Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a 2009 action role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix for the Xbox 360, and the fourth installment in the Star Ocean series. The game's battle system features four party members, and is more team-oriented. It also features more of a sci-fi emphasis than past titles with the ability to control the player's ship. The ship is able to land on at least 5 planets or other space-based destinations. Players are able to travel through the "star ocean", jumping across planets.Star Ocean The Last Hope announced for Xbox 360 - Star Ocean 4 // IV The game takes place a few centuries before the original Star Ocean, and revolves around Edge and his crew combating a mysterious threat called the "Grigori".
An international version of the game was released by Square Enix for PlayStation 3 in February 2010. Officially known as Star Ocean: The Last Hope International, the game contains both Japanese and English voices as well as new content that is exclusive to it. A remastered version was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in November 2017.
Gameplay The Last Hope utilizes the same real time battle system like previous games in the series, but new features include a new Rush Gauge and Blindsides. The Rush gauge allows players to perform a preemptive strike against their opponent or use a special ability or attack. Each character will have and utilize their own individual Rush gauge. Blindsides allow the player to counterattack an enemy who is targeting the player by slipping behind the enemy quickly out of their line of sight and launching a preemptive strike on the enemy from their back. One noteworthy change in the system is the number of characters that can be controlled and fought with in battle returning to four, as in the first two Star Ocean games (it was limited to three in the previous title, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time).
A new feature in The Last Hope is allowing the player to take the role of captain of the spacecraft, the SRF-003 Calnus, which has been sent to scout new frontiers by the USTA. The Calnus possesses a flight deck where the player can select which planet he would like to fly to, a recreation room where the player's teammates can hang out and interact with one another as well as a conference room where the player gathers with the crew to come out with new ideas for Item Creation. The battle arena contains the battle simulator, a feature from previous games such as Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, which allows the player and his teammates to practice combat. The crew's quarters allows the player to choose which characters share the same room, and the correct pairings can lead to special actions between characters known as Private Actions.
The Private Action system (often shortened to PA) is a feature that returns from previous games, where the main protagonist, Edge, can interact with his teammates. PAs consist of actions such as conversing with them during rest after exploration or battle, the player can form a rapport with him/her, which increases the member's affection or respect for the main character. Choosing the correct choices during actions would unlock special events or cutscenes between Edge and the team member. Placing characters in the same room also builds up rapport and unlocks even more PA events. If a member is severely injured in battle, a special "Rage" mode can be unlocked which allows close members to attack enemies with more power. PAs are also able to change the ending of the game with different cutscenes being shown, there are a total of about 100 PAs which can be unlocked in the game.
The game features a gameplay mechanic called the "Battle Enhancement Attribute Type" (BEAT), a system which allows the player to choose the preferred type of fighting styles of team members, such as their offense, defense and sneak attacks. As combat experience increases, the team can achieve higher combat rank statuses, which unlock advanced styles, known as Action Upgrades.
Story Setting The Last Hope is a prequel to the original Star Ocean and takes place on Earth in S.D. 0010 (A.D. 2096), where the world is on the brink of destruction. In A.D. 2064, World War III broke out after several clashes between the World Republic Federation, the ruling government body on Earth, and its enemies around the world. Weapons of mass destruction were utilized by both factions of the war without hesitation, razing the lands on Earth. The declining situation lead the people to believe that the end of the world was nearing, but the critical situation forced both factions to declare a ceasefire. In the aftermath of the war, most of the Earth's population has been killed and the natural environment was deteriorating at an alarming rate.
The surviving population of mankind were forced to live in the confinement of underground cities and the countries banded together to form a governing body known as the Greater United Nations in A.D. 2065. The Universal Science and Technology Administration or USTA was established by the Greater U.N, its mission was to locate a new home planet for mankind in the far reaches of outer space. In S.D. 0001 (A.D. 2087), the first year of the newly established Spacedate calendar, Professor Trillas Bachtein succeeded in his Subspace warp drive experiments which was a breakthrough in space travel. That same year, the USTA secretly put in motion its Space Reconnaissance Force or SRF project which would then in S.D. 0010 send the first human expedition into outer space to locate a suitable planet for the relocation of mankind.
Synopsis Edge Maverick is a member of the Space Reconnaissance Force (SRF). Along with childhood friend Reimi Saionji, he embarks on the first interstellar travel conducted by humanity to discover other hospitable worlds and possibly another home for humanity. Edge's best friend, Crowe Almedio, is a Captain in the SRF and is also assigned on the mission. Departing the Lunar base, Reimi and Edge are assigned as crew members on board the "Calnus", while Crowe is given command of the "Aquila". Shortly after launch, the ships shift into hyperspace, but there is a meteor shower in the middle of the path and all ships, except the Aquila, crash-land on the planet Aeos. The Captain of the Calnus, Grafton, gives Edge and Reimi the assignment of exploring the planet and searching for the other ships. While searching, the two discover a downed SRF ship and a dying crew member. He warns the two about a meteor fragment his team collected, saying that he had to kill his team because of it. Shortly after, a large monster materializes. With the help of an unknown man, they defeat the creature. The man introduces himself as be Faize Sheifa Beleth, an Eldarian and an ally of Earth. The trio head back to the Calnus, where a large base has been built by the Eldarians. It is revealed that the Eldarians and Earth have been allies for several years, and the Eldarians actually gave Earth the interstellar travel technology. With a lot to clean up, Captain Grafton gives command of his ship to Edge, with Reimi and Faize accompanying him. With a repaired Calnus, the trio head outward.
With the help of SRF operator Welch Vineyard, the trio continue the mission of exploration. They head to planet Lemuris and begin exploring. The group meet Lymle Lemuri Phi, a little girl and grand daughter of the village elder, Ghimdo, who is suffering from an illness that's slowly turning him to stone. The group eventually discover a crashed alien ship and also discover the source of the illness. The alien ship is revealed to be a Cardianon ship, who were using the populace to experiment on. Lymle joins the group and they head off to the Cardianon mothership, as the Cardianon have no homeworld. On the mothership, they discover more experiments turning the Cardianon into monsters, using these strange energy stones they call "Epiphanies of Guidance". Eventually meeting up with Morphua cyborg Bacchus D-79, the group flee the ship as it begins to hyperjump into an unknown section of the galaxy. The group agrees that they need to return to homebase and inform the Eldarians, Morphus, and Earth of the Cardianons' experiments. While attempting to hyperjump, the group are trapped in a strange vortex and land on an unknown planet.
After some initial exploration, the group determine that they somehow landed on Earth in the year 1957. Not knowing how they traveled through time, they determine the best course of action would be to leave, but they are too late, as the government have captured the Calnus and Reimi. Meeting up with a scientist named Klaus Bachtein, the group are told that they are in New Mexico. They are also told that Klaus used to work for the government, in a base dedicated to investigating extraterrestrials. The group devise a plan, using Bacchus' cloaking ability, Klaus will pretend to "capture" the extraterrestrials. Once inside the facility, the group meet Meracle Chamlotte, a cat-like humanoid who has been imprisoned for several years. Meracle joins the group, who promise to help her escape. Upon running into Commander Milla, revealed to be Klaus's wife, Edge is given a choice. He can either fight his way out, killing several people, or allow them to use his ship's superior technology to help the Earth make advancements. Edge agrees, only to be double crossed by Milla, who uses the Calnus's power source to power an experimental device of hers. Disheartened, Edge and company are imprisoned in Reimi's cell. Klaus manages to break them out, and the group manage to escape as the device destroys the whole Earth in a huge explosion, expelling the Calnus back to their time period.
Bacchus deduces that, since Edge and Reimi are still alive, they were in an alternate Earth. Despite that, Edge is distraught over the massive loss of life that he credits to himself, having enabled Milla. Deeming Edge unfit, Reimi takes command, and the group land on the planet Roak to explore and gather supplies. Edge continues to have trouble with his decision, which hinders the group's exploration. The group meet a local tribeswoman and rescues a Featherfolk named Sarah Jerand from kidnappers. The team discover that a mysterious cult has been kidnapping people and are asked to consult with the local seer Eleyna Farrence. Sarah is kidnapped by the cult again. The group run into Myuria Tionysus, another Morphus who believes Crowe to have killed her husband, Lucien. She forces herself into the group. Eleyna tells the group that the cult is meeting in a tower called "The Purgatoriam", and also helps Edge move on from the Earth tragedy. Entering the tower, the group fight to the bottom and encounter the cult leader Tamiel. The group defeats him, and Edge saves Sarah. Faize is grief-stricken when he discovers that the cultists have slaughtered the tribe that helped his group earlier.