Star Ocean 4 - Coming to PC this November

DSOGaming reports that Star Ocean 4 is coming to the PC November 28th however it is unclear if this is a worldwide release.

Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope Remaster is coming to the PC on November 28th in Japan


Square Enix has announced that a remastered version of Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope is coming to the PC on November 28th. This remaster version will hit Japan first, and there is a brand new trailer for it that you can watch below.

Star Ocean 4 PC will allow players to completely remove the UI and take screenshots. It will also feature trophy and Steam achievements.

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Is this worth a look ? The trailer doens't look like actual gameplay/rendering.

Some guy eating a steak…some girl getting out of the shower…ummmm…ya….

Star Ocean 4 was pretty good (at least the PS3 international edition, I was less happy with the original Xbox version) but had a pretty awful script/voicework (possibly blame translation?). A girl who looks about 6 talking about "nappy time" is one, erm, "highlight". (In UK english, nappies are diapers).

That said, the battle system (party-based, realtime) is good fun, and the worlds/locales are varied, whilst the plot is quite lavish.

As you might be able to tell, I didn't finish it, as I found it got a bit repatative, and at a certain point when I thought it was climaxing, I couldn't face "yet another green planet" and gave up.

The earlier Star Ocean games are generally considered the best. I actually rather enjoyed part 5 released last year, but it was clearly cut down to a fraction of what was originally intended. It was fun for what it was, but could have been a LOT more.

So, to conclude, SO4 PC release is welcome, but unlikely to convince many new followers.

I played it and finished it in the PS3, I liked it. Basically IIRC you're some dude and you are on a ship doing stuff visiting planets, each planet with its own environment. You have companions of course and a little sim dating.
At least they didn't do the next game in the series, it was made for PS4 but boy did it suck major arse. That one I couldn't play for more than like 6 hours, after the 3rd 'protect NPC X' mission where all the enemies beelined towards the NPC I just abandoned it.

As for all Star Ocen games, the story is fairly juvenile, but actually good if you are in the right mindset: imagine a Star Trek episode for 6th grade schoolers.
If this won't repel you, the game is worth a try.

Wolfing - it's really interesting to see how people's experience with the same game are quite different. For me, I don't recall any "protect NPC" type gameplay, but obviously it must have been there - I guess I mustn't have had any trouble with that aspect. I was far more bothered by the limited travel (for the most part, you're stuck on one planet in part 5), and that I found the main-game far combat far too easy with the large party etc.

Anyway, I know we should discussing part 4 here, not 5, but like I say, I just found it really interesting to here a different take on the other game. Thanks.

The first star ocean game is one of my all time favourite games. From what I heard the later ones are nowhere near the same quality. But I am still interested in this, if it is even 1/5th as good as the first one. Anyone who played both and can compare ?

Originally Posted by GothicGothicness
Anyone who played both and can compare ?

My experience is this:
SO1 (SNES): The original. Not the best (English fan translation helps though), but was a very fresh game back then. The gfx was one of the best on SNES, the action gameplay was truly unique among the hordes of turn-based jRPGs.

SO2 (PSOne): Slightly better story and longer gameplay. Gradual emphasis on its signature synthesis system (i.e. crafting). Play the PSP remake, which adds excellent anime cutscenes.

SO3 (PS2): My favorite. Mysterious plot quickly gets silly and boring, then very interesting and has one of the most unexpected plot twists EVER in a jRPG. High emphasis on exploration (my personal bias factor). Mid-game drags though.

SO4 (X360/PS3): Technically awesome. Battle system absolutely shines, but be aware: this is more an action game than a traditional jRPG!

SO5 (PS4): Not checked yet, but what I've heard, it is a serious misstep (blindside? ) As perviously said: it seems the game's design was cut half during development, producing a half-baked title.

Final word: Motoi Sakuraba, the music composer. Da Man is the sh*t, if you love video game music.
Seriously, Sakuraba-san's work is absolutely, utterly, totally awesome.

Looks like I should get a hold of 4 in that case, thanks for the very through walk-through. I guess the reason I like one so much is that the system is different from other JRPG's and also that the story and approach was kind of fresh.

I'm interested. But before buying…

Questions:
- grind trashmobs that respawn or once killed they never return?
- save anywhere or pray powersurge won't hit you and kill your progress?
- fast inventory access or timewasting scrolling lists?
- M+K supported or mushroom only?

I'll survive a juvenile story and graphics from ZX Spectrum era, it's what all console (timed?) exclusives are so expecting something else would be delusional.

Originally Posted by joxer
- grind trashmobs that respawn or once killed they never return?

YES, plentiful, and you'll love it, 'cause you like ass whooping (theirs).

Originally Posted by joxer
- save anywhere or pray powersurge won't hit you and kill your progress?

NO, you'll love save points anyway, 'cause you like ass whooping (yours).

Originally Posted by joxer
- fast inventory access or timewasting scrolling lists?

YES, with a controller. Admit it, you love touching things with lots of knobs.

Originally Posted by joxer
- M+K supported or mushroom only?

PROBABLY, but M+K in a jRPG is for losers. You are not a loser, so you'll use a decent controller, secretly hidden in your cupboard.

Originally Posted by joxer
I'll survive a juvenile story and graphics from ZX Spectrum era, it's what all console (timed?) exclusives are so expecting something else would be delusional.

YES, because you are genuinely interested. Else you won't look in this thread and post your silly questions, do you?


No hard feelings

I played Star Ocean 2 more than 10 years ago and my memory card stopped working when I was ready to beat the final boss. I have mixed feelings and memories about this series…

The combat was OK but the story just killed me when I played it. First off, you've got a ship full of children (see 35 seconds into the vid) entrusted with a incredibly important mission. What really ruined it for me was later in the game, though, when the lead character does something intensely stupid and gets billions of people killed. Stories have main characters make mistakes they have to overcome all the time and it works fine but not this time - I had no sympathy for him at all.

For his deadly idiocy, the main character was… relieved of his command… for now. Seriously?? This guy's actions led to a crime that makes genocide look like a minor offense and they actually want me to feel sorry for him!?

I tried to crash the ship into a sun, couldn't do it, and quit playing.