Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Game Review
PRODUCTION INFO
Developed by Tri-Ace and published by Square Enix, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time was a Playstation 2 game released in North America on January 22, 2014 and in Japan on Febuary 27, 2003.
GAMEPLAY
Similar to both .hack and all of the Tales series, Star Ocean: Till the end of time keeps its real-time interative combat system from the series while introducing a few new things for the series. The first big difference compared to the others in the series is the removal of random encounters. All battles are now activated when running into a enemey in the field. The battle system itself however stays the same compared to its predecessors. The battle gameplay allows the player to control a party of three members. You can change which player you wish to control while the other two are controlled by AI. The player's characters will lose HP when hit or when using special attacks, and lose MP when using symbology/runology (equivilent to magic in other games). A character will be knocked out if they lose all of their MP or HP. If all three characters are defeated, it results in a game over. The player can also choose the tactics used by the AI during combat. If all enemies are defeated, the player is rewarded with gold and experience to level the characters used in battle.
Similar to that of Playstation trophies and Xbox achievements, the game has its own "Battle Trophies". These trophies can be earned from various challenges such as defeating a boss in a certain time limit or not receiving damage during a certain fight. These trophies can be used to unlock bonus material such as alternate costumes, sound test, and harder game difficulty levels. The game also brings over its item creation feature as seen in the previous title. This allows a player to enhance and create new weapons and equipment. The different types of crafts include cooking, alchemy, engineering, and smithery. Once the player has created an item, they can file for patents and earn profit from the creations earning money from various shops. The player can also recruit inventors to help create items. Lastly the game adds a VS Mode. In this mode the player can battle against another player or against a AI. Up to two players can play in this mode, either against each other or against AI.
STORY
Taking place four hundred years after the events of Star Ocean: The Second Story, the plot begins on the planet Hydra IV where our main character Fayt Leingod is on vacation with his family and childhood friend Sophia Esteed. The planet Hydra IV is then attacked by the Vendeeni, a civilization with advance for seemingly no reason, resulting in the begining of a war with the Pangalactic Federation. Fayt and Sophia survive and escape on the starship Heire, which also ends up being attacked by the Vendeeni. The two are seperated in different escape pods, and land on an undeveloped planet. It is at this point where their story truly begins to find out the truth of what is going on while meeting many companions along the way.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Fayt Leingod: Fayt is the main character in the game Star Ocean: Till the end of time. He is the son of Robert Leingod, a famous scientist in the field of symbological genetics. Fayt is known to be lazy when it comes to studies, and enjoys playing video games (especially Combat Simulation Holographic Games). Sophia Esteed: Childhood friend of Fayt who accompanies him on his vacation. She was born on the orbital colony Moonbase and moved to Earth. She is considered a member of Fayt's family as her parents worked close together with his. Cliff Fittir and Mirage Koas: Members of the anti-Federation organization Quark and born from the high-gravity planet Klaus III. Quark is widely known as a terrorist group by the Federation, and at this point in time has become so large that neither the Pangalactic Federation or Klausian goverment can choose to ignore them. Cliff and Mirage both have a special intrest in Fayt. Nel Zelpher: An agent of Aquios on Elicoor II. She specializes in infiltration and intelligence using "Runology", which is similar to the Symbology studies by the Federation. Albel Nox: Also known as Albel the Wicked. Albel is the commander of the Black Brigade, which is one of the three military devisions of the Kingdom of Airyglyph. ----- Pros: -User friendly control system -Trophy System -Lots of content including extra dungeons, item creations, and a VS mode to keep a player playing. Cons: -Graphics are not the greatest (Looking as if it was a PS2 launch title) -Lack of savepoints Score: 8.5 Final Thoughts: With solid gameplay and a tons of extras already included in the title, this Star Ocean title can keep the most hardcore gamers busy for months. The story can seem lacking at first but does pick up later in game. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who has a strong RPG craving and is willing to put the time in a long story!
