Star Ocean: The Last Hope news.(56k Warning)

[Roger S. Huxley]

If they put back more bunny race they better improve them from SO3. Getting the top prize could take days -_-

[Wild Armor]

If they put back more bunny race they better improve them from SO3. Getting the top prize could take days -_-

Ohh I gave up those races. I found the racing in SO2 to be a lot more tolerable and fun.

[Losfer]

I can't wait another month for this game.  :(

[(Tunnels)]

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802535107dd/?of=2

Official(ish?) trailer. Just click the link, but it requires Microsoft Silverlight. I <3 Edge's voice.

[Wild Armor]

The game looks better every time I see a trailer of the in-game graphics. Well, I've seen as much trailers and pics of this game to last me until release.

[dab3]

Did anybody notice a difference in avatars in some screens? I noticed that during battles, I've seen 3D Rendered Characters faces in some, and 2D Drawn in others. Are they specific to a certain region?

[jj984jj]

Only the Japanese version will have the anime portraits.

[Losfer]

Only the Japanese version will have the anime portraits.

Citation needed.

...No, really, don't do this to me.  :(

[jj984jj]

I don't think it was announced, after IGN released this screen one of the people localizing the game was saying how he thought it looked better on NeoGAF. I suppose there could still be the option to switch between both though.

[Blace]

I actually prefer the non-anime ones :P

[Lord Dorkus]

Might be redundant. I'm not sure, its been a long thread.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/01/29/how-many-private-actions-does-star-ocean-the-last-hope-have/

Myuria Tionysus
"At last, here and now, my beloved shall be avenged!"

Sex: F
Age: 22
Race Morphus
Weapon: Two-handed staff

A Morphus woman who belongs to a planetary exploration team from the planet En II, mainly responsible for planetside geological and material research. Since expedition teams often fall under attack from monsters on the field, she serves not only as a researcher, but as a battle agent as well. A master of symbology, Myuria is both a talented caster and a physically fit woman, making her a very capable fighter. She is single-minded and strong-willed, and while she projects a calm exterior, she often gets emotional and has a wild temper. While once a kind-hearted woman with a natural smile, the experience of a certain incident has caused a pall of loneliness to settle over Myuria's face. In addition to carrying out her Morphus duties, she appears to also be chasing after a certain man...

Over 100 Scenes! A New, Powered-Up Private Action System

The Private Action event system portrays your party's daily life in ways the main story cannot. Private Actions were difficult to uncover in the previous game, but the system has been refined this time around so that most PAs are triggered when talking to party members while relaxing inside the Calnus, giving the player a quick and easy way to gain insight on the party. Of course, some PAs are also triggered outside the Calnus, bringing the total number to over 100 - a huge increase over previous games!

PA Chains: Your Choices Affect the Story

Some Private Actions are "hidden" and only triggered after satisfying certain conditions. By making certain conversation choices or viewing certain PAs that only take place at limited times, you may be able to trigger a PA chain that leads to special otherwise-unviewable PA scenes. Some of thehse PA chains may lead to earning special items, and some may even have an effect o n the ending you see... Whenever you're back in the Calnus, make sure to talk to all of your friends to try and uncover every last Private Action!

A Series Hallmark! Affinity Levels and Multiple Endings!

In this game, every character has an "affinity level," a hidden statistic that shows how they feel about the rest of the cast. These affinity levels can trigger hidden PAs and even change the game's ending itself! They affect things in lots of other places, too. Affinity levels usually change after triggering special PAs, making characters roommates on the Calnus, and so forth. Naturally, these levels can go down if you do things to make characters angry at you, so be sure to think before act!

Private Actions, the room assignment system, and affinity levels are all closely linked to how the game's ending turns out. It's all up to the player's choices during play.

Drive to Rage By A Friend's Death!

Characters' affinity levels can even have an affect on the battlefield. When a character you're especially close with is incapacitated by the enemy, your character might become enraged, filling the Rush Gauge to maximum and letting him or her turn the tide of battle. Every character has special dialogue when enraged, so be sure to pay close attention.

Crew Quarters Are Freely Assignable

The Calnus, the spaceship Edge captains, has four private rooms in the crew quarters area of the ship. The Room Assignment feature allows you to pair up crew members in these rooms in any way you like! Up to two party members can share a single room, and while pairings are generally unisex, characters of opposite gender may be able to room together if their affinity for each other (as established in PAs and elsewhere) is high enough. Affinity levels can be raised by fulfilling certain conditions during the game; if you want two characters to get along with each other, maybe it might be a good idea to give them the same room?

Some Roommate Pairings Trigger Special PA!

The day-to-day lives of your party members will be affected depending on who they wind up rooming with. For example, the things they say inside the ship will change, giving you an insight into how they're faring with their roommates. What's more, some roommate combinations might trigger special PAs. The Room Assignment feature can change your game in many ways, so try out a variety of pairings and see what happens!

[Aeolus]

.

[Eusis]

I don't think it was announced, after IGN released this screen one of the people localizing the game was saying how he thought it looked better on NeoGAF. I suppose there could still be the option to switch between both though.

Even if I ultimately stuck with the CGI ones that'd make me happy. We're past the point where they need to replace this stuff, and also the point where it can only be one or the other. I, uhh, probably won't get it at launch either way, DQV comes out the week before and anyway I've been getting enough games.

[(Tunnels)]

Might be redundant. I'm not sure, its been a long thread.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/01/29/how-many-private-actions-does-star-ocean-the-last-hope-have/

I'm curious if they're bringing back pairings outside of the main character. I wanna say that's a "no" since I'm sure it'd be a pain to come up with all those endings, but then it makes me curious why they bother letting you pairing up the other characters as roommates. Probably not gonna be what it seems, but I'll hold out my hopes a little more while.

[Lord Dorkus]

http://www.eternalsphere.com/so4/

site update with 3 new videos under "special" and "game movie"
In the battle section there are little videos demonstrating aspects of the battle system.

You can also download and view them at the link below.
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_7490_en.html

Interview with the developer in Japanese.
A translation would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/start/rpg/interview5_1.htm