Star Ocean 4 JP site open. Release Feb 19=Japan, Feb 24=NA, April 24=PAL

Well, that about does it for cancel bonus as well!

/sigh

I would say Rush needs to offer a fuckton of gameplay options to make up for the like 35 gameplay systems that have been apparently removed from 3, but it doesn't look like we'll be using it much to begin with.

And even then, it seems incredibly boring going by the descriptions here, like something right out of Tales! Mash buttons to fill a gauge to do the special attack! Yea!

I'm officially depressed now.

There's like this evil synergy of simplification you can already sense with this game. I think the worst culprit may honestly be the apparent removal of MP death (and conversely, the fact no moves use health). Outward from here, everything cascades.
 
A question lingers from Shouta's post...

You say that Edge's skills chain together nicely? What specifically do you mean? If there is only one button (and one kind of regular attack) how do you access more than one battle skill? I'm assuming from your post that you were "chaining" outside of Rush? What do the bumpers/Right trigger do?

I'm guessing that, supposing you can chain skills, they're limited by your MP? Because it would seem they've dumped guts/fury as well (another horrible mistake, burn in hell).

Oh how I long for the days I thought they had just changed the name for guts/fury to Rush :/ Poor me. The battle layout is now almost exactly like a Tales game, oddly enough. What with the character art portraits, hp/mp/OL bars all nicely there.
 
Err cancel bonus is still in, it pops up when you fight and cancel moves.

And when I saw chains nicely together, I mean the moves flow right into each other well when you use them, at least the first two anyway. You chain at the end of the move and it smoothly transitions into the next one without a pause but like I said, that's the first two skills.

Triggers are skills, 1 on the left, 1 on the right in the controller guide and the settings they had for the demo. Shoulder Buttons were for switching between members quickly.

And quit it with the drama queen routine.
 
How improved was SO3's combat compared to 2? I didn't really feel 2 so much (it was okay/good, but I actually preferred the PSX Tales). SO4 looks awesome - how much of an improvement does it seem to be over 3's?
 
Llyranor said:
How improved was SO3's combat compared to 2? I didn't really feel 2 so much (it was okay/good, but I actually preferred the PSX Tales). SO4 looks awesome - how much of an improvement does it seem to be over 3's?
Click to expand...

It's about the same in the 15 minutes I played (for SO4 over SO3) but I didn't get to touch all the game systems. The most interesting feature, MP kills was taken out but to be honest, it was a system that was poorly used in SO3 aside from being an alternative way of killing the enemy, imo.

SO3 is a marked improvement over SO2 overall.. There are some hit detection and reaction issues that may seem annoying at first. It's also only 3 characters as opposed to 4 which towns down the insanity a bit. The boss battles don't get as good as 2 though, at least that's how I see it.
 
Llyranor said:
How improved was SO3's combat compared to 2? I didn't really feel 2 so much (it was okay/good, but I actually preferred the PSX Tales). SO4 looks awesome - how much of an improvement does it seem to be over 3's?
Click to expand...

While I haven't played it, going by information gathered here and abroad, it seems like a massive downgrade/simplification from 3. This is a bad thing. It seems they've listened to the wailing of the noobs on this one (no MP death, for starters).

SO3 has better combat than other SO games, and other action RPGs in general. A true god among insects.
 
Shouta said:
Err cancel bonus is still in, it pops up when you fight and cancel moves.

And when I saw chains nicely together, I mean the moves flow right into each other well when you use them, at least the first two anyway. You chain at the end of the move and it smoothly transitions into the next one without a pause but like I said, that's the first two skills.

Triggers are skills, 1 on the left, 1 on the right in the controller guide and the settings they had for the demo. Shoulder Buttons were for switching between members quickly.

And quit it with the drama queen routine.
Click to expand...

Yay for cancelling!

+5 (running total -195).

I disagree that MP death was not handled well in SO3, overall. I thought it was, and added a ton of variety to almost every aspect of the game (crafting, skills, battles, approach to some bosses, the list is endless). I'm just really peeved this is gone!

Also, seeing TWO kinds of damage scroll by when you attack provides an extra strength nerdgasm!

(did we know before TGS that it was out, I can't seem to recall, though I've been waiting for a blowout of info to really invest myself so I may have missed it)

I would agree though that they built the first disc of SO3 without factoring in MP damage. Using MP skills makes the first disc a total cakewalk. Also, since you aren't used to using it or having it used on you, it makes the second disc seem like a nightmare (at least when you're not ready for it). The answer to this is not to get rid of MP damage, but rather to properly calibrate the game for it and acclimate the players to it.
 
It adds stuff to do but they don't do anything with it beyond maybe one or two bosses that really require you to use it to win. The option is on the table but it's never really utilized. They really could've done some interesting battles. with it.
 
Not really a fan of the in-game model of the main character and the girl. They look way too young compared to their artwork. The guy is suppose to be 20, but looks like a 14 year old in-game.
 
Eltacoman said:
I wonder if there will ever be a new GREAT turn based rpg this gen.
Click to expand...
There already has been. Lost Odyssey. Most reviewers marked it down because it was old school and there were some technical niggles (most of which weren't apparent in the released version).
 
Psychotext said:
There already has been. Lost Odyssey. Most reviewers marked it down because it was old school and there were some technical niggles (most of which weren't apparent in the released version).
Click to expand...

I dont have a 360 so I can't try it, but I was just going off what I heard that it wasn't very good but if I ever get one I'll give it a try.
 
Just watched the first of those videos, i gotta day im impressed at how fluid the battles are didn't see a hint of slowdown and the framerate looked rock solid.
 
Eltacoman said:
I dont have a 360 so I can't try it, but I was just going off what I heard that it wasn't very good but if I ever get one I'll give it a try.
Click to expand...
If you're a fan of turn-based JRPGs, you should at least give it a try and form your own opinion about it. It has high and low points.
 
SO4.jpg

Edge Maverick
Age:20

Reimi Saionji
Age: 19

Faize Sheifa Beleth
Age: 18

Lymle Lemuri Phi
Age: 15


Does anyone else feel the characters don't look their age?
 
A few hours of downloading the video for less than 4 minutes of battle footage.

Life is awesome.

Looks fun though, seems the Artes Collection thingies aren't just general things like BTs and apply to each character?
 
that's typical of anime designs, characters look a lot younger despite their 'age'. I don't see what's the big deal, this not new for anime designed characters.
 
I'll mirror ruliweb's videos.
I wonder how they managed to get these videos done though, MS and S-E were really crazy with the no-filming restriction on SO4.
 
the second vid is the most interesting one, it has an in-depth look at the main menu.

also LOLZ @ the dude getting told to turn off the camera then the vid starts again.
 
Lebron said:
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_7222_en.html

Blim mirrored the vidoes
Click to expand...

After watching these videos my interest in this title since the first trailer has dropped. Perhaps it is just me, but I don't seem to know what is going on during battles... so many enemies, so much colour and effects and all at a speed that I can't even follow a character when watching.
Also the art style and characters are a bit too cute and colourfull for my taste...

I guess it will be too japanese for me (never though I'd say that :D )... but let's not jump to early conclusions. Hopefully there will be a demo so I can see if it will be easier when playing yourself.
 
second vid was AWESOME.

few things I noticed.

- you can change skills DURING battles (great!)
- you can level up skills using Skill Points (SP), this means skills leveling goes back to SO2 style. I don't know how you gain SP, though. Maybe after you level up?
- Bonus Board looks like it's quite better than the Bonus Gauge, more bonuses this time around. Easier to get, too. I noticed how SP was one of the bonuses shown.
- the demo difficulty level was Galaxy (Normal)
- You can set up to 3 different skills for each trigger. then there's seperate slots for passive battle skills.
- CP is back
- 8 character slots. 4 for battle party and 4 additional slots for the other party members. so that means there are more than 7 characters.
 
This thread needs a .gif of Doc Brown peeling off the skin of his face, signifying that the future has far superior aging suppressants.

Also, DO WANT. Can't wait for SO4 and an XBox360.
 
Error said:
second vid was AWESOME.

few things I noticed.

- you can change skills DURING battles (great!)
Click to expand...

The option certainly took a while, but nice to have it.

Three skills on each button at once sounds interesting. Interested in how this changes the gameplay. I assume this means we get at least a little more than 15 CP as well.

And it seems killing an enemy in Rush Mode might be one way to add a part to the bonus board. Wonder what the method to add the other kind of bonuses are?
 
Framerate in the second vid was fine, btw.

It seems the game is definitely more combo friendly than previous SO, and Rush seems to be the spam killer of this game. You gain Rush while getting hit.
 
New famitsu scans shows space traveling and a new character... seems to be cyborg.
 
Pilot Your Own Ship in Star Ocean 4
The latest SO actually feels kinda like a sci-fi RPG for a change.
It wasn't explicitly mentioned in 1UP's coverage of Star Ocean: The Last Hope at last week's Tokyo Game Show, but even if you never really dug the SO series up to now, there's one very important reason why you should check out this 360 title anyway: it may actually feel a bit like a science-fiction RPG this time, as opposed to previous games where you tooled through space occasionally but mostly wound up touring the same JRPG medieval-themed worlds in the end.

The fourth Star Ocean is the first one where you actually get to captain your own spaceship, named the Calnus (just like a certain other ship we saw in previous games). Hero Edge Maverick is captain of the Calnus, which is outfitted with everything you need to be a hip outer-space hero: a cockpit, rec room, living quarters, a conference area where you'll be able to create and mix items together (an SO hallmark), and a battle-training chamber. You'll be able to pilot the Calnus to any planet in the galaxy that strikes your fancy, a departure from previous games where you were simply driven wherever the story took you, suggesting that the story template for SO4 may be less linear and JRPG-y and more along the lines of a -- dare we say it? -- Knights of the Old Republic instead.

The Calnus also seems to be the main place where Private Actions occur in Star Ocean 4. For those unaware, PAs are optional mini story cutscenes that take place between characters in your party that are either part of the main tale or are triggered when you meet certain conditions. The PAs you see, and the decisions you make within them, can help you build (or destroy) your relationship with your party; they could even affect what kind of ending you get. So no groaning when we get the inevitable "Edge walking in on his female love interest Reimi while she's taking a shower" scene, all right? It'll come back to haunt you later.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is hitting the 360 February 19 in Japan and early March in the US.
Click to expand...
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170671
 
I hope they're being honest about travel. Getting stuck on primitive planet x is one of the worst things about Star Ocean.
 
Awesome, I love interplanetary travel in my RPGs... considering Phantasy Star, the premiere sci-fi RPG series, is now dead in the water in my mind, Star Ocean will have to fulfill that role. I am extreeeeeeeemely hyped for this game, but I can only imagine how much more hyped I would be if SO3 and IU weren't slight disappointments.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Gothic 1 Remake Demo available from Feb 24 to Mar 3 as part of Steam Next Fest
News 
19
2K
corgiix3 replied
Wuchang Fallen Feathers releases July 24
News 
34
784
dgrdsv replied
Famitsu Sales: Week 9, 2025 (Feb 24 - Mar 02), Highest PS5 weekly sales since it's 2020 launch week.
Sales-Age  2 3
149
9K
Woopah replied
Xbox Indie showcase February 24
News  2
50
3K
intbal replied
Famitsu Sales: Week 8, 2025 ( Feb 17 - Feb 23)
Sales-Age 
44
3K
mckmas8808 replied
Top Bottom