I really wish I could like the Star Ocean games as much as the next person, but they keep doing this obnoxious thing where they tease a bunch of sci-fi stuff, and we just end up with generic JRPG land. It's a real shame too because getting a mix of characters you want in your party and having different types of adventures and character endings is super super cool!
Star Ocean always sets itself up to be a Sci-Fi type of RPG, from the original one to here, and while I understand that we eventually get there, the world itself is just so blatantly generic that it's honestly not worth the pay off. I truly mean this as some that as played the first game and the second, I don't think either of them are good, and largely it has to do with no planetary travel and lack of sci-fi elements. For the most part Sci-fi elements are introduced 2/3 the way through the games, and often in a way that can be liked to magic. It really is a mess with how generic literally everything feels about this game, and it makes me sad that we do have some honestly good ideas and basic combat here to work with, but as a story Star Ocean 2 still sucks.
Character wise, Star Ocean 2 does a better job with it's overall cast of characters, and with several characters being missable or only obtainable through certain means, Star Ocean 2 can be a pretty unique experience. While I think that some requirements for certain characters can be more than a chore to get, it certainly is interesting to see your cast grow the way you want it, and if you already have knowledge of how the original worked, you can plan ahead and get the members you want through guides, otherwise it will probably be a headache.
Second Evolution doesn't do much to switch up combat or skill based stuff, and while that means it's familiar, it's also got the same kind of flaws the original does. Some of these skills are just not explained to you very well, are next to useless, or effect your character in such a way that it could be a game changer. The problem mainly being you have to use a guide or experiment with it a lot to get exactly what you want, and while that's neat, once you spend the points, you can't unspend them.
Star Ocean just asks so much out of any given player with all the research and experience you need to play them, and what you get in return is mostly a generic JRPG setting with some sort of sci-fi twist in the end. I'm sure some people love these games very much, but for me they were just tiring, boring, and honestly not worth my time. Cute girls tho.
Star Ocean always sets itself up to be a Sci-Fi type of RPG, from the original one to here, and while I understand that we eventually get there, the world itself is just so blatantly generic that it's honestly not worth the pay off. I truly mean this as some that as played the first game and the second, I don't think either of them are good, and largely it has to do with no planetary travel and lack of sci-fi elements. For the most part Sci-fi elements are introduced 2/3 the way through the games, and often in a way that can be liked to magic. It really is a mess with how generic literally everything feels about this game, and it makes me sad that we do have some honestly good ideas and basic combat here to work with, but as a story Star Ocean 2 still sucks.
Character wise, Star Ocean 2 does a better job with it's overall cast of characters, and with several characters being missable or only obtainable through certain means, Star Ocean 2 can be a pretty unique experience. While I think that some requirements for certain characters can be more than a chore to get, it certainly is interesting to see your cast grow the way you want it, and if you already have knowledge of how the original worked, you can plan ahead and get the members you want through guides, otherwise it will probably be a headache.
Second Evolution doesn't do much to switch up combat or skill based stuff, and while that means it's familiar, it's also got the same kind of flaws the original does. Some of these skills are just not explained to you very well, are next to useless, or effect your character in such a way that it could be a game changer. The problem mainly being you have to use a guide or experiment with it a lot to get exactly what you want, and while that's neat, once you spend the points, you can't unspend them.
Star Ocean just asks so much out of any given player with all the research and experience you need to play them, and what you get in return is mostly a generic JRPG setting with some sort of sci-fi twist in the end. I'm sure some people love these games very much, but for me they were just tiring, boring, and honestly not worth my time. Cute girls tho.
chandler
2 years ago
tl;dr: play so3 and so4