Another Helping of Juicy Star Ocean 4 Info

So, the recent 4-page Famitsu article on Star Ocean 4 wasn't enough for you? Fair enough. Here is another huge helping of gameplay details, plus a brand new Japanese trailer, and two new Private Action vids. I spoil you, y'know?

Skill System
Each of your characters has individualistic skills that make them better at certain things. As your characters grow, these skills will increase making your party members each important to your quest in their own ways.

Battle Skills refer to each character’s Killer Moves and Symbology that are usable in battle.

Battle Set Skills refer to skills that you can set beforehand that will automatically aid during fights. For example, Motor Mouth allows your spell casters to chant their Symbology spells faster than normal, while First Aid will automatically recover some of your HP when you take damage.

Action Skills can be used during battle via the Battle Camp Menu to aid in the fight. For example Enemy Search allows you to check your enemies’ stats, while Taunt makes enemies more likely to target you over your allies.

IC Skills refer to skills that individual party members utilize during Item Creation. Some skills will allow you to forge new weapons, while others may assist in synthesizing new items by combining other items together.

Command Skills allow your various party members to perform actions on the field, such as Dash which allows you to travel at higher-than-normal speed, or Treasure Search which will locate the position of different items on the field.

Skill Points
In order to use and increase your skills, you will need to consume Skill Points (SP) by leveling up various skills.
In addition, new to SO4 is Party SP which allows you to increase certain skills that affect your entire party, such as improved battle bonuses and recovered items.

Battle Bonus
SO4 makes use of what they call the Battle Bonus Board. This feature allows your party to increase their spoils after battles by increasing EXP earned, increasing the amount of Fol earned from fallen foes, increasing the amount of HP/MP recovered after battle, ect.

Battle Bonuses are obtained by earning “Jewels” during battle. Different colored jewels give you different bonuses, though each type of jewel must be earned differently. For instance, Blue Jewels are acquired by hitting enemies with critical hits, while Yellow Jewels are obtained by attacking multiple enemies at once. Bonuses are calculated based on how many of each type of jewel you collect, so focusing your strategy on obtaining certain jewels becomes key.

Occassionally the Bonus Board Break may break if certain requirements are fulfilled. For example, one Bonus Break is achieved by receiving a critical hit from an enemy then running away from the fight. Thus it becomes important to watch your enemies’ movements and attack effectively.

These are the various jewels than can be obtained and what their effects are:
Blue Jewels – EXP +10%
Yellow Jewels – Obtained Fol +10%
Pink Jewels – Recovered HP/MP After Battle +1%
Green Jewels – Earned Party SP +1 Point

Finally, Square Enix has also released a new Japanese trailer for the game. You can watch it in high quality from Square Enix’s official YouTube channel (click Watch in HD), or you can watch the low quality embedded below. I’m sure it’ll be up on the Japanese Xbox Marketplace sometime within the next couple of days.

UPDATE: Here's a better quality version.



Additionally, there are two new Private Action event movies on the official Japanese site. Click on Special > Game Movie then watch Private Action 2 and Private Action 3. I’ll embed them here once someone has hosted them on a video sharing site.

UPDATE: Gamekyo kindly captured the PAs for us. I've embedded them below.

PA2


Edge: If you're sleepy, you should go sleep in your room.
(Lymle grabs Edge's arm)
Edge: ...What's wrong?
Lymle: E-tan... I want to sleep together.
Edge: Eh?
Lymle: Grampa always let me sleep together with him, you know. If I sleep alone, I get all scared, you know.
Edge: Uh... Umm... (sits down)
(Lymle rests her head on Edge's arm)
(Faize walks in, sees the two, then quickly hides behind a wall)
Faize: ...Wait, why do I have to hide?
Edge: Lymle, you're not a little kid anymore. Off to your own room now. C'mon.
(Lymle doesn't move, Edge seems defeated)
Edge: ...She's asleep.
(Reimi walks down the stairs and sees Faize by the wall)
Reimi: What are you doing?
Faize: Aaaahh!
(Lymle wakes up)
Lymle: Nng... Ohh! Shut up, Faize! Lym is sleeping, you know!
Faize: If you're sleepy, you should go sleep in your own room, right? You're bothering Edge-san.
Lymle: This is none of your business, you know, Faize. Lym wants to sleep with E-tan, you know!
Faize: Heh, Lymle is quite the spoiled brat, isn't she?
Lymle: Grr... Lym is not a spoiled brat, you know!
Faize: A little girl who can't sleep by herself? That's just a spoiled little kid!
Lymle: Faize, you're such a jerk! Fine! Lym will sleep by herself in her own room, you know!
(Lymle slaps Faize as she walks by)
Faize: …Please excuse me.
(Faize leaves in the opposite direction)
Edge: I wonder what's up with those two?
Reimi: They are good enough friends to fight.
Edge: What the hell does that mean?

PA3


Edge: Myuria...
Myuria: ...What are you doing there, Boy?
Edge: I've been meaning to say this for a while now, but would you please stop calling me “Boy”?
Myuria: Hehe.
Edge: ...Myuria... You were crying just now, weren't you?
Um... Were you thinking about Lucio-san?
Myuria: ...If that were true, would you comfort me?
Edge: Eh?
Myuria: A good man pretends that he didn't see a girl crying, you know. And an even better man stops a girl's tears.
...So, what would you do, Edge?
Edge: …....
Myuria: Just as I thought. You're still just a Boy.
Edge: …!
(Myuria leaves)
Edge: ...I am still just a Boy... aren't I.

If you'd like a translation of either PA, let me know in the comments.

UPDATE: Translations for the PAs up by request.

Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope will be available on Xbox 360 on February 19, 2009 in Japan, February 24, 2009 in North America, and April 24, 2009 in Europe.