WTF? I am disappointed with this game. I was a huge fan of Star Ocean 2. It seemed innovative with the customizable skills and I liked the 80+ endings. Star Ocean 3, though... it seems so boring. It has characters I don't care about, the graphics are poor, the game design seems uninspired. Worst of all, the game is extremely slow. It took me over an hour just to get to the actual game, when the main character's ship crashlands on the planet. I assume this is when the actual game starts, but it's exhausted my patience. This game is going back for Fable or something else. Boo to you, Tri-Ace! Make me wait years for this.
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Star Ocean = teh suck?
- Thread starter Eggo
- Start date
SolidSnakex
Member
It really doesn't pick up till you get to Airyglyph (the next location you're going to go to). That when you start getting alot of your battle abilities, and everything starts moving faster. Cutscenes take a back seat after that since you're going to start going through some really big dungeons.
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Give it another 60 hours.
anyone who played the first game and is complaining about a slow start... man. i wanted to fucking kill myself during the first hour and a half of that. boringest RPG intro in the history of the genre, to my mind.
edit: er, by first game, i meant star ocean: the second story. =P
Eggo said:
edit: er, by first game, i meant star ocean: the second story. =P
The beginning of Star Ocean 2 took like 15 mins to get going. That's pretty long, but over an hour and the game hasn't started yet? That's criminal. I also though Star Ocean 2 opened with an intro of the Enterprise and your away team landing on a planet. Then doesn't an interdimensional gate open and kidnap somebody or something like that?
all i remember is like 7 hours of talking to a village elder and falling asleep in a puddle of my own drool.Eggo said:The beginning of Star Ocean 2 took like 15 mins to get going. That's pretty long, but over an hour and the game hasn't started yet? That's criminal. I also though Star Ocean 2 opened with an intro of the Enterprise and your away team landing on a planet. Then doesn't an interdimensional gate open and kidnap somebody or something like that?
then i woke up thanks to some bitch screaming THUNDERBOLLLLLLLLLLT 37 times. then i turned the game off.
JackFrost2012
Banned
BenT said:
It gets really good 30 hours in!
WHEN YOU FINALLY CAN START USING THE JOB SYSTEM!
Fuck Dragon Quest VII.
tri-Ace games always have a habit of slow intros... SO1, 2, Valkyrie Profile... Though, then again, many RPGs do... I prefer the FF7 style of intro, which jumps you right into the action, then lets the story pick up in a little while. I've made it to the mining town of Kirsla, and it seems like it's more of a good balance of town/dungeon exploring, with small cut scenes here and there.
But how could you say the graphics are bad? Are we playing the same game here??
But how could you say the graphics are bad? Are we playing the same game here??
Star Ocean = not teh suck
I'm loving it so far. It's easily the best RPG I've played this year (though, to be fair, I haven't played too many).
Well, perhaps he has a totally shit TV or something? I dunno, it's one of the best looking RPGs as of late and is the ONLY JRPG I've played that runs in 480p. Great textures, models, effects and image quality everywhere you look. There is some slowdown, but mostly during a few cutscenes. Not a big deal, though...
I'm loving it so far. It's easily the best RPG I've played this year (though, to be fair, I haven't played too many).
Well, perhaps he has a totally shit TV or something? I dunno, it's one of the best looking RPGs as of late and is the ONLY JRPG I've played that runs in 480p. Great textures, models, effects and image quality everywhere you look. There is some slowdown, but mostly during a few cutscenes. Not a big deal, though...
Bebpo said:SO3 definitely looks nice, but just upping the resolution doesn't fix the low detail character faces
The main characters are detailed enough, and the low detail NPCs still look nice (and remind me of Skies of Arcadia in a way). The actual field map looks fantastic, though. Running arouund through the various towns is quite a pleasure and feels much nicer than virtually every other RPG this gen.
I do wish the cutscenes were directed a little better, though. I mean, I know tons of people hate Xenosaga, but nobody can deny that the cutscenes very well animated and generally very well directed, whereas Star Ocean 3 seems like a cross between older "show the text box" style cutscenes and Xenosaga style stuff. I suppose it is kinda like FFX, in a way, where some scenes animate well but most of them are pretty simple.
Oh, and the voice volume can be quite troublesome. In many situations, the music becomes so loud that it drowns out the voices. At least the music absolutely kicks 100 flavors of ass in game. After playing Symphonia with the sound off most of the time, it is quite a treat to hear these fantastic songs used in game. I think it works beautifully most of the time. The soundtrack was good outside of the game, but I think it works much better in the context of events. Right now, the only other RPG I've played this gen that has impressed me this much with music was Dragon Quarter.
Jupiter Jones
Member
I didn't like the game at first either, but it does get much better. I still miss having a 'true' overworld as in Star Ocean 2 and controlling the characters in battle isn't as fluid as in Tales of Symphonia, although it is better than SO2, at least IMO.
dark10x said:
Well, if you consider a 57" HDTV totally shit, I guess so. 480p and widescreen are good, but 720p is better. I'm used to better than this. The character models in the first hour are ass, same goes with the environments. The main character has so few polygons, it hurts. FFX had better character models and environments than this, and that game is... what, three years old?
Sure Tri-Ace is a different developer who was never known for their graphics, but I expected more from Squenix. Maybe the characters and environments are great later on in the game, but not everyone is going to have the patience to get that far.
Spazbiohaz
Member
Star Ocean 3 is now about 3 years old. It came out in Japan then they were going to put it out in America but the developer decided to make a special edition in Japan so they held off on the American release. Now 2 1/2 - 3 years later America gets the translated version of the Japanese special edition. I agree the models are whack and why did they not stick with the anime style graphics no one knows. The game is outdated but I would say play it for 10 hours any RPG of huge magnitude takes about that long to pick up. Has anyone seen the strategy guide? It is the bigest guide ever made for a console it's like 2-3 inches thick.
radios shipping overview
Member
I swear, the Japanese release moves further back in time every time somebody posts about it. The original version of SO3 was released in Japan on 2/27/03.Spazbiohaz said:
Drinky Crow
Banned
Is this the same Eggo who bitched about FF8's pre-rendered backgrounds and soulless non-sprite characters in the pages of Gamefan? And now he's hyping Star Ocean 2, a game with pre-rendered backgrounds?
SO3 soundly pimpslaps SO2 in just about every way, save in the number of private actions (and the less of those, the better, I say). SO3's not perfect, but it's pretty solid so far, and at least they've made the shitty SO2 battle system actually ENTERTAINING.
SO3 soundly pimpslaps SO2 in just about every way, save in the number of private actions (and the less of those, the better, I say). SO3's not perfect, but it's pretty solid so far, and at least they've made the shitty SO2 battle system actually ENTERTAINING.
I agree that the character modelling is polygon starved, but the environments are nicely detailed. Yes, the texturing can look pretty weak now and again, but overall it's a sharp looking game. A lot of effort was put into making many of the locations seem to match the possible artist rendering. Interiors are particularly cluttered with an impressive array of polygonal junk creating the illusion that some NPC bot is living within. Towns such as the Kilthe(?) mining village or Airyglythe are rendered to look worn, rusted, and aged. Alleyways and house plotting is positioned in a more natural manner than the norm RPG's throw at us. I dig that sort of thing. There is quite a bit to soak in while exploring.
The plot is relaxing sci-fi fluff that keeps the mysteries in check without resorting to abusive use of fictional mythology to explain your way past roadblocks or loopholes ala ToS and it's exspheres, angels, keycrests, mana seeds, blah, blah, blah...
The pacing is moving at a very comfortable rate thus far(for being so cutscene heavy, I'm hardly bothered...except those stupid awkward pauses within conversations for no apparent reason), the voice acting is tops(Nel and Fayt particularly), the dungeons are massive, and the battle system...well it's improving.
The plot is relaxing sci-fi fluff that keeps the mysteries in check without resorting to abusive use of fictional mythology to explain your way past roadblocks or loopholes ala ToS and it's exspheres, angels, keycrests, mana seeds, blah, blah, blah...
The pacing is moving at a very comfortable rate thus far(for being so cutscene heavy, I'm hardly bothered...except those stupid awkward pauses within conversations for no apparent reason), the voice acting is tops(Nel and Fayt particularly), the dungeons are massive, and the battle system...well it's improving.
Drinky Crow
Banned
Those pauses are pretty annoying. I'm guessing that the lines were longer in duration in the original Japanese.
Bizarro Sun Yat-sen
Banned
I'm sure FFX had a much higher budget as well...
It's been years since I played it, but I recall SO2 actually having rather 'nice' looking rendered backdrops. This is the first I've heard complaints about that. That first village with the reflective water and birds flying about was purdy.
This place...
Are my memories tainted?
Ok, combat was pretty ugly, particularly the voice and animation...
This place...
Are my memories tainted?
Ok, combat was pretty ugly, particularly the voice and animation...
elitehebrew
Member
SO3 is pretty good so far i'm only 6 hours in, but i definitely dig the music this is one of the first times i'm just playing the game and i notice how awesome the music is. Anyway i'm definitely loving the battle system after playing SO2 to lvl 189 or so definitely think this series owns the best battle system with most features. I don't really mind any voice actors (i know some people are anal about this stuff). Overall it seems worth the play right now. I'll probably knock this out in a week or two then start on Phantom Brave which i can't wait to play. I definitely played the hell outta Disgaea and from videos i've seen it looks like this is right up my alley also.
I've only played like 1.5 hours so far and I haven't been in many battles (
) but it's more interesting so far than ToS after 10 full hours
I think it helps that I don't know anything about the plot so everything is interesting to me
PS: I like the music a lot...
Just landed on the backwards planet
I think it helps that I don't know anything about the plot so everything is interesting to me
PS: I like the music a lot...
RevenantKioku
PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
dark10x said:
Not that anything was going to make me return my copy, but its good to hear some people are enjoying the game.
Although I'm definitely finishing Symphonia before I even crack this one open. What's Symphonia take, like 40 hours? I haven't hit disc two yet though.
How do you feel about the battles compared to Symphonia, dark?
RevenantKioku said:
I think Symphonia's battle system is more polished, but I'm having more fun with SO3's.
Honestly, I haven't finished ToS yet as I simply grew tired of it. I may return to it, but it just felt like I was spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. In SO3, it always feels as if you are moving forward...plus the world feels so much larger and WAYYYYY more interesting. I like it a whole lot more, even though I feel that it isn't nearly as polished up as ToS was.
SolidSnakex
Member
I was about to post how easy SO3 seems to be, but I just got to the Sanmite Steppe and for 2 straight battles these giant bird and duck like things have kicked beat my party down, both Nel and Cliff have died both times i've fought them, and Fayt survives with a few HP. I've been blowing through the game pretty easily without ever really getting in danger of dying up until now. I think i'm going to start leveling up again.
dark10x said:
I can agree to that. Currently saved in the final dungeon of ToS with 57 hours on the clock. I honestly don't have the motivation to just polish it off, I really only kept pushing on to earn the right to fight the Eternia cast in the battle arena...but meh.
About 10 hours into SO3 myself and I am really happy. Combat is far more refined in ToS, but what is here is serviceable, and with some of the flashier skills entering the scene, its downright enjoyable.
I am interested in the plot, I like the characters(Fayt>>>>LLoyd. I love his occasional educated observations he makes of the 'primitive' world as he struggles to understand his predicament; in fact it's just nice to see a protagonist that isn't some spunky dip that falls ass backward into the greatest threat ever conceived because of convenient association)
Item creation sucks nuts though...WAY too random and expensive to even bother from what I can tell. Possibly the dumbest interpretation I've yet witnessed in a game. I do really dig the concept of marketing goods and patents, scouring the world for contract inventors is also a neat sidething; but observing silly portraits while crossing my fingers in hope something good is built?? Re-rolling assembly line price values over and over to make anything worthwhile? It's nothing more than a reason to give your PS2 one helluva soft-reset workout, the likes it has never seen! Dumb...dumb...dumb... Later on, I'll try and get back into it if gamefaqs finds a surefire combination for spamming cash by making blueberry muffins or some shit...
It isn't even funny how much ToS destroys SO3, imho, ESPECIALLY the combat system. SO3's combat and AI are nigh broken. I cannot count how many times my guys have gotten close to dying because they use their battle skills (which drain their HP) or their magic (which drain their MP) to the point where they have almost nothing remaining. And if a character's HP or MP hit 0, they die. So sometimes all it takes is an enemy whack or enemy battle skill to deplete their final HPs and MPs. It's so freakin' stupid. I just camp out as Nel, the most boring character to play as, and worry about healing my guys up. Yawn, yawn, yawn.
Sadly, my other two guys, both melee fighters, periodically enter "dead moments" where they'll stay in a far off corner of the map and do nothing until either an enemy approaches, or I run over and nudge the morons to action. Half the time Fayt just freaking sidesteps (hops) from one side of the arena to the other, doing absolutely nothing. And this is after disabling all his spells so that he SHOULD only be concentrating on sword brawling. It's absolutely ludicrous some of the situations I've found myself in.
To make matters even worse, I've just defeated Shelby, saved Nel and her two stooges, and wound up with so much money in my pocket (since there have been almost no stores or equipment upgrades to speak of), that I was able to return to Airyglyph (stupid name) and blow about 40k Fol on buying Fayt a Holy Blade and Nel an Osprey Dagger, which, my guess, are weapons I probably shouldn't be using for a at least a couple dozen hours from now (I'm on hour 13 now). Frankly, when they do decide to fight (when the AI allows them, that is), they now mop up just about any foe in seconds flat. Yikes, Fayt's only level 20 but he's doing about 1000 damage with a major strike... lol. Oh well, I think I broke the early hours of the game now... at least until the monsters catch up.
Also, strangely enough, in the freaking Airyglyph Aqueducts all the way in the beginning of the game, a monster netted me a random drop, an accessory (Restoration Symbol, I think it is called?) that restores 3% of my total MP every couple of seconds in battle. Nel, being my primary healer/mage, has it equipped, and now that she's at level 16 with about 460 MP, she actually gains more MP during a fight that I can possibly use by spell casting. It's a good thing I didn't camp the Aqueducts until I got a couple of more of those accessories. The game is either pathetically easy or "artificially" challenging, depending on how retarded the AI is in any given battle. Really, this game is totally broken.
That said, I do like the characters so far, and the story is pretty good. Both (characters and stories) are leaps beyond what ToS had. ToS had a great, great art style, very nice looking combat graphics and monsters, and lovely (non-world map) environments. But it had a truly hideous overworld. SO3's graphics are almost universally gorgeous, if occasionally generic, and largely has very nice texturing (except when the game zooms in at rather unfortunate moments in cutscenes.) But the gameplay in SO3 is all kinds of broken, and that's why, in my book, ToS takes the prize. Frankly, I'm surprised that SO3 has scored as high (relatively speaking) as it has, in reviews. It's almost like Tri-Ace/Square-Enix didn't even bother to play-test the game... Pity. I was such a huge fan of SO2.
Sadly, my other two guys, both melee fighters, periodically enter "dead moments" where they'll stay in a far off corner of the map and do nothing until either an enemy approaches, or I run over and nudge the morons to action. Half the time Fayt just freaking sidesteps (hops) from one side of the arena to the other, doing absolutely nothing. And this is after disabling all his spells so that he SHOULD only be concentrating on sword brawling. It's absolutely ludicrous some of the situations I've found myself in.
To make matters even worse, I've just defeated Shelby, saved Nel and her two stooges, and wound up with so much money in my pocket (since there have been almost no stores or equipment upgrades to speak of), that I was able to return to Airyglyph (stupid name) and blow about 40k Fol on buying Fayt a Holy Blade and Nel an Osprey Dagger, which, my guess, are weapons I probably shouldn't be using for a at least a couple dozen hours from now (I'm on hour 13 now). Frankly, when they do decide to fight (when the AI allows them, that is), they now mop up just about any foe in seconds flat. Yikes, Fayt's only level 20 but he's doing about 1000 damage with a major strike... lol. Oh well, I think I broke the early hours of the game now... at least until the monsters catch up.
Also, strangely enough, in the freaking Airyglyph Aqueducts all the way in the beginning of the game, a monster netted me a random drop, an accessory (Restoration Symbol, I think it is called?) that restores 3% of my total MP every couple of seconds in battle. Nel, being my primary healer/mage, has it equipped, and now that she's at level 16 with about 460 MP, she actually gains more MP during a fight that I can possibly use by spell casting. It's a good thing I didn't camp the Aqueducts until I got a couple of more of those accessories. The game is either pathetically easy or "artificially" challenging, depending on how retarded the AI is in any given battle. Really, this game is totally broken.
That said, I do like the characters so far, and the story is pretty good. Both (characters and stories) are leaps beyond what ToS had. ToS had a great, great art style, very nice looking combat graphics and monsters, and lovely (non-world map) environments. But it had a truly hideous overworld. SO3's graphics are almost universally gorgeous, if occasionally generic, and largely has very nice texturing (except when the game zooms in at rather unfortunate moments in cutscenes.) But the gameplay in SO3 is all kinds of broken, and that's why, in my book, ToS takes the prize. Frankly, I'm surprised that SO3 has scored as high (relatively speaking) as it has, in reviews. It's almost like Tri-Ace/Square-Enix didn't even bother to play-test the game... Pity. I was such a huge fan of SO2.