Customer Reviews

Star Ocean Till the End of Time

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Star Ocean is finally here, the game that we've been waiting for and an RPG that sparks a lot of interest in ways unimaginable. Surprisingly enough, the game is fairly addictive with the themes of a good RPG right off the bat, a good story, loveable characters and a grand battle system.

Star Ocean is a more science fiction like RPG. To put it simple, if you like RPGs and Star Trek, I don't need to tell you to get this game, chances are you'll already have it.

Star Ocean begins with Fayt, a boy staying at a hotel resort with his parents and childhood friend Sophia. Everything is going nice and well until the resort is suddenly attacked by starships. Fayt and company end up having to evacuate the resort but ultimately Fayt is separated from those he loves. Now he is stranded on an unknown planet to fend for himself and find his friends. It starts off nice and simple but as the game goes on the story developes more and becomes a bit more complex than it sounds.

Star Ocean is a little different from the traditional RPG. It eliminates random battles and instead you can see all the enemies running around on the field. Each time you touch an enemy you initiate combat and this is where Star Ocean is the most interesting. The other interesting tid-bit is that its all real time battle, and free roaming. When in battle you can run around as one of three characters freely either dodging attacks or blocking them. This makes the game more fun than it actually sounds.

In battle, each character has a "Fury" gauge. When at 100% the character can attack swiftly without fail, and block certain attacks. The more "fury" you have the more success you'll have in combat. If your characters fury guage reaches 0 then they can't attack. Luckily, the fury gauge fills up very fast when you stand still. You're also not limited to just one character. You can switch from one character to another any time you wish.

Each character also gets "Symbology" which is Star Ocean's form of magic. The magic is diverse in terms of how much there is and what they do (stun enemies, deal wide areas of damage etc.). Some skills cost more than others but its an RPG I'm sure you knew this.

Battles are fun but the game is a challenge. Especially bosses which can be unforgiving at times. It's easy to pick up the battle system, but it could take a moment to master. Dungeons are also overly populated with enemies. This wouldn't be so bad if the dungeons weren't so big, and if the number of items you could carry weren't so limited.

Star Ocean also has an "inventors" system. Each character, playable and non-playable, create inventions based on what they're best at. Some characters are best at cooking and make several different foods. Others are good at smithing and create useful weapons. When an item is "invented" it becomes available to buy. Some characters will create some pretty useless things but it makes the game bigger.

Star Ocean also features a system in which the characters have a hidden attribute as to how much they like you. Depending on the decisions you make will alter what the characters think of you and will also give you a different ending.

The game looks beautiful. Not quite as good looking as previous PS2 games before it, but those who liked the look and feel of Xenosaga will feel right at home. The games graphics look a little anime style with the big eyes and the multitudes of hair. The game is simply gorgeous.

The game also sounds really good. The voice acting is top-notch for a video game and the character voices go along quite well at times. The overall music isn't bad but takes a while to get used to. Not quite as deep as other games but it suits the situation just fine.

The game has A LOT of dialogue and the cutscenes are long but luckily you can skim though most of it without having to listen to each character word for word. If you read faster than the characters actually speak you might want to just turn off the talking all together. You can also skip cutscenes, but at least the game isn't as drowned out in dialogue as several other games out there (Xenosaga anyone?).

Star Ocean is a pretty good game overall. It has a few small problems but as far as games go, it stand above many out there. If you're an avid RPGer you might want to get this game and try it out.

The Good
+Beautiful Graphics
+Voices are pretty well done
+Battling is more interactive and fun
+Good music
+Good storyline
+The game will keep you busy for a while

The Bad
-Dungeons are ridiculously huge
-A lot of talking, making the story pace a little slow
-Most of the gameplay is spent leveling up your characters as opposed to actually advancing the storyline

I, being lucky enough to live a scant 45 minutes by public transport from Den-den Town in Osaka, did go to the Star Ocean III exhibition in front of the Sofmap. The demos had a selection screen at the start - skip cut scenes, mono/stereo sound, the infamous difficulty levels (Earth, Galaxy, and Universe), and about three other selections - curiously enough ALL listed in English with Japanese explanations down in the lower right. Good to see that the folks at Tri-Ace were thinking ahead for the English release.

The demo starts out with the main character, Fate, talking with his friend Sophia inside a seaside resort hotel. When they're done talking, you get to go out into the main lobby and explore the main hotel area. I, not knowing where specifically I was supposed to go, went downstairs to the beach, ran into Fate's parents at the beach, then went back inside. Souffle, the cutesy gypsy child, had an equally cute voice, yet blessedly not too terribly annoying. Shades of an early Private Action ensued. After she cheerfully signed the bottom of Fate's shirt with her name and picture (to which Fate freaked about, since Souffle signed on the BACK of his shirt) and was convinced that Fate and Souffle weren't thieves or stalkers, she gave them free tickets to her troupe's show.

After that, you go into the game rooms for battle simulation practice. The tutorial is beautifully done, and my only regret was that I had to skip through it in order to cram in as much playtime as possible. It was just as well - anyone who's played Star Ocean II will pick up on the commands supremely quickly. Circle does a regular attack - X seems to do a bonus attack of some sort, R allows you to switch between Fate and Sophia. Sophia's physical attack power, incidentally, is totally non-existent (she's the stereotypical obligatory healing magikul girl), so I stuck with Fate while fighting.

The upper right corner of the screen had an incredibly handy map - blue spots were your controlled characters, red spots were the enemies (or vice versa - can't remember which right off hand), so even if you can't see one of your allies, you know if they are getting swarmed. The Heat-up bar did SOMETHING, but heaven knows I couldn't read what fast enough. It broke during one of my tutorial fights, sooo...For the battle system, the familiar ring menus, activated by the Triangle button, have been replaced by a cycling list of options - Escape, Heraldry, Item, Tactics, and two others which I can't recall at the moment because they weren't actually available.

So, in summation:

- I'm still clueless about the Heat Up and Guts gauges. Fate's Guts meter always seemed to be stuck below 10% when I was whacking stuff with him.
- Sophia. 120 HP (250 MP, as an aside) Fate, in contrast, had 350 HP, 90 MP. Yeah.
- The graphics rock, especially with the 3D environments and the cut-scenes. The game will also suppot progressive-scan (480p)for a super shap display.
- The voice acting and music also rock and supports Pro-LogicII sound.
- The story looks like it will rock (I'm not sure, because I couldn't read it since I was 1) under time constraints, 2) the guys ahead of me in line just blipped through the dialogue, and 3) I read really slowly in Japanese.)
- The battle system REALLY rocks.
- Seems pretty importer-friendly for English-speakers with the placement of what English is there in the game. Woohoo, I can't wait!

First of all, I am so tired of how people think Square-Enix made this game - NO! Square-Enix did not make this game, they only presented it and slapped their logo on it (which isn't a bad thing, as Square is awesome), but give credit where it's due people! Okay, my rant is over, I'll begin the review.

Being a fan of Star Ocean: The Second Story that I am, the debut of Star Ocean 3 is the one of the reasons I finally broke down and brought a PSX2, even if the hardware is the weakest of all the systems, both in in power and durabilty.

On the positive side, Star Ocean 3 improves on its predecessor in many ways. Unlike Star Ocean 2, everything is now 3D (could you imagine if Star Ocean 2 was fully 3D on the PSX, the PSX would probably burst into flames trying to play it!) While the graphics are good, they never quite reach the level of other RPG's such as Xenosaga or Final Fantasy (there are some obviously cut corners). This, however, is understandable as combat is much more chaotic, being there is much more going on on-screen at any given time in Star Ocean than either of the afformentioned titles. The fact their is no slowdown during battles is also a testiment to the game overall (the same can't be said for the rest of the game however).

Combat has always been Star Ocean's claim to fame, and this installment delivers in spades. While combat was extremely fun in Star Ocean 2, it was rather simplistic in nature as it mainly consisted of pushing buttons to preform special attacks to maul your opponent. Star Ocean 3 adds an entirely new layer the combat system with the addition of a fury meter (which is a fancy word for a characters' or enemy's stamina). No longer can you attack rerentlessly without pausing for a short break for your character to catch their breath. Fury also acts a blocking and counterattack measure as well, forcing players to use their heads instead of mashing buttons.

Item creation, Star Ocean's other claim to fame, has also recieved another impressive upgrade, now allowing you to customize your weapons and armor with various effects and factors. You can also hire people to create items for you while your exploring dungeons and the like.

Unfortunately, as far as Star Ocean 3 climbs, their are a few things that hold it back. The fact you can only use three characters in battle (compared to four in Star Ocean 2) is a bit of a letdown. Overall the game itself it pretty easy (the story portion of the game that is - say your prayers for some of the optional areas within the game).

Star Ocean 3's story is probably the game's biggest stumbling block. It's not the story is not good (although it is slow to develop, just like in Star Ocean 2), but it's this element of the game that will ultimately end up being the deciding factor if players will enjoy Star Ocean 3 or not (I know it was for me - I liked the story and it's various twists, but then at the same time I didn't ~ talk about an enigma!).

I definately would recommend Star Ocean 3 to any RPG fan, especially since there wasn't a new Final Fantasy title in 2004, but again, this game is not for everyone.

In Star Ocean, you're a 19 year old guy caught up in a battle on a distant planet. You try to get back to your family and friends, and sort out what is going on.

The RPG is very much like Final Fantasy set in a Star Trek universe. In fact they even have the code of non-interference - if a planet is a low-tech planet, you cannot interfere with its development by handing technology to it. Of course this becomes a main plot point.

You can have 3 characters in your party at a time, as you wander around towns and dungeons, watching the snow fall or rain streak. The graphics are quite nice, from the medieval style towns to futuristic spaceships. Lighting effects add to the realism. Even the menus are easy to read and navigate.

On the other hand, half of the females wear clothes intended to show off their skin - even when it's snowing out. Can't there be an RPG with women in NORMAL clothing?

Like all RPGs you spend time creating new items, building up characters and battling to gain experience. The combat is real time which is great for people with good reflexes but can be tough on those who would rather strategize and think through what they are doing.

The music ranges from great to iffy. Sometimes it gives a moody feeling - and sometimes it is completely inappropriate.

If you're an RPGer looking for more of a futuristic environment, give this one a try!

Starting up the game of Star Ocean, the first look of it did not get me very interested. Big-eyed cutesy characters wandering around a leisure complex with nothing really happening. But, many hours later, how far away that opening all seems. Now they are battling to save not only themselves and their loved ones, but the entire existence of their world! Yes, I know, that old cliche. But did it improve after that opening? Oh yes.

Star Ocean is a complex game to say the least. Lets start with the battle system. Traditional RPG players may not be that keen to hear that battles are in real-time, with a team of three fighters, only one of which at a time is player controlled. Sounds a bit tame? Far from it. The first introduction to fighting is done via a simulator that the main characters use in a holiday resort. You only get one practise go, and I got soundly thrashed. What the hell was going on? The battle was non stop action, everyone dashing around doing their own thing at once, damage counters pinging all over the screen...and then I was dead. Luckily things get a LOT easier once you are stranded outside on your own, with some very simple fights to ease you into the system. Initailly I though "Where's the fun in sharing the battle with 2 computor controlled allies?" But I was wrong, After playing for a while, I gradually started switching between all three, just to see what I could make them do, and to see if my judgement was better than whatever the AI was making them do. And it's there that the fun starts. The battle action is highly customizable. Every aspect of the AI is pre-set by you, and switching characters can be done in a second, any time you see a comrade in a jam, or if you know they have an awesome skill that would be handy to use just about...now. The battles do look insanely frantic on screen, but luckily for those who need time to think mid-fight, lots of important choices cause the action to freeze while you pick from the menu of character swapping, magic casting, even down to items currently equipped and AI settings. There are several skills per character, and you have the option of setting your favourite four at any one time to short cut buttons...so if you are well prepared, you can just run in and start dishing out your favourite moves, no stopping. As characters level up, you'll swap continually to see what their new tricks look like in practise.

So, battles - bewildering at first, but soon sorted. And they really look great. You can run all over the place at will (the battle arenas can be huge), cast spells that fill the screen with special effects, or make your characters leap all over the place as they deliver great long chains of hits. Wait till you learn "Explosion" or "Stone Rain"...the on-screen chaos will make your eyes reel!
What else...The story? It's fine by me. Every cliche is here, though. The confused hero with a power he doesn't understand, the childhood female friend who is frail but weilds the strongest healing and magic skills, the warring oppressors who turn out to be allies when an even greater evil reveals itself...it's all familiar ground. But the playable charcters are well developed in this game, and you'll certainly have your favourites. The excellent voice acting makes them come alive, and there's lots of it, which pays off. There are sidequests as you'd expect, with some optional dungeons and "errand running" type tasks. There's also the standard "entertainment" venue where you can engage in racing (bunnies!), play a chess-style tournament and take part in a fighting arena. But the major addition to gameplay is item invention, which I found to be very confusing. Inventions cannot be made to order, as the process requires that you experiment with mixing several factors and seeing what the result is. This takes a lot of time and patience - or of course referring to a guide, and even then you still need a certain amount of luck. I dabbled a bit with it, but it will take dedicated completists to get the most out of this side project. Of course the rewards for your hard work are some of the most powerful items in the game, so it's only fair I suppose.

I heartily recommend this game to RPG fans. Even though the story is somewhat predictable it delivers a surprising twist on where the ultimate threat actually comes from. My lips are sealed...it's a great plot revelation that I'm not going to spoil here. The amount of playtime depends on you - enemies in dungeons are always visible on screen, and can be avoided at will or encountered many times over (most areas re-spawn monsters if you exit) if you want to gain levels. The game graphics look pretty good throughout, monsters are well designed, and there is a good in game map that gets filled in as you explore an area - with a bonus for visiting 100% of the area. Camera view can be rotated at will, so it's your fault if you run into a nasty surprise. And some of the battles are hard...this game is no pushover. Some of the dungeons have save points that are very far apart, and the dungeons can be massive. But don't worry, you'll want to finish it - all two discs worth. Good fun and lots to do make this one a winner.

Since about everyone else explained the story, I'll skip that.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is a really good game for people who like RPGs, and can withstand long cutscenes.
The REAL clencher is whether you have enough patience to spend hours leveling up to beat the area boss.

CHARACTERS: You'll find yourself caring about them, and sometimes... not. My personal favorite is either Albel Nox or Fayt Leingod. I know, all you who've already played the game are laughing at me for liking Albel, haha, very funny everyone. Albel's character is all angsty and arrogant... It reminds me of Akito from Fruits Basket... ...*on topic!!*
Many of the sub-characters are interesting, and though many have sad endings, it adds to this thought in your mind. Their stories all add up to the main story theme throughout the game. Ameena's story was the most interesting for me.
STORY: Really engrossing. The story is complex, and makes you want to advance the story to see what happens next

Overall, this game is really entertaining and fun if you're patient enough. The story should have you engrossed, though there are times where you may lose track of it...

Pros:
-Good story
-Likable Characters
-Battle System
-Item Creation System can be fun when you create good stuff and synthesize it to your weapons

Cons:
-Sometimes long cutscenes
-You probably should have a fair amount of patience...
-The game takes a long time to finish... (May also be counted as a pro...)

I know I'm becoming jaded when I play a game like 'Till the End of Time,' and come away thinking that, with just a few changes, it would be a really great game. This feeling has more to do the level of competition at high end of the RPG market than it does with any real lack in the latest in the Star Ocean series. The truth is that this really is a great game, but has just a few flaws.

The story finds us at Hyda, a resort planet, with teenagers Fayt Leingod and Sophia Esteed. In short order the station comes under alien attack, the couple flee, and after a series of misadventures are separated. The story continues to follow Fayt he is 'rescued' by anti-federation forces (I'm not going to try to explain all the politics) and finally crashes on Elicoor II, a world about Victorian level technology and a reliance on powers that a partly magical and partly science. Fayt, and his new friend Cliff Fitter become embroiled in the conflicts of Elicoor II. At each stage the solution to one problem leads to the discovery of one even more complicated, until Fayt and a collection of friends are struggling to save the universe.

This is a complex plot, and the settings of the story (Elicoor and elsewhere) provide countless options for development and support many styles of gameplay. I found the battle system a bit awkward - you fight using a selected group of up to three people. You can switch among the people, or set them on automatic and pick an overall style for each. This can take a bit of getting used to. You can also learn skills, buy, invent or find weapons and other materials. In fact, an entire sub-game is devoted to an inventors competition were you take your invention to an agent who evaluates it, creates a marketing plan, and ranks both Fayt and npc inventors. Thus character development is an intense task.

Artwork for the game is good, with believable animation. Not enough different monsters, though, so fighting can get a bit repetitious. The CG scenes are excellent as well. Dialog gets a bit thin in spots, with each character having a very short list of victory exclamations. Somewhere about the 1,000th battle you will be ready to strangle on or another character. It is interesting how Fayt grows from being a whiney teenager and apprentice prig into a young man who is willing to take full responsibility for his part in things.

This has been a sparse year for fantasy RPG's. This game and Shadow Hearts 2 are the both best of the crop and nearly the only entries for the PS2. If you are a fan of the genre you will enjoy this game a great deal, with its interesting and unique approach. Like all RPG's there is plenty of violence, but there is also a refreshing lack of rude language and overt sexuality. Recommended.

It's this:
RPG's and reviewers don't get along. By about this time you've probably read most of the 1 and 2 star reviews on this game and are probably thinking "hey! this game must really suck! these guys said so!" - well, think again. RPG's are a funny thing - because there's really no set formula for rating an RPG (or any game if you wanna get technical). It's completely based on user-expierence. Like for instance: People complain that Star Oceans battle expierence is too "complicated", "hard" and "uneven" - Quite the contrary. I found it to be an absolute blast. It made perfect sense, and was not hard at all. Are the enemies to tough? Well, get tripple EXP battle bonus, spend 20 min destroying enemies, and level up! Oh hay... now the enemies are really easy and its fun! Gee, that made sense. Does this enemy use status effects? Oh! Use an item to cure it...hey, I won the battle. Makes sense. Is this boss destroying me? How come? Why, its because he does more MP damage then HP... okay, just make sure to use MP healing items - tada! I win. Piece of cake.

Honestly - I'm absolutely baffled that so many people are complaining about the battle difficulty - or the computer controlled AI (come on, it's not THAT bad... ive seen much much worst *cough* Diakatana anyone?). Have these so called "RPG players" forgotten how RPG's are played?! If you suddenly run into hard enemies - You go back to the previous "land" and level up. Problem solved. Now you move on with the game. This is how its always been and it has never changed. I think the main complaint here about SO3 is that it happens very early in the game - not later on in the game; like most RPGs (like the Final Fantasy series, where all the *real* battles happen towards the end of the game). So the game is a little harder from the get go. Big deal? You accept the challenge, patiently go through with it and wait for the moment when the game allows you to battle endlessly throughout the land's and gain massive EXP and level up like crazy. Now you're in complete control of the enemies and the game is much easier.

So you didn't like the storyline, or characters, or art, etc. So what... those are all opinions. Just like this review. I actually thought the storyline was decent. Nothing mind blowing, but at the same time, nothing horribally uninspired like some reviewers here are trying to paint it out to be. Yes, the characters are cliched and flat - but guess what... FFVII was the same way. Cloud was a moron, Tifa was a big-breasted brunette, Sephiroth was the typical psuedo-goth enemy guy, and Aries was the gentle pretty girl that every japanesse made RPG has - and Barret just yelled alot of non-sense. But a lot of people consider them to be "awesome" and "inspiring" characters. Go figure. There all cliched from past games/movies. Theres no point smash-talking a game because of "originality" - it's practically impossible to find any kind of originality nowadays since everything is borrowed from previous work and ideas. It's the same substance, just wrapped differently.

With that all said - I actually forgot what point I was trying to make (if any). Basically; it boils down to the old "don't judge a book by its cover" quote. It's the same for games -'specially RPG's. If your an RPG fan and is looking for a "filler" game until the next cliched-ridden FF game comes out - then try this one. I promise you it won't hurt you to ignore all the negative crapola that people say about this game and just give it a try. Take the game for what it is, and its a pretty decent one to add to the list.

Most of the RPG's lately aren't exactly great. While you do have certain games that are great, you get average ones that are ok for awhile then they just get old. I'm one of the few that actually didn't like the new Shadow Hearts(check many game sites, they praise it to death), Star Ocean was a lot funner and more interesting.

Fayt and his childhood friend are vacationing on a planet called Hyda IV, a beautiful resort planet. He spends all his time playing battle simulators rather than on a beautiful beach with a young girl in a bikini but okay. The planet is under attack by a race called the Vendeeni and they escape but he's separated from his parents and Sophia. He finally ends up on Elicoor II, a Renaissance Era-like planet that has 2 warring nations: Airyglyph and Aquaria. Fayt and some friends become involved in the war and finds out more than he wanted.

The graphics to me are more colorful than Shadow Hearts II but not as sharp as FFX. It reminds me of Xenosaga in it's look. The characters(especially the women) look kind of the same with their bug eyes. The FMV's are great to look at though.

The music is so-so. Some have great Celtic type music or folk while others are these horrible rock/metal things. In dungeons, rather than eerie music or calm music, you have these awful...things. The voice acting is about 2/3rd's good. There's always some overacting or bad timing, while some voices like Clair, Albel or Maria fit while others like Farleen do not.

The gameplay is where it really shines though. Battles are in real-time rather than turned based like Kingdom Hearts but easier to see and you hit 2 buttons for light or hard hits while being able to do special moves. If you want to switch characters, just one press of a button switches to another party member while the one you had goes on Autopilot and the computer controls it. Sometimes I noticed that Fayt just stood there if I switched characters though. One nice change is going to a menu stops the battle so you could get a potion(they're berries actually) while in Kingdom Hearts you had to do it all in the fight which gave the opponent opportunity to hit you.

The Item Creation system(like the Synthesis in Final Fantasy VIII or in Star Ocean 2) is so complicated chances are you won't bother with it. Yet this is where you get all the best weapons. Go figure. The dungeons here are HUGE. Chances are you've cleared 2-3 entire floors yet you've only gotten 30% of the map done(you start with a small portion of the map visible but moving around allows you to see more of it with a percentage meter at the bottom telling you how much of it is visible). While this makes the game challenging, it's also hard to go back and re-stock on items if you're running out.

Despite the creation system, challenge and voice acting/music, it's an incredibly interesting game that is easy to get into.

First off, I must say that the story in Star Ocean III is OUTSTANDING. I really like how the plot developes and the characters interact. At first, I found the voice acting to be a bit annoying, but got used to it rather quickly. The humor is also pretty good, as well. The maps are very large and leave for a lot of exploration. Usually the rewards are special treasures (not includeing the "map completion prizes.) You'll be playing this game for a while, which is good! It's fun and has great plot, character interactions and a nice battle system!

For years I've been thinking that the game designers who make RPG's should change up the way they do combat. Random encounters with a turn-based has really been getting old. Fortunately this game has changed that! If you're quick, you can usually avoid most encounters! And the battles are realtime, so there's a bit more activity to partake in. Very nicely done!

There are a lot of characters to choose from. Each one has his or her own weakenesses and strengths. The main chracter, over all, is pretty balanced. The designers have put a bit of thought into how you can increase your characters abilities and stats, which leaves some room for customization. I'm sure there's an optimal way to play, but the game really doesn't force you to do it!

In summary, this game is a blast, and should be part of any RPG fans collection.