What do you guys think of it? It released today, and I’ve played about 2 hours into it.
So far the only real thing I like about it is the battle system and the story. The character MODELS make me want to hurl* and the voice acting leaves somthing to be desired. Overall though, I’m pretty sure it will deliver the goods. I’m doubting that it deserved the 9.0 that IGN gave it. But we’ll see.
So yeah, what do you guys think?
By far, this is some of the worst anime styled attempt at 3d I’ve seen from Square, it just doesnt make sense. With games that did the 3d-anime RIGHT like Xenosaga and Tales of Symphonia on the market, how in the hell did Square-Enix of all people mess up so damn badly? I’d be less judgemental if this were someone else, but come on. I mean, the “anime-ish” characters even looked better in their FIRST PS2 game, “The Bouncer”.
Sorry for flaming so much on the graphics, but when shit like this is supposed to define the next gen consoles, I think we have a right to pick on just down right UGLY models. The girl in particular “Sophia” looks like HORSE SHIT.
More to the point - The female head models look terrible. The body I can deal with even though it seems like the texture maps are griddier than an 16 bit game, which isnt so bad because MOST of the time it’s only on NPCs that are viewed from far away. But it just so happens, that nearly anyone who isnt a key character and happens to have a close up, will make you think, huh… NES Mario style clothing is in style in the future? Just wait, you’ll see what I mean. And if that main girl keeps up with that STUPID ass smile, I’ll punch her in the fucking teeth.
I wanted to play it but I’m not so sure now. I dislike the whole 3d anime character thing. I tried that with Suikoden 3 and didn’t make it past the first 10 minutes. I’m gonna try again when I’m done with X-2, but it’s not a top priority to check out right now.
Naw, from my knowledge they ARE directly linked, but Star Ocean:TTEOT takes place a few hundred years after Star Ocean 2. Star Ocean 1 and 2 were much more directly linked, being only a decade or two apart, but this is quite a bit more. But even SO2 could be played without playing the first (like most of us did). SO:TTEOT does take place in the same galaxy, so there’s probably SOME connection, but it’s perfectly playable without knowledge of the first two.
Sadly, right now I can’t afford ANY new games, but I’ll likely get SO3 when I can, seeings as I like part two very much. Yeah, with the exception of some of the latest Square games, CGI has never looked good on RPGs, probably because it doesn’t mesh well with the Anime style, as Izlude mentioned. Even in Xenosaga the styles didn’t really combine. On the other hand, I loved the combat and (especially) the skill systems in SO2. How do the ones in SO3 compare? And what Is the story about, anyway?
I hear the combat system is very much like the one in SO2, which is a big plus to me since I really loved the combat in that game.
Item creation is back as well, though I’ve heard it’s toned down a bit. Which is alright. Heck, in SO2 you could have potentially made Claude’s best weapon as soon as you got your hands on two pieces of Mithril.
I think Private Actions, and all the other little things that made SO2 really neat are back as well.
It took me another hour to get it, cause I got my customize ability for him up to 9 before I tried…and tried…and tried. I did however have a marvel sword (pickpocket a treasure chest, save, pray like hell) while still on the first world. It was fun obliterating everything in my path in like 4 hits per battle.
It’s another Star Ocean, so that’s a good thing. 8)
Now, I remember seeing a post at a message board that highlighted all the game’s features. Yes, there are less characters, the item creation is a bit toned down, and maybe some people don’t like the character models, but from what I hear, this game will keep you busy for quite some time. You see, there’s these things called Battle Collection, and they are basically “titles” that can be used for bragging rights. You earn them by fulfilling certain requirements, usually through combat. Here’s the kicker; there’s 300 of them! Some of them require defeating the hidden boss (I’m not telling who it is, but Eva will love Tri-Ace for it!), and some of those have you defeating the hidden boss quickly, without getting hit, with an all male or female party, etc.
Also, the game isn’t as small as you may have been lead to believe by the small party size and watered-down item creation. 2 hidden dungeons are there to explore, the latter consisting of 211 floors! The game itself lasts a fair amount of time, but when you add in the hidden dungeon, the fact that you can save a “data file” and unlock harder difficulties, and the fact that some of the secrets require you to play through on harder difficulties, you’ll see just how big this game can be.
And here’s the best part; this IS the “International Edition”. The SO3 released here is uncut, with stuff added in! We’re not missing any optional bosses or scenes at all!
As for the story, the opening is actually a little similar to SO2 in the way that the hero is separated from his parents. Other than that, I have no idea, but there may be links to SO2 and the Ten Wise Men. They’re mentioned in the backstory on the official site.
Amazon-Uk says that I’ve got to wait a month before I get it. Well, Keep away and earn some Gil. (Sorry).
Big Nutter
Just a Quick Q. How’s the Lip Sync if they are doing it?
(Chances are It will be out on the UK ver like it is for KH and FFX and X-2, and The Bouncer. Their words came out in the middle of their mouth movements.)
So…the only thing you like is the gameplay and story? Is THAT ALL!!! Those are only the most important aspects of an RPG. It’s too bad nothing else is good. Fuck this game. Fuck it!
Man, I HATE dungeons like that! It took me forever to beat the 101 level dungeon in FFX2 (and I only bothered for game completion) and, in the SO2, you couldn’t save between levels, forcing me to leave my playstation on for SEVERAL days and PRAY that the power wouldn’t go out. GRAH!!! You’d DAMN BETTER be able to save in THIS dungeon, or I’m NOT tackling it!!!
While I hate being a graphics nazi, I’d have to say that this game holds up in nearly every aspect except camera controll (which is starting to get VERY annoying) and character model quality. I just can’t really get into characters with terrible voice acting and look like shit. If that makes me a bad person then I’m sorry for judging games based on what the standard of today’s 3d games HAVE been built upon.
Blame it on them… but I haven’t seen SO3 yet so I can’t comment yet.
Those are only the most important aspects of an RPG. It’s too bad nothing else is good. Fuck this game. Fuck it!