In reality, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time was a highly anticipated sequel for quite some time. It was originally announced around September 1999 from tri-Ace, which was well respected for previous entries into the series. And when the game was finally released in Japan under the guise of Star Ocean III, it received less than stellar results. Fortunately for gamers, Square-Enix was determined to make the end product far more impressive than one originally thought. There was a solid game at the core of the project, it was just brought down due to a lack of polish.
The game was completely revitalized in almost every fashion with new items, new dungeons, and new enemies. Just about everything in this game has been revamped from its original incarnation, and thankfully, it’s a huge step forward. In regards to this game’s plot, one would assume it would be a science fiction epic. While the game does make use of lengthy cut-scenes and quite a large storyline, the whole presentation is brought down a little due to somewhat inconsistent pacing and some less than excellent voice acting.
What is a little sad is that the cast for the voice work is actually quite reputable, with people from the following anime projects: Bubblegum Crisis, Scryed, Vandread, and Love Hina. The delivery is, to be blunt, pretty amateur in most respects. Thankfully, the story manages to be enjoyable anyway with an overall involving plotline. Besides, the previous Star Ocean games have been somewhat notorious with issues of pacing and dialogue, so this little flaw isn’t quite as damaging as it seems. In respects to previous games in the series, this entry takes place a full 400 years after the events of the second game. There are even a few supposed ties to another Enix game known as Valkryie Profile.
Basically, Fayt Leingod, the game’s main protagonist, is spending time off on a resort planet known as Hyda IV. Joining him are his parents Ryoko and Robert and his best friend Sophia Esteed. Fayt’s parents happen to be very popular scientists who excel in the fields of Symbology and Genomorphy. As one would expect, things don’t stay very peaceful for long. Unfortunately for Fayt, his best friend Sophia, and his parents, a super powerful alien race known as the Vendeeni launch an attack.
This attack has sent everyone into a panic, including the Pangalactic Federation. No one is sure who this new power is exactly and what their motives are. Soon, the people on Hyda IV evacuate to escape certain destruction. Fayt, amidst the mass confusion, is separated from his friend and parents. He then ends up on an underdeveloped planet known as Vanguard III. He has to survive in the harsh underdeveloped alien environment, and more importantly, find a way to reunite with his friends, family, and government. Unfortunately, some parties wish to capture Fayt for some reason, thus making his journey even more difficult.
The plotline is actually quite well done, and the cast of characters is diverse and interesting. There are only a few problems: the pacing and the voice work. Despite these issues, the game manages to present itself decently.
Now the real focus of this role-playing adventure is definitely the gameplay aspect of it. While it does incorporate many tried and true elements found in just about every other game in the genre, it manages to snag the interest of almost the entire RPG community thanks to the inclusion of so many things. There is a simply massive amount of depth packed onto the two discs included with this game.
As one would expect, there are still dungeons to explore, towns to visit, NPCs to converse with, and the like. Characters gain levels through means of accumulating experience points, and their statistics will increase as well. Characters can also be outfitted with weapons, armor, and accessories. Of course, items and magic (which is referred to as symbology), are also employed.
Now, there are certainly elements that aren’t included among those obvious traits mentioned above. For example, when in towns, the ability to make unique items is available. Each character and even some special NPCs you can recruit have skills in certain areas, whether it is alchemy, crafting, or even cooking. Now, besides having your main party members make items, one can also recruit certain other NPCs through some special prerequisites to help the process. The working capabilities of the workshops can be improved through providing funding, and characters can be transferred from workshop to workshop to assist. When making an item, multiple characters can be assigned to that project to increase the chances of better results.
Also, while a specific crafting plan can be laid out, one can also choose to make an entirely original invention. However, the chances of success are lower. What item is being made also varies in price and in value. After an item is successfully crafted, it can be appraised for its worth and then sold in stores. Doing so will raise one’s ranking in a special guild as well as make more items available for purchase.
Besides making usable items, special items can also be made, like weapons or armor. It is even possible to fuse certain items to existing equipment to increase its parameters. This allows for a lot of customization options. Now to the battle system, the most involving part of the game play.
Battles are not turn-based, instead, they are handled in real-time. Battles are also fought on a three-dimensional arena instead of a two-dimensional grid. Characters have complete freedom of movement, and so do the enemies. Besides having life and magic, characters also have a fury meter. Fury dictates how many special attacks you can use as well as some of your defensive parameters. Fury is self-renewing, so it only hinders the player at certain time intervals instead of using it all up.
Now, characters have the option to use basic physical attacks, but they also have to keep into account the enemies' defenses. The enemies’ fury also lets them block attacks with a shield. However, if a strong enough attack is dealt, their shield is shattered and they are open for more attacks. Special attacks, if equipped by the characters, are executed through the use of the O and X buttons. The special attack used also varies on how long the assigned button is held down.
Magic, or symbology, can also be used through quick buttons or by accessing a menu. However, using symbology too often can be hazardous, because when a character runs out of mental energy, he or she dies as a result. That means it is necessary to keep watch on a character's life, mental energy, and fury levels during a battle. Also, during a battle, the player can control one character while the other two can be given certain tactical information set by the player.
There are several set plans that characters can follow, and you can change them instantaneously depending on the battle at hand. However, the manually controlled character can be switched at any time during the battle, so it is possible to assume control of any one character during battle and change tactics. Even when the player is controlling one character, he or she can also go into the menu and make another character perform another action even if that is against the nature of their tactical plan as well. So in essence, although the player controls only one character at a time, he or she still has total control.
Other things worth mentioning in the battle are the bonus gauge and cancel bonuses. When performing an attack, it is possible to cancel the attack at the last second and perform another. Doing so will add a damage modifier called a cancel bonus which can become quite useful. Also, when the proper prerequisites are met, the bonus gauge can become active. When it is, it adds a bonus obviously, which can vary from restoring more health and mental points after a battle to tripling the amount of experience acquired.
Once the battle ends, some health and mental points are restored, and experience, fol (the game’s currency), and the occasional item can be acquired. What is picked up can change based on whether or not the bonus gauge is filled. If a character gets enough experience to level up, they can gain abilities, spells, and skill points. One can then assign those skill points to one of the following areas: HP, MP, attack, or defense. The characters’ parameters will increase as a result of the level up, but assigning the skill points will allow for a greater increase in that specified area.
Characters can also gain special abilities like auras and new attacks. Attacks can be assigned to certain buttons, but there are also two slots for active abilities. However, there are a set amount of points that dictate how many special abilities can be assigned to that character. Furthermore, if any special prerequisites are met during the battle, battle trophies can be acquired at the end. Battle trophies don’t hold any specific uses, but they do provide bragging rights and alternate character costumes, provided enough are collected. Some can only be gained on certain difficulty levels.
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time doesn’t have visuals that really stand out amongst other projects in Square-Enix’s repertoire, but it still comes off as a very attractive game regardless. The artistic style is fairly reminiscent of previous Star Ocean games mixed with a hint of Konami flair, due to a little resemblance to Suikoden III. However, this game boasts far more detail and effects than the aforementioned title. The pyrotechnics and particle effects, for example, are quite impressive. And gamers who are in possession of a High Definition Television (HDTV) should be pleased to know that this game supports both 16x9 aspect ration as well as progressive scan.
There are a few problems here and there, but nothing incredibly substantial. The visuals do appear a bit blurry on occasion; the CGI cut-scenes seem heavily compressed and only just above average for the first half of the game, and the facial expressions aren’t entirely impressive despite the character models being nicely detailed. Luckily, things seem to clean up later in the game, and the fast-paced camera manages to keep up with the crazy action onscreen.
Some of the designs are quite impressive as well. The backgrounds and levels each have their own individual flair to them, and it’s nice to see some rather expansive areas. The effects really help the visual presentation, and overall the game does appear attractive even if it isn’t up to the same level as some of Square-Enix’s other masterpieces.
As for the sound, the only real problem is the voice acting. The delivery isn’t properly executed, which is even more disheartening considering the cast that provides it. It kind of bogs the story down a bit. Other than that though, the soundtrack does do its job pretty well. It doesn’t particularly stand out amongst other projects by Square or Enix, but the music does a respectful job of setting the mood.
The themes are pretty consistent with the respective area or event, and are often akin to either classical or techno. Rather typical music for a role-playing video game, in all fairness. Nothing exceptional here really, but the music is high enough quality for it do be deemed suitable.
Of course, there is the obligatory story-driven main quest, but there are also a multitude of available side quests to inspect. Doing so may be a good idea, because just rushing through the game’s plotline may prove to be a bit more difficult and less involving otherwise. There are multiple characters to recruit, items to be found, dungeons to be explored, and so on. There are tons and tons of things to see, and a lot of extras to take part in. The invention aspect alone can take quite a bit of time.
Also, the added difficulty modes and battle trophies help add to the game’s length. Replaying it on harder modes provides many more hours of entertainment with this title. The involving battle system and depth provide quite a large amount of fun. Overall, the flaws evident in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time don’t really do much to bring the experience down. Its virtues are prevalent and really help it stand out as one of the more enjoyable PS2 RPGs.
Storyline: 8/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Control:10/10
Graphics:8.5/10
Sound:8/10
Replay:9/10
Overall: 8.9/10
