@@1010otep Yeah, I was gonna say that any review it Persona 5, regardless of length or whether for or against, had better spend at least 30 seconds gushing about the UI and menues.
@@faytleingod3807 They made it 1 less character you can use in a fight. When close combat characters use skills their HP drains instead of their Magic Points. The game have issues when trying magic or any skill the game will say loading data from disc until it never loads. How come you can say and the poster than Star Ocean Till The End of Time is the best?
SO2 is my absolute, unparalleled game of all time. When I first played it on rental, I kept it for so long I ran up an overdue bill that cost as much as the game did itself! Because of a very limited PAL print run, it was rarer than rocking horse shit to find 2nd hand. I had to pay £40 for a used copy that a shop had reserved for me after it was traded in at another of their branches.
SO3 was my favorite one for the story and the most unique EX dungeons out of the series, though the story did set the bar pretty high. You have to know alot more about the mechanics to play that one so it isn't just a grindfest, but it's good.
@Naro I HAVE THIS GAME HERE. I DIDNT EVEN KNOW I HAD IT. I PLAY GOOD GAMES OVER AND OVER MANY TIMES. BUT I WROTE A LITTLE NOTE FOR MYSELF ON THIS GAME STAR OCEAN TILL THE END OF TIME AND THIS IS WHAT I WROTE AFTER I HAD PLAYED IT "NOT ENOUGH COLOUR, NOT ENOUGH SAVE POINTS, VERY ANNOYING AND TIME CONSUMING RIDICULOUSLY HARDAND NEEDS FAQS A LOT. MY PROBLEM IS I DONT LIKE GAMES WHICH ARENT VERY COLOURFUL. I ALSO DONT LIKE GAMES WITH TINY WEE PRINT SO I DONT BOTHER WITH THE PS4 GAMES NOW. I WASTED MY MONEY WITH THOSE. I DONT LIKE TO SOUND LIKE A BIG WHINGER THOUGH AND THERE ARE A LOT OF GAMES I DO LIKE AND ONE OF THEM IS STAR OCEAN 2. I HAD IT AS A COPIED GAME WHICH I PLAYED ON MY PSX BUT IT BROKE AND I DONT HAVE IT ANYMORE. I JUST WISH MY PS2 COULD TAKE NTSC AND COPIED GAMES. I WOULD LOOK TO FIND MY COPIED VERSION OF STAR OCEAN 2, IT WAS A GREAT GAME. I ALSO LOVE SUIKODEN 2, THAT IS ONE OF MY VERY FAVOURITES. IM AN OLD GAMER ALSO. I STARTED PLAYING GAMES WHEN I WAS JUST 16 AND THAT WAS BACK IN 1968
My favorite part about that game was the battles and battle customization. The story needed so much work and the maps... I wanted so much more out of it, but the seamless battle engagement was a huge plus for me, especially when compared to TLH.
Kinda expected so3 to be lower because of its plot twist that affects the entire series and the fact that it had an unreasonably complicated crafting system
I remember liking the plot twist. However, you are right in that the crafting was/is complicated. I think I had to use the strategy guide to figure it out back then.
Yea, SO2 is just on another level. I love SO3 too, but SO2 isn't just one of the best star ocean games it's one of the best games of all time. Anyway, if you're a fan of SO2 I recommend watching the anime, it's called star ocean ex if I recall, it only covers about half of the story but its pretty decent.
Star Ocean 3 will always be my favorite SO game. It was the first game I played in the series, so I may be a little biast, but I really loved the characters, music, and gameplay. Cutting Edge of Notion was a great battle theme and the quotes the characters said in battle were funny too. I loved spamming dimension door and sidekick with Fayt lol. The story was all over the place, but it was overall a pretty memorable and fun experience.
It was the first game I played in the series as well, so far i've played SO3, SO4 and SO1. Alot of people said SO5 is trash but i'm still gonna try it out since i've already played most of the games
Completely agree with you, Star Ocean till the end of time is by far the best, and the worst is Star Ocean 5, they tried to innovate but it didn't feel like a star ocean
Aye the sound track slaps for Star Ocean 3, I have a couple songs in my list of guitar music in fact. The story was fantastic right up till the very end, but on the whole there was a lot to love.
@@BrockShake Well, SO2 is my all time favorite game. First Departure has the same combat system and the game is connected to SO2. Being able to play with Claude's parents is kinda cool! The story is a bit underwhelming but still a nice prequel.
@@KiwiDimi sound logic. I do like the combat system. I also loved Ronyx. He is such a cool character. I also liked that Roddick isn't really the main character, it's just sort of from his point of view (if that makes sense?). However, I found the game to be too easy and lacks replay value. I'm sure it didn't help that I played it last in the series and probably expected it to be like the other games. Who knows. Just my opinion.
I do actually have it on PS4. I got it back when it came out, but it only mildly improved my enjoyment. I at least did all of the side quests. I still have to go back through it one day to recruit the different characters.
Honestly Starocean 3 is my pick, great story (aside from its ending ) great characters and fantastic music. I feel like you were overly harsh on the combat system , while a bit clunky at times especially in the early game. But later when people get more moves it really hits its stride. Most people didn’t play around the party menu, you can set designated healers and combat style for the team. You do micro the other characters around a bit them around a bit but it’s to setup combos and spells to stagger enemies. But to your point I didn’t main Fayte myself I usually used Albel. His more aggressive move set was more my style and super handy for super bosses.
Everyone freaked out with how bad the story was in Star Ocean the Last Hope. I actually liked it a lot. The writers took a huge chance by letting the heroes go through that doorway in space... if you know what I mean. What a crazy shift in storytelling.
I don't know either why they say the plot is that bad and the characters too shallow, in my opinion, is a good game, not a master piece of course but suffered because of Star Ocean till the end of time (the best in the saga) set the bar really high, just my opinion...
The game blew me away back then. All of the different skills like cooking. I remember grinding for HOURS early on in the game to get enough money to buy the pickpocket gloves. Then I would go around and rob EVERYONE, including my own party members during private actions. So fun.
Star Ocean: Second Story and Tales of Destiny both made me think turn based RPGs were dead. In the last decade or so, I've gone back and enjoyed both types of games a lot, but for many years I only wanted to play action RPGs.
Star Ocean: Second Story was my second rpg that I played, right behind final fantasy IV, and jesus do I remember spending hours into it. I still remember the first time I beat it, I got the Claude/Ashton ending because I used those two all the time. The combat style always intrigued me and kept me going, and I love the fact that in this series as a whole had a unique mechanic that, if their affection/friendship was high enough with a party member that just got KOed, they would yell out to them and get angry for a decent duration of the fight. Plus, Motoi Sakuraba's music is just so good to listen to.
Yeah, 3 and 4 are adversive of each other, where one succeeds the other fails. Best combat? 4 Best story? 3 Strongest (imo) protagonist? 4 Worst protagonist? 3 Best IC? 4 Worst IC? 3 Only common denominator between them is that they both have a kickass post game.
I agree on all of your points, except I probably like Fayt as a character a smidge better than Edge. If you're talking about who is the better fighter? I agree, it's Edge.
@@BrockShake Character discussion for them is pretty interesting. I personally believe that Edge struggling with his mistake and coming to terms with it on Roak was super compelling. No other protagonist goes through something nearly as meaningful, nor do they change as a result of it. Fayt has VERY interesting quirks that make him unique (tough guy attitude, actually intelligent unlike most protagonists, etc) but he remains static until the end where they do the same song and dance as every other game. (And I do mean every single other game) They fight some jackass with a God complex, give a big anime speech about something relating to the core themes of that game, beat the bad man, and the story ends. The key difference imo is that Edge actually earned the right to give his speech because nobody else His idealogical conflict with Faize is exactly the kind of thing that more Star Ocean games need to try. I adore Star Ocean as a series (hell 3 is actually my favorite and first rpg ever so I definitely like Fayt) but characters almost never become anything more than simply likable or tolerable. At best you have a favorite and at worst you have....well Roger......or Lymle.....or Sarah....*shudders*
Great video dude. You inspired me to do a video like yours. I’m currently playing star ocean first departure R as I got a review code sent to me. I couldn’t get into the first star ocean first departure remaster like yourself at first, but now I’m enjoying it a lot.
Hey, man, I've been watching you for years! Thanks for leaving your thoughts. I haven't play much of First Departure R yet, but it looked good on the big screen. Hoping it changes my mind and paves the way for Second Evolution R.
I don't understand how anyone can say SO3 has great story. That twist totally kills the whole series and breaks suspension of disbelief. Seriously. It's part of the reason SO5 was bad. Nothing matters in the games before SO3. It's all just a manipulation. A "game". Yes, the game that becomes self aware. How this is good story for anyone is beyond me. It was good in the first disc, but second was a tragedy. I like Second story best and SO4 second. 4 had some annoying characters but the call backs to previous titles and the section where youvisit earth were very memorable. Even though the story was predictable, it was enjoyable. The combat was the best in the series. I have not yet played through the first. I loathe the third as you can guess. Ruins the whole series for me. I would be so happy if it was declared non-canon.
It's not for everyone. I think the third game can be pretty divisive. I didn't mind the twist, but I can see why folks disliked it. I wonder if perhaps SO3 was intended to be the end of the series and that is why they made that decision. Of course, that gets all messed up when they keep making new Star Ocean games. My guess is that they will conveniently never mention the Eternal Sphere and 4D beings ever again.
My best pal back in the day told me the twist while I was in the middle of the game. I was so grateful! lol I put the game down and never played again. I wasn't big on it anyway, having played after SO2, but the twist made it impossible for me to continue.
I'd pick Star Ocean: The Last Hope as my absolute favourite though admittedly I haven't played Second Story. SO4 was just everything I wanted in a JRPG and more.
The story makes me groan a lot of times, but I seriously enjoyed this game. It's battle system in my opinion is my favorite bar none! That being said, there's a great simplicity in The Second Story. I hope we get a Second Evolution R. I've been wanting to replay TSS but keep imagining R would come out right as I got into it. 🤣
I'll have to heavily disagree about First departure and it's because I have beaten it multiple times to the point I broke the system. I enjoyed it mostly because of it's multiple characters that need to be unlocked during multiple playthroughs like in Second Story. This gives the game multiple endings and many private actions that flesh out the characters. Many say that it's worse version of Second Story and to some point I must agree, Second story is more grandiose. However, if you drop the expectations for FD to match SS then there's a good game behind it.
I think I have to agree about Second Story being the best. It had its issues but it had the best combination of characters and story with acceptable and fairly fun combat, with unique things like special attacks that evolve as you use them. The worst for me is...probably Integrity and Faithlessness. That or the Third. The Third would be one of my favorites but that twist is SO stupid and so destructive to the entire series that it sours me on the whole thing. But Integrity...I WANTED to love. Being able to use all of your characters in combat at the same time is amazing but the fact that they ripped so much straight from the Third in so far as animations go turned me off hardcore, since 3 had my least favorite attack animations for a main character of any of the games ((Bizarrely even taking into consideration the two earliest titles.)) And it just...bored me. Say what you will about 4 but I was never bored with it.
I always felt Fayt was completely broken. Maybe i didnt spend enough time with the other characters but i felt like his system was pretty darn nutty. Side kick- Dimension Door lets you evade damn near everything in the game and clears the field of small fry while dealing plenty of meaty damage to everything that isnt already dead.
I recall Star Ocean: Till the End of Time being one of the very first transactions I did by myself, without my parents' involvement. I really should go back and finish it. Nine year old me just didn't have the focus for a long RPG.
The only Star Ocean I haven't beat is 3. The combat is just to slow and frustrating for me. That said, I think the most important part of a game is the game play, followed by likable characters, presentation (cant stand not being able to see my characters in battle, and they need to have animations. visual weapons and armor go a long way too.), art style, story, and finally graphics. The best Star Ocean is Infinite Undiscovery(yes, I know it isn't part of Star Ocean) even though I pretty much hate Cappel as a character.
Did I say I hadn't beaten the game? I am pretty sure I had beaten the game (or else I wouldn't have ranked it). Are you talking about First Departure? I have beaten that one, but not the original SNES Star Ocean.
The Second Story is absolutely the best. I would love a Remaster/Remake of it in the future. Till the end of time would have to be my second favorite purely because of those story twist. 3rd would be The last hope, Then The first departure and last would be Faithlessness...
@@DragonKingZero Second Evolution Is more of a remaster than a remake. I was meaning more of a remake something like the FF7 remake but maybe not on that large of a scale, or for a better Remaster with 4k sprites/textures/music/voice acting/ect.
Second Evolution isn't a remake or a remaster, it was a PSP port with a couple of extra features. First Departure R isn't even a remaster, just a HD port.
I have not played First Departure or First Departure R yet (probably will after I finish CS3) but here's my ranking: 5 - SO5 - way too bereft of content, mediocre story, barely any cutscenes (a great big space battle is happening yet we only get to read text about what's going on while the view is centered on the spaceship's deck) forgettable characters aside from the drill-haired girl, and combat that devolved into screen-filling particle effects with way too much going on. 4 - SO3 - thought the combat was a bit clunky and slow paced, with terrible AI. Lots of useless party members, party members starting at level 1 when you were 60% through the game. Hated the MP death, hated the neutering of the skills and private action systems, and the game desperately needed a fast-travel. The main plot twist was strange but at least memorable. 3 - SO4 - loved the combat, and the fact there was actually some bit of planet-hopping. Expansive worlds to explore, great graphics for the time. The voice acting was horrible as well as some of the character designs, but this game gets farrrrrr too much hate. 2 - SO1 (SFC) - my intro to the series, it's got some stunning pixel art, probably the best soundtrack in the series, and laid the groundwork for a lot of the innovative systems the SO series uses. That says, it's got a bit too much backtracking and feels pretty rushed towards the end. 1 - SO2 - absolutely incredible game, probably everyone reading this comments section knows why
Whenever people tell me to name drop one of the best stories that I had ever encountered, I always made sure to talk about SO3. They'd normally be confused because they'd be expecting a novel title etc. But man SO3 really has such a great story and content, I remember when I've run out of things to do on the game and I ended up reading all the sci-fi jargon in the in-game encyclopedia.
Indeed. Game has tonsss of terms and such. Takes so long to read em all, in a good way. They put so much details into the story and world building itself to even explain each miniscule terms albeit confusing sometimes. The twist kinda hit and miss with fans, some loved it some hated it.
"fayt attacks are too slow, you get much better fighters" Fayt: *has the fastest running speed, side kick into Air Raid, Side Kick into Ethereal Blast, Side Kick into Side Kick into Side kick into Side kick*
Ethereal Blast is nice, but has a windup and (if I remember correctly) is only so-so if the enemy moves. Meanwhile, with bonus canceling Max Shockwave can murder things. You can turn your weak hits into strong hits (and it's fast). You can also train Cliff to do this. Not saying you're wrong. We all have preferences. Fayt is just a party member I opt not to use, possibly because you are limited to 3 in SO3.
So3 is my personal fav in the series. 2nd favorite story and the absolute best combat mechanics of the series, I couldn't get into So5 because they stripped the combat to bear bones instead of polishing what worked. The ai isn't terrible when lvled though the Ntsc version has trouble with some cancel combos. I'd advise getting the pal version as it doesn't have this problem.
In my opinion Star Ocean 3 will always be my favorite Star Ocean title. It has some odd issues like the game randomly crashing, odd audio balancing during cutscenes, and even some strange no movement glitches which can be exploited to make bosses easier. Although it isnt perfect, the games story, characters, visuals at the time, and perfect music all make up for it in my opinion. I understand you said this is your opinion but I would like to point out Fayt is actually one of the better characters in Star Ocean 3 combat wise. Fayt Is very well balanced. I feel Albel and Roger are way worse then Fayt in terms of attack functionality. Thanks for the video!
You're absolutely right that Fayt is well balanced. He is (to make a goofy comparison) sort of like Mario in Mario Kart: balanced. However, depending on what you're working on, I think Fayt just barely gets nudged out. If you're going for the no-damage BTs on Galaxy mode, you absolutely want to use Fayt. But, if you're playing on 4D, I found that a party of Cliff, Maria, and Sophia made more sense. If you could use 4 party members in SO3, I think Fayt would be a logical choice, but there is a lot of competition for those 3 slots. And yes, party members like Roger absolutely suck. Haha.
On my first playthrough, I switched to Nel as soon as I could, then Albel when Nel wasn't strong enough for that palm strike spamming. When I did play Fayt, I tried to use Air Raid and Ethereal Blast instead of actually good moves like Side Kick. On later playthroughs I did figure this out, but by that time I had also learned that the true master at annihilating enemies is Maria, because I had learned strats for quick kill BTs on Ethereal Queen. So if you just want the combat to be over faster, Maria at point blank it is.
Plenty of strong characters in 3. Cliff's hammer of might or Nel's FG just cleans everything when you get it, or almost anything you can slot on Maria. Still, if you ask any random person who playeed SO3 what they remember about the combat, I'm pretty sure you'll hear sidekick as one of the most frequent answer.
Star Ocean last hope on xbox360 way better then star Ocean 2 in my opinion is number one and better then the playstation3 version as well. Number one - Star Ocean last hope xbox360 Number two - Star Ocean End of time.
Nice to hear positive comments on SO5, definitely agree with most of them, even if it's still my least favourite. Battle system would have been even better imo if it had SO3's fury system and less intensive special effects, by the time I was most the way through SO5 I found it really hard to see what was going on between all the light and explosions haha
I agree on the effects. You seriously can't tell which way is up once everyone gets brawling in the game. Still, I did appreciate getting to use so many characters at once instead of being limited to 3 or 4.
I couldn't get into either PSP remakes. The backgrounds were flat and nothing was animated. Both original games backgrounds were full of life and animations Star ocean 3s combat is all about combo cancelling. I really liked the combat in 3... I actually got a lot of the boss trophies on the first run through. 3 is my second favorite after 2
I never played the games after Till the End of Time, but I always wondered: Is the huge twist in SO3 ever actually addressed in any of the later games? Or do they just pretend it never happened?
I’m 33 now and I rented star ocean 2 roughly 3-4 times until I had beaten the game. I enjoyed just about everything about it. Practically had to beg my mother to purchase the guide so I could enjoy it more. Really had a great time watching your video and quite nostalgia feelings from it. I still in fact have my save from my first game I started. It’s very difficult for me to try and start new on it these days can’t really say I was huge fan of the others. Especially the ps2 one 🤮
@@zemenerrichey1980 Oh thanks, you too! ;) did a few quests and item farms today.. about to attempt remaining alternate endings with some emotional destabilizer / love potion shenanigans. been flipping between standard completion file and universe playthrough atm.. so still got a full playthrough and more grinding ahead. I enjoy the mechanics in this game though so it's cool (very tempting to start SO4 but who knows what could happen if I don't properly 'finish' with this one first.. XD)
@@RodniDemental I got a ton done in SO4 trophies but still not even close. Not sure I'll go for that Platinum but it would definitely be impressive to have. I've heard people talk about how grinding trophies aren't worth the time and are meaningless since all you have to do is grind it out, but the ability to tolerate and actually go through with a grind a very impressive and valuable skill. The patience and discipline required are the mark of a powerful mind.
I 100% agree with your rankings. I was going to be arguing if 2nd story didn’t hit number 1. I have been waiting for a carbon copy remake with todays framework. Like 4s combat 2s story. Not too mention the replay ability. Not only can you play the game from two perspectives but the vast cast of characters that can only be received if and only if you do certain things. Claude, Dias, Ashton, Rena was super fun to play… but then going with Opera instead of Ashton really turned things up. Swap out Dias for Leon by starting the game as Claude and you had a completely different team with an insane amount of content. The abilities were amazing for its time. This video just made me nerd out and it’s old as F! Lol. Going to need to replay the 1st one… I saw it on the shop the other day. But agree with the rankings. Hopefully the remaster is what the first one needed.
I love that game. It had such an incredible charm and level of detail for its time. The characters felt more unique, too. I wish First Departure had included the original game.
I agree with your #1, and your thoughts on FD make sense. If they make it more like SO2 than SO1, well, it's harder to rank it accurately, as it isn't really the original game.
I bought star ocean last hope a few weeks ago just to build up my 360 collection. Hopefully I’ll like it. I’ve never played any game of this series. Great video, a no nonsense 1 minute critique is refreshing. 👍
Should I play the fan translation of the first game or should I play First Departure? I don't really like using fan translations, so if there's a mod for the original that injects the translation from First Departure, then I'll gladly play that version.
Till the end of Time was a great game I just wish there were more character interactions and getting Sophia and Peppita and Mirage on disc one. You get them off way late in the game where you basically are left with 3 stages and done. Such a great game loved the uniqueness on items and synthesis.
??? So, First Departure is bad because it feels too much like Second Story, and not enough like the original Star Ocean... But Second Story is #1 on the list, First Departure is #5, and the original Star Ocean is unranked?
SO1 looking like SO2 isn't a bad thing. What's bad is that the game does not have its own identity. It feels like a lesser version of SO2. Does that make sense? Also, I only ranked games released by region. I don't live in Japan, so I didn't include the original Super Famicom game.
Here I my own list (note: I don't dislike any Star Ocean game) Star Ocean Blue Sphere (only played GBC version) Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness Star Ocean (played SNES and psp version) Star Ocean Last Hope (only played International version) Star Ocean Til the End of Time Star Ocean the Second Story (played ps1 and psp) With Second Story being my second favorite game of all time... next to The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past.
@@BrockShake I feel it was worth waiting for an English patch, (I bought a patched repro) but overall feels more like a side story like it was meant to. Oh and if you play it there is no leveling up stats depend on skills, which I think is an I threshing take.
I agree 100% with your list ASIDE from the fact that till the end of time had the best story. Second story had THE best story of every star ocean entry, period imo lol
I might have misspoke, but I believe my intention was to convey that (between SO3 vs. SO4) SO3 had the better story, but SO4 had better gameplay. Just my opinion. Of course, I agree that SO2 is on top. The game had the benefit of using text, so the story could be in depth. Back then, full voice acting kind of held games back because of storage limits.
Great video. Star Ocean the Second Story is my favorite. I agree with you about the first departure. It's an okay game but it just doesn't feel right by using the engine of the second story. I really hope they bring the second evolution remaster over to the PS4. I'd buy it immediately.
I only included mainline games that were officially released. Sadly, the original SO never made it to the states, so I didn't include it. While I respect fan translations, they are not official products, so, in my opinion, they don't count.
I see you have first departure for SO1, but curious why you didn't put Second Evolution (the psp version of SO2, which DID come out in english) in your number one spot since it had better voice acting.
I included First Departure, because it was the only version of the original game that my territory received (I live in the US). I did not include Second Evolution specifically because they can both be labeled as Star Ocean 2. Sure, Second Evolution has additional stuff, but they are both Star Ocean 2 fundamentally. I don't know if that makes sense.
I dunno man, First Departure is my favourite. There is so much to do and you can have so many different character interaction. I don't really care for the main story, because it's your typical early jrpg. I would put second evolution at 5th - so boring, it took me an year to force myself to beat it
I understand why. I didn't like the game at first. I was bummed when I finally beat it and immediately dropped the game for months. However, I went back to it and, I like it for what it is, but I understand why it's a very divisive SO game.
@@BrockShake I'll go more in depth as my reasoning are a bit superficial. 1. The main character's moveset is a copy and pasted Fayt. Its jarring, but maybe that's the game that Fayt plays all the time..... and it's based on their world so I can let that go. 2. Their strikes in battle do not sound damaging.... well, really only the MC's slashes. 3. The small area circle in battles. Seamless is good and I respect what they tried to do but.....its tedious because of one final thing... 4. The inability to control another party member outside of battle. I could understand if this was town because of the PAs, but inside a dungeon or in the field?? Playing with different party members is not encouraged because of this as playing with a mage automatically makes you flee battle. Its highly annoying and its immersion breaking. For instance I don't go through many menus, or use many items, or pause and think because it breaks immersion and I want to be fully absorbed in the game that I am playing. If not for this ONE flaw, I would play and enjoy this game. I really hope that they can patch it. *Take away the flee option and put it inside the menu like in SO3 and SO4 OR make the other characters useable in the field.... we're just running!*
I can understand all criticisms and will absolutely give you the last one, because I hated that too. The battlefield should've been something all non-controlled characters teleported into (to prevent the auto-flee problem), because sometimes characters can even get stuck beyond the field of battle and when you switch to them it triggers the flee command.
Well to me, 5th place is Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness (Don't like that most characters have the same attack and skills from Star Ocean Till the End of Time and sucky story which this game needs to be remade), 4th place is Star Ocean The First Departure, 3rd place is Star Ocean The Last Hope (Love the gameplay but don't like the rush mode in battle and favorite character is Reimi), 2nd Place is Star Ocean Till the End of Time (Mostly my favorite game because love the optional boss of Lenneth and Freya, the story, and best character I mostly like is Maria. Also, wish there was a part of story of finding Maria's real parents fix the battle since you can get ambush or rear attack when you are in front of them), and 1st place well of course it is Star Ocean The Second Story or Second Evolution. Hope there is Star Ocean 6 that is coming in the future that is better than Star Ocean Intergrity and Faithlessness.
Star Ocean: Second Story is the best in the series for a number of reasons, but Star Ocean/First Departure R is a close second and in some ways has better characters (Ratix/Roddick is far better than Claude) and down rating the game because the REMAKE is more similar to the excellent Star Ocean: Second Story is one of the most confusing things I've ever heard of. First off.. the original game exists and should be judged on its own merits. And it was a hell of a revolutionary Super Famicom title. Graphics, sound (music and voice acting), gameplay.. it stood out as something before its time. With Star Ocean: Second Story being the best in the series.. the remake of the first game really bumped it up a notch with adding virtually all of the major improvements the second game saw. As for the rest of the list.. Star Ocean: The Last Hope International is the third best, but it's pretty far off. It has pretty good combat, weird visuals, a mediocre story. Honestly, nothing after Star Ocean: Second Story has ever felt like Star Ocean. They originally felt like a sister series to Tales but eventually hurt itself in trying to find its own identity. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is fourth, but really only because it can't possibly be worse than Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. I&F has okay visuals, a few neat gimmicks that didn't turn out too well and an okay but subpar plot. The combat is decent. The option for Japanese voice acting was a blessing. It's a solid 5 out of 10. But Till the End of Time. My god. What a heinously bad game. I'm not just talking about the horrible twist ending or the buggy, worst-in-series combat that literally saw probably half of its players never get beyond the tutorial. I'm not even talking about the cringey voice acting (that its only saving grace is it can be disabled in the menu). The story is just bad. Every single character is terrible, every shred of dialogue is horrendous and Fayt is one of the worst JRPG protagonists in the history of the genre. The game is just bad. My only hope is they remaster Star Ocean: Second Evolution and give it a modern release and maybe that will inspire them to take the series back to its roots.
I would personally be putting Last Hope last simply because compared to the other combat systems Last Hope was not very good. It felt clunky and unintuitive and the targeting system was actual garbage. I dont know how they could mess up auto targeting the closest enemy but they managed it somehow. I&F being almost a clone of Till the End of Time was a let down but not entirely a bad thing. And of course SS... It is perfect in my eyes. Have yet to find a more enjoyable RPG to this day.
Nice and concise video. Well done. You pretty much convinced me with your ranking. My ranking is quite similar. I have similar memories regarding Star Ocean 2. It was an impulse buy which I’m glad I stumbled into. Turned me into a big fan of Tri-Ace and the Star Ocean series. It definitely deserves a remaster as well.
Back when Blockbuster was the mainstay, my older brother recommended I get Star Ocean instead of whatever I had decided to rent. I was hesitant, but boy it turned me not just into a fan of the series but a fan of Tri-Ace.
Brock Shake lucky break for you. They’re such an underrated developer. For me, I was looking for the next best RPG. Was fresh off Final Fantasy VII which made me interested in the genre. I was window shopping when Star Ocean 2’s cover caught my eye. And that was that.
Yeah, a lot of folks don't like 4 and 5. I can see why. Even I'm not crazy about all of 4, but I play it all the time. I don't know why. It's probably the one I've put the most time into, even if it isn't my favorite.
@@BrockShake totally respect it. I have a few friends who have only played 4 and love it. so I know there is something there, perhaps im just biased or have some idea of what a SO game should be and it holds me back.
I played most of the SO games, never owned a PSP. I really enjoyed Integrity and Faithlessness. Tied for favorite in the series. Like any rpg series, the fans get so embroiled in nitpicks and nostalgia that objectivity gets chucked. Somehow, there is a "correct" way to play and enjoy a video game when it comes to these discussions and if you disagree with the fanbois then you did it wrong. The latest entry has, just as described in the video, amazing looks, sounds, music, characters, combat. Heh. Boy that sounds like a lot of pluses. According to fanbois, the negatives are: not as good a story as the other games, and (maybe) some preferences in other games combat systems. I have always thought the game was being developed for PS3 and got pushed back when they found out PS4 was coming so they had time to upgrade some things. I think this also cost them in the long run as it hurt their ability to add side quest content because the game had to hit the shelves. In short, instead of adding side quests they spent time reworking the game to look nice on the new console. And then there is the #1 entry. I played it at release, it sits in my pile/hoard yet. It's fun. YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ALL OF THE LIMITATIONS OF THE HARDWARE ETC in order to leave this game as "the greatest of all time" in the series. This is where all the "correctness" and nostalgia come into play. The game starts out brisk and then hits a fairly lengthy boring stretch before it picks back up again. Brock in this video here, I think he does a good job representing the downsides. Now imagine those downsides were about a modern game! No one would give it a second chance, but because of fond memories and a willingness to accept limitations of the times it was made, people drool over it yet. That's my opinion anyway. The "worst entry" in the series will see additional playthrough from me down the road, my old PSX that is "the greatest" has gotten two replays in what, 20 years has it been? It's been on my mind lately with the new announcment of a new game so it might get dusted off again. It just bothers me how extremely opinionated series fans can be about this type of thing. 5:40 - lists off a bunch of reasons the game has lost some shine "#1!!" 1:55 - lists off a slug of excellent qualities "I know you hate me for not ranking this #5!!" To each their own, but the amount of bashing on the latest entry in the series is not exactly going to give an honest impression to new players to the series, and can cause them to not purchase, which of course is a great way for fans to kill off their own series. I am not saying people need to prop up a game they don't like, but the nostalgia fueled rage bashing of what is at least a B+/A- game to fit in with the cool kid fans and their "correct" opinions is a bit annoying to say the least.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks Star Ocean 4 is better than Star Ocean 3 because of the combat. And SO5 is not the worst when compared to diet Tales of Phantasia IN SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! Yes, SO2 is still my all time favorite after all these years! I'm just sad it's now the only game from the remasters stuck in Japan! x(
I think a lot of people undervalue the game's fun factor. Sure, 4 doesn't have the best story, but it's fun to play. Once you know the plot, you don't necessarily need to watch the story scenes over and over (unless it's been a while since you played). The content of the game is fun and the combat is a big part of it. I like SO3, but it just isn't quit the same.
IMO Second Story is the best of the series and has the best original soundtrack of any game ever made. As mentioned, the depth to this game for the time was insane.
Nice video. It is a quirky series. I am playing Second Story tight now, but it is not as good as Til the End of Time. Thanks for covering these games. Star Ocean, Suikoden and Xenosaga make up my holy trinity of underrated JRPGs.
Now this is how you do a top listing without going too overdrawn on. Subscribing to your content. I haven’t been too fond of this series. I got the #5 game for switch and I agree as well but will give it a chance. Here’s to hope the #1 spot gets a switch port one day.
I LOVE Star Ocean the second story so I agree with your number one spot. I sunk hundreds of hours into the PSone version and played around with Gameshark on it too. However, I personally disliked The Last Hope but I played it on X360 with the disc swapping as you mentioned and hated the character acting / English voices a LOT. I also wasn't fond of Private Actions being on the ship in that game for some reason? I preferred Star Ocean characters interacting in towns. I also hated that everyone just seemed to tag along in the party no matter what if I recall correctly but Myuria and Arumat were pretty cool. Star Ocean 5 is beautiful and could of used a much better plot and it would of been saved. And yeah I also changed Fayt as my main fighter in SO3 and mainly used Nel or Albel. I'd personally go as number one being best: 1. SO2 2. SO3 3. SO1 4. SO5 and last SO4 (might of been different if I had played PS3 version).
You've ranked them rather interestingly. I don't know that the PS3 version of The Last Hope would've made any difference for you, but considering you can swap the dialog to Japanese, maybe 😊
I bought a used copy of legend of dragoon but couldn't play it because my playstation had a chip in it. My mom brought back star ocean 2 in exchange because it they were both 25 bucks. We lived outside the city and I was pretty young, and my own money, so it was big deal to me. A random mistake led to one of my favorite video games of all time
My first was Star Ocean 3, and I also played Last Hope on Xbox and the disc swap was obnoxious. SO3 never gave me dimwitted AI at all, except on a rare occasion Sophia decided to “LEROOOOOOY JENKINS” at Frejya🤣 I grinded to getting the halloween skins also. If it wasn’t for Peppita and her game hacking immortal-twirl-counter attacks, I would not have been as interested in the game, heck I even use to mock Luther fighting him with her: “Wow…supposedly not even God himself can hit a little girl twirling….FAIL!”🤣
I've only ever played SO3 once, and have replayed SO1, SO2 and SO:TLH at least 3 times each. If ever tri-Ace were given the funding to remake SO3 on TLH's engine though, it would be a PERFECT game for me. The combat in TLH just wasn't there for me though, which is a shame because it has a really great story! I never played SO5 unfortunately, simply because I let reviews sway my choice on whether or not to buy it. I may give it a shot at some point though.
You should play 5. What you've read/seen in reviews is probably true, but I think that even 5 has aspects to it that you can appreciate. For me, I liked 5 more the second time I played it.
For me, having SO4 ranked above S03 is a major crime. Still, I respect your opinion even though I totally disagree in that ranking decision. Heck, I'd even say I prefered S03 combat over S04 for a couple of reasons.
For me, it boiled down to which one I enjoyed more. 4 might not have the best story, but I think it's more fun to play. I do like the Fury system from 3, but the AI wigging out and standing around doing nothing was such an irritating experience for me back in the day. I hated feeling like I needed to manually control three characters at all times. If it makes any sense, let me say it like this. Let's say, hypothetically, I gave SO4 a B+, then SO3 would be a B- or B. Just, because I ranked one higher than the other doesn't mean all aspects of the game are better/worse. I just liked 4 a tad more than 3. That's all. I had to decide which to place higher, but I like both games for what they do.
@@BrockShake Sorry Brock, I didn't mean to sound aggressive with my comment. SO4 is simply the game that made me lose interest in the franchise but it doesn't mean you don't have the right to enjoy it personally. It was a fun video and I just felt like sharing my personal taste after watching it.
Woot! Star ocean till the end of time was my favorite. I did use fate a lot or the little purple cat girl. Also the music slaps. Not as hard as rogue Galaxy but pretty dang hard for tri ace.
I have replayed Till The End of Time almost six times in my life and I still get that nostalgic high every time I revisit every two years or so. I bought it for the ps2 twice, downloaded it on the PS4, and with the release of First Departure for the switch, I have a good feeling they’re going to release the Star Ocean series on the switch remastered! Now, WHERE IS THE REMASTER FOR BATEN KAITOS NINTENDO!?
They should remake till the end of time with better dubbed voice acting... Or just remaster it so that I can actually be immersed in the character's story..
I think it was pretty good, but it is too similar to SO2. That is only a bad thing, because then the game sort of lacks its own identity. Just my opinion. I am happy you liked it, though. That is all that matters :)
You're right about First Departure. That's because someone thought that it would be a great idea to remake the original game from the Super Famicom using the engine of Star Ocean 2. And the new script is complete cringe - the new "official" names are even worse. Best bet is to find the ROM of the Sfc (aka Snes) version and the English patch by DeJap to run on an emulator. I'm impressed that Star Ocean 3 is smack dab AT number three on your list. So many swear it's the best game in the series (it's really not), so seeing something that puts it in its place is wildly refreshing. And Star Ocean 2 at the top is exactly where it should be. Period. Awesome story, kickass combat, fantabulous soundtrack (EXCEPT that title screen song; "At The Crack of Dawn" is like nails on a chalkboard compared to Star Ocean 1's title screen theme "Departures"...and the First Departure/First Departure R remake ruins that with an anime intro... that has a song that doesn't even mesh well with "Departures"), and the voice acting IS cheesy, but it was still the 90s... just ask Resident Evil. 😏😏😏😏😏
My favorites are first departure and second story, the issue with first departure (SNES) version was that you had to tryhard way too much in order to just figure out some of the side stories, for example unless you're following a walkthrough it's very natural for marvel to be released from the ice, have her dead and never figure out what happened with her.
Its weird people praise valkyrie profile but never experience how good SO second story'was... Also i played all final fantasy series and nothing beat SO2
Gotta say I agree with you, I loved the second story and it was the first star ocean game I played too, I didn't really enjoy the others that much but I did really like the last hope
I actually enjoyed SO5 in regards to combat and item creation. with combat it felt like the 2d'ish versions but with 3d AND it added a Tank mechanics which was great. it reduced the chaotic nature of the combat where enemies were all over the place. Now we just need another star ocean with some characters that make sense as "tanks"
![Yeat & Summrs - GO2WORK [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NEFEwfPcXRA/mqdefault.jpg)
You know a game is bad when in a one minute review you talk about how good the menus are.
The menus were pretty cool and contained most of the entertainint stuff. It's almost as though the game and menus were made by separate companies.
@@BrockShake I think his point is that if the menus are the high point, regardless how high of a point they are, the game is in trouble.
Never knew Persona 5 can be defined that way
@@1010otep Yeah, I was gonna say that any review it Persona 5, regardless of length or whether for or against, had better spend at least 30 seconds gushing about the UI and menues.
The game was fire combat wise. Too many characters involved tho. I’d keep it at 4. And free flowing like this one.
For me Till the end of time still one of the best star ocean series.
I second that
Aye
No. It has some disappointments to make it the best.
Best in combat system
@@faytleingod3807
They made it 1 less character you can use in a fight. When close combat characters use skills their HP drains instead of their Magic Points. The game have issues when trying magic or any skill the game will say loading data from disc until it never loads. How come you can say and the poster than Star Ocean Till The End of Time is the best?
SO4 is my absolute favorite. I have no defense of it except that it makes me and made me the most happy when playing it or thinking about it.
That's a weird way to put it, but I somehow agree with you.
It was my first one
It has many small but annoying issues
Meracle + Arumat + Reimi + Edge has to be the best team ever in a Star Ocean
@@lutethemage5053 i freaking love Meracle! Her with Max crits is a super broken build.
SO2 is my absolute, unparalleled game of all time. When I first played it on rental, I kept it for so long I ran up an overdue bill that cost as much as the game did itself! Because of a very limited PAL print run, it was rarer than rocking horse shit to find 2nd hand. I had to pay £40 for a used copy that a shop had reserved for me after it was traded in at another of their branches.
I love the Star Ocean series, but I feel like Second Story is the only game in the series that isn't wildly devisive among fans.
I like this franchise but you are right, you can argue that Star Ocean is an inconsistent franchise tho
For me Second Story is best in series with First departure
SO3 was my favorite one for the story and the most unique EX dungeons out of the series, though the story did set the bar pretty high. You have to know alot more about the mechanics to play that one so it isn't just a grindfest, but it's good.
The unique dungeons/bosses are really what make this game so badass.
Are you referring to until the end of time? It’s the best of course (because of Nel)
@Naro I HAVE THIS GAME HERE. I DIDNT EVEN KNOW I HAD IT. I PLAY GOOD GAMES OVER AND OVER MANY TIMES. BUT I WROTE A LITTLE NOTE FOR MYSELF ON THIS GAME STAR OCEAN TILL THE END OF TIME AND THIS IS WHAT I WROTE AFTER I HAD PLAYED IT "NOT ENOUGH COLOUR, NOT ENOUGH SAVE POINTS, VERY ANNOYING AND TIME CONSUMING RIDICULOUSLY HARDAND NEEDS FAQS A LOT.
MY PROBLEM IS I DONT LIKE GAMES WHICH ARENT VERY COLOURFUL. I ALSO DONT LIKE GAMES WITH TINY WEE PRINT SO I DONT BOTHER WITH THE PS4 GAMES NOW. I WASTED MY MONEY WITH THOSE. I DONT LIKE TO SOUND LIKE A BIG WHINGER THOUGH AND THERE ARE A LOT OF GAMES I DO LIKE AND ONE OF THEM IS STAR OCEAN 2. I HAD IT AS A COPIED GAME WHICH I PLAYED ON MY PSX BUT IT BROKE AND I DONT HAVE IT ANYMORE. I JUST WISH MY PS2 COULD TAKE NTSC AND COPIED GAMES. I WOULD LOOK TO FIND MY COPIED VERSION OF STAR OCEAN 2, IT WAS A GREAT GAME. I ALSO LOVE SUIKODEN 2, THAT IS ONE OF MY VERY FAVOURITES.
IM AN OLD GAMER ALSO. I STARTED PLAYING GAMES WHEN I WAS JUST 16 AND THAT WAS BACK IN 1968
@@kenb7264 Yeah also the cross over battles with Valkyrie Profile were awesome, I wish they did more of those in the newer games.
@@nelzelpher2088 lol I love peppita and Sophia a lot but I love how dedicated you are to nel
Star Ocean: I&F was possibly the biggest missed opportunity in any JRPG franchise.
My favorite part about that game was the battles and battle customization. The story needed so much work and the maps... I wanted so much more out of it, but the seamless battle engagement was a huge plus for me, especially when compared to TLH.
Till the End of Time is my fave of all time!!!
Kinda expected so3 to be lower because of its plot twist that affects the entire series and the fact that it had an unreasonably complicated crafting system
I remember liking the plot twist. However, you are right in that the crafting was/is complicated. I think I had to use the strategy guide to figure it out back then.
Hands down Star Ocean the Second Story is the best. Would love a remaster it remake, but keep it 2D. 👌 great review
How about HD-2D like in Octopath Traveler?
Hey hey hey!
@@michaeloffgrid it has happened 🥲👀👏👏👏
@@IaconDawnshire 👀🥲👏
@@sacredbeats6761 Yeah, and the style looks fantastic!
Yea, SO2 is just on another level. I love SO3 too, but SO2 isn't just one of the best star ocean games it's one of the best games of all time. Anyway, if you're a fan of SO2 I recommend watching the anime, it's called star ocean ex if I recall, it only covers about half of the story but its pretty decent.
Star Ocean 3 will always be my favorite SO game. It was the first game I played in the series, so I may be a little biast, but I really loved the characters, music, and gameplay. Cutting Edge of Notion was a great battle theme and the quotes the characters said in battle were funny too. I loved spamming dimension door and sidekick with Fayt lol. The story was all over the place, but it was overall a pretty memorable and fun experience.
It was the first game I played in the series as well, so far i've played SO3, SO4 and SO1. Alot of people said SO5 is trash but i'm still gonna try it out since i've already played most of the games
Completely agree with you, Star Ocean till the end of time is by far the best, and the worst is Star Ocean 5, they tried to innovate but it didn't feel like a star ocean
Aye the sound track slaps for Star Ocean 3, I have a couple songs in my list of guitar music in fact.
The story was fantastic right up till the very end, but on the whole there was a lot to love.
1) SO2 2) Last Hope 3) First Departure 4) Till the End (3 characters in combat, dying when oom) 5) Integrity
Good ranking. I like it 😊
What are some things you like more about First Departure? I had trouble liking that one.
@@BrockShake Well, SO2 is my all time favorite game. First Departure has the same combat system and the game is connected to SO2. Being able to play with Claude's parents is kinda cool! The story is a bit underwhelming but still a nice prequel.
@@KiwiDimi sound logic. I do like the combat system. I also loved Ronyx. He is such a cool character. I also liked that Roddick isn't really the main character, it's just sort of from his point of view (if that makes sense?).
However, I found the game to be too easy and lacks replay value. I'm sure it didn't help that I played it last in the series and probably expected it to be like the other games. Who knows. Just my opinion.
@@BrockShake I think the ps4 version is harder than the psp version. Maybe you should buy it on the store during a special japan games promo.
I do actually have it on PS4. I got it back when it came out, but it only mildly improved my enjoyment. I at least did all of the side quests. I still have to go back through it one day to recruit the different characters.
Honestly Starocean 3 is my pick, great story (aside from its ending ) great characters and fantastic music.
I feel like you were overly harsh on the combat system , while a bit clunky at times especially in the early game. But later when people get more moves it really hits its stride.
Most people didn’t play around the party menu, you can set designated healers and combat style for the team. You do micro the other characters around a bit them around a bit but it’s to setup combos and spells to stagger enemies.
But to your point I didn’t main Fayte myself I usually used Albel. His more aggressive move set was more my style and super handy for super bosses.
Everyone freaked out with how bad the story was in Star Ocean the Last Hope. I actually liked it a lot. The writers took a huge chance by letting the heroes go through that doorway in space... if you know what I mean. What a crazy shift in storytelling.
I don't know either why they say the plot is that bad and the characters too shallow, in my opinion, is a good game, not a master piece of course but suffered because of Star Ocean till the end of time (the best in the saga) set the bar really high, just my opinion...
It did establish why the UP3 was created, and it had a huge callback to First Departure which are nice.
SO:SS was the first rpg I fell in love with and especially at the time of release, it’s combat destroyed all the standard turn-based stuff to me
The game blew me away back then. All of the different skills like cooking. I remember grinding for HOURS early on in the game to get enough money to buy the pickpocket gloves. Then I would go around and rob EVERYONE, including my own party members during private actions. So fun.
Star Ocean: Second Story and Tales of Destiny both made me think turn based RPGs were dead. In the last decade or so, I've gone back and enjoyed both types of games a lot, but for many years I only wanted to play action RPGs.
I thought I'm the only ones who think turn based is boring. The only good turn based rpg in my opinion is the grandia series.
Star Ocean: Second Story was my second rpg that I played, right behind final fantasy IV, and jesus do I remember spending hours into it. I still remember the first time I beat it, I got the Claude/Ashton ending because I used those two all the time. The combat style always intrigued me and kept me going, and I love the fact that in this series as a whole had a unique mechanic that, if their affection/friendship was high enough with a party member that just got KOed, they would yell out to them and get angry for a decent duration of the fight. Plus, Motoi Sakuraba's music is just so good to listen to.
Yeah, the music is still incredible. I listen to a lot of Star Ocean music, especially 2.
Yeah, 3 and 4 are adversive of each other, where one succeeds the other fails.
Best combat? 4
Best story? 3
Strongest (imo) protagonist? 4
Worst protagonist? 3
Best IC? 4
Worst IC? 3
Only common denominator between them is that they both have a kickass post game.
I agree on all of your points, except I probably like Fayt as a character a smidge better than Edge. If you're talking about who is the better fighter? I agree, it's Edge.
@@BrockShake Character discussion for them is pretty interesting. I personally believe that Edge struggling with his mistake and coming to terms with it on Roak was super compelling. No other protagonist goes through something nearly as meaningful, nor do they change as a result of it. Fayt has VERY interesting quirks that make him unique (tough guy attitude, actually intelligent unlike most protagonists, etc) but he remains static until the end where they do the same song and dance as every other game. (And I do mean every single other game) They fight some jackass with a God complex, give a big anime speech about something relating to the core themes of that game, beat the bad man, and the story ends. The key difference imo is that Edge actually earned the right to give his speech because nobody else His idealogical conflict with Faize is exactly the kind of thing that more Star Ocean games need to try. I adore Star Ocean as a series (hell 3 is actually my favorite and first rpg ever so I definitely like Fayt) but characters almost never become anything more than simply likable or tolerable. At best you have a favorite and at worst you have....well Roger......or Lymle.....or Sarah....*shudders*
@Shaman Xeed Ya gonna back that statement up with evidence or.....?
Great video dude. You inspired me to do a video like yours. I’m currently playing star ocean first departure R as I got a review code sent to me. I couldn’t get into the first star ocean first departure remaster like yourself at first, but now I’m enjoying it a lot.
Hey, man, I've been watching you for years! Thanks for leaving your thoughts.
I haven't play much of First Departure R yet, but it looked good on the big screen. Hoping it changes my mind and paves the way for Second Evolution R.
Waiting eagerly for a R version of the second game. One of the best jrpg of all time imo.
Get an emulator 😉
Boy, do I have news for you.
I don't understand how anyone can say SO3 has great story. That twist totally kills the whole series and breaks suspension of disbelief.
Seriously. It's part of the reason SO5 was bad. Nothing matters in the games before SO3. It's all just a manipulation. A "game". Yes, the game that becomes self aware.
How this is good story for anyone is beyond me. It was good in the first disc, but second was a tragedy.
I like Second story best and SO4 second. 4 had some annoying characters but the call backs to previous titles and the section where youvisit earth were very memorable. Even though the story was predictable, it was enjoyable. The combat was the best in the series.
I have not yet played through the first. I loathe the third as you can guess. Ruins the whole series for me. I would be so happy if it was declared non-canon.
It's not for everyone. I think the third game can be pretty divisive. I didn't mind the twist, but I can see why folks disliked it. I wonder if perhaps SO3 was intended to be the end of the series and that is why they made that decision. Of course, that gets all messed up when they keep making new Star Ocean games. My guess is that they will conveniently never mention the Eternal Sphere and 4D beings ever again.
My best pal back in the day told me the twist while I was in the middle of the game. I was so grateful! lol I put the game down and never played again. I wasn't big on it anyway, having played after SO2, but the twist made it impossible for me to continue.
Star ocean 3 will always be my favorite
I'd pick Star Ocean: The Last Hope as my absolute favourite though admittedly I haven't played Second Story. SO4 was just everything I wanted in a JRPG and more.
Glad to see some SO4 love 😊
The story makes me groan a lot of times, but I seriously enjoyed this game. It's battle system in my opinion is my favorite bar none! That being said, there's a great simplicity in The Second Story.
I hope we get a Second Evolution R. I've been wanting to replay TSS but keep imagining R would come out right as I got into it. 🤣
I keep hoping for a Second Evolution R myself.
I'll have to heavily disagree about First departure and it's because I have beaten it multiple times to the point I broke the system. I enjoyed it mostly because of it's multiple characters that need to be unlocked during multiple playthroughs like in Second Story. This gives the game multiple endings and many private actions that flesh out the characters.
Many say that it's worse version of Second Story and to some point I must agree, Second story is more grandiose. However, if you drop the expectations for FD to match SS then there's a good game behind it.
Dude soooo much nostalgia, thank you for takeing the time to do this.
You're welcome. And thank you for taking the time to watch 😊
I think I have to agree about Second Story being the best. It had its issues but it had the best combination of characters and story with acceptable and fairly fun combat, with unique things like special attacks that evolve as you use them.
The worst for me is...probably Integrity and Faithlessness. That or the Third. The Third would be one of my favorites but that twist is SO stupid and so destructive to the entire series that it sours me on the whole thing. But Integrity...I WANTED to love. Being able to use all of your characters in combat at the same time is amazing but the fact that they ripped so much straight from the Third in so far as animations go turned me off hardcore, since 3 had my least favorite attack animations for a main character of any of the games ((Bizarrely even taking into consideration the two earliest titles.)) And it just...bored me. Say what you will about 4 but I was never bored with it.
Til the End of Time is #1 for me although I agree with some of your comments except about Fayt. I love Fayt but I can dig what you said
Yeah, it's a great game. That was the hardest one to figure out where I'd rank it.
Bobby it’s mine too. 😁
It’s my favorite as well.
I always felt Fayt was completely broken. Maybe i didnt spend enough time with the other characters but i felt like his system was pretty darn nutty. Side kick- Dimension Door lets you evade damn near everything in the game and clears the field of small fry while dealing plenty of meaty damage to everything that isnt already dead.
Yeah Fayt, Maria, and Cliff were the best characters so I'd agree
I recall Star Ocean: Till the End of Time being one of the very first transactions I did by myself, without my parents' involvement. I really should go back and finish it. Nine year old me just didn't have the focus for a long RPG.
The only Star Ocean I haven't beat is 3. The combat is just to slow and frustrating for me. That said, I think the most important part of a game is the game play, followed by likable characters, presentation (cant stand not being able to see my characters in battle, and they need to have animations. visual weapons and armor go a long way too.), art style, story, and finally graphics. The best Star Ocean is Infinite Undiscovery(yes, I know it isn't part of Star Ocean) even though I pretty much hate Cappel as a character.
SO1 FS at 5th with that reasoning? Get the hell outa here. xD
Thanks for watching. Bear in mind I left all spoilers out of my remarks. There are other reasons why I don't like FD 😊
@@BrockShake you said you didn't beat the game so how do you know all spoilers? The game is actually fairly short too.
Did I say I hadn't beaten the game? I am pretty sure I had beaten the game (or else I wouldn't have ranked it). Are you talking about First Departure? I have beaten that one, but not the original SNES Star Ocean.
@@BrockShake I'm talking about first Departure/star ocean 1. In the video you said it's the only one you haven't beat
It's been a while since I watched the video. Well, I've beaten it since. I finished it on PSP and PS4.
The Second Story is absolutely the best. I would love a Remaster/Remake of it in the future. Till the end of time would have to be my second favorite purely because of those story twist. 3rd would be The last hope, Then The first departure and last would be Faithlessness...
Second Story did get a remake called Second Evolution.
@@DragonKingZero Second Evolution Is more of a remaster than a remake. I was meaning more of a remake something like the FF7 remake but maybe not on that large of a scale, or for a better Remaster with 4k sprites/textures/music/voice acting/ect.
Second Evolution isn't a remake or a remaster, it was a PSP port with a couple of extra features. First Departure R isn't even a remaster, just a HD port.
I have not played First Departure or First Departure R yet (probably will after I finish CS3) but here's my ranking:
5 - SO5 - way too bereft of content, mediocre story, barely any cutscenes (a great big space battle is happening yet we only get to read text about what's going on while the view is centered on the spaceship's deck) forgettable characters aside from the drill-haired girl, and combat that devolved into screen-filling particle effects with way too much going on.
4 - SO3 - thought the combat was a bit clunky and slow paced, with terrible AI. Lots of useless party members, party members starting at level 1 when you were 60% through the game. Hated the MP death, hated the neutering of the skills and private action systems, and the game desperately needed a fast-travel. The main plot twist was strange but at least memorable.
3 - SO4 - loved the combat, and the fact there was actually some bit of planet-hopping. Expansive worlds to explore, great graphics for the time. The voice acting was horrible as well as some of the character designs, but this game gets farrrrrr too much hate.
2 - SO1 (SFC) - my intro to the series, it's got some stunning pixel art, probably the best soundtrack in the series, and laid the groundwork for a lot of the innovative systems the SO series uses. That says, it's got a bit too much backtracking and feels pretty rushed towards the end.
1 - SO2 - absolutely incredible game, probably everyone reading this comments section knows why
Star Ocean 2 is far and away my favorite. I liked the others, but 2 is simply the best.
Whenever people tell me to name drop one of the best stories that I had ever encountered, I always made sure to talk about SO3. They'd normally be confused because they'd be expecting a novel title etc. But man SO3 really has such a great story and content, I remember when I've run out of things to do on the game and I ended up reading all the sci-fi jargon in the in-game encyclopedia.
Indeed. Game has tonsss of terms and such. Takes so long to read em all, in a good way.
They put so much details into the story and world building itself to even explain each miniscule terms albeit confusing sometimes.
The twist kinda hit and miss with fans, some loved it some hated it.
Stat ocean 5 could have been soooooooo good
"fayt attacks are too slow, you get much better fighters"
Fayt: *has the fastest running speed, side kick into Air Raid, Side Kick into Ethereal Blast, Side Kick into Side Kick into Side kick into Side kick*
Ethereal Blast is nice, but has a windup and (if I remember correctly) is only so-so if the enemy moves.
Meanwhile, with bonus canceling Max Shockwave can murder things. You can turn your weak hits into strong hits (and it's fast). You can also train Cliff to do this.
Not saying you're wrong. We all have preferences. Fayt is just a party member I opt not to use, possibly because you are limited to 3 in SO3.
So3 is my personal fav in the series.
2nd favorite story and the absolute best combat mechanics of the series, I couldn't get into So5 because they stripped the combat to bear bones instead of polishing what worked.
The ai isn't terrible when lvled though the Ntsc version has trouble with some cancel combos. I'd advise getting the pal version as it doesn't have this problem.
In my opinion Star Ocean 3 will always be my favorite Star Ocean title. It has some odd issues like the game randomly crashing, odd audio balancing during cutscenes, and even some strange no movement glitches which can be exploited to make bosses easier. Although it isnt perfect, the games story, characters, visuals at the time, and perfect music all make up for it in my opinion.
I understand you said this is your opinion but I would like to point out Fayt is actually one of the better characters in Star Ocean 3 combat wise. Fayt Is very well balanced. I feel Albel and Roger are way worse then Fayt in terms of attack functionality. Thanks for the video!
You're absolutely right that Fayt is well balanced. He is (to make a goofy comparison) sort of like Mario in Mario Kart: balanced.
However, depending on what you're working on, I think Fayt just barely gets nudged out. If you're going for the no-damage BTs on Galaxy mode, you absolutely want to use Fayt. But, if you're playing on 4D, I found that a party of Cliff, Maria, and Sophia made more sense. If you could use 4 party members in SO3, I think Fayt would be a logical choice, but there is a lot of competition for those 3 slots.
And yes, party members like Roger absolutely suck. Haha.
No Blue Sphere? :( it’s such a great game
I only included the games that were officially released in my territory (USA).
I can't say that I agree with the comment on Fayt, when most people remember SO3 as Side Kick: the game.
On my first playthrough, I switched to Nel as soon as I could, then Albel when Nel wasn't strong enough for that palm strike spamming. When I did play Fayt, I tried to use Air Raid and Ethereal Blast instead of actually good moves like Side Kick. On later playthroughs I did figure this out, but by that time I had also learned that the true master at annihilating enemies is Maria, because I had learned strats for quick kill BTs on Ethereal Queen. So if you just want the combat to be over faster, Maria at point blank it is.
Plenty of strong characters in 3. Cliff's hammer of might or Nel's FG just cleans everything when you get it, or almost anything you can slot on Maria.
Still, if you ask any random person who playeed SO3 what they remember about the combat, I'm pretty sure you'll hear sidekick as one of the most frequent answer.
Star Ocean last hope on xbox360 way better then star Ocean 2 in my opinion is number one and better then the playstation3 version as well.
Number one - Star Ocean last hope xbox360
Number two - Star Ocean End of time.
Nice to hear positive comments on SO5, definitely agree with most of them, even if it's still my least favourite. Battle system would have been even better imo if it had SO3's fury system and less intensive special effects, by the time I was most the way through SO5 I found it really hard to see what was going on between all the light and explosions haha
I agree on the effects. You seriously can't tell which way is up once everyone gets brawling in the game. Still, I did appreciate getting to use so many characters at once instead of being limited to 3 or 4.
I couldn't get into either PSP remakes. The backgrounds were flat and nothing was animated. Both original games backgrounds were full of life and animations
Star ocean 3s combat is all about combo cancelling. I really liked the combat in 3... I actually got a lot of the boss trophies on the first run through. 3 is my second favorite after 2
Agreed. That and Star Ocean 2 still looks pretty good on a TV. It hurt to play it on such a tiny screen. Wish they had put SO2 on PS3 back in the day.
I never played the games after Till the End of Time, but I always wondered: Is the huge twist in SO3 ever actually addressed in any of the later games? Or do they just pretend it never happened?
I am pretty sure that it is never brought up again.
@@BrockShake I'm reasonably certain it's because 4 and 5 are set before the events in 3.
I hated leaving Peppita, behind on the moonbase 😥
I’m 33 now and I rented star ocean 2 roughly 3-4 times until I had beaten the game. I enjoyed just about everything about it. Practically had to beg my mother to purchase the guide so I could enjoy it more. Really had a great time watching your video and quite nostalgia feelings from it. I still in fact have my save from my first game I started. It’s very difficult for me to try and start new on it these days can’t really say I was huge fan of the others. Especially the ps2 one 🤮
When I rented SO2, I ran up a huge overdue bill that would have been enough to purchase the game 😂
I once platinumed Star Ocean The Last Hope:International
...Worth it!
Not sure if I'll ever get that far lol. I am almost done with Integrity and Faithlessness though.
@@zemenerrichey1980 Yeah.. I'm working on platinum for I&F before I start 4.. been on and off for the last 10 months.. will get there eventually..
@@RodniDemental You can do it!
@@zemenerrichey1980 Oh thanks, you too! ;)
did a few quests and item farms today.. about to attempt remaining alternate endings with some emotional destabilizer / love potion shenanigans.
been flipping between standard completion file and universe playthrough atm.. so still got a full playthrough and more grinding ahead.
I enjoy the mechanics in this game though so it's cool
(very tempting to start SO4 but who knows what could happen if I don't properly 'finish' with this one first.. XD)
@@RodniDemental I got a ton done in SO4 trophies but still not even close. Not sure I'll go for that Platinum but it would definitely be impressive to have. I've heard people talk about how grinding trophies aren't worth the time and are meaningless since all you have to do is grind it out, but the ability to tolerate and actually go through with a grind a very impressive and valuable skill. The patience and discipline required are the mark of a powerful mind.
SO4 is very underrated.
Agreed.
I 100% agree with your rankings. I was going to be arguing if 2nd story didn’t hit number 1. I have been waiting for a carbon copy remake with todays framework. Like 4s combat 2s story. Not too mention the replay ability. Not only can you play the game from two perspectives but the vast cast of characters that can only be received if and only if you do certain things. Claude, Dias, Ashton, Rena was super fun to play… but then going with Opera instead of Ashton really turned things up. Swap out Dias for Leon by starting the game as Claude and you had a completely different team with an insane amount of content. The abilities were amazing for its time. This video just made me nerd out and it’s old as F! Lol. Going to need to replay the 1st one… I saw it on the shop the other day. But agree with the rankings. Hopefully the remaster is what the first one needed.
Nice, what's your thoughts on the super fam original?
I love that game. It had such an incredible charm and level of detail for its time. The characters felt more unique, too. I wish First Departure had included the original game.
Just found you and became your 100th subscriber! I look forward to future videos!
Thanks and glad to have you. Can't believe I hit 100. Always seemed so far.
In ranking of the battle themes imo it would be SO1>SO2>SO5>SO4>SO3
I agree with your #1, and your thoughts on FD make sense. If they make it more like SO2 than SO1, well, it's harder to rank it accurately, as it isn't really the original game.
Star Ocean 2 was my favourite. I really wanted to like 3... but it became such a slog.
I bought star ocean last hope a few weeks ago just to build up my 360 collection. Hopefully I’ll like it. I’ve never played any game of this series.
Great video, a no nonsense 1 minute critique is refreshing. 👍
Should I play the fan translation of the first game or should I play First Departure? I don't really like using fan translations, so if there's a mod for the original that injects the translation from First Departure, then I'll gladly play that version.
We need a physical release of the last hope on modern consoles instead of just a digital only version
Till the end of Time was a great game I just wish there were more character interactions and getting Sophia and Peppita and Mirage on disc one. You get them off way late in the game where you basically are left with 3 stages and done. Such a great game loved the uniqueness on items and synthesis.
???
So, First Departure is bad because it feels too much like Second Story, and not enough like the original Star Ocean...
But Second Story is #1 on the list, First Departure is #5, and the original Star Ocean is unranked?
SO1 looking like SO2 isn't a bad thing. What's bad is that the game does not have its own identity. It feels like a lesser version of SO2. Does that make sense?
Also, I only ranked games released by region. I don't live in Japan, so I didn't include the original Super Famicom game.
@@BrockShake Oh yeah, I forgot it was never officially released outside of Japan.
Here I my own list (note: I don't dislike any Star Ocean game)
Star Ocean Blue Sphere (only played GBC version)
Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness
Star Ocean (played SNES and psp version)
Star Ocean Last Hope (only played International version)
Star Ocean Til the End of Time
Star Ocean the Second Story (played ps1 and psp)
With Second Story being my second favorite game of all time... next to The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past.
Good listing. I have never played Blue Sphere. Was it worth it?
@@BrockShake I feel it was worth waiting for an English patch, (I bought a patched repro) but overall feels more like a side story like it was meant to. Oh and if you play it there is no leveling up stats depend on skills, which I think is an I threshing take.
I agree 100% with your list ASIDE from the fact that till the end of time had the best story. Second story had THE best story of every star ocean entry, period imo lol
I might have misspoke, but I believe my intention was to convey that (between SO3 vs. SO4) SO3 had the better story, but SO4 had better gameplay. Just my opinion. Of course, I agree that SO2 is on top. The game had the benefit of using text, so the story could be in depth. Back then, full voice acting kind of held games back because of storage limits.
Great video. Star Ocean the Second Story is my favorite. I agree with you about the first departure. It's an okay game but it just doesn't feel right by using the engine of the second story. I really hope they bring the second evolution remaster over to the PS4. I'd buy it immediately.
Wait...where's the Super Famicom (fan-sub) installment fit into the line up; did I miss something?
I only included mainline games that were officially released. Sadly, the original SO never made it to the states, so I didn't include it. While I respect fan translations, they are not official products, so, in my opinion, they don't count.
I see you have first departure for SO1, but curious why you didn't put Second Evolution (the psp version of SO2, which DID come out in english) in your number one spot since it had better voice acting.
I included First Departure, because it was the only version of the original game that my territory received (I live in the US). I did not include Second Evolution specifically because they can both be labeled as Star Ocean 2. Sure, Second Evolution has additional stuff, but they are both Star Ocean 2 fundamentally. I don't know if that makes sense.
second story is the most underated rpg game
I dunno man, First Departure is my favourite. There is so much to do and you can have so many different character interaction. I don't really care for the main story, because it's your typical early jrpg.
I would put second evolution at 5th - so boring, it took me an year to force myself to beat it
Me....
1. Star Ocean 4
2. Star Ocean 3
?. [SO1, SO2] I haven't played.
1001. Stat Ocean 5
I take it you don't like Star Ocean 5?
@@BrockShake What gave you that impression? Lol
*you're right. I can't bring myself to finish it.*
I understand why. I didn't like the game at first. I was bummed when I finally beat it and immediately dropped the game for months. However, I went back to it and, I like it for what it is, but I understand why it's a very divisive SO game.
@@BrockShake I'll go more in depth as my reasoning are a bit superficial.
1. The main character's moveset is a copy and pasted Fayt. Its jarring, but maybe that's the game that Fayt plays all the time..... and it's based on their world so I can let that go.
2. Their strikes in battle do not sound damaging.... well, really only the MC's slashes.
3. The small area circle in battles. Seamless is good and I respect what they tried to do but.....its tedious because of one final thing...
4. The inability to control another party member outside of battle. I could understand if this was town because of the PAs, but inside a dungeon or in the field?? Playing with different party members is not encouraged because of this as playing with a mage automatically makes you flee battle. Its highly annoying and its immersion breaking. For instance I don't go through many menus, or use many items, or pause and think because it breaks immersion and I want to be fully absorbed in the game that I am playing. If not for this ONE flaw, I would play and enjoy this game. I really hope that they can patch it. *Take away the flee option and put it inside the menu like in SO3 and SO4 OR make the other characters useable in the field.... we're just running!*
I can understand all criticisms and will absolutely give you the last one, because I hated that too. The battlefield should've been something all non-controlled characters teleported into (to prevent the auto-flee problem), because sometimes characters can even get stuck beyond the field of battle and when you switch to them it triggers the flee command.
Well to me, 5th place is Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness (Don't like that most characters have the same attack and skills from Star Ocean Till the End of Time and sucky story which this game needs to be remade), 4th place is Star Ocean The First Departure, 3rd place is Star Ocean The Last Hope (Love the gameplay but don't like the rush mode in battle and favorite character is Reimi), 2nd Place is Star Ocean Till the End of Time (Mostly my favorite game because love the optional boss of Lenneth and Freya, the story, and best character I mostly like is Maria. Also, wish there was a part of story of finding Maria's real parents fix the battle since you can get ambush or rear attack when you are in front of them), and 1st place well of course it is Star Ocean The Second Story or Second Evolution. Hope there is Star Ocean 6 that is coming in the future that is better than Star Ocean Intergrity and Faithlessness.
There were memes in 1999. Dancing baby from ally mcbeal. Was in GIF form and everything.
Star Ocean: Second Story is the best in the series for a number of reasons, but Star Ocean/First Departure R is a close second and in some ways has better characters (Ratix/Roddick is far better than Claude) and down rating the game because the REMAKE is more similar to the excellent Star Ocean: Second Story is one of the most confusing things I've ever heard of.
First off.. the original game exists and should be judged on its own merits. And it was a hell of a revolutionary Super Famicom title. Graphics, sound (music and voice acting), gameplay.. it stood out as something before its time. With Star Ocean: Second Story being the best in the series.. the remake of the first game really bumped it up a notch with adding virtually all of the major improvements the second game saw.
As for the rest of the list.. Star Ocean: The Last Hope International is the third best, but it's pretty far off. It has pretty good combat, weird visuals, a mediocre story. Honestly, nothing after Star Ocean: Second Story has ever felt like Star Ocean. They originally felt like a sister series to Tales but eventually hurt itself in trying to find its own identity. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is fourth, but really only because it can't possibly be worse than Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.
I&F has okay visuals, a few neat gimmicks that didn't turn out too well and an okay but subpar plot. The combat is decent. The option for Japanese voice acting was a blessing. It's a solid 5 out of 10. But Till the End of Time. My god. What a heinously bad game. I'm not just talking about the horrible twist ending or the buggy, worst-in-series combat that literally saw probably half of its players never get beyond the tutorial. I'm not even talking about the cringey voice acting (that its only saving grace is it can be disabled in the menu). The story is just bad. Every single character is terrible, every shred of dialogue is horrendous and Fayt is one of the worst JRPG protagonists in the history of the genre. The game is just bad.
My only hope is they remaster Star Ocean: Second Evolution and give it a modern release and maybe that will inspire them to take the series back to its roots.
I would personally be putting Last Hope last simply because compared to the other combat systems Last Hope was not very good. It felt clunky and unintuitive and the targeting system was actual garbage. I dont know how they could mess up auto targeting the closest enemy but they managed it somehow. I&F being almost a clone of Till the End of Time was a let down but not entirely a bad thing. And of course SS... It is perfect in my eyes. Have yet to find a more enjoyable RPG to this day.
I'll give you the auto target problem in SO4. Good God how could I have forgotten. Haha.
Nice and concise video. Well done. You pretty much convinced me with your ranking. My ranking is quite similar. I have similar memories regarding Star Ocean 2. It was an impulse buy which I’m glad I stumbled into. Turned me into a big fan of Tri-Ace and the Star Ocean series. It definitely deserves a remaster as well.
Back when Blockbuster was the mainstay, my older brother recommended I get Star Ocean instead of whatever I had decided to rent. I was hesitant, but boy it turned me not just into a fan of the series but a fan of Tri-Ace.
Brock Shake lucky break for you. They’re such an underrated developer. For me, I was looking for the next best RPG. Was fresh off Final Fantasy VII which made me interested in the genre. I was window shopping when Star Ocean 2’s cover caught my eye. And that was that.
2,3,and 1. I hate 4 and 5 just hurts. good video man, I know im hella late but it finally popped up in my recommended
Yeah, a lot of folks don't like 4 and 5. I can see why. Even I'm not crazy about all of 4, but I play it all the time. I don't know why. It's probably the one I've put the most time into, even if it isn't my favorite.
@@BrockShake totally respect it. I have a few friends who have only played 4 and love it. so I know there is something there, perhaps im just biased or have some idea of what a SO game should be and it holds me back.
Star Ocean The Second Story was the first game I bought at release with anticipation.
I played most of the SO games, never owned a PSP.
I really enjoyed Integrity and Faithlessness. Tied for favorite in the series.
Like any rpg series, the fans get so embroiled in nitpicks and nostalgia that objectivity gets chucked. Somehow, there is a "correct" way to play and enjoy a video game when it comes to these discussions and if you disagree with the fanbois then you did it wrong.
The latest entry has, just as described in the video, amazing looks, sounds, music, characters, combat. Heh. Boy that sounds like a lot of pluses. According to fanbois, the negatives are: not as good a story as the other games, and (maybe) some preferences in other games combat systems.
I have always thought the game was being developed for PS3 and got pushed back when they found out PS4 was coming so they had time to upgrade some things. I think this also cost them in the long run as it hurt their ability to add side quest content because the game had to hit the shelves. In short, instead of adding side quests they spent time reworking the game to look nice on the new console.
And then there is the #1 entry. I played it at release, it sits in my pile/hoard yet. It's fun. YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ALL OF THE LIMITATIONS OF THE HARDWARE ETC in order to leave this game as "the greatest of all time" in the series. This is where all the "correctness" and nostalgia come into play. The game starts out brisk and then hits a fairly lengthy boring stretch before it picks back up again. Brock in this video here, I think he does a good job representing the downsides. Now imagine those downsides were about a modern game! No one would give it a second chance, but because of fond memories and a willingness to accept limitations of the times it was made, people drool over it yet.
That's my opinion anyway. The "worst entry" in the series will see additional playthrough from me down the road, my old PSX that is "the greatest" has gotten two replays in what, 20 years has it been? It's been on my mind lately with the new announcment of a new game so it might get dusted off again. It just bothers me how extremely opinionated series fans can be about this type of thing.
5:40 - lists off a bunch of reasons the game has lost some shine "#1!!"
1:55 - lists off a slug of excellent qualities "I know you hate me for not ranking this #5!!"
To each their own, but the amount of bashing on the latest entry in the series is not exactly going to give an honest impression to new players to the series, and can cause them to not purchase, which of course is a great way for fans to kill off their own series. I am not saying people need to prop up a game they don't like, but the nostalgia fueled rage bashing of what is at least a B+/A- game to fit in with the cool kid fans and their "correct" opinions is a bit annoying to say the least.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks Star Ocean 4 is better than Star Ocean 3 because of the combat. And SO5 is not the worst when compared to diet Tales of Phantasia IN SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! Yes, SO2 is still my all time favorite after all these years! I'm just sad it's now the only game from the remasters stuck in Japan! x(
I think a lot of people undervalue the game's fun factor. Sure, 4 doesn't have the best story, but it's fun to play. Once you know the plot, you don't necessarily need to watch the story scenes over and over (unless it's been a while since you played). The content of the game is fun and the combat is a big part of it. I like SO3, but it just isn't quit the same.
It's great to see some SO4 ♥️
"I judged it by it's cover" Funny enough I did too and bought it on sight, it's my favorite game.
IMO Second Story is the best of the series and has the best original soundtrack of any game ever made. As mentioned, the depth to this game for the time was insane.
Nice video. It is a quirky series. I am playing Second Story tight now, but it is not as good as Til the End of Time. Thanks for covering these games. Star Ocean, Suikoden and Xenosaga make up my holy trinity of underrated JRPGs.
I would add Valkyrie Profile to that list for myself but agreed with your list for sure. Xenosaga is absolutely amazing
My personal rankings would be 1 > 3 > 2 > 4 > 5.
Now this is how you do a top listing without going too overdrawn on. Subscribing to your content. I haven’t been too fond of this series. I got the #5 game for switch and I agree as well but will give it a chance. Here’s to hope the #1 spot gets a switch port one day.
I LOVE Star Ocean the second story so I agree with your number one spot. I sunk hundreds of hours into the PSone version and played around with Gameshark on it too.
However, I personally disliked The Last Hope but I played it on X360 with the disc swapping as you mentioned and hated the character acting / English voices a LOT. I also wasn't fond of Private Actions being on the ship in that game for some reason? I preferred Star Ocean characters interacting in towns. I also hated that everyone just seemed to tag along in the party no matter what if I recall correctly but Myuria and Arumat were pretty cool.
Star Ocean 5 is beautiful and could of used a much better plot and it would of been saved. And yeah I also changed Fayt as my main fighter in SO3 and mainly used Nel or Albel.
I'd personally go as number one being best: 1. SO2 2. SO3 3. SO1 4. SO5 and last SO4 (might of been different if I had played PS3 version).
You've ranked them rather interestingly. I don't know that the PS3 version of The Last Hope would've made any difference for you, but considering you can swap the dialog to Japanese, maybe 😊
Didn't, didn't Second Story already kinda get a remaster with Second Evolution?
It did. I forget exactly why I did not mention it. Perhaps because unlike First Departure it was very similar to its original version.
Fair.
Back in the day, I bought second story randomly during a sale without knowing anything about the series. Worth every penny.
I bought a used copy of legend of dragoon but couldn't play it because my playstation had a chip in it. My mom brought back star ocean 2 in exchange because it they were both 25 bucks. We lived outside the city and I was pretty young, and my own money, so it was big deal to me. A random mistake led to one of my favorite video games of all time
My first was Star Ocean 3, and I also played Last Hope on Xbox and the disc swap was obnoxious. SO3 never gave me dimwitted AI at all, except on a rare occasion Sophia decided to “LEROOOOOOY JENKINS” at Frejya🤣 I grinded to getting the halloween skins also. If it wasn’t for Peppita and her game hacking immortal-twirl-counter attacks, I would not have been as interested in the game, heck I even use to mock Luther fighting him with her: “Wow…supposedly not even God himself can hit a little girl twirling….FAIL!”🤣
This is probably the best star ocean review, I'll play them all now and come back here if I changed my mind xD
I've only ever played SO3 once, and have replayed SO1, SO2 and SO:TLH at least 3 times each. If ever tri-Ace were given the funding to remake SO3 on TLH's engine though, it would be a PERFECT game for me. The combat in TLH just wasn't there for me though, which is a shame because it has a really great story! I never played SO5 unfortunately, simply because I let reviews sway my choice on whether or not to buy it. I may give it a shot at some point though.
You should play 5. What you've read/seen in reviews is probably true, but I think that even 5 has aspects to it that you can appreciate. For me, I liked 5 more the second time I played it.
I got it for dirt cheap for $15 on ps store so I just decided why not give it a shot even if it turns out bad
For me, having SO4 ranked above S03 is a major crime. Still, I respect your opinion even though I totally disagree in that ranking decision. Heck, I'd even say I prefered S03 combat over S04 for a couple of reasons.
For me, it boiled down to which one I enjoyed more. 4 might not have the best story, but I think it's more fun to play. I do like the Fury system from 3, but the AI wigging out and standing around doing nothing was such an irritating experience for me back in the day. I hated feeling like I needed to manually control three characters at all times.
If it makes any sense, let me say it like this. Let's say, hypothetically, I gave SO4 a B+, then SO3 would be a B- or B. Just, because I ranked one higher than the other doesn't mean all aspects of the game are better/worse. I just liked 4 a tad more than 3. That's all. I had to decide which to place higher, but I like both games for what they do.
@@BrockShake Sorry Brock, I didn't mean to sound aggressive with my comment. SO4 is simply the game that made me lose interest in the franchise but it doesn't mean you don't have the right to enjoy it personally. It was a fun video and I just felt like sharing my personal taste after watching it.
@@supersayen0679 it's cool. I didn't take it as aggressive 😊
Woot! Star ocean till the end of time was my favorite. I did use fate a lot or the little purple cat girl. Also the music slaps. Not as hard as rogue Galaxy but pretty dang hard for tri ace.
"Slaps" haha. I like it.
star ocean 2 is one of my favourite games . need a remake for ps4, switch...
I have replayed Till The End of Time almost six times in my life and I still get that nostalgic high every time I revisit every two years or so. I bought it for the ps2 twice, downloaded it on the PS4, and with the release of First Departure for the switch, I have a good feeling they’re going to release the Star Ocean series on the switch remastered!
Now, WHERE IS THE REMASTER FOR BATEN KAITOS NINTENDO!?
They should remake till the end of time with better dubbed voice acting... Or just remaster it so that I can actually be immersed in the character's story..
First Departure was so good :(
I think it was pretty good, but it is too similar to SO2. That is only a bad thing, because then the game sort of lacks its own identity. Just my opinion. I am happy you liked it, though. That is all that matters :)
You're right about First Departure. That's because someone thought that it would be a great idea to remake the original game from the Super Famicom using the engine of Star Ocean 2. And the new script is complete cringe - the new "official" names are even worse. Best bet is to find the ROM of the Sfc (aka Snes) version and the English patch by DeJap to run on an emulator.
I'm impressed that Star Ocean 3 is smack dab AT number three on your list. So many swear it's the best game in the series (it's really not), so seeing something that puts it in its place is wildly refreshing.
And Star Ocean 2 at the top is exactly where it should be. Period. Awesome story, kickass combat, fantabulous soundtrack (EXCEPT that title screen song; "At The Crack of Dawn" is like nails on a chalkboard compared to Star Ocean 1's title screen theme "Departures"...and the First Departure/First Departure R remake ruins that with an anime intro... that has a song that doesn't even mesh well with "Departures"), and the voice acting IS cheesy, but it was still the 90s... just ask Resident Evil. 😏😏😏😏😏
My favorites are first departure and second story, the issue with first departure (SNES) version was that you had to tryhard way too much in order to just figure out some of the side stories, for example unless you're following a walkthrough it's very natural for marvel to be released from the ice, have her dead and never figure out what happened with her.
Oof. First Departure below SO4 and SO5, yikes haha. But definitely agree with SO2 being number one.
I can't really explain why, but despite SO being one of my favorite RPGs I just cannot bring myself to like FD.
Its weird people praise valkyrie profile but never experience how good SO second story'was... Also i played all final fantasy series and nothing beat SO2
Gotta say I agree with you, I loved the second story and it was the first star ocean game I played too, I didn't really enjoy the others that much but I did really like the last hope
I actually enjoyed SO5 in regards to combat and item creation.
with combat it felt like the 2d'ish versions but with 3d AND it added a Tank mechanics which was great. it reduced the chaotic nature of the combat where enemies were all over the place.
Now we just need another star ocean with some characters that make sense as "tanks"
WE GETTING THAT 2ND HD REMAKE FOR SECOND STORY GOING TO BE FUKING AMAZING!!!!
Edge created the pact that stop you from going to underdeveloped planets