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.

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 smurf you're meant to be doing.