Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

"Certainly not perfect, but a great game nonetheless"

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is the third installment in tri-Ace's Star Ocean series. The game, while not a sequel to any other, is set in the same futuristic universe as the previous two games. Also like the games before it, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time features a real-time battle system that is different from the standard role-playing game fare. While it does many things differently from its predecessor, this game is a must-play for fans of role-playing games with real-time battle systems.

At the beginning, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time starts on a vacation planet with the protagonist, Fayt Leingod, his parents, and his friend, Sophia Esteed. The Vendeeni, one of the major powers in Fayt's universe, attack the planet, and Fayt and the others are taken to safety on a transport ship. From here, the Vendeeni attack again, and Fayt ends up alone, stranded on an underdeveloped planet. At that point, Fayt's adventure begins. On the way, he meets people who join his adventure, learns about himself, and takes part in an epic journey across many planets. Be warned, though: presentation can lack at certain parts, and there's a major twist that most players either love or hate.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time's characters are a mixed bag. They all have distinct personalities, but only a few of them have the development and depth to back it up. The story refers to most characters' pasts very vaguely, and only a few have significant pasts. Also, a few of the characters say almost nothing after the end of the first disk, even though the major story points are on the second disk. Even for the characters that do take part in the main events, reactions to the events in their storyline are too mild. Major events that can shake the balance of their lives occur, yet they don't show much reaction. Also, some characters disappear instead of developing in the main part of the story. The main example I can think of is that there are three characters in the beginning of the game that are the only three characters in the player's party for quite a while. These characters can be together for the whole game, so they should develop a special friendship, since they have traveled together from the start. However, there is no such special friendship. In fact, one of them is optional, meaning that she can be out of the player's party for good after a certain point.

However, a few of the characters actually do get the development needed to explain their personalities. They actually do have a past that influences their current actions, and this past accounts for their personalities. In other words, a few characters do have distinct character. This is mostly done through flashbacks and emotional reactions, though. However, their pasts and the current situations do explain these select few characters' personalities, giving them good character development. Ironically, these happen to be the characters most frequently misunderstood, and they tend to be either loved or hated.

There can be many character interactions in this game. The reason I say "can be" is because many of these can be completely skipped, whether on purpose or by accident. In fact, unless the player uses a guide of some sort, he will miss most of these interactions, which is a shame because some of them greatly add to the depth characters. These interactions can also affect one of the "endings" (each character has his own "ending" after the main ending in this game), but it is usually difficult for the player to obtain the "ending" he wants without a guide, even if he manages to see all of these interactions.

The gameplay of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is excellent. The battle system is completely three dimensional, real-time, and one of the most fun systems in any game I have played yet. It avoids one of the major pitfalls of real-time battle systems: the tendency to become a button masher. Also, multiple difficulties, many unlockables (more on that later), and great character and party customization all enhance the battle system.

The player can move in all three dimensions, and so can the enemies. The pacing is great, and the battles flow very well. The field, while limited, is more than large enough to accommodate all that is ever placed on it, so there is never a feeling of crowdedness. The battles themselves have a very high level of excitement, and the fun factor for this battle system is very high. Next, there is a major feature that adds depth to the gameplay. Like other games, when a character's HP reaches zero in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, the character is incapacitated. However, a character is also incapacitated when his MP reaches zero. This may sound weird because it is different from what is done in most role-playing games. However, it adds depth to the gameplay in that the player has to watch both his HP and his MP. Also, the MP death game works both ways; the player can also kill enemies by bringing their MP to zero. Some enemies with ridiculously high HP totals have very little MP, and vice versa. The player must decide upon the best way to kill the enemies and set his skills accordingly.

Next, this game has one of the few real-time battle systems that does not become a button mashing bonanza. Let us start with the fury system. Every action that a player takes consumes fury, and when his character has zero fury, he must stand still for a very short amount of time to recover it. Without fury, the character cannot attack, so the player must be wary of fury usage. Therefore, mashing buttons leads to zero fury and downtime for the character. Also, if a character stands still at full fury, he can emit an Anti-Attack Aura which protects him against certain attacks. Now, there are two different kinds of attacks: strong attacks and weak attacks. Strong attacks are more damaging, but they are also slower. Weak attacks are a lot faster, but they do less damage. Basically, to prevent button-mashing, Anti-Attack Auras completely block weak attacks (and give the user a positive effect like healing or damaging his enemy), but are broken by strong attacks. Therefore, we have a triangle, and it works sort of like rock-paper-scissors. Weak attacks are blocked by Anti-Attack Auras, which are broken by strong attacks, which are interrupted by the quicker weak attacks. Pressing one button continuously, therefore, will not lead to victory, but will instead lead to the attack either being constantly interrupted or constantly guarded. Standing still the whole time is not a good idea either because enemies will use strong attacks.

For customization, each character learns a unique set of skills. These include Battle Skills, which can be set for use in battle; Support Skills, which affect the character's battle performance; and Tactical Skills, which affect certain properties of the characters. The player is given a limit to the quality and quantity of Battle Skills and Support Skills he can set. Therefore, the player can try many different combinations. In battles, Battle Skills can be chained into each other, giving the character a damage bonus. Of course, some combos work better than others, and certain combos may be extra effective against certain types of enemies. The player can try different combos with all ten of the playable characters, and the customization in battle is great overall.

The difficulty of this game is, well, dependent on what the player wants it to be. On the first time, the player can select either Earth (very easy) or Galaxy (medium) difficulty. The Earth difficulty provides no challenge whatsoever and should only be used by those interested in just the story. The Galaxy difficulty is approximately on par with that of other role-playing games on the Playstation 2. However, the difficulty settings do not end there. There are two unlockable difficulties: Universe and 4D. Universe difficulty is quite challenging, and some bosses can be frustrating. The toughest difficulty in the game, 4D, is great for anyone who enjoys this game and loves a challenge as the enemies on this difficulty can be downright brutal, and a good strategy is a must for most fights. Also, the difficulty does not depend on stats and character levels as much as it depends on strategy. In fact, a severely underleveled party can defeat a difficult boss if the player can figure out a proper strategy. It also works in reverse: a severely overpowered party can be destroyed pretty quickly if the player is careless. There is little to no need to fight every enemy in sight, and having a low level can be overcome with proper Battle Skill setups and actions in battles. When coupled with the extra endings, the unlockable difficulty levels add loads of replay value. Also, if the player enjoys playing through the story of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, he can go through the post game dungeons that it offers.

If the player wants to add even more to his experience from this game, he can enable battle trophies near the very beginning. Battle trophies are awards for certain accomplishments in battle. These accomplishments can range from defeating a certain boss without taking damage to fighting a certain amount of battles to dealing an exact amount of damage to reaching a certain level. There are 300 total battle trophies, and obtaining certain amounts can unlock additional features. Universe and 4D difficulties are unlocked in this fashion, and alternate costumes for each character are also available. With all the different battle trophies, this game has a remarkable amount of replay value. Some battle trophies can only be gained on Universe and 4D difficulties, so if the player is a perfectionist and loves the battle system, he can expect to play this game many times.

Next up is the gameplay related to the battle system, and the main component of this is the item creation system featured in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. There are many different categories of item creation, including Smithing, Crafting, Synthesis, and others. Each character has a certain skill level in each area. However, the player can also choose to hire certain inventors who specialize in certain areas of item creation to help the process. This all sounds great, but the item creation system can be somewhat lacking. For example, when trying to make a new item, the game randomly generates a base price for the item that will be created. Even if the player knows what base price to look for, he can spend way too much time continuously hitting buttons to look for it. However, this is a small price to pay since the customization added by the item creation system is more than worth it. For example, with the Synthesis category, the player can synthesize one accessory or weapon to another weapon, transferring the special effects onto the second weapon. This can create a wide variety of weapon choices; each weapon can hold up to eight different properties.

Now, we come to the dungeons. The dungeons in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time are very nicely designed, and all of them have appropriate length. The post game dungeons are long enough to fit many bosses, but they are mainly for the people who want to explore them; they are in the post game for a reason. There are many different types of dungeons, including a shrine, many caves, mines, and more. Backtracking can frustrate some players, but the dungeons in this game are short enough for the most part to minimize that problem.

Next, we come to the general travel in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Let me start by saying that what pleased me the most in this area is the fact that this game has no random encounters. All enemies appear on-screen, and the player can avoid most of them if he so chooses. Exploration is not hindered by random battles as it is in many role-playing games. Also, this game does not have a world map. Instead, it has areas between the towns, caves, and other places that the player must walk through. This may limit the exploration, but it allows for less time spent while traveling between places. The player never gets a vehicle of any kind with which to travel, but the distances between even the most distant of places on one of the planets is small enough to traverse in a couple of minutes. Also, there is a system for traveling between planets.

As far as music is concerned, most of the tracks on the soundtrack of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time are pretty decent to say the least. There are some memorable tracks, including a fast-paced guitar track and a techno/rap mix. The placement of the certain tracks in the game is also pretty good with a couple of exceptions.

The voice acting in this game is above average, and the voices of most characters match their personalities fairly decently. For example, the "macho man" character has a deep and manly voice, while the leader of an organization sounds fairly commanding. In battle, the voices can get repetitive when spamming certain Battle Skills, but this is not a major problem.

Graphically, this game features three-dimensional anime-style characters. Their movements are smooth for the most part, and the character models themselves are nice. The environments also look good, and some of the designs are very fitting for the dungeons. For example, a planet later in the game has a desert-like environment and strong monsters, leading to a feeling of anxiety in the player's mind.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is excellent to those who can enjoy its battle system. However, there are some minor problems with the other sections of the game that might just annoy someone to the point of disliking the entire game. The game had a decent storyline that, although barred somewhat by mediocre presentation, is enough to keep the player interested. While most characters are relatively lacking in development, a few stand out as having depth; however, character development is not this game's main strength. The excellent gameplay fueled by an amazing battle system, on-screen enemies, and great dungeons is the best part about this game. Overall, it deserves an 8.3/10.

As for renting or buying, I would recommend buying this game, especially now that the price has gone down. This may not be what traditional role-playing game fans are used to, but the great battle system and incredible replay value make this game worth its current price. However, to those who are against real-time battles, this game may not be to your liking, but if you are willing to try something new, this game's combat is a great way to start.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/31/06, Updated 10/24/06