Ramblings of a Crowe

Square does it again

Square Enix never ceases to amaze me with the quality of games they manage to put out. Of course, one can easily see that Final Fantasy holds all the cards when it comes to development and so forth, but that doesn mean the rest of the games they create are lacking. Still many people over look games made by Square that do not have the FF lable, which is sad, actually.

For those that didn't know, Square played a role in the first half of Xenogears, but late ebandonded development late in the game. One can definitley see the difference in the first half of the game vs the last half. Star Ocean II was another amazing game created by Square Enix. A PS1 game, it's probably one of the most involved and entertaining games I've played. The characters (sprite version) were all charismatic and likable (Especially Claude and Ashton). Which brings me to the topic of this blog, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Square's newest game on the stands.

One word sums this one up:Amazing.

I've had this game since Wendesday and cannot put it down. The graphics are incredible, though it miffs me a bit that Square seems to jip their other games in this area when compared to their FF series. Still, Star Oceans graphics are great, and the cut scenes are fabulous!

As for the characters, they're likable and unique, with various personalities with few cliches. The main character, Fayt (Fate) is a normal college student worried about his future. He's a typical boy, spending most of his time on games, much to the jargon of his childhood friend, Sophia. Sophia is the only character I disliked in this game. Why are all heroine's either meek or just plain stupid? Her chipper, happy go lucky attitude bugged the hell out of me, as did her lack of grasping reality. I didn't use her much in the game...if fact, I haven't even bothered to level her up...Anyway, later in the game Fayt teams up with Cliff, another fun character to have around. At first he appears like a muscle bound thug, but looks can be very decieving. As the game progresses, even more characters turn up, such as Nell and Albel. Nell is another female character, much more useful than Sophia, but even her skills were lacking a bit. Still, she was an intesting character and important to the storyline. Albel is a particulary fun character to have around too (you can choose if you want him to join you or not). He adds a dark and slightly wicked flavor to the party, which is nice considering everyone else is "normal" compared to him. Not to mention, Albel is an awesome fighter to have on your side.

As a returning feature, you can manipulate your party's emotions to one another to receive various endings. This is done by triggering certain events outside the story of the game. So far, I've done my best to make Sophia hate me (Fayt), but she's pretty persistant. Another fun feature carrying over from the last game is the ability to customize equiptment and items via "Creation". They've made it more interesting this time around, with having teams of inventors (most of which you have to round up from all over the world) create things for you. The entire process is complicated, not to mention time consuming. Some special items are only achievable through Item Creation, which can be a pain, but it makes the game more interesting.

The Battle system is very similar to the first game as well. It's been improved, making items easier to use an magic simpler to cast. The special attack commands are different, and difficult at first (J can vouch for this one), but after getting use to the, fighting is great fun. Even more interesting, the characters lives are not just based on HP, but also MP, meaning, if you run out of either, you die. This makes certain fights aggervating, but it takes the easiness out of the game. I tend to level up my characters to the max, but since MP levels up slower than HP, it sort of ticks me off...none the less, it's still fun and challenging. Skills are another important aspect of the battle program. Skills are learned as the characters level up, but it's up to you to choose which skills they'll use. This includes battle skills (for fighting) and support skills (for healing and defense). Most importantly is the "fury" gauge, which determines character manuverabilty and defense. At 100 percent fury, a normal enemy attack will do nothing, plus you can set "Anti-Aura" to return a weak attack or stun an enemy. The AI is decent as well, as you can trust your AI controlled characters to take care of themselves on the field...or at least tell you when they need to be taken care of. Albel, the most reserved fighter of the bunch is quick to snap at you when he's running low on HP. It's kind of comical to hear his gruff, sacastic voice yell at you from somewhere off screen "Need a little help here!" It startled me the first time. I assume this is because Albel can't heal himself unless you equipt him with support spells, but with his MP it's best to leave him as a melee fighter. Not to mention his personality isn't really geared to taking care of others in the middle of a fight. Cliff makes a much better healer, but he's also the best fighter in the game, along with Albel. So, tying him up with healing isn't a great idea either...

The story is excellent. Something I've never seen before, actually. Oh, it's got the entire "save the world" twist going on, but what RPG doesn't? However, they've thrown in an interesting twist and the entire story is full of surprises. Star Ocean takes place far in the future. The solar system is governed by a untied Federation, but there are still planets that refuse to join. There is tension in the galaxies as several rouge planets create trouble. Fayt is on vacation with his family and Sophia when the resort comes under seige and Fayt is forced to flee on an escape pod to an underdeveloped planet. Alone, unsure of where he is, if his family and Sophia are alive, and uncertain of where he is, Fayt's journey to get home begins. However, if things aren't complicated enough, Fayt's fate seems to have other plans for him, and a series of events launches him into the center of a catastrophe that transends even time itself.

If you play this game, and I highly recommend it to every RPG fan (especially FF lovers), expect to put in some serious hours. I don't think it's as long as Tales of Symphonia, though I suppose that depends on the amount of effort you put into it. Despite being in the future, Fayt is on a "third world" planet with primitive transportation (horses and wagons people). There's a lot of time spent running between various cities completing tasks to further the game, and hunting down Private Actions to manipulate your characters...and all this running is done on foot. Maps and city laysouts are easy to read, but it becomes difficult to remember which exit leads where, even after running around a bazillion times. There's also a lot of revisiting previous cleared dungeons to move the story along. It's important to remember how to get there and how to manuver though them. Plus, Item Creation is important and it's easy to spend an hour just trying to create one item, as well as gather the materials needed to create it.

So, overall, Star Ocean is an involved game that will consume a lot of time. It's not nearly as side quest heavy as Tales or some FF games. I do wish they'd expanded more on some of the characters stories, such as Albel and Nell. They are both very interesting party memebers and there could have been a bit more back ground behind them. Then again, things like that would have only made an already in depth game even more lengthy, so it's to be expected.

It's a great game, so go check it out!

*********

Oh! What's this I hear about FF12 not being released until next Summer? They've got to be kidding!!!! *sigh* I've also heard Xenosaga II is getting some poor reviews (from those who have played the Japanese version). I hope the game isn't as bad as they're saying it is.

Also, my vacation is over....I'm sort of sad about that. I had a lot of fun NOT working...but I suppose I should just count my blessings to be employed. I do love the people I work with, despite the job itself being tedious, stressful, and dull all rolled into one. In about 2-3 months I'll be laid off, so I'll have all the vacation I want then...*laughs*

Posted by Zoso at September 6, 2004 09:43 PM