Star Ocean

[MasterDias]

Okay, here's the deal: You have room in your party for seven characters. FIVE are permanent and CANNOT be removed. They are: Fayt, Sophia, Cliff, Mirage, and Ardray, the grey haired guy you mentioned (sp?). The four optional characters are Roger, Nel, Albel, and Peppita.

You forgot Maria...

As far as Robin Wind is concerned, I equipped Wind Charms on my fighters. That lessened the damage from his annoying whirlwind attack.

[Tommy]

Ah yes, I beat Robin Wind because I.....

Used Nel Maria, and Albel.

I had Nel and Maria run off to the corner and switched them to Manual and whenever Albel needed Hp or Mp i`d have nel use healing magic or give him a couple blackberries. I`d continously have Maria use Power Up on Albel.

Unfortunately, Nel got attacked with that whirlwind tewchnique that sucks your MP dry (and hp) and then Albel died.

All that was left was Maria. I pressed circe and shot him whenever I was far away causing him to loose 2000 hp with evety shot and eventually won.

Then I had to go ALL THE way back to Airygyph and stay at the inn get some items and come all the way back. This is also the first time i`ve ever had a character KO'd
because he ran out of Mp, meaning Albel. The whole 'Mp' is as important as 'Hp' really ticks me off.

[Tommy]

Ok, this game just became alot more enjoyable. I don`t know when it happened, but after the Moonbase I started to like the game alot more. i don`t know what it was. The plot thickening, or how I remembered it wasn`t turnbased ( i left it untouched for a while).

I got Pepita in my party. Was that a bad decision? Here are the people the people in my party:

Fayt
Sophia
Cliff
Maria
Albel
Pepita

I hope i didn`t leave anyone hanging. It seems like Pepita is like another mouth to feed because she was 200 hp and everyone else has a range of 4000 to 6000. It was pretty funny fighting that boss battle at Moonbase with Fayt, Maria and Sophia and having the screen read that Sophia got Ten level ups. XD

I know I`m getting Mirage next and I wanted to know if there was a chance i was still getting Adray. Does Mirage have 100 HP too?

And does Star Ocean: Till the end of time refer to second story at all besides in the booklet? Like, is Claude`s name mentioned for defeating the Ten Wise men or is it just in the booklet or what?

[MasterDias]

I got Pepita in my party. Was that a bad decision?

*shrugs*
It's your choice on who to get.

I know I`m getting Mirage next and I wanted to know if there was a chance i was still getting Adray. Does Mirage have 100 HP too?

Adray will force his way into your party at some point after you return to Elicoor. You can't miss him. Mirage will be at level 30 when she joins.

And does Star Ocean: Till the end of time refer to second story at all besides in the booklet? Like, is Claude`s name mentioned for defeating the Ten Wise men or is it just in the booklet or what?

Claude isn't mentioned in the game. No.

[Tommy]

Uh......no its not just in the booklet.

Seond story is hard to find....I WILL FIND IT THOUGH!

[Jman]

I just bought this game and already I love it
cannot wait to play the 2nd game.

[Tommy]

Jman, I just sent a long Pm Message explaining all of Star Ocean to you it said you needed to delete your Pm box so do so. It`s so long I had to save it on to Microsoft Word so clear your Pm box so i can send it! And I have to ask you:

Which Star Ocean game are you playing? Till The End of Time or The Second Story?
Those are the only Star Ocean games that hit the U.S.

[Radical Dreamer]

Gyoo...I couldn't stand Star Ocean III. At first, I was really excited to play it, since I got the 2-disc director's cut version. But...IT'S GOING NOWHERE. The voice acting is some of the worst I've heard, and the music, while pretty, is always covering the voices too much. Pretty good battle system, but the characters could use some definite improvement (I did like Nel...she was pretty cool!) and the storyline was basically just bland. Maybe I hadn't made it far enough into the game, who knows, but I was already in Aquaria, and it just got so boring. I'm thinking about trading it in for the first game in the .Hack series. Am I making a wrong decision here? Does it ever get interesting?? O.o

[Jman]

Till the end of time.

[Tommy]

i haven`t played .Hack but give it another chance. It gets way better. Trade it in when you beat it.

Someone tell them to label "Director`s Cut" on the box so I don`t pay 45$ for it used when i could get the normal version for 29$ used.

[MasterDias]

I thought most of the voice-acting, except for Claire (who was too soft) and Farleen (who was miscast...very badly), was just fine.
Most of them were experienced anime voice-acters.

But, anyhow...
The storyline does pick up somewhat later on with an interesting, but rather controversial, plot twist. Tri-ace games are typically played more for the gameplay and battle-system, rather than the storyline, however.

I wouldn't recommend trading it in for .hack//Infection. Star Ocean is a complete game. Each of the .hack games are only 1/4th of a game in what was a rather poor move by Bandai/Cyberconnect. .hack isn't a bad game but Star Ocean really does has more substance and the battle system is better and not as tedius.

[Radical Dreamer]

Yeah, I know about the .Hack games stretching over 4 different games. But, I don't mind it so much, especially since I can get pre-owned for cheap. I've been rather curious about the series for a while now, and I do enjoy the show, so I thought I'd give it a try...

[Tommy]

Here`s a pic of the cover of the original Star Ocean that was made in 1996 for the SNES.

http://www.inverteddungeon.com/triacesuperfan/so1boxfront.jpg

So the guy with the blue hair is Claud`s father huh? I fail to see the resemblence. Oh yeah, it`s anime!

Actually I think releasing 1/4th of a game was a good move to get more money and more kids upset.

[Spiritsword]

Personally, I've bought the first .Hack game and SO3 and I've enjoyed SO3 much, MUCH more. The storyline gets more interesting, and there are some nice aspects to the game in terms of strategy. Yes, I like the music as well. Has anyone else (without revealing spoilers) beaten *all* the toughest bosses in the game? I gave F...a a good run tonight but after 20 or so minutes of battling came up short. In general the characters in SO2 are more interesting to me than in SO3 but I like the gameplay in SO3 better.

[Tommy]

What`s the gameplay in So2? Is it turnbased?

[Tommy]

Sorry for doubleposting but why is there a screenshot of So1 in English?

http://www.animeboredom.co.uk/Uploads/G ... 051431.jpg

[Tommy]

Sorry for err triple posting, but I have so many questions about Star Ocean that I would appreciate answered:

1. Which is easier, So2 or 3 if you set them on the easisest difficulty rating or just the same?

2. in So2, are there major and minor attacks and a fury gauge or is the battle system completely different? if so, how?

3. Are the graphics for Grandia 1 the same or worse?

4. Which game is overall better?

5. Which storyline is better?

[MasterDias]

1. Which is easier, So2 or 3 if you set them on the easisest difficulty rating or just the same?

In my opinion, Star Ocean 2 is easier. Granted, I haven't compared difficulty levels or anything so...
I've had a tougher time with Star Ocean 3.

2. in So2, are there major and minor attacks and a fury gauge or is the battle system completely different? if so, how?

Major/minor attacks, the fury gauge, AAA shields, and so forth were an invention of Star Ocean 3, I think. It has been a long time since I've played number 2.
In Star Ocean 2, you do have long range/short range moves (you can assign two per character]3. Are the graphics for Grandia 1 the same or worse?[/QUOTE]
About the same.

4. Which game is overall better?

5. Which storyline is better?

Compared to what?

You referenced both Star Ocean 3 and Grandia 1 in your previous questions.

[Tommy]

I meant So3 origianlly but it would be helpful if you compared both because they both rock my socks.

And about that Farlenn voice being miscast I only have one word to say:

Amen.

[Tommy]

Ok, just got Second Story. It took 2 weeks but I`m looking forward to popping it in the PS2.

[Tommy]

Sorry for meh.....tripleposting but I figured it should be known I beat Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time and I love The Second Story. I`m overall not sure which is better, but a few questions...

"Does So2 take place on the underdeveloped planet the whole time?"

And I have to comment on the voice acting.......eh.....Quantestory.....KILL!

The only endings I didn`t see where the ones for Nel and Roger.
Adray`s was kind of funny. But Fayt`s was a horrible way to suposievlly "End The Series". Albel`s was.... were they making fun of his cockiness and strength by having basically take on the lord of the Underworld?

[SPOILER] The ending may have been a good ending but far too corny. [/SPOILER]

[Nate]

Resurrecting threads is fun when you have something important to say.

I was goofing around online today, and found a ROM for Star Ocean. The translation job was bad...basically, the dialogue was translated, but the menus and battle screens were still in Japanese...ugh.

So after googling a bit, I actually came up with a ROM of Star Ocean completely in English. So I'm playing it right now, and a few things impressed me.

1. Voice acting. This was always rare on the Super Nintendo, I can only think of a handful of games with it...so I was taken by surprise when the intro had speech...it wasn't GOOD voice acting (it was pretty bad, in fact), but it was still voice acting, which was impressive.

2. The Star Trek ripoff. Okay, I know, I know, Star Ocean has ALWAYS been a Star Trek ripoff. But to blatantly use the line "going where no man has gone before?" Cheese. XP

3. Ronixis isn't the main character. This shocked me a bit. Granted, you had a choice to start out as Rena in SO2 and be the "primitive" character, but you met Claude right at the beginning of the game. So far I haven't seen any sign of Ronixis or his crew whatsoever, other than the opening. One might even assume the intro has nothing to do with the game at this point.

4. Fellpool? We discussed this earlier, I think. Rattix and Dorn and everyone else I guess are Fellpool...and as such they have pointy ears and a tail. But Leon from SO2 was called a Fellpool, and he had kitty ears, and no tail. Also, he was on Expel, not...whatever planet this is.

5. Combat system. Yup, real time battle. Though it may just be that I don't know what I'm doing, but I can't seem to run around on the battle map freely like in the other two. Is that not possible in this one? I don't know, but anyway...

6. Music. Wow. I'm blown away. The main town theme got a bit annoying, I'll admit, but other than that, the music for this is incredible. Definitely some of the best music I've ever heard in a Super Nintendo game. I'd say it's on par with FFVI and Chrono Trigger...almost.

[Ky Kiske]

I liked the Star Ocean 2 tons more than I did 3.
3 was just a disappointment for the first half but redeemed itself after they got off that lame planet.

Star Ocean was good all the way through and had Ashton and Diaz.

[Radical Dreamer]

Oh m'gosh. I will totally play this game a LITTLE longer. JUST so I can hear the voices of Richard Hayworth (O.O), Johnny Yong Bosch, and Steven Jay Blum. But that's it. Once I hear those voices, that game's getting traded in! XD

[Kisa]

Star Ocean 2nd Story is one of the best games ever created (only about 5 IMHO)\I love everything about it and ... yea ... ^^

[Spiritsword]

Yes, believe Kisa! She recommended SO2 to me and got me hooked, and I'm thankful to this day!

[Nate]

After playing a few more hours, I have a bit more to say.

1. Voice acting: Good. Very good. The only bad voice acting was in the opening scenes...I think maybe they got a computer to do the voices? It just didn't sound right...it was the only part in English. The voices of the actual characters themselves are very good.

2. Skill points seem harder to get in this one. I don't know why. I guess because there isn't a skill that decreases the SP cost to buy other skills (like Perserverance does in SO2).

3. You know, I think I like the characters in this one a BIT better than the ones in SO2. Okay, no one tops Ashton, but overall I mean. Ratix seems to have a much better head on his shoulders than Claude did, and Milly is NOWHERE near as wishy-washy as Rena was. Joshua is really awesome too...though it is kind of a shame that he uses both healing and attack aspects of magic...I like having my healers and attackers separate, magicwise. :\ Still, he's cool. Can't wait to meet the other characters in this game (so far I've only gotten to know Ratix, Milly, Cius, Iria, and Joshua).

That's about all I can say, so far. I really wish someone would make a translation patch for Blue Sphere. ><

[Tommy]

So your favorite character in SO history is obsessed with barrels.

From what I`ve seen, my faorite SO character is Fayt....he was cool. And the voiceacting in SO3 was great.

[Token Asian]

Frankly, I only liked Nel's VA...

But all the bad things aside, all the Star Ocean games had great battles.

[Tommy]

I reached an impossible point on So2 I can`t get past. The Field of Intellegnce I beat but I can`t beat any of the bosses on the others. They`re so hard.