Main game
3.58 average rating based on 354 ratings
this game is one of my childhood faves and i keep coming back to it every once in a while. 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 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 similar to later SO titles (can't speak on earlier ones, haven't gotten around to them). the MP KO "feature" is... maybe not their greatest idea in my opinion but it at least gives a couple funny bosses as a trade-off for your healers/casters dying like flies.
the crafting and other side mechanics are for the most part so incredibly obtuse even a guide struggles to make sense of it, 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).
in …
this game is one of my childhood faves and i keep coming back to it every once in a while. 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 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 similar to later SO titles (can't speak on earlier ones, haven't gotten around to them). the MP KO "feature" is... maybe not their greatest idea in my opinion but it at least gives a couple funny bosses as a trade-off for your healers/casters dying like flies.
the crafting and other side mechanics are for the most part so incredibly obtuse even a guide struggles to make sense of it, 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).
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 outside the animations, 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.
The game that got me into video games.
Star Ocean's transition to 3D and I like this game a lot. Many people were turned off by "the twist," but I didn't have too much of a problem with it (no spoilers). Don't try to 100% this game... battle trophies can eat it.
I got this game along with Shadow Hearts during that very dark time in my life. Up to that point, I pretty much played one game at a time. That was blown completely out of the water. Played quite a bit of this at the time, but coming back to it, I've gotten myself completely stuck. I do still have good memories of it, however.
I finally finished Star Ocean Till the End of Time over the weekend. It's a fun game, but like previous Star Ocean games, I definitely feel like things are obtuse and hard to figure out. Crafting is a random mess. I honestly discovered a battle technique while grinding for the final boss that would have been extremely helpful for the entire game. Kind of silly.
All that said, I still really like the sci-fi meets fantasy concepts in these games and will be excited to play the next one in the series!
I'm getting more into Star Ocean Till the End of Time and something really bothers me. Why the heck do characters die when they run out of MP? You can be casting spells and then some weak enemy does an MP sap attack to you that knocks you from like 3 to 0 and you are dead even at max HP. Dumb.