Relia
gameplay, I wish I
could be the harbinger
of good tidings, especially after the disappointment of the narrative and world design,
yet I’m afraid it’s business as usual.
The great JRPGs of
yesteryear
wowed
their audiences not
only through their brilliant narratives and
landscapes, but also
by way of their nuanced combat systems. Star Ocean on
the other hand resembles more God of War
than Final Fantasy VII.
While you certainly
have access to a vast
array of options when
in battle (character
swapping, skills and
alternate attacks, item
management) the actual process of grinding enemies into dust
is achieved simply by
button-mashing your
way to victory.
You can take a more
measured approach,
carefully constructing
the optimum build for
each character, yet it
just feels like a giant
waste of time when just
constantly spamming
the team-heal ability
as Miki will see you
through almost any situation the game manages to throw at you.
That isn’t to say the
combat fails to satisfy
on some level. There is
a visceral experience
to battle in Star Ocean,
with each thunderous
swipe of your sword
surging through your
controller and making
you feel utterly alive
and in the moment. The
gorgeous particle effects rain down as you
bathe in the glorious
chaos erupting across
the battlefield. Yes, the
combat is overly sim-
As I gaze upon the
rolling waves...
plified, but the spectacle and showmanship
on display manages
to salvage more than a
scrap of honour.
As I gaze upon the
rolling waves on a
beautifully rendered
beach, the sound of
seagulls and breaking water soothing my
beleaguered soul, I
mourn for Star Ocean.
It could have been
good, amazing even,
yet a lack of detail
and attention has
doomed this latest entry to languish in the
cold darkness of the
gaming nvetherspace.
Everything is functional, but nothing has the
heart and soul that defined the golden era of
JRPGs. I’m not mad,
I’m just disappointed.
WORLD BUILDING 4
STORY 5
GAMEPLAY 6
VISUAL DESIGN 6
5.3
15