Line #75 VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime


1	[[quoteright:260:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_ocean_3.png]]
2
3	''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' is the third console installment in the ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' series set 400 years after the events of ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory''. Fayt Leingod, an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary college student]], is vacationing on a resort planet which suddenly gets attacked by aliens. A few escapes later, his escape pod crash lands on an undeveloped planet, where he eventually gets rescued by Cliff Fittir, a member of [[LaResistance a resistance group named Quark]]. After crashing on ''another'' undeveloped planet, they get caught up in the local politics. The repercussions of the alien attack, and the reasons for it, are going to catch up with Fayt again....
4
5	''Till the End of Time'' is (in)famous for the ''[[TheEndingChangesEverything huge]]'' PlotTwist that comes about halfway through the story that completely changes the scope of not just the game, but [[HappyEndingOverride the entire series itself]].
6
7	A remastered version was released in Japan on March 30, 2017 and in North America on May 23, 2017 for the Platform/PlayStation4. It features upscaled graphics and trophy support.
8	----
9	!!This video game provides examples of:
10
11	* AIIsACrapshoot: In a truly bizarre inversion, [[spoiler: you and your entire party. You and the entire universe are just [[InstantAIJustAddWater data]] from the perspective of the Fourth Dimensional beings that created you.]]
12	* AbortedArc: When Maria explains her backstory, one of the things she focuses on is the discovery that she had been adopted as an infant, and that she was searching for her biological mother. There is evidence that this was originally supposed to lead to a reveal that she and Fayt are twins SeparatedAtBirth, but the subject of Maria's biological parents is never brought up again.
13	* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: Each character's maximum level is 255, in a game that can be beaten around level 70. Each character will learn their last skill at around level 50, maybe a bit higher depending on the individual character, with the ultimate abilities coming from items. Even then, the only reason to grind that high is to take on the superbosses and get through the BonusDungeon. And with appropriate item crafting and equipment, the level required to beat the game could be even lower.
14	* AbsurdlyLongStairway: The game ends its [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon final dungeon]] with a needlessly long (straight) staircase leading up to the FinalBoss. Especially JustForFun/{{egregious}} in that the staircase concludes a long [[ItsAllUpstairsFromHere climb up a tower]]. A tower that exists in its own pocket dimension.
15	* ActionGirl: Maria Traydor, Nel Zelpher, Sophia Esteed, Peppita Rossetti, and Mirage Koas.
16	* AerithAndBob: On one hand, you have names like Fayt, Peppita, and Albel. Then you have ordinary names like Roger and Maria. It's even more hilarious when you realize [[BeastMan Roger]] is the one who would be most out-of-place on modern Earth.
17	* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Serves as a plot point and cause for some internal angst early on before the main character decides to [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight help out as much as he can while still following the spirit of the law as well as he can]]. It helps that the locals assume that he's an engineer from the world's most technologically advanced nation that they had requested to come to begin with, so his more advanced scientific knowledge has a ready explanation.
18	* AmazonBrigade: Aquaria's [[{{ninja}} Secret Legion]] is comprised entirely of women, who act as covert ops for the Queen of Aquaria. Clair Lasbard is the Legion's leader, with Nel as [[NumberTwo her right-hand]], while Tynave and Farleen are Nel's subordinates.
19	* AmbiguouslyGay:
20	** It's subtly implied that Nel and Clair [[HomoeroticSubtext may be an item]], such as when she returns from the Kirlsa Facility, after rescuing Tynave and Farleen. They share an embrace ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULB-xTWUnwI seen at 4:00-4:20]]). The manga version of the scene is more pronounced, by having Clair blush [[HeldGaze as they stare into]] [[http://mangapark.me/manga/star-ocean-till-the-end-of-time/s1/v4/c14/7 each other's eyes.]]
21	** Belzeber, based on his appearance and voice. However, being a minor boss character, this is actually never said straight out.
22	* AnachronicOrder: Only the third game in the series but the last one in the series' internal chronology, where everything from the games that [[VideoGame/{{Star Ocean\|1}} came]] [[VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory before]] and [[VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope those]] [[VideoGame/StarOceanIntegrityAndFaithlessness then-yet-to-come]] comes to a head, which works well considering the aforementioned plot twist.
23	* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Earning battle trophies unlocks new costumes and color schemes for your characters, music, higher difficulty levels, and other simple little rewards.
24	* ApocalypseHow:
25	** The Executioners attempt to conduct a Galactic Total Extinction. [[spoiler:They easily succeed; Earth and Vendeen both go silent, Aldian is destroyed, and all the other planets in the Milky Way are hit as well.]]
26	** Luther attempts Universal Metaphysical Annihilation. [[spoiler:He succeeds, but everything comes back just fine minutes later.]]
27	* ApocalypseWow: Executioners versus [[spoiler:the Earth's defense grid. Earth goes silent thanks to the Executioners using a Galactic Total Extinction.]]
28	* AppetiteEqualsHealth: After Cliff and Mirage rescued Maria after she escaped from a spaceship wreckage, after which she had lost both her parents, after she wakes up, they worry that she might still be injured. When she replies that she's hungry, both laugh in relief, and Cliff tells Mirage to get her some food.
29	* ArbitrarySkepticism: The respected scientists researching the Time Gate, who study magic for a living, think people won't believe them when the Time Gate [[spoiler:warned them of extra-dimensional beings coming to destroy them.]]
30	* AutobotsRockOut: After a dozen or two hours of gameplay and story, the final boss of Disc 1 is Crosell, a massive dragon whose feet dwarf the player characters. His battle theme is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlV1hsOd_WA&ab_channel=HellProclaimer "The Divine Spirit of Language"]], featuring a fast-paced electric guitar riff which very much does the battle justice.
31	* AwesomeButImpractical:
32	** Many of the most damaging Battle Skills have an overly long startup time, and said moves also tend to have high capacity point costs that limit what other moves can be used alongside them. For example, Cliff's Max Shockwave and Maria's Energy Burst.[[note]]Although using them at long range can help mitigate this. Since Max Shockwave knocks enemies back, it can help with the charge time.[[/note]] Also, Fayt's Dimension Door was so overpowered in the original Japanese version that the designers nerfed it for the ''Director's Cut''/overseas version and it's ''still'' one of his more useful attacks. The same is true with Nel's Flying Guillotine.
33	** Albel's Dragon Roar looks utterly awesome, but since it knocks enemies down, it'll only do respectable damage if you use it on an enemy that's getting up, since enemies getting up hit with a knockdown attack get lifted into the sky.
34	* AwesomenessInducedAmnesia: During the war between Aquaria and Airyglyph, a Vendeeni ship appears out of the sky and begins to lay waste to the warring kingdoms. After seeing the wanton devastation and [[spoiler: learning that the Vendeeni wish to capture him, Fayt unleashes his Destruction power to delete the ship from existence. The physical and mental trauma of the act leave him unable to remember how this happened. The fact that Cliff and Mirage were not surprised by this heavily implies that the same thing happened to Maria after she destroyed the ''Invisible''.]]
35	* BadassAdorable: [[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile Lenneth]] appears as a little girl who can barely hold her gigantic spear. Doesn't stop her from being one of the game's toughest superbosses.
36	* BarelyChangedDubName: Fate Linegod's name was changed to Fayt Leingod, Cliff Fitter to Cliff Fittir, Mirage Coast to Mirage Koas and Maria Traitor to Maria Traydor.
37	* BestFriendsInLaw: Adray attempts something like this in his ending by trying to convince Fayt to marry Clair. Fayt thinks that it would be too weird, and from the sound effects heard in the ending, it's implied that Clair probably agrees.
38	* {{BFG}}: Subverted by Maria, who despite using a small pistol, can fire one heck of a laser beam.
39	* BigNo: Fayt screams one after [[spoiler: Ameena]] dies right after [[spoiler: Dion]] dies.
40	%%* BonusDungeon: Quite a few.
41	* BonusFeatureFailure: The two bonus characters in the ''Director's Cut''/overseas versions may count. Adray is really just a less capable wizard (a spot already filled by Sophia) with a weapon set nearly identical to Albel's, while Mirage uses effectively the same attack set and playstyle as Cliff (with a couple of Maria's moves thrown in) but is 40-50 levels lower. The player has the option to gain Adray early into the game when he would be at a similar level to the party, but if you opt to gain him at the next opportunity (much later near the end of the game), he'll still be at that level (Level 19 when the party is roughly 55-70). However, Adray does have a use though when you can first get him. He's a dedicated spell caster, which you are lacking in, as Sophia doesn't join until much later in the game and Nel only has a handful of spells. In fact, Nel's Symbology was added in the ''Director's Cut''/overseas versions. In the original version, you had no magic users at ''all'' until the game was 60 percent over.
42	* BoringButPractical: Fayt's Side Kick. It's one of the first abilities he learns, and is pretty much exactly as it sounds like. However, it's cheap to cast in terms of both Fury and HP, has low capacity point requirements, grants invincibilty during its animation, and chains into itself easily for a sustained 200% damage boost. Chances are that this is going to go into both of Fayt's close-range killer move slots as soon as you get it, and will stay there through the {{Bonus Dungeon}}s. [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome Try not to rely too much on it though]], as one wrong move and you could trigger the enemy's Anti Attack Aura which can get ''nasty'' especially on those with homing auras.
43	* BoyfriendBluff: Interestingly inverted when [[BrilliantButLazy Fayt]], in order to get away from an unwanted admirer, claims that [[LikeBrotherandSister Sophia]] is actually his girlfriend. She immediately begins to [[InaneBlabbering babble in embarrassment]], but Fayt begs her to play along with it, which she does. Afterward, she reassures him that she didn't exactly mind since she doesn't totally despise him.
44	%%ZCE * BrattyHalfPint: Roger.
45	* BreadAndCircuses: This seems to be why [[spoiler: Luther created Eternal Sphere, to keep the 4D denizens distracted from their lack of fulfillment]].
46	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
47	** [[spoiler: Your characters literally do this in game. Your party enters 4D space through a computer monitor.]]
48	** [[spoiler: If you never encounter Roger during the game, a short scene will play after the ending where he yells at the player to come rescue him.]]
49	* BrilliantButLazy: Fayt since he does know a fair bit about machinery, as shown when he fixes Meena's music box because he knew the exact parts needed. He also knows the electromagnetic properties of the elements, as when Dion tells him about the iron wire, he immediately tells him to switch to copper. However, Fayt is shown at the beginning to be a bit of a slacker, playing video games instead of doing homework.
50	* BroughtDownToNormal: This is what is expected to happen to residents of the Eternal Sphere if they manage to cross into [=4D=] Space without suffering CessationOfExistence. Fayt was given the Symbol of Destruction specifically to prevent his from happening. [[LostInTranslation The English script doesn't do a good job of explaining this]].
51	* ButtMonkey: Cliff, in the manga.
52	%%ZCE * CampGay: Belzeber.
53	* CantCatchUp: If a character is out of the party for any length of time and suddenly comes back, they return at the level they were when they left. The most blatant example of this are Sophia and Peppita, who both return to the party around the middle of the game after being playable for only a couple of tutorial battles at the very beginning.[[note]]With Sophia being permanent, while Peppita is optional.[[/note]] Everyone else in your party is most likely at level 30 or greater by this point, while both are still at level 1, and by now you're facing enemies that can insta-kill your properly leveled characters. You can level both easily by grinding in a different location, and, since they're at level 1, they can make the bonus battle gauge fill up faster, thus making you earn EXP easier. There's even a battle trophy for gaining 20 levels in a single battle. Similarly, there's a battle trophy for beating the final boss with three level 1 characters, and the ones who fulfill this roles are Sophia, Peppita and Fayt[[note]]Fayt can be kept at level 1 by avoiding all battles until Cliff comes. At that point Fayt can be incapacitated so he doesn't earn any experience.[[/note]]
54	* CartographySidequest: One of the more painful examples.
55	* CastFromHitPoints: In an unusual and painful variation, most battle skills. In this game, losing either your HP or MP will knock you unconscious, and all skills in the game use one, the other or both. Thus, you have to manage yourself if you don't want to end up [[IncrediblyLamePun skilling]] yourself into oblivion.
56	* CatGirl: Felinefolk and Ur-Felinefolk.
57	* CessationOfExistence: Even if someone in the Eternal Sphere manages to open the way to [=4D=] Space, it is expected that they would cease to exist if they were to actually attempt to cross over. The Symbol of Alteration was given to Maria to prevent this.
58	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Sophia, depending on what ending you get, and in general, your opinion about what happens in the future. If you do not get the Fayt/Maria ending, Maria will hook up with Lieber, making Marietta Lieber's unlucky childhood friend.
59	* TheConstant: The intro has a few, including an intact Statue of Liberty surrounded by hovering architecture.
60	* ContrivedCoincidence: The one planet you crash land on just so happens [[spoiler: to have the keystone to the entire galaxy on it, ''and'' the only access point to the Eternal Sphere's equivalent of a debug room.]]
61	* CounterAttack: Both Peppita and Albel can do this.
62	* CrapsackWorld: Believe it or not, [[spoiler:the "real" world that Fayt and co. venture into fits this trope. A world that's all play and no work is not as pleasant as it sounds, since the people are bored as hell. Especially when you consider that, as Maria points out, it's mostly a ''very'' effective ploy for Luther and his cohorts to essentially be the overlords of the 4D cities.]]
63	* CursedWithAwesome: Fayt and Maria.
64	* CutscenePowerToTheMax:
65	** Vendeeni disrupter rifles are either instantly lethal or heavily damaging; in an actual battle, not so much.
66	** The Enforcers can delete entire battleships, yet never use that ability in battle. Fayt's and Maria's powers, in turn, are this subverted. The actual attacks can be found for battle in a bonus dungeon after beating the main story.
67	* DarkerAndEdgier: In-game violence is low-key, [[BloodlessCarnage since there isn't any blood]] even when characters are cut down with swords. But the manga adaptation actually shows Nel [[http://mangapark.me/manga/star-ocean-till-the-end-of-time/s1/v4/c15/4 slitting enemies throats]], complete with arterial bloodspray. And she's [[AttemptedRape nearly]] [[http://mangapark.me/manga/star-ocean-till-the-end-of-time/s1/v4/c14/34 raped]] [[http://mangapark.me/manga/star-ocean-till-the-end-of-time/s1/v4/c15/9 twice]] while attempting to rescue Tynave and Farleen from the Kirlsa Facility; which didn't happen in the game.
68	* DeadpanSnarker:
69	** Fayt, mostly at the beginning to Cliff:
70	-->'''Cliff''': ''Look, my mission is to bring you to our leader. Until then, I’ll watch out for you—trust me! You’re safe as…as a turtle in its shell!''
71	-->'''Fayt''': ''A turtle dropping out of orbit...''
72	-->or:
73	-->'''Cliff''': ''These restraints are pretty solid. Damn… They’re too tight, I can’t move at all...''
74	-->'''Fayt''': ''Um... that's why they're called 'restraints'''.
75	-->or
76	-->'''Cliff''': ''True enough. But I bet you that Mr. Super-Square, champion of the [=UP3=] would disagree with you.''
77	-->'''Fayt''': ''Hah hah, very funny.''
78	** Cliff also has his moments:
79	-->after being ''tortured'', Fayt asks Cliff why he didn't just bust out (which he could have done easily).
80	-->'''Cliff''': Would've been too much of a pain... I couldn't just leave you there, anyway, and I kinda wanted to see what was going on first hand.
81	-->'''Fayt''': So, You find anything out?
82	-->'''Cliff''': As a matter of fact, I did.
83	-->'''Fayt''': What?
84	-->'''Cliff''': The whips on this planet hurt, too.
85	-->{{beat}}
86	-->'''Fayt''': Very funny.
87	* DemotedToExtra: Albel and Nel, once they become {{optional party member}}s.
88	* DiabolusExMachina: Everything in Ameena's subplot.
89	* DiscOneNuke:
90	** A minor one, but if you sell the 1/144 Scale Bunnies you get from completing the maps for Pesotto Forest and Traum Mountains at the earliest possible opportunity, you can buy the Holy Sword for Fayt from Airyglyph much earlier than you should be able to. The sword has an ATK of 200, allowing you to cut through many early enemies with ease. The only downside is that you might have to deal with Dragon Brigade Soldiers, which you aren't meant to be able to defeat at that point in the game. However, with clever usage of the Anti-Attack Aura, it's quite possible to beat them, which nets you a great deal of EXP. It's also possible (albeit not recommended) to raise that money by obtaining [[ShopFodder Copper Idols]] from the Nobleman enemies in both Pesotto Forest and the Ruins of Coffir and selling them to shops.
91	** A ''major'' one is using Alchemy to make {{Orichalcum}} and Synthesis to augment your weapons with it. It's a huge {{guide dang it}}, but with enough money and perhaps an hour of effort, you can end up with a character doing ''dozens of times'' as much damage and turning otherwise hard bosses into {{curb stomp battle}}s that end so quickly that the death animation takes longer than the fight itself.
92	** One that's more powerful than it seems is an enemy in a side room in the Airyglyph Aquaducts that has a chance of dropping a Regeneration Symbol, which periodically restore three percent of the user's MP. Three Regeneraton Symbols will last the player to the final dungeon, not just because MP regeneration significantly lowers the risk of an MP-kill, but because it's so easy to ensure that at least one character will have a healing spell, which that character will never run out of MP to cast.
93	* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: The first optional character (out of Nel, Albel, and Roger) who helps Fayt and the others against the Vendeeni at the Kirlsa Training Facility will be struck by Biwig's laser gun, resulting in them seemingly dying. The advanced medical technology on the Diplo heals them up right after, however.]]
94	* DistantFinale: Canonically, ''Till the End of Time'' is the farthest entry in the franchise's timeline.
95	* DubNameChange: This game has many of them.
96	* EncyclopediaExposita: The in-game dictionary is considered by some fans to be better written/more interesting than the game's script itself. [[InterfaceSpoiler Just be careful of what shows up, since it might spoil things you don't know.]]
97	* ExplosiveOverclocking: Early on, Fayt turns his communicator into an improvised explosive by overloading its power supply.
98	* ExposedToTheElements: Very few people in the capital city of Airyglyph seem to wear weather appropriate clothing, despite a temperature of ''20 degrees'' (below freezing).
99	* FashionableAsymmetry: Albel, though justified as the gauntlet is either [[spoiler:a prosthetic, or something that covers a severely disfigured arm.]]
100	* ForcedTransformation: Masques and Masque Kings temporarily turn their enemies into vegetables or pastries.
101	* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
102	** In the story, Fayt agonizes for a long time over whether to break the AlienNonInterferenceClause by sharing his advanced technology with the Aquarians. Long before he does so, however, all the stores are likely to be selling bombs and other gadgets he and his party cheerfully designed and distributed via the invention system. Note that bombs and such have already existed, but only to the continent of Greeton.
103	** Similarly, to the above, Fayt says in a cutscene that he hopes he won't have to use his sword. If he gets in a fight right after that he excitedly says "ALL RIGHT! A real fight!"
104	** Cliff claims Norton's gun won't do much damage to a member of his species, but it does exactly as much damage to him in battle as it does to Fayt. Giving he dodges the weapon that won't affect him, there is always the option he is bluffing or referring to his ability to dodge it.
105	** Convictors. Even at a lower level, they seem so much easier than Enforcers or Proclaimers, no doubt due to their major multiple hit attacks being on "weak" settings. And yet, in the cutscene after the boss battle, the characters comment on them being so much stronger than the previous threat.
106	* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Luther's gotten a ''little'' too obsessed with running the Eternal Sphere.]]
107	* GodIsEvil: Subverted. [[spoiler:Luther is ''not'' a deity, but he [[AGodAmI sure as hell thinks he's one]].]] In the original Japanese version, he's called [[spoiler:Lucifer, making him more like Yaldabaoth in [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} Gnosticism]]]].
108	* GenkiGirl: Peppita.
109	* GeniusBruiser: Cliff, probably. When he's not busy pulverizing mooks with RapidFireFisticuffs and SphereOfDestruction, he's also [[spoiler:the very capable (former) leader of [[LaResistance Quark]]. In fact, he stepped down when he witnessed Maria's capacity for destruction surpassed his own.]] He also has the highest Engineering stat of the playable characters.
110	* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Up until the end of Disc 1, the Vendeeni were the oft-mentioned horrible threat to all existence which the main characters have spent the whole game either running or hiding from. When they finally show up for a proper fight in Disc 2, they get their asses handed to them and are never mentioned again after [[spoiler:the Executioners and their masters, the Sphere Corporation up in 4D Space]] hit the stage, literally coming out of nowhere.
111	** When on a mission to save [[spoiler:Ameena, Sophia's sickly flower girl lookalike]], the party encounters a Mud monster which randomly appears out of a pond,isn't alluded to prior and is not mentioned again after its defeat
112	** In the Bequerel mines, the party is attacked by a giant chicken which can turn people to stone with its bite. It's not alluded to prior, unlike the Brass Dragons that you find as regular enemies within (and they were alluded to in the database as moving in recently in-universe).
113	* GlobalCurrency: For some reason, Fol are accepted on every world, even ones that ostensibly have no contact with the galactic economy. [[spoiler: Justified by the MMORPG nature of things, although that justification seems shaky when you ''leave'' the game and find your money is just as good. It still holds up when you realize the only area you buy things in is in a live, cosplay version of the game. FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you realize that the game is probably pay tow in which is why the real world also uses fol outside of that town.]]
114	* GratuitousEnglish: All over the place in the Japanese version, particularly in the menu and in battles. All battle skills are in English (mostly unchanged, and even displayed in English letters rather than katakana), and if you try to use an item before the cooldown runs out, you get "An item can't be used!!" (whereas nothing shows up in the English version).
115	* GuideDangIt:
116	** The item creation system. There are so many items and equipment that you need a guide and a couple hours to get just a handful of items you want. It's also partially {{Random drops}}.
117	** Also, making two of the following characters permanent members of the party: Nel, Peppita, Albel, and Roger.
118	** Speaking of Roger, when he first joins the party he doesn't have a weapon, and there's no where in the immediate area to buy him one. Unless you knew to buy/craft one before meeting him, you'll be stuck with severely crippled character for quite a few battles.
119	** Despite being a Platform/PlayStation2 release, walking (required for one very early puzzle) is not linked to small movements of the analog like ''every other game for a system with a joystick based controller'', but to holding the circle button. At least it's in the manual if you look for it.
120	** The MultipleEndings. You'll want to look up what conversations and actions have an affect on your party member's feelings for you since it's usually not obvious.
121	* HeartwarmingOrphan: Meena and Niklas.
122	* HeavyWorlder: Klaus III, the home planet of the Klausian race, has a gravity around twice that of Earth's, giving them correspondingly more speed, strength, and stamina than a typical Earthling.[[note]]Or other races living in gravity roughly that of Earth's, such as Elicoorians or Vanguardians.[[/note]]
123	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Albel]]; starts out as more of an {{enemy mine}}, but if you recruit him as one of your optional party members, he definitely becomes this.
124	* HeroesPreferSwords: Fayt. Expressly to fit in on the underdeveloped planets he lands on. And he plays a warrior archetype in the video game simulation he plays with.
125	* HowDidWeGetBackHome: At the end of the game, [[spoiler:the main characters wake up from [[CessationOfExistence their entire universe being deleted]] with no explanation of how they're still alive, or how their universe is still intact. Maria speculates on it for a minute, but the party ultimately decides to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere not worry about it and just go home]].]]
126	* HumanAliens: Loads and loads, most prominently Elicoorians (and to a lesser, though still great, extent Klausians; the neck markings that Klausians have are mistaken for tattoos in Cliff's Crafstman Guild profile). Once the plot twist hits, though, [[FridgeBrilliance it actually makes sense...]]
127	* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: Earth, Galaxy, Universe, 4D.
128	* InterfaceSpoiler:
129	** [[spoiler:The workshop map on the invention screen shows that Aquios is the final town on that planet.]]
130	** Before crashing on Elicoor II, Cliff offhandedly mentions Quark's flagship The Diplo, which naturally receives a dictionary entry. Due to WikiWalk, the curious player is then lead to find Maria's profile, which includes the massive revelation regarding Fayt heard near the end of Disc 1.
131	* InterspeciesRomance: Though almost any of the intelligent species in the ''Star Ocean'' universe could be considered to be sub-species of the same species (especially since they can interbreed), the game considers each to be different. As such, examples of interspecies romance can potentially include (depending on the paired endings): Fayt x Nel (Earthling x Elicoorian), Fayt x Mirage (Earthling x Klausian), and Maria x Lieber (Earthling x Klausian; this is the default pairing for Maria if you do not get the Fayt x Maria ending).
132	%% ZCE * InnocentFlowerGirl: Ameena.
133	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Roger, although it only really shows if he is the one to destroy the transporter jammer.
134	* KamehameHadoken: Cliff's Battle Skill Max Shockwave, as well as Albel's Palm of Destruction.
135	* KatanasAreJustBetter: Albel and Adray, for starters. Adray in particular is strange because [[OrnamentalWeapon he never unsheathes his weapon.]]
136	%%ZCE * KillerRabbit: Sooties.
137	%%ZCE * LaResistance: Quark.
138	* LateCharacterSyndrome:
139	** Sophia permanently rejoins in Disc 2, more than halfway through the main story. Although she's one of the few characters who specializes in Symbology, she rejoins at level 1 during a point in the game where enemies can basically insta-kill your properly leveled characters. As such, several players will just not bother using her at all,
140	** Peppita also shares similar problems with Sophia, rejoining late in the game at a low level. Although she fares a bit better with players due to how powerful she can become compared to Sophia.
141	** Mirage joins the party about 3/4th through the main story. Problem is, she'll be about 10-20 levels lower than your other characters and she's a MovesetClone of Cliff with a couple of differences.
142	** Lastly, Adray. He'll permanently join the party a little after Mirage does, and he'll be even lower leveled than her. Even if you temporarily recruit him during Disc 1 and get more levels on him beforehand, the long gap between that time and him rejoining can place him in CantCatchUp territory.
143	* LostInTranslation: The English script is vague about what Fayt's power actually does, unlike Maria and Sophia's more explicit roles. Even the dictionary entry for the Symbol of Destruction only gives a zero-context explanation of its RealityWarper capabilities. In the Japanese version, it is more explicitly explained that Fayt is projecting a bubble around himself that allows the party to continue using their Symbology and Killer Moves instead of being BroughtDownToNormal.
144	* LuckBasedMission: The Bunny Races.
145	* MagicGenetics: What Symbological Genetics entails.
146	* ManaShield: There is a support skill called Convert Damage, and selecting it lets you pick between Preserve HP and Preserve MP. The former is the trope while the latter is an inversion. The skill converts the damage for the stat you picked to preserve into the other for a specific amount (say if you pick Preserve MP, the damage for each 1MP is converted to 10HP damage instead). This can potentially turn characters into tank - Maria for instance has a huge MP pool and thus Preserve HP is good for her.
147	* ManualLeaderAIParty: The game allows the player to control one character, or the entire party, by setting all characters to "Manual" in the options menu. In addition, you can set the behavior of AI controlled party members from a selection of tactics, with some being unique to certain characters. This works, for the most part, [[ArtificialStupidity but every so often...]].
148	* MeaningfulName: Fayt Leingod and Maria Traydor. It should be noted, though, that Maria's surname (which is literally spelt "Traitor" in the Japanese version) [[spoiler:is actually a misnomer, since she never behaves traitorously in any way at all, unless you count how she led an anti-Federation group in which she would be seen as a traitor to the Feds, not to mention her parents (where she took her surname from) were participating in a forbidden research that goes against the will of the creator.]] Sophia gets in on the act too, if you know anything about Gnosticism (or played ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' or ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'').
149	* MindScrew: Just try to understand how the ending works. Go ahead, just try. Even the characters themselves [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] it.
150	* MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers: There are ten total playable characters, and six of them are required. Of the remaining four - Nel, Albel, Roger and Peppita - you can have only two permanently join to round out your party of eight. You get to use all four at some point in the story, though.
151	* AMythologyIsTrue: [[spoiler:Elicoorians, out of everyone in the universe, were the only ones remotely accurate in their religion. While names present in other religions are apparently taken from various Sphere employees, the Elicoorian gods were named for the programmers themselves. [[AllThereInTheManual Being able to see the Eternal Sphere's coding]] may explain that one.]]
152	* NaiveEverygirl: Sophia.
153	* NiceJobBreakingItHero [[spoiler:You piss off Luther enough for him to start ''deleting the universe''. Good thing it doesn't actually work, [[MindScrew or something]].]]
154	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Nel's a medieval ninja wizard special forces government agent.
155	* NonindicativeName: Some of the song titles have nothing to do with where they're actually played. "Lakes and Marshes with Doubt," for example, is played on starships (though there is certainly a lot of doubt during the times you hear it).
156	* NoobCave: Justified. Running opposite of [[HeavyWorlder the Klausians]], in inhabitants of Vanguard III are mentioned as having 70% of the physical strength possessed by humans due to their planet's low gravity. This presumably goes for the monsters living there as well.
157	* NotUsingTheZWord: The word "vampire" isn't even mentioned during normal gameplay or even the in-game dictionary.
158	* OddJobGods:
159	** {{Deconstructed\|Trope}}. In the world of the gods, it is considered chimeric to do anything outside your established talents, except visiting the mortal realm. Being an odd-job god is ''not'' fun or fulfilling. The reason gods so often play around with mortals is because that's just how bored they are. In this universe, the Buddha's point that the gods should be pitied is ''very'' much on the mark.
160	** [[spoiler:Don't let the plot twist distract you from the fact that Eternal Sphere views the 4D world as the abode of the gods. 4D culture considers it chimeric for anyone to do anything they don't have the equivalent of a degree for, save for playing Sphere's games. This even extends to ''giving directions'' -- looser restrictions would trample on the jobs and pay of those who ''do'' have the proper degrees, after all. This has the unpleasant effect of making 4D a practical WorldOfSilence. \
161	And it gets worse; even with ES to distract them when not on the job, they're viewed as odd-job gods ''by ES's residents''. They can't even figure out how to do anything meaningful that isn't directly related to their job ''in their escapism!'' In other words, even in the ultimate escape fantasy, the 4D world's idea of proper employment and behavior makes the pursuit of happiness impossible.]]
162	* OptionalPartyMember:
163	** This game has a particularly jarring example; Nel, whom you have in your party for the majority of Disc 1, is an optional character whereas Adray, who barely even shows up in any cutscenes and doesn't even show up in the original version, is ''not'' optional.
164	** If the player skips a certain forest area until beating the resident boss, it becomes possible to miss running into Roger entirely. This leaves players going through the entire game wondering who this entire set of Axe weapons sold at every shop belongs to.
165	** The other two optional members are Peppita and Albel. Peppita reappears at the Moonbase and you can choose to take her with you before you leave. Albel, on the other hand has to be sought out via a sidequest (albeit a brief and simple one). If you complete this quest before leaving Elicoor, then Albel goes with you instead of Nel and you actually have to come back for her after you escape [[spoiler:4D Space]].
166	* OurArchonsAreDifferent: Portrayed as more sympathetic than most examples, feeling agonizingly bored and unfulfilled.
167	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Rezerbians (of which only escaped convict Norton is seen) are very, very vampire-like aside from being mortal. In addition to feeding by drinking bodily fluids (this is compared to the feeding habits of a leech), ultraviolet radiation burns their skin (they wear special suits to protect them from the sun), and they can regenerate easily as with vampires in modern fiction, with Rezerbians even being able to regenerate whole limbs within several months.
168	* ParrotExposition: Fayt. All the time.
169	* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: The "Get 'Em Twin Beast" round in the Battle Arena.
170	* PersonOfMassDestruction: [[spoiler: Fayt and Maria have the ability to annihilate a battleship without any real help (Fayt is actually engineered with the "Destruction" gene, in fact) and Sophia's power allows the other two to bring that precise destructive power outside. Where it shouldn't even be able to exist.]]
171	* PostEndGameContent: The Maze of Tribulations, the Urssa Cave Temple and the rest of Sphere 211.
172	* PrideBeforeAFall: Albel comes off as having a ''massive'' ego when it comes to fighting both times you meet him before you actually get to fight him. And when you beat him, Fayt invokes this as he knows it will hurt him more by letting him go then just finishing him off.
173	* PropheticName: It's obvious someone with a name like "Fayt Leingod" was destined for greatness. Double-subverted with [[spoiler:Maria, who, despite her last name sounding suspiciously like "traitor" (Traydor) she doesn't turn out to be one ''for the party''. For the Pangalactic Federation or the 4D beings? She (and her family) is.]]
174	* QuirkyMinibossSquad: [[http://mangapark.me/manga/star-ocean-till-the-end-of-time/s1/v3/c0/149 Pierre and Kurin]] are [[BeastMan a pair of Menodix]], who're exclusive to the manga. They're a part of the Black Cat group of bounty hunters, though it only seems to be to two of them. And while only [[PluckyComicRelief a minor nuisance]], at best, [[http://mangapark.me/manga/star-ocean-till-the-end-of-time/s1/v3/c0/151 they still prove problematic]] for Fayt, Nel, and Cliff.
175	* RockOfLimitlessWater: The Sacred Orb; a prized treasure of the Kingdom of Aquaria. As an exceedingly powerful artifact, it is desired by each of the warring factions in the galactic war. [[spoiler: Later, it is revealed to be a debugging tool for use by the denizens of 4D Space.]]
176	%%ZCE * ScarfOfAsskicking: Nel's.
177	* SchizoTech: On a planet that's still stuck in 1600s era technology, how does the Craftsmen's Guild have a compact communicator??
178	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Fayt is initially reluctant to put his advanced technology and science knowedge to use to help Aquaria in its war, but some atrocities committed by Airyglyph soldiers change his tune. He still limits it to knowledge that the Elicoorans could conceivably have come up with on their own with the tech base they currently have, rather than give them advanced tech. Not that he could do the latter anyway.
179	* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Completely averted with Fayt. In order to get a mature and unwanted woman to leave him alone, he claims that Sophia is his girlfriend when she asks him if Sophia's his sister. Sophia practically plays this straight until Fayt begs her to play along. Not like she minds.
180	* ShroudedInMyth: Fayt and Cliff. "Engineers from Greeton", indeed.
181	* ShoutOut:
182	** Sphere is a reference to Square, a real life company famous for making role-playing games.
183	** You meet two brothers named Lucien and Lezard in Lost City of Surferio. For those who don't know, Lucian is also the name of Lenneth's love interest in ''Valkyrie Profile'' and Lezard is the name of her [[{{LoveMakesYouCrazy}} insane]] {{stalker with a crush}}. Also, the kid Lezard seems to be just as conniving as his counterpart, who knows what he'll grow up to be.
184	** Lenneth and Freya also make appearances as super bosses. Interestingly, like Lucian and Lezard, Lenneth was also turned into a little kid and has small animal-like ears.
185	** There's also the Lezard Flask, also a reference to Lezard.
186	** Given the name and description of the Sunrise Dictionary, it may be a reference to the Creator/{{Sunrise}} company, well known for the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' [[{{humongous mecha}} mecha]] series.
187	** A bookshelf in the mansion at Arias has music pieces called "Go to the Light" and "Heart to Heart" which reference the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdyGpM6FaIU opening]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC36xSAfCj0 ending]] themes of the ''Star Ocean EX'' anime.
188	** Ameena is a clear reference to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII another flower-selling girl]]. It goes even ''worse'' than you expect.
189	*** The standard uniform worn by Quark combat personnel (seen most obviously on Lancar, and Mirage to a small degree) seems to be a reference to ''Final Fantasy VII''[='=]s [=SOLDIER=]s, particularly Zack Fair and Cloud Strife. Unfortunately, every one of them we see get mercilessly gunned down.
190	** If you call Puffy "Murphy", she'll complain that she's neither a [[MurphysLaw law]] or "some pesky ghost for racking up experience points", referencing the recurring Murphy's Ghost monster from ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}}'' fame.
191	* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness: In a particularly odd example, Cliff's futuristic muscle-enhancing "Mighty Gauntlet" weapon is his weakest weapon in the game, not counting crafting failures, ''because'' it's his starting weapon. Even run of the mill iron gauntlets are stronger.
192	* SpamAttack:
193	** Cliff's "Fists of Fury" and Albel's "Air Slash of Fury" and "Double Slash of Fury".
194	** Fayt's "Side Kick." Well, [[SpamAttack spammed attack]], anyway. Once he gets it, he spends an ''awful'' lot of the game flying foot-first at one enemy or another.
195	* SpoiledByTheManual: [[spoiler:Maria's]] entry in the dictionary is available to you by the time you crash into Airyglyph, thanks to the entry about the Diplo. Among other things, her entry mentions [[spoiler:Fayt's and Sophia's powers, as well as Fayt's father's role in them]] long before they're mentioned in the game proper.
196	* StupidSacrifice: We know that [[spoiler:Maria's mom ''really'' just had to choose a moment when the ship they're on is about to be destroyed to let Maria know that she's adopted. But wouldn't that time have been better spent going to an escape pod as well and letting her know ''after'' they both reached safety?]]
197	* {{Superboss}}: [[spoiler:Lenneth and Freya from ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'']], along with the usual Gabriel Celeste and the Ethereal Queen. Also, optional NintendoHard palette swaps of the main party and [[spoiler:Luther]].
198	* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler: This is how Fayt's father dies, trying to protect him from being killed by Biwig.]]
199	* TakeThat: A very subtle one. ''Till the End of Time'' was published by Enix before their merger with [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] in 2003. [[spoiler:The game's real BigBad and his gang of flunkies are all part of a video game company known by the shorthand "Sphere".]] It becomes an unintentional SelfDeprecation in the ''Director's Cut''/overseas versions, which were released ''after'' the merger.
200	* TomatoInTheMirror: A very infamous one that utterly changed the entire franchise: [[spoiler:the entire universe - and all previous ''Star Ocean'' entries - is just a popular MMORPG called the Eternal Sphere run by the Sphere corporation in the 4D world, which is run by Luther. The Vendeeni threat is immediately replaced once Luther begins his plan to destroy Eternal Sphere because it started to become self-aware of its place.]] It should be noted that every other new ''Star Ocean'' game actively avoids releasing a new entry set after this one.
201	* TeaserEquipment: When you first arrive in Airyglyph City, several powerful weapons and items are sold for 20,000 Fol or more when you'll have barely a tenth of that. Purchasing this gear early is a godsend on the higher difficulties.
202	* UncommonTime: There's a lot of this in the soundtrack, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering Creator/MotoiSakuraba's love for ProgressiveRock. "Preemptive Attack" is one of many examples.
203	%%ZCE * UnexpectedSuccessor: Airyglyph the Unlikely.
204	* UniversalPoison: Averted with the Antidote Symbology, which an in-game book mentions is actually one of many abilities depending on the exact kind of poison.
205	* UpdatedRerelease: The original Japanese version of ''Till the End of Time'' was incredibly buggy and didn't work at all on the original [=PlayStation 2=] models. Square Enix then released the ''Director's Cut'' which fixed all the bugs and added new features. The overseas versions are based on the ''Director's Cut'' version.
206	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The Nobleman is an enemy type you encounter early on that doesn't attack at all and just runs around. Your only option other than fleeing and losing the XP/money you could have gotten is [[CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption beating him until he does his special move, which is him pleading for his life]]. [[ViolationOfCommonSense If you let the move go uninterrupted]], a treasure chest appears and opens automatically before [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he leaves]] and you get an Idol made out of some material such as copper or silver. It's possible to make him use his special move multiple times to get more than one idol by striking him just as he's about to leave. You can also intentionally trip him, which results him dropping his money. You can do this as long as you like to farm money. If you do kill him he either cries or screams "I hate you!"
207	* VideoGamePhysics: [[spoiler: Fayt's power of Destruction warps reality in a radius around him so that his immediate surroundings match the physics of the Eternal Sphere. This allows the party to use their magic and battle skills in 4D space. Otherwise, they'd just be like normal humans.]]
208	* WaveMotionGun: [[spoiler: The Executioner's method of attack, as well as the Creation Cannon on the Federation Battleships.]]
209	* WelcomeToCorneria: Averted with most [=NPC=]s, who get new dialogue as you progress in the story. They still usually only have two or more blurbs of dialogue each time, though.
210	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: The motivation of the ''antagonists''. Since the whole universe is [[spoiler:an MMORPG]], the BigBad doesn't see a problem with eliminating [[spoiler:the protagonists, since to him, they're just examples of AIIsACrapshoot]].
211	* WhenTreesAttack: There's a number of treant-like monsters you'll come across. While most of them can be killed using MP damaging attacks easily, you can also KillItWithFire, a la the Blazing Sword ability.
212	* YourMagicsNoGoodHere: [[DefiedTrope Defied]]. It's stated that the party ''should'' have been BroughtDownToNormal when they crossed over to [=4D=] Space, but Fayt's Symbol of Destruction is projecting a bubble around him that allows the party to act under their native universe's laws. [[LostInTranslation This explanation is badly muddled in the English script]].

Context VideoGame / StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime