The Star Ocean Series

When I played 2 on PS 1 I was so underleveled that by the time I made it to the two Haryfanx my best spell was Energy Arrow. That was how I learned to level grind.

(I also ended up with a final party of Rena, Claude, Precis, Celine, Dias, and Noel cause I didn't know how to get anyone else...but somehow I turned the final boss's limiter off and made him insanely hard.)

Edited by lalalei2001 on Nov 9th 2023 at 3:46:25 PM

Man Ashton really feels bad now. Like all of his moves either pop out slow or you have to contend with the lag. Also with the Tri Ace Slash move being real time rather than acting like a "freeze spell" I wonder if it will affect its use.

I loved Ashton as a character but I am worried that they nerfed him here. He wasnt the best even back then. At least to me. Oh and I wish this one particular star ocean game used Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria and Shining Force GBA's thing of making the game a bit harder everytime you beat it. Because now the game IS TOO EASY. I saw a video of someone beating Iseria Queen in UNDER 2 MINUTES and went "... Oh that aint right." This was the one game that let you have A LOT of fun with Disc-One Nuke s because if you didnt they game would chew you up and spit the bones. But now they are indeed way too easy.

Game has more hard mode stuff with raid and you can immediately pop Universe difficulty.

Oh good! Still I wonder if a difficulty like the one I mentioned would be nice. Because you had to beat Valkyrie Profile 52 times to get the max difficulty.

Also I didn't use the broken weapons handed to you for preordering/buying early.

Apologies for bumping, but after trying everyone.

Ernest got a massive glow-up. Like wow. His special moves got buffed so much. Dimension Whip, Thousand Whips, Bed of Roses/Broken Heart, and Sonic Whip are amazing killers. Also helps that you evolve the moves easier now, so you can immediately see their potential. His ultimate weapon also makes "thorns" for additional damage.

Noel now became a darkhorse. Aside from really good stunlock spells, his unique weapon allows him to revive allies if they are healed. So one can just make him spam Cure All and your allies are in infinite rage mode.

Current nerfs are Ashton and Chisato. Tear Gas got nerfed so badly and her specials didn't get much changes unlike the others. Ashton has his moves lag at the beginning or the end, and their reach are kinda reduced. His Tri-Ace kinda sucks now especially when Welch can do hers much better.

One of my favorite videos about the Star Ocean 3 twist is how L Per Omegaevolution just used the Star Trek Picard Facepalm meme for the thumbnail when they get to it:

The fact that the devs of the series over the course of decades afterwards show shame about this entire thing kinda tells you they would agree with such a reaction.

...Yeeeah, I can't blame the devs for being ashamed of the twist in hindsight. Though it did give me an idea for a fanfic based on the idea that Welch is a 4d'er if anyone wants to hear it.

Edited by Xorn15 on Nov 19th 2023 at 11:49:48 AM

I still think the twist was quite good at least confined in the game itself. The problem is it puts a shadow over all the sequels... especially since they are prequels.

Several RPG franchises atm are setting up for a very similar twist. Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact, Trails Series.

Edited by Memers on Nov 19th 2023 at 9:43:55 AM

Is it really a shame when a lot of that entry's units are practically all over the place and even introduced Welch?

EDIT: Honestly, the more I mulled about it, I feel like in retrospect, Second Story has a worse ending.

Edited by Ookamikun on Nov 22nd 2023 at 9:47:26 PM

One thing I love about the remake of SO 2 is that the bunny caller is FINALLY USEFUL.