and I'm still a fan of the franchise.

Gyral

Man I just hope the plot/script/voice acting is better this time around. By disc 2 of SO3, I couldn't take the story anymore. It was like the script was written by a ninth grader.

Hypertime

I'd be really excited if Star Ocean 3 didn't suck such copious amounts of dick.

Drez

Let's hope it's better than SO3: 'Til The End Of Two Hours When I Throw The Game Away Out Of Frustration And Boredom.

Joule

Furu wrote: »

Silpheed wrote: »

I know how the drill about how the SO games work. Start in a Sci-Fi enviroment->Get dumped into a fantasy (less advanced) setting for the rest of the game. I would just want to see a deviation from that formual, hell, I'd even like a reverse of the usual SO story. Start in a standard fantasy fare world for the first hours of the story and then you end up in space, with plenty of starship combat and pew-pew lazers.

To be fair the first one started you out in said fantasy enviroment before suddenly springing the space stuff on you out of nowhere.

Anyway, yeah, I'll get this. Can't be as bad as 3 and I'm still a fan of the franchise.

Some other things also sprung out of nowhere from SO1, the end game was just a story breakdown of sorts. I still enjoy the game and series a lot but it was so awkward in the end.

Whippy

star ocean 3 was half an hour of fun stuffed in a forty hour bag of shit

Nalouto

hit the nail on the fucking head Drez.

I really liked the.... box it came in...

Whippy

in fact the only reason this franchise still exists is because the second was such a shining beacon of excellence

seriously I kind of want to go play it now just to wash the bad taste of even merely thinking about 3 out of my mouth/brain

Malkor

The problem that I had with SO3 was that I felt like I was wasting my fucking life playing the game. I just kept thiking to myslef, 'if he would just go to an unpopulated area and turn on a beacon...' Oh fuck, and the mines. And that stupid god damned counter that showed you what % of the map you revealed. DONT THEY KNOW I HAVE TO 100% EVERY MAP TO SLEEP AT NIGHT? I think I did have fun at some point though.

Gennenalyse Rueben

Joule wrote: »

Furu wrote: »

Silpheed wrote: »

I know how the drill about how the SO games work. Start in a Sci-Fi enviroment->Get dumped into a fantasy (less advanced) setting for the rest of the game. I would just want to see a deviation from that formual, hell, I'd even like a reverse of the usual SO story. Start in a standard fantasy fare world for the first hours of the story and then you end up in space, with plenty of starship combat and pew-pew lazers.

To be fair the first one started you out in said fantasy enviroment before suddenly springing the space stuff on you out of nowhere.

Anyway, yeah, I'll get this. Can't be as bad as 3 and I'm still a fan of the franchise.

Some other things also sprung out of nowhere from SO1, the end game was just a story breakdown of sorts. I still enjoy the game and series a lot but it was so awkward in the end.

There was apparently supposed to be a whole second planet or something, the same size as Roak was. That whole end section there was just horribly rushed.

The Dude With Herpes

Malkor wrote: »

The problem that I had with SO3 was that I felt like I was wasting my fucking life playing the game. I just kept thiking to myslef, 'if he would just go to an unpopulated area and turn on a beacon...' Oh fuck, and the mines. And that stupid god damned counter that showed you what % of the map you revealed. DONT THEY KNOW I HAVE TO 100% EVERY MAP TO SLEEP AT NIGHT? I think I did have fun at some point though.

I think that was the point.

My only problem with the map thing was that most of the maps you couldn't 100% till halfway through the game, when you don't even need the money from the bunnies anymore; you need the money early on where there's a very small amount of maps you can complete.

And there isn't any other use for the bunnies, you only need to have one on you; the others are just for selling.

RainbowDespair

SO3 had a horribly slow beginning, but it did pick up after the first couple of hours. It wasn't the best of games and I ended up quiting around the 30 hour mark, but I did get some fun out of it. And personally, I have a little hope for SO4 if only because I really enjoyed SO2.

Though to be honest, I'm more excited about the possibility that SO4 could mark the beginning of a lot of JRPGs that were previously announced to be PS3 exclusive becoming dual platform PS3/360 more than I am excited about SO4 itself.

Blackjack

I hope they dumb the item creation down even more in this one.

Like, I want to just type in "Rape Sword" and they give it to me.

Dashui

I actually liked Star Ocean 3, for the most part. People have said in this thread that the party member AI was bad, but there was no AI. It was non-existent. If I remember correctly, your party members did absolutely nothing. You controlled one person at a time, and you could switch between them freely. The rest of the team just stood there doing nothing.

And the twist, I hated the twist. I'll get Star Ocean 4, but I hope they don't pull something like that again.

Blackjack

Dashui wrote: »

I actually liked Star Ocean 3, for the most part. People have said in this thread that the party member AI was bad, but there was no AI. It was non-existent. If I remember correctly, your party members did absolutely nothing. You controlled one person at a time, and you could switch between them freely. The rest of the team just stood there doing nothing.

What? No.

Whichever two you weren't controlling ran straight into the middle of a group of enemies and spammed their highest HP taking attack, basically.

The Wolfman

I think I might have been able to stomach the AI in SO3 if I hadn't just come from beating Tales of Symphonia. Same basic battle system, but man, it's like night and day.

Still, for a series called Star Ocean, you would think they wouldn't be afraid of using the damn sci-fi aspect they have. Rogue Galaxy is what the series should have been.

Dashui

Blackjack wrote: »

Dashui wrote: »

I actually liked Star Ocean 3, for the most part. People have said in this thread that the party member AI was bad, but there was no AI. It was non-existent. If I remember correctly, your party members did absolutely nothing. You controlled one person at a time, and you could switch between them freely. The rest of the team just stood there doing nothing.

What? No.

Whichever two you weren't controlling ran straight into the middle of a group of enemies and spammed their highest HP taking attack, basically.

Really? Huh. I wonder what I'm thinking of. I remember SO3 as them not doing anything, but I guess I was mistaken.

RainbowDespair

Dashui wrote: »

Blackjack wrote: »

Dashui wrote: »

I actually liked Star Ocean 3, for the most part. People have said in this thread that the party member AI was bad, but there was no AI. It was non-existent. If I remember correctly, your party members did absolutely nothing. You controlled one person at a time, and you could switch between them freely. The rest of the team just stood there doing nothing.

What? No.

Whichever two you weren't controlling ran straight into the middle of a group of enemies and spammed their highest HP taking attack, basically.

Really? Huh. I wonder what I'm thinking of. I remember SO3 as them not doing anything, but I guess I was mistaken.

Maybe you're thinking about Magna Carta or Eternal Sonata.

Blackjack

Dashui wrote: »

Blackjack wrote: »

Dashui wrote: »

I actually liked Star Ocean 3, for the most part. People have said in this thread that the party member AI was bad, but there was no AI. It was non-existent. If I remember correctly, your party members did absolutely nothing. You controlled one person at a time, and you could switch between them freely. The rest of the team just stood there doing nothing.

What? No.

Whichever two you weren't controlling ran straight into the middle of a group of enemies and spammed their highest HP taking attack, basically.

Really? Huh. I wonder what I'm thinking of. I remember SO3 as them not doing anything, but I guess I was mistaken.

You could probably tell them to do nothing.

And, honestly, once you get Nel's Flying Guillotine attack you might as well take control of her and tell them to do nothing.

Silpheed

I still don't understand why running out of MP kills you in SO3. That was one of many gameplay elements that simply just didn't work.

redstormpopcorn

I swear to god, if they keep the death-by-mana-drain horseshit in this iteration, Tri-Ace's offices will be ablaze within days of release.

Diarmuid

I liked SO3, is there something wrong with me?

Vargas Prime

The Wolfman wrote: »

I think I might have been able to stomach the AI in SO3 if I hadn't just come from beating Tales of Symphonia. Same basic battle system, but man, it's like night and day.

Still, for a series called Star Ocean, you would think they wouldn't be afraid of using the damn sci-fi aspect they have. Rogue Galaxy is what the series should have been.

This is hilarious, because I had the same thing... I had just spent around 60 hours of my life enjoying (for the most part) Tales of Symphonia, and then I tried to jump into Star Ocean 3 and I think I lasted about 2.5 hours...

I then gave Symphonia to my friend, who had been extolling the "virtues" of Star Ocean 3 to me (he played it first, since he was more of a die-hard fan of the series than I was), and he said he couldn't stand Symphonia's combat system and gave up. I asked him if he was sure he was holding the controller the right way...

PiptheFair

Blackjack wrote: »

Dashui wrote: »

Blackjack wrote: »

Dashui wrote: »

I actually liked Star Ocean 3, for the most part. People have said in this thread that the party member AI was bad, but there was no AI. It was non-existent. If I remember correctly, your party members did absolutely nothing. You controlled one person at a time, and you could switch between them freely. The rest of the team just stood there doing nothing.

What? No.

Whichever two you weren't controlling ran straight into the middle of a group of enemies and spammed their highest HP taking attack, basically.

Really? Huh. I wonder what I'm thinking of. I remember SO3 as them not doing anything, but I guess I was mistaken.

You could probably tell them to do nothing.

And, honestly, once you get Nel's Flying Guillotine attack you might as well take control of her and tell them to do nothing.

or a bunch of orichaculns and kill that STUPID FUCKING DRAGON THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNSCALLED TO YOUR LEVEL WHAT THE FUCK in like 3 hits and never care about challenge from anything but FREEZE KILLING SERIOUSLY WHY ARE THERE SO MANY WAYS I CAN LOSE THAT 99% OF ENEMIES ARE IMMUNE TO?

SO3 was my introduction to the series and I couldn't for the life me see why people thought it was any sort of good