Not to sound like an ass Aion, but this isn't a thread for Tales of Vesperia. But anyways, that is odd outlawauron. I never once experienced a freeze.

BTW once you complete SO the last save point just before the final boss there are 2 locked rooms.. they should unlock and you should have access to 2 new dungeons.. one is the seraphic gate..

Speaking of ToV I find that game while certainly the most polished of all the 360 JRPGs ..it's incredibly long..I clocked about 80 hours now and just beaten Gauche and Droite ... and I think I still got some ways before I beat it..

SO TLH took about 60 hours to complete and IU .. well that took less than that but then I did everything on that.. I also find IU's length just about right for an RPG.. because most of the meat will be in the seraphic gate..

I am sorry to say this but anyone excusing the lack of a proper story is just being contrary for the sake of being contrary. Games need and deserve good stories. Especially if they want to be a form of mainstream entertainment. More developers are making the right call. They are either creating a dedicated writing staff, or are subcontracting out to actual writers. This isn't exactly what could be called a financial hardship.

The reality is that some developers as far as story goes are still mired in the past. When they could get by without having decent writing in their games, and the market was almost entirely devoted to the very young. Who are not exactly known for their discerning tastes. Today however the market is more varied, and they need a professional writer to strike the appropriate balance. Keep it smart enough for the adults, and not so cerebral as to over shoot the young player.

No I do not buy the argument for a minute that any developer is to be given a pass on having a decent story. I would say look at the market good story and dialogue are heavy selling features for games like Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fallout, Bioshock, and so on and so forth. Writing is just as important for a game as game play, graphics, audio, and replay. No ignoring it is just not a real option anymore. It is something that a good game needs. Especially if it revolves around a story to begin with. Writing is one of the reasons that Lost Odyssey has been so popular.

Speaking to the technical glitches in Star Ocean the original poster pointed this out. You need to play the game at a lower resolution to avoid problems. Honestly I do not rage against the staff over it though. They tried to support the highest definition possible. Most developers do not even try to do it, and most give up half way there. It must be a large technical hurdle. Oh and that is regardless of the system it seems.

^ I played on the max graphical setting that I could for my HDTV and I only experienced the occassional lag on lemuris, nothing else. And I thought the story was fine. Was no Final Fantasy, but it was alright.

Now whilst I haven't played a huge amount of JRPG's the characters in the ones I have played all seems to be overly melodramatic and over the top to the extreme. Thats why I stopped playing Blue dragon, they just got to bloody annoying I couldn't stand it anymore.

The story and dialogue in Blue Dragon is actually quite bizarre in its presentation. At first it is very juvenile and hyperactive. However by the second half of the game it really tones itself back, and ironically has some good moments. The second half is far more entertaining. You might want to give Blue Dragon a second chance. Just grit your teeth through the first ten hours, and then most of the pain will subside. Not great literature mind you, but it isn't quite so contrived.

well i tried getting IU for $10 but it was all sold out at my Best buy GRRRRR!!! but SO4 was a below average game and IU is a bit better. However both these games pale in comparison to ToV and LO. Get them you will love em

^ he is correct folks.

 If you went into this game expecting an epic story like FF you are bound to be disapointed. You see tri ace tends to focus more on the gameplay and so far they have been successful in those regards. Its a shame really. If they could just put more effort in on the character development and the story, they could be one of the best RPG companies out there.

Doesn't excuse a bad story if the gameplay is good.

^ Soriku you played SO2!!!!