Star Ocean
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Star Ocean is a franchise of role-playing video games developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (originally Enix).
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[edit] Content
Currently there are three main games in the series:
- Star Ocean (Super Famicom, 1996: Japan, 2003: fan translation)
- Star Ocean: The Second Story (PlayStation, 1998)
- Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PlayStation 2, 2003: Japan, 2004: U.S.)
Also, there is a side story game, Star Ocean: Blue Sphere for the Game Boy Color. It is a direct sequel to Star Ocean: The Second Story, taking place 2 years later and features the return of all 12 main characters in a new adventure on the planet Edifice.
There was also an unfinished manga by Mayumi Azuma, and later a similarly unfinished anime series, Star Ocean EX, which were both based on Star Ocean: The Second Story. The manga was never released in the US, but can be found via peer-to-peer networks in a fan-translated version. The anime is currently licensed by Geneon Entertainment USA and is being released on DVD. The anime covered the events in the first disc of the Playstation game and the planned second season was canceled. However, Star Ocean EX was continued and finished on Drama CDs. In all, a total of 26 episodes were shown on Japanese television.
[edit] Signature Features
Star Ocean games are known for their real-time battle engines. Battles take place on a separate screen, but all characters are fully mobile in three dimensions, can dodge and chase foes, and must cast their spells and deploy attacks despite enemy harassment. Magicians have spells, whereas fighters have special physical attacks called "Killer Moves"; both are learned after passing certain level requirements (or through specific items and sidequests) and cost HP or MP to use.
Star Ocean games also take an all-encompassing approach to items. Party members can create new objects or improve existing ones through crafts like metalworking, alchemy, writing, painting and cooking. The strongest items and equipment are only available via Item Creation, and many others can be sold for a profit or provide strong benefits (books can be used to transfer skills and abilities; cooked foods can be used to circumvent the 20-of-each-item inventory limit), placing great importance on Item Creation.
The series draws heavily from Star Trek: there is a Federation called the Pangalactic Federation, there is warp speed space travel and people wear communicators that can translate any language, to name a few examples. Star Ocean even uses a plot device reminiscent of Star Trek's Prime Directive, dubbed the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact (UP3 for short), forcing characters trapped on "underdeveloped" worlds to forego their high technology and fight enemies using primitive weaponry like swords and bows. The introduction of the first game also bears a striking resemblance to that of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, with a scene aboard a starship, an exploding planet causing a shockwave that the ship gets caught in, and even a reference to a "cup of coffee", reminiscent of the teacup which shatters in Star Trek VI.
Finally, both the second and third games were somewhat notorious for the renaming of characters whose names contained religious references, which some fans found unusual given the recent association with Square and other RPGs (most famously Xenosaga) who do not omit such references.
Star Ocean gameplay is often compared to the Tales series of video games by Namco, which is not a coincidence: after the release of Tales of Phantasia, practically its entire design department left to found tri-Ace. As a result, many regard the original Star Ocean as a 'spiritual sequel' of Tales of Phantasia; a comment that may be traditionally found at fan-sites describing the first title in the series.
[edit] Regional record
Of the four games in the series, two have been released outside Japan. Star Ocean: The Second Story was the first game to be published in the USA, by Sony Computer Entertainment America. However, the localization (translation) for Star Ocean: The Second Story was translated rather literally, without correcting for cultural differences, which detracted from the game's experience. The game is also frequently cited, along with Resident Evil, as a shining example of the power of bad voice acting.
With the most recent installment -- Star Ocean: Till the End of Time -- Square Enix hoped to attract more gamers, especially in the United States, where the franchise has not been very popular. The Director's Cut 2 Disc version of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time has been released in North America, with more playable characters, more games and additional storyline tangents. As of July 2005, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is a part of Sony's Greatest Hits line, indicating that the game had done reasonably well in North America.
Star Ocean was fan-translated into English through emulation by DeJap Translations.
