Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

"Decent, with sizable flaws."

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is, at heart, a traditional RPG with an innovative battle system. It is also one of the few games for the PS2 that is spread out over 2 DVDs, giving you a general idea of the length of this game. I bought this game used for 18 dollars with every intention of liking it, and I was only partially disappointed. In my opinion, it is a strong RP that suffers from a severe lack of planning, bringing the score down from a potential 9 or 10 to a 7. This was my first Star Ocean title, hence I will not compare it to its predecessors. Instead, I will compare it to staples of the adventure/RPG genre: namely, the Final Fantasies. That said, into the review.

Gameplay (9/10)

Taking into account that TtEoT carries the standard RPG format in mostly every way, I will only discuss the elements that make it unique. Firstly, the battle system. Unlike the turn based combat of Final Fantasy X, or the ATB system, TtEoT defines the phrase "active battle". Instead of merely standing in one place, waiting to use commands, your characters can move around the field, setting up new strategies and combos by the second. Each character has a choice of four kind of battle techniques, depending on which button is pressed and where your character is on the field. Also, the RPG staples like magic (called "symbology") are present, along with a multitude of items. TtEoT sports a bunch of different bonuses that can be obtained during battle, mostly based around a bonus bar that increases every time you deal damage. All of these aspects contribute to a fun, engaging battle system. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you understand the basics of combat, the advanced techniques come easily. Also, another somewhat unique aspect of TtEoT is the fact that the battles are not random; the enemies walk around the map, and you enter a battle by running into the enemy.

Item creation, though not a new concept, is a fairly large part of TtEoT. Using invention workshops scattered around the world, you can expend resources and money to combine items, create new items, or improve old ones. Your base characters have certain skill at creating all kinds of items, but if you really want to get to the best stuff, you must recruit the specialized NPC inventors to work for you. Invention itself is pretty simple: you specifiy the inventors, what kind of invention, and the invention plan, and it provides you with a cost for each attempt at making that invention. Then, you start the inventing process, either producing a successful product or a failure. If you're not careful with this, you can lose a lot of money very quickly (as better products cost more and also have a higher failure rate), so have patience and think carefully before inventing.

Finally, battle trophies. They are awards you get for completing certain battle tasks, like defeating an enemy with no damage, or within 1 minute, etc. They are an interesting addition, but since I am not one of those gamers who must get 100% completion on very game they play, they were not a strong enough incentive for me to attempt the tasks, some of which can get impossibly difficult. However, if you are willing to spend the time and effort (100 hours of play, at least), this may be just what you need.

One minor gripe I have concerning gameplay is enemy respawning. In some of the more complicated dungeons, where making a wrong turn is as natural as breathing, the respawning can have disastrous effects. Say you just defeated a very powerful enemy and was forced to use most of your healing spells/items to reinforce your party. You leave the room and find that you've reached a dead end. When you go back, the enemy that you just beat has returned, ready to destroy your weakened party. In fact, enemies respawn anytime you leave and reenter an area, no matter how little time you spent away from the area, which can get frustrating.

Also, save points in the game are few and far between, which seriously hampers your ability to level up when you need to. During the first disc, this isn't as crucial, but during the second disc, you are bombarded by boss after boss, so higher level parties are a must.

Story (6/10)

A short introduction to the story: Main character Fayt Leingod is vacationing on a planet with his parents and his friend. Suddenly, a hostile race known as the Vendeeni attack, and during the evacuation of the planet, Fayt gets separated from his family and crash lands on an underdeveloped planet (a planet with old technology). Thus begins his epic adventure to discover the truth, whatever it may be...

A somewhat strong premise, but though it suggests a futuristic story involving planet-hopping, space battles, etc., the first disc of the game contradicts this assumption entirely. In fact, the entire disc is comprised mainly of Fayt and his pals running around one underdeveloped planet, trying to end a war between two countries. This part of the story alone can singlehandedly make someone lose interest in the game. It is extremely tedious, as it can take over 25-30 hours to complete and has endless backtracking and pointless quests. For example, at one point, you are forced into this insanely complex dungeon with the goal of ensuring that a revered object is safe. After maybe an hour of running through this dungeon, fighting fairly difficult enemies, you reach this object and fight a pitiful boss/minibosses. After you finish, the characters pretty much say "I guess everything is okay here. Let's go back." Unfortunately, most of the quests are like this: very complex and tedious with no real payoff. Also, the story is revealed VERY slowly up until the end of the first disc, since most of the time is spent running errands whose only reward is thanking you. In real life, that may be fine, but in an RPG, I want something concrete for my troubles.

In fact, it seems as though the entire first disc was thrown in because the developers figured that the second disc alone was to short to function as a full game. If I could start the adventure at the second disc, I would in a heartbeat. To add insult to injury, like FFX, the story is very linear, as there is no world map where you can freely explore your surroundings. This can get on your nerves, as there is no way to take a break from the tedious main storyline (save for a certain area on the second disc). The only thing that comes close to a recreational activity on the first disc is inventing, which can be a huge waste of time and money if done incorrectly.

Character development was practically nonexistent in this game, save for a few. Fayt is a very cliched hero, being brave, morally upright, and likable, with a huge secret about him that he doesn't know (Think Tidus from FFX or Zidane or Vivi from FFIX). Also, you learn barely anything about Fayt's true emotions, just the circumstances he's in, once again subtracting from his credibility as a main character.

Graphics/Sounds (9/10)

There's not much to say about the graphics in this game except that they are beautiful. If you've played Final Fantasy X, or any other game where it was obvious that a lot of effort went into the graphics, this is on par. There is little to no blurring or other shenanigans, everything is crisp and smooth.

The music is pleasant, never dominating the game but providing the right atmosphere for the situation. Battle sounds, on the other hand, can get slightly irritating, particularly concering the character voices. After a few hours of hearing "Let's go!" and "This looks like a challenge" or, of course, the incessant "YEAH!", I just couldn't stand it anymore. Thankfully, you can turn battle voices off, meaning the programmers realized that the voices were pretty annoying too.

Play Time/Replayability: (7/10)

Like I said before, this is a very long game, made worse by the pointless first dics. I sincerely believe this would have been one of the best games for the PS2 if they had scrapped everything but the second disc and last few hours of first disc. Incidentally, all the fun minigames are on the second disc, which I don't understand, as minigames should be more or less evenly spread out over the entire game, so that players can take a break whenever they feel like it.

Replay value is high, considering the Battle Trophies, game completion bonuses, and the different difficulty levels available to you. I myself did not feel a reason to replay it, but that's just me. This can definitely suck up your life if you're willing to spend days getting trophies and going through the first disc from hell over and over again.

Overall (7/10)
Rent it first and play as far as you can (if possible, getting past the middle of the first disc, about 15 hours in, gives a good picture of the game). If it appeals you, by all means go and pick it up. Just make sure you have the willpower to stick with it, since the story only really starts coming together after a good 20 hours of play.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/09/05