As an RPG fan, I'm considering to get the Star Ocean games. However, as I have listened to opinions bashing on the games (most notably the voices), I'm deciding whether or not to get the PSP games, the original ones on the Super Famicom and PS1, the PS2 games or just ignore them completely in a rare case of the "fandumb" being right.
I would greatly appreciate it if I heard your honest opinion on why you love or hate any of the Star Ocean games. However, if there is something wrong with the game, it isn't just with the voices because that's a song and dance I'm getting tired of seeing...
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return." - The main idea behind Moulin Rouge! "It's just a movie; I should really just relax." - MST3K Mantra
Star Ocean, for the Super Famicom, was an excellent game that I wish had been ported to the US. I've played English-patched ROMs, and the gameplay, graphics, and characters were excellently done. It's a shame we never received it, or Tales of Phantasia for that matter.
Star Ocean: The Second Story, for PS1, is one of my favorite PlayStation RPGs. Heck, it's one of my favorite RPGs. Yes the voice acting is a bit on the atrocious side, but with an enormous cast, two main characters to choose from, town interactions that are unfortunately unique in execution, a long and well-thought story, and a game system that allows players to level well beyond 99...well, I was quite happy with it, that's for sure.
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, for PS2, is probably one of my most despised RPGs. I disliked the voice acting, sure, but I hated most of the characters in general and I despised the system, especially the HP/MP death bit. The achievements that were put out were obnoxious in my opinion, and the plot just came off as stupid, especially the twist ending.
That's all my opinion of course, so don't just take my thoughts on it. But I would seriously recommend picking up the second game if you get the chance, or a repro of the first if you can't read Japanese.
Only one I've played is Star Ocean 3 on the ps2. I've heard a lot of good things about the PS1 game, enough to say that it's probably worth trying out at least, but I haven't played it myself.
Star Ocean 3 was absolutely awful though. The voices weren't even the issue either. The battle system isn't very dynamic, and your partner A.I. can be extremely stupid. More than once I've been in a situation where enemies will be wailing on me just to see one of my A.I. controlled partners simply standing on the opposite side of the map staring into space and doing absolutely nothing. EDIT: oh man, I forgot about MP deaths. Horrible, horrible idea.
Lots of absurd gameplay in some moments, such as a part that requires you to run across a desert by hopping from oasis to oasis, otherwise your character dies from the heat (in a matter of like, 5 seconds). Another part features a series of puzzles requiring you to play certain songs on a flute. What song you play is determined by making use of the ps2's analog buttons, different "strengths" of a button press will give you different songs. It only uses one button though, and there are like 3-5 different songs too, so as you can imagine it's really frustrating when you know which song to play but are hitting the button too hard or too softly.
And oh god, the story, it's got one of the worst plot twists I think I've ever heard in a video game. I'd mention it here, but there's no way to make spoiler tags on this site that I'm aware of, you can look it up if you want, it's incredibly stupid.
Lastly, I have a small nitpick: What's the point of making a sci-fi RPG in space if a majority of the game takes place on an "underdeveloped planet" that resembles the world of any other fantasy RPG anyhow?
Last edited by AppleQueso on Tue May 11, 2010 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The only one I honestly enjoyed was Star Ocean:The Second Story on PS1. The battle system is extremely fun and fast paced. Some battles almost feel over right as they began, especially if you are the type that likes to grind excessively to get the upper hand on your enemies. Also I like the "private actions" that took place every time you got to a new town. They really added alot of character development and are somewhat like the "ATE" system in FF9.
The item creation, cooking skills etc..... I could go on for a while, but you have one thing right, the voices were AWFUL. Luckily they only talk during battle, and the game is not voice acted or anything.
I really wanted to like the first one, but it didnt have a world map. It was like one huge dungeon if you wanted to go from town to town. I think they removed this in the PSP remake so I plan on trying it out as soon as I get a PSP.
As for the third, I played it for about 6 hours and hated it. I cant really remember why but I did. I think it was just a let down compared to 2.
I hate Star Ocean 'till the End of Time. I hate it because I cannot get out of that fucking hotel thing at the beginning. I seem to have talked to everybody and been in every single fucking room and I get absolutely nowhere. I know I'm missing somebody but I seriously played it for 2 hours trying to find a way out of the fucking hotel and didn't find it. Nothing happened. I haven't played it since.
AppleQueso wrote:You two who only played a bit of SO3 should be thankful you didn't have to sit through that abomination.
So I'm guessing Star Ocean 3 is a no go then? What about Star Ocean 4?
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return." - The main idea behind Moulin Rouge! "It's just a movie; I should really just relax." - MST3K Mantra
AppleQueso wrote:You two who only played a bit of SO3 should be thankful you didn't have to sit through that abomination.
So I'm guessing Star Ocean 3 is a no go then? What about Star Ocean 4?
Unfortunately I can't say much, as I haven't played it. I'm actually wondering about it myself, so somebody tell us if it's a return to the quality of the first two titles, or more closely resembles the third.
From what I understand, it's more like 3 unfortunately. I don't know much about it, but after hearing this from a friend:
Friend: I like how the 4th game has a girl who lost all emotion when she became bonded with a demon
Friend: what's the first thing she does?
Friend: become visibly angry at the main character for making fun of her
Friend: Um...
sounds to me like its as badly written as 3 at least.
AppleQueso wrote:From what I understand, it's more like 3 unfortunately. I don't know much about it, but after hearing this from a friend:
Friend: I like how the 4th game has a girl who lost all emotion when she became bonded with a demon
Friend: what's the first thing she does?
Friend: become visibly angry at the main character for making fun of her
Friend: Um...
sounds to me like its as badly written as 3 at least.
What about the PSP games? Are they better than the original games or should I just look for the original versions of Star Ocean 1 and 2?
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return." - The main idea behind Moulin Rouge! "It's just a movie; I should really just relax." - MST3K Mantra
