Game Reviews

As a franchise prequel, Star Ocean 4 charts mankind's tentative first steps into space as they seek to colonize a new planet. Much like the rest of the series, it's an unapologetically Japanese-style RPG, the main differences here being terrible pacing and refined combat.

Being a JRPG, you can assume the following: you use swords and magic, you lead a band of plucky androgynous teenagers and "old" battle-hardened thirty-somethings against an "ultimate evil," the main protagonist has a ridiculous name (Edge Maverick), and you possess mysterious powers that you don't yet fully fathom. And although you try to blend in on the planets you visit, none of your characters can be bothered to change out of their gaudy space suits, put on different clothes, or hide their fancy space swords. But clichés and gaping plot holes aside, the story's twists and turns are engaging -- especially with the extensive in-game dictionary to help sort out the details. And if things get too convoluted (which they frequently will), you can always check the synopsis, which highlights everything you've experienced up to that point.

Unfortunately, the narrative gets bogged down by ham-fisted voice acting and the fact that you spend the first 10 hours jungle crawling and reading character introductions. Line by line, the localization is well written, but it takes too long for characters to get to the point in the game's rambling monologues; cut-scenes can drag on for up to 45 minutes. The characters keep repeating themselves, pounding basic plot points into the ground. No audience would tolerate such heavy-handedness in a movie or TV series, and there's no reason they should in a game.

The flora and flauna don't add much to the game's overarching interstellar theme either. No matter where you go, you'll find chests sitting around filled with blueberries. A game needs consistently named restoration items, but this makes the separate planets feel more connected than the light years of distance separating them would indicate. And the creatures on each world are mostly palette-swapped doppelgangers.