I recently tried the Star Ocean 2 demo and fell in love with it. I really miss 2d Jrpg's with a vibrant cast, huge detailed towns to explore, items to steal from people's houses and a world map!
I remember being in 8th grade or so when Star Ocean 3 was being advertised (1 page or less of adverts in gaming magazines). I grew up super poor, so it was literally like, 2 new games per year (if I was lucky), and 1 of them was a Christmas present. I was very much into jrpgs, and anything anime - as were my two best friends. We all wanted the game super bad, and I think I just wanted it because of the boxart of Fayt in mid sword swing was really cool, and I really just got creative from there, since I saw no gameplay. The Christmas that Star Ocean 3 dropped around, was the day all 3 of us got the game, and maybe that impacts my perspective, but for my first Star Ocean game, I don't think I could have gotten a more memorable first impression on a franchise. I truly enjoy everything about the game. I love MP kills, 3 party members, and the twist at the end. I later grabbed a copy of SO The Second Story, and emulated the DeJap translation of the SO1 rom. I still thoroughly enjoyed those. 4 felt VERY off, but once I got into where the difficulty picked up, I really appreciated the new way the battle system worked, but the characters were all hard to enjoy, with Lymle being the worst offender, but not a fan of Welch in that one either. I emulated Blue Sphere too. The rest of the games in the franchise have been day 1 grabs. My personal ranking (with all the context for why above) 7. Blue Sphere 6. Integrity and Faithlessness 5. Divine Force 4. The Last Hope 3. Star Ocean 1 2. Second Story (Especially with the new remake) 1. Till the End of Time
What made Tile the End of Time so good was the ending. I don't consider it a "plot twist" but a good exploration into higher dimensions/society. It's honestly one of the best stories of any jrpg and I consider it up there with ff7/9.
Yeah, it's another layer of the "higher-technology society looking down at the primitives". That's why I liked it. But it was unfortunately not developed into much of a world on its own.
TBF... It was just a bit ahead of its time. These days it's becoming a more readily accepted theory about reality. Hell, quite a few HFY/Sci-Fi stories I listened to on narration channels use that theme in them. Basically what I'm saying is, it's becoming a more popular trope in and out of fiction stories.
I thought it was brilliant. It went beyond the matrix in that not just society was caught in a simulation but the entire universe is a simulation. If you dig into occultism or gnosticism for lite reading you'll run into this concept pretty quickly. It's really jarring but used in a fictional setting delivers a hell of a plot twist. I guess you could say FFX did something similar in a more personal, and localized way. The scale of SO3's twist was colossal, and alot closer to the source material in delivery. Also the characters were some of my favorites in all RPGs. Fayt, Cliff, Nel, Maria, and even Albel was an edgy badass that you're able to recruit. 3 was my introduction to the series, and the depth was phenomenal. It's nice to play a game you can just get lost in
The plot twist in SO3 was great. Not many series has the balls to pull something like that off and it does explain characters like Welch being in every game.
I agree. I liked that the game introduces a Matrix-like concept as a plot twist Also SO4 fixes this by introducing parallel universes, so I don't understand all the hate.
@@JM-wb8rq I don't understand if the hate is because it wasn't foreshadowed well, or because it "made everything less real" (as if that matters for a game in the first place).
I agree, 90% of the people that say bullshit about the plot twist doesn't explain WHY they don't like it, I bet all of them don't know that time is a dimension and don't know about the simulation hypothesis...
I wouldn't have played a Star Ocean game if it wasn't for you and your videos. Now I've played the two PSP ports and The Divine Force (which is gorgeous) and those three are brilliant.
The Mp mechanics in SO3 are weird at first, but when you find out enemies are ALSO tied to the same mechanics, you’d be able to end fights faster if you target an enemy’s mp.(even if an enemy has like 10,000 hp but only 150 mp, you would just have to inflict 150 mp damage to kill that enemy)
Star Ocean Faithlessness and Integrity was the whole reason I bought my PS4, I wish the game was better, but I don't regret getting my PS4 for the game.
Star Ocean 2 was my first RPG. My clearest memories of it was grinding endlessly to buy food so I can heal my characters from all the grinding!!! It took me hours to realize the inn function 😅 From there I fell in love with the genre and got into games like Legend of Mana, Grandia, thousand arms & breath of fire. The remake was such a nostalgia bomb that I pre-ordered it on the spot!
Lol I loved the plot twist in Star Ocean 3. It explained OPAs instead of having no answers for how they got there. I do wish we got to see Aldain and what there race looked like or even Greeton cause they talked so much about it. If it got the remake treatment I have a feeling they would really step it up. It was the first game in the series i played and finished.
A lot of people hate the plot twist. I loved it since it was just different. I honestly think with the popularity of anime like Sword art Online and Sheild hero the plot twist would have been taken better now days.
Its always good to see Star Ocean get some focus on this platform, especially highlighting what people should know is so great about them. There was never going to be a better candidate for the worst one but there also could be no other greater choice for the best one. I'm so happy that Star Ocean 6 (The Divine Force) was well received as that game being a failure of production would have been a deep nail in a very large coffin. I sincerely hope post Star Ocean 2's rerelease that we get word of another installment because this is a franchise Square Enix should keep pushing into the future. Thanks David, always fun with topics like these.
SO3 (Till the End of Time) was my 1st Star Ocean game, & I still love it despite its flaws. I understand why people hate the late game twist, but I think it makes the game's story more unique. A few years after SO3, I did try emulating the older games, & found them quite enjoyable despite their age. Since then, I had purchased most of the SO games as they were released or re-released games on current hardware. I got Divine Force day 1, love it. The only 2 entries I'm missing are Blue Sphere & SO2. With SO2, is just because I hadn't gotten around to buying it, but do plan on it. With Divine Force being an extremely successful "last hooraw" for the franchise, I'm hoping Square Enix green-lights more entries in the future.
No, I vehemently disagree with S03's plot twist "ruining the series". Frankly, there is no good argument for it ruining the rest of the series. Yes, it turns out it's all a simulated universe, but so what. What's awful is the series not utilizing that established lore and moving forward in the timeline beyond this twist. There is so much more potential with the twist than without it.
Couldn't agree more that plot twist is the one and only time I can recall where I just quit playing the game and sold it. Like I was boarder line offended and disappointed whole hearted. Why thinking back on it now makes me wanna repress it all over again asap. Jrpgs are still good I just gotta keep yelling myself that.
As someone who got into the series with the 2nd story on PS1... I just had to get 2nd story R. Ended up buying a switch for that game mostly. I'm 60 hours in, on my 2nd playthrough and really enjoying that game. Maybe a bit more than the PS1 version due to all of the quality of life updates. The only other one I've played in the series is 'til the end of time. I did enjoy it a bit, just not quite as much as 2nd story.
SO3's gameplay is much better than Divine Force, plus the plot twist is absolutely perfect. There is no problem with what happened since the place they live is reality for them, that is, the same could be happening with our universe.
Divine Force was the first one I ever played through fully. And while it's far from perfect, I loved every second. And Now I'm sinking my teeth into the Second Story R. With Last Hope to follow.
The Star Ocean 3 twist was... interesting. From a fanfiction perspective, we can get any combo of charaxters we want tigether at any age in their lives. Id even argue tye inclusion of The Time Gate since SO1 already sealed this deal.
That is so weird. I liked the twist in til the end of time. Though The Second Story has always been my favorite. Years later I am still playing it and discovering stuff I could of been doing with the crafting system.
I remember when I was a kid reading a list of the best RPGs of all time and SO2 was on the list, so I'm excited to finally play it all these years later when the remake comes out
Till the End of Time is my number 1 but that's because its the only one I've played, loved the plot twist for some reason my teenage self thought it was very cool. Thanks to you I'm definitely looking forward to trying out the second story remaster, truly looks epic.
My rankings based on what only I have played: 1. Second story - No doubt the best story of the series. 2. Till the end of time - the plot twist is great btw 3. The last hope - Reimi best girl 4. Divine force - Good battle mechanics.
I'm glad to have a chance now to play Star Ocean 2. When I entered the franchise it was with Til the End of Time, and that one is still in my top ten favorite ps2 jrpg's. The boss fights after the main story are my favorite part of these games XD
My first Star Ocean was 4, I bought it again but for PS4 and dude it was the best decision, But I downloaded the demo of 6 and 2 and now I can't stop playing Star Ocean
I played SO2 too many times to count. I was discovering characters could be playable and then start a new game right after I was done. I loved going with Rena, Claude, Dias and Opera. When you can get Claude’s Eternal Sphere you feel so powerful! I always wished I could be using Ashton.
I played through with Claude, Rena, Bowman, and Celine the first time. That was my entire team! lol So no choices. Got my friend into it, and when I woke up from a nap at like 3 am, I saw him with a character I'd never seen (Ashton). It made me realize just how much I'd missed in my first playthrough. Been enjoying this game off and on for decades.
As I understand it, no, but that'd be nice. Have at least a few hours of gameplay for various characters until they meet up with Claude and Rena in the main story.@@Gamersghoul
Star Ocean Divine Force certainly had its faults, but DUMA was so much fun that I still had a blast from start to finish. I still need to play it again at some point since I've heard they fixed some of the issues.
Hi David! Star Ocean is one of my favorite jrpg series. SO2 will always be top for me. I haven't played The Divine Force, but it looks really fun. Have a blessed day everyone!
Hi David, can you do a short video explaining how Star Ocean games are connected with each other. I know Star Ocean 6 takes place after the event of Star Ocean 5 since Marielle is the Grand Daughter of Emmerson Kenny and Star Ocean 2 takes place after Star Ocean 1 since it mentioned that Ronyx is the father of Claude. Star Ocean 5 may be after the events of Star Ocean 4 since a Maverick was mentioned in Star Ocean 6. So should it be Star Ocean 4 (Started UP3 in the ending) --> Star Ocean 1 --> Star Ocean 2 --> Star Ocean 5 --> Star Ocean 6. Not sure the connection of Star Ocean 3. :D
The order is: 1 last hope(you can fight young Ashlay in the colosseum of Roak, for example) 2 first departure(old Ashlay can join your party) 3 second story(yes, Ronyx is the father of Cloude) 4 blue sphere is a direct sequel of second story 5 integrity and faithlesness, I don't remember direct references to the previous games, because after I finished the game I forgot about it. I think there was something in the database 6 the divine force, yes Emmerson is the grandfather of Mirelle 7 till the end of time, there is a reference in the database about expellians that survived extinction by reproducing around the galaxy(because Rena, Chisato, Leon and etc had descendants)
I find it funny that star ocean never got release on the snes. The opening of the games is literally voiced in English with japanese text. What i find even funnier is David's hate for crafting. The SO series is notorious for it's crafting. One can say that it's arguably the series that made crafting into a common thing in jrpg lol.
Honestly, I'd shake up this ranking a lot, but I definitely see why you placed them where they did. The Last Hope is absolutely my favorite in the series, and I loved the plot twist in Till the End of Time. It was actually the last Star Ocean game I finished when we had those original four games, so it felt like a really good way to wrap up the timeline.
I have a English translated repro cart for the snes game and it's awesome. They really pushed the hardware and you can tell it was the same team who made Tales of Phantasia.
Yep same as me for the first Star Ocean game (Second Story for the PS1) and still is my favourite to this day! Though I have never finished Till The End Of Time and NEVER played the 5th and 6th of the series I do hope so in the future.
Out of all of them, I dunno'. I feel like the vibe of SO3: TTEOT just has a vibe that I rly dig? Even if u don't like the characters or the plot, I find the snappy animations fun to use & every character has a specificity on how u can play them. It is a game u can sink time into and keep finding cool weapons & battle skills until the final boss, especially if u don't cheese. The only thing that holds it back imo is the super-limited CP you get so u can't always have the loadout you want or wish you could have.
Star ocean 4 characters are my FAVOURITE!! Lyme & sarah especially 🥰🥰🥰🥰 Its defo in my top 3 star ocean games. Also the HD remaster allowed Japanese voices (which i did not pick) so you can change it if you find them so annoying, or you could just appreciate the actors maybe?
I've said it before, and I'm gonna say it again. I absolutely LOVE how brutally honest David is when giving his opinion on games. Maybe I'm just biased because 90% of the time I agree 😂
There is nothing wrong with being biased. What I appreciate about him is that he isn't toxic about it. Some people aren't just absolutely biased but refuse to accept that people might disagree with them. He never acts like his opinion is a fact. He just states his opinion honestly. He actually feels very passionate about these games. That's why I trust him more than IGN for example.
Star Ocean: The Second Story was my very first RPG for my PlayStation that I worked for by cleaning out my parent’s garage. It is one of my favorite games of all-time, even more than FF7. I spent so many hours on that game and I appreciate seeing it number 1 on your list, David. I am looking forward to the Remake as well! ☺️
I downloaded the demo for Star Ocean Second Story R for the Switch yesterday as well as the demos for Sea of Stars and Disgaea 7. Can't wait to play them. ❤
My first Star Ocean game was Last Hope International on the PS3. I felt all the negatives you mentioned in this video, and put it down not even halfway through. Picked up the series again way later with First Departure R on the Switch, but it didn't click with me, at first. Then Divine Force released and I loved it. Gave me the hunger to return to First Departure R. Adored the demo for Second Story R, definitely one of my most anticipated games.
So far the only star ocean game I've been able to play in most of it's entirety is The Last Hope, and man do I have a deep love for that game, one of my favorite parts is the massive level cap, like in any rpg your characters are planet/galaxy/universal/time traveling/whatever heroes that decimate evil and triumph. And the massive level cap and all the equipment upgrades just really gives out that sense of overwhelming power, so much more so than you'd even find in a final fantasy game.
Pretty much agree with all here, just swapping First Departure and The Last Hope around. Personally I just enjoyed 4 that tiny bit more but I fully agree with all your points, etc. Also glad we agree that Divine Force was really good! Alot of my friends tell me they think it looks "mid" and I'm just like hell nah! It's truly a good game and it's absolutely part of the reason we are getting the best game again but even better. And for Divine Force I'll forever be grateful that Esowa included the characters from the gacha game Anamnesis. Yes it was one of those games but honestly, it was super fun seeing characters from across the series interact together in the story and for a mobile game it was pretty close to 4s combat which was one of the better combat systems. I was a bit worried when they closed it down they would just forget it exists but they didn't! Maybe they might reintroduce them in the future for Star Ocean 7!
Well, it does make sense that it would be RPGs that didn't get the ports to other regions with different languages. RPGs usually have a much longer duration to complete than other genres like shooters or fighters. They are also far more dialogue heavy. So it stands to reason they'd be time consuming and expensive to port. Cheaper than making a whole new game of course, but it makes sense that companies that were uncertain about how a game would be received in different markets would pass on them.
I always want to get into these, but when I jrpg, I guess I prefer to use turned based and chill combat lol. The games look very appealing and fun though!
@@ShonnDaylee Oh for sure, I remember playing it when it first came out on the playstation (I be old and stuff). So for nostalgia's sake I'll probably end up with it lol.
Hello David, don't know if you have done this yet and mostly just curious if other games still do this but what are the odds you'd have a top 10 games where the characters changed their look through the series examples. Bof3 kid to adult Ryu, star ocean 3 armour upgrade, lunar the silver star story dragon master. Might be a decent video.
Some real terrible opinions when it comes to 3. The plot twist was great and MP death added an interesting mechanic to the battle system. In fact, I think it has the best battle system.
Definitely a fan of star ocean i remember getting till the end of time on ps2 when i was 8 years old and completely fell in love man thats a great game 😊
@@swashbucklingames641 Between those two options i would take Tales of Zestiria every day though. It's a vastly superior game to Star ocean 5 even if it's one of the worst tales of games.
I guess I am one of the few who loved Star Ocean 5! I know it could've used more polishing and more dlc but it was really fun to play. I honestly didn't care for 3 and 4. I tried playing both of them and didn't care for the battle system. I have 6 and lost interest, I didn't like running out of ap all the time, running around the battle field to recharge ap or having to change characters constatly. I guess I much perfer using a mp/sp battle system over ap. I look forward to playing 1 and 2, I heard they are really good classic games.
I never played any, save for the demo for Second Story, but I do remember being interested in The Last Hope when I heard about it as a teen. Seeing those character models probably would've scared me, though.
@@cashnelson2306 Sigh... I wanted to emphasize a point. Using this format makes it clear what the context is. Remember, not everyone communicate the same. People have different styles. People sometimes do things as to go out their way so they won't be misinterpreted.
I think game wise I liked 6 more than 2 but character wise and setting like 2 more. With the remake coming out 2 probably going back to being number 1 xD.
Honestly Star Ocean games wouldn't be as good, at least in my opinion, if it wasn't for the GODLY soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba, who is easily on par with Nobuo Uematsu or arguably even greater than him.
Star Ocean Second Story was my favorite rpg, and I also had games like Grandia and Final Fantasy VII. I was always willing to go through many playthroughs just to see what kind of endings I could get in the following playthrough.
People still cant get over Star Ocean 3's twist, huh? I feel like it only enhanced my enjoyment of that game, and it's pretty easily my favorite of the series. I just dont understand how it ruins anything about the game, let alone the entire series.
I stopped after 3 but I kept my eye on the series, because I loved 2 and bought the PSP remake of 1 and the redo of 2. I have Divine Force but haven't started it yet. Excited for the 2DHD remake for 2. Gawd, can you imagine if they did that for Suikoden 2? Or any of our PS1 RPGs?
I'm just head over heels for this series, and of course Second Story was the game that got me hooked on 'em! I can't wait to get ahold of the new remake. I can't believe we're getting two amazing Star Ocean games in two years!
I’m with you 100% on this list. And I agree that Blue Sphere could have been so much better but there was no getting around the limitations of the GBC. However that said, for the GBC it was indeed a helluva game.
Thanks for the list David. I started with Last Hope and then tried Faithlessness & Whatzzit 😅 Kinda burned me on the series but Divine Force redeemed it for me. Can't wait for the Star Ocean 2 remake.
Totally agree with star ocean 2. I’m from the uk and this was one of my favourite jrpgs on the PlayStation. I put hours upon hours into this game so hyped for the remake.
Im fairly new to the series, So i tried the demos of Divine Force, and Second Story R. I wound up buying Second Story R, and im in love with the game and series now!
Honestly, second story is really the only Star Ocean game that I felt hit for me. While I didn't hate any of them (even integrity and faithlessness) they all lacked what second story offered. I somewhat hope after this if they return to making more Star Ocean games they consider abandoning this triple A approach (especially with how Divine Force is) and consider keeping it an HD-2D kind of game series where they can play with things other than major graphics
Think about if you could fly in Xenoblade... Xenoblade X: yeah. That sure would be SWEET huh? Lol. Im goofing a bit but i seriously do think X is horrifically overlooked.
I loved both Sarah and Lymle… Sarah made me laugh with her over-the-top airheadedness and I thought Lymle was sweet and the lore behind her lack of emotions was fascinating to me. Her dynamic with Faize made me tear up.
Hey brother, hope you're well. Can't stress enough how I appreciate your brutal honesty with everything lol. And not to forget your deep knowledge of RPG'S. Nowadays especially, so many people are silenced and or criticized if they dare to speak the truth about stuff. Keep being you, you're a bo$$
My ranking (worst to best) 5, 3, 6, 2, 1/4. My main problems with 2 are that I played it right after 1 so all the mechanics felt samey (because the remakes are just the same game with a different story), the side cast have ZERO affect on the main story because of the recruitment system, the final villain is kind of meh (a big problem with pretty much all the SO games) and the story is good but I preferred 1's star trek-esque tone. For me 4 and 1 are tied. 4 has one of the best combat systems besides 6 because it gives defensive options and player choice, I like that the PAs were simpler to find and the story feels like a good prequel to demonstrate why the UPPP exists. 5 is dead last because i forgot the entire story after playing it. 3 has an interesting twist but NEVER capitalizes on it in any interesting way and making the player stand still is a terrible design choice for an action game. For 6, I really did enjoy it. But it kind of depresses me how far back TriAce are in terms of tech and talent compared to the rest of the industry. The game looks ugly, runs badly and the combat is a bit of a mess. While it's designed for you to make combo strings of different moves, it's so simple to pick a reasonably strong and fast move and just spam it. And DUMA being able to pull you from combat is like Noctis teleporting away from combat. I think they have no idea how to evolve the action combat in meaningful ways. The story was good, but the way it's presented is overcomplicated (especially when they're explaining the AI stuff with skorpium) and the final boss again just needed a bit more depth to make me really care
Personally I kind of enjoyed the twist in SO3. It's currently my favorite in the series but that's not entirely fair because I haven't played Divine Force or 2. I've considered going through and getting all the trophies in 3 but it's such a daunting task I've never gone and done it.
I finally got around to starting First Departure R tonight, it's good so far. Edit: I might have to take that back, once you get to Eckdart the difficulty spike is truly awful. Even over leveled your characters drop like flies, it sucks.
This is one of those series that I've followed but just not played much of. I've only played through the PSP remake of the first game, so I'm really excited to experience the much beloved sequel for the first time with the new Second Story HD-2D remake. It looks absolutely stunning!
Have always wanted to jump into this series, so this is helpful! Do you suggest jumping around to the quality entries if there a big gap in the timeline between games or playing through them all in release order?
Buy Star Ocean: The Second Story R here and support the channel at the same time!
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Integrity and Faithlessness was so bad that it's never been ported to PC, damn.
I recently tried the Star Ocean 2 demo and fell in love with it.
I really miss 2d Jrpg's with a vibrant cast, huge detailed towns to explore, items to steal from people's houses and a world map!
I remember being in 8th grade or so when Star Ocean 3 was being advertised (1 page or less of adverts in gaming magazines). I grew up super poor, so it was literally like, 2 new games per year (if I was lucky), and 1 of them was a Christmas present. I was very much into jrpgs, and anything anime - as were my two best friends. We all wanted the game super bad, and I think I just wanted it because of the boxart of Fayt in mid sword swing was really cool, and I really just got creative from there, since I saw no gameplay. The Christmas that Star Ocean 3 dropped around, was the day all 3 of us got the game, and maybe that impacts my perspective, but for my first Star Ocean game, I don't think I could have gotten a more memorable first impression on a franchise. I truly enjoy everything about the game. I love MP kills, 3 party members, and the twist at the end.
I later grabbed a copy of SO The Second Story, and emulated the DeJap translation of the SO1 rom. I still thoroughly enjoyed those. 4 felt VERY off, but once I got into where the difficulty picked up, I really appreciated the new way the battle system worked, but the characters were all hard to enjoy, with Lymle being the worst offender, but not a fan of Welch in that one either. I emulated Blue Sphere too.
The rest of the games in the franchise have been day 1 grabs.
My personal ranking (with all the context for why above)
7. Blue Sphere
6. Integrity and Faithlessness
5. Divine Force
4. The Last Hope
3. Star Ocean 1
2. Second Story (Especially with the new remake)
1. Till the End of Time
What made Tile the End of Time so good was the ending. I don't consider it a "plot twist" but a good exploration into higher dimensions/society. It's honestly one of the best stories of any jrpg and I consider it up there with ff7/9.
Yeah, it's another layer of the "higher-technology society looking down at the primitives". That's why I liked it. But it was unfortunately not developed into much of a world on its own.
TBF... It was just a bit ahead of its time. These days it's becoming a more readily accepted theory about reality. Hell, quite a few HFY/Sci-Fi stories I listened to on narration channels use that theme in them.
Basically what I'm saying is, it's becoming a more popular trope in and out of fiction stories.
I thought it was brilliant. It went beyond the matrix in that not just society was caught in a simulation but the entire universe is a simulation. If you dig into occultism or gnosticism for lite reading you'll run into this concept pretty quickly. It's really jarring but used in a fictional setting delivers a hell of a plot twist. I guess you could say FFX did something similar in a more personal, and localized way. The scale of SO3's twist was colossal, and alot closer to the source material in delivery. Also the characters were some of my favorites in all RPGs. Fayt, Cliff, Nel, Maria, and even Albel was an edgy badass that you're able to recruit. 3 was my introduction to the series, and the depth was phenomenal. It's nice to play a game you can just get lost in
I'm glad you ranked Divine Force so highly. That game was the biggest surprise of 2022 for me. Can't wait to play Second Story R next month!
The plot twist in SO3 was great. Not many series has the balls to pull something like that off and it does explain characters like Welch being in every game.
It really wasn't. Made me lose interest in finishing the game.
I agree. I liked that the game introduces a Matrix-like concept as a plot twist Also SO4 fixes this by introducing parallel universes, so I don't understand all the hate.
@@JM-wb8rq I don't understand if the hate is because it wasn't foreshadowed well, or because it "made everything less real" (as if that matters for a game in the first place).
Literally my favorite plot twist of any game ever made.
I agree, 90% of the people that say bullshit about the plot twist doesn't explain WHY they don't like it, I bet all of them don't know that time is a dimension and don't know about the simulation hypothesis...
Star ocean 5 was terrible cuz they only got 1/3rd the budget that they asked for and we all know the result 😊
About all I remember of it was a couple cool tunes among the ones that weren't recycled. But yeah, it felt like a budget title.
I wouldn't have played a Star Ocean game if it wasn't for you and your videos. Now I've played the two PSP ports and The Divine Force (which is gorgeous) and those three are brilliant.
Glad to hear it!
The Mp mechanics in SO3 are weird at first, but when you find out enemies are ALSO tied to the same mechanics, you’d be able to end fights faster if you target an enemy’s mp.(even if an enemy has like 10,000 hp but only 150 mp, you would just have to inflict 150 mp damage to kill that enemy)
Till The End of Time is the GOAT!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Star Ocean Faithlessness and Integrity was the whole reason I bought my PS4, I wish the game was better, but I don't regret getting my PS4 for the game.
Star Ocean 2 was my first RPG. My clearest memories of it was grinding endlessly to buy food so I can heal my characters from all the grinding!!! It took me hours to realize the inn function 😅
From there I fell in love with the genre and got into games like Legend of Mana, Grandia, thousand arms & breath of fire. The remake was such a nostalgia bomb that I pre-ordered it on the spot!
Lol I loved the plot twist in Star Ocean 3. It explained OPAs instead of having no answers for how they got there. I do wish we got to see Aldain and what there race looked like or even Greeton cause they talked so much about it. If it got the remake treatment I have a feeling they would really step it up. It was the first game in the series i played and finished.
A lot of people hate the plot twist. I loved it since it was just different. I honestly think with the popularity of anime like Sword art Online and Sheild hero the plot twist would have been taken better now days.
Another lover of the SO3 plot twist here!! It is one of the reasons SO3 is my favorite in the series.
People hate on 5, but it’s legit my fave cuz it’s the only that doesn’t overstay its welcome and the full party battles were pretty amazing.
Its always good to see Star Ocean get some focus on this platform, especially highlighting what people should know is so great about them. There was never going to be a better candidate for the worst one but there also could be no other greater choice for the best one. I'm so happy that Star Ocean 6 (The Divine Force) was well received as that game being a failure of production would have been a deep nail in a very large coffin. I sincerely hope post Star Ocean 2's rerelease that we get word of another installment because this is a franchise Square Enix should keep pushing into the future. Thanks David, always fun with topics like these.
SO3 (Till the End of Time) was my 1st Star Ocean game, & I still love it despite its flaws. I understand why people hate the late game twist, but I think it makes the game's story more unique. A few years after SO3, I did try emulating the older games, & found them quite enjoyable despite their age. Since then, I had purchased most of the SO games as they were released or re-released games on current hardware. I got Divine Force day 1, love it. The only 2 entries I'm missing are Blue Sphere & SO2. With SO2, is just because I hadn't gotten around to buying it, but do plan on it. With Divine Force being an extremely successful "last hooraw" for the franchise, I'm hoping Square Enix green-lights more entries in the future.
No, I vehemently disagree with S03's plot twist "ruining the series". Frankly, there is no good argument for it ruining the rest of the series. Yes, it turns out it's all a simulated universe, but so what. What's awful is the series not utilizing that established lore and moving forward in the timeline beyond this twist. There is so much more potential with the twist than without it.
Couldn't agree more that plot twist is the one and only time I can recall where I just quit playing the game and sold it. Like I was boarder line offended and disappointed whole hearted. Why thinking back on it now makes me wanna repress it all over again asap. Jrpgs are still good I just gotta keep yelling myself that.
@@frommarswithmalice9174It's not that bad. Shame it affected you that much dood.
@@Shadowkunakari that was a bad day maybe I'm being a bit too critical and harsh on it
We need a remaster for SO3, miss playing that game.
Would be cool for them to remake it similar to 2
As someone who got into the series with the 2nd story on PS1... I just had to get 2nd story R. Ended up buying a switch for that game mostly. I'm 60 hours in, on my 2nd playthrough and really enjoying that game. Maybe a bit more than the PS1 version due to all of the quality of life updates. The only other one I've played in the series is 'til the end of time. I did enjoy it a bit, just not quite as much as 2nd story.
SO3's gameplay is much better than Divine Force, plus the plot twist is absolutely perfect. There is no problem with what happened since the place they live is reality for them, that is, the same could be happening with our universe.
Yeah I loved SO 3 so much. The plot twist blew my mind. Still think fondly about the game and all it's characters today
Divine Force was the first one I ever played through fully. And while it's far from perfect, I loved every second. And Now I'm sinking my teeth into the Second Story R. With Last Hope to follow.
The Star Ocean 3 twist was... interesting. From a fanfiction perspective, we can get any combo of charaxters we want tigether at any age in their lives. Id even argue tye inclusion of The Time Gate since SO1 already sealed this deal.
That is so weird. I liked the twist in til the end of time. Though The Second Story has always been my favorite. Years later I am still playing it and discovering stuff I could of been doing with the crafting system.
I remember when I was a kid reading a list of the best RPGs of all time and SO2 was on the list, so I'm excited to finally play it all these years later when the remake comes out
You won’t regret it!
Till the End of Time is my number 1 but that's because its the only one I've played, loved the plot twist for some reason my teenage self thought it was very cool. Thanks to you I'm definitely looking forward to trying out the second story remaster, truly looks epic.
My rankings based on what only I have played:
1. Second story - No doubt the best story of the series.
2. Till the end of time - the plot twist is great btw
3. The last hope - Reimi best girl
4. Divine force - Good battle mechanics.
I'm glad to have a chance now to play Star Ocean 2. When I entered the franchise it was with Til the End of Time, and that one is still in my top ten favorite ps2 jrpg's. The boss fights after the main story are my favorite part of these games XD
My first Star Ocean was 4, I bought it again but for PS4 and dude it was the best decision, But I downloaded the demo of 6 and 2 and now I can't stop playing Star Ocean
I played SO2 too many times to count. I was discovering characters could be playable and then start a new game right after I was done. I loved going with Rena, Claude, Dias and Opera. When you can get Claude’s Eternal Sphere you feel so powerful! I always wished I could be using Ashton.
I played through with Claude, Rena, Bowman, and Celine the first time. That was my entire team! lol So no choices. Got my friend into it, and when I woke up from a nap at like 3 am, I saw him with a character I'd never seen (Ashton). It made me realize just how much I'd missed in my first playthrough. Been enjoying this game off and on for decades.
Wait you can use different starting characters not just Claude and Rena?
As I understand it, no, but that'd be nice. Have at least a few hours of gameplay for various characters until they meet up with Claude and Rena in the main story.@@Gamersghoul
My favorite is still Star Ocean 5. While admittingly, the game has a plethora of issues, I still find the game to be fun to play through.
Star Ocean Divine Force certainly had its faults, but DUMA was so much fun that I still had a blast from start to finish. I still need to play it again at some point since I've heard they fixed some of the issues.
Hi David! Star Ocean is one of my favorite jrpg series. SO2 will always be top for me. I haven't played The Divine Force, but it looks really fun. Have a blessed day everyone!
Oh you’ve gotta play 6 when you get a chance, it’s a gem!
@@davidvinc i wonder if there's any fanservice in 6. I'd play it if it has
Perfect ranking! I can tell you're as excited as I am for November 2nd! 😄
I had an embarrassingly large number of hours on my SO2 save file back in the day and I'm ready to do it again.
As someone who never has played one, thanks for the list. Second story R is on my holiday wishlist
I've been replaying First Departure R on my switch and the story and gameplay is still so fun.
Hi David, can you do a short video explaining how Star Ocean games are connected with each other. I know Star Ocean 6 takes place after the event of Star Ocean 5 since Marielle is the Grand Daughter of Emmerson Kenny and Star Ocean 2 takes place after Star Ocean 1 since it mentioned that Ronyx is the father of Claude. Star Ocean 5 may be after the events of Star Ocean 4 since a Maverick was mentioned in Star Ocean 6.
So should it be Star Ocean 4 (Started UP3 in the ending) --> Star Ocean 1 --> Star Ocean 2 --> Star Ocean 5 --> Star Ocean 6. Not sure the connection of Star Ocean 3. :D
The order is:
1 last hope(you can fight young Ashlay in the colosseum of Roak, for example)
2 first departure(old Ashlay can join your party)
3 second story(yes, Ronyx is the father of Cloude)
4 blue sphere is a direct sequel of second story
5 integrity and faithlesness, I don't remember direct references to the previous games, because after I finished the game I forgot about it. I think there was something in the database
6 the divine force, yes Emmerson is the grandfather of Mirelle
7 till the end of time, there is a reference in the database about expellians that survived extinction by reproducing around the galaxy(because Rena, Chisato, Leon and etc had descendants)
Star Ocean aka The Kenny family breaking the UP3 and saving the galaxy.
I find it funny that star ocean never got release on the snes. The opening of the games is literally voiced in English with japanese text.
What i find even funnier is David's hate for crafting. The SO series is notorious for it's crafting. One can say that it's arguably the series that made crafting into a common thing in jrpg lol.
Honestly, I'd shake up this ranking a lot, but I definitely see why you placed them where they did. The Last Hope is absolutely my favorite in the series, and I loved the plot twist in Till the End of Time. It was actually the last Star Ocean game I finished when we had those original four games, so it felt like a really good way to wrap up the timeline.
Star ocean until the end of time was amazing! I wish they'd remake it
I have a English translated repro cart for the snes game and it's awesome. They really pushed the hardware and you can tell it was the same team who made Tales of Phantasia.
Yep same as me for the first Star Ocean game (Second Story for the PS1) and still is my favourite to this day!
Though I have never finished Till The End Of Time and NEVER played the 5th and 6th of the series I do hope so in the future.
Out of all of them, I dunno'. I feel like the vibe of SO3: TTEOT just has a vibe that I rly dig? Even if u don't like the characters or the plot, I find the snappy animations fun to use & every character has a specificity on how u can play them. It is a game u can sink time into and keep finding cool weapons & battle skills until the final boss, especially if u don't cheese. The only thing that holds it back imo is the super-limited CP you get so u can't always have the loadout you want or wish you could have.
Star ocean 4 characters are my FAVOURITE!! Lyme & sarah especially 🥰🥰🥰🥰 Its defo in my top 3 star ocean games. Also the HD remaster allowed Japanese voices (which i did not pick) so you can change it if you find them so annoying, or you could just appreciate the actors maybe?
I've said it before, and I'm gonna say it again. I absolutely LOVE how brutally honest David is when giving his opinion on games. Maybe I'm just biased because 90% of the time I agree 😂
Same here! Great minds think alike! Lov ya David!
nah, 4:31 is hilarious 😭
There is nothing wrong with being biased. What I appreciate about him is that he isn't toxic about it. Some people aren't just absolutely biased but refuse to accept that people might disagree with them. He never acts like his opinion is a fact. He just states his opinion honestly. He actually feels very passionate about these games. That's why I trust him more than IGN for example.
Hey David! Love the content
First :)
Star Ocean: The Second Story was my very first RPG for my PlayStation that I worked for by cleaning out my parent’s garage. It is one of my favorite games of all-time, even more than FF7. I spent so many hours on that game and I appreciate seeing it number 1 on your list, David. I am looking forward to the Remake as well! ☺️
I downloaded the demo for Star Ocean Second Story R for the Switch yesterday as well as the demos for Sea of Stars and Disgaea 7. Can't wait to play them. ❤
My first Star Ocean game was Last Hope International on the PS3. I felt all the negatives you mentioned in this video, and put it down not even halfway through. Picked up the series again way later with First Departure R on the Switch, but it didn't click with me, at first. Then Divine Force released and I loved it. Gave me the hunger to return to First Departure R. Adored the demo for Second Story R, definitely one of my most anticipated games.
That GB Star Ocean Game is the best looking Gameboy game Ive ever seen!! That looks like a Master System game!
Til the End of Time is the best SO imo. Such a fantastic game.
I like how every Star Ocean list is different. Fans really have diverse opinions. Sadly I can only agree with the opinion of SO2.
So far the only star ocean game I've been able to play in most of it's entirety is The Last Hope, and man do I have a deep love for that game, one of my favorite parts is the massive level cap, like in any rpg your characters are planet/galaxy/universal/time traveling/whatever heroes that decimate evil and triumph. And the massive level cap and all the equipment upgrades just really gives out that sense of overwhelming power, so much more so than you'd even find in a final fantasy game.
Thanks for convincing me to play The Divine Force. Been putting it off.
Great timing with so many of these games now being available on ps plus. I haven’t been sure which one to start
Pretty much agree with all here, just swapping First Departure and The Last Hope around. Personally I just enjoyed 4 that tiny bit more but I fully agree with all your points, etc.
Also glad we agree that Divine Force was really good! Alot of my friends tell me they think it looks "mid" and I'm just like hell nah! It's truly a good game and it's absolutely part of the reason we are getting the best game again but even better.
And for Divine Force I'll forever be grateful that Esowa included the characters from the gacha game Anamnesis. Yes it was one of those games but honestly, it was super fun seeing characters from across the series interact together in the story and for a mobile game it was pretty close to 4s combat which was one of the better combat systems. I was a bit worried when they closed it down they would just forget it exists but they didn't! Maybe they might reintroduce them in the future for Star Ocean 7!
Well, it does make sense that it would be RPGs that didn't get the ports to other regions with different languages. RPGs usually have a much longer duration to complete than other genres like shooters or fighters. They are also far more dialogue heavy. So it stands to reason they'd be time consuming and expensive to port. Cheaper than making a whole new game of course, but it makes sense that companies that were uncertain about how a game would be received in different markets would pass on them.
I always want to get into these, but when I jrpg, I guess I prefer to use turned based and chill combat lol. The games look very appealing and fun though!
@@ShonnDaylee Oh for sure, I remember playing it when it first came out on the playstation (I be old and stuff). So for nostalgia's sake I'll probably end up with it lol.
Hello David, don't know if you have done this yet and mostly just curious if other games still do this but what are the odds you'd have a top 10 games where the characters changed their look through the series examples. Bof3 kid to adult Ryu, star ocean 3 armour upgrade, lunar the silver star story dragon master. Might be a decent video.
Bof.
Some real terrible opinions when it comes to 3. The plot twist was great and MP death added an interesting mechanic to the battle system. In fact, I think it has the best battle system.
Definitely a fan of star ocean i remember getting till the end of time on ps2 when i was 8 years old and completely fell in love man thats a great game 😊
Back in the ps2 era, my friend Chris got me to play the second star ocean game and it was awesome. Also was my first RPG game as well
For SO4, play this game for gameplay AND ONLY gameplay only. The cutscenes were cringe
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Lym's voice is creepy and uncanny.
I actually enjoyed 5 when it came out. It wasnt perfect but people forget how little there was as far as “current gen” JRPGs went in 2015.
Oh yeah, you're right. It was a choice between SO5 and Tales of Zestiria, wasn't it? We wouldn't see Persona 5 until the following year.
@@swashbucklingames641 Indeed. Generation hits like Octopath, DQXI, P5, Ys 8, etc all came after. Persona was 2017 in the west actually.
@@swashbucklingames641 Between those two options i would take Tales of Zestiria every day though. It's a vastly superior game to Star ocean 5 even if it's one of the worst tales of games.
I guess I am one of the few who loved Star Ocean 5! I know it could've used more polishing and more dlc but it was really fun to play. I honestly didn't care for 3 and 4. I tried playing both of them and didn't care for the battle system. I have 6 and lost interest, I didn't like running out of ap all the time, running around the battle field to recharge ap or having to change characters constatly. I guess I much perfer using a mp/sp battle system over ap. I look forward to playing 1 and 2, I heard they are really good classic games.
Im just starting this series
My plan is finishing first departure R, and maybe Last Hope before SO2 release
I have still only played 2 and 3, but both are among my top 10 favourite games. I cannot wait for the remake
I never played any, save for the demo for Second Story, but I do remember being interested in The Last Hope when I heard about it as a teen.
Seeing those character models probably would've scared me, though.
David: Think about Xenoblade, but you can fly.
Me: You can in Xenoblade Chronicles X. ( it's a shame that game is still stuck on the Wii U)
You can just write the comment, we know it’s you talking, that’s how comments work
@@cashnelson2306 Sigh... I wanted to emphasize a point. Using this format makes it clear what the context is.
Remember, not everyone communicate the same. People have different styles. People sometimes do things as to go out their way so they won't be misinterpreted.
I am so hype for the remake!
I actually enjoyed Star ocean intrgrity
I think game wise I liked 6 more than 2 but character wise and setting like 2 more. With the remake coming out 2 probably going back to being number 1 xD.
Wonder where the Star Ocean mobile game would have placed.
Honestly Star Ocean games wouldn't be as good, at least in my opinion, if it wasn't for the GODLY soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba, who is easily on par with Nobuo Uematsu or arguably even greater than him.
Star Ocean Second Story was my favorite rpg, and I also had games like Grandia and Final Fantasy VII. I was always willing to go through many playthroughs just to see what kind of endings I could get in the following playthrough.
People still cant get over Star Ocean 3's twist, huh? I feel like it only enhanced my enjoyment of that game, and it's pretty easily my favorite of the series. I just dont understand how it ruins anything about the game, let alone the entire series.
I have loved star ocean since i was 16. When i 1st discovered it. Im now 41 and still playing them. Lol
I stopped after 3 but I kept my eye on the series, because I loved 2 and bought the PSP remake of 1 and the redo of 2. I have Divine Force but haven't started it yet. Excited for the 2DHD remake for 2.
Gawd, can you imagine if they did that for Suikoden 2? Or any of our PS1 RPGs?
I'm just head over heels for this series, and of course Second Story was the game that got me hooked on 'em!
I can't wait to get ahold of the new remake. I can't believe we're getting two amazing Star Ocean games in two years!
I’m with you 100% on this list. And I agree that Blue Sphere could have been so much better but there was no getting around the limitations of the GBC. However that said, for the GBC it was indeed a helluva game.
Thanks for the list David. I started with Last Hope and then tried Faithlessness & Whatzzit 😅 Kinda burned me on the series but Divine Force redeemed it for me. Can't wait for the Star Ocean 2 remake.
Totally agree with star ocean 2. I’m from the uk and this was one of my favourite jrpgs on the PlayStation. I put hours upon hours into this game so hyped for the remake.
No idea why, but your voice is so lovely and pleasant to listen to.
Im fairly new to the series, So i tried the demos of Divine Force, and Second Story R. I wound up buying Second Story R, and im in love with the game and series now!
Honestly, second story is really the only Star Ocean game that I felt hit for me. While I didn't hate any of them (even integrity and faithlessness) they all lacked what second story offered. I somewhat hope after this if they return to making more Star Ocean games they consider abandoning this triple A approach (especially with how Divine Force is) and consider keeping it an HD-2D kind of game series where they can play with things other than major graphics
Man, i really regret not playing star ocean games, playing the remake won't get me lost right?
Think about if you could fly in Xenoblade...
Xenoblade X: yeah. That sure would be SWEET huh?
Lol. Im goofing a bit but i seriously do think X is horrifically overlooked.
I loved both Sarah and Lymle… Sarah made me laugh with her over-the-top airheadedness and I thought Lymle was sweet and the lore behind her lack of emotions was fascinating to me. Her dynamic with Faize made me tear up.
Divine force over SO3? You nuts my g.
Thank you a real SO fan.
nice vid! when you said "think how Xenoblade would be if you could fly!" I was wondering... have you heard about Xenoblade Chronicles X? :D
Hey brother, hope you're well. Can't stress enough how I appreciate your brutal honesty with everything lol. And not to forget your deep knowledge of RPG'S. Nowadays especially, so many people are silenced and or criticized if they dare to speak the truth about stuff. Keep being you, you're a bo$$
My ranking (worst to best) 5, 3, 6, 2, 1/4.
My main problems with 2 are that I played it right after 1 so all the mechanics felt samey (because the remakes are just the same game with a different story), the side cast have ZERO affect on the main story because of the recruitment system, the final villain is kind of meh (a big problem with pretty much all the SO games) and the story is good but I preferred 1's star trek-esque tone.
For me 4 and 1 are tied. 4 has one of the best combat systems besides 6 because it gives defensive options and player choice, I like that the PAs were simpler to find and the story feels like a good prequel to demonstrate why the UPPP exists. 5 is dead last because i forgot the entire story after playing it. 3 has an interesting twist but NEVER capitalizes on it in any interesting way and making the player stand still is a terrible design choice for an action game.
For 6, I really did enjoy it. But it kind of depresses me how far back TriAce are in terms of tech and talent compared to the rest of the industry. The game looks ugly, runs badly and the combat is a bit of a mess. While it's designed for you to make combo strings of different moves, it's so simple to pick a reasonably strong and fast move and just spam it. And DUMA being able to pull you from combat is like Noctis teleporting away from combat. I think they have no idea how to evolve the action combat in meaningful ways. The story was good, but the way it's presented is overcomplicated (especially when they're explaining the AI stuff with skorpium) and the final boss again just needed a bit more depth to make me really care
Personally I kind of enjoyed the twist in SO3. It's currently my favorite in the series but that's not entirely fair because I haven't played Divine Force or 2. I've considered going through and getting all the trophies in 3 but it's such a daunting task I've never gone and done it.
I finally got around to starting First Departure R tonight, it's good so far.
Edit: I might have to take that back, once you get to Eckdart the difficulty spike is truly awful. Even over leveled your characters drop like flies, it sucks.
"Creepy doll eyes" basically just sums up the house graphical style of 3D Star Ocean games.
Yeah I definitely disagreed with your final fantasy rankings, but I had star ocean series ranked the same. Great video!
This is one of those series that I've followed but just not played much of. I've only played through the PSP remake of the first game, so I'm really excited to experience the much beloved sequel for the first time with the new Second Story HD-2D remake. It looks absolutely stunning!
Have always wanted to jump into this series, so this is helpful! Do you suggest jumping around to the quality entries if there a big gap in the timeline between games or playing through them all in release order?