There are no gameplay screenshots for Tri-Ace’s Star Ocean 4 yet, but as you can see from the image above, the Xbox 360 game’s cinematics are already quite lovely. The series has never been A-list, but it’s been a persistent presence in the gaming world since 1996, a trail of breadcrumbs marking technology’s path over the years. Star Ocean games have always been gorgeous, from the lush hand-drawn original through its polygonal, but not less colorful, descendants. They have, however, always played like hell. As much as role-playing games are about endearing character archetypes and hero-epic narratives, they live and die by their methodical, strategic, turn-based gameplay. Star Ocean’s hook is a semi-real time battle system that plays with genre conventions. You still have a party of characters engaging in random battles, but you only control a single character at a time, your commands taking immediate effect with the press of a button as opposed to selecting them from a menu and waiting to watch the result. The characters you aren’t controlling act on preset artificial intelligence routines.
That’s Star Ocean’s biggest problem. Character AI is absolute trash and, as a result, fighting is more about luck than skill or strategy. I’ve played all three, but I’ve never finished a Star Ocean. I’ve wanted to, though not because their stories have been especially compelling. It’s because they are beautiful. I want to see every inch of these other worlds Tri-Ace have created but can’t because interacting with them is tiresome.
Can a game skate by on its looks alone? If a game is lovely but is a chore to interact with, can it still be a good game? I’ve expressed my adoration for the Silent Hill series here on 61FPS a number of times, but, were I completely honest, I’d be forced to admit that they all play terribly. But they’re so immaculately presented that the terrible control, the lumbering interface between player and art seems inconsequential.
The question lurking behind all this conjecture is: What makes a game good? When I look at this picture of Star Ocean 4, frankly, the answer eludes me.
Related links:
The Ten Greatest Fire Levels in Gaming History
Screen Test: Silent Hill Homecoming