The offical Star Ocean thread

[Wanzerfan]

• Star Ocean: The Last Hope (X-Box 360 exlusive so far, sorry PS3 and Wii owners)
• Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP, damn them for not releasing this thing on the other consoles) or Star Ocean (Super Famicom)
• Star Ocean: The Second Story (PS-X, PSP)
• Star Ocean: Blue Sphere (Game Boy Color, only game never to see the western shores)
• Srar Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS2, looks to be the end of the series, even though I haven't beaten the thing)

I have one thing to say about the Star Ocean series:

It is one of the best RPG's ever to grace the public. From the Item Creation (Tri-Ace games are known for this feature, see Infinite Undiscovery) to the emotional factors, this series is one of those that will stand the test of time.

Any thoughts on the series?

I just started on The Last hope and hope to have a full review sometime soon.

Edited June 3, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[shiroikaze]

Aren't they re-releasing Second Story on the PSP as well?

The only Star Ocean game I ever played was Till the End of Time, that game was so much fun it's a shame I haven't finished it yet. Damn you item creation...

Are are all the Star Ocean games inte-related or are they their own stories like how the Final Fantasy games are?

[Einherjar]

Second Story is already out for the PSP, $30-$40.

The shocker in Till the End of Time was almost a game breaker for me. I almost got all of the trophies before I got lazy.

[Wanzerfan]

Aren't they re-releasing Second Story on the PSP as well?

The only Star Ocean game I ever played was Till the End of Time, that game was so much fun it's a shame I haven't finished it yet. Damn you item creation...

Are are all the Star Ocean games inte-related or are they their own stories like how the Final Fantasy games are?

Yes it was; I just fixed my first post in this topic.

All the Star Ocean games are part of a huge story spanning over 700 years.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[chen]

I just finished Star Ocean The Last Hope and I'm playing the bonus levels. Great game but man there are so many achievements and side missions it can get pretty overwhelming. Here's a quick tip, get as many Battle Trophies as you can I won't say why but near the end of the game if you have a certain amount it will help you greatly.

[JB0]

How can you leave the original Star Ocean out of your list?

• Star Ocean (Super Famicom, why the crap didn't it come to America? Oh well, that's what ROM hackers are for.)

[Wanzerfan]

How can you leave the original Star Ocean out of your list?

• Star Ocean (Super Famicom, why the crap didn't it come to America? Oh well, that's what ROM hackers are for.)

Look again at the topic post. Tri-Ace ported the first game to the PSP and gave it the subtitle "The First Departure".

I just listed the games in the story's chornological order.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[JB0]

Look again at the topic post. Tri-Ace ported the first game to the PSP and gave it the subtitle "The First Departure".

I just listed the games in the story's chornological order.

Wasn't a port. Was a remake. Yes, I am anal and nitpick those terms.

And either way, you don't mention the SNES. HISTORY DEMANDS ACCURACY!1111

[Wanzerfan]

Alright, I fixed the post, I hope your OCD ass is happy now, Monk.

[JB0]

Much happier. A thousand thanks.

[Wanzerfan]

Well, at least the Item Creation in The Last hope there is no chance of failure when making an item.

I do have one complaint about The Last Hope, though.

Welch Vineyard. God, what a bitch. All I'll say is that they picked the perfect actress to protray her. I'd much rather deal with the Till the End Of Time version of her. This version of her reminds me of, dare I say it...

Lynn Minmei!!!

I do like the fact that the used Michael McConnahie as the voice for Commander Kenny (any relation to Ronixis or Claude Kenni, by any chance?)

Another thing, Edge Maverick certainly does look a lot like Claude, doesn't he? Ancestor, maybe?

Edited June 4, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[Wanzerfan]

Right now I'm at the point in The Last Hope where Edge and Reimi are doing a recon mission to locate SRF-005. Got a few Battle Trophies, too.

Had I known that the entire party got experience points for opening chests, I would've held off opening the ones around the SRF-003 Calnus until I got Reimi into my party .

Oh, well, I have to remember that for the second playthrough.

Edited June 5, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[chen]

Yeah you get group experience and skill points for opening chests, harvesting plants and mining and stuff. The group SP points comes in pretty handy to upgrade your skills when your character doesn't have enough SP points of their own plus you need them for Item creation when you use points to make recipes.

Also check EVERYWHERE for data on ships and stuff, especially around consoles and stuff and when performing Item creation recipes whoever is in the first slot usually leads too whats being created.

[Wanzerfan]

Well, right now I'm juggling my time between Till the End of Time and The Last Hope.

Those of you who have a love for Earth will have a rude suprise for you in Till the End of Time (minorly pissed me off when I first saw the cutscene).

Earth gets totally screwed over, if not totally destroyed, by the Executioners somewhere during disk 2.

In The Last hope, I just got through with the Celestial Ship and just finished off most of the quests (I got Troim deliveries out of the way before the Celestial Ship boss, and I just finished off the Aeos shop deliveries). It's a good game from what I've seen so far.

[nectarsis]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Star Ocean games...2 is a top 5 rpg of all time for me, follwed by 1, and 3 (prob won't ever play the 360 game sadly).

P.S. I actually enjoyed the Star Ocean anime (based off of 2) quiet a bit to.

Edited July 7, 2009 by nectarsis

[Wanzerfan]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Star Ocean games...2 is a top 5 rpg of all time for me, follwed by 1, and 3 (prob won't ever play the 360 game sadly).

P.S. I actually enjoyed the Star Ocean anime (based off of 2) quiet a bit to.

Didn't know there was an anime. Does the story rehash the events of Blue Sphere or is it a retelling of The Second Story?

While waiting for the answer...

I just read Lymle's in-game bio in The Last hope and found something interesting. She has something in common with a certain Marvel Comics character (You Alpha Flight readers will know what I mean). The only hint I'll give is that he's a certain dwarf with a gigantic "P" on his chest.

[Gui]

[...]

P.S. I actually enjoyed the Star Ocean anime (based off of 2) quiet a bit to.

I also enjoyed it: there was some funny moments

Never played any of the games though: is Till the End of Time a good start or should I buy a PSP instead?

[Duke Togo]

I tried playing The Second Story way back when it came out on the PSX (actually got it the day it came out), but I just couldn't get into it. I have some friends who really dig the series, though. Just not my cup of tea.

[Dio]

I also enjoyed it: there was some funny moments

Never played any of the games though: is Till the End of Time a good start or should I buy a PSP instead?

Till the End of Time was a great play-through, but.... damn. First RPG to ever take me 62 hours to get all the way through, and that was without any experience grinding or pursuing optional side quests/trying to gain rare items. I even skipped getting an entire main character (not sure how it happened).

After about the first 50 hours the game takes a SHOCKING twist, the kind that amount to the writers giving me a giant middle finger (Family Guy reference there). After that point I just sort of felt like I needed to complete it for the sake of finishing what I'd started, unfortunately. The game literally takes you through the ages, from medieval to modern to futuristic and beyond - I suppose the title is quite appropriate in that regard.

Mechanically, the game is awesome. I loved the real-time aspect of the battles (I'm a die-hard Valkyrie Profile fan) and it remained engaging through the entire course of the game without becoming monotonous or overly complicated. The story, aside from the M. Night Shyamalan style twist toward the end, remains quite interesting and has some great characters along the way.

[Gui]

OK, thanks: maybe I'll give it a try then...

[shiroikaze]

I hated the anime's ending...

But anyway, Star Ocean Till the End of Time is a great starting point if you're new to the games. Word of advice: Try not to skip too many battles, you will get your butt handed to you when the time comes.

Mechanically, the game is awesome. I loved the real-time aspect of the battles (I'm a die-hard Valkyrie Profile fan) and it remained engaging through the entire course of the game without becoming monotonous or overly complicated. The story, aside from the M. Night Shyamalan style twist toward the end, remains quite interesting and has some great characters along the way.

"I'm in your game, breaking your 4th walls!"

Although the battles were a load of awesome fun, the distribution of experience made leveling up your other characters outside your main party pretty difficult; even when you swap party members frequently, they seem to be under-leveled sometimes. If you're going up against enemies of pure raping like the Executioners, your weakest member(s) is likely gonna die and you end up either losing or having an uber character since he/she just hoarded all the experience that was meant to be evenly distributed to everyone else .

Though it is pretty damn funny as hell to see a level 12 jump to level 30'ish in one battle...

Edited July 20, 2009 by shiroikaze

[Wanzerfan]

I just got Meracle, and I have to say is that she is an absolute bitch on the battlefield. She is the can of whup-ass as long as you keep her from getting hit (her blindside animation is awesome, by the way). I stuck the HP Boost and Stun Battle Skills onto her set to further tear up the battlefield. It also seems that she's from that timeline's future from what she said on the ferry trip to get the medicine to help Reimi.

The alternate Earth story arc was a nice twist

(Roswell Incedent, anyone?; but ten years after the fact)

. The US Army uniforms and the mirrored Statue of Liberty were dead giveaways.

Right now I'm at the point in the game where the poo has really hit the fan

(Reimi's revelation about the Seeds of Hope)

.

Hopefully I'll be able to aquire a certain red-haired Nedian soon (I'll put her name up here soon, I can't rember it at the moment). I can't wait to see her in action.

If you get this game, don't forget to pick up the stragety guide, for it will really help you out

("Four Tickets for Edge's Pity Party" was rather humorous title)

.

Edit-damned language filter --|-_ .

Edited July 25, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[Wanzerfan]

This is not a double post.

It's official. Mericle is an absolute bitch.

On the battlefield that is!!!

Her Blindsides will guarantee that some enemy will get a case of Cat Scratch Fever (without the painful urination ), and her combos are over the top. If you get into a fight with her, it's a good bet that you will have a new a$$hole torn into you. Using Lisa Ortiz as the voice is a nice touch.

Completists will have a problem wtih the game if you're going for Achievements as a goody-two shoes, though; you need to pickpocket someone to get the Achievement for completeing all quests (too bad there's no other way to get that thing other than Pickpocking).

Edited August 16, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[JB0]

Till the End of Time was a great play-through, but.... damn. First RPG to ever take me 62 hours to get all the way through, and that was without any experience grinding or pursuing optional side quests/trying to gain rare items. I even skipped getting an entire main character (not sure how it happened).

Pfft. My SO2 clear file is at 172 hours.

Now, to be fair, the final boss one-shotted my party once phase 2 of the battle began. So I turned around and went to the Cave of Trials, with a healthy dose of playing in the Arena sprinkled in for good measure.

When I was done with Trial Cave(which was extremely grindy), I came back and shredded him like ham in a blender.

I don't recall my timer when I initially made it there, but it was still WELL over 60.

In short: tri-Ace is getting lazy.

[bluemax151]

Star Ocean Second Star Story is one of my favourite games of all time. Haven't been too impressed with the newer titles. Maybe I'm too old now or maybe I'm more a fan of traditional RPG gameplay. I picked up the PSP ports but haven't played through them yet but I've got hundreds of hours and like 3 files for SO2 on PS1. The limiter unlock on the boss is pretty insane even at level 250 without good equipment the Earthquake spell can 1 shot your whole party

My favourite parties

Claude

Dias

Ashton

Rena

Claude

Rena

Opera

Bowman

I was never too impressed with the casters as it takes a long time to develop them to the point their mp refresh keeps them casting. I'm still meaning to make a run through with Claude, Rena, Celine and Leon as my party.

[Wanzerfan]

Okay, I'm trying to get Battle Trophies in The Last Hope and I'm running into a problem getting one of Faize's.

How the hell do you blindside two foes at once?

[Wanzerfan]

I just got Sarah into my party and just finished up getting recipies for everyone so far. I'm now at the point of going to planet Aeos and doing the in trip Private Actions.

I'll give an update soon.