Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time
DiscoZombie
Join Date: 2003-08-05 Member: 18951Members
Join Date: 2003-08-05 Member: 18951Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">anyone play it?</div> I was a big fan of star ocean 2 so I'm really tempted by this, but it got tepid reviews and the Penny Arcade boys are less than enthusiastic...
<img src='http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2004/20040906l.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
anyone play it?
<img src='http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2004/20040906l.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
anyone play it?
Comments
Star Ocean 2 improved the gameplay slightly, but compensated by making a stupid story (in my personal opinion... there are others who disagree with this statement).
Star Ocean 3 (what is being CALLED Star Ocean 2)... I don't know. I doubt that they could have messed up the battle system as much as the PA people suggest though... the battle system in the first two games was quite good... on par with Tales of Phantasia (another jap only game available with translation by emulation only). The item creation stuff really does rock though, which the PA guys mentioned is still in, apparently with some improvements even...
SO:TTET
and
SRS (street racing syndicate)
Haven't played a good rpg for a while and those Final Fantasy series I just stopped with at 8 and currently playing FFXI Online (Odin Server, Char - Lethonia , add me if you wish lol)
yeah, I agree - it can't be THAT bad... it sounds like the story is pretty much the same old star ocean (and RPG in general) stuff, but that can be a good thing...
I'll rent it before I buy it. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
It's also got this neat thing called the bonus battle meter, which fills up as you score hits and win battles. If it fills the whole way, you're awarded a bonus condition (either double money, triple xp, increased recovery rate or increased chance of item) based on what attack finished filling the bar. Once you're awarded a bonus, the meter empties and begins filling again, but if you lose a battle (escape/die) or get critically hit you lose all your bonuses and have to start over again with an empty bar. Getting triple XP makes the leveling grind a LOT easier, although a single critical can end the whole deal, which gets really frustrating.
Basically, give it a rent and you'll know if you like it. PA is right that it's boring at the beginning, but once you get some good skills and powerful characters to work with it becomes good fun. Plus it's got easily over 100 hours of gameplay time and 300 trophies you can earn for doing things like winning a battle without being hit or within 10 seconds. It gets my stamp of approval.
Say again? I'd love a game like that. I'm a big fan of reptiles.
I'm about 5 hours into it, and I definitely see where Tycho and Gabe are coming from. I can only hope the AI gets better as I keep playing (I think I read that somewhere), but yeah, my teammates are constantly getting molested by everything that isn't me. I'm really bad at the combat in general... there's a rock/paper/scissors combat system, which often works in games - when the games are 1-on-1... in a fight with 3 chars on your side and 3 enemies, you have no idea WHAT the heck is going on, when to use what attack, etc... I try to stay back and use combo attacks, but most of the time I either miss or get interrupted... maybe I'll get used to it as the game progresses... the combat is also HARD compared to most americanized RPGs... which I guess can be considered a good thing, as it's not as 'dumbed down' from the Japanese version like most games are... but I guess I must just be spoiled, because I just actually died and lost probably a half an hour, and I am totally not used to dying in RPGs <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Whelp, I finally bought and started playing this. At first I tweaked the AI a bit and everything was hunky dorey; I was starting to think the PA crew just hadn't known how to set things up... but then ms traidor joined my party. Oh boy...
Up until this point I'd only had to use the main 3 because they're all I had; fayt, the guy and the girl (I know the names I just don't want to cause spoilers =s ).
I'd set up the stats of the two guys so the AI could control them; lots and lots of HP and attacks the AI used well but done so I could switch into them if I ever needed to (pretty much never).
The girl who fast became my fave because of her style being pretty much spot on what I enjoy was custom built for my unusual playing style; minimum health with top attack and dodging; for a very active and agile player this suits me fine.
Problem is now I have this other char who's not a high healther join my party and she's pretty badass too. Now I want both in so I can switch between them as the mood takes me but because they're both low hp types configured to my playing style the AI is getting frigging maimed when I leave it in charge of them no matter what setting I tell it. The remaining Fayt who's configured so the AI can use him plus balanced so I won't go nutty being stuck with him from time to time is fine, it's just the two girls that get beaten to the pavement and HARD!!!
They seriously need a 'stay the hell out of combat' AI routine I can pick, that or I'll have to learn playing two chars almost simultaneously =P
That aside it's a very cool and addictive game. I just wish the AI could play like me instead of the 'typical' high-hp style most gamers will probably go for; I know they're just catering to the biggest part of their market but it leaves a dodging freak like me with some very nasty and tough choices =s
since the first time i played that transforming game i always thought he said RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE , and molest my daughter
since the first time i played that transforming game i always thought he said RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE , and molest my daughter <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Altered Beast right? Wth does he say? Rise from your Grave ________.
I friggen hate stupid AI that I have to entrust party members to. It is the most frustrating garbage on the planet. Why is it that in most games, Allied AI is mentally handicapped and Enemy AI is capable of discovering quantum theory on its own?
When the enemy messes up it's 'opportunity' when your friendly ai messes up it's 'disaster'. Easier to remember the bad than the good ^~
could always spend lots of cash to refine powerful weapons, but that'd feel like cheating, I imagine...
When the enemy messes up it's 'opportunity' when your friendly ai messes up it's 'disaster'. Easier to remember the bad than the good ^~ <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I guess so. But just for convenience's sake, your allied AI should be smarter in my opinion, since you are the one who has to beat the game, not one of the countless thousands of enemies you have to slaughter. Dumb AI ruins good RPG's.
BTW I meant "Wise from your Gwave". I had forgotten about the way that voice speaks. (Anyone know what the second part is?)
since the first time i played that transforming game i always thought he said RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE , and molest my daughter <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Altered Beast right? Wth does he say? Rise from your Grave ________.
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
i dunno i just put it into my genesis and i still think it says molest my daughter
It plays a lot like most players I've seen in RPGs; they're just not all that knowledgable about the arcane ways of avoiding being hit. I let a friend try out PSO once and had to lend him one of my chars and he was getting a serious smack-down because of the way I designed her. We started afresh with new chars and with his pretty typical 'omg hp!' build he did fine =3
Course I don't like the hp maniac approach because I feel like you're not only wasting points that could be spent on attack and stuff but hp is what you need when you don't have the skill to dodge as far as I'm concerned.
My chars are always purpose built to be fragile but deadly off the premise I'll never get hit... makes for incredibly lethal assassin/rogue/mage types which is pretty much my style ^^
One other small complaint about Star Ocean are what I consider 'scummy attacks'. Like Albel's never-ending blade slash technique. If you're playing a char who doesn't have 'no guard' you might as well throw the pad away as you get hit after hit plowed into you keeping you in a permanent state of hurt and therefore completely unable to do <b>anything</b>. I guess you're supposed to switch chars and whack the badguy with the other char to free them up but I had once situation where the enemy all clumped together; knowing the risk I jumped in to execute one of my char's detonate attacks (just a normal non-technique attack but you need to have 3 or more baddies near you to do it instead of your normal slash). I wasn't paying attention and didn't notice one of them swinging from the mass until it was too late. Next thing I know they're taking turns whapping me with their swords keeping me totally helpless. Screaming "unfair!!!" I look to see where the other 2 are and THEY'RE STUCK IN THE CROWD WITH ME TOTALLY PARALYSED BY THE HITS.
I'm damn lucky a lull in the hits was <i>just</i> long enough for me to slip out and resurrect the fallen but that was downright annoying ><
detonate attacks, eh? I've never seen em - you just run into a crowd of enemies and hit X, or O, or what? I am intrigued :>
I seem to have fixed the problem with the AI being suicide happy with a bit of selective equipping and some fiddling with the Tactics but now... now something weird is happening o.O
For no apparent reason one of the chars will <b>always</b> dodge off to a far end of the arena and sit there doing nothing. They won't help, they won't cast spells, they won't fight and the only way to get them into it is if something attacks them or I switch and run them towards the badguys which sorta jogs their memory of why the heck they're there in the first place.
It's really weird and frigging annoying; up until the shrine it'd never done this =/
but I don't think it's right. I have cliff set to level 5 def with only 1 attack and he's as scarily in your face as ever =o
No way attack and defence are for AI instead of being stat boosts, that's just silly. The ones that hop away are actually the ones with balanced stats ><
On the idea of it 'mimicking' your playstyle though I wonder... Ever since I started using the 4th char you get she's been getting a lot better at surviving o.O
I've never controlled cliff. Ever lol.
Fayt I'm surprised at though as the few times I played him I was very 'in your face' while the current AI seems to be a wall-hugging hippy ^^;