Star Trek itself being an example of that the prime directive prevents captains from affecting the development of a more primitive species. Generally speaking, more think-y science fiction leans on the “avoid contact” side of things. Through World War 2, the use of Melanesian islands by both the Japanese and Allied forces led to the (massively technologically advanced and well-supplied) forces to be worshipped as gods by the islanders, who would go as far as to lay down airstrips following the war in a bid to call to their “gods.” The ethical debate about whether it was right to allow these people to come to worship the respective armies is one that has continued in much science fiction thereafter, and there’s even a direct nod to it in Star Ocean 4 – the first “alien” town the heroes visit sees them worshipped as gods by the locals, who observed them arriving in their space ship. I get the sense that a lot of that modern debate is driven through the real world phenomenon of the cargo cults of Melanesia. After all, you only need to consider what generally happens when you introduce a new species to an ecosystem that hasn’t adapted to it on Earth itself to realise the potential impact humanity might have on other planets (hint: do some research on the cane toad in Australia to see what I mean there). There’s something of a moral debate that goes on with those within the science fiction world as to how, exactly, people should behave were we to go looking for a new home in the cosmos whether it would be acceptable to interact with the locals, or whether we should be using a planet that has any life on it at all. Well before Mass Effect: Andromeda and Xenoblade Chronicles X, Star Ocean was already other there bravely pushing humans into worlds that are unfamiliar and absolutely deadly to them, even as it paints a picture of how desperately humanity needs to find itself a new home. I also find the narrative in Star Ocean 4 to be quite interesting, in the same way that I’ve found other “humans are the aliens” plots interesting. Star Ocean 4 does set it up in a contrived way (“these bug-alien things are immune to bullets, but ‘low-technology’ weaponry works, so let’s use a bow and sword instead!”), but it doesn’t take long to get over that contrivance, and from there you’re left with that delightful mix of sci-fi and fantasy. What I love about both Star Ocean 3 and 4 is the way they manage to take planet-hopping science fiction, and meld it with a swords-and-sorcery approach to combat. Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope – 4K & Full HD Remaster is a really, really good looking game, and I was immediately immersed within the world all over again. I never regretted that purchase because, while I know the game was controversial among the Star Ocean faithful (especially those who had played the first two), I absolutely loved Star Ocean 4.Īnd now it’s on PlayStation 4, and with one of the better efforts at updating a game for a new platform, at that. As a huge fan of Star Ocean 3 on the PlayStation 2, I was naturally drawn towards the one and only Star Ocean game released on PlayStation 3 Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope. When I finally had the money to march into my local game store, however (and what an exciting day that was!), I had a real wealth of games to choose between for my first PS3 experience. Related reading: Matt’s review of the recent Star Ocean 5.
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