An RPG which spouts over 80 different endings and classic enix genius as you move through an epic story between one of 2 Heroes/Love interests in their battle to not only save their planet, but to save their entire existence. A colorful cast of characters and numerous story related choices that affect not only the game’s ultimate outcome, but that of who will join your party, how your adventure will fare and how close the love interest between the two main characters will go.
Why it sucks: 80 endings? The game isn’t big enough to generate an entirely CG composed ending, much less 80 of the damn things! The lion’s share of the differences between endings is shown through the in game visuals (IE: You see the superdeformed characters walking around talking through dialogue boxes). This game is LONG!!! If you’re not prepared to kill TONS of spare time, then you’re not ready for Star Ocean. This thing is longer and HARDER than any recent Final Fantasy game I’ve played (with the exception of FF1-6, but speaking of more recent titles 7-10) with so many twists and turns that the slightest thing you do has an impact on the person you are and how the story flows ultimately leading you down a certain path to a specific ending. There is a ridiculous amount of stuff to do and ways to further enhance your characters (their levels go beyond 100… ^_^; Not sure how far they’ll actually go) through cooking, metal casting, writing, etc. which in turns gives abilities which enhance them in battle as well as giving them abilities to generate items from raw materials found throughout the game and do the same with other items. And did I mention that this game is HARD??? The fights in this thing are insane! Let’s say you’ve got 4 party members and go up against 2-3 monsters, depending on how you’ve tweaked the AI on your characters you can control one (or leave it all to the computer) and fight alongside the Computer as all hell breaks loose onscreen! You’re constantly torn from your character to watch another character or monster perform a spell or special attack, which can sometimes make you lose your train of thought depending on the circumstances. Now let’s talk bosses… I haven’t beaten the game yet and I’m well over level 100. I believe I’m at the last boss (Leader of the wisemen) and he is EVIL! I barely made it to the top of the freaking tower (albeit panting, crawling and praying nothing else was going to jump out and try to kill me) only to be greeted by the hardest final boss I’ve faced in years… For those of you with the stones to take this guy down, I salute you! That’s some seriously hard work! Not to mention painfully frustrating. The other big thing? There’s the random battles… lots of ‘em! This game beats you unmerciful with random battles. And that about wraps it up, if you’re not serious about your RPGs I wouldn’t recommend this. I recommend it even less if you are unable to sacrifice the time or endure the frustration of such a long game.
Why it rules: Funny thing is, a substantial number of the problems I outlined are also what make it such an awesome game! Hard core RPG nerds clamored about SO2’s extensive gameplay, involved story, numerous mini-games, likeable characters, item making, difficult challenge, and huge amount of side quests. Then there’s the broad customization ranging from control settings to programming your party. Besides the points above, there’s the simply intoxicating feeling the game generates. Much like Square’s FF7, SO2 has beautiful computer generated backgrounds that have a particular glazed look to them and when combined with the awesome musical score you have an gorgeous effect much like Legend of Mana. A number of incredibly soothing and pleasurable environments… I know how weird that sounds, but it’s a VERY distinct factor in this game that sets it apart from the rest of the pack. The group behind this also made Valkyrie Profile and that game also has the same feeling to it.
I smell sequel!: A few months after the PS2’s release, the rumor mill spat out the release of Star Ocean 3 which was in turn confirmed! Not sure of the release date (assuming it even makes it into the states) but it’s not soon enough >_<
Overall: I love this game. It stands as one of my big favorites and puts Dragon Warrior in its well deserved tacky, outdated cage. Enix outdid themselves with this masterpiece. It’s mainly aimed at the hardcore RPG freaks, but I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a decent challenge or an all around great game to add to their library. While the fights are semi-chaotic and and the adventure itself quite difficult, it's easily worth the money. And now's a great time to look around, because the game should be easily available at Babbages, EBWorld, Gamestop, etc. Or look around online at auctions sites and local used game stores. A fresh game with a distinct old school flavor. Far superior to Dragon Warrior VII in Tekyu's opinion.