Do I Need To Play Star Ocean?

[Forsaken Lover]

As in the game, not the series?

I'm looking for new JRPGs to play and for as long as I can remember I've heard a lot about SO from my fellow RPG enthusiasts. It seems there are four games available to play for us Americans but I don't have a PSP so I can't play the remade first game. As such I was planning on just starting with Second Story.

Do I need to play SO1 to understand the plot or setting of the second game?

[Mirage]

Not really. The games are loosely connected. There is a timeline that all the games fit into, but the stories of each game do not depend on knowledge about the events in the other games. There are some things like a character in one game being a relative or distant relative to a character in another game, but these character relationships make no impact on the story in each game. There are also some references to the other games here and there. For example, in SO3 there is a library where you can find a book about sulphur dioxide, or SO2.

[CimminyCricket]

No, you shouldn't need to play it. Star Ocean 2 takes places 20 years after the original, but for the most part you're a new character and, as Mirage said, most of the characters from the first are either referenced or have a brief cameo. I'm not too far into it right now, but I don't think they reference the last game in the story in a way that would leave you wondering what they're talking about.

[Roogle]

I liked the first two Star Ocean games. I would recommend them to anyone who likes Japanese role-playing games from around that time period. I think that type of battle system was completely unique at the time aside from a 2D take on it in the Tales of series. They actually share similar origins, so if you liked early Tales of games like Tales of Phantasia or Tales of Destiny, then you should like Star Ocean just fine.

[black orb]

>>> SO games are nothing special in terms of plot/story so dont get too excited about that part, now if you like real time, free movement battles Star Ocean is your game.:luca:

I recommend SO4, that one is pretty fun..
The first two SO games were pretty good for its time but for this days those games are nothing but a bore.. SO3, I havent played that one yet.

[Jiro]

Star Ocean as a series is pretty okay. Can be fun, and I certainly love the settings.

[CimminyCricket]

SO3 was probably my favourite, closely followed by the first, then the fourth and I haven't finished the second so I can't say if I like it more or not. xD

[Laddy]

I was never impressed too much by the series. It's up to you, though.

[Roogle]

The important thing is that you expect very little aside from a traditional science fiction story. The emphasis is placed more on the gameplay than the story, especially for later entries in the series.

[Wolf Kanno]

SO2 does a pretty good job of telling you what you need to know about SO1 in a brief flashback so it's not terribly important as little of the first game impacts the second. Even then, this only matters if you choose to play as Claude since he's the son of one of the main characters from S01, but once again, the game really doesn't dwell on it much and Claude explains what you need to know in his intro.

SO3 is full of references to the first two games though, so it does make reading the games datalog more interesting when you start reading about time travel (SO1) and Heraldry Magic (SO2) but even that game basically has nothing to do with the first two games.

The plots of the game follow a very simple formula, involving a highly advanced alien race (usually humanity/Earth) coming into contact with a planet that seems stuck in the age of "sword and sorcery" for their civilization levels in the far off future. It is pretty much the premise of the first three games though their are some twists and turns in each one to keep it interesting. Like other people have mentioned, don't play the games for story, they are not awful but they are not the games selling point either. It's all about the gameplay.

[Markus. D]

Avoid SO4. Just, avoid it.

Got to agree with Kanno's last few words. The stories are usually convoluted, or have the plot-points recounted to the point of boredom. Tri-Ace gameplay is something beautiful though.

[chionos]

I was a huge fan of the first SO's, but even I have a hard time going back and playing them now. PS games just haven't aged well, and the first one doesn't seem as interesting as it did when I first played it.

[Dignified Pauper]

I really enjoyed the first two Star Oceans... the third put me off from the series with MP death. I have not played SO4.

[Iceglow]

What one was Star Ocean Til The Ends of Time? Can never remember the numerical value of it but it's the only one I own. It's a fun enough game and the crafting process is time consuming/complicated enough to make me want to cry with rage but yeah once you get the hang of it (I never did get the hang of crafting tbh lol) it's a fun enough game. This post reminds me I need to add that to the list of "never finished" games on my ps2.

[Jiro]

That's the third one. The plot twist in that just kind of makes me weep but it was fun enough. Could benefit from a journal system so you know what the fuck you're meant to be doing.

[Forsaken Lover]

So I settled on SO3 since it was the cheapest game in the series and I didn't want to spend more money on a series I might not even like.

So what were my thoughts on the game? ....that's a tough one to nail down. First I suppose I should mention that I played the game on Earth (Easy) difficulty. I've never played an Action RPG and I had no idea if I'd be any good at it so I decided to be a pussy.

I rather liked the hectic and fast-paced combat for the most part. The major problem I had with it was MP 0 is instant KO. I just don't get that. Why would your MP going to zero make you die? It's just super irritating since the one healing spell in the game only recovers HP so I needed to have a bunch of MP restorative items + the accessory that slowly regens your MP in order to stay alive.

I also had some real problems with the AI freaking out. Like if I set Cliff to Focus Your Attack or whatever he'd just run off in the wrong diection and not attack any of the enemies.

Even with all this I did enjoy battles a lot. No, the things about the gameplay that infuriated me are....

1. STOP. THE. smurfING. BACKTRACKING.

What the hell is this, Resident Evil? I'm used to maybe returning to dungeons for optional tit but who's bright idea was it to make you go through a dungeon then go all the way back out again? How about traveling through the stupid ass dragon mountain dungeon only to be told you had to go all the way back to the Aqueducts to get Glowstone?

Then there's the Aprisforsaken Shrine of Kaddan. I can only assume the level designer was obscenely proud with his creation which was why they made you go through it four smurfing times. I mean it was a nice dungeon, cool music and layout and stuff, but come on. It's like they were trying to abort any attempt at atmosphere.

And the other problem....
2. Underleveled Party Members

What the smurf. I was at like Level 40 when I finally got control of Peppita and Sophia again. They were Level 1. I spent hours grinding them up to decent levels. I eventually just gave up on Sophia and settled for my preferred party of Cliff, Nel and Peppita.

Oh yeah and can't forget them giving you Mirage to control. Why? Who knows. She was pathetically underleveled too.

So with gameplay out of the way, onto the plot.

Yes I kinda had the plot twist spoiled for me. I actually misunderstood it however and figured the video game simulation was all in Fayt's head, not that Fayt himself was a video game character

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first disc of Star Ocean 3 honestly bored me to tears for the most part. Oh there were some good parts but mostly it was just a very typical "there's an Evil Empire of Evil so better stop them" which doesn't exactly enthrall me.

No, the game only really started to pick up when they left Elichoor. The stuff with the Creator, Executioner and 4D Space was easily the highlight of the game as far as the story goes. It's actually a pretty fascinating concept that I enjoyed mulling over. You had the giant, angelic Executioners serving "The Creator" and it all just invokes a very impressive and mystical image. People even contemplate just giving into the will of this Supreme Being.

Then you learn The Creator is just some dude. Letting him kill you be like submitting to the divine rule of Bill Gates.

Anywho, this game's plot isn't anything to write home about and it's not exactly helped by the presentation. The huge gaps of dead space were really unsettling, as were some of the faces.

I also found the sudden turn of Airyglyph from deadly foe to ally very jarring. I get the impression they were trying to pass off most of the kingdom's cruel actions to Vox but the fact is that the king still had say-so in all the deaths that occurred . Having him and the queen just be old chums is very peculiar.

Whatever problems the overall plot had, I liked about half of the cast. Fayt was unremarkable but that's not a bad thing since a lot of JRPG hereos are remarkable in how awful they are.
Cliff was voiced by Dave Wittenberg doing the most awesome "I AM A MAN" voice ever and I just really loved his character in general. Hope he got with Mirage.
In addition to him there was Peppita, voiced by Sherry Lynn AKA Sasami AKA MOMO. That was a very pleasant surprise for me when I first ran into her at the start of the game. Shame you wouldn't see her again for like 25+ hours....

I think the real standout character however is Nel. Wendee Lee did an amazing job voicing her but in terms of actual character, I just really liked her personality. She was a strong, polite and tough soldier who did everything possible for her country. Nevertheless she had a softer sidea which you saw with Clair.
I just wish the game had focused more on her reactions to going into space. I also wish the game had gone more into detail about her faith after all this. Does she still believe in Apris? I was seriously wondering that ever since the reveal.

I get the feeling Maria was supposed to be the female lead but smurf her. When she came into my party she was absolute garbage and I didn't feel like leveling her up. What's more, she seemed like a total bitch in most cutscenes. I was honestly expecting her to end up trying to kill Fayt's dad.

Roger and the others were just kinda there. I don't care if Albel is voiced by Crispin Freeman, they pushed him on me for some really titty dungeon and that's it. his character did not itnerest me at all.

Oh and finally the composer of this game, Sakuraba, was introduced to me via Baten Kaitos. That game had a much better soundtrack but SO3 still had several gems.

My favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSlDUPl7DoA
This song is just so beautiful while also being equally somber. this song should have played more often. As such I mainly remember hearing it in just one town.

Star Ocean 3 Music Soundtracks - Cutting Edge of Notion - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG3AZTfyhbs)
While it's no "True Mirror", very few normal battles songs are that awesome. Even still, this is a badass song and I never got tired of hearing it.

Star Ocean Till The End Of Time - Aquatic Garden Surferio - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKH6mrZFVu0)
Ya know I never actually beat this dungeon. I wandered into it a couple times by mistake and that's it. The music however is frickin' amazing and probably my favorite dungeon theme in the game.

Star Ocean 3 OST - Highbrow - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPjJNGeKmf8)
This might be one instance where SO beats out BK. I think I like this final boss theme more. Luther kinda interested me and I wish we had seen more of him. But man was that boss fight tough. Thank God I played it on Easy or I probably would have never beaten the game.

So my overall opinion of SO3 is that it was fun but man did it have a whole lot of nothing combined with a whole lot of irritating and pointless tit. I was really bad at the game though and just never understood things like Inventing stuff. Plus if I had actually cared enough to level her up Maria is apparently super broken. Alas, I did not like her so what's the point. It was nice to have a party of my favorite characters.

[ReloadPsi]

Play First Departure if you can, despite what's been changed for no good reason it's still a decent remake. I've just played through it for what must be the seventh or eighth time and still managed to have things happen story-wise that I'd never seen before. It's a surprisingly short game but I think it makes up for it in replay value. And don't believe the hate: Ashlay isn't nearly as useless as everyone says he is, especially in the remake.

Incidentally the remakes of 1 and 2, in my opinion, address that one twist in a rather interesting fashion. Welch is in them, but she obviously remembers the events of TTEOT. I think she's playing the remake of the Milky Way galaxy after it was deleted by the executioners... there are even Oracle messages telling the characters outright that they're in a remake ;)

TTEOT's twist really pissed me off the first time I heard of it, and for the longest time I hated it until I noticed how much more loose the fourth wall was in those games than in many others I'd played. Everything works on such a metagame level (item creation, skill points and so on) so TTEOT basically has the characters breaking the fourth wall and moving past it, which I've now come to think is quite awesome. Deadpool would be jealous.