Star Ocean

[dan_death]

I've been playing the first Star Ocean, and to tell you the truth, I didn't expect it to be so good! I've always had it but never really played or got into it. Although I'm not done yet, but close to getting there, it doesn't seem to long of a game. The battle system was a lot better then I expected, I like that you can have four in a party, and I also like that you can move around.

I've already started on the second one, and I love it! The battle system is much better, and easier to move. I can't believe I've ignored Star Ocean for so long...

[Satoh]

I have heard the SO2 is the best, but having played SO3, I find it hard to believe... for most of my life, I considered FFVII to be my favorite RPG... I would play it over and over... and over...

then, I bought SO3 on whim... FFVII is no longer my favorite RPG... (and don't worry, the Chrono series is in the top 3)

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I'm actually playing Star Ocean for the first time through, too!  So far I've got Ratix, Ilia, Ashlay, and Joshua...  I'm Level 38 and I just beat the Temple of Parj (where I met the three runes)... 

Anywho, yeah, the game is great.  Definitely one of the greats of the SNES-era.

And concerning the Star Ocean series, Star Ocean 2 would easily be MY personal favorite.  The storyline was great and the game was just so much fun... There was definitely a lot to do in that game. 

The Second Story (SO2) was loads better than Till the End of Time (SO3), which, in my opinion, wasn't all that great.  Now I know you liked it, Satoh, and to each his own, but I thought it was a major let down.  I will say that I did like going to several different worlds, however.  I just thought the storyline was really bland until the ending and the overall pacing wasn't all that great.  Also, the locales seemed a little stale (especially one particularly large dungeon).  But don't get me wrong, SO3 wasn't a bad game - not at all.

In fact, I plan on playing through all three games again.  It's been 7-8 years since I've played SO2 and 2 1/2 since SO3, so I may end up finding my reviews different.  After all, I LOATHED FFIX the first playthrough, but two years later it became my favorite of the PS1-era FF games.

So to sum it up: you should play all three games, dan_death!

[V_Translanka]

I played and loved Star Ocean, it's easily one of the best RPGs in the 16-Bit era (and thus of all time)...Even though I didn't get very far...I ended up starting 3 separate games of it because I couldn't choose how I wanted to go in the FIRST branching point...V_V

I haven't played 2...

I have Till the End of Time...I...don't really like it very much...I hated the stupid A.I. in battles...I shouldn't have to train my other party members not to be complete idiots. I almost think I would have been completely fine if they had just followed me & copied everything I did minus maybe using Items...A.I. doing stupid crap in RPGs has always pissed me off, ever since Seiken Densetsu II/Secret of Mana when the bastards would keep getting caught behind crap and continue to run at the wall in hopes of maybe one day I would input a Walk Through Walls code for them...

As for the Story...well, let's just say that when the story becomes so convoluted & hard to follow that you need an in-game Encyclopedia (I'm also looking at you Xenosaga...>_<) just to try and understand all the BS getting thrown your way...you may be a redneck...or, wait, that's not right, where was I going with this? Star Ocean: Till the End of Time? Right, let me just check the in-game Encyclopedia...

Then again, maybe if someone had told me I could have kept my cool characters if I had just said F-U to Peppita & Roger I would have liked it a little more too...*shrugs* I may try it again if I feel like letting the idiot A.I. give me another brain aneurysm...<_>

The PSP remake of Star Ocean looks cool, though...hooray! Another good PSP game...that's...a remake/port? Oh well, w/e, I guess...>_>

[Satoh]

Haha, I ignored the other characters, I just used Fayt to smack down on things... just like I don in most games...main character > attack attack attack attack attack attack attack attack attack attack dodge attack attack ... and so on...

Hey it worked wonders in Crisis Core as well...

[x_XTacTX_x]

I remember SO2: The Second Story being the best in my opinion... SO3... not so much.

[dan_death]

So far SO2 is my favorite too  But I still want to get the third one. And after I beat the second one I'm going to see if Star Ocean EX is any good, it's an anime series based on the manga, based on the Second Story.

[x_XTacTX_x]

Really? An anime based on SO2... i'll check that out.

[dan_death]

Really? An anime based on SO2... i'll check that out.

Yeeeeep.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

No!  Don't watch it!  It got cancelled before it was finished!  So unless you want it left uncompleted, don't watch it.  I will say this: it was pretty good, though.

[placidchap]

No!  Don't watch it!  It got cancelled before it was finished!  So unless you want it left uncompleted, don't watch it.  I will say this: it was pretty good, though.

There is something for the stuff I hate thread.  Pirates of the Dark water, anyone? 

[x_XTacTX_x]

If it was cancelled before it was finished, I can always just read the manga...

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Oh snap!  Placidchap shows his true age by bringing up Pirates of the Dark Water!  Now THAT'S old school...

[x_XTacTX_x]

What's Pirates of the Dark Water? Anything with Pirates in it is great by me.


Except Runescape. They put a Pirate stat in, and I was like, "Awesome! Pirate stat!" and then they took it out the same day. Curse them!

[Romana]

I played SO for a while on ZSNES, but it keep freezing. Trying it on my PSP (SNES version again) and it's been working alright so far, I think.

I'm currently playing SO2 the most, though. Enjoying it very much, but there are so many "OMG ARE YOU A COUPLE?! LOL YOU'RE BOTH TURNING RED HAHA" lines that I was sighing a lot and eventually headbutting the PSP. Plus it seems to have the same dialogue problem as SO3 - those absolutely pointless scenes were it goes something like this:

Party member 1: We should go to [dungeon name].
Party member 2: I agree. We should go to [dungeon name].
Party member 3: That is a good idea, we should go.
Party member 1: Alright, so should we go to [dungeon name]?
Party member 2: Yes, I think we should go.

Bla bla bla.

But yeah, SO2 is great so far; I quite like the FP (Friendship Point) system... it allows for some nifty scenes between party members and/or NPCs. But one in Cross was particularly bizarre... where Celine and Rena (well, since I was playing the Rena quest) meet some guy ('Chris') who can't afford the food in a restaurant. You can choose to pay for him (it's like, 10 freakin' G...), and you can re-enter the city to meet him again. He insists on talking to Celine alone (naturally, Rena follows and spies), and we find he's a prince (yep, a prince who couldn't afford 10G?). Turns out his wedding to a princess is about to begin, and he's dragged off by soldiers. Celine and Rena crash the politically-biased wedding and Chris proposes to Celine, whom he met like, 10 minutes ago. She obviously chooses to continue traveling with your party.

I just found it all very weird and dumb.

Anyway, SO3. I liked it. Beautiful graphics, WONDERFUL soundtrack (Motoi Sakuraba's brilliance is one of the reasons I actually bothered to continue playing the game after the difficulty and lack of battle control explanation smacked me around dozens of times). Too bad the script and story are pretty bad, but I actually liked the 4D twist, maybe just because we finally got off that fucking Elicoor II (the stupid, stupid medieval planet where about 65% of the game is spent, and 40 of that 65% in fucking huge boring caves). After you get a hang of the controls and those little secret functions they should have told you about in the first place (% cancel attack chains, anyone?), it is a very fun game, plus the fact the level limit is 255 makes for quite some replayability, especially in the later side-dungeons unlocked after completing the main story.

Best thing about that game: the music in Moonbase. It is so fucking cool.

I wanna play SO3 again.

Oh, about the anime 'Star Ocean EX'... It follows the game nicely enough, but as was mentioned above, it got canceled. Also, it's pretty boring in battle scenes and most of the dialogue. For example, attack scenes will be re-used in pretty much every episode (like Claude's signature sword attack thing).

And it turns out Star Ocean 4 ('The Last Hope') is for the 360. Dammit. Wish I owned one.