CHARACTERS=GAMEPLAY=PLOT
Star Ocean : Till The End Of Time by SquarEnix
Star Ocean is a series of RPG games, created by Square initially, which is now SquarEnix. It is a pretty much unique games, with its signature battle procedure. Basically, instead of telling the characters what to do, players move one characters, out of 4, in a battle. Players then move that character, just like a multi-combat game like Tekken or Street Fighter. The remaining 3 characters are moved by the computer.
This feature is what makes players devoted to the series. The battles in this game are visually attractive as the 4 players involved will create myriad of moves, resulting in never-ending streams of colors filled with movement effects as well as sounds. Moreover, the enemies too double the intensity of such images and heightens the thrill in going into battles. Unlike any other games, battles in SO:TTEOT have never been boring, but very much anticipated.
This game has great character designs but very much mundane like any other RPG games. Male lead, sword bearer. Female lead, magician. Short character, old character, butch character, evil-like character. Not forgetting extra character who is almighty. However, despite the not-so-original character concept, their visual designs are eye-appealing. Costume, facial expression, movement as well as the relationship of individual to the whole setting are commendably match. Character design is very much important in games, especially RPG as they are the representation of players, but in the virtual world. SO:TTEOT manages to capture players’ interest in this factor.
Additional factors such as overall setting, landscape, level gaining, weapon modification, magic units, skills, etc also add on to why this game managed to become very popular when it was released almost 6 years ago.
However, one thing that this amazing game lacks. It is the primary factor, the most important factor of all, the story. It started out to be very medieval, the usual RPG setting with a smooth plot with a little bump here and there. But as the story progresses up to 70% of the gameplay, it has brought the game experience from max to zero.
The story and plot of the game suddenly change to the setting of real-life. Well, basically, the characters are actually characters from a game. The game manufacturer decided to abolish the game due to economic reason and these characters apparently, jumped out from the computer screen and started killing real humans. This swap, which many might see this as an opportunity to widen the gaming plot, does not seem to be useful, at all. The not-so-connected plot from virtual world to reality, with no slight indication for the first ¾ of the story, was suddenly altered. As if, the last ¼ portion was forced.
I stopped the game, despite enjoying the non-Final-Fantasy-characters-such-as -boys-who-look-like-girls game from SquarEnix. The 30 hours spent on the experience was pretty much entertaining and I would have given it an 8 out of 10 rating. However, when these characters started to kill real people, I’m sorry, but it is not more than a 0 out of 10 ranking.
In conclusion, I find that there must be a balance on the key factors for games, especially RPG where narrative factor is emphasized. Character design, game play and plot have to be able to weigh equally throughout the game journey. Some games have far better gameplay then character design, and it won’t work either. Players expect the best from the games that they are playing, or at least a strong reason why they should invest on their time, playing.
Kelvin
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