Star Ocean: The Last Hope

I have played every single Square Enix RPG over the last several years and I have to say this is by far their best game story wise and while there is a few small issues with disc swapping and if you are not paying attention you will have to back track, this is one incredible game to play and is a must own for all RPG fans.

The Last Hope is for those that don’t consider waiting a part of battlefield etiquette. If you consider yourself a free-form fighter—a free-form star fighter perhaps—then Star Ocean: The Last Hope is your key to the JRPG universe.

Despite different settings, there’s something very Infinite Undiscovery about Last Hope. In a good way.

An excellent JRPG. Is it perfect? No, but it is very entertaining and even has a story that most Sci-Fi buffs will enjoy. All of the new innovations that they have made with this entry are all appreciated, and add an extra layer of depth to an already deep game.

Well crafted and presents a huge adventure for you to lose yourself in. With everything from solid dungeons to exciting battles and sidequests, the game has a ton to offer for your buck and stands as a worthwhile entry in the genre. If you're looking to have a groundbreaking new RPG experience it probably isn't the game for you, but otherwise I think it'd be a great addition to any collection.

The first really great RPG on the Xbox 360 so far this year. Although series producer Yoshinori Yamagishi has said that it is the last in the series, I can't help but hope this is not the case and we can look forward to even more Star Ocean in the future.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a fun game that will keep players occupied for days on end. There are so many things to do with the various endings and side missions players can embark upon. Even though there are a few issues, they can be overlooked by the sheer fun players will have with this game.

A solid game saddled with some very bad movies.

Square Enix really outdid themselves with Star Ocean: The Last Hope. This is a huge, gorgeous adventure with a memorable storyline and plenty of cool twists.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a pretty good RPG. It has an interesting story, strong characters and there is a lot of room for exploration. Besides that, it has a very good fighting system. The downfall is the slow pace of the story, but that shouldn't stop you from buying it!

This new chapter in the Star Ocean series is a recommendable option for those who are wishing to enjoy a new and long JRPG adventure. The characters and story needed more charm, but the combat system and the deep character development are enough reasons to judge The Last Hope as a great role playing game.

It's a game that most RPG fans will find to be a worthy purchase, but don't expect a world-class game out of it.

Not an RPG for the ages, but it is a lot of fun to play. The way the story is delivered, through awkward dialogue and drawn out cutscenes, could be a lot better. The strong points of The Last Hope, namely the combat and level progression, keep things lively and engaging and help make this one a good way to kick off your JRPG gaming for 2009.

Star Ocean: Last Hope won’t make anyone forget that FF XIII is on the horizon. But as far as holding us over in the meantime, this game more than succeeds.

The fourth installment in the space-faring series, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, not only blows recent next-gen JRPGs out of the water, but proves itself a fantastic swan-song for the cult-favorite space opera.

Tri-ace has made an admirable effort with Last Hope, but the game ultimately just isn't capable of standing out amongst the other giants in the genre. It's enjoyable, but in a way more reminiscent of recent Square-Enix games than its classics. It's not the most epic adventure, but if you seek rich combat experiences in your RPGs, Last Hope certainly delivers.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope will deliver a ton of Japanese RPG goodness.

Despite the freezing, and the other minor complaints, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is still a great game that far exceeded my expectations. In my opinion, it’s the best game in the series, and I find myself actually sad that it is supposed to be the last.

If you are a fan of the series or of j-rpg’s in general be sure to try this one out.

While it won’t blow your mind away, it’ll at least make you appreciate your Xbox 360 a little more than you did the day before.

Despite the technical flaws (horrible camera, not so impressive visuals, bad voice over...), Star Ocean is a game that delivers a great experience, thanks to its fun and deep gameplay, the many things we can do, and the development of characters. Unfortunately, the story is not as charming as it should have been.

In Star Ocean: The Last Hope its gameplay excels, with intense and satisfying combat which give the game a good pace. But its story is really shallow, and lacks something in character and situations building, although it keeps the gamer interested enough to keep playing.

One of the best and most compelling Xbox 360 Jrpg's, mostly due to its fun and deep real time combat system. Story telling and dialogues could be better, and graphical presentation has its drawbacks, but all in all this is one of the best next gen efforts from Square Enix.

It has been a long time coming, but Star Ocean: The Last Hope has finally found the spotlight on the Xbox 360. The game offers a great amount of depth, a varied visual presentation and the battle system works well. While not a classic, this Japanese RPG does not disappoint fans of the genre.

Apparently The Last Hope will be the last Star Ocean game to be released - if that’s the case then it’s a fitting swansong.

tri-Ace managed to bring us a good game, but not exempt from defects like the bland plot and expressionless characters. Though we advise you to try it, mainly thanks to its very good combat system, one of the best we tried in a Japanese RPG.

Very much an average take on JRPG genre. While it does offer a long story brimming with anime cliches and conventions, and more than enough options to customize your characters and their skills, the plot feels bland, stumbling from plot twist to another, and the character cast something we've seen a thousand times before. Action sequences outside boss fights, while fast-paced and even fun quickly become repetetive button mashers without much tactics or thinking needed. [July 2009]

Hardcore RPG gamers might strive for more in the end but anyone starved for a decent RPG title will find an adequate title here, so strap in and head towards the endless star ocean.

An addictive, strategic combat system makes Star Ocean: The Last Hope worth playing despite its cliche storyline and annoying characters.

Definitely worth checking out, and Tri-Ace's best effort on current gen systems so far.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope represent a big step forward for the series of tri-Ace. The combat system it's fun and challenging as well as the crafting system. Graphically the title looks good, except for the animations and PG characterization that deserved more attention.The story unfortunately isn't so good, stuffed with clichés and a cast rather weak, such that it can not support many hours of gameplay and meet the real experts of J-Rpg.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope offers you an interesting story. Furthermore you can definitely spend al lot of hours with this colourful game.

If you're already a fan of the RPG genre, this will both disappoint and entice you, but in the end leave you satisfied.

The Last Hope is plagued by a number of problems, but if you can invest the time needed for this game to blossom (that's a big if), the combat system and mysterious plot reward you well for your time. [Mar 2009, p.90]

Unfortunately, many of these positive aspects are undone by the game's presentation: bizarre design choices, overly long and deeply uninteresting cut scenes, creepy and off-putting character models and an extremely lackluster dub. It's not a bad RPG; it's simply a mediocre one with a lot of uninteresting filler between enjoyable, if not particularly challenging, gameplay segments.

Despite its flaws, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a solid, gameplay-oriented fling that most fans of RPGs should still be able to enjoy.

The Last Hope offers a pleasant looking and reasonably playable JRPG experience, no more and no less.

The customisation options add depth and variety for those players willing to invest the time, and the immense, sprawling storyline will keep you playing for literally weeks, with the fact that it's a prequel surely giving fans of the series even more reason to play it to completion.

Star Ocean has got nice graphics and dynamic fights, but the old checkpoint-system and the flat story and characters narrow the fun you'll have with this game.

Rock solid RPG has a very slow start and couple of design flaws but patient gamers are rewarded by tens of hours of great adventure. [Aug 2009]

Star Ocean: The Last Hope brings appealing sci-fi imagery to the Xbox 360 catalogue of RPGs. It’s not the best JRPG on the system, but what it does is give players a game with an addictive battle system.

I can happily and honestly recommend Star Ocean to any experienced players of RPGs of the Japanese persuasion and fans of the earlier iterations of the series. To new entrants to the genre, I proffer a warning: you might find it difficult to wade your way into the heart of this game at first, but if you feel determined to get to grips with the genre, Star Ocean could prove to be a big ol' bucket of gems for you.

Star Ocean contains an interesting plot buried in its depths, but it's incredibly demanding of your time and your patience. The long-winded, poorly conceived dialogue, and formulaic cut-scene, dungeon crawl, cut-scene, dungeon crawl design isn't getting any fresher. I still enjoyed the game and its comforting, monster-slaying grind, though.

Pretty, but flaws stop it touching the stars. [June 2009, p.86]

An excellent and fairly innovative combat system find itself hamstrung by a frustrating cast and grinding that...well, grinds. [Issue#46, p.85]

The best science-fiction pays equal attention to the direction of its fiction as to its detail but Star Ocean: The Last Hope succeeds only in the latter area, and even there, only in part.

There is simply no getting around the sheer awfulness of the main characters. From their unoriginal looks to their irritating dialogue, they serve to spoil the game from start to finish. [July 2009, p.122]

This game had the potential to bring the Star Ocean franchise back to the forefront of great Japanese RPGs. This potential has been hampered by an apparent lack of innovation and ambition on the developer's behalf. The battles rely on a really solid battle system that could have been truly engaging, had most of the other not been as horrendous. Dialogue in the game is embarrassingly bad, cinematic sequences are dull and bland and the voice acting performances are laughable. Patient gamers willing to overlook the major flaws will be treated to a decent adventure.

Like a reversed Lost Odyssey: loads of ideas, totally dump story. A chore. [July 2009, p.84]

Star Ocean: The Last Hope's drawing power is really its battle system and little else. Despite a solid plot and strong item creation, the shoddy localization and terrible level design mar the experience beyond salvaging.

If you have the patience to put up with some very slow plot points, have never been bothered by an overuse of clichés in the JRPG genre, and are more interested in a JRPG with refreshing combat than a refreshing narrative, you'll get a kick out of The Last Hope.

At a time when science fiction has never been handled with more vim and vigour, Star Ocean threatens to miss out on all the fun of the genre resurgence through its total lack of ambition. [June 2009, p.92]

While the addictive battle system makes up for some of the flaws, Star Ocean: The Last Hope still suffers from familiar issues and lack of innovation. Though there is a lot of room for exploration and content which makes the game feel rich, and will certainly keep fans of the genre right on spot for a period of time.

The combat is excellent but everything else disappoints in this overblown and unlikeable role-player.