Star Ocean 4 ratificado como exclusivo de Xbox360

Star Ocean: The Last Hope Reader Interview

You asked, Square Enix answered. New screens and a ton of info are here.

January 9, 2009 - Back in December, we put out the call for reader questions for Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Shortly thereafter, our email inbox was flooded. We received hundreds upon hundreds of questions and did our best to sort the pile into the most asked and most interesting queries. In other words, we're sorry if your question didn't make the cut. We're not sorry about the responses the Star Ocean: The Last Hope development team gave, though. This extensive question and answer session covers everything from hopes for a PlayStation 3 port to hopping into an established franchise without playing the past games. Enjoy.

[This question was asked over 100 times] In the past the Star Ocean series has been known to be a Sony systems (PlayStation(s)) game only. With the fairly recent announcement of Final Fantasy XIII coming to the Xbox 360, do we have any chance of seeing Star Ocean 4 made for the PlayStation 3?

Star Ocean Dev Team: There are currently no plans for a PlayStation 3 version.

What game engine is tri-Ace using for SO4, is it the Unreal 3.5 engine or an original engine created for the game??

Star Ocean Dev Team: The engine being used for Star Ocean: The Last Hope is an original engine developed by tri-Ace. The same engine was used for Infinite Undiscovery as well.

Will players have the option to listen to the Japanese voice acting instead of the English one?

Star Ocean Dev Team: Unfortunately, this option will not be available.

How many playable characters will there be? Is it just 7 characters? Also, do inactive characters continue to level with the characters you play often (similar to Eternal Sonata) or do you have to play with every character in order to increase level?

Star Ocean Dev Team: There are over seven playable characters. They will not level up unless actively used in battle, and since you can only have up to four characters in your party at a time, it is necessary to switch party members for the rest of the characters to level up.

I've noticed that the hero of Star Ocean 4 has the same clothes on as Fayt Leingod had in Till The End of Time. Is there a relation between the two characters? If not, is there a reason the main concept and design of the new character looks remarkably the same, aside from hair color?

Star Ocean Dev Team: There is no relation between the two characters, as the stories take place in completely different times. Perhaps there is a slight resemblance in their appearances.

No plans for this to come to PS3.If I never played any of the other Star Ocean games would I be able to follow the story in this one?

Star Ocean Dev Team: This title portrays the origin of the Star Ocean series, so you should have no problem following the story even if you've never played the other games.

Will the game have a collector's edition in North America? If so, what will it contain (steel book case, art book, etc)?

Star Ocean Dev Team: There are no plans for a collector's edition.

How long will the game be and how many discs?

Star Ocean Dev Team: The game is about 40 hours long and spans three discs. However, there are many bonus features and hidden elements, on top of which we have created the game to accommodate multiple playthroughs, so I think players will be able to get many entertaining hours out of it.

The Star Ocean series has been known for its fast-paced, deep combat system. Star Ocean 3 presented perhaps one of the best active battle system designs to date, it seemed to really lack only one thing: cooperative multiplayer. Cooperative multiplayer is becoming a very popular concept in modern gaming. Will Star Ocean 4 include the option for cooperative multiplayer, or perhaps DLC that may later enable cooperative multiplayer?

Star Ocean Dev Team: A "multiplayer mode" does not mesh well with games like Star Ocean, which have a high range of freedom (as opposed to a style like a FPS, in which players clear missions to progress), and incorporate a system in which players jump to the battle scene after coming into contact with enemies. For this reason, we have not included a multiplayer mode, and have no plans to incorporate it in the future.

Will this game have the exact same battle system as the last star ocean? Please revive the Seventh Saga series......

Star Ocean Dev Team: The basics of the battle are the same, but the system has been enhanced. Compared to the previous version, in which the motion was two-dimensional, now with the option to jump, a sense of depth is added to the battle movements in Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Other than that, new systems such as Rush and Blindside are now included, adding to the overall battle experience.



The battle system has been updated.My question regarding The Last Hope is this: Will there be any romance in the game? This might come as an odd question, but since I feel that romance is an element that adds quite a bit of depth and character development, it's rarely a bad thing to have in a game. Also, I feel that the use of this element has been waning over the last few years; I remember the times of Final Fantasy VIII, or even Tales of Phantasia, in which romance was a much appreciated part of the dialogue and the character interaction in general.

Star Ocean Dev Team: The romantic element has always been a prevalent one throughout the Star Ocean series -- you could even say that Star Ocean and romance go hand in hand. Of course, this title has plenty of romance as well. We've incorporated a variety of events, which are triggered depending on the compatibility between different characters.

From the sound of the trailers, it sounds like Motoi Sakuraba is doing the music? Is this true? Is there anyone else joining him and sharing the compositional duties with as well? And when, if there is one, will the OST be released.

Star Ocean Dev Team: Mr. Motoi Sakuraba is in charge of the musical aspect of this title, and all songs are composed by him. The Japanese OST release date has not been confirmed yet.

How big of a role will synthesis play throughout the game if it's present at all?

Star Ocean Dev Team: Synthesis will definitely be a feature of this game. As with previous Star Ocean titles, utilizing synthesis and item creation to your advantage will enhance the gameplay experience.

The game will last over 40 hours.Will there be a Dictionary like in SO3? The Dictionary added a lot of backstory and, in my opinion, gave the story more depth as things were explained. I really hope it returns in SO4.

Star Ocean Dev Team: The Dictionary system is present in this release as well.

tri-Ace is known for using characters from their other games and placing them as optional bosses towards the end of the game, Can we expect to see characters like Gabriel Celeste and Ethereal Queen, as well as Lenneth from Valkyrie Profile?

Star Ocean Dev Team: Gabriel Celeste, Ethereal Queen, and other familiar characters will definitely make an appearance, but these characters are originally from the Star Ocean series. There are no plans for characters from outside of the series to make an appearance.

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Thanks for all of the great questions. Be on the lookout for Star Ocean: The Last Hope on February 24 in North America, only on Xbox 360.