Star Ocean 5

[Rozalia1]

http://gematsu.com/2015/04/star-ocean-5-announced-for-ps4-ps3

Star Ocean is finally making a return, kay?
For those who aren't aware its usually compared to the more well known "Tales" series of game, to the point some refer to it as Tales in space, kay?

I personally think that is incorrect as if it was you'd not spend 80% of your time on a backwater planet using swords because reasons... for example in SO1 you use swords to begin with to blend in... later when going to fight an alien dude who you'd not need to blend in... you use swords because he apparently is immune to explosions, lasers, and all the other modern things somehow so swords is all that can stop him, kay?

Will this be better than 4? I think so, kay? Will it be better than 3? Nope, kay?

 

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

Your post reminded me of why I played the "international" version of SO4... I didn't have to listen to the god awful English VA, even though I don't understand Japanese. If there is a similar deal with 5, I'm interested, otherwise I'll stick with the Tales series.

 

[balladbird]

it'd take deliberate effort to make a game worse than SO4. I owe a lot to SO2. I spent soooo many hours of my childhood playing and loving that game, and while SO3 was a bit more polarizing, I enjoyed it too, and defend it from critics to this day.

SO4, though? I appreciated all the references to the lore that players of the older games would get, but other than that it was nothing but a series of letdowns. >.<

that said, I'm excited about SO5! I didn't think we'd ever see another game in this series.

 

[Dominic Crossman]

Sigh... Was excited til I saw it Ps3 main ported to Ps4. Hell, why would you even admit that, I can't imagine it gained them sales.

 

[Tony2077]

Your post reminded me of why I played the "international" version of SO4... I didn't have to listen to the god awful English VA, even though I don't understand Japanese. If there is a similar deal with 5, I'm interested, otherwise I'll stick with the Tales series.

the English voice over isn't that bad but i'm kind of biased since some of my favorite va's are in it


I can't wait got all the other games in the series

 

[NPC009]

I think I've gotten to the point were I kind of appreciate Star Ocean's brand of 'stupid'. Looking at the first screenshots of 5, I see a relic of the past polished to modern day standards. Well, superficially anyway. (Graphics are pretty, character designs are silly.)

 

[Tilly]

I remember playing SO2 on the PS1 and PSP. That was a decent game. Very much living in the FF7-inspired RPG world.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Sigh... Was excited til I saw it Ps3 main ported to Ps4. Hell, why would you even admit that, I can't imagine it gained them sales.

I fail to see what the problem is considering there are a lot more PS3's in the wild than PS4's, especially in Japan.

Anyway, nice to see the series coming back as I always liked its brand of having sci-fi heroes meet developing civilizations that can even use magic. From translations of the Famitsu scans it seems like this one is going to lean more towards fantasy due to SO4 being more sci-fi with the characters hopping around different planets and being part of the Terran Alliance which was the precursor to the Pangalactic Federation. It'll also take place between 2 and 3, the space year they picked coinciding with the invention of the Gravitic Warp which was an improvement on faster-than-light travel in the series' universe.

What I really want to know is what the crafting system is going to be like as that is one of the biggest draws of the series. I remember playing SO2 and wasting HOURS just crafting items, selling them, buying more materials, and crafting again. It was one of the most bizarrely addictive things in the world, feeling deeper and much more involving than the crafting systems of other games which are little more than grinding for X amount of Y resource to craft Z. And when you got the Super Specialties things got even more insane with the stuff you could make. SO3 had neat ideas with the Patent system allowing the player to make money off their ideas and Inventors the player had to recruit that could keep making items off screen. However, the investment needed was INSANE compared to the other games, basically putting off crafting until near the end of the game, getting some of the inventors had annoying requirements, there was a lot of RNG bs with prices, and altogether it seemed a bit random. SO4 streamlined it, but felt like every other crafting system in an RPG though Synthesis with its ability to put attributes on equipment was very well done. Altogether, the entries as a whole have the ideas of one of the best crafting systems ever. But for some odd reason they either dropped stuff entirely or didn't follow up on neat ideas that needed better execution. Hopefully they get in-depth with it as I really want to waste more hours with it.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

I personally think that is incorrect as if it was you'd not spend 80% of your time on a backwater planet using swords because reasons... for example in SO1 you use swords to begin with to blend in... later when going to fight an alien dude who you'd not need to blend in... you use swords because he apparently is immune to explosions, lasers, and all the other modern things somehow so swords is all that can stop him, kay?

I've only played the most recent one, but I always liked how the main character grabs some kind of powerblade only because guns don't puncture the carapace of earliest enemies... Then proceeds to never pick up a gun again, even once enemies seem to be much less bullet-resistant.

I also remember the story feeling extremely short and the gametime consisting almost entirely of a slow, grindy slog... A scene when a boy gets called a perv for accidentally seeing a girl naked (I think the Japanese constitution requires that to be present in all works of art)... And 'kays. LOTS OF 'KAYS.

I understand that SO2 is supposed to be the Big Legendary Title Everyone Remembers Fondly, but judging by where the series is now, as well as the overall quality of previous gen's jRPGs, I won't be holding my breath.

Spoiler: Necessary disclaimer

Yes, I just made a broad generalization, so full disclosure: I've only played the "big titles" (Tales of Xillia, Eternal Sonata, Final Fantasies etc.) last gen, and they are what I'm basing my judgement on.

 

[go-10]

I've played 2, 3, and 4
2 and 3 were nothing short of awesome 4... well the main heroine and the mage lady were like completely awesome looking but then the main character came in and ruined everything. Still I played through the game twice because the combat and traversal were fun, also there weren't any new Tales of games. So I'm definitely looking forward to 5 since I no longer have a PS3 and the next Tales of game is for PS3

 

[Windcaler]

I really didnt think 4 was that bad. 3 was really good but IMO 2 was the best one Ive played (I never played the first one). So Im kinda looking forward to this but if it comes out on PS3 as well as PS4 well theres one more reason not to get a PS4.

Sigh... Was excited til I saw it Ps3 main ported to Ps4. Hell, why would you even admit that, I can't imagine it gained them sales.

Perhaps Im just crazy here but I dont see a problem with a developer giving us more information, especially when regarding the port of a game over to a new console. I wish more developers were honest about that so we could make better purchasing decisions.

 

[Treeberry]

Hm.

I've only ever played Til the End of Time and I remember being disappointed about going from futuristic environments to a fantasy-medieval-ish environment all too quickly. And staying there. I wasn't amused considering the back of the box showed sci-fi metropolis and vehicles and I'd heard that this was supposed to be a sci-fi RPG series. And y'know, the name evokes the idea of journeying through space.

Also, that goddamn mine cart segment...*shudder*. There are other games that do mine carts better.

 

[Fox12]

Well, I played the PSP remakes of 1 and 2, and they were both pretty solid. 1 kind of bored me, and I lost interest, but 2 was legitimately good. I liked the relationship system, and the characters were much better. That said, I grew rather tired of the medieval setting. I'd much rather have a star ocean game that take place... In space.

Haven't played the others. Which one has the ending that reveals the whole thing was taking place inside a video game? That sounded pretty bad, and I haven't touched the series since I heard that. This could be good though.

Edit: *checks the actual OP link*

Takes place on an uncivilized planet? Check.
Noble hero who guards village? Check.
Childhood best friend? Check.
Mysterious girl whe lost her memory? Free space. Extra points if she's from a lost civilization.

Well, it helped finish my anime cliche's bingo card, so there's that.

 

[Quellist]

Well i loved 3, enjoyed 1 and 2 but 4 was one of the worst pieces of toxic filth to infest my ps3. It wasn't just Lymle, Kay? Pretty much the whole cast looked like dolls or gonks and as for the voices....that hideous 'Oh, i DO hope everyone is alright' the main characters GF said at the end of battles used to make me want to punch the screen.

Looking at this i'm worried, that purple haired girl looks entirely too chirpy and as for the blue haired toddler...i can almost hear Lymles voice already...

Why the fuck cant they have adult or near adult characters instead of bloody children? At least Roger and Peppito in 3 could be (and were, by me at least) missed in favor of Nell and Albel (two seriously awesome characters).

I'll give this a chance but i'm not holding out much hope...

 

[Fox12]

Well, I played the PSP remakes of 1 and 2, and they were both pretty solid. 1 kind of bored me, and I lost interest, but 2 was legitimately good. I liked the relationship system, and the characters were much better. That said, I grew rather tired of the medieval setting. I'd much rather have a star ocean game that take place... In space.

Haven't played the others. Which one has the ending that reveals the whole thing was taking place inside a video game? That sounded pretty bad, and I haven't touched the series since I heard that. This could be good though.

Edit: *checks the actual OP link*

Takes place on an uncivilized planet? Check.
Noble hero who guards village? Check.
Childhood best friend? Check.
Mysterious girl whe lost her memory? Free space. Extra points if she's from a lost civilization.

Well, it helped finish my anime cliche's bingo card, so there's that.

Don't forget:
unique hair colours.
love triangle.
Siscon.

Also should someone say whether it's super cleavage or just body coloured outfit?

Given the strategic placement of the, ah, black squares, and the thong straps around her waste, I'm inclined to believe its body paint. Or she's cut holes into her clothing, for some reason. How does one put on such an outfit, I wonder.

 

[Zetatrain]

Kinda surprised to see a new Star Ocean after it seemed that the lukewarm reception of the 4th one killed the series.

Haven't played the others. Which one has the ending that reveals the whole thing was taking place inside a video game? That sounded pretty bad, and I haven't touched the series since I heard that. This could be good though.

That would be the 3rd one "Till the End of time".

I'm also kinda in the same boat. Star Ocean was a series that I always thought of getting into but when my friend told me about the twist in SO3 that killed most of my interest in the series. I still keep an eye on the series but SO5 is really gonna have to dazzle me to draw me in.

Your post reminded me of why I played the "international" version of SO4... I didn't have to listen to the god awful English VA, even though I don't understand Japanese. If there is a similar deal with 5, I'm interested, otherwise I'll stick with the Tales series.

Well you'll be interested to hear, if you haven't already, that Tales of Zestiria will have both English and Japanese dubs.

 

[Hawki]

As someone who's only played a bit of Star Ocean 4, and enjoyed that bit, could someone explain why it isn't as liked as much by fans when compared to other installments of the series (far as I can tell). Not trying to start a great debate or anything, just genuinely curious.

 

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

Your post reminded me of why I played the "international" version of SO4... I didn't have to listen to the god awful English VA, even though I don't understand Japanese. If there is a similar deal with 5, I'm interested, otherwise I'll stick with the Tales series.

Well you'll be interested to hear, if you haven't already, that Tales of Zestiria will have both English and Japanese dubs.

I hadn't heard that, actually. Might have to give that a try when it comes out.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

As someone who's only played a bit of Star Ocean 4, and enjoyed that bit, could someone explain why it isn't as liked as much by fans when compared to other installments of the series (far as I can tell). Not trying to start a great debate or anything, just genuinely curious.

Mostly the writing; in terms of gameplay it was fine, having by far the best battle system out of the entire series with fast-paced battles that really tested your reflexes and required skill (though holy crap could those boss fights last awhile especially in the bonus dungeons). Most of the problems are with the characters and plot which are arguably the weakest of the series. There are some good ones like Reimi, Myuria, Bacchus, Arumat, but characters like Sarah, Meracle, and Lym weren't as well-received (funnily enough, all of them being women). Plus the plot was a bit of a mess and wasn't quite up to series' standards. Item crafting (a HUGE draw of the series) also seemed very simplified when compared to its predecessors, though Synthesis was very nice as you could do NASTY things to your equipment in order to screw up enemies.

As I've said before, there are great elements, but they tend to be spread out over the series. SO3 had the most interesting ideas but was lacking in execution (and had by far the weakest battle system), SO4 has the best combat but its plot and characters are lacking as well as its weak item creation, and 1 and 2 are the most balanced but also are limited by their eras of creation. If tri-Ace were to combine the best elements from the entries and put it into one game it'd be amazing.