Star Ocean 3 *official*

[George]

* My first sentence serves as a disclaimer if I want to retract any of those opinions later.

I'll see if I can figure out the battles later. Last night, I was just mashing buttons even after paying close attention to the tutorial (as advised by EGM).

The opening scene will be laughingly familiar to any gamer trying to balance his hobby with attention toward his girlfriend.

My only real beef with the battles was that I never felt like I was in enough control. Maybe because I'd try to hold down the button to do a skill and not to it, only a second later realizing that I didn't have enough fury. I think the game really could have done without fury OR MP death.

[Thief Silver]

The fury is fine, holding down a button though I found to be annoying, I'd prefer though to hold down like... L1 or R1 something, or even do a combo of Triangle + Square.

I don't like the limitation to two hits, at least that's all I've been able to get (Without an arial combo which is always fun). I hate how long it takes the battle collection data to save.

I played Phantom Brave all day yesterday, I'll have to get some of this in soon.

[JBNagis]

*double Take* Phantom Brave is out?!

well in Second star story you were only limited to 1 friggin hit.unless you had a skill that lets you add another hit...and that only worked sometimes.
I have seen Vids of Tales of Symphonia and the guy is wailing on him THAN does a skill.very good shit i must say...ALMOST makes wanna THINK about getting a Gamecube.I will end up getting SO3...i need a good ol Japanese RPG fix till...what...MARCH when FF12 is released.oh well.

JBNagis

[MechDeus]

I'm a few hours in and liking it so far, it's clicked with me way more then ToS did.

Couple quick things:
I'd like to give a big Thank You for 480p, widescreen, and Dolby ProLogic II support! Quick, fun battles are damned nice even though button response isn't all that and the simple strategy techniques work well with the fight design.

I'd like to give a big razz to absolutely dismal sound mixing (I can't hear what the characters are saying half the time because the music is so damn loud and there's no volume controls), enourmous pauses between every line of dialogue, voice acting that still isn't quite up there (couldn't they at least find a guy with an actual deep voice?), and combos that tend to stray from the target for no reason.

Question about the Coffir Ruins: How do you get into the house with all the treasure chests, the one that has the back door that leads to Norman's Hideout, and how do you get the chest across the broken bridge? I'm at something like 86% map and I'm hoping figuring those out will give me a Complete.

[ferricide]

Question about the Coffir Ruins: How do you get into the house with all the treasure chests, the one that has the back door that leads to Norman's Hideout, and how do you get the chest across the broken bridge? I'm at something like 86% map and I'm hoping figuring those out will give me a Complete.

you come back later with an item. you can't get complete on many dungeons yet.

[MechDeus]

Awesome, thanks. I kinda suspected but didn't want to leave just yet if it ended up being linear in at least the early areas and turning out that I blew my chance.

[marwan]

sorry guys, i cant be bothered to read all 4 pages to find my answers, so could someone tell me if the battle is turn based or real time?

i hope the battle system is nothing like tales of symphonia, it was too boring for me, i'm also one of the very few people that were left dissapointed by ToS.

[dog$]

Real (broken) time. I'm still miffed at the 3-character limit in battles, myself.

As far as the SO3-ToS debate, the only consensus I seem to be reading is that if you didn't like ToS then the chances of you liking SO3 are very slim.

[marwan]

Real (broken) time. I'm still miffed at the 3-character limit in battles, myself.

As far as the SO3-ToS debate, the only consensus I seem to be reading is that if you didn't like ToS then the chances of you liking SO3 are very slim.

in that case, i'll try to download the game and burn it on a CD and try it out myself. if i like, i'll buy the original copy


(no rental stores in my area)

[Opaque]

Ok I'm 10 hours in, here's my little break down:

Characters and Cut Scenes: from what characters I have met and played, I’ve been pleased with the variety and the development. The Voice acting is top notch, and recognizable voice talent is everywhere. The cut scenes are were also an unexpected surprise. Some rival even Xenosaga in length and story, and all have some of the best character animations I’ve ever seen, with the exception of faces. Faces show little to no emotion and have hideous mouths, especially characters with a small role. The one bad part about cut scenes? The ever so often prolonged silence. Many, many times during conversation, characters will say nothing for a period of thirty second, utter one line, and wait another thirty seconds before speaking. This is not because they are moving, or thinking hard, or anything meaningful. It is simply weird and awkward.

Dungeons and Towns: the towns in Star Ocean: Till the end of Time may be the best looking and best designed towns in recent memory. The amount of homes and streets placed only for visual flare and realities sake is astounding. The graphical detail is also quite high, and the ability to rotate the camera adds a lot to the exploration. Speaking of exploration, the Dungeons; which are also gorgeous, have introduced perhaps the best mapping system ever. Making the map as you go is nothing new but has always been a favorite of mine (if only because it keep you from retracing your steps too much) but being rewarded for completing a map (you receive bunny statues that increase speed in battle or at the very least can be sold for a good amount of flan) gives you just one more reason to explore every inch of every cavern.

Battle System: It's fast, real time and damn good looking, but something doesn't hit right. Holding down the attack buttons to execute said moves somehow slows down the action and creates a break in fluidity, I think the shoulder button control scheme from Star Ocean: The Second Story was far superior. The fury gage, for all it's meant to be, is done very well; It runs out fast but recharges fast, if nothing else giving battles a little more strategy than they would have other wise. Then there's the bonus gage, the single greatest aspect to the fighting system; do enough damage to enemies through out a few battles and you begin to pick up little bonuses after battle such as triple exp, double flan, extra items, extra healing, it's wonderful. You start out with one bonus and after the first five battles you fight without breaking the bonus gage you get another one. At twenty consecutive battles you have all four. There are three ways for the gauge to be broken: A party member being knocked out, a party member taking a critical hit, or escaping from battle. However, if you fight enemies just below your ability level, they will almost never get a critical hit in (it's never happened to me, but it may be possible) they won't kill you and you will have no reason to escape battle, but when you get the triple exp bonus you will likely get double the exp you would fighting things at your level. Truly a great system.

Sound: So-so is the best way I can describe the music at this point. It ranges from beautiful orchestrated scores to fumbling guitar riffs at the drop of a hat, often resorting to complete silence at cut scenes, which makes the previously mentioned extended breaks in speech even the more unbearable. Like I said before, voice acting is top notch, when they are saying something, and the saving grace in the sound department.

Other random high points: The trophy collecting adds fun and replay value. Item creation is introduced well and seems to have the depth hardcore fans will want, but is still simple enough for those of us that just want to get some stuff made and be done with it. Save points are usually placed exactly where you want them, often accompanied by healing circles in dungeons.

Other random low points: The story is cliché at points, but not as bad as it could have been; honestly though, who can name an RPG that’s come out in the last two years that hasn’t had a cliché story? MP death, possible the worst idea ever.

Over all though it’s a winner at this point, and seeing as how Star Ocean: The Second Story was as great as it was because of the hidden dungeons and later part of the game, I’m going to have to believe that the farther we get into this new game, the better it will get. Especially with the 200+ level extra dungeon at the end.

The over all point? Just buy the game already. You won’t be disappointed.