/vr/ - Retro Games

generic jarpig is forgotten
water is wet

>>7956365
This is better.

This is best.

The official Japanese website for the series just got an overhaul recently, so SE hasn't forgotten about it. They're probably going to make another one, hopefully with more of a budget than 5 had.

>>7956493
>When your budget is cut so hard half your soundtrack is from previous games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZRQAbd53_U

>>7956365
It's my favorite rpg on the snes

2>4>1>5>3

>>7957306
2>3>1>4>5
Tri-Ace > Squeenix

>>7956474
only one i ever played but i loved it. fuck dias tho

>>7957740
Yeah 2 is dope, the autism in it is amazing. That beautiful thing is you don't have to go neck deep in the autism, but it's fun and rewarding. You should try the others, albeit it they are much less autistic. Valk Profile 1 on Hard is the only thing that comes close from them.

>>7957786
>Valk Profile 1 on Hard is the only thing that comes close from them.
No I mean that's retro, because Infinite Undiscovery is autistic af and so is resonance of fate.

>>7956365
This is the most retarded JRPG series in existence. They have a sci-fi Star Trek knockoff setting and set each game on a primitive medieval planet because they just can’t help themselves stick to the tropes. It deserves to stay dead. I wanted Star Trek JRPG and what I got time and time and again was generic fantasy JRPG but that blue haired main character is totally from the Federation alright, remember that, as you explore this medieval town.

>>7957885
So you don't like it because of the setting? I mean yeah 5 fucking stinks, but the franchise doesn't have to be so terrible because of low budget they said they had.

>>7956365
2 is the only game in that series worth playing, 1 was mediocre and every game after 2 is batshit retarded.

>>7957306
>4>1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlN4E-1I80Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNauq6_9iP0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzaNmuH_lhQ

>>7957926
>Implying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y93BuNo9Efo

>The year is 2021
>I am forgotten

>>7956365
played 2 when it forst came out, loved it. played original couple months ago, loved it. what more do you want OP?

>>7957885
You post all this same crap in every Star Ocean thread. Stay away if hate the game so much. Fucking retard.

>>7956365
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMdmbFSB2H4

>>7959909
https://youtu.be/Gwy_yYD__o0

>>7959915
Beautiful. All the Star Ocean games had fantastic music.

>>7959951
Lakes and Marshes with Doubt caused me to just stop playing the first playthrough of SO3. About 3 minutes in to walking around the ship I just froze and dropped the controller. It's a stunning piece.

This is the best from 2:
https://youtu.be/yoLVpehBSgM

>>7956365
>what if we sold a game based on the idea of a space themed RPG
>but it was ACTUALLY a generic fantasy themed RPG for 95% of it!
Yeah, fuck Star Ocean

Friendly reminder that SO3 ruined the whole series because of THAT retarded twist .
It turns the whole series into a joke.

>>7959971
Kys

>>7957915
The concept draws attention to something better. Instead of letting me escape into what it presents, it dangles a better concept just out of view and never delivers. I think any game that would pull that stunt would be irritating. Imagine a game that tells you that picrel is totally what the world is like but you’re stuck in a generic fantasy RPG town for 95% for the experience - you don’t want to reminded that you’re getting a generic cookie cutter thing.

>>7960854
Don't even try to deny it.

>>7957026
They really did this? i don't have a PS4 so I never played SO5.

>>7960059
I have never bothered playing 3 because I heard the twist was horrible. Redbull me, is it really that bad? Should I play it anyway?

>>7961248
Turns out the entire universe of the series is actually the video game of a bunch of 5th dimensional beings

>>7961283
lmao, I seriously hope nobody is defending this shit....right?

>>7956365
>The year is 2021
>I am thankfully forgotten

>>7961285
Surprisingly, many people are praising 3 even though the story is dog shit and the game play absolute shit (you just spam air raid).
Maybe it's because it was really weeb-ish, I dunno.

>>7956365
I played Star Ocean 2 and I fucking loathed it
I might be retarded, but I swear no matter the options I took about the battle system, it stayed into Tales styled "semi-automatic", so hitting an enemy would make the character go hit it directly in the face, which was a fucking plague for the lizard dragon shit because if you were stuck between it and a wall, you'd just die. Nope, can't hit it from behind, gotta be in the face
Most skills are useless and rarely produce any good results. I tried fusing weapons and would basically lose big money by getting the most basic lv1 weapon every time. This is one of those crap where you really gotta go and read about them online or lose material big time. Only useful one was the item synthesis due to the low item limit
As far as I'm aware, this is all of Tri-Ace's games. I saw people praise Radiata Stories for years and the battle system heavily feels like it's completely unfinished, which pretty much accurately describe all of Tri-Ace's games honestly

>>7956474
This is still my favorite pure jrpg (not counting Legend of Mana). It's so full of soul.
>>7961295
The combat system is kinda retarded, so it's not on you. There is even an item to give you more freedom over control, it's stupid beyond belief. But I managed, the positioning is a good addition to the stiff turn combat of typical jrpgs of that era. Some mechanics are barely working, for instance I completed the game like 4 times and I never intentionally used the spell combination system, it's not even worth the hassle. Some special moves are impossible to use with enemies that auto-attack in millisecond, so you can just spam Air Strike endlessly. The skill system and crafting is a chore without a guide, there is one skill that will fuck you up (if I recall it forces you to move behind target, wasting time and potentially getting you hit). Crafting is fun, but it's overcomplicated for having so many variations. Once I mistakenly activated the hard end-game with near impossible final boss and couldn't beat it, dropped the game and started again years later.

Overall I love the game but it's very unfriendly for new players. As a kid I used a guide in a magazine.

>>7961398
>the spell combination system
I learned about that accidently while doing that one magic dungeon. Oops, your spell is compatible with the monster's? Guess you'll die! Shrug. That dungeon was puzzling as the monster encounters ended up being more threatening than the boss
>Overall I love the game but it's very unfriendly for new players. As a kid I used a guide in a magazine
Yeah. The game seems amazing if you know everything about it, but otherwise, there's a lot of rough spot
One positive however, I got mad at the last boss and I grinded absolutely hard, up to level 120 somehow, and then I juggled him so hard he never transformed into his second form
Also, I believe I heard that my gripe about the semi-automatic stuff is fixed in the PSP version or something

>>7956474
This is the best version and best game. I really liked the changes in first departure R though for 1. Made the game 10x more enjoyable.

>>7961398
Fun fact. The spell combination system was a glitch they left in on accident or something since they never finished it.

>>7957885
Not sure what your complaint is really, how many fucking TOS episodes are about them getting stuck on a less advanced planet?

>>7961546
This is a mentally ill poster who says the same shit in every Star Ocean thread who also samefags a lot. Ignore it.

>>7961243
Yes, mostly cherry picking from 3.
Final boss theme is bretty gud though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or5ERSewI6U

>>7961283
Reminder that Luther totally self inserts as Edge Maverick

>>7962045
As someone else that came in and said the same thing, I can confirm that it's not just one person who thinks it's fucking stupid.
Cope though

He did nothing wrong.

>>7961285
Yeah but the game is fun to play, none the less. I mean the twist is dumb, but it was never spoken about again since it couldn't be reported back. Also it totally explains all the Seraphic Gates being connected in all Tri-Ace games.

>>7961295
>>7961398
Not sure how you couldn't get it into a different battle setting, I've been playing it for over 20 years now and I've never had it set so that attacks only attempt for a front hit. Playing Universe mode its almost necessary to bait attacks and maneuver for a back attack unless you're overleveled. Customizing is the most obtuse specialty in the game, but that's because its where you get all the broken equipment, plus if you were only getting the shit rolls I imagine you were trying to do it on someone without the appropriate talents learned.

Spell combining is pretty pointless but in a playthrough you might see it a handful of times, its not that big a deal. Not sure what you mean by air strike, are you referring to a renamed remake move from the PSP version or just air basic attacks?

Enemies that autoattack quickly are best dealt with by interrupting with a spell to allow a KM user to start their combo, lots of people say casters are useless in SO2 and then they say Universe is too bullshit because of attacks like this. Most KM users have moves that hit from a distance anyway, but for the monsters that can still interrupt those magic is the way to go, same for enemy mages that cast very quick. On Universe I often have Celine cast Ray against such enemies even late game because with motormouth 10 it'll cast nearly instantly for a mapwide interrupt.

IMO the skill system and extensive crafting is part of what separates it from other RPGs from the era. The back attack skill is pretty shit, but all the rest are great and you can toggle which ones you want active anyway. Limiter removed Indalecio isn't impossible at all, to begin with you would've been facing him on Earth difficulty so he'd have half the stats and HP of Universe. On Earth you don't need to do anything special but keep heals up, but if you use the crafting system there are tons of buffs and teamwide heals on item cooldown that you can make. Pretty much essential on Universe.

>>7963163
>Not sure what you mean by air strike
Air slash? The basic technique for Claude and Dias and arguably, the most useful before some cheesy techs that break the damage records (Mirror Slice?).
>lots of people say casters are useless in SO2
Wouldn't be one of these, I always used a dedicated healer and a damaging caster, but there are options that potentially broke the game. Opera and the pills guy can both heal, spam it quicker that any caster and they can use multi-hit, ranged techniques that could potentially deal absurd damage (I don't remember how, but it applied to all quick multi-hit techs?). Plus casting animations are too long, always liked them but after 100 Rays it's gettign stale.
>IMO the skill system
It's fun, but very cheesy, I remember not putting any points into anything before getting the one that improves skill point amount. I hate when games do that, waiting is the best option to improve somethig, otherwise you gib yourself permanently.
The talent system is not intuitive and another "guide or fuck you" moment. I remember restarting until Rena got the pickpocketing boosting talent, pickpocketing during split action in town was awesome.
>Limiter removed Indalecio isn't impossible at all
Tell that to a 10-12yo who didn't even know he activated it. For the love of me, I couldn't beat it back then even after extensive grinding but my party was like zero cheese, my guide was mostly walkthrough, char recruitment, some secrets and crafting basics.

>>7962364
Take your meds schizo

>>7963465
I wasn't sure if they had renamed Air Slash to Air Strike in the remake, I never did a full playthrough because it was far too easy with the added triple attacks. Air Slash really sucks on Claude, though its alright on Dias early on to conserve mana since his is faster. First useful move Claude gets is Shooting Stars to act as a poor man's Burst Knuckle, but its only useful long range. Literally never use Air Slash once you're past the intro, and Shooting Stars once you learn Head Splitter. All of Claude's other KMs other than Energy Sword and Twin Slash are great and have their uses, but the ones to focus on are Head Splitter, Ripper Blast, Dragon Howl and Mirror Slice.

Opera and Bowman are definitely top tier characters, they would be on the team if I was making the strongest combination. Casting animations are too long and it is one of the few gripes I have with the game, but on Universe they're so useful. You don't need them whatsoever on Earth difficulty though, nothing does enough damage to justify having to interrupt.

Perseverance is fantastic and should be maxed ASAP on Universe, but on Earth you don't need it. Its far from a game that requires minmaxing, even if you horrendously fuck up your skills you'll outstat Earth enemies just from gear found in dungeons and shops. I agree that talent learning isn't explained well but everything else is fully explained in the manual, it has one of the most thorough of the era.

I beat limiter removed Indalecio as a kid, I also didn't mean to encounter him, I was just PAing every single town. I won't say it was easy, it took 2 hours, but most of that was just carefully deciding which items to use when. Art and Compounding carry very hard if you take the time to experiment and find strong recipes.

Really I'm just trying to sell people on Universe Mode because I think its the best balanced RPG of that generation, doesn't hold your hand and has so many avenues to affect battles.

>>7956365
This series always sort of looked like the epitome of middling, mediocre JRPG series.

>>7963474
Says the person who thinks everyone with valid criticism MUST be one person

>>7963838
The same faggy copy paste criticism is every single thread huh? Go take your pills and lay down.

>>7963576
No, that's Final Fantasy.
>>7964875
THIS

>>7956365
every fucking Tales game is better AND turns into a Devil May Cry in the end game.
There is literally no reason for Star Ocean to exist. It's 5 millenia away from catching up with Tales

>>7960059
It doesn't ruin anything. The world is a simulation, big fucking whoop. It doesn't change anything at all, that's the entire point of SO3 in the end. If you learned our world was a simulation but you still obviously have free will and can think on your own, would your life be ruined? Would you just kill yourself?

>>7966268
Excuse me, but does it also interfere with SO 1 and 2 story? Are these simulations as well? Because THAT would suck major ass.

>>7966363
The whole universe is, so yes.
>Because THAT would suck major ass.
Why? Explain what it changes for you.

>>7966268
>>7966378
The use of 'The world is a simulation' is even harder to use successfully in writing as time travel as a plot device, most plot devices that conclusive are. Generally its used to lazily patch up some aspect of a story that no suitable conclusion could be reached on. It removes all guesswork, nothing unanswered justifies an examination anymore because none of it actually happened.

Now, is the concept of living in a simulation for the entertainment of some species entertaining on its own? Absolutely, but not late in a series. The successful stories using the simulation trope are almost without exception standalone stories, because its immensely unsatisfying to have a series of movies or books conclude with 'well it didn't actually happen'. I'm not saying its impossible to pull off, but it certainly wasn't pulled off in SO3.

>>7966397
>well it didn't actually happen
But it did. This isn't a dream ending. Eternal Sphere is a living, breathing, fully functional universe on its own. AI acts on its own and reproduces on its own. You're misunderstanding this on a fundamental level.

>>7966421
>>7966268
You're wrong, some characters are played by people in 5D space -the most pompous word ever to call the real world-, like Welch.

Why would I want to play a solo MMORPG inside a RPG?

>>7966451
Most 4D people just watch the Eternal Sphere as entertainment. Welch isn't even confirmed to be a 4D being, that's just fans speculating. Other than that, the only other 4D beings that appear in the franchise are those you interact with in the fourth dimension in SO3.
>the most pompous word ever to call the real world
You're not supposed to see yourself in them, there's a reason SO uses Earth in its setting.
>Why would I want to play a solo MMORPG inside a RPG?
You're making less and less sense the more you type.

>>7966421
No, you're explaining the fundamentals of the simulation trope and acting as though it were deep and groundbreaking. I don't know what to tell you, other than read more.

>>7966465
I never called it deep or groundbreaking, I said it doesn't ruin the previous games. The fact that you think it's so simple and yet can't understand it is pretty laughable though.

>>7966463
>You're not supposed to see yourself in them, there's a reason SO uses Earth in its setting.
I mean the real world of that universe, dimwit.

>>7966378
Makes the story insignificant, it can be rewritten, cancelled, deleted and it's just data, so there is no real emphatic connection. If it's gone, that's just data removed, no human was harmed in the process. I know people are bonding with machines, household objects or dakimakuras, but it's a fake affection based on subjective belief of worth. So yes, it's all a sim is a shit plot twist after 3 games.

>>7966481
>It's all a sim

>>7966486
Starkiller was cloned, that's different. Clones are made of flesh, are beinga. Simulation will always be unreal, believing otherwise is believing a lie.

>>7966494
>Simulation will always be unreal
I see Sphere Corp Defense force is out in droves tonight

>>7966508
Bahaha it looks like any shitty early 2000 anime shit.
This game is so cringe.

At some point I understood the probability we live in a simulation are billions of times higher than living in the actual "reality", fully believed it and it changed nothing about how I see things or my life.
Not sure why it creates so much drama that it happens in a fucking video game where they are actual simulations lmao.

>>7966563
>billions of times higher than living in the actual "reality"
Wut?

Should I play the original versions of the first two games or should I go with the PSP remakes instead?

>>7966481
>it can be rewritten
No it can't.
>cancelled, deleted
They tried and failed.
>and it's just data
You're just data. That's literally what DNA is.

You still don't understand what you're talking about.

>>7966934
The PSP remakes are better. The new portraits are retarded and the voice acting add nothing, but it's better, they basically use the same system.

>>7966934
If you have a PS4/Switch play First Departure R on there, it's an improved version of the PSP remake. Hopefully they do the same for the second game too.

>>7966954
2deep4u

>>7967074
It's not about depth, it's about one guy saw something that turned him off and decided from that moment he was going to dislike this thing no matter what, and then decided to literally not read the dialogue from that point on. It happens with a lot of people who play SO3, that's how this meme has been perpetuated to this day.

>>7967219
>0,1 skill point has been deposited to your Eternal Sphere account

>>7966954
>>7967219
>t. pic related

>>7967219
I told you to read more and then left it at that because I knew exactly what would happen; the rest of the people in the thread who aren't impressed at the most basic of plot twists continued to try and argue with you, and you defaulted into the typical 4chan dullard speech about how you're just a special snowflake who sees the extra depth in the kiddie pool and everyone else doesn't get it. Now that I've brought up that its been a minimum of 2+ people disagreeing with you, here's where you insert your boogeyman of choice and claim its samefagging because you can't handle the idea that you aren't accepted even on 4chan, and you kill the thread even further with stale, drone-tier comments.

So, those of you upset by SO3's "big twist" never realized it's an actual concept in theoretical physics, right? None of you have heard of shit like Quantum Holonomy or Simulation Theory?

>>7968317
Your refusal to even read my posts really fits well with the fact that you stopped reading the dialogue in the game after the twist.

>>7966934
The original is the way it should be played

>>7967052
>>7967059
No.

>>7968332
The possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial life doesn't make it any more deep or special when a plot twist boils down to 'It was aliens the whole time!!!' either.

>playing a tri-Ace game for its story
NGMI. tri-Ace sucks at writing, their plots never make sense

Star ocean 3 was the first time a games plot made me mad