Star Ocean The Last Hope

The original Xbox 360 Star Ocean: The Last Hope sends its crew across several planets, but the journey works best when the story gives way to battle. Its real-time party lets players switch characters freely, manipulate enemy attention, exploit blindside openings and trigger Rush combinations. A persistent bonus board turns tactical feats into useful growth rewards, while gathering, crafting, quests, coliseum fights and postgame dungeons provide generous reasons to keep playing. The narrative is less persuasive. Long cutscenes, familiar anime archetypes and stiff, glossy-eyed character models make dramatic turns feel awkward; the original English voice work does little to help. Large landscapes and Motoi Sakuraba's score fare much better. The Xbox 360 edition also has its own practical costs: the camera becomes troublesome in narrow spaces, text is difficult on standard-definition televisions, and its three-DVD format makes later revisits less convenient. The later PlayStation 3 International release's single disc and audio options are explicitly not counted here. This score therefore rewards an inventive, substantial action-RPG system while charging the original version for its uneven storytelling and interface. Players who prize combat experimentation over dialogue have a strong reason to try it; story-first adventurers will be less satisfied.

Who it is for: Xbox 360 JRPG fans who prioritize combat systems and crafting over dialogue.

Play notes: Original three-disc Xbox release only; later International audio and single-disc conveniences do not apply.