Be warned, there is an infamously terrible plot twist in this game. Besides that, this is a great ARPG. At this time SO was doing combat way better then tales imo.
Lots and lots of content in this game: 3 post game dungeons, extra difficulties, battle trophies, etc. AN RPG WITH A SKIP CUTSCENE BUTTON FINALLY.
Lots and lots of content in this game: 3 post game dungeons, extra difficulties, battle trophies, etc. AN RPG WITH A SKIP CUTSCENE BUTTON FINALLY.
I wish Albel Nox was real so we could marry and have sex
Unfairly maligned sequel to a beloved classic.
Plot twist is the ultimate pleb filter. Tri-Ace is quite literally playing 4D chess.
Excelent dungeons design, good ost and decent plot. But everything else is pretty bad. I didn't like it at all.
Solid gameplay and characters. Has some interesting ideas like MP kills and character recruiting locking.
One of my favorite RPGs.
This is the proto-Star Ocean The Last Hope : the dialogue, the writting, level design, game design... there's flaws everywhere.
The soundtrack is great tho.
The soundtrack is great tho.
A story twist so bad it retroactively hurts the entire franchise.
So I'll admit to some bias here. When I got this game as a kid, I had never played a Star Ocean game and I was under the impression that this game would take place across a bunch of different planets, similar to KotOR. Instead the game takes place almost entirely on a generic medieval fantasy planet. I was not pleased. The gameplay is nothing particularly memorable, and the end of the game features the dumbest twist in video game history.
This was a better video game made by people in a place at a certain point in time. Battle system was fun and spamming strong moves is as fun as ever and the story was actually pretty cool. I like the plot twist and Maria is a good character and I think that's the only memorable part about the game aside from the ending being pretty good. "I think, therefore I am" ass bitch lmao
Despite the good, the game has some of the worst enemy design ever. I hate those disk 2 enemies sometimes dawg they are so fucking shit annoying to fight
Despite the good, the game has some of the worst enemy design ever. I hate those disk 2 enemies sometimes dawg they are so fucking shit annoying to fight
Pretty good story with one of the weirdest battle systems ever. Cheesing everything is necessary to beat anything, luckily it's really easy. The twist is also definitely bot something I was expecting
changed a lot about what really makes star ocean for me, so its a bit on the iffy side but even then it has its great moments
once again, tri-ace totally blows their previous work out of the water and then some. the controversy surrounding so3 is not only a testament to how little jrpg fans should generally be trusted, but also a head-scratching reminder of how little they tend to value gameplay in their games
there's a solid sci-fi plot here with fun characters and some really neat developments especially in the second half, but i'd imagine it all being very fatiguing if not for the ridiculously addictive battle system. the story hits a lot of arbitrary roadblocks frequently; simple errands have a tendency to turn into ordeals spanning several dungeons. is this a pace-breaker? no, because with the promise of new areas to explore comes many more bosses, and tons more gameplay... see where i'm going with this?
oh, and shout out to these guys' ambitions. seriously, a large chunk of what i love about this game is how fuckin' weird and unique it is. a little jagged in places for sure (the models aren't great, voice acting's madly inconsistent, and the airyglyph vs aquios politics could certainly be more engaging) but those are just small blemishes on what's ultimately a damn good, heartful arpg that deserves WAY more credit than it tends to get
there's a solid sci-fi plot here with fun characters and some really neat developments especially in the second half, but i'd imagine it all being very fatiguing if not for the ridiculously addictive battle system. the story hits a lot of arbitrary roadblocks frequently; simple errands have a tendency to turn into ordeals spanning several dungeons. is this a pace-breaker? no, because with the promise of new areas to explore comes many more bosses, and tons more gameplay... see where i'm going with this?
oh, and shout out to these guys' ambitions. seriously, a large chunk of what i love about this game is how fuckin' weird and unique it is. a little jagged in places for sure (the models aren't great, voice acting's madly inconsistent, and the airyglyph vs aquios politics could certainly be more engaging) but those are just small blemishes on what's ultimately a damn good, heartful arpg that deserves WAY more credit than it tends to get
this game is one of my childhood faves and i keep coming back to it every once in a while (current tally: 9 playthroughs). it's wonky in spots and pretty solid in others but it's also just really unique in a lot of ways.
i found the characters really likeable and fun even if they're frequently not very well-written, and the plot is... something. without spoiling, this game is kind of (in)famous for having what i've frequently seen described as "a plot aneurysm" partway through. it's really fun to experience if you're down for weird jrpg story stuff.
combat-wise, it's pretty straightforward and somewhat similar to other SO titles. the MP KO "feature" is... an interesting idea, and it at least gives a couple funny bosses as a trade-off for your healers/casters dying like flies until you figure out how to wrangle the system.
the crafting and other side mechanics are for the most part so incredibly obtuse even a guide struggles to make sense of them, but the good news is that you don't strictly need them to finish the game (even if it might make 1-2 spots a tad easier and/or trivial if you cheese stuff). the other good news is that if you do figure them out, you feel like a genius and you can trivialize everything except the post-game if you so wish.
in terms of visuals, i like most of the character design even if, again, it sometimes goes in... interesting directions. the graphics were pretty dang good for ps2 at the time and still don't hold up too bad, honestly.
as for the audio, it has the same sound effect set as other games in the series, and the usual OST by motoi sakuraba who is having the time of his life banging on his synth. i'm so happy for him.
i found the characters really likeable and fun even if they're frequently not very well-written, and the plot is... something. without spoiling, this game is kind of (in)famous for having what i've frequently seen described as "a plot aneurysm" partway through. it's really fun to experience if you're down for weird jrpg story stuff.
combat-wise, it's pretty straightforward and somewhat similar to other SO titles. the MP KO "feature" is... an interesting idea, and it at least gives a couple funny bosses as a trade-off for your healers/casters dying like flies until you figure out how to wrangle the system.
the crafting and other side mechanics are for the most part so incredibly obtuse even a guide struggles to make sense of them, but the good news is that you don't strictly need them to finish the game (even if it might make 1-2 spots a tad easier and/or trivial if you cheese stuff). the other good news is that if you do figure them out, you feel like a genius and you can trivialize everything except the post-game if you so wish.
in terms of visuals, i like most of the character design even if, again, it sometimes goes in... interesting directions. the graphics were pretty dang good for ps2 at the time and still don't hold up too bad, honestly.
as for the audio, it has the same sound effect set as other games in the series, and the usual OST by motoi sakuraba who is having the time of his life banging on his synth. i'm so happy for him.
If you care too much about the story and plot this game is not for you.
If you think the most important thing for a videogame is its gameplay, mechanics and mood then you would love it.
One of the most time consuming offline games if you want to 100% it 500h+, could be top three JRPG for PS2.
If you think the most important thing for a videogame is its gameplay, mechanics and mood then you would love it.
One of the most time consuming offline games if you want to 100% it 500h+, could be top three JRPG for PS2.
This review contains spoilers
If anything, Star Ocean: Til the End of Time was the first in the series to feature extensive science fiction themes, as opposed to the previous two game's fleeting plot devices. But the complete removal of the skill system in favor of its own convoluted and uninteresting invention system left much to be desired, even though the engaging combat system's dramatic overhaul rewarded creativity instead of tedious repetition. The generic soundtrack, uninspired characters, horrific graphics, and laughable voice-acting prevailed here, despite the surprising meta twist. Maybe the skill system was all the series had going for it.
I love this game and am blinded by nostalgia for it, but I can recognize its flaws, especially in regards to the story and its ramifications on the series as a whole. Even still, I still enjoy it quite a bit, though Peppita's voice makes me want to strangle her.
Great game if you ignore how dumb the story is... which is admittedly pretty difficult.
I think the twist could have actually been used in an interesting way, but it probably wasn't a great idea to try it in an established series.
I think the twist could have actually been used in an interesting way, but it probably wasn't a great idea to try it in an established series.