[hogso]

(Original post by restoration)
I know it's old but has anyone played Star Ocean 3? I started playing it today have it for some random reason and it starts so slow but looks like it might be picking up... The voice acting is terrible, but the story apparently gets good, and the combat system looks interesting, looks like a right time eater though.

Till the End of Time? My enduring memory of that game is the frankly bizarre 'plot twist'. It's really wayyyyyy out there, man. I played a real long time ago now, but do remember at the time that I didn't really like or dislike the twist, it was just pure at utter "huh...?"

[restoration]

(Original post by hogso)
Till the End of Time? My enduring memory of that game is the frankly bizarre 'plot twist'. It's really wayyyyyy out there, man. I played a real long time ago now, but do remember at the time that I didn't really like or dislike the twist, it was just pure at utter "huh...?"

Yeah that's the one, deffinately sounds weird... I am intriguged...

[Paarish]

(Original post by restoration)
I know it's old but has anyone played Star Ocean 3? I started playing it today have it for some random reason and it starts so slow but looks like it might be picking up... The voice acting is terrible, but the story apparently gets good, and the combat system looks interesting, looks like a right time eater though.

I honestly just finished the first one yesterday on my PSP and I'm going to play the second one starting today when I get home. And then I plan on playing the 3rd and 4th.
The voice acting for the first one isn't terrible per se. But it could've been a lot better. However I loved the battle system and the storyline was pretty good.
I look forward to playing the second one today. I just hope that I can get over the fact Claude looks remarkably like Cress from Tales of Phantasia.

Also, Roddick's clothing looks awfully similar to Cress' as well.

Spoiler:

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[hyakushiki1234]

(Original post by restoration)
I know it's old but has anyone played Star Ocean 3? I started playing it today have it for some random reason and it starts so slow but looks like it might be picking up... The voice acting is terrible, but the story apparently gets good, and the combat system looks interesting, looks like a right time eater though.

Funnily enough, I'm playing Star Ocean 3 at the moment! I'm in the last dungeon, so I'll give you my thoughts on the game as a whole.

Story: Around 2/3 of the way through disc 1, things start to kick off big time and it becomes considerably more Sci-Fi. It was very dull until that point, however. After that point, the story becomes pretty good. Partway through disc 2, a major, major plot twist occurs that you'll either love or loathe, but it is handled well and it ties up the story to that point very well. I've enjoyed the story, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the ending pans out. It hasn't been super-deep, but as a kind of rollercoaster-ride anime-type experience it's quite good.

Gameplay: The RPG elements have been great in SO3. Proper towns, big area maps, decent dungeon maps and lots of loot to find. Essentially, the kind of game that rarely blesses home consoles any more outside of a few games like the Tales series. However, I've found myself hating the combat system. Some battles are painful - especially ones against flying enemies which are most efficiently beaten by spamming 'Aerial' a lot. Hit detection is bad, and the levelling system with the boost gauge is essentially grinding (for 3x exp) to do more grinding. The whole 'break the shield with a heavy attack' thing gets tedious quickly, and AI can be thick-skulled to say the least. Still, overall, it didn't ruin my game.

Sound: The voice acting is hugely variable, but the voice acting eventually grows on you (at least, it did on me). Music over the course of the greater game is typical Motoi Sakuraba fare, although there are a few standout tracks later on.

Other than the battle systemm it's overall a fairly good game. I hope you enjoy it!

[Hylean]

Just finished Tales of the Abyss. What an amazing game.

The ending was so amazing! Loved it! Don't understand people who think Tear and Luke's relationship didn't progress organically.

[hyakushiki1234]

(Original post by Hylean)
Just finished Tales of the Abyss. What an amazing game.

The ending was so amazing! Loved it! Don't understand people who think Tear and Luke's relationship didn't progress organically.

I loved Tales of the Abyss and everything about it - glad to hear you liked it so much!

[Hylean]

(Original post by hyakushiki1234)
I loved Tales of the Abyss and everything about it - glad to hear you liked it so much!

Been a Tales fan for years now.

[The Cornerstone]

(Original post by Hylean)
Just finished Tales of the Abyss. What an amazing game.

The ending was so amazing! Loved it! Don't understand people who think Tear and Luke's relationship didn't progress organically.

I know right? I replayed it quite a few times as well

[hyakushiki1234]

Tales is one of my top series - I started on Vesperia but I've played all of the English-released ones and they've all been great. I think that Symphonia is in my top three games of all time - it's a genuine masterpiece of a game and it has the best RPG gameplay of pretty much anything IMO. Abyss is fantastic too - it has one of the best casts I think with memorable folks like Jade Curtiss in it. Roll on a *hopeful* English Tales of Xillia and Xillia 2!

[Hylean]

(Original post by hyakushiki1234)
Tales is one of my top series - I started on Vesperia but I've played all of the English-released ones and they've all been great. I think that Symphonia is in my top three games of all time - it's a genuine masterpiece of a game and it has the best RPG gameplay of pretty much anything IMO. Abyss is fantastic too - it has one of the best casts I think with memorable folks like Jade Curtiss in it. Roll on a *hopeful* English Tales of Xillia and Xillia 2!

I agree, I started with Symphonia and made my way to Phantasia and onwards from there. Such great games. Can't wait for Graces f.

I have to say, I really loved Tear and Luke. Probably the best they've done so far in the ones released in PAL.

[Paarish]

The 3DS version is a poor port of the PS2 version.
Full of slowdowns and poor textures.
The PS2 version is much better. If you own the 3DS version then I encourage you to try the PS2 version.

Now... has anyone played Trails in the Sky?

[Hylean]

(Original post by Paarish)
The 3DS version is a poor port of the PS2 version.
Full of slowdowns and poor textures.
The PS2 version is much better. If you own the 3DS version then I encourage you to try the PS2 version.

Now... has anyone played Trails in the Sky?

Given the PS2 version hasn't been released in PAL, I think not. Given there'd be no difference between the two games, there's no point.

I would have, except my PSP broke.

[Paarish]

(Original post by Hylean)
Given the PS2 version hasn't been released in PAL, I think not. Given there'd be no difference between the two games, there's no point.

I would have, except my PSP broke.

Fair enough. But if you ever play the PS2 version, you'll see exactly what I mean.

TiTS is definitely one of the better games out on the system. I suggest you give it a go if you can. Since TiTS is a digital release, you can get the much cheaper Go.

[Hylean]

(Original post by Paarish)
Fair enough. But if you ever play the PS2 version, you'll see exactly what I mean.

TiTS is definitely one of the better games out on the system. I suggest you give it a go if you can. Since TiTS is a digital release, you can get the much cheaper Go.

I already own the special edition for the PSP, though.

[hogso]

Finished the main story for Tales of Graces f last night. Wonderful. Although I'm not much of a trophy hunter, I do think you should be awarded with those you've basically acheived - I completed the game on hard, but only got the trophy for beating it on hard difficulty, not the moderate difficulty one. Heh. Oh well.

I then moved on to the EX Dungeon, and completed the first floor. Tough. So much so I thought I'd move straight into Lineage and Legacies without finishing up some of the other stuff I hadn't done. Only managed to play about 30 minutes or so of it, but I'm liking the direction the story is going in.

[Illusionary]

(Original post by hogso)
Finished the main story for Tales of Graces f last night. Wonderful. Although I'm not much of a trophy hunter, I do think you should be awarded with those you've basically acheived - I completed the game on hard, but only got the trophy for beating it on hard difficulty, not the moderate difficulty one. Heh. Oh well.

I then moved on to the EX Dungeon, and completed the first floor. Tough. So much so I thought I'd move straight into Lineage and Legacies without finishing up some of the other stuff I hadn't done. Only managed to play about 30 minutes or so of it, but I'm liking the direction the story is going in.

I'm *very* jealous

Bring on August!

[restoration]

(Original post by hyakushiki1234)
Funnily enough, I'm playing Star Ocean 3 at the moment! I'm in the last dungeon, so I'll give you my thoughts on the game as a whole.

Story: Around 2/3 of the way through disc 1, things start to kick off big time and it becomes considerably more Sci-Fi. It was very dull until that point, however. After that point, the story becomes pretty good. Partway through disc 2, a major, major plot twist occurs that you'll either love or loathe, but it is handled well and it ties up the story to that point very well. I've enjoyed the story, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the ending pans out. It hasn't been super-deep, but as a kind of rollercoaster-ride anime-type experience it's quite good.

Gameplay: The RPG elements have been great in SO3. Proper towns, big area maps, decent dungeon maps and lots of loot to find. Essentially, the kind of game that rarely blesses home consoles any more outside of a few games like the Tales series. However, I've found myself hating the combat system. Some battles are painful - especially ones against flying enemies which are most efficiently beaten by spamming 'Aerial' a lot. Hit detection is bad, and the levelling system with the boost gauge is essentially grinding (for 3x exp) to do more grinding. The whole 'break the shield with a heavy attack' thing gets tedious quickly, and AI can be thick-skulled to say the least. Still, overall, it didn't ruin my game.

Sound: The voice acting is hugely variable, but the voice acting eventually grows on you (at least, it did on me). Music over the course of the greater game is typical Motoi Sakuraba fare, although there are a few standout tracks later on.

Other than the battle systemm it's overall a fairly good game. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for that I stopped playing for a bit I already got a bit bored haha! I might go back to it though.... It's just alright I guess As you say.

I started playing FF6 now I played this a long long long time ago and never completed it... Getting passed the graphics and the high encounter rate which can be quite annoying this game seems pretty good and I am surprised how good the story seems to be! I love a good final fantasy but never really considered the old ones before 7

[hogso]

(Original post by Illusionary)
Bring on August!

Indeed. I've enjoyed the game so much that I have no qualms about ordering it again, it is a nice package they've put together after all.

Any news on what day one DLC there's going to be for the PAL release? The American version had loads. I was shocked. There's stuff like Grade bonuses that you'd usually have to playthrough once to unlock, which you can buy straight away. Then there's costumes too. Thing with the costumes is they were ~$3.99. I'm not sure I'd spend ~£2 on a costume.

Speaking of which, I did unlock all of the 'free' in-game costumes. Which includes a super-cute Pirate outfit, based on Patty from Vesperia, for Sophie ^___^

[The Cornerstone]

Tales of Xillia is coming to the US and Europe everyone

http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/in...america-europe

http://kotaku.com/5923905/tales-of-x...ming-to-the-us

[Illusionary]

(Original post by The Cornerstone)
Tales of Xillia is coming to the US and Europe everyone

http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/in...america-europe

http://kotaku.com/5923905/tales-of-x...ming-to-the-us

Now, though - the real question is *when*!