http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170671
1UP News
Pilot Your Own Ship in Star Ocean 4
The latest SO actually feels kinda like a sci-fi RPG for a change.
By Kevin Gifford, 10/15/2008
It wasn't explicitly mentioned in 1UP's coverage of Star Ocean: The Last Hope at last week's Tokyo Game Show, but even if you never really dug the SO series up to now, there's one very important reason why you should check out this 360 title anyway: it may actually feel a bit like a science-fiction RPG this time, as opposed to previous games where you tooled through space occasionally but mostly wound up touring the same JRPG medieval-themed worlds in the end.
The fourth Star Ocean is the first one where you actually get to captain your own spaceship, named the Calnus (just like a certain other ship we saw in previous games). Hero Edge Maverick is captain of the Calnus, which is outfitted with everything you need to be a hip outer-space hero: a cockpit, rec room, living quarters, a conference area where you'll be able to create and mix items together (an SO hallmark), and a battle-training chamber. You'll be able to pilot the Calnus to any planet in the galaxy that strikes your fancy, a departure from previous games where you were simply driven wherever the story took you, suggesting that the story template for SO4 may be less linear and JRPG-y and more along the lines of a -- dare we say it? -- Knights of the Old Republic instead.
The Calnus also seems to be the main place where Private Actions occur in Star Ocean 4. For those unaware, PAs are optional mini story cutscenes that take place between characters in your party that are either part of the main tale or are triggered when you meet certain conditions. The PAs you see, and the decisions you make within them, can help you build (or destroy) your relationship with your party; they could even affect what kind of ending you get. So no groaning when we get the inevitable "Edge walking in on his female love interest Reimi while she's taking a shower" scene, all right? It'll come back to haunt you later.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope is hitting the 360 February 19 in Japan and early March in the US.
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Nice choice Tri-Ace. The news is also available at IGN but I though 1UP's article was more interesting.
