Star Ocean: The Divine Force (Universe Difficulty) Part 10

Part 10. I liked this game but it certainly is flawed. The combat camera is absolutely awful. You get used to it after a while, but it really is not good. The lock-on is pretty atrocious as well. When I lock onto and enemy I want the camera to follow it. I don't like the idea that if I move in another direction the camera follows me and doesn't bother with the enemy. it's kind of the point of lock-on. If I wanted to not see the enemy I would just not lock-on in the first place. I also wish there were more options to control the the AI of your companions. Nina loved to just run over to me and constantly get hit by attacks killing her. She's the one healer in the game and her healing abilities are a little unusual to say the least. It's not bad but when I'm attacking enemies I don't need her running into attacks desperate to heal me. It caused quite a bit of frustration on my end. Not so much in standard encounters, but in boss fights that actually hit hard, it was rough. Early on in the game it's rough without a healer. In most boss fights I had to carry on by myself because my companions died in 1 or 2 hits and it wasn't worth trying to keep them alive. Once we got Nina though that really changed how we were able to proceed with fights. You end up 9 party members and they are all capable in their own way. They all play differently and most party compositions are viable, though some clearly are way better than others. J.J. is probably the hardest to use and the AI doesn't utilize him well. The game itself though is a ton of fun. Combat is fast paced and when you are able to unlock more skills and abilities it really starts to shine. Some attacks are also more effective than others and once you find something that works for you, it's really all you need for most of the game. The areas are fun to explore and there are lots of chests in the open word to uncover, plus there are actual dungeons with bosses at the end, which I appreciated. There's also lots of new weapons and armor to acquire every time you get to a new town. There are side quests aplenty and you also get some unique conversations with your companions with private actions. And there are a ton of them. I tried to do as much as I could while I played the main game, but holy crap are there a ton. After I beat the game I went on a world tour to try and find some more and I probably spent like 2 more hours just listening to my companions. There really is a lot of dialogue to build your characters, it's very cool. The side quests aren't much and just usually want you to find an item or kill some enemies, but some do want you to do a unique thing or two and that's pretty good. Welch in particular awards you with additions to the crafting system. There's a lot going on in the crafting system and I largely ignored for my playthrough because it's random and intimidating. After I beat the game I delved a bit more into because it's the only way to get post-game gear and it's a huge time sink and a lot of save scumming. Speaking of which I tried to get the best weapons and gear for the members I was using, but I only really powered up the best stuff for Raymond. It would have taken dozens of hours to get all 4 members fully powered and largely unnecessary. I wiped the floor with all the super bosses with just Raymond. The story of the game is your standard Star Ocean fare, but it does have a lot of charm and I will say that I quite enjoyed it. Even if it is destroy a wannabe God with the power of friendship. The post game grind was not great, but it is optional and it was fun to have an ultra powerful character. There is a lot of tinkering you can do with your equipment in the crafting system. It's just insanely expensive and takes a lot of time to grind it out. All that said, I liked this game and it certainly is step up from Integrity and Faithlessness. Enjoy my blind playthrough.
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