The Star Ocean series is one of the true iconic JRPG series in the west, among other stars such as Final Fantasy, albeit with significantly less entries. Many years ago, 12 to be exact, the third entry in that series was released, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Now it has been re-released with less jaggies, more trophies, and it has not aged.

For anyone new to the series, Star Ocean games are usually set in a universe that has Earth, but tells the story of someone from Earth who finds themselves among the stars on a distant world. In the case of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time HD, the story involves a young man, Fayt Leingod, who while on vacation is one of the many victims of attacks by an invading force. Evacuating, he finds himself stuck on a distant, underdeveloped planet, and he must try to find his family again.

The story is relatively simple, and doesn’t get too much more advanced, though Star Ocean: Till the End of Time HD does do a surprisingly good job of holding some plot moments close to the chest. The good enough story is regularly undone by average at best voice acting, wish as understood it wasn’t great at the games release, so compared to these eras voice actors it is unsurprising that it hasn’t aged well.

The other biggest issue is its dated graphics. The HD remaster has done a great job to remove some of the jaggies, which are jagged edges caused by square pixels trying to make a curve, but the actual designs of both characters and environments aren’t great. It should be noted though that Star Ocean: Till the End of Time HD was the first 3D model Star Ocean game, and as such it’s no surprise it looks terrible today. A fairer comparison would be Final Fantasy 7 which was the first 3D model Final Fantasy, and nobody is going to say it’s a good-looking game, even if it is a great game. This approach is necessary to enjoy the game the way it should be enjoyed, acknowledging its age, and appreciating it.

Gameplay is the most important aspect of the game.

It is certainly fun to reminisce in this old style of gameplay but it’s still fun. Such as the Tales Series, Star Ocean uses real time combat in battles. You control one character, running around doing your attacks, but can switch characters at any time. If switching characters isn’t your thing you can also change their style of combat at any time, for example, if your health is getting low and need to be more defensive. Each character has a Fury meter which is used when you run around and do actions, which fills back up as you stand still requiring some serious strategy in battles. This gameplay is the same compelling fun it was when the game was new 13 years ago, and surprisingly hasn’t aged as badly as the aesthetics.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time HD is a rerelease that is worth your time. It is a very dated game, most notably in its aesthetics which are very much a product of their time. But any JRPG aficionado who hasn’t played Star Ocean: Till the End of Time yet would be amiss to not jump on this opportunity to visit a classic, as too previous a player can now play it again with trophies and slightly less bad looking graphics.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time HD (PlayStation 4) Review
Game Details

Released: May 2017
Rating: PG
Platforms: PlayStation 4
Genre: JRPG, Adventure, Action
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: BandaiNamco Entertainment</p

Gameplay
Graphics
Audio
Replayability
Reader Rating1 Vote
The Good
An old JRPG that is a great snapshot of its time, and still a lot of fun.
The Not So Good
Graphics, sound, and dialogue haven’t aged well.
4
Final Verdict
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