In the year since the 360 version of SO:TLH, Square Enix and Tri-Ace didn’t add much to the game. When the game hit the 360 last year, the character portraits were CGI and looked horrible. Ditto for most of the menus. Square Enix and Tri-Ace tried to make them appeal to North American gamers and it failed. Now you can either use the horrid CGI portraits OR you can use the new, anime-style portraits and menus, which I recommend. Japanophiles also have the option to use Japanese voiceovers. I guess these ‘amazing’ new additions to the game warrant the whole ‘International Edition’ label.
Fans of the Star Ocean series will be happy to see all the connections to the other games. Avid RPG fans will enjoy the game. And why not? It’s a solid, above-average RPG. It does little new and doesn’t advance the RPG genre any, yet is still good enough and would be a steal with a lower price. Gamers looking to get into RPGs for the first time… this isn’t the title for you. Why? Seeing as how it offers little new and is nothing to brag about, you won’t understand why RPG fans hold the genre so dearly to their hearts. While you wouldn’t go wrong buying Star Ocean: The Last Hope, with so many blockbuster titles (including another Square Enix RPG) arriving next month, I would advise letting this above-average RPG age a bit before you make a purchase.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Has a few original ideas here and there Long, boring cutscenes with a cliched storyline and characters |
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