Ben-DutkaEternal Sonata , Tales of Vesperia , and now, Star Ocean: The Last Hope . Hopefully, it will be the last example of an anticipated RPG that debuts on one platform while leaving owners of another platform out in the cold.
The rumors have flown all year: will Square-Enix ever bring the latest Star Ocean iteration to the PlayStation 3? The answer has always seemed to be a vague "yes," with pieces of evidence pointing towards an eventual port. Well, according to the latest Famitsu issue , it has been confirmed. The game is coming to Sony's console as Star Ocean: The Last Hope International , and like the other two RPGs we just mentioned, it'll contain a host of fresh updates and extra goodies. This one will contain new characters, a revamped combat system, improved menus, and dual-language support for English and Japanese. It's scheduled to release in Japan on February 4, 2010. Now, as you RPG aficionados know, Tales of Vesperia is also coming to the PS3 but there's no word yet on whether or not it'll arrive on US or European shores. We're hoping Square-Enix doesn't ignore other regions with Star Ocean but we'll just have to wait and see…and hope. The "new characters" fact alone should entice many consumers.
From a personal standpoint, I would like to add that after spending 25 hours with The Last Hope , I found it to be a solid and engaging RPG, but the fighting system finally got to me. That "improved targeting system" may or may not help; I'm not sure. But either way, I really would like to see other RPG fans in this country get a crack at it.
Related Game(s): Star Ocean: The Last Hope
