IGN: Star Ocean: The Last Hope Review

Star Ocean: The Last Hope International is a great JRPG and the inclusion of the original Japanese language track is always a welcome addition, especially when dealing with very Japanese characters. Even though the game suffers from some visual issues, and save point infrequency can be a huge annoyance, IGN loved playing Last Hope.

Presentation - 7.0
Graphics - 7.0
Sound - 8.5
Gameplay - 8.5
Lasting Appeal - 8.5
Overall -

[Gue1]

how come this game's really sh1t with creepy character models and it gets an 8.5? This means that FFXIII will get a 10 or something?

[vhero]

It's not really s**t though its a pretty good game and the PS3 version got 8.5 compared to the 8/20 the 360 version got. IGN just confirmed which console has the better version..

[Ravage27]

maybe it's just me, but the low resolution visuals completely kills off the graphical appeal of SO4. Upgraded resolution was the first thing on my mind when the ps3 version was announced and i'm disappointed to say the least.

Anyone else noticed that IGN uses a senseless scoring system?
SO4:
Presentation - 7.0
Graphics - 7.0
Sound - 8.5
Gameplay - 8.5
Lasting Appeal - 8.5
Overall - 8.5

WKC:
Presentation - 5.5
Graphics - 7.0
Sound - 7.5
Gameplay - 5.0
Lasting Appeal - 6.5
Overall - 5.1

[GameGambits]

The games main flaws have to do with dialogue, story, and the lead character being mega emo. The voice acting is fixed with japanese voice overs, but the story will still be meh when you reach the end. It starts off great, but it just goes south...similar to SO3 unfortunately.

The battle system, music, and weapon customization/synthing is all top notch and fun. I completed it back on my 360 and had bought it day one, and right as I type this I'm replaying it on my PS3 but I rented it.(Mostly due to boredom and not have anything else to play till Heavy Rain hits next week)

It is about an 8-8.5 in quality. I am noticing though in the PS3 version there is massive amounts of pop in all over the place. I don't remember if the 360 had it this much too, but it's really annoying that I almost missed a treasure chest just because I wasn't close enough for it to pop in on my screen.

It didn't feel worth 60 bucks on my 360, and it doesn't feel worth 60 bucks on PS3 either. If you are a RPG fan though either wait for the price to drop or rent it.

[SaiyanFury]

As a longtime fan of the series, I can see it's pluses and minuses. The graphics aren't quite up to what I was expecting, seeing as SO3 was pretty much locked to 60FPS. That being said, the graphics are very detailed and I don't have a lot of complaints, save the drop in framerate. The controls are solid and functional. The boss battles can be bloody trying if you don't know their weaknesses. And the awesome story twists make this game for me. I understand Japanese, and hearing the game and it's funny private actions in the original language is hilarious. I laugh out loud many times during them, and I enjoy them immensely. As a traditional JRPG purist, this is the first game so far this gen that I've really identified with. I love it. Some will disagree for various reasons; graphics, voice acting, and whatnot. But for me, alone, this is the game I was waiting for. I'd give it a 9/10 if I had to review it. :)

[testerg35]

vhero, over 1yr later and its slightly better. Have fun.

[Kalowest]

They didn't add enough stuff to this game for it to still be $60, i brought WKC instead, and if i want this game, i can buy it for the 360 now for $30 or less.

[maxcer]

yup, it was only $30 (360) at FS, so I had a delema. pay full price for the PS3 version or get a deal and get the 360 version

[Baba1906]

im really anjoying this game, i dont know it got so many bad reviews. i think there is a lot of rpg hate going on lately. its as if rpg haters are reviewing rpgs.

[vhero]

It's a fantastic game just because it came out later on PS3 its getting the hate well ignore the hate I did and I am also loving the game.

[BubbleSystemSuck]

I think Americans hate JRPG...

if its not like "MASS EFFECT" or "FALLOUT 3" is crap!...

I like both styles...

I finish SOTLH on 360, very good RPG.... but i just hated "MAVERICK"

[Hakimy]

what bad reviews? this is a good one and I saw other good reviews for this game ;)

[robotnik]

Can't wait to play this game!

[Ronster316]

Despite WKC getting 5.1?

Make your minds up droids.

Your logic has more ups and downs than madonnas rear end.

[Redempteur]

the first thing i did when i finished installing the game on my ps3 ?

CLASSIC MODE
SUBTITLES ON
VOICE JAPANESE
TEXT ENGLISH

Finally the game is finally alright

[Blaster_Master]

SO4:
Presentation - 7.0
Graphics - 7.0
Sound - 8.5
Gameplay - 8.5
Lasting Appeal - 8.5
Overall - 8.5

WKC:
Presentation - 5.5
Graphics - 7.0
Sound - 7.5
Gameplay - 5.0
Lasting Appeal - 6.5
Overall - 5.1

Doesnt WKC have an online MMO type of component? How in the heck does Star Ocean get 2 more ponts for lasting appeal than WKC? LOL! Wow they must take you guys for idiots? This is exactly why I never trust anyone but myself when it comes to reviews. Im done with IGN and any other site that gives reviews.

[kingdavid]

IGN always does that, really annoying.

[Hakimy]

just because WKC has online gameplay doesn't mean that it has more lasting appeal.FF7 didn't have online gameplay yet I completed that game 4 or 5 times.if the game is great,you'll play it many times.if it's not then you won't even if it has online gameplay ;)

[va_bank]

And this is the first JRPG I'm playing. I'm really liking it so far, I haven't noticed any framerate drops yet - I'm about 10 hours into the game. Maybe it's at later stages. I do agree with IGN on savepoints.

[LiquifiedArt]

But the Low resolution KILLS the game. I'm so dissapointed they haven't fixed the resolution and hit the 720p HD standard. There really is no excuse.

When you got 90% of every other game taht hits 720p and this is an rpg with only a few character models on the screen at once, its not excusable. Even ifit was at Infamous's level taht would be ok, but graphically its very VERY dissapointing.

If they came out with a patch I would be SUPER happy.

[Figboy]

in your comment above.

having online play does NOT instantly mean lasting appeal.

for example, i played and beat Heavenly Sword the first time in about 9 hours. i immediately went back and beat it another 2 times, each time lasting about 5-6 hours.

months later, i come back to it and play it, because it's a fun game. it has NO online component, but the game design itself is so enjoyable i can go back to it.

the same thing with Uncharted 1. i STILL play that game, even in light of Uncharted 2 (which i ALSO play a lot; but barely online), because i love the game and characters.

i was so frustrated when reviewers of single player games would dock points for lack of multi-player.

it is IMPOSSIBLE to judge what a particular person's "replayability level" is, and the reasons WHY that game has replayability. so why should it be applied to game scores.

some people gave games like Bioshock and Mass Effect high replayability, but for me, i played and beat Bioshock once, and was never compelled to play it again. i'm about half way three quarters through Mass Effect 1 (i have ME2 on standby, although i did make a new Shepard and played the first two hours of the game.lol. i couldn't resist), and i have no intention of replaying Mass Effect 1. i don't find it compelling enough to do so (don't get me wrong, i LOVE the game and it's story and characters, i just don't find the gameplay particularly engaging or deep enough to warrant more playthroughs. ME2 doesn't seem to have that problem, however, besides the many unskippable cutscenes).

i know for a 100% FACT that people would disagree with my assessment of the replayability of games like ME and Bioshock. and they wouldn't be WRONG either.

replayability is probably one of the most subjective things about a game along with the arbitrary score reviewers slap at the bottom.

i think i've made my point, but i just thought i'd point out that your statement was great, and applies to more than just your comment on WKC.

i've already sunk 48 hours into WKC, and i've barely touched the online component, which i can see eating up a lot of my time. it's a fun, addicting game, and i'm actually thinking of starting a new game with a new character, and create a new "class" for that character when i'm done with my current character (which will probably take me a while to get that character maxed like i want).

replayability is subjective, and really has no legitimate place in the scoring of a game.

i can understand Graphics, Gameplay, Sound, and Controls. but not replayability. you can mention in the TEXT of your review how you aren't sure about the replayability of the particular game based on your own opinions, but why apply that to an already subjective scoring system?

personally, i don't know why reviewers score games in general, outside of just trying to garner hits. i refuse to put scores on my reviews, because i feel the most pertinent and important information regarding a reviewers opinion of a game are in the body of the review, not the score at the bottom.

[baodeus]

SO4 is bad. RPG should really focus on the story, diaglogue, acting, etc....but SO4 really missing those elements. It really focus on the battle system, which is quite fun really, but that it. I wouldn't give it higher than 7 for this game though. I still try real hard to finish it on the x360 but it takes quite a lot of strenght to get pass the utterly bad acting, story etc....The only RPG game that i regret buying this gen is this one. It is just one really annoying game. I would really recommend renting it first. It is not worth $60 at all.