Planet Stream
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Planet Stream is a fictional planet in the Star Ocean universe. In the English release of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Planet Stream is translated as Planet Styx. The original katakana from the first Star Ocean, however, is ストリ-ム. This is romanized as "sutoriimu", which is then transliterated as "stream". Stream is how the planet appears in Dejap's translation patch for the original Super Famicom Star Ocean. It is likely referred to as Styx because of rumors existing in the Earth Federation that the time gate on the planet is the entrance to Daemonium. In Greek Mythology, Styx is the name of the river leading to the land of the dead. In general, experienced fans of the series tend to call the planet Stream, while newcomers to the series refer to it as Styx, due to these translation issues.
Stream is a barren, lifeless world that would have no interesting features whatsoever if not for the presence of an ancient alien artifact known as the Time Gate. This Time Gate appears to be a sentient portal that will allow its users to travel through time, if it deems them worthy. Although Stream resides outside of the official borders of the Earth Federation, and later Pangalactic Federation, there are usually many Federation starships in the area due to the unknown nature of the Time Gate. All external access to the planet is strictly prohibited. Most critics liken Stream to "The City on the Edge of Forever" in Star Trek: The Original Series.
Stream is unique in that thus far, it is the only recurring planet players visit in the Star Ocean series. It originally appeared as a non-playable section in Star Ocean: Fantastic Space Odyssey. Players visited Stream again in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time; players were free to explore the immediate area around the gate, although it only served as an area containing enemies the player must fight through to reach the gate. In each game, the Time Gate was a key element in advancing the plot. In the original Star Ocean, on year Stardate 346, Ratix Farrence, Milly Kiliet, Iria Silvestoli, and Ronixis J. Kenni asked the Time Gate if they could travel 300 years into the past in order to retrieve a cure for the virus transforming people into stone on Roak. Sensing the party's good intentions, the gate agreed.
Some 400 years later, in Stardate 772, Fayt Leingod, Sophia Esteed, and Maria Traydor learned that the gate was, in fact, the entrance to another dimension. Upon passing through the gate using Sophia Esteed's symbologic power of Connection, they learned the other dimension was known as 4D space. The inhabitants of 4D space, known simply as 4D beings, created the Star Ocean universe as a means of entertainment; they refer to it as the Eternal Sphere. This plot twist has caused great controversy in the Star Ocean community: many believe it leaves the future of the series in question and cheapens the experience of the previous three games. However, others praised its unexpected nature and believe it can only broaden the series with the addition of 4D space.
