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[Kauza]

Damn, this game is hard to put down. MMO levels of addictiveness.

I'm about 17 hours in and I'm taking my sweet damn time. I'm about to head to Bacchus's planet, but I took a detour to revisit some of the old locations. Maxed nearly all of the item gathering skills that I have so far, so item creation is going to be quite fun next time I get to it.

It does make me sad that there are places that you can't revisit after you've left.

 

[JoeFenix]

Woow, the story just took a nosedive. End of planet 4.

Spoiler

"Yeah yeah sure sure, please step inside this GIANT FUCKING JAIL CELL" "Sounds legit!" Also, Bacchus can blast through alien technology with the snap of his fingers but somehow Earth in 1957 produced a jail cell above his ability? What the fuck? This entire planet is just fucking awful. It was such a cool concept, and they seriously couldn't have done a worse job.

PS: Edge is a fucking baby, holy shit. I want to skip this scene just to see if the summary says something like "Edge cried for ten minutes. Ship returned to present time for no reason. Maybe cause the Earth exploded? Who cares, right? If the characters don't know why it happened, then we don't have to explain it! Ship it."

Just got done with this part aswell and couldn't agree more, the puppet looking characters combined with the shitty storytelling/voice acting and just plain horrible art design of the dungeon made it pretty unbearable.

Tri-Ace really has no fucking clue how to make cutscenes, purely wretched stuff. That said the fighting system is so damn good that I'm enjoying myself despite all of this. Hopefuly this is the worst part of the game....

 

[Rpgmonkey]

Woow, the story just took a nosedive. End of planet 4.

Spoiler

"Yeah yeah sure sure, please step inside this GIANT FUCKING JAIL CELL" "Sounds legit!" Also, Bacchus can blast through alien technology with the snap of his fingers but somehow Earth in 1957 produced a jail cell above his ability? What the fuck? This entire planet is just fucking awful. It was such a cool concept, and they seriously couldn't have done a worse job.

PS: Edge is a fucking baby, holy shit. I want to skip this scene just to see if the summary says something like "Edge cried for ten minutes. Ship returned to present time for no reason. Maybe cause the Earth exploded? Who cares, right? If the characters don't know why it happened, then we don't have to explain it! Ship it."

I don't exactly agree that Edge was wrong for how he acted after that situation (then again I liked how Luke acted in TotA, so whatever), but I do think the event was oddly set up.

 

[Coverly]

These long stretches without a save spot are really killing me. Along with the bonus board, it's like the game expects you to play 5+ hrs like it's a normal thing to do.

 

[Bebpo]

These long stretches without a save spot are really killing me. Along with the bonus board, it's like the game expects you to play 5+ hrs like it's a normal thing to do.

Yeah, I just lost 90 mins of playing when this popped up.

I thought playing it installed off the HDD was supposed to make this NOT HAPPEN because it supposedly never reads off the disc.....wtf

 

[Nose Master]

Planet 4 was the low point, right? Please tell me it was the low point.

 

[Proc]

I thought playing it installed off the HDD was supposed to make this NOT HAPPEN because it supposedly never reads off the disc.....wtf

Yeah my nhl09 still had that issue when I installed it. Was that way until EA finally patched it.

 

[rykomatsu]

is there some place to craft aside from inside Calnus?

if not, well...6 disc swaps in 30 min

not too happy atm...

 

[Takuhi]

Planet 4 was the low point, right? Please tell me it was the low point.

I PROMISE you that Planet 4 was the low point.

And the high point's next!

 

[Aeana]

Which planet is 4? I've lost count. I'm really enjoying

Spoiler

Roak

, but I suppose

Spoiler

that someone who has never played Star Ocean 1 will have no particular attachment to this area.

 

[Rpgmonkey]

Which planet is 4? I've lost count. I'm really enjoying

Spoiler

Roak

, but I suppose

Spoiler

that someone who has never played Star Ocean 1 will have no particular attachment to this area.

Spoiler

The parallel Earth in 1957.

 

[Nose Master]

Planet 4 was

Spoiler

Earth 1957

Edit: damn you monkey

 

[Takuhi]

Which planet is 4? I've lost count. I'm really enjoying

Spoiler

Roak

, but I suppose

Spoiler

that someone who has never played Star Ocean 1 will have no particular attachment to this area.

Well, I assume everyone is complaining about

Spoiler

Alternate Earth

. I loved

Spoiler

Roak

.

 

[Robobandit]

I liked planet 4.. and I can understand the way edge is acting to a degree.. a lot of the things that are happening definitely reinforce the need for the UP3 in later Star Ocean games.

After I finish Last Hope, I may be compelled to play the other games in the series.. with the exception of SO 3.

 

[TheExodu5]

I don't see why people hate SO3. It's friggin' awesome. Do you really care about the story in SO that much?

 

[Xevren]

Well it is nice to have a story that is interesting in a game that's going to be really long

 

[Basileus777]

I panicked when my game froze during a 20+ minute cutscene on Roak. Thankfully it was just caused by my controller turning off from inactivity.

So Myuria isn't worth using? So far it seems like spellcasters suck in typical Star Ocean fashion. It's kind of annoying that characters outside of your main party don;t get any experience, it really discourages experimenting with different combinations.

 

[Robobandit]

I don't see why people hate SO3. It's friggin' awesome. Do you really care about the story in SO that much?

I do pay attention to the story in most j-rpgs, that is one of the reasons I play them.. I just like stories, even if they aren't necessarily good ones.

The "twist" in SO 3 would have royally pissed me off.. I don't really like it when games blatantly shatter the 4th wall in an unexpected fashion.

If I want to play a game with a horrible story but a great battle system, I think Grandia III still has the best system of any rpg I've played. Hearing the story for that nightmare makes me glad I played it in Japanese.. some of the best 54 hours of gaming I've had

 

[Aeana]

Nevermind. :O

 

[Coverly]

I don't see why people hate SO3. It's friggin' awesome. Do you really care about the story in SO that much?

Well if you're going to take 2-4 years creating a game, especially an rpg, I certainly would expect at least competent storytelling to go along with a good battle system. There is nothing wrong in expecting both and not having to settle by default. SO's battle system has always been enjoyable, but what's always debatable is how detrimental the storytelling/quality of plot is in the series.

 

[fusoya59]

Fun game so far!

Anyone else getting a Xenosaga vibe from the cast? So far, of the five characters that have already joined my party, 4 of them strongly remind me of the Xenosaga crew.

 

[TheExodu5]

Well if you're going to take 2-4 years creating a game, especially an rpg, I certainly would expect at least competent storytelling to go along with a good battle system. There is nothing wrong in expecting both and not having to settle by default. SO's battle system has always been enjoyable, but what's always debatable is how detrimental the storytelling/quality of plot is in the series.

Well that's my point. No Star Ocean has a very good story. Why the bar has to be set above SO3's story just seems weird to me.

Well that's my point. No Star Ocean has a very good story. Why the bar has to be set above SO3's story just seems weird to me.

Maybe it's just my imagination (I don't think it is), but I seem to be getting less stuff from harvesting and mining points after leveling those skills up to 10 than I was getting with them at around 6. I was getting at least 3 items from these points with those skills at 6, and now I get 1-2, usually 1, at 10. I've tested this several times now. That's so weird and annoying.

EDIT: I also get "unable to attain any items" from points on this planet frequently after getting the skills to 10. Never saw that error message before now.

Hmmm...I just went from level 1-10. I'm getting a good 6-7 items per harvest.

 

[Aeana]

Hmmm...I just went from level 1-10. I'm getting a good 6-7 items per harvest.

Yeah, I'm completely retarded. I just realized what was happening: I was full on the items I was getting from there before, and the game knew it and wouldn't give me any more.

 

[TheExodu5]

Yeah, I'm completely retarded. I just realized what was happening: I was full on the items I was getting from there before, and the game knew it and wouldn't give me any more.

Ahhh. I probably wouldn't have caught that. :lol

So far, I'm only leveling passive skills. I just don't feel compelled to level combo skills since they just don't get that much of a boost, and well, I only use the combo skills on bosses, except with my main character.

 

[mujun]

just finished it.

32 hours, easiest dif level and characters were level 56.

it was really fun but about 2/3 of the way through i stopped really paying attention to the story skipping pretty much every cutscene. didn't even bother to watch the ending, had a shower instead.

the combat is pretty awesome as is the variety of ways you can modify/level up/power up your characters. probably the most comprehensive and flexible of any jrpg ive played.

i absolutely loved things like retro heal and hp boost. making crazy powerful weapons and changing your setup mid battle was really cool and reduced frustration for me (a jrpg noob who only really plays them casually).

the story was bad in game story terms, if i compare it to an amazing movie/book/tv show well its was pitiful, 1/10 type stuff.

it did practically everything wrong you can, it's japanese though so i'll give it some leeway because of that.

characters who weren't consistent, flip flopping like they were schizophrenic or multiple personality making it hard to identify or get to like pretty much any of them.

plot holes pretty much every step of the way. locked in an impregnable room despite breaking through stronger obstacles left and right in other parts. humanities last hope are people about as mature as your average middle schooler. etc.

crappy dialog.

redeeming feature of the story for me was the pacing, it was nicely paced, except for the end sequence and the boss fights near the end.

the graphics are nice overall though some aspects were average or worse. art direction is good imo, roak looked great. loved the city on enll. awesome monsters, etc.

as i mentioned above the boss fights pissed me off. two in particular, one lasting something like 40 minutes the other must have been almost an hour. neither of the bosses really got close to taking me out, it was just a case of me having to wail on them with the same pattern over and over again for literally 40+ minutes. maybe i didnt go about it as efficiently as i could of but i had an over leveled party, good weapons and used a good amount of sight out as well as looking up hints to see what the bosses weaknesses were.

i almost got frustrated enough at the last boss to turn the game off and give up. spending 40+ minutes spamming attacks is not my way of building nice tension before the end of a game.

all in all it was a good play and third jrpg ive completed.

 

[Takuhi]

So Myuria isn't worth using? So far it seems like spellcasters suck in typical Star Ocean fashion. It's kind of annoying that characters outside of your main party don;t get any experience, it really discourages experimenting with different combinations.

Actually, in the long run Myuria becomes the best spellcaster in the game (IMO). Fast Cast + Resurrection + typeless damage-dealing spells make her more versatile and a better healer than Lymle. But this doesn't really happen until you hit the high levels you'll reach in the post-ending bonus dungeons.

(Of course, every character is worth using so you have a deep bench for the boss fights.)

 

[Error]

one thing I liked and noticed in the post-game content, is that if the 4 characters in battles are killed, the game lets you put in one so you can substitute or revive the others.

 

[Takuhi]

Error, you know that you can swap out any character at any time for any reason, right?

 

[Error]

Error, you know that you can swap out any character at any time for any reason, right?

I know... I'm just saying that it isn't game over if the 4 fighting are killed.

 

[mujun]

one thing I liked and noticed in the post-game content, is that if the 4 characters in battles are killed, the game lets you put in one so you can substitute or revive the others.

yeah that is cool. saved my whole party from becoming a pumpkin patch on the last boss

switched in sara and i was good to go.

 

[JoeFenix]

Holy shit

Spoiler

Sarah's

introduction.... And I thought Lymle was bad.

This cast is unbearable, I wonder if 8-4 was in charge of the voice acting or just the translation... this is some truly horrible stuff!

 

[Aeana]

I'm 100% sure that Sarah's speaking style is intentional due to her personality, and not the result of bad acting. It reminds me quite a lot of the good witch in Wizard of Oz.

 

[JoeFenix]

Don't get me wrong, I know the character that they had to work with is supposed to act like that but it still doesn't make it any less horrible for the player. The combo of creepy doll like character models and spazzy mocap + barely any lip movement when they talk certainly doesn't help.

It's a shame that Tri-Ace doesn't seem interested in improving that aspect of their games.

 

[LordK]

Will doing any of the extra quests do anything for PAs or the ending... or anything (again)? I've done so many worthless stupid ones and now I'm gonna go back to a previous save because I was an idiot and didn't realize you could see PAs when you weren't in the "traveling" state. So on my "mid-second-playthrough" I'd just skip tons of the extra quests I've already done and only do the important ones I know of.

Oh yeah, I'm starting over at

Spoiler

Roak

after just seeing

Spoiler

the 40 minute cutscene before the (what I think to be) last level

.

 

[Error]

good to see the bonus dungeon isn't an assets rehash fest like IU. This dungeon actually has an unique design.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

one thing I liked and noticed in the post-game content, is that if the 4 characters in battles are killed, the game lets you put in one so you can substitute or revive the others.

Crap there goes my excuse for ignoring the other four party members. Luckily this ain't Phantasy Star 2 or something where it takes hours to gain a few levels.

 

[Ricker]

Wait...I still have only 4 characters so I don't need to bother with the swapping yet but do you guys mean that when you have more,if you don't use one at all let's say,they will stay level 20 while the others are level 60 for instance?...if you swap at least once during a fight but wind up killing the monsters without one you swiped at one point,do they get experience??

Believe it or not,even with her horrid voice acting,I'm starting to like the little brat Lymle,one of her "kay" line actually worked in one instance hehe and so far she is my healing character and I want to have "her whish" come true.I also want to see why she hates Faize(I think I know what's happening there).Just finished the second planet.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I never tried swapping out characters in mid-battle for them to gain experience(sounds like a nuisance to me really)

However when you do quests, open chests, etc you get exp for everyone in the party. It's not much compared to fighting but at least you won't have a bunch of people at pathetic levels.

Plus it's pretty easy to level quickly since you can stack up to a 140% bonus to your exp, get ambushed multiple times to get more bonuses, and maybe even eat particular foods and/or increase certain items/synthed weapons to further increase your exp.

Which reminds me I'm going to take one of Lymle's wands and turn into an exp. gathering machine.

so what lvl is best for 7star ruins? im only 63. I have yet to try the undying dragon, surely hes easier than 2ndform last boss?

Oh the Undying Dragon is a complete puss.
7star on the other hand I haven't tried yet but I'm hearing people well into their 80s getting thrashed by it.

 

[RPGCrazied]

so what lvl is best for 7star ruins? im only 63. I have yet to try the undying dragon, surely hes easier than 2ndform last boss?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Plus it's pretty easy to level quickly since you can stack up to a 140% bonus to your exp, get ambushed multiple times to get more bonuses, and maybe even eat particular foods and/or increase certain items/synthed weapons to further increase your exp.

That's my problem with the game. You fill up the bonus board, and the normal battles just start to become annoying.

 

[Jinko]

Myuria is shittttttttt worst character in the party IMO. the only good thing about her is that she gets Fast Cast, something Sarah doesn't get. Lymle outclasses her as offensive mage, and Sarah is way better at healing support.

It's sometimes handy to have two people who can resurrect though.

Not sure if Lymle gets it or not.

Myuria is the only one who gets Plasma Cyclone also

 

[SimpleDesign]

I'm starting to get pissed off. Is anyone else getting DRE up the ass while playing from the hard drive on disk 2? It's always the same spots, I had a problem with Prince of Persia as well.

 

[Jinko]

so what lvl is best for 7star ruins? im only 63. I have yet to try the undying dragon, surely hes easier than 2ndform last boss?

If you go in at that level stay away frm the wasps they are ridiculously hard.

 

[elbkhm]

So, I've pickpocketed everybody on the first four planets... as far as character endings go, am I boned or can I still be redeemed if I change my evil ways?

 

[TChirath]

So, I've pickpocketed everybody on the first four planets... as far as character endings go, am I boned or can I still be redeemed if I change my evil ways?

You may need to give your party a lot of love potions later on. Materials are quite easy to come by except for Tasty Mushroom which can be a pain since you need 4 for each potion. There's a good spot on the 2nd planet that you can farm them, but still would take awhile if you need a lot.

 

[elbkhm]

You may need to give your party a lot of love potions later on. Materials are quite easy to come by except for Tasty Mushroom which can be a pain since you need 4 for each potion. There's a good spot on the 2nd planet that you can farm them, but still would take awhile if you need a lot.

I had to do some Tasty Mushroom farming already (16 for the warehouse quest), so I know it's a bit of a pain. Still, the love potions will give me an out if I need it. Thanks!

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Don't be too worried about them I'll say that much.

Major ending spoilers

Spoiler

Cause uh..I pretty much kicked Reimi to the curb yet I still never got in Myuria's pants or lack thereof. But hey achievements woop woop.

 

[djtiesto]

Still loving this game, even after meeting Lymle.. her va is pretty bad but oh well. I'm just a bit disconcerted about the lack of save points, that and some questionable VA are still my only problems with the game... and oh yes, I wish you could do IC from the menu instead of being back in your spaceship.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

Its probably been said but I love the way Reimi's hair moves. I went into this game blind and I'm really loving it so far.

 

[rykomatsu]

meracle is way overpowered....