AnimeSuki Forums

FlareKnight · 2022-09-23, 00:49

I've got to say that I'm feeling pretty good about this one after playing around with the demo. The art direction for Star Ocean has still thrown me off, but this is just how they want to go about it.

Not sure if it's just by comparison to other demos I've tried recently, but I had a good time with this one. The characters feel ok so far. Definitely biased but loving Laeticia in the early going thanks to Inori Minase. But in general the cast seems pretty solid. Ray isn't bad either. At the very least he handles situations pretty well and thanks to having been a Captain (while he had a ship) he doesn't feel constantly overwhelmed by his situation even if he's having a tough time in general.

Definitely have to get a feel for the combat still. Though I do like the craziness that the Duma can add too it.

Just feels like it could be a solid sci-fi adventure. Kind of looking forward to seeing how this one turns out

.

Sides · 2022-09-23, 01:42

I like exploring the environment in the demo, especially after you get D.U.M.A. Not sure about the combat system. Basically there is no normal attacks, but once you get the D.U.M.A., it is all about crashing into enemies, hack and repeat, so don't really miss normal attacks that way.
One thing that surprised me was, the characters cannot climb ladders. You have to use D.U.M.A to fly onto higher levels, like the watchtower in the first village...

I personally like how the character models look, it is like a Star Ocean brand, since the series went 3D. Plus I like Ray's glam-rock heavy metal hairdo.

FlareKnight · 2022-09-24, 01:04

This game definitely isn't doing anything dramatically different when it comes to the character models. I've just been bothered by it ever since they did go down that road. But plenty of times I've gotten past it. Just that it throws me off every time when coming to a fresh game in the series.

stray · 2022-09-24, 09:24

I'm kind of annoyed that the demo doesn't seem to be coming to Steam. I guess there's still a chance but it seems to be dwindling.

Kafriel · 2022-09-26, 15:43

Played the demo on PS4, the frame rate is abysmal. The game's got a few other issues too (lip syncing, collision points on landing, etc.) but it's got promise. Nice skill trees, much better models than I expected honestly, a decent story as far as the demo goes and beautiful music to go with it. There's even a card game, although I didn't find a deck to actually play.

JagdPanther · 2022-10-21, 19:18

Whole bunch of new stuff:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/xcdCI1dJQBg

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YouTube

https://youtu.be/cpG7ePQlNnI

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YouTube

https://youtu.be/so6iNdH_1Oo

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YouTube

https://youtu.be/Ph9YAydj9IQ

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

I like the new Welch. Just started Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and I'm not like that Welch design. But this one... pretty nifty.

Also looking forward to more about Marielle.

JagdPanther · 2022-10-26, 20:33

Reviews coming out so far are reasonably good for the most part.

One of the things still unclear to me is how character recruitment will go. It seems like you'll have 8 character slots max but there are more than 8 playable characters they've unveiled. I want to pick Laeticia as my main, but I also want Marielle. I am going to go out on a limb that if Marielle is not a default ally character that she'll be linked with Ray's story (like how you could recruit Dias only if you picked Rena as your main character in SO2) given what they've shown so far in previews about Marielle and Ray.

stray · 2022-10-27, 19:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

Reviews coming out so far are reasonably good for the most part.

Ehh... they seem fairly mixed from what I've seen, though I decided to play no matter how good or bad it is. I managed to put a few hours in and its pretty okay so far, the cast is better than I expected mullets and all. I decided on Laeticia first though apparently there's no NG+ which I'd hope will get patched in at some point.

JagdPanther · 2022-10-27, 19:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by stray

Ehh... they seem fairly mixed from what I've seen, though I decided to play no matter how good or bad it is. I managed to put a few hours in and its pretty okay so far, the cast is better than I expected mullets and all. I decided on Laeticia first though apparently there's no NG+ which I'd hope will get patched in at some point.

I saw a few middling reviews, but a bunch of like (converting to percentage points) 70%-80% ones.

I did see the new game plus thing; that's unfortunate.

JagdPanther · 2023-07-08, 20:00

I caved and played SO5 after I beat SO4. I figured if I was going to play SO1-SO4 before I got to SO6, I might as well just bite the bullet and play SO5 to complete the set. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it, either. Was kind of "meh," though I vastly prefer how relatively easy EQ was in SO5 compared to her SO3 and SO4 forms.

Anyway, beat 6-winged EQ in SO5 this evening, had a piece of cake, and then popped SO6 into my PS5. Combat is definitely going to take some getting used to...

Love Laeticia's Japanese voice.

MeoTwister5 · 2023-07-08, 21:30

This game is already overshadowed by the remake news for SO2, arguably the best game in the series.

shmaster · 2023-07-09, 17:15

SO2 has a lot to fix.
The battle system is so frustrating that I am sure the game will bomb if they don't fix it completely.
The magic animation needs to be cut, spells like Southern Cross and Explosion etc. are so stupidly long that it breaks the pacing of the fight.
Most physical attack have too much start up frame while random grunts gave zero frame in changing the direction of movements. This results in the grunts can just walk away from a bunch of attacks. I can still recall how Precis can barely hit anything as the grunts can just walk aside. Or how Dragon Howl and Mirror Slice can barely hit anything unless the enemy is oversized. And don't get me started on Chisato. Is her attacks outside whirl wond kick is designed to hit anything at all?

I remember how I eventually give up and end up only using Opera.

JagdPanther · 2023-07-09, 19:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

This game is already overshadowed by the remake news for SO2, arguably the best game in the series.

I am not sure I like the looks of it, honestly. I loved the PSP version; just slightly updated graphics from the original and some decent cutscenes for a late 2000s PSP game.

Not sure I like the melding of styles I saw in the trailer for R. But, by the time it is out maybe I'll be done with SO6 and willing to go back to play SO2 again. I did really like SO: First Departure R.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shmaster

SO2 has a lot to fix.
The battle system is so frustrating that I am sure the game will bomb if they don't fix it completely.
The magic animation needs to be cut, spells like Southern Cross and Explosion etc. are so stupidly Ling that it breaks the pacing of the fight.
Most physical attack have too much start up frame while random grunts gave zero frame in changing the direction of movements. This results in the grunts can just walk away from a bunch of attacks. I can still recall how Precis can barely hit anything as the grunts can just walk aside. Or how Dragon Howl and Mirror Slice can barely hit anything unless the enemy is oversized. And don't get me started on Chisato. Is her attacks outside whirl wond kick is designed to hit anything at all?

I remember how I eventually give up and end up only using Opera.

I'll give you that in SO1 and SO2 that symbology was totally useless. I never used symbology. I leveled up Celine in SO2 just for completeness; I basically set her to Do Nothing or turned off most of her spells so she wouldn't break up the game. If I wasn't controlling Rena (which was rare), I'd have her only have her healing spells available.

However, I don't agree regarding special arts for your non-symbologists. I never really had a problem with them.

And I won't abide by any disparagement of my dear Chii-chan.

Chisato's 100,000 Volts is a wide AOE attack, if I recall correctly. You can hit tons of stuff with it. Tear Gas is more straight-line AOE, but the trick is to have someone like Claude or Dias get aggro and then Chisato setup behind them and absolutely lay waste to the lot with Tear Gas, which is arguably the most OP skill in the entire game. Chisato is a walking death machine... and amongst the reasons why she's my favorite character not named Rena Lanford in SO2.

shmaster · 2023-07-10, 00:07

I'll agree on Chisato is a death machine part, but disagree on everything else.
The bolts move so slowly that the grunts just walk away and never get hit. And that's assuming Chusato doesn't get interrupted when she slowly pulls the stun gun out.
Whirl wind kick really is the only useful skill and thankfully that's all she needs. It activates so quick and is extremely spammable.
I remember my first play through of SO2 is without Opera, and the game is such a torture until Chisato joins and learned Whirl Wind Kick. It is like THE moment physical attack finally stop sucking.

MeoTwister5 · 2023-07-10, 02:30

You could craft the best non-bonus dungeon weapons the moment you start disc 2 and the weapons that precede them aren't even bad. It was all down to how you did your skill point and crafting spread.

If you manage to even get Orchestra and Alchemy up in disc 1 you could break the game as early as the second continent.

If you know how to work the crafting system the entire game is a breeze. The only thing hard was the modified limiter-off final boss, the bonus dungeon, and Iselia Queen.

JagdPanther · 2023-07-10, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

You could craft the best non-bonus dungeon weapons the moment you start disc 2 and the weapons that precede them aren't even bad. It was all down to how you did your skill point and crafting spread.

If you manage to even get Orchestra and Alchemy up in disc 1 you could break the game as early as the second continent.

If you know how to work the crafting system the entire game is a breeze. The only thing hard was the modified limiter-off final boss, the bonus dungeon, and Iselia Queen.

When I played 2 years ago I tried save scumming to get the Goodie Box to drop a Marvel Sword, which gives you a big leg up. I couldn't get it despite like an hour at least of reloading. But, I did get Sorceress Knuckles; since Rena is always my control character, that was good enough to waste most enemies for a while.

JagdPanther · 2023-08-06, 19:51

I don't understand why....

Spoiler for About Marielle:

Not sure why that bothered me so much upon having Marielle join the party.

In tangentially related news, I took a look at the Second Story R Collector's Edition today. $199!? Yeeeeesh....

Might still get it, but that is a really steep price tag. Is the extra stuff really work an extra $150? I don't know...

2022-09-23, 00:49	Link #21
FlareKnight User of the "Fast Draw" Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canada	I've got to say that I'm feeling pretty good about this one after playing around with the demo. The art direction for Star Ocean has still thrown me off, but this is just how they want to go about it. Not sure if it's just by comparison to other demos I've tried recently, but I had a good time with this one. The characters feel ok so far. Definitely biased but loving Laeticia in the early going thanks to Inori Minase. But in general the cast seems pretty solid. Ray isn't bad either. At the very least he handles situations pretty well and thanks to having been a Captain (while he had a ship) he doesn't feel constantly overwhelmed by his situation even if he's having a tough time in general. Definitely have to get a feel for the combat still. Though I do like the craziness that the Duma can add too it. Just feels like it could be a solid sci-fi adventure. Kind of looking forward to seeing how this one turns out . __________________ Anime-Evo Last edited by FlareKnight; 2022-09-23 at 01:01.

2022-09-23, 01:42	Link #22
Sides Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Edinburgh Age: 42	I like exploring the environment in the demo, especially after you get D.U.M.A. Not sure about the combat system. Basically there is no normal attacks, but once you get the D.U.M.A., it is all about crashing into enemies, hack and repeat, so don't really miss normal attacks that way. One thing that surprised me was, the characters cannot climb ladders. You have to use D.U.M.A to fly onto higher levels, like the watchtower in the first village... I personally like how the character models look, it is like a Star Ocean brand, since the series went 3D. Plus I like Ray's glam-rock heavy metal hairdo. Last edited by Sides; 2022-09-24 at 12:10.

2022-09-24, 01:04	Link #23
FlareKnight User of the "Fast Draw" Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Canada	This game definitely isn't doing anything dramatically different when it comes to the character models. I've just been bothered by it ever since they did go down that road. But plenty of times I've gotten past it. Just that it throws me off every time when coming to a fresh game in the series. __________________ Anime-Evo

2022-10-21, 19:18	Link #26
JagdPanther WE ARE.... PENN STATE.... Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Nazareth, PA Age: 36	Whole bunch of new stuff: YouTube https://youtu.be/xcdCI1dJQBg Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload? YouTube https://youtu.be/cpG7ePQlNnI Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload? YouTube https://youtu.be/so6iNdH_1Oo Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload? YouTube https://youtu.be/Ph9YAydj9IQ Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload? I like the new Welch. Just started Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and I'm not like that Welch design. But this one... pretty nifty. Also looking forward to more about Marielle. __________________ A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future. –General George S. Patton, Jr. Avatar v. 37.0: Fighter Squadron 31. The VF-31 "Tomcatters."

2022-10-26, 20:33	Link #27
JagdPanther WE ARE.... PENN STATE.... Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Nazareth, PA Age: 36	Reviews coming out so far are reasonably good for the most part. One of the things still unclear to me is how character recruitment will go. It seems like you'll have 8 character slots max but there are more than 8 playable characters they've unveiled. I want to pick Laeticia as my main, but I also want Marielle. I am going to go out on a limb that if Marielle is not a default ally character that she'll be linked with Ray's story (like how you could recruit Dias only if you picked Rena as your main character in SO2) given what they've shown so far in previews about Marielle and Ray. __________________ A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future. –General George S. Patton, Jr. Avatar v. 37.0: Fighter Squadron 31. The VF-31 "Tomcatters."

2022-09-24, 09:24	Link #24
stray Speedy Sea Cucumber IT Support Join Date: Jun 2008	I'm kind of annoyed that the demo doesn't seem to be coming to Steam. I guess there's still a chance but it seems to be dwindling.

2022-09-26, 15:43	Link #25
Kafriel Senior Guest Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Athens (GMT+2) Age: 35	Played the demo on PS4, the frame rate is abysmal. The game's got a few other issues too (lip syncing, collision points on landing, etc.) but it's got promise. Nice skill trees, much better models than I expected honestly, a decent story as far as the demo goes and beautiful music to go with it. There's even a card game, although I didn't find a deck to actually play.

2023-07-08, 20:00	Link #30
JagdPanther WE ARE.... PENN STATE.... Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Nazareth, PA Age: 36	I caved and played SO5 after I beat SO4. I figured if I was going to play SO1-SO4 before I got to SO6, I might as well just bite the bullet and play SO5 to complete the set. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it, either. Was kind of "meh," though I vastly prefer how relatively easy EQ was in SO5 compared to her SO3 and SO4 forms. Anyway, beat 6-winged EQ in SO5 this evening, had a piece of cake, and then popped SO6 into my PS5. Combat is definitely going to take some getting used to... Love Laeticia's Japanese voice. __________________ A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future. –General George S. Patton, Jr. Avatar v. 37.0: Fighter Squadron 31. The VF-31 "Tomcatters."

2023-07-08, 21:30	Link #31
MeoTwister5 Komrades of Kitamura Kou Join Date: Jul 2004 Age: 39	This game is already overshadowed by the remake news for SO2, arguably the best game in the series. __________________ Medical Student vs. Anime Last Exile - Fam the Silver Wing -

2023-07-09, 17:15	Link #32
shmaster オンドリャァァァ!!! Join Date: May 2009	SO2 has a lot to fix. The battle system is so frustrating that I am sure the game will bomb if they don't fix it completely. The magic animation needs to be cut, spells like Southern Cross and Explosion etc. are so stupidly long that it breaks the pacing of the fight. Most physical attack have too much start up frame while random grunts gave zero frame in changing the direction of movements. This results in the grunts can just walk away from a bunch of attacks. I can still recall how Precis can barely hit anything as the grunts can just walk aside. Or how Dragon Howl and Mirror Slice can barely hit anything unless the enemy is oversized. And don't get me started on Chisato. Is her attacks outside whirl wond kick is designed to hit anything at all? I remember how I eventually give up and end up only using Opera. Last edited by shmaster; 2023-07-10 at 00:00.

2023-07-10, 00:07	Link #34
shmaster オンドリャァァァ!!! Join Date: May 2009	I'll agree on Chisato is a death machine part, but disagree on everything else. The bolts move so slowly that the grunts just walk away and never get hit. And that's assuming Chusato doesn't get interrupted when she slowly pulls the stun gun out. Whirl wind kick really is the only useful skill and thankfully that's all she needs. It activates so quick and is extremely spammable. I remember my first play through of SO2 is without Opera, and the game is such a torture until Chisato joins and learned Whirl Wind Kick. It is like THE moment physical attack finally stop sucking.

2023-07-10, 02:30	Link #35
MeoTwister5 Komrades of Kitamura Kou Join Date: Jul 2004 Age: 39	You could craft the best non-bonus dungeon weapons the moment you start disc 2 and the weapons that precede them aren't even bad. It was all down to how you did your skill point and crafting spread. If you manage to even get Orchestra and Alchemy up in disc 1 you could break the game as early as the second continent. If you know how to work the crafting system the entire game is a breeze. The only thing hard was the modified limiter-off final boss, the bonus dungeon, and Iselia Queen. __________________ Medical Student vs. Anime Last Exile - Fam the Silver Wing - Last edited by MeoTwister5; 2023-07-10 at 03:36.

2023-08-06, 19:51	Link #37
JagdPanther WE ARE.... PENN STATE.... Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Nazareth, PA Age: 36	I don't understand why.... Spoiler for About Marielle: ...they couldn't just say Anne is Marielle's grandmother. Why can they only say Emmerson is her grandfather? It's clearly implied Anne is her grandmother; just come out and say it. Not sure why that bothered me so much upon having Marielle join the party. In tangentially related news, I took a look at the Second Story R Collector's Edition today. $199!? Yeeeeesh.... Might still get it, but that is a really steep price tag. Is the extra stuff really work an extra $150? I don't know... __________________ A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future. –General George S. Patton, Jr. Avatar v. 37.0: Fighter Squadron 31. The VF-31 "Tomcatters."