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Star Ocean 2 - Review |
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An Ocean of Options
By: pneuma08
Review Breakdown |
Battle System |
7 |
Interface |
6 |
Music/Sound |
8 |
Originality |
6 |
Plot |
2 |
Localization |
5 |
Replay Value |
10 |
Visuals |
8 |
Difficulty |
Easy to Medium |
Time to Complete |
20-30 hours
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Overall |
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Criteria
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Star Ocean--the name itself sounds grand, eloquently expressing the vastness of
space, the limitless ocean of the stars. Star Ocean 2 is a Tri-Ace RPG, the
sequel to a rare 64 meg Super Famicom Enix cartridge. I've heard tales of it's
wonders, but, ironically, although the characters were able to span the ocean of stars, it unfortunately was never able to cross the ocean of water to the US. The sequel made it, however, with the help of Sony. It was worth the journey.
The battle system is all over the map. The way battle works is the
characters equip two
special moves, called killer moves, that are linked to the L1 and R1
buttons. The moves mature
after you use them enough times, and become more powerful, more functional,
and sometimes look
different. Other than that, players equip a certain type of weapon, and
attack at a certain rate.
Experience is gained in set amounts by enemies, but can be affected by
skills, discussed later.
Experience is shared, and is not obtained by the members not in your current
party, causing you
to constantly rotate the characters, if you have more than four, the maximum
allowed in your
current party. The next thing worth mentioning is that it is fully
customizable. Indeed, you can
suit your own desires, whether you crave a little traditional turn-based
system, or prefer to
control one characterās precise movements and attacks, itās all there. You
can even control the
AI system of your allies, and the battle formations that the characters are
in at the start of
the battle. Even so, the battle system is not without its flaws. The
pathfinding system is less
than stellar, and you cannot cancel an action once it is invoked, which
sometimes causes the
characters to run around maniacally, or jump into a deadly attack. Also,
some jumping attacks may
cause you to be in an awkward situation, such as standing on an ally or
enemy. This, however, is
a two-edged sword. It could cause a crazy situation which the pathfinding
system tries to work
out, or it could put you in a position out of range of the bosses attacks,
allowing you to use
a killer move without reprimand. Indeed bittersweet.
The game moves neither to slow, or too fast, at an average pace. There are
many dungeons
and towns scattered about the worlds you explore. Although some are a little
confusing or
long-winded, you will almost always be able to see the character. Movement
about the worlds is
done either on foot, on a giant bunny (via a super specialty), or on a
winged bird. While on
the bunny or the bird, there are no random battles. Exploration of towns can
be done in two
ways: either as a party, traditionally, or by using a private action, which
allows you to control
only the main character you chose at the beginning, which, if certain
requirements are met, allows
you to interact with the characters in a special manner, allowing you to
manipulate the characterās
feelings toward each other, which in turn affects which of the many endings
you receive. The menu
system is quite filled, however, and to get to a specialty/super specialty
quickly, you have to
remember the location on the menu. Before the first disk is finished, your
inventory will become
flooded with a hundred or so items. Just to keep sanity, items must be
sorted regularly, and
constant cleaning is required. Up to eight characters can be obtained during
the course of the
game, but if it pleases you, you can keep only the two main characters.
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It may not blow your mind, but it's still a good game.
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The item system is by far the most innovative thing Iāve seen in this game.
By spending
skill points that you receive by going up levels, you can learn skills.
Skills affect the game
by either giving the character specialties, or a small boost in parameters,
or other things,
such as lowering the experience needed to level up, or even lowering the
skill points needed to
level up a skill. Specialties range from making items out of basic
ingredients, creating items
by spending a few magic points, combining a precious stone and a weapon to
make a different
weapon or even increase the amount of experience gained in a battle, at the
cost of temporarily
lowered parameters. The partyās specialties then combine and unlock a super
specialty, which is
basically a specialty that requires the entire party. Late into the game,
all the items you use
will either be obtained from a specialty/super specialty or a treasure
chest.
The music in Star Ocean 2 is very good, although not of the humming
variety; the songs
arenāt that memorable, but they are enjoyable, and if you hear the first few
seconds, you might
remember the rest of the song, although vaguely. Better than good, but less
than stellar, some
might even consider buying the soundtrack CD. I know I am. Music is not the
only sounds the game
emits, either. The game has a vast collection of voice tracks, ranging from
battle cries to dying
screams to remarks of revenge. Some might find it annoying, but I find it
intriguing, for the game
keeps track of how many voices youāve heard. Fun and collectable. The
downside to this is that
the enemies do not have these voice/sound effect features, with the
exception of the final bosses.
The game very few non-battle sound affects, such as a cheering crowd, which
aren't accumulative.
Be forewarned if you are annoyed by these things, some just aren't as
pleasant to hear,
compared to other games.
Originality is an average; itās not dull, but itās not original either. The
item
creation system is a big factor here, because there arenāt too many games I
know of with that
feature, and they most definitely donāt rely on that (most likely, the first
time through,
youāll be fighting and defending yourself with arms and armor of your own
creation), so thatās
a plus. The customizable battle system is a plus, albeit small. The story
gets clich at the end,
too, so, overall, donāt expect anything ground-breaking.
The plot is one of the weak points of the game, unfortunately. The plot is
very thin and
faint, and not much is there. Although the character development is there,
itās just neither meaty,
nor bare-boned. The two main characters have a diverse, yet uninteresting
past, as opposed to the
other characters, some of which have barely any past at all. Surprisingly,
though, the second world
has much more development than the characters, but the first world has only
'it was there.' It is
still very rough around the edges, and is both confusing and doesnāt flow
well, especially near the
end. Itās not really that realistic, either. If they worked a little harder,
this game could have
been much better.
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See the world |
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ā99 SCEA is not known for its localization skills. This game is no
exception. It is
translated into English, but if they had proofread it better, then phrases
like "If I blank my
mind..." could be avoided. It's neigh-impossible to go through this game
without laughing out
loud. Letās face it: Sony is no Working Designs when it comes to
localization.
Replay value is one of the best things Star Ocean 2 has. The game itself
thrives off of it.
When you first read the back, one of the first thing that catches your eye
is the 150+ endings. At the
beginning of the game, you choose which of the main characters you want to
play as. This decision
may not seem significant at the time, but there are parts of the game where
the two main characters
are split up, and you see only one side of the events folding out before
them. To even see all the
sides, you must play through the game at least twice. Furthermore, the
relationship system is
completely different every time you play, using different private actions to
influence it. Not only
that, the relationship system affects some private actions, and some private
actions can only be
seen with one character. Moreover, some characters don't join if you already
have a certain character
in your party, or if you are playing as a certain character. No doubt about
it, replay value is the
acme of the game. A lot of replay really helps this game.
Visuals is an arguable department. The backgrounds aren't rendered bad, and
the characters are
anime sprites. Personally, I prefer anime sprites over Playstation polygons.
The FMVs are rendered
averagely, but I remember them being a little rough, and not as sharp as
FFVIIIās cutscenes. It could
be better, but it doesnāt hamper gameplay at all, and not nearly as ugly as
it could get to be, which
is all I ask.
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Explore the stars. |
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The game wasnāt overly challenging, and there are even some points in the
game where the
enemies canāt even hurt you, if you have the right armor. It can be
challenging, though, if you
donāt take the proper precautions. Although the game rarely requires you to
think in the battles,
the puzzles can be challenging, especially in the secret level. In other
words, if youāre careful,
the game is easy enough. If youāre not, the game can be averagely difficult.
Star Ocean 2 is a gem of a game. It was fun, but not the most fun I ever
had. Just keep in
mind this game is not for everyone. It is far from flawless, but farther
from coaster status.
Remember this next time it's time to change games. More often than not, it
will be worth the time
and effort. The replay value alone is worth considering. Just try to ignore
the story.
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