On February 7, 2009, Microsoft held a preview press event for tri-Ace and Square Enix's upcoming Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope in Japan. The press was given a chance to play the final product for themselves, and given a Q&A session with the game's producer Yoshinori Yamagishi, and assistant producer Hajime Kojima.
I've taken the liberty of reporting several interesting details that surfaced from the Q&A session.
First, fans of the series should be happy to hear that several musical pieces from older installations of the series (namely Star Ocean 1 and Star Ocean 2) have been remade for SO4 for certain areas. For instance, the BGM for the planet Roak will feature the same songs as SO1's Roak, but remade.
Second, Yamagishi confirmed the existance of a bonus dungeon and multiple endings, which have been staple elements for the series up til now. The number of endings has not been confirmed, but Yamagishi mentioned that it would be extremely difficult to get them all. (That probably means there are a ton.)
The press also asked if tri-Ace had any plans on using SO4's engine (the same engine that Infinite Undiscovery uses) to remake any previous Star Ocean titles. Yamagishi said that doing so would require a ton of work, and the team would rather work on a Star Ocean 5 than revisit past titles. (This shouldn't be confused as a confirmation of SO5 as tri-Ace has said that SO4 is supposed to be the last one, but it sure sounds like it is possible.)
Finally, It was asked if any downloadable content was planned for the game, and Yamagishi explained that rather than work on DLC, the team felt it was more important to put everything they wanted into the game right from the start, so there are no plans for DLC. Similarly, there are currently no plans for a "Director's Cut" like SO3 received in Japan, which is nice to hear.
As a last little extra, check out the 4th Private Event video released, this one featuring Edge, Bacchus, and Welch. (Thanks to zerolocked for finding this!)
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.
Considering it was really the only new RPG to hit shelves this week, I'm sure you all went out and bought Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals this week, right?
...You didn't?
Hmmm....
Well, Kentarou Hisai would like to show you his game, that you have obstinately refused to buy, and tell you why you really ought to. Prepare for your incoming lecture!
Recently, the Trendy section of the well-known Japanese news media publication Nikkei sat down with Tsutomu Gouda and Yoshihito Higuchi (game producer and creative producer for ToV, respectively) to talk about their upcoming Xbox 360 RPG, Tales of Vesperia.
I'm not going to translate the entire article (I'm sure you're capable of running the page through Babelfish if you're really interested), but I will highlight a few things they said that I thought were very interesting.
When asked about why they chose to make the game on Xbox 360, Higuchi stated that after they had finished with Tales of the Abyss, they really wanted to make an HD entry into the series. They considered both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, and chose the 360 based on its worldwide appeal. Gouda added that another reason for the console choice was the growing worldwide appeal of facets of Japanese subculture (he specifically mentions anime and video games).
In terms of HD, Higuchi explains that though many companies like to use the technology to work on photorealistic graphics, they really wanted to emphasize the anime aspect of the game, and really worked hard to bring Kousuke Fujishima's character designs to life during real gameplay.
Both producers express excitement that the game has already garnered such a positive reaction, stating that the debut trailer alone was downloaded over 2 million times. (Higuchi also remembers that at first he thought he misread that number!) Gouda adds that he thinks bringing ToV content to Xbox Live really added to people's impressions of the game, giving them an opportunity to see what it would actually look like on their home setup.
Both producers said that working on an HD title on the 360 was a positive experience, and that they expect to continue to bring out more HD titles.
Other than the obvious graphics, the producers stated that they are also quite proud of the actual content of the game, and that they feel like they've been able to add and improve upon what they were able to accomplish in ToA. They said they feel like they've been able to create a game that gamers of any age will be able to enjoy. They also note, however, that no matter how good they think the product is, it's the fans' opinions that really decide if a game is great, so they've worked hard to ensure that the game's content lives up to what they have promised.
Personally, I really enjoy listening to most Japanese developers talk about their experiences with game development as I think they are usually very conscious of their fanbase, and usually don't just digress into chest-beating (though there are a few who do).
It was also encouraging to hear that more HD Namco Bandai games (assumedly more Team Symphonia games) are on their way.
From all of the ToV I've been able to get my hands on, the game truly does look to deliver on every front. I will definitely be picking this one up day one. Thanks to XNEWS for the link. For the Japanese-enabled among you, the link to the article is right here.
On February 7, 2009, Microsoft held a preview press event for tri-Ace and Square Enix's upcoming Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope in Japan. The press was given a chance to play the final product for themselves, and given a Q&A session with the game's producer Yoshinori Yamagishi, and assistant producer Hajime Kojima.
