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.
A story twist so bad it retroactively hurts the entire franchise.
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.
One of my favorite RPGs.
Solid gameplay and characters. Has some interesting ideas like MP kills and character recruiting locking.
Excelent dungeons design, good ost and decent plot. But everything else is pretty bad. I didn't like it at all.
Plot twist is the ultimate pleb filter. Tri-Ace is quite literally playing 4D chess.
Unfairly maligned sequel to a beloved classic.
I wish Albel Nox was real so we could marry and have sex
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.
The game that brought me into the series when I was younger! I have alot of nostalgia for this one and when I went back to play it again through the PS4 port, I was instantly reminded why. The soundtrack is one of the best in any JRPG ever, the combat is tough at times but alot of fun, the story is FANTASTIC and yeah, I even love the infamous twist at the end, there's honestly not much I don't enjoy about this title, aside from perhaps some of its difficulty spikes, but I didn't find them too hard to manage after some light grinding. My favorite of the series thus far.
A very interesting concept.
This review contains spoilers
This is likely the most mixed I've ever been on an RPG in my life. This review will largely be disorganized garble since I have a lot to say, but here goes.
Starting with the positives, I thought the story was pretty good? Funnily enough, I think people overreact heavily to the twist of the game, and I still don't really understand how it could possibly contradict the events of the other Star Oceans (Unless proper Gods come into play in future games.). I don't think the twist diminishes the previous games in any sense of the word either, because the story makes it INCREDIBLY evident that the characters in Star Ocean's world are completely sentient without any compromise to that idea. Hell, I think Flad being the one to explain the Eternal Sphere made me enjoy the twist more just because of how much a fucking weirdo he was. With that all said, much of the ending is very incomprehensible, when it basically just boils down to "The Eternal Sphere is now legitimately its own universe now."
I found myself enjoying the characters quite a bit as well, with 2 core exceptions, and not being big on those characters does hurt the game a lot due to their importance. Star Ocean's track record with male protagonists have been very half and half for me so far. You're either Roddick and you're the most generic character I've ever seen, or you're Claude C. Kenny who I've grown to respect as a character a fair bit over time. Fayt lies somewhere in the middle. I don't think he's generic like Roddick, but he never quite gained his footing in the way I felt that Claude did. I don't dislike Fayt, but he really didn't do it for me as a protag. Meanwhile, Sophia as a female lead just kind of annoys me? She felt very absent of character, and it felt like the very much substituted character importance for character growth.
Everyone else I really did like though. Cliff basically carried the story for me all the way until Albel joins. Maria is cool. I get the appeal of Nel even though I'm not as big on her as other people are. Mirage is cool, but should've joined the party earlier. Peppita is wonderful. I expected myself to DESPISE Roger, but he ended up one of my favorites. Adray is a psy-op of a party member and you can't tell me other wise, but I love him for that.
This is probably the best Star Ocean OST I've heard so far. Star Ocean 2 still has my favorite tracks in the series, but as far as consistently good songs go, this one has a definitive edge.
And now we get to the negatives, and hoooooo boy. I'm gonna be frank, the battle system was too much for me. Lategame enemies scale too quickly. Party member levels don't scale at ALL. Party AI is just blatantly bad unless your name is Roger for some reason?????? Boss fights were painfully easy until the difficulty spike right at the end of disc 1. Normal encounters were often harder than the actual bosses in a very not fun way. It got to the point where I legitimately had to use an EXP boost cheat to make the lategame more fun.
In regards to cheating, I don't know what madman thought the creation system in the game was even adjacent to a good idea, but I hope that they learned their lesson, because it's baaaaaaaad. It should not cost more to forge an item than to buy it in any rpg with a crafting system. Cooking becomes worthless as a result, because the whole point of cooking in previous games was to be able to stock up on a ton of healing items in a cost efficient manner. It was to make dungeon exploration more fun and allow for the harder encounters to exist, as there becomes little punishment for struggling in a random encounter. I cheated max creation stats onto Fayt and disabled item costs for this reason, because this mechanic is so unfun, that I just said screw it, and chose to bypass what I felt was the least fun part of the entire game.
That long rant over, aside from my issues with getting turned around and feeling like the game is pretty terrible with directions (something I think a lot of PS2 and PS1 era RPGs have issue with), that's really the gist of my problems with the game. It unfortunately means I have it rated lowest out of the Star Ocean games, but I do still like the game. Its characters, story and music do a lot of heavy lifting for it, and sometimes the gameplay can be fun when you do actually figure it out. I can definitely understand people who love this game to death and people who despise it as well. Ultimately, I'm somewhere in the middle, leaning towards liking, obviously. It did burn me out though, so I doubt I'll be touching the post-game of this one.
Starting with the positives, I thought the story was pretty good? Funnily enough, I think people overreact heavily to the twist of the game, and I still don't really understand how it could possibly contradict the events of the other Star Oceans (Unless proper Gods come into play in future games.). I don't think the twist diminishes the previous games in any sense of the word either, because the story makes it INCREDIBLY evident that the characters in Star Ocean's world are completely sentient without any compromise to that idea. Hell, I think Flad being the one to explain the Eternal Sphere made me enjoy the twist more just because of how much a fucking weirdo he was. With that all said, much of the ending is very incomprehensible, when it basically just boils down to "The Eternal Sphere is now legitimately its own universe now."
I found myself enjoying the characters quite a bit as well, with 2 core exceptions, and not being big on those characters does hurt the game a lot due to their importance. Star Ocean's track record with male protagonists have been very half and half for me so far. You're either Roddick and you're the most generic character I've ever seen, or you're Claude C. Kenny who I've grown to respect as a character a fair bit over time. Fayt lies somewhere in the middle. I don't think he's generic like Roddick, but he never quite gained his footing in the way I felt that Claude did. I don't dislike Fayt, but he really didn't do it for me as a protag. Meanwhile, Sophia as a female lead just kind of annoys me? She felt very absent of character, and it felt like the very much substituted character importance for character growth.
Everyone else I really did like though. Cliff basically carried the story for me all the way until Albel joins. Maria is cool. I get the appeal of Nel even though I'm not as big on her as other people are. Mirage is cool, but should've joined the party earlier. Peppita is wonderful. I expected myself to DESPISE Roger, but he ended up one of my favorites. Adray is a psy-op of a party member and you can't tell me other wise, but I love him for that.
This is probably the best Star Ocean OST I've heard so far. Star Ocean 2 still has my favorite tracks in the series, but as far as consistently good songs go, this one has a definitive edge.
And now we get to the negatives, and hoooooo boy. I'm gonna be frank, the battle system was too much for me. Lategame enemies scale too quickly. Party member levels don't scale at ALL. Party AI is just blatantly bad unless your name is Roger for some reason?????? Boss fights were painfully easy until the difficulty spike right at the end of disc 1. Normal encounters were often harder than the actual bosses in a very not fun way. It got to the point where I legitimately had to use an EXP boost cheat to make the lategame more fun.
In regards to cheating, I don't know what madman thought the creation system in the game was even adjacent to a good idea, but I hope that they learned their lesson, because it's baaaaaaaad. It should not cost more to forge an item than to buy it in any rpg with a crafting system. Cooking becomes worthless as a result, because the whole point of cooking in previous games was to be able to stock up on a ton of healing items in a cost efficient manner. It was to make dungeon exploration more fun and allow for the harder encounters to exist, as there becomes little punishment for struggling in a random encounter. I cheated max creation stats onto Fayt and disabled item costs for this reason, because this mechanic is so unfun, that I just said screw it, and chose to bypass what I felt was the least fun part of the entire game.
That long rant over, aside from my issues with getting turned around and feeling like the game is pretty terrible with directions (something I think a lot of PS2 and PS1 era RPGs have issue with), that's really the gist of my problems with the game. It unfortunately means I have it rated lowest out of the Star Ocean games, but I do still like the game. Its characters, story and music do a lot of heavy lifting for it, and sometimes the gameplay can be fun when you do actually figure it out. I can definitely understand people who love this game to death and people who despise it as well. Ultimately, I'm somewhere in the middle, leaning towards liking, obviously. It did burn me out though, so I doubt I'll be touching the post-game of this one.
One of the dumbest stories and plot twists in all of gaming... retroactively makes everything, including its own franchise, much worse.
Battle system is alright, and breaking the HP limit back then was pretty neat... dying when losing all your MP not so much...
Story, characters, and voice acting range from bad to god awful. Music is good though.
The plot twist through the ending of the game really soured me on the entire experience and pissed me off. I hated it by the end and will never revisit it... nor do I recommend anyone, even diehard JRPG fans, play it.
Battle system is alright, and breaking the HP limit back then was pretty neat... dying when losing all your MP not so much...
Story, characters, and voice acting range from bad to god awful. Music is good though.
The plot twist through the ending of the game really soured me on the entire experience and pissed me off. I hated it by the end and will never revisit it... nor do I recommend anyone, even diehard JRPG fans, play it.
Fun game, very ahead of its time. Some aspects are outdated but I found the confusing dungeon design, choices, plot twists, and inventing system very gripping
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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
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
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
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
best star ocean game and its not even good
ive never been more confused if i loved or hated a game in my life
A very fun game
Okay. Here's a controversial one. Game is a classic and all and it has a lot of little details, some good music, some nice plot, especifically the earlier parts... but it's full of nuances and problems impossible to ignore. It's not a bad game, but neither a good one.
the 3rd title in the classic JRPG series, it takes the familiar trappings of both Star Trek and medieval fantasy to create a pretty entertaining product. It is infamous for a plot twist, and the divisive reaction was warranted.
Played: May 2021
Everything in this write-up is wrapped around the MASSIVE SPOILER. Skip if you want to experience it for yourself.
To date, this is the only Star Ocean I've played. I picked it up in high school, made it up through The Twist™, and then fell off through no fault of the game's own. If you need a reminder, the big reveal is that your characters find out they are… in a video game. It's vague on the mechanics, but essentially you are a computer program, and your creators, "4D beings", want to wipe you out with anti-virus software. Silly, bizarre, and mind blowing to a teenager. The twist lingered with me for so long that 15 years later, I forced some free time into my life to see how it ended. My big question was "how does everyone in the story contend with having their reality so thoroughly upended"?
And in asking that question, I put in stark contrast the things that mattered to me in storytelling as a teenager vs now as an adult.
Because, unfortunately, the answer turned out to be "they treat it like any other JRPG existential threat". 4D beings are just a different form of the world-ending antagonist. I didn't expect the game to completely change its battle system or mode of play once you interact with your creators (although, how neat would that have been!?), but even in the story as-told-through-cutscenes, it's a dud. As a teen, the twist alone was enough to get me excited and call it a day. Now, while I still find the idea fun, the lack of real psychological impact on the characters really drops the ceiling. Our heroes are just so steadfast that they "believe in themselves" through the whole ordeal with no scars to show for it. I give some credit to the melancholy nature of the endings that I got (there are multiple), but I wanted a more thoughtful reaction than just a loud proclamation of "No! Our lives do matter!". Not asking for Satoshi Kon levels of psychic collapse, but this was just so underwhelming.
This is a symptom of the larger character writing in the game, particularly the dialogue. The way they speak in this game conjures the image of an inexperienced writer trying to recall the way characters in their favorite sci-fi fantasy stories talk. Video games and JRPGs everywhere bristle with clunky dialogue and awkward turns of phrases, but there's a lack of personality to Till The End of Time that stuck out. There's little sense of interiority to anyone as human beings. Rather, the words put into their mouths serve to either force out a conflict, or neatly summarize a theme, or deliver exposition, or inject a clumsy attempt at personality. I describe it as being top-down, where you know what a scene needs to do, you have the general adjectives to describe your characters, and you know where an arc needs to go -- but you stumble your way through connecting all those dots. You're backing into what you're going for, instead of organically giving your characters life to get there. Also, a lot of the lines are just woefully clumsy and redundant -- fresh on my mind is Fayt waking up after a catastrophic event surrounded by his comrades, with 4 of them saying different variations of "took you long enough!", despite not having established that sort of playful relationship with him and despite the gravity of their circumstance. I'm sure much of that had to do with voice acting production, but it still hit the ear all wrong.
It's always fun to think about what mattered to me as a kid vs now. Back then, it was all about plot, lore, design, cool factor, and the broad strokes of character. Those things can still matter, but now I firmly prioritize characterization, texture, specificity, and point of view. I love a lot of JRPGs and shonen anime, but the ones that speak to me sing with personality, while the ones like Star Ocean 3 come off as joyless. For example, there was so much fun to be had when Nel, a ninja from a medieval planet, learns about the existence of more advanced civilizations -- and then the rug gets pulled out again when she learns that she's just an artificial intelligence program! Can you imagine how interesting it could've been to really delve into someone having their reality overturned 2 to 3 times in such a short span? Instead we get some snippets and grumbles of "Hmm, I don't understand what's going on, but I'll stick with the main character because I am a Loyal Warrior™". To go back to the twist again, all the characters' reactions are collectively the same. There's no meaningful distinction between how Maria vs Fayt vs Cliff react to this existentially devastating revelation. The game had such a cool kaleidoscope in its hands to view everyone's thoughts on free will and the human soul. Would've loved to see everyone splitting apart, dealing with it differently, maybe a time skip, and then coming back together. Or any number of variations. Man, this could've been a wild ride.
Still glad I went back to it. It was worth comparing and contrasting my high school and current selves' wants and needs from art. I didn't touch on much of the gameplay, which I think is so-so? It would be unfair to critique, because that wasn't what I was here to engage with. I'll give narrative props for choosing to make the enemies significantly more tough once 4D beings are introduced, but in execution that led to other frustrations. Lots of neat things on paper, and lots of stumbling on the actual trail. I enjoyed the beginnings of many story beats and the prospect of every new world, but I wished to see a lot more planets, too. All in all, the game had a lower ceiling than the boundless promise of a great subtitle like "Till The End Of Time".
Everything in this write-up is wrapped around the MASSIVE SPOILER. Skip if you want to experience it for yourself.
To date, this is the only Star Ocean I've played. I picked it up in high school, made it up through The Twist™, and then fell off through no fault of the game's own. If you need a reminder, the big reveal is that your characters find out they are… in a video game. It's vague on the mechanics, but essentially you are a computer program, and your creators, "4D beings", want to wipe you out with anti-virus software. Silly, bizarre, and mind blowing to a teenager. The twist lingered with me for so long that 15 years later, I forced some free time into my life to see how it ended. My big question was "how does everyone in the story contend with having their reality so thoroughly upended"?
And in asking that question, I put in stark contrast the things that mattered to me in storytelling as a teenager vs now as an adult.
Because, unfortunately, the answer turned out to be "they treat it like any other JRPG existential threat". 4D beings are just a different form of the world-ending antagonist. I didn't expect the game to completely change its battle system or mode of play once you interact with your creators (although, how neat would that have been!?), but even in the story as-told-through-cutscenes, it's a dud. As a teen, the twist alone was enough to get me excited and call it a day. Now, while I still find the idea fun, the lack of real psychological impact on the characters really drops the ceiling. Our heroes are just so steadfast that they "believe in themselves" through the whole ordeal with no scars to show for it. I give some credit to the melancholy nature of the endings that I got (there are multiple), but I wanted a more thoughtful reaction than just a loud proclamation of "No! Our lives do matter!". Not asking for Satoshi Kon levels of psychic collapse, but this was just so underwhelming.
This is a symptom of the larger character writing in the game, particularly the dialogue. The way they speak in this game conjures the image of an inexperienced writer trying to recall the way characters in their favorite sci-fi fantasy stories talk. Video games and JRPGs everywhere bristle with clunky dialogue and awkward turns of phrases, but there's a lack of personality to Till The End of Time that stuck out. There's little sense of interiority to anyone as human beings. Rather, the words put into their mouths serve to either force out a conflict, or neatly summarize a theme, or deliver exposition, or inject a clumsy attempt at personality. I describe it as being top-down, where you know what a scene needs to do, you have the general adjectives to describe your characters, and you know where an arc needs to go -- but you stumble your way through connecting all those dots. You're backing into what you're going for, instead of organically giving your characters life to get there. Also, a lot of the lines are just woefully clumsy and redundant -- fresh on my mind is Fayt waking up after a catastrophic event surrounded by his comrades, with 4 of them saying different variations of "took you long enough!", despite not having established that sort of playful relationship with him and despite the gravity of their circumstance. I'm sure much of that had to do with voice acting production, but it still hit the ear all wrong.
It's always fun to think about what mattered to me as a kid vs now. Back then, it was all about plot, lore, design, cool factor, and the broad strokes of character. Those things can still matter, but now I firmly prioritize characterization, texture, specificity, and point of view. I love a lot of JRPGs and shonen anime, but the ones that speak to me sing with personality, while the ones like Star Ocean 3 come off as joyless. For example, there was so much fun to be had when Nel, a ninja from a medieval planet, learns about the existence of more advanced civilizations -- and then the rug gets pulled out again when she learns that she's just an artificial intelligence program! Can you imagine how interesting it could've been to really delve into someone having their reality overturned 2 to 3 times in such a short span? Instead we get some snippets and grumbles of "Hmm, I don't understand what's going on, but I'll stick with the main character because I am a Loyal Warrior™". To go back to the twist again, all the characters' reactions are collectively the same. There's no meaningful distinction between how Maria vs Fayt vs Cliff react to this existentially devastating revelation. The game had such a cool kaleidoscope in its hands to view everyone's thoughts on free will and the human soul. Would've loved to see everyone splitting apart, dealing with it differently, maybe a time skip, and then coming back together. Or any number of variations. Man, this could've been a wild ride.
Still glad I went back to it. It was worth comparing and contrasting my high school and current selves' wants and needs from art. I didn't touch on much of the gameplay, which I think is so-so? It would be unfair to critique, because that wasn't what I was here to engage with. I'll give narrative props for choosing to make the enemies significantly more tough once 4D beings are introduced, but in execution that led to other frustrations. Lots of neat things on paper, and lots of stumbling on the actual trail. I enjoyed the beginnings of many story beats and the prospect of every new world, but I wished to see a lot more planets, too. All in all, the game had a lower ceiling than the boundless promise of a great subtitle like "Till The End Of Time".