Please bear in mind that I have yet to fully complete this game, so this review may not be entirely accurate. It is based solely off of the knowledge I have so far acquired, which is not much seeing as how I am not even halfway through the game yet. If there is something wrong with this review due to my lack of information, I would prefer not be told due to spoilers. I will edit this as I further progress in the game. I thank you in advance for your patience. Enjoy the review. =)
~ The Game ~
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is an RPG released in February of 2003 for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by tri-ace, and published by Enix shortly before they became Square Enix. It was released in Japan, North America, and the PAL territories. The game was re-released in 2004 as a 2-disk Director’s Cut edition, with features such as new characters, new areas to go, etc. Till the End of Time takes place approximately four hundred years after Star Ocean: The Second Story.
~ Storyline ~
Fayt Leingod is an average, lazy college student on vacation with his parents and childhood friend, Sophia Esteed, on the planet Hyda IV. Very shortly into the game, Hyda is attacked by what is later discovered to be the Vendeen Empire. Fayt and Sophia escape on the starship Helre, but are separated from Fayt’s parents. The Helre is soon after attacked as well, forcing Fayt and Sophia, as well as the rest of the civilians passengers, to flee via escape pods.
Fayt’s escape pod lands on an underdeveloped planet, called Vanguard III. There, he is found by Cliff Fittir, who claims to have to take Fayt to his leader for a meeting. While traveling through space to the rendezvous point, their ship is also attacked by the Vendeeni, causing them to crash-land on another underdeveloped planet called Elicoor III. Here, the Kingdom of Airyglyph and the Sacred Kingdom of Aquaria are at war. After being taken prisoner by Airyglyph soldiers, Fayt and Cliff are rescued by Nel Zelpher, an Aquarian spy who uses “runology”, which is mysteriously like the Symbology Fayt’s father studies. She claims to want their technology to save her planet - and refusal is not an option. Here, the real adventure begins. But they later realize that, while they are busy and unaware on Elicoor, mysterious things are happening in the rest of the universe...
~ Gameplay ~
The gameplay for Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is definitely new. Most RPGs in which the player controls more than one character have turn-based battle systems, correct? Not this one. The player controls a party of 3 characters in each battle. One is controlled by the player, while the others are controlled automatically by the game itself. At any time the player can hit the R1 button and control a different character. Many skills are available to use, including regular fighting tactics, special attacks (triggered by assigning them to a button and then holding down that button), and Symbology (the game’s form of magic, in a way). Each character has a different forte - some with head-to-head fighting, some with long-ranged attacks, some with spamming the special attacks, and some with spamming Symbology techniques. It’s pretty difficult to not have at least one character you feel comfortable playing as.
Another great thing about this game is that there are many extra things to do, and even different endings to make. It can be annoying, since it’s an extremely long game (it takes up 2 disks), but it’s also very cool and interesting. You get to choose 2 out of 4 optional characters to become permanent party members, for example. Among many other secrets I have yet to discover.
Characters are, from left to right, Fayt, Cliff, Maria, and Mirage.
~ Sound ~
The sound in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is, without a doubt, the worst and most annoying thing about the game. The voice actors are wonderfully cast and match the characters perfectly, so that’s not a problem. The music is also not much of a problem, as it is also wonderful. It fits the mood of the area well, and gives the player something to think about so they’re not running around in silence. Sound effects in the game are okay - there is absolutely no doubt when one of a player’s characters have been attacked by an enemy, or vice versa, but some of them are overly fake. Overall, the different components that make up the sound in the game are extremely well done.
The problem is that they don’t flow together well at all. Many times the different sounds will drown each other out. During many cutscenes, the player is left wondering what was said because the music was far too loud to hear the characters’ voices. Battle sound effects can sometimes drown out the epic battle music. Etc.
When separated into components, the sound is amazing. But as a whole, it is awful.
The game’s main battle theme - “Cutting Edge of Notion”
~ Graphics ~
The graphics for this game are amazingly well done, both for the time it came out (the engine was completed in 2001), and overall. Certain cutscenes are choppy and not well done, but the battle sequences are better than most, and major scenes are incredible. (Below are 2 scenes - one of the lesser ones along with a battle sequence, and the other is one with amazing graphics.) Little things like the characters’ hair and clothes have detail most games at the time didn’t have. The environment was also very well done. The rock wall of a mountain didn’t look like a mere brown wall, as many other games look. The maps of the areas included many areas that didn’t even have anything to do with where the player needs to go - which is actually a good thing, as it adds to the realistic look to the game.
First fight with Black Brigade leader Albel Nox - notice the graphical difference between the battle sequence and the cutscene itself.
Fayt’s true power is awakened - warning, could be considered a spoiler to some.
~ Personal Opinion ~
This game is definitely a must-play!! I absolutely love it! Solid storyline, solid characters, amazing graphics - it’s near perfection! The music soundtrack is amazing - I could spend all day listening to the different tracks on YouTube, lol. One thing I like is that, you don’t just automatically get a map, but you have to make it. See, everywhere you step adds a little bit to your map. If you get 100% of the map done, you get a 1/144 Scale Bunny, which increases your characters’ movement rate (this simply means they move faster). It’s quite handy, and fixing up the maps is a fun way to waste time. But it’s quite annoying because you literally have to hug the wall to get everything >.<
Something else that I don’t personally like is that you can only play the game as Fayt. Sure, it makes sense, seeing as how he’s the main character and whatnot, but seriously, you should be able to run around as any member of your party that you want to, in my opinion. I dunno, knowing that I have all of these people I can play as and still having to play as the same guy when I’m not fighting just bugs me. A minor detail, but meh.
~ My Ratings ~
Storline: 9 - So far it seems pretty solid and interesting. I’ve heard rumors that it gets somewhat ruined later on in the game, but I’ll have to see that for myself before this rating comes down any. Gameplay: 9.3 - The battle system is amazing and something you don’t see every day with multi-character RPGs. A few things bug me, personally, but it’s only minor things that don’t effect the game overall. Sound: 7.9 - Amazing music, greatly cast voices (with a few exceptions) - a few overly fake sound effects, and bad mixing ruins it. Graphics: 8.9 - Noticed some minor flaws, but overall the graphics are amazing.
