Thursday, January 22, 2009
Bunnies Return in Star Ocean 4! Also, Command Skills
A truckload of new Star Ocean 4 details have surfaced in the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu, including a new character, details on “Command Skills,” and the return of magic rings and Bunnies!
I have translated the article for your English reading pleasure below. Check it out!
First up, I suppose I should get the new character out of the way. His name is Eirmat P. Thanatos, and he appears to be an Eldarian, like Faize, and it looks like he fights with a spear. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t give a full character description of him, so we’ll have to wait to find out exactly what his deal is.
Next, this article introduces “Command Skills,” which allow your party members to perform character-specific abilities on the field. It shows off two Command Skills for Edge, one for Reimi, and one for Bacchus.
Edge – Dash
Dash is a skill that allows Edge to dramatically increase in movement speed while exploring the field. Since enemies are visible while exploring in SO4, the use of Dash can aid in avoiding unwanted encounters. Dash can also apparently be used consecutively.
Edge – Pickpocket
While walking around towns, Edge can quietly steal items from townspeople and allies using the Pickpocket Command Skill. Using the Pickpocket skill is apparently the only way to get certain rare items, though the continued use of it can reportedly have undesirable effects… You can only use Pickpocket on any given character once.
Reimi – Harvest
While exploring various areas, Reimi has the ability to search green glowing areas, known as Harvest Points, for various items. Both usable goods and materials for Item Creation (IC) can be found this way.
Bacchus – Mining
Like Reimi’s Harvest Command Skill, Bacchus can search yellow glowing spots for items, most of which will be related to raw rock and metal materials used in IC.
In addition to the skills outlined above, characters can have various other Command Skills. Some skills are immediately available, while others must be obtained by filling certain requirements. One example of this is Bacchus’ Stealth skill, which allows him to become invisible to enemies on the field.
It is interesting to note that the series staple Oracle skill is making a return in SO4. Oracle was a mostly useless skill in previous installments that allowed you to receive messages from the God of Creation, Tria (I don’t remember what he/she/it was called in English). Though the skill has been confirmed to be returning, it is unknown if it will actually be useful this time around…
The article also mentions that the fields and dungeons in this installment of the series feature much bigger sweeps in altitude in the terrain. Using a Jump Command Skill can lead to new, unexplored areas, or give access to short cuts that would otherwise be unavailable.
For those familiar with Star Ocean 3, you will likely remember the Ring of Disintegration (known as the Vanish Ring in Japanese), which allowed you to destroy certain obstacles in dungeons and open up new areas.
In SO4, instead of getting one “destroy everything” ring, you will instead have to find different types of rings, each with their own effect. For instance, this article covers the Fire Ring, the Lightning Ring, and the Wind Ring, though there are reportedly more.
The Fire Ring can be used to melt ice or unthaw frozen chests. Similarly, the Lightning Ring can short out some electronic equipment or doors, or have effects of other types of machinery. The Wind Ring is capable of cutting open overgrowths of vines over doors and treasure chests.
Finally, fans of the series will likely be stoked to see the return of the Bunnies. In Star Ocean 2, using a certain skill would allow your party to ride a giant pink Bunny around the overworld without getting into battles. Though the Bunnies were mysteriously absent from SO3 (at least in rideable form), they have returned to give you a lift in SO4!
Bunnies can be found hanging around in certain areas. Jumping onto their backs allows you to travel much faster than you could on foot. How convenient! However, there are apparently certain areas that Bunnies can’t go, so it would be wise to keep a look out while traveling.
I hope there arent IU achievements... I bet there will be
PSP versions worth a play through? Should I skip the first and just head straight to the second one which was released this week?
Inquiring minds want to know!
I want to love Star Ocean, but I can't stand that battle system.
:(
I loved the "beat'em up" style of SO3 for some reason. SO4 is supposed to be building off that.
SO1 is a fun game to run though, it feels like half the game SO2 is though (in regards to length). SO2 is the one that should be played through once. The PSP version supposedly fixes the slowdowns, translation fixes? and other bugs.What about storyline. Will I be missing out on anything by not playing the first one?
I personally like the battle system, even though its just button mashing and simplistic.
other than the doll looking character designs, it's cool.
other than the doll looking character designs, it's cool.
(http://images.gamersyde.com/gallery/public/9953/1362_0041.jpg)
:yuck
And the whole kids shit goes without saying. Japan needs to get out of the closet.
:hyper :hyper :hyper :hyper
SO FUCKING HYPED.
"ashamed of my faschist president..."
wrong thread and forum :lolQuote"ashamed of my faschist president..."
that's actually a better spelling than the more common "facist", though, as it makes more sense (especially given the wrong, but understandable, supposition of the word's German origin he's probably made).
Edge – Pickpocket
While walking around towns, Edge can quietly steal items from townspeople and allies using the Pickpocket Command Skill. Using the Pickpocket skill is apparently the only way to get certain rare items, though the continued use of it can reportedly have undesirable effects… You can only use Pickpocket on any given character once.
So wait, do these 'command skills' mean that all skills are character-specific, unlike in SO1&2 where everyone could learn pickpocket?
Not sure if want, SO3 was a bit of a disappointment after SO2's awesomeness (even with the 'bad' voice acting).
Yes it's just like IU. I'll die of laughter if this game is just like IU, Error will probably cut his wrist or something.
Never played SO3, what was disappointing about it?
I never understood the complaints about the story. I thought the plot twist was pretty neat to be honest, very Matrixish.
Dunno if old. I'm gonna try to translate some comments from the famitsu 360 reviewers. Some of the things are saying the same thing, but I'm not gonna bother editing.Battle system :hyper :hyper :hyper
- The combat system is very solid and excellent. "Sign-out" move can be very difficult to time and execute, but that difficulty makes it fun and challenging.
- The combat system is so good that it almost feels like an action game. HOwever, the game still retains its core as an RPG, including the excellent Private Action System and Item Creation System.
- Because SO4 is a prequel, people do not need to have any knowledge of the previous SO games to enjoy the story.
- The action-oriented nature of combat may sound difficult, but it's very managable if you play in normal mode.
- While in combat, you can switch to any character in real-time, making strategizing very easy. Members in reserve can also be switched into battle at all times.
- Quests and dungeons still remain the same style as the previous games, which can cause a few frustrations.
- Even though SO4 doesn't feel like a totally new game compared to the previous SOs, but fans can rest assured, as the game feels very polished and complete.
- The game interface is intuitive and tutorials help a lot. The feeling of piloting a spaceship to explore the huge universe is exciting.
- The best thing about the game is the combat system that rivals great action games. It's extremely well-done and impressive. The game also gets much better as player becomes more creative in creating infinite variety of combos. "Sign-out" system can be used to dodge enemies' sudden attacks.
The feeling of piloting a spaceship to explore the huge universe is exciting.
text from the famitsu reviewQuoteDunno if old. I'm gonna try to translate some comments from the famitsu 360 reviewers. Some of the things are saying the same thing, but I'm not gonna bother editing.Battle system :hyper :hyper :hyper
- The combat system is very solid and excellent. "Sign-out" move can be very difficult to time and execute, but that difficulty makes it fun and challenging.
- The combat system is so good that it almost feels like an action game. HOwever, the game still retains its core as an RPG, including the excellent Private Action System and Item Creation System.
- Because SO4 is a prequel, people do not need to have any knowledge of the previous SO games to enjoy the story.
- The action-oriented nature of combat may sound difficult, but it's very managable if you play in normal mode.
- While in combat, you can switch to any character in real-time, making strategizing very easy. Members in reserve can also be switched into battle at all times.
- Quests and dungeons still remain the same style as the previous games, which can cause a few frustrations.
- Even though SO4 doesn't feel like a totally new game compared to the previous SOs, but fans can rest assured, as the game feels very polished and complete.
- The game interface is intuitive and tutorials help a lot. The feeling of piloting a spaceship to explore the huge universe is exciting.
- The best thing about the game is the combat system that rivals great action games. It's extremely well-done and impressive. The game also gets much better as player becomes more creative in creating infinite variety of combos. "Sign-out" system can be used to dodge enemies' sudden attacks.
The main compliant is that the story sucks major ass (especially near the end).
what's the private action system? Is that when you press a single button outside a town and some worthless dialogue exchange, followed by your party leaving you?
Never played SO3, what was disappointing about it?
what's the private action system? Is that when you press a single button outside a town and some worthless dialogue exchange, followed by your party leaving you?
For example Matsuno's dude is GOOD. FFXII's story might be distinguished mentally-challenged but the cutscenes, especially with the judges, glue you to your seat. Vagrant Story's cutscenes do the same. I think that dude is doing FFXIII Versus and even by the trailers it shows that you're going to ENJOY those non-playable bits.
February 2, 2009 - Xbox 360 is usually left out of the weekly top ten lists from Japan, but that's definitely going to change later on this month. Star Ocean: The Last Hope hits Japan on the 19th just a few days before our release, and we're pretty sure gamers over there are going to eat it up like natto mixed with soy sauce.
How can we be so sure? We're actually going by a little bit of anecdotal evidence that evidenced itself at a weekend demo event. Square Enix gave Star Ocean 4 its first retail showcase on Saturday at the giant Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo's electronics capital of Akihabra. Despite the rain, the wait to get onto the eight available kiosks was about two-and-a-half hours. Square Enix reps had to hand out tickets to control the lines.
Since we haven't had a sampling of the game since the Tokyo Game Show, we decided to stick around for a short play test.
The demo build of the game, presumably based off the final retail copy, started players off at a different save point from the Tokyo Game Show demo. Our character levels were all at 45 and up, and the in-game clock listed a 22 hour play time. Presumably, we were starting towards the latter part of the game.
While the save file started us off outside of a shrine on the planet of Rokutoroppu (please note that this is not an official English translation of the planet's name), there was no requirement that we actually venture into the shrine. Instead, we decided to explore the outerworld.
And what a big outerworld it is. This planet, whatever its real English name may be, is huge, spanning mountains, forests and beaches. Midway through our attempt to trek from one end of the main map to the other, we came upon a small town with stone buildings and just a few residents.
Based off this little snippet, it's pretty clear that Star Ocean 4 will offer players plenty of freedom to explore its multiple planets. There are few hurdles, with only a couple of loading points here and there, and even then the load times are pretty much non existent. Exploration shoud be one of Star Ocean 4's charms.
Signs promoting the demo event, posted outside the store entrance.
For those who occasionally get the urge to skip out on battle and just run around freely, the game seems to have you taken care of. You have access to a dash move which lets you dash past enemies in short bursts. We were able to avoid any enemy we encountered.
Not that there's anything wrong with the Star Ocean 4 battle system that would make us necessarily want to avoid battle. The game's battle system offers plenty of variety thanks in large part to a flexible party system. The demo had Edge, Reimi, Faize, Lymle, Backus, Meracle, and Myuria all as playable characters. While you can only have four in your party, you're free to swap them in and out even during the heart of battle. This should allow you to customize your party to match the battle at hand.
There's quite a bit to the battle system, including new system with such only-in-Japan names like "Beat System," "Site-In/Site-Out System" and "Rush System." It's tough to get used to these systems in only fifteen minutes of play time, so you'll have to hold off for our upcoming review of the final version.
First picture looks okay, but in the second he looks like a fifteen year old girl. The expression on his face certainly doesn't help.
But anyway, let's forget about that and focus more on this:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k33/GreatRumbler/star-ocean-the-last-hope-2009012-1.jpg)
hwy, it's judith's (from tov) sister! jesus do they have one guy in all of japan that does the character designs for rpgs
For example Matsuno's dude is GOOD. FFXII's story might be distinguished mentally-challenged but the cutscenes, especially with the judges, glue you to your seat. Vagrant Story's cutscenes do the same. I think that dude is doing FFXIII Versus and even by the trailers it shows that you're going to ENJOY those non-playable bits.
I think it was also confirmed that Bacchus gets a skill that makes him invisible, so you can slip past enemies without being seen.Quote from: XBOX IGNFebruary 2, 2009 - Xbox 360 is usually left out of the weekly top ten lists from Japan, but that's definitely going to change later on this month. Star Ocean: The Last Hope hits Japan on the 19th just a few days before our release, and we're pretty sure gamers over there are going to eat it up like natto mixed with soy sauce.
How can we be so sure? We're actually going by a little bit of anecdotal evidence that evidenced itself at a weekend demo event. Square Enix gave Star Ocean 4 its first retail showcase on Saturday at the giant Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo's electronics capital of Akihabra. Despite the rain, the wait to get onto the eight available kiosks was about two-and-a-half hours. Square Enix reps had to hand out tickets to control the lines.
Since we haven't had a sampling of the game since the Tokyo Game Show, we decided to stick around for a short play test.
The demo build of the game, presumably based off the final retail copy, started players off at a different save point from the Tokyo Game Show demo. Our character levels were all at 45 and up, and the in-game clock listed a 22 hour play time. Presumably, we were starting towards the latter part of the game.
While the save file started us off outside of a shrine on the planet of Rokutoroppu (please note that this is not an official English translation of the planet's name), there was no requirement that we actually venture into the shrine. Instead, we decided to explore the outerworld.
And what a big outerworld it is. This planet, whatever its real English name may be, is huge, spanning mountains, forests and beaches. Midway through our attempt to trek from one end of the main map to the other, we came upon a small town with stone buildings and just a few residents.
Based off this little snippet, it's pretty clear that Star Ocean 4 will offer players plenty of freedom to explore its multiple planets. There are few hurdles, with only a couple of loading points here and there, and even then the load times are pretty much non existent. Exploration shoud be one of Star Ocean 4's charms.
Signs promoting the demo event, posted outside the store entrance.
For those who occasionally get the urge to skip out on battle and just run around freely, the game seems to have you taken care of. You have access to a dash move which lets you dash past enemies in short bursts. We were able to avoid any enemy we encountered.
Not that there's anything wrong with the Star Ocean 4 battle system that would make us necessarily want to avoid battle. The game's battle system offers plenty of variety thanks in large part to a flexible party system. The demo had Edge, Reimi, Faize, Lymle, Backus, Meracle, and Myuria all as playable characters. While you can only have four in your party, you're free to swap them in and out even during the heart of battle. This should allow you to customize your party to match the battle at hand.
There's quite a bit to the battle system, including new system with such only-in-Japan names like "Beat System," "Site-In/Site-Out System" and "Rush System." It's tough to get used to these systems in only fifteen minutes of play time, so you'll have to hold off for our upcoming review of the final version.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/950/950055p1.html
OM NOM NOM
I will be relying on the resident JRPG experts for impressions of the game. I want to play a good JRPG and you guys have the best tastes. Real talk.
I'm sort of enjoying Tales of Vesperia but it's a bit too animu for my tastes and going back to Fallout 3 has unfortunately made ToV feel shitty in comparison. Don't get me wrong, its a very solid JRPG and can be pretty fun, but I'm looking for something a little more interesting.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/3232828709_b04ac34860_o.gif)