Japanese RPGs have had somewhat of a rocky history on the Xbox 360. While there have been a few solid entries in the genre, even more have turned out to be disappointments. Indeed, many famous studios are now being doubted by gamers that have been attached to their work for years. In the case of the newest entry in the Star Ocean saga, the hype has been pretty high. The Last Hope is a prequel to the venerable series, and prior to release, has been heralded as a possible savior for the harried JRPG genre on Microsoft's console. Unfortunately, this title doesn't quite live up to that standard. It is by no means a bad game; it simply does little to move the series forward. In the end, you will likely be left relatively happy with what The Last Hope is, but wanting more in terms of quality.

The story of The Last Hope is a bit of an underachiever. Basically, because of extensive nuclear warfare, Earth has become uninhabitable, and as a member of the Space Reconnaissance Force, you must now explore the depths of space to find a new planet for the human race. From there, imagine a collection of clichés from the anime and space opera narratives that often populate JRPGs, throw in a cool ship (the Calnus in this instance) and you have a rough idea of what to expect from this edition of Star Ocean. The main character, Edge Maverick, is overly idealistic, Reimi, his first mate, is the traditional love interest/self-doubting young female character, and from there the stereotypes keep flowing from an underage magic user to a scantily clad sorceress.

A scantily clad sorceress and underage magic user. The combination is a bit too familiar.

While this familiarity does limit the story significantly, it does not ruin it. Chances are that you will still be drawn, at least to some extent, to a few of the characters as you get to know them better. Eventually, the narrative begins to open up with side-quests that are revealed based on interactions with the specific members of your party. This system allows you to explore each individual as much or as little as you'd like, and eventually brings the game to an ending based on which member has been explored the most completely. The plot is enough to get you through the game, but it should be so much more.

Despite how the story suffers a bit, the gameplay absolutely shines. The real-time combat is excellent. The pace and dynamics of each fight will initially remind you of a button masher, but through special moves, symbology (magic), battle trophies and a bonus board, the developers have provided an intricate strategic system that is simultaneously exciting. The battle trophies are basically in-game achievements that are awarded for tasks such as defeating certain numbers of enemies, landing consecutive strikes, and going a specific number of battles without using magic points. Trying to win trophies for the various members of your party gives players an impetus for each fight they enter, and keeps battles from becoming overly repetitive.

The bonus board is a grid that further expands the motivation for fighting by rewarding you for offing enemies in spectacular ways. For example, every time you take out an opponent with a critical finish, a block in the grid is filled that adds ten percent to your experience gained. These bonuses can then be combined with each other from battle to battle until you take a critical hit yourself, which breaks your board. Your bonus board can be filled in a variety of ways, and gives a great diversity to combat. The two rewards for specific combat feats do wonders to keep battles fresh, and suddenly the endless fights are not so burdensome. Removing random encounters is another way in which tedium has been downsized. Of course, if too many fights are avoided, you may end up having to backtrack in order to level up before being able to take down a boss.

Character development, in terms of combat experience, is quite refreshing in The Last Hope. Each time that a level is gained, the standard attribute boost occurs, but there are also BEATs that your character advances in as well. There are three different BEAT classes based on how one fights, and each offers different bonuses as your party members evolve. Beyond that, special attacks are gained in accordance to growth. These enhancements give a satisfaction to every level gained, and allow for one to tweak a character to his/her heart's desire.

Customization then becomes extensive when abilities are taken into account. By reading books, new maneuvers can be learned, and both passive and active skills can be given to the crew members of the Calnus. By strategically spreading skills over your party, each character can gain a specific use that will make him/her productive in the right situation. Most of these talents are non-combative feats that range from mining minerals or harvesting fruit and herbs to pick pocketing and even revealing the locations of treasure and other items on the mini-map. Some abilities, such as first aid, can be extremely helpful on the battlefield. All in all, party members can be diversified to a staggering extent.

Combat and character development make up the core of The Last Hope's gameplay, and that is by no means a bad thing. Most of your time in the game will be spent fighting various beasts, and the fact that these fights rarely become monotonous is a wonderful accomplishment. Other elements of the game range from a wonderfully done item creator in which your party members brainstorm recipes to make unique items, to a ridiculous (but somehow fun) use of bunnies as a means of transportation and racing. However, the creativity and quality of the gameplay does not overcome the weakness of the story, or flaws in the game's presentation.

Environments are often far more attractive than the characters.

The graphics are, very simply, mediocre. Technically, the animation and design is solid, with almost no slipping in frame rate throughout the game. Artistically, there could have been much more. Cutscenes are especially disappointing, and will not give you any kind of breathtaking beauty or stunning effects. This becomes problematic, as some cinematics last for over a half hour. The combat is the same way. Battle arenas are well varied, but special effects are pretty standard and there is little creativity or innovation. Even worse, there is the generic nature of the character design. The clichéd atmosphere that permeates the motivations and attitudes of the Calnus' crew also has struck home in their appearances. Each model appears somehow reminiscent of someone from another game, and in the end, this makes party members hard to engage with.

The graphics, overall, are a hit and miss issue, and the same can be said about the sound. While the game's score has all of the orchestral wonder that one would expect from an entry in this genre, everything else about the audio falls flat. Voice acting in the English translation is absolutely atrocious, to say the least. What's more, the Japanese voice work can not be unlocked in any way, forcing you to endure painful line after painful line. This poor work in the audio department puts a severe damper on the rest of the game.

Star Ocean is definitely not a game that has remade the JRPG and brought it back into prominence. The plot is not deep enough and the presentation is a bit too weak. In a genre where storytelling is at the forefront of the experience, these flaws cannot be overlooked. However, the quality of character progression and combat are excellent, and imbue the experience with a combat focus that is a bit rare for its genre. Despite its flaws, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a solid, gameplay-oriented fling that most fans of RPGs should still be able to enjoy.