Thursday, May 28, 2009

Europe gets a Star Ocean 4 Collector's Edition for Being Patient

European gamers don't always get the best end of the bargain with JRPGs, often waiting months (or sometimes years) after Japanese and North American release dates before they can get their hands on new titles. Hell, they still don't have Tales of Vesperia. That's just not okay.

tri-Ace and Square Enix's latest Xbox 360 action-RPG, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, has been no exception, with our European friends having to wait until June for a game that came out in February in Japan and North America.

Well, in a way, Square Enix is trying to sweeten the deal for the patient RPG fans, offering a special edition of the game. The European collectors edition will reportedly contain the following:

  • Limited edition Star Ocean: The Last Hope Box: Unique 'digistack' packaging with dual gatefold, inside a special collector's sleeve.

  • Star Ocean Soundtrack Compilation CD:
    The Star Ocean Sound Best Collection showcases key themes from across the series specially chosen by the game creators and series fans.
  • Five Star Ocean: The Last Hope Character Cards: Collectable prints of lead characters from the game, using rare artwork not officially released in Europe and other PAL countries.

  • Brady Games Official Miniguide: 32 page game guide printed in full-colour, with extra character artwork, descriptions and walkthrough information - to help you on your journey through the universe.
  • Three Star Ocean: The Last Hope Game Discs
    Expansive galactic adventuring goes across three game discs, accompanied by full-colour play manual.

Hm, so North America is the only region that didn't get any extras? Pardon me while I go pout.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope will be available for Xbox 360 on June 5, 2009 in Europe. It is already available in Japan and North America.

[Gamekyo]
[CVG]

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

European here! Just wondering - which is better, Tales of Vesperia or Star Ocean 4? I only have enough money for one of them (sadly!)

Brandon said...

personally, I would have to say Tales of Vesperia is a better overall game.

Star Ocean 4 isn't bad by any means, but I still feel that ToV offers a much more complete experience. there are more sidequests, more secrets, better character and story development, better localization and voice acting, and is just an all-over polished title that I would say is still the best RPG of this gen so far.

the only reason I would consider SO4 instead is if you really hate anime style/cel-shaded graphics, or can't stand Tale of games for whatever reason. or, of course, if you're hardcore into Star Ocean, and not so much into Tales of.

personally though, I would save up for both. both very good games. ;P

hope that helps. :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks! I've never tried tales before, but it does look amazing, so I think I'll buy that once my exams are over (hopefully SO4 will be nice and cheap by the time I've finished ToV!)

If it's rubbish, I know who to find :P