While Halo Wars clearly wasn't up to the task of battling Killzone 2 for exclusive superiority in the first part of 2009, there's another Xbox 360 exclusive that PlayStation 3 owners should want: Square-Enix's Star Ocean: The Last Hope .
Now, I'm well aware our readers really have it in for the veteran RPG publisher right about now, and that's perfectly understandable. We may get Final Fantasy Versus XIII as a PS3 exclusive some time in 2047 but until then, the days of Square games only on PlayStation consoles are over. Personally, I don't have even the slightest issue with that; I remain mostly convinced the multi-DVD production of Final Fantasy XIII won't be as good as the Blu-Ray production of the game on the PS3, especially considering the White Engine was specifically designed for Sony's machine. At the same time, I think it's great that Square-Enix has expanded their anticipatory fanbase by finally making a major FF release available to more gamers around the world. The more people that get to play great games, the better it is for our industry; plain and simple.
Therefore, I don't really have any personal vendetta against Square-Enix. I believe they haven't been able to live up to the Squaresoft glory days (and I doubt I'm the only one), but I can accept that…what irks me no end is that S-E goes and makes something like The Last Hope a 360 exclusive. Considering that most every installment in that series was on a PlayStation console, and not one ever came to a Microsoft console, I don't see how this was a wise move. Go ahead and make it multiplatform; no skin off my teeth. But why strip PlayStation owners of the game? They're the group that's actually familiar with this series! Well, whatever. The point is, PS3 owners should want this game, and it's only because – from what I've seen of the reviews and feedback – it's basically vintage Square. The voice acting is horrendous (FFXII's was fantastic, though), and the graphics are really, really pretty. And , that hybrid real-time/turn-based combat has apparently returned.
Look, it's kinda like a next-gen throwback, which is why it's not landing 9s in reviews. It got an 8 from IGN, a 7 from Game Informer and a 4/5 from X-Play; you'll probably see it hover right around an 8 when all the reviews are in. This is exactly what I expected, and in all honesty, it's the type of game that will appeal to fans of the franchise…which confuses me all the more, considering its exclusive console destination. If you enjoyed previous iterations in the series and you own a PS3 but not a 360, you should be annoyed. Me, I've got a 360 so I gots no problem (me gonna get my JRPG fix), but this is a general advisory piece; yeah, I'm trying to tell you how to feel: you want The Last Hope . If you're a JRPG fan, you just do. Don't scoff it off because you suddenly despise Square-Enix or hate Microsoft or whatever; just feel sad you won't get it.
Then again, there's always the chance of a port, right? Like they're doing with The Last Remnant . So perhaps The Last Hope will arrive on the PS3 at some point, and perhaps it'll even be the superior version. But the gap in time sucks no matter how you slice it; it's why I bought the GTAs on the PS2 when they came out rather than waiting like 8 months for them to arrive on the Xbox. The slight increase in quality wasn't enough to keep me from playing my favorite stuff for that long. In the end, PS3 owners who happen to be JRPG fans are missing out. Sorry, people.
Related Game(s): Star Ocean: The Last Hope
well tbh i dont want it on the ps3………want to know why??
because im getting it on the 360 ahahaha
TIKUP/MSB
meh, dont really like JRPG's tbh. Halo wars looks good though. If i had a 360 i would def get halo wars of star ocean
wow
i know, it seems my opinion is different to everyone elses here. With the exeption of MGS4, i hate japanese style games
I used to like them, but now they kind of bore me. I would definitely not buy this game. I tried the Valkyrie Chronicles Demo and I liked that, but I haven't bought it.
I agree that this game looks very interesting, and I do want the game, but I have to go a little off topic here and talk about the marketing of this game as opposed to that of KZ2.
The release dates for both games are separated by only three days, but I cant go Three Hours without seeing a SO commercial, yet I see a KZ2 add every other DAY. SONY PLEASE GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND PUSH YOUR PRODUCT. Hell hire me and I'll market the hell out of you.
I saw the KZ2 commercial last night on cartoon network. It's a great commercial but they need to show it on more channels.
I saw the KZ2 commercial last night on cartoon network. It's a great commercial but they need to show it on more channels.
SE is trying to expand to more western audience, so there gona go ahead and make SC exclusively to a fanbase that never had it.
My bro (who I live with at college) has a 360 but I'm kinda broke from all the steeet fighter 4 and fight stick… which is awesome!
I feel like a beaten house wife…
I want to say I'll never buy a SE game.
But the truth is I'll be there for the midnight launch.
What irks me the most is not a single SE game that I know of came out on the PS3 this generation.
That was a STUPID insult to any female that is going through that horror! And I don't care if you are a female either, that was just plain immature. In other news I feel like a 'insensitive video game nerd loser' that just got corrected. Back to the article. Yeah I think that a lot of people that bought Square games are on PS3. But a lot are on 360 too. I can see square putting infinite undiscovery and the other exclusive on xbox360 but those are action games. This seems to be like a hybred and I got ta have it because it is the closest thing to a actual turn based. Glad I have a xbox because blue dragon and lost oddyssey are top notch! Don't believe the ratings it is from JRPG haters. There is a reason games get great Japanese ratings and low USA ratings its the taste of the reviewers. Their needs to be petitions started by the leaders of this site. Step up!
Last edited by rpg4me on 2/21/2009 6:00:07 PM
rpg4me, calm down. You're being way too sensitive here. This sensitivity is what keeps race and gender issues alive. It's why black people can say anything they want to whites but the minute anyone says anything about a black person it's a huge issue. Unless kev was glorifying the act of beating a woman, there is no reason to act crazy about it. It happens a lot, it's tragic, that's life.
Worst article I have ever on PSX. I am a big-time Star Ocean fan, but the matter of fact is forking out @%!# how much money? 200 for a shitty ass system and an additional like 60 US dollars and I'll probably want to dumb more money to purchase other things to complete the 360, or even purchase an elite version for 400 US dollars? STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
I need new RAM (8G), I need to pay off my other pre-ordered games, I need to purchase another PS3 and a 1080p TV (32"), and I need to dump my money on school.
I fork my money on quality products, things that will last me, that I know they are useful to me, and I am going to use them, and for the purpose of these things to live a long time, not f–king die out on me.
Microsoft will not get my money for their shitty ass system. They didn't even try to make a real next-generation system and they call it "next generation". I'm not a die-hard person for Microsoft, and they DID ruin the gaming experience this generation for me, and many many other gamers. They're not real, they are NOT original. I sure am for SE's RPG games, but if they release shit on DS and Wii and 360, guess what? — No love from my wallet — I'm the consumer, I decide. Even if the game is all that great and "omg your missing out" What do I care? I simulate my time, money and games the way they are meant to be. I'll be enjoying K2, Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5 for the matter of fact, and I just started playing God of War I, II and Shadow of the Colossus (purchased them recently). This, should be enough for me until the next good games come out.
Thanks for reading.
whoah!…hehehe….relaax….take it easy.
Billy Gates is a wonderful man.
c'mon let the hate go,360 isn't as shitty as you think.
Yeah, you're not helping the image of our community. When we say no flaming and no system bashing and no fanboy attitudes, we're not restricting this to one side.
You need to calm down in your anti-MS vendetta.
i am with ace in this one though I own a 360 I can relate to everything he says. I would be more pressed to purchase games on my ps3 than on my 360. truth is I don't own one single game for the xbox except the one I got for free with the arcade. and a refurb 20gb I got for free. truth is I'll prob only rent star ocean and return it later. I just can't justify starting a game collection on my 360 when the pos is going to break on me. that way when I get rid of it it won't be tied to games that I own for it. ps3 has me covered.
although it may sound fanboyish. lets put it this way we are fanboys of quality. and while the 360 has some quality titles the hardware does not justify its cause.
//rant//
food86,it's clear you prefer ur ps3 cause u got it first n starting a collection for 360 will be expensive.Thus you'd rather stick to buying games on ya ps3,that's most definitely sensibly right but picture this;
Yes,360's 33%failure rate is unacceptable but what happens when your ps3 dies? You pay $150 for a fix/replacement/refurbishment or in some cases they don't even fix it at all once you've tampered with it.
Realize that $200 could get you a NEW 360 arcade console but u definitely can't shell out $400 for a new ps3.Don't let the 360's hardware failure bug you too much,the arcade is gonna get cheaper n cheaper.
Last edited by www on 2/21/2009 3:21:02 PM
www, who says the PS3 will die? I got my PS2 when they first came out pretty much and it still works perfectly. My opinion is that PS3's more often than not will hold through long after this generation is gone. That is not something that can be said about the 360. I think that's all food was trying to say.
At least he's honest, I don't wanna plop down the money for a whole new system to play a game that I have supported for years only to have the new system overheat and die because I played for 7 hours straight.
haha Nitekrawler,perhaps u haven't pushed the ps3 to it's limit.Just like you,i never contemplated my 60GB dying,but it did,it's a machine,it's bound to fail,it can't be flawless.
Oh-yea,no doubt,the ps3 is far more superior to the 360 in terms of reliability,no doubt about that.Just hope you don't get in my shoes though.
btw
ONE BIG SECRET:A friend of mine's 360 got 2 red lights just cause the fans stopped working.He bought a powerful fan n placed it behind the system when playing n guess what?
I could swear to you that his 360 stays on for about 12hrs+,no rrod.TRUE STORY.
I think Ace is bang on. Which leads me to think… does Square believe that the old PS1+2 crowd have defected to the 360? Why else would SE do this? You can tag me as another one who will not be buying this game. You can say I'm missing out if you want, but I'm also missing out of those "great" Wii games and it doesn't bother me in the least.
WorldEndsWithMe:
7 hours? I could run my PS3 24/7 and it would be fine.
@ www: That's true, I treat my PS3 like a baby. I usually only play for a couple hours at a time max. Hopefully, that means my system will last a long long time.
@dlte … Isn't WEWM talking about a 360? I think sooOoo
Alienage ftw. I try to give things the benefit of the doubt but honestly, would anyone buy a refrigerator that died that often? I'm not stupid and I watch what happens, even the PS3 is having problems I can't try to excuse lately, but if your fridge died 33% of the time you would lose a helluva lot of food.
I agree with Ace. I don't know what S-E is trying to do, but all they ARE doing is losing their fan-base. If it goes multi-plat, thats amazing.. no prob… PS3 exclusive, someone would expect it, and I know some people bought Ps3s just because of Square Enix and their well known relationship with Sony… but this is what they get. Stab in the back. That's fine, but when they become the least-liked company, it's not our problem. No love from us.
P.S. I rather pay $150 to get my PS3 fixed rather than paying $200 bucks and having a 33% chance of failure everytime I turn on my damn console. At least I don't have to worry about WHEN (It's not a matter of if, its a matter of when) my console is going to get the RRoD. Just my two cents.
Why would u buy a 32 inch 1080p tv? That's pointless.
NO I totally agree with AceTatsujin and always values his/hers opinion. If you've read my comment on Ben's love issues, there's so much traitors out there that will eventually "claim" they've all been loyal and it'll all be BS. Microsoft is no way original. They rip people off, pay developers off for exclusives, and copies every damn thing, not to mention that their sales, more than likely, are falsely shown only by the many duplicate systems they've sold due to RROD. Name one thing that Microsoft has that's original and don't say online cause that spawned off the dream cast even though it wasn't as big. Sorry Ben and www I just can't approve of stuff like this and I do apologize for the fact that I may be tainting the site a little, but something really has to give. Microsoft will never earn a penny from me. Not even for a computer. And square is such a hypocrite. Read the last paragraph under video games at this url.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_enix#Video_games
They say they don't want to support/not support Sony too much cause they don't want them to neither overpower or to be overpowered in this gens console wars yet they are clearly supporting the hell out of Microsoft; if you don't believe let me justify. Name a single game from them that has appeared exclusively on the ps3…exactly. They continue to support the hell out of Microsoft and dish out games such as star ocean (which may or may not appear on the ps3), last remnant (even though it was an utter failure and is soon to come to the ps3), final fantasy 13 (same as remnant minus the failure), possibly KH3 and so much more. Square will one day open their eyes (hopefully). Until that day comes, we must part ways (unless they bring kingdom hearts 3 exclusively to the PS3).
Last edited by Dridion on 2/22/2009 7:23:07 PM
I bought a 32" Toshiba Regza 1080p TV for my bedroom for $600. It was the perfect size for the room. Anything bigger and it would've been too big. And you can see the HD difference on a 32" TV.
I have my 42" Sony Bravia 1080p in my living room. Although, I'm sure with how fast prices are dropping, I'll get a 50"-plus for the living room and move the 42" into the bedroom sometime next year. I guess the 32" will go in my spare bedroom/den eventually.
Hey Ben, How was Ace being a fanboy? It was more of a rant if anything, like how you rant about negative and biased opinions from other news sites. Nothing Ace said was fanboyish, it was just his opinion (one that many others share). In a way, you have to admit he was right.
I feel somewhat let down by square
I have purchased a good amount of their games and was excited for what i might be getting with the PS3, and am very dissatisfied.
I bought my share of SO games as well, and even though SO Till the end of time was decent (VO wasnt all that great), i still enjoyed it and would have liked more.
That's why II own all the systems so II don't have a problem with exclusives anyway I'm not a fan of rpgs so imma skip this game ugh.
May I ask why you use two I's when saying I? Just wondering, maybe it's your thing?
Me too Comptons_Finest. Me too!
Im really annoyed, i love the 3rd game and would have wanted this…. what i dotn get is why there putting remakes of the 1st and 2nd on PSP and not releasing the new one on PS3, it makes no sense and just causes aggressive fans, and rightly so!
Right! that exclusive to 360 thing is not understandable.
Anybody played PERSONA 4???…it's square for sake's sake.
Maybe square thinks we still play ps2,i mean if persona 4 was on ps3 it'd be cool.
Eternal Sonata,Valkyria and them have the same graphics.
What is square on?
Persona 4 was published by Atlus…
No! rather published by square and developed by atlus….okay so it's not developed by square but it's still great,i'd luv to play it.
Persona 4 was developed AND published by Atlus in Japan and North America.
Published in Europe ONLY by SquEnix.
Ubisoft in Australia.
Haven't played the others so I don't really care much .
Damn… Why can't SE just do multiplats? More money for them so they can make better games…
We all know that MS is not above a payoff. I'm sure that is what we are seeing here. Why else would SE abandon the very platform that got them where they are today? It's a shame to see this kind of negative impact that MS has on the video game market.
From the reviews it was noted that you had to switch disks to travel between areas. Not a big fan of that, Legend of Dragoon really turned me off for that reason in the PSX days.
I've never played Star Ocean so I wouldn't really care but why jump from Playstation to Xbox? what happens to the story
Look, I was lucky(or maybe not so lucky) to get a good long look at the review copy at a well connected friends. I am upset at the way not MS has treated anyone but at the way SE has treated it's biggest fans. Fans who ensured that there was, in fact, a SE for MS to parlez with today-who supported the company through both famine and feast. Fans who(many of them) bought PS3s on SE's word(less than 12 months ago they still trumpeted PASexclusivity for FF13)-=very loyal fans.
I'm not really one of them but I aqm a big SO fan and in all honesty I don't feel PS3 gamers are missing out on a real curreent genh experiencve with SO4 at all-you're better off playing the styellar first two games on PSP than this average mush. It just goes further down the mediocre road sety in SO3 and goes from really pretty to unbearable shoddy in combat scenes. If there's a p[oprt they'll have to work very hard to get it less glitchy AND the story isn't up to pasr-so sorry Ben I don't agree with you on this one.
SE have let a lot of people down and I dunno quite why they have to leave the vast majority of their fans with nothing ton play on a system THEY helped them decide to buy. FF13 doesn't look as exciting as it once did either now we've seen that the in game stuff isn't much improved from FF12-lets hope they shine itr up a nit better than it looks now as if they don't it's a hell of a wait for FF12.5 innit?
U should never fortget the people who put you where you are, never.
This is what happens though when MS makes a dev company push games out the door.
I love Star Ocean
=( x9999
Fu** your shit Ben, I don't need to know what games I can't have lol.
I agree with AceTatsujin. MS doesn't deserve most of the money it gets from all the ignorant people re-buying their f*cked up consoles. If you ask me you should just get it right the first time and buy a ps3