It is my personal belief that the PlayStation 3 was the very best console to own if you were an RPG fan back in the early to mid 2000’s, and even now still stands out amongst the seventh and eighth generations of video game consoles which are actively being developed for. The great thing about many RPG’s on the console was that there wasn’t so much emphasis on visuals or catering for lingering attention spans, but instead delivered complex experiences that required thought over button mashing. In this second ‘review bundle’ on The Otaku’s Study, I will be looking at a small set of Japanese RPG’s which made it to the international market on the PlayStation 2 during its lifetime.
To the good fortune of Square Enix at the time, they chose to hold off the localization of Star Ocean 3: Till The End of Time. This was because when first launched in Japan during 2003, the game suffered from severe bugs and refused to work with certain PlayStation 2 console models, ultimately hindering the experience. Rather than walk away from the game, Square Enix and developers tri-ace produced a 2004 “Director’s Cut” re-release which rectified these issues and presented what has to date remained the JRPG with the longest play-time in my collection. Even a decade later it still remains fun during additional playthroughs.
Star Ocean 3 sees you take control of male protagonist Fayt Leingod, who lives in an era where humans are now capable of space travel and have made a mark on the stars. Along with his prominent researcher parents and childhood friend Sophia Esteed, he is stuck on the holiday planet Hyda IV when it comes under siege from an alien civilization known as the Vendeeni. After managing to escape and subsequently having his escape vessel fall under siege, he crashes his escape pod on an “underdeveloped planet”, and begins his quest to make his way to those he loves.
A considerable chunk of the game takes place across two “underdeveloped” planets: Vanguard III and Elicoor II, with the latter being of most interest. Not able to be subtle about his arrival in the planets, Fayt finds himself getting involved in their planetary affairs which despite not focusing too heavily on the sci-fi genre are nevertheless pretty enjoyable. The remainder of the game once Fayt and his companions are finally rescued completely changes tones, covering an event that threatens the entire universe (Vague for the purpose of spoilers). The writers have evidently thrown some solid concepts into the mix which were well delivered, even if the two sections of the game are considerably different from one another.
The game is visually impressive although nothing overly special for the PlayStation 2 console. Town designs were well detailed and open for players to roam around, cinematic sequences a pleasure to look at and the dungeons pretty well designed for RPG’s of its time. However the overworld maps that separated each of the towns were very basic and looked like little attention had been given to them in comparison to the rest of the game. Character designs also maintained a 3D anime-style, however could be changed through a number of different unlockable costumes found throughout the game world.
Continuing on the game’s high points, Motoi Sakuraba (Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, Eternal Sonata) was the powerhouse behind Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time‘s soundtrack which hits all the right notes with epic battle themes, music that can pack an emotional punch when necessary and everything in between. In my personal opinion it has been his best work to date. The English voice acting on the other hand is fairly average despite having some big name VA’s involved in it including Michelle Ruff, Wendee Lee and Crispin Freeman.
Battles take place in real-time in a 3D environment, with the player taking direct control of an individual characters movements while the other two are handled by AI, which doesn’t tend to cause too many issues – although can be altered through a Tactics menu. There are two different attack types, ‘minor’ and ‘major’, which can be performed using the X and O button respectively, with these also complemented by attack skills which can be assigned to each character and used by holding down either button from near or far away from the targeted foe. For the more magic inclined characters, there are also an array of ‘symbology’ (aka. magic) spells that can be cast during battle for a variety of different effects. Unlike most RPG’s however, the MP gauge also doubles as a health bar, so should a player consume all their characters MP OR HP they will still be knocked out until resurrected. The battles tend to be fast paced but still lengthy, offering enough challenge so battles don’t just involve button mashing.
There are several other well implemented systems including an ‘invention’ system which allows the player to recruit and manage inventors from around Elicoor II to produce new items otherwise not available in stores, the battle trophy system which provides bonuses for completing 300 objectives ranging from the simple “Win 100 Battles” to defeating the final boss at Level 1 and my favourite… a multiplayer fighting mode which allows you to pit characters with pre-determined skill sets against one another by yourself or with a friend.
I personally think that Square Enix should take a step back from classic Final Fantasy re-releases on multiple consoles and at least for a short while work towards porting some of their PS2 RPG’s to the PlayStation 3. Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time is one of the RPG’s I would love to see at the top of the “to port” list, with its decent storyline, good visuals, fantastic music and enticing gameplay. With tens if not hundreds of hours required to complete everything the game has to offer, there is plenty to explore and much to enjoy.
What are Review Bundles?
Review Bundles are a new article series introduced to The Otaku’s Study as part of its 8th Anniversary Celebrations. The aim is to cluster sets of two to five anime, manga, video games, visual novels from the 1990′s, 2000′s and early 2010′s into genre, console or series related bundles. Each game in a particular bundle will then have 300 – 1,000 word mini-reviews written for them.
The goal is to highlight some of the better titles from my own gaming journey, and encourage newer gamers to consider checking out titles that are not just on the “New Releases” shelf in a store.
