FFXIII or Star Ocean TLH (PS3)?

Hey guys

I'm in a bit of a pinch since I have been struggling on either title to purchase...

I've been a long time fan of the Final Fantasy series since i can remember holding a controller. As usual, i Loved Final fantasy X and XII as well. Now it comes to pass when Final Fantasy XIII is nearing its release date and has me standing in disatisfaction and disappointment to its new game mechanics and story..Surely, FFXIII is a game of a grand epic scale in story and has been in wait for a very long time from fans and gamers alike. Now it's just a matter of waiting for its purchase until...

Star Ocean The last hope, the Playstation 3 port (/version) has been announced and is coming in store shelves on February 2010 even before the great arrival of our beloved SquareEnix novelty title. Even though Star Ocean does not appeal to most as a AAA jRPG unlike final fantasy or Dragon quest, to me it is almost equal in value of entertainment ever since I can recall the very first Star Ocean game..Sure, there will be people and critics out there who would obviously go against what I think but it's a series I ADORE!!

Now i am currently a young gamer on a (very) limited budget and there is only so much i can buy, there is only one title i am able to buy in place of the other..sure, there are other titles out there coming this spring 2010 but the topic is MY concern...I've been in an argument with a fellow gamer (such as my older brother) that Final fantasy XIII is nothing compared over Star Ocean The Last Hope (PS3) and shouldn't even be a hard decision to think over...

Unfortunately, I do not agree with him or any of those who think with him all too well, for i am also in love with the Star Ocean series and think of this as a real challenge and leave me annoyingly indecisive.

The reasons why I am disappointed with final fantasy XII the same way as its Predecessors is because of the following reasons:

1) The opening theme song, i know you wouldn't hear it more than once throughout the whole gameplay other than the well..beginning..but i am EXTREMLY disappointed with the English translation..The Japanese fits perfectly into context within the game's story...but the English where the opening is about some woman "putting on makeup" is clearly NOT what FFXII is all about..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q0_mNC5FQ8

2) [*spoiler*] Snow, the skater-like hairstyle'd man who rides a bike (similar to Cloud's bike during the Midgar escape in Final Fantasy VII) is apparently in a relationship with a girl whom looks like she barely reached puberty and seems like this is WAY too obvious that snow is a PeD0$#iL3..Or so it seems...Even though it has been confirmed that they are almost the same age, or at least that the age gap is very small or what's goin' on is very "legal", it bothers me to feel like I would be playing this game with a PeD0$#iL3 running lose in a motorbike....

3)SquareEnix are really good when it comes to tweeking or changing completely the gameplay during combat (the combat system)...I've been playing FFs for the longest time knwoing that there would be more grinding or simply a grindfest game..Now according to news, Final fantasy XIII's battle system even more tactical than before, Now there they have reduced the need for grinding (which i loved) and requires the player to tactically play each character in battle synchronizedly in order to win each fight..grinding has no more effect when it comes to fighting anymore, it requires skills and player experience...which would make the game harder and more challenging.....>.> ok, which in fact it DOES sound pretty good to most..but i personally like grinding for power..

4)I Loved Final Fantasy XII because if its tons of content with side quests...which would be accompanied by #3's complain for grinding...Apparently, in Final Fantasy XII, side quests are now harder than the final boss of the main story plot of the game itself...Why would i even bother doing them before playing through main story? Just like in Final Fantasy XII, in order to obtain these espers/summons, one must first beat them into submission for you to use them throughout the story....but in final fantasy XIII, if they are in fact harder than the final boss, then what's the point of actually trying to get them to beat who? Other than completionists, i see no point...

5) [most minor reason]Chocobos are probably the cutest oversized birds in the history of gaming...From their soundtracks while riding on one to reach someplace, digging for gold or treasure (*cough* FF9 *cough*) to their high-pitched squeeks/tweets XD...problem is that i've been shown the new soundtrack for the chocobo theme for Final fantasy XII and its sounds like I'm in a blues club with James Brown...the Jazz doesn't fit the big yellow bird at all really...It's not cute all..Though this may pass if I were to perhaps use the chocobo alot during the gameplay and get used to it eventually....

Now on with Start Ocean, I LOVE the star ocean series even though none of them actually hit the high AAA mark...Their Voice work weren't the best actually and i even heard 3 main characters are pretty ugly in term of voice over work and talk alot...But the simple game mechanics and (decent) grindfest gameplay gives me more initiative to play and enjoy the game...

And that pretty much covers "MY" comparison between the games...Now I am seriously in need to hear your opinions on with games i should get?

P.S

I am sorry for the long post; I guess it just came to be thatIi wrote so much, thanks in advance for your opinions XD cheers

Final Fantasy XIII by a long shot. I've played the 360 version while the gameplay was good everything else wasn't. The cast of characters and the story was awful. The VA"s were really bad also I played 15 hrs of that game with no sound lol.

Hey guys

I'm in a bit of a pinch since I have been struggling on either title to purchase...

I've been a long time fan of the Final Fantasy series since i can remember holding a controller. As usual, i Loved Final fantasy X and XII as well. Now it comes to pass when Final Fantasy XIII is nearing its release date and has me standing in disatisfaction and disappointment to its new game mechanics and story..Surely, FFXIII is a game of a grand epic scale in story and has been in wait for a very long time from fans and gamers alike. Now it's just a matter of waiting for its purchase until...

Star Ocean The last hope, the Playstation 3 port (/version) has been announced and is coming in store shelves on February 2010 even before the great arrival of our beloved SquareEnix novelty title. Even though Star Ocean does not appeal to most as a AAA jRPG unlike final fantasy or Dragon quest, to me it is almost equal in value of entertainment ever since I can recall the very first Star Ocean game..Sure, there will be people and critics out there who would obviously go against what I think but it's a series I ADORE!!

Now i am currently a young gamer on a (very) limited budget and there is only so much i can buy, there is only one title i am able to buy in place of the other..sure, there are other titles out there coming this spring 2010 but the topic is MY concern...I've been in an argument with a fellow gamer (such as my older brother) that Final fantasy XIII is nothing compared over Star Ocean The Last Hope (PS3) and shouldn't even be a hard decision to think over...

Unfortunately, I do not agree with him or any of those who think with him all too well, for i am also in love with the Star Ocean series and think of this as a real challenge and leave me annoyingly indecisive.

The reasons why I am disappointed with final fantasy XII the same way as its Predecessors is because of the following reasons:

1) The opening theme song, i know you wouldn't hear it more than once throughout the whole gameplay other than the well..beginning..but i am EXTREMLY disappointed with the English translation..The Japanese fits perfectly into context within the game's story...but the English where the opening is about some woman "putting on makeup" is clearly NOT what FFXII is all about..

2) [*spoiler*] Snow, the skater-like hairstyle'd man who rides a bike (similar to Cloud's bike during the Midgar escape in Final Fantasy VII) is apparently in a relationship with a girl whom looks like she barely reached puberty and seems like this is WAY too obvious that snow is a PeD0$#iL3..Or so it seems...Even though it has been confirmed that they are almost the same age, or at least that the age gap is very small or what's goin' on is very "legal", it bothers me to feel like I would be playing this game with a PeD0$#iL3 running lose in a motorbike....

3)SquareEnix are really good when it comes to stweeking or changing completely the gameplay during combat (the combat system)...I've been playing FFs for the longest time knwoing that there would be more grinding or simply a grindfest game..Now according to news, Final fantasy XIII's battle system even more tactical than before, Now there they have reduced the need for grinding (which i loved) and requires the player to tactically play each character in battle synchronizedly in order to win each fight..grinding has no more effect when it comes to fighting anymore, it requires skills and player experience...which would make the game harder and more challenging.....>.> ok, which in fact it DOES sound pretty good to most..but i personally like grinding for power..

4)I Loved Final Fantasy XII because if its tons of content with side quests...which would be accompanied by #3's complain for grinding...Apparently, in Final Fantasy XII, side quests are now harder than the final boss of the main story plot of the game itself...Why would i even bother doing them before playing through main story? Just like in Final Fantasy XII, in order to obtain these espers/summons, one must first beat them into submission for you to use them throughout the story....but in final fantasy XIII, if they are in fact harder than the final boss, then what's the point of actually trying to get them to beat who? Other than completionists, i see no point...

5) [most minor reason]Chocobos are probably the cutest oversized birds in the history of gaming...From their soundtracks while riding on one to reach someplace, digging for gold or treasure (*cough* FF9 *cough*) to their high-pitched squeeks/tweets XD...problem is that i've been shown the new soundtrack for the chocobo theme for Final fantasy XII and its sounds like I'm in a blues club with James Brown...the Jazz doesn't fit the big yellow bird at all really...It's not cute all..Though this may pass if I were to perhaps use the chocobo alot during the gameplay and get used to it eventually....

Now on with Start Ocean, I LOVE the star ocean series even though none of them actually hit the high AAA mark...Their Voice work weren't the best actually and i even heard 3 main characters are pretty ugly in term of voice over work and talk alot...But the simple game mechanics and (decent) grindfest gameplay gives me more initiative to play and enjoy the game...

And that pretty much covers "MY" comparison between the games...Now I am seriously in need to hear your opinions on with games i should get?

P.S

I am sorry for the long post; I guess it just came to be thatIi wrote so much, thanks in advance for your opinions XD cheers

Dudecough

1. FFXIII

2. Pokémon - You like cute mascots

This is like asking to choose between a ferrari and a bicycle.

[spoiler] Get FFXIII [/spoiler]

I generally like JRPGs.

I have the 360 version of SO TLH

It depends entirely on whether you like story, dialogue, characters in your JRPGs or whether you are more concerned about the combat system, levelling up, etc.

If it is story, dialogue, characters then stay away from SO4...as in really far away. It is utter garbage in this regard. I cannot over emphasize just how horrid this part of the game is. Truly horrid. Some of the worst ever. And I am not just talking about the english voice over - that is some of the worst ever seen in a videogame - but that isn't the core problem. The core problem is the characters, the story and the dialogue. I don't care if you have the best voice actors ever...if the dialogue is purely infantile drivel, nothing can save it. I despised SO4 on this front. Everyone despises SO4 for these reasons.

Yet the combat, levelling etc are excellent. It is like two completely different games. This part is better than your average JRPG.

In the end, I couldn't stomach the story, characters etc and I stopped about2/3 through and haven't gone back. I shudder in thinking I will ever go back. M'kay.

Th one that doesn't suck. (well besides the combat anyway)

Im one of the 2 (who can guess the other?) that really liked SO4 and highly reccommend it. Still, i dont even have to play FFXIII to know its alot better. 13 at launch. SO4 early next year for around $5.

It's funny, because Star Ocean 2's story and characters aren't half bad at all. It strikes me as odd that tri-Ace seemingly managed to fail so spectacularly in this regard with Star Ocean 4.

I think the people above me have summed it up very well. Only Buy Star Ocean 4 if you really like throwing money into the fire, it is trash in every conceivable way(except combat, which is good, but is far from enough to make up for everything else it lacks). So, in closing......

FINAL FANTASY XIII

Im one of the 2 (who can guess the other?) that really liked SO4 and highly reccommend it. Still, i dont even have to play FFXIII to know its alot better. 13 at launch. SO4 early next year for around $5.

shutdown_202

No. Generally however, when my friend (who likes basically anything) thinks SO4's story and cutscenes are garbage, I know there is a problem. He hasn't finished it, that is a bad sign lol.

Im one of the 2 (who can guess the other?) that really liked SO4 and highly reccommend it. Still, i dont even have to play FFXIII to know its alot better. 13 at launch. SO4 early next year for around $5.

shutdown_202

[QUOTE="shutdown_202"]

Im one of the 2 (who can guess the other?) that really liked SO4 and highly reccommend it. Still, i dont even have to play FFXIII to know its alot better. 13 at launch. SO4 early next year for around $5.

ActicEdge

No. Generally however, when my friend (who likes basically anything) thinks SO4's story and cutscenes are garbage, I know there is a problem. He hasn't finished it, that is a bad sign lol.

Well its Vandalvideo (the hakumono of the Star Ocean series).

But theres no denying the story is complete ass. Not bad but just ass, although i did like theidea of travelling back in time etc, hope more games do that.

But as a pure gaming experience, i loved it. One of the few games where i eagerly anticipated each little skirmish. I thought the environments were varied and gourgous and it had a very nice micromangament system. I personally thought all that stuff countered the awful story and cutscenes. There were times i didnt play for days because of that horrible Sarah character. People always cry about Lymle, they probably didnt get far enough to meet Sarah. She'll make your ears bleed no doubt.

It's kind of weird that this game got alright review scores and yet nearly a year down the road everyone seems to hate it. I hated SO3, so I'm still not sure whether it'll be worth it for me to pick it up TBH.

Silent-Hal

*sigh* And thus is the fanboy mentality. It was pretty hyped too. I remember threads praising multiple aspects of it, those same people arenow bashing it (who probably would have never bought it in the first place) because its either multiplat or didnt give them a +1 on the spreadsheet.

TBH i got about an hour into SO3 before it turned it off and took it back, could not stand it. I hated everything about it including the battle system. All i remember is a hotel and some guy named Fayze (?). I'd say theres a pretty good chance of you liking it. But just wait till its really cheap. I only got mine because i found it for £15 at a sale.

[QUOTE="ActicEdge"]

[QUOTE="shutdown_202"]

Im one of the 2 (who can guess the other?) that really liked SO4 and highly reccommend it. Still, i dont even have to play FFXIII to know its alot better. 13 at launch. SO4 early next year for around $5.

shutdown_202

No. Generally however, when my friend (who likes basically anything) thinks SO4's story and cutscenes are garbage, I know there is a problem. He hasn't finished it, that is a bad sign lol.

Well its Vandalvideo (the hakumono of the Star Ocean series).

But theres no denying the story is complete ass. Not bad but just ass, although i did like theidea of travelling back in time etc, hope more games do that.

But as a pure gaming experience, i loved it. One of the few games where i eagerly anticipated each little skirmish. I thought the environments were varied and gourgous and it had a very nice micromangament system. I personally thought all that stuff countered the awful story and cutscenes. There were times i didnt play for days because of that horrible Sarah character. People always cry about Lymle, they probably didnt get far enough to meet Sarah. She'll make your ears bleed no doubt.

He said the combat was ace so that is a plus I suppose. If he gets his PS3 for Christmas I'll borrow his 360 and give it a whirl I suppose.

I'm more hyped for White Knight chronicles then I am for Star Ocean. But Final fantasy takes 1st place of coarse

[QUOTE="Silent-Hal"]

It's kind of weird that this game got alright review scores and yet nearly a year down the road everyone seems to hate it. I hated SO3, so I'm still not sure whether it'll be worth it for me to pick it up TBH.

shutdown_202

*sigh* And thus is the fanboy mentality. It was pretty hyped too. I remember threads praising multiple aspects of it, those same people arenow bashing it (who probably would have never bought it in the first place) because its either multiplat or didnt give them a +1 on the spreadsheet.

TBH i got about an hour into SO3 before it turned it off and took it back, could not stand it. I hated everything about it including the battle system. All i remember is a hotel and some guy named Fayze (?). I'd say theres a pretty good chance of you liking it. But just wait till its really cheap. I only got mine because i found it for £15 at a sale.

That opening sequence in the hotel was beyond awful. And it dragged on for nearly two hours. I had a blast with the remakes of SO1 and 2 on the PSP, so you can imagine my surprise at being lumped into something so trite from the get go. It did get better once I got to the first major planet, but it still wasn't enough to redeem the experience. My main problem with the battle system was that it was too restricting, essentially punishing you for trying to use your stronger moves.

What exactly is it that's so wrong with SO4's story, anyway? Is it just that the cast are unlikable?

[QUOTE="shutdown_202"]

[QUOTE="Silent-Hal"]

It's kind of weird that this game got alright review scores and yet nearly a year down the road everyone seems to hate it. I hated SO3, so I'm still not sure whether it'll be worth it for me to pick it up TBH.

Silent-Hal

*sigh* And thus is the fanboy mentality. It was pretty hyped too. I remember threads praising multiple aspects of it, those same people arenow bashing it (who probably would have never bought it in the first place) because its either multiplat or didnt give them a +1 on the spreadsheet.

TBH i got about an hour into SO3 before it turned it off and took it back, could not stand it. I hated everything about it including the battle system. All i remember is a hotel and some guy named Fayze (?). I'd say theres a pretty good chance of you liking it. But just wait till its really cheap. I only got mine because i found it for £15 at a sale.

That opening sequence in the hotel was beyond awful. And it dragged on for nearly two hours. I had a blast with the remakes of SO1 and 2 on the PSP, so you can imagine my surprise at being lumped into so trite from the get go. It did get better once I got to the first major planet, but it still wasn't enough to redeem the experience. My main problem with the battle system was that it was too restricting, essentially punishing you for trying to use your stronger moves.

What exactly is it that's so wrong with SO4's story, anyway? Is it just that the cast are unlikable?

Yup. I'd say its more to with the actual cast than the story itself which is very average, but not crap. I think the jpn voice work should reduce the characters suckiness a bit but then you have all the annoying body gestures and what not.

Star Ocean 4 isnt that good, average at best. Im already hearing better things about FFXIII... so that.

FF 13 by a long shot, not only is final fantasy my favorite franchise but i don't even like the star ocean series

Funny you did not name the game that fits best according to that description
End of eternity its a RPG that is supposed to release in teh same week as FF13 - check out some gameplay vids.

Great game > Average game.

im goin get both