Other Features

Explore optional dungeons, quests, Private Actions, Item Creation, the BEAT System, Skills, Battle Trophies, and Data Collections in Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Optional Dungeons

Star Ocean: The Last Hope offers three complete dungeon areas that are not required to finish the game's story. Taking on these optional areas presents opportunity for extra challenge, additional experience, and you can find items you otherwise wouldn't be able to obtain.

Quests

Some of the people you meet need help and will offer you a quest you can work on while completing the story. They may want you to collect certain items, deliver something or make something via Item Creation. Of course, they will reward you when you complete their quest and you will earn some EXP and SP, too.

There aren't any time limits on completing quests, but you may lose access to some areas and be unable to complete quests that started there.

The Colosseum

After you complete an optional quest in Tatroi, you can challenge other fighters in the Colosseum. Choose to fight Solo, Team or Survival battles and earn Fight Coins when you win. Collect enough Fight Coins and you can exchange them for rare items and unique equipment.

Complete another optional quest and you can take part in the Bunny Races. Feed your bunny stat-boosting pies and then watch it hop onto the track to compete against other cuddlies. Keep racing and you can earn the Bunny Champion Medal.

Private Actions

A staple in the Star Ocean series, Private Actions are conversational events between characters that are separate from story events. Viewing these optional events can change characters' affinity for one another. Sometimes you have a choice of responses and they will affect affinity differently. Raising character affinity is necessary to see ending scenes involving individual characters after you finish the game.

Item Creation

With the right recipe, you can use items you already have to create new items, including equipment. You will find some recipes and your characters can work together to come up with more. In addition to creating new items, you can use Synthesis to boost the stats of a piece of equipment or add special abilities. The further you get into the game, the more important Item Creation will become.

The BEAT System

You can select one of three fighting styles for each of your characters with the BEAT System. The BEAT System fighting styles are: BEAT: S (Strike) which is an offensive battle style that emphasizes Blindsides, BEAT: N (Neutral) which is a neutral battle style that emphasizes parameter boosts, and BEAT: B (Burst) which is a defensive battle style that emphasizes Rush Mode. As you win battles, your BEAT rank may go up and increase the style's effect. You can change a character's BEAT style at any time from the Characters Menu.

Skills and Abilities

Characters will learn new Special Arts and Symbols as they gain levels through experience. Field Skills and Battle Skills are learned by acquiring Skill Manuals.

Skill Points

You can improve the effectiveness of a character's skills by increasing the skill level using Skill Points. Individual Skill Points are earned each time a character gains a level. Party Skill Points are earned when you complete a Quest or fulfill a Shop Order. When exploring, you earn Party SP for opening a chest, collecting items from a Gathering Point, or dispelling a barrier. You can also earn Party SP after a battle, if your Bonus Board includes some green tiles. Individual Skill Points are specific to the character who earned them. Party Skill Points are pooled and made available to any character. You can elect to use either Individual Skill Points or Party Skill Points to raise a skill's level. Your Party SP pool is also tapped when you invent new things via Item Creation.

Battle Trophies

Another Star Ocean tradition is the ability to earn battle trophies. In this game, each character has his/her own set of battle trophies. You can obtain battle trophies for fulfilling certain conditions in battle (such as _Defeat an enemy using a close-quarters attack_). There is an in-game list for each character, but most of the entries are hidden until you discover them in battle. Reaching battle trophy collection milestones will unlock bonuses for that character like extra battle voices, removing the level cap, and adding Capacity Points you can use to configure your combos. Information about the battle trophies you earn is stored separately from your saved game data. This makes up-to-date battle trophy status available with all existing save files and when you start a new game so you don't have to earn the battle trophies again.

Data Collections

Throughout the game, you will find and automatically record all sorts of information. Examining computer terminals may yield data on various spaceships. You may gain weapon data by finding, buying or creating a weapon, or by defeating enemies with unique weapons.

When you defeat a monster, you create a data file with its description and stats. Keep defeating the same type of monster and you will raise its analysis level. When the analysis level reaches 100%, you can transfer the data to a blank Monster Jewel. The Monster Jewel is an Accessory with stat boosts (and maybe special effects) attributable to the monster inside. Like battle trophy information, Data Collections are stored separately from your normal save files and can be shared across all your saved games.