I prefer the japanese version but the wesern version is hardly horrible.

US version beautiful than Japan version.

Both ok for me :)

the only thing that bugs me mainly on japanese version is that the menu take more space than the US...

The U.S. version isn't going to look anything like this//such a shame cause those screenshots look freaking bad ass//lol

US version looks a lot better. Good job Tri-Ace. It's always good to see a company changing something in a jRPG specifically for their western fans.

But actually the reason behind this is clear. Cell-shaded or anime-looking games dont sell well on HD consoles. It's a trend now. Even Star Ocean fans who like their anime characters should be happy about this move since that will help the game to sell more.

I'm back to questioning my choice to get an US console.

Bleh. Why do they feel the need to westernize a JRPG?

Maybe because they want to make money? Or perhaps because a simple cosmetic change could mean quite a significant difference in sales.

Now it looks less like Tales and more like Final Fantasy.