Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (346)

Ernest Raviede, 35 years old adventurer and archaeologist from Tetragenes; recklessly exploring ancient ruins all over the universe in his quest for historical knowledge.

Ernest is a minor character with hardly any moment in the spotlight; he's also hard to use effectively in combat, making him a severely disappointing prize for the stuff you need to go through for recruiting him.

We don't know the exact reason why Ernest landed on Expel, but his archaeological interests surely played some part in it: the first time our friends meet him, he'd just come out of Cross Castle from an audience with the king, in which he requested his permission to explore the ruins by the Col lake. The party explored the ruins later on while following Opera, who was in turn searching for her beloved Ernest after Claude had told her where they had met him; of course Ernest had already left the place, but there were clear signs of him having been there (like a blown-up wall and marks of an illegal rifle on two large monsters). Apparently he went for the Hoffman ruins after that, but in neither case did he take any of the treasure.

Opera fell in love with Ernest, probably for his adventurous, Indiana Jones-like charm and stuff, but he doesn't seem to care much; he does care for her safety though, but that may be mainly because of the difference in age (and/or the fact that she's a woman and that she tends to follow him anywhere, even in dangerous situations). Always calm and composed, Ernest prefers to work alone, and he doesn't seem to have any interest beyond his job. His whip always at his side, he wears a white coat (looks more like a labcoat than a trench coat) and ordinary exploration clothes in the artwork: his game sprite looks a lot different, as he looks like he's wearing a night-gown or something.

This concludes the Star Ocean 2 series. There won't be any more posts about Funny Bits for a while.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (345)

Leon Geeste, 12 years old prodigy in science and Heraldry; he's apparently a Felpool, the only one on Expel, but nobody seems to notice.

Showing signs of his own genius mind at a very young age, Leon is introduced by his parents, both scientists, to the world of scientific research. Supported by the King of Lacour, he's given everything he needs to put his talent into practice, but something doesn't feel right in all that: after all, Leon is but a child still, and having to do research work at such a young age, with all those royal formalities and absolute lack of kids his age to play or at the very least talk with, he had to skip his childhood entirely, with the added result of becoming an arrogant brat. Moreover, we find out that the king has him work in the military department to build a weapon of devastating power; but noone, not even Claude and his friends seem to find anything wrong with a kid helping build such a weapon, so let's just ignore that.

Meeting with Claude and going with him on a mission, Leon finally realizes his limits, and also experiences having some friends for the first time, with whom he can talk normally. He comes back changed from the trip to the Hoffman ruins, but that's not all fate has in store for the little Felpool: having to take part in the mission to invade the continent of El, the demons' preemtive strike takes them by surprise and everyone on the warship falls overboard. Leon is found by Claude on the shore of El, and they soon reunite with Rena and the other adventurers, but there's no trace of Leon's parents; the kid was about to give in to desperation, but Claude helped him regain his senses. At this point, Claude thinks it's best for Leon to tag along, and he gets involved in all the events that follow. At least he didn't have to blow up along with Expel, unlike a certain swordsman.

Under his labcoat - which drags on the ground because it's too long for him - he's dressed like any other kid his age (I think... It's hard to make some details out on the game sprites); the artwork depicts him with a parchment in his pocket, which I'd wager is just some paperwork from the castle. We don't get to see his tail here either: maybe he gets away with being a Felpool because everyone thinks those ears are fake and his parents made him hide the tail (or had it surgically removed, Sayajin-style). Leon specializes in Heraldry of the element of Water and dark arts, and it's particularly impressive (or chuckle-worthy) to see him invoke the Word of Death upon his foes (too bad it rarely even works).

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Opera Vectra (no reference to the car model), 20 years old, daughter of a rich and noble Tetragenes family; we don't know much about her current occupation, but her hobby is gambling.

Departed from her planet to chase after her love interest, Ernest, Opera crash-landed on Expel: she wasn't concerned about the prospect of not being able to get back as much as finding the elusive explorer. Claude and the others meet her by accident in a tavern, where she's trying to buy information with drinking contests, and after telling her what they know about Ernest, our heroes decide to go after her - Claude in particular, since he understands she's an alien on Expel and might have some means of space travelling. To the disappointment of our Earthling, Opera's ship is broken beyond repair, but Ernest should have one, so they stick together in hopes of finding him during their travels.

Opera finds Ernest right outside the Hoffman ruins, possessed by some evil spirit, and after a short scene which reveals something more about the two Tetragenes' personality and relationship, Ernest is saved (by a blast of Opera's cannon, no less) and the two are back together. Being the adventurous type he is, though, Ernest can't resist the chance of going to investigate the Sorcery Globe with the group, and Opera tags along, also to show her friends gratitude for having helped her so far.

Opera's outfit is certainly unfit for exploration (I could say the same for most of the party, to be fair), but she makes up for it with Kaleidoscope, a high precision multi-ammo rifle, which can shoot different kinds of rays depending on the disk she puts into it. The aiming goggles (yeah, the bunny ears you see in her game sprite) allow her to mark her target in any light condition and with the utmost precision, so it's very rare that she misses a shot; but it's also rare that she actually shoots, for she loves to use the rifle as a blunt weapon for some reason. Her being blonde doesn't mean she's an airhead, although she seems to like pretending to be one, possibly using this to her advantage.

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Precis F. Neumann, age 16, lives in the eccentric town of Linga with her father. She loves tinkering with machines in a world where hardly any of them exists.

Always cheerful and energetic, Precis decides on a whim to follow Claude and the others in their quest; whether she does this for her instantly developed crush on our male protagonist, because of her technical interest in the Sorcery Globe, or because she saw this event as a good excuse to leave town and go on an adventure is anybody's guess, but I'd say it's a combination of all of them. She doesn't really take an active part in the main story of the game, but she makes sure you won't be able to ignore her, what with her loud dialogues and wealth of Private Actions.

Even though few people could think it possible, Precis dresses even more weirdly than Rena and Celine combined: what stands out the most is her robotic equipment, with a half exoskeleton filled to the brim with accessories (including, but not limited to a huge hammer), clown shoes or something (presumably with shock absorbers), and a Sony Dual Shock controller to control all her electronic stuff. She wears some kind of work suit, and you can see her tights ripped on her knee, a sign of her clumsyness. You can't see it in the artwork, but she also carries Bobot, everyone's favourite radio-controlled car - as Claude loved to refer to it - with her anywhere she goes; or, rather, she's busy chasing after it most of the time, which suggests us it's either seriously broken or it's got a will of its own. Her game sprite widely differs from this drawing: the colours are all different and, instead of the exoskeleton, she carries a backpack.

Precis's interest in Claude probably generates, aside from physical attraction, from the fact that he showed some curiosity towards the neat stuff she works on, instead of staying away from her and from her machines like everyone on Expel does. Of course, for an Earthling machines like that are nothing special, and for Claude (who's decently knowledgeable in science subjects) it's normal to see someone working on them; however, a machine geek is still a geek, and Precis geekery, coupled with her hyperactivity, makes sure her love for Claude is one-sided (at least by default, since the player can change that).

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Celine Jules, 23 years old, adventurous explorer and Heraldic mage in training - one of the most outrageously dressed at that.

Her mantle and circlet floating in the air, kept up only by her incredible Heraldic power, are a testimony of Celine's skill with the arcane arts of magic; in this portrait you can spot the tattoo used in Heraldry to draw upon one's magic, right below her... I mean between her... It's too embarrassing to say aloud, but you can certainly see it for yourself.

Seemingly attracted by hidden treasures in abandoned ruins or ancient caves, Celine spots Claude and Rena in Cross: one way or another, they end up exploring Cross Cave together, and after some insistence by Claude, she decides to accompany them in their epic quest to investigate the Sorcery Globe. Very formal in her speech, proud and self-confident, Celine has some moments in the spotlight during the Mars crisis, but then she fades from the scene, only having a support role in the Tournament of Arms in Lacour and little more.

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Rena Lanford, last survivor of the ancient Nedian race, healer and time traveller. You can't get any better than that.

This lass has endured a sad fate. What will the eternal passing of time expect of her? After being beamed from her home planet to Expel several billion solar years into the future, Rena is adopted by a local family and raised there while being hidden her true origins (well, the fact that she was found somewhere in a forest at least). Lost her adoptive father, she learns the truth and starts thinking about her real parents and the reason why she had been abandoned. The occurrance of several 'natural' disasters all over the land, and Rena's fateful encounter with the legendary Warrior of Light who's said to bring everything back to normal is her best opportunity to start a journey to find out more about her past.

Rena has to come to terms with several things in her life, the loss of her father first and foremost, so she develops a strong character (not to mention her physical strength, but that is barely touched upon, as it's noted in a single Private Action); her mysterious healing powers, while being a source of 'diversity' in relation to other people on Expel, actually give her means to help people in need, making her more accepting of them, if not more altruistic. But fate keeps throwing hardships at them, starting from the deep disappointment she feels when Claude states he's not the Warrior of Light she had thought him to be. The revelation of the existance of outer space and aliens, and of her being one of them - from an ancient past, no less - only make it harder for our little Nedian... I'm sorry, but writing it like this makes it sound even more ridiculous tha it already is; enough with her past.

At the beginning of our story, Rena is thought to be an ordinary Expellian living in a small village and dreaming about the Warrior of Light. Her outfit is, for some reason, quite out of the ordinary, at least as elaborate as the best Heraldry masters in Mars. In the artwork depicted above, you san see her carrying a dagger, which is never seen nor mentioned anywhere else in the game. Other than that, she wears a red mantle, which she uses to defend herself, and a crescent hairpin, which she had since she was found in the forest. No trace of her pendant (i.e. the Quadratic Key), which she must have placed under her shirt.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (340)

Claude C. Kenni, your typical 19-years-old and stereotypical JRPG hero. He can wield one-handed swords and knows fearsome "Ki techniques"; he's quite tough, yet he's smart enough to get good grades in school.

The way he's dressed might make him look weird, even considering he's an Earthling from 2450 A.D. (he looks quite normal when compared to his companions): he sports an Earth Federation jacket, white trousers and some weird-looking shoes, probably all part of the uniform of the Calnus crew. He likes to wear his dark t-shirt outside his trousers (looking at his game sprite, at first I thought he was wearing one of those full-body space suits), and has a red bandana.

Claude isn't as heroic as one would expect from the Warrior of Light: although very altruistic and polite, he's competitive and stubborn, somewhat possessive, and not quite self-confident. He may also sound quite stupid from time to time, but I blame the writers of this game and/or the English translators. Our hero develops his leadership qualities during the course of his adventure; the unexpected loss of his father doesn't deter him from his mission, and he also manages to make a 12 years old boy and a 16 years old girl follow him to the end through their dangerous quest for the salvation of the Universe.

All in all, Claude isn't that bad as the main hero of the game, at least he's not as whiny as the other modern JRPG heroes. His voice though...

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Didn't expect that from Leon...

After being 'kicked' back to Nede, our heroes... No, their adventure is already over, it's just that I'm having some fun with them. The only stuff you can do now for fun is exploring the Cave of Trials, defeating Indalecio at his full power, and fighting in the Battle Stadium. I thought it'd be a good idea to make Celine fight through the Survival mode (50 duels in a row), thinking it'd be a great way to give her battle experience quickly; it turned out pretty bad, with her gaining only a couple of levels in about 20 fights, lasting half an hour or so. Survival mode isn't good for spellcasters, as they have no decent spells against single foes (Leon's Gremlin Lair is still pretty good, but by itself it won't get you very far, and it still takes long to cast).

This concludes my playthrough of Star Ocean: the 2nd Story. I'm going to close these Funny Bits with an overview of the characters I've used for my adventure.

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I really can't understand Claude: why would he say that to that cute little penguin? Besides, isn't it obvious what it's saying?

As mentioned before, Vern Vern is one of the differences in this virtual Expel, and it's also your key to return to Nede once you're done with your tour. The other major difference is that the Synard is waiting for you just outside of town. Know what this means? Other than not being ripped off by the ferry toll anymore, of course. You can finally land on the fourth continent of the planet, normally completely inaccessible. What's there, you ask? The Cave of Trials, a so-called "post-game dungeon": it's an additional challenge for players who've already finished the game, where your characters can become even stronger and acquire even better equipment (it still wasn't common practice in JRPGs back then, but a bunch of Dragon Quest games had those). It's extremely advisable that you go through them before attempting to defeat limiter-off Indalecio. I won't go through that this time, because there isn't any funny stuff inside (well, there's Puffy, but that's not worth the effort necessary to reach her).

One more thing: if you have Noel and/or Chisato among your characters (which I don't, unfortunately), you can see what these two are doing during Private Actions in the towns of Expel; there isn't any particular even with them, but they have new lines of dialogue. Be sure to visit Hilton and Lacour with them, as they have their best lines there. What's that? You can't find Chisato in Hilton? Look better!

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I wonder why he's mad at that, though. Maybe Vern Vern has already kicked him in the face.

The old man tells Claude and the others to just close their eyes and relax; shortly after doing so, poof! Our heroes find themselves in Arlia! Thanks to this extremely sophisticated virtual reality technique, everything looks and feels real. Everything on Expel, which has been reconstructed from their memories is exactly like they remember it before going to Eluria (except some slight rockhopper penguin inside who goes 'pigya' (Evangelion reference?). This penguin, named Vern Vern (I suspect it's not a good translation of the name, but whatever), is here for a reason: if Claude tries to talk to it, you're given the option of making him say 'You silly Vern Vern' for some weird reason, and this would make the penguin so mad that it'd run around in rage, dash at Claude, and tackle him towards the game screen, thus interrupting the VR simulation. It's basically a way to return to Nede. The other difference is that now the 'lovey-dovey newlywed couple' has a son.

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We're talking Matrix-level virtual reality here, only without the cumbersome cable plugged into your neck. The Nedians are really something!

If you wandered around in this area you'd meet someone who tells you there's an old man who believes he has the power to 'restore the memories of the hero' or something; I don't know if it's a reference to a specific story or videogame, but you could say it's a cliché enough character in RPGs. Meeting this aptly labeled Mysterious old man before reaching the last Save Point, he simply says 'Shall I recover your past memories? It's a joke'; however, if you have the patience to return here after going all the way through Fienal, he becomes more serious about this. He says there's this fashionable technique which can create a virtual reality from one's memories, and he can do this for you on the spot, without any sort of equipment (Heraldry?). Accept his offer and... guess where you'll end up.

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Yeah, they shouldn't sit on the ground, at the very least to avoid obstructing passages.

Why are we back at the Battle Stadium? Our friends didn't really explore this part of Fun City yet, so here they are. There are some spectators here because there's someone fighting in the arena at almost any time. Here you can also find signs of there being Nedians who smoke... Weird, we've been everywhere on this planet and yet we couldn't see anyone smoke cigarettes; instead it seems there are at least some who regularly spend their time here.

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Claude: Alright *stabs her*... Oh, before you die, why me, of all people?

If you go all the way back from the last Save Point in Fienal to Central City (it's a really long walk, I hope you don't mind... No, there's no way to get out more quickly), you'll meet Filia here. You might remember her for her accurate prediction of the disaster that struck the town of Clik. Wait a minute, that was on Expel! How in the world... Well, it doesn't matter, she seems to want your help.

She abruptly says she wants you to kill her, and tries to explain this insane thought of hers by mentioning how she's linked to the Ten Wise Men. As it usually happens in these cases, you get no chance to even choose what to do, because she disappears shortly after that; all you learn is that she's the daughter of Dr. Lantis, the man that created the Tewn Wise Men. Oh, you also learn that Filia was 'programmed to be unable to get her own life'... Does it mean she's an android or something? Who cares? She left an equippable accessory behind!

This event has the effect of changing the last part of the game: the secret research data in North City (which you can only unlock with some private Actions with Chisato) would have told you explicitly, but you may also deduce by yourself that Dr. Lantis is Indalecio, turned into an android to lead the Ten Wise Men in his plan of total destruction; what you don't learn with just this scene is that he's decided to do all that because of revenge against the people who killed his daughter and covered their crime. I won't bore you with all the information you can get from the secret data, just know that obtaining it doesn't actually change anything in the story. This event with Filia, instead, causes Indalecio to absorb her consciousness and to erase the limiter factor that sealed his real power.

Fighting Indalecio with this 'limiter' erased nets you a slight variation of the ending sequence; more importantly, it makes the final battle a lot harder. And by that I mean A LOT harder! His speed increases dramatically, he can now easily cast any Heraldry spell while moving (and at that speed it's almost impossible to disrupt his chanting), he's physically stronger, and he can also petrify his opponents with his attacks. Winning this battle is no joke, even on the basic difficulty (the game has two hidden difficulty levels, and at the last one, 'Universe', he's almost unbeatable, no matter your characters' level); if you plan to fight 'Limiter-off' Indalecio, I'd suggest you try going through the Cave of Trials first. What's that, you say? Well, where should I start...?

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The words sound a bit corny... Also, it's not very encouraging to hear that their adventure has just begun, seeing as they've already saved the universe.

After the credit roll, with a CG video of the planets our heroes have visited (following a Synard that flies around), the game ends with this screen. It's been a long ride, but I don't want to stop just yet: there are a few extra screenshots I wanted to pick from what you could call 'the aftergame'. I think I may have already mentioned that once you reach the last Save Point in the game (which is right before the final battle with Indalecio) something changes, and since my last save was right there - of course - I wanted to show some more funny parts about it.

I'd like to mention that none of the ending sequences about the characters in the game are 'canon', at least with regards to Star Ocean Blue Sphere (the sequel to this game, for Gameboy Color), but I won't mention any further details about it.

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Claude didn't waste any time, did he? Well, actually it was probably Rena, what with being the last Nedian in existance and all.

The more attentive players may recognize this place: this is Ronixis's room, which Claude's flashback showed us in the Field of Intelligence. It's nice to see Claude and Rena in there... Not really, since this is just because the developers were reusing locations (if you compare the two rooms, you'll see that even the flowers in the pot look the same), but can you really blame them, with some 80 endings to manage? And some of the endings even have new locations. But enough of that...

After their extraordinary adventure, Rena decides to follow Claude to Earth, where they presumably get married; Claude takes his father's place in the Earth Federation, to his utmost satisfaction (because he actually accomplished heroic deeds that made him deserve it, instead of relying only on Commodore Kenni's fame) yet not without problems (like his father, he's now so busy with his job that he can't spend much time with Rena). Rena thought about using her unique healing powers for the good of as many people as possible, and to help in Heraldry Science research, but she now has other more important things to worry about, with her baby coming soon.

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Wooo! A lot better than I expected: hot Opera on Celine action! ...Ahem, sorry. It's just that I couldn't fathom Opera going all the way back to Expel (and lying about that) only to see a friend.

It appears that having these girls always fight together in battle (my formation has always been Claude, Rena, and alternating between two couples, Opera/Celine and Precis/Leon) has paid off in the end. There really is no good way to improve their relationship with Private Actions, so that was unexpected. It's also the first time I see this ending.

Opera and Celine meet again after a while, in the town of Mars (which is somewhat unusual, since Celine is always travelling, but I guess she needed some rest after saving the universe). Chatting about the latest news, their conversation quickly falls onto their respective sentimental life: after jumping a bit around the fact that both of them are still single, they agree to change the subject. It looks like Opera has finally lost her patience with Ernest; now, either she can't settle with any other man, or she's having problems getting other guys on her own planet because of her drinking habit. Celine, on the other hand, certainly has her character to blame for that; to think that she was once engaged with 'professor' Bowman Jean... And let's not forget about her short adventure with the prince of Cross. Oh well, at least Opera and Celine still have each other... Ok, I'll stop now.

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Yeah, battling hordes of demons, getting beamed to another unknown planet while your home planet has been destroyed, and fighting against the most powerful beings in the universe is nothing to the likes of Precis F. Neumann! I guess she's acting tough, anyway: do you remember that scene in North City?

Precis is back to her usual life, tinkering with machines together with her father. She may have acquired some advanced knowledge during her stay in Energy Nede (although I had the impression that she had been busy chasing after Bobot half the time), but she surely hasn't improved her methods.

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Does Leon have to wear his labcoat even when playing with his friends? He's at a serious disadvantage with it on when playing tag and Hide-and-seek.

Leon's parents are so happy to see their son coming back in triumph that they've started to care more about him as a child: so far they've had him swamped in books, always working in the lab and leading the life of an adult, but now they finally understand he would have missed the joys of careless childhood, of playing with frinds his age, and of having a loving mother and father.

All this is well and good, but isn't this a bit too late? I mean, Leon is already 12 when the game starts, and he still plays tag? I suppose on Expel they may have different habits, but I've seen no indication of that during my playthroughs.

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Here's the hard-boiled interstellar adventurer for you! Despite his rather unscientific methods, Ernest is actually very successful in his endeavours thanks to his broad experience; him getting possessed by an evil spirit was just bad luck... At least according to him.

We have ignored our Mr. Explorer for most of the story, so it's only fitting that we see him by himself now. Has Opera finally given up on him? We'll see... By the way, while this place looks a lot like the Millocinia cave where Claude's misadventures started, we don't know for sure it's the same place.

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Why are they drawn so badly here? It's the ending sequence. I know that animations are harder to do, but it's like 4 frames for each character.

The view shifts to Energy Nede seen from space. the explosions generated by the modified Crest of Annihiation soon cover the whole planet, which is destoryed in a myriad of colours, leaving nothing behind... Wait, what are those lights? Yes, it's Claude, Rena and the others, floating in space inside glowing balls of light! Ok, I know that the whole idea of Narl making Expel return by fishing it from the past was a ridiculous idea, but was this sequence really necessary?

Claude: Now! Let's return to Expel!
Rena: Yes!

They fly away, their hands touching.

The story is over, but aren't you curious to see what became of our heroes after this epic adventure? We'll find out in the next few posts.

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Claude: You can't expect me to get all that in such an emergency situation so I'm going to pretend that the absurd nonsense you're talking about that not even Precis would believe to be possible is actually an entirely plasible theory
Precis: Hey!

Narl and Mirage have been hiding their real plan from our heroes all along (not that the outcome is much different with respect to them): the Crest of Enchantment can't actually stop the Crest of Annihilation, so Narl took an extreme decision. All the destructive power of the final crest will be redirected to Energy Nede itself, which apparently has strong enough barriers/structure/magic/whatever to contain an explosion that would destroy the entire universe (if that makes sense to you... Not that I'd want to make any sense out of this whole game anyway).

Mirage adds that it's still possible to return everybody to Expel - everybody in the group, that is; despite Claude and Rena's bewilderment about this, Narl, Mirage and everyone else on Nede have made the conscious decision to 'sink with the ship', stating that it isn't worth for a species that has stopped evolving to keep on living. Narl entrust Rena the task of preserving the Nedian race (if you have Noel and/or Chisato in your party, this task is extended to them as well) as the last survivor(s) of their people. Not a tear, not a shiver disrupts Narl and Mirage's faces in this moment of final parting - 'That's probably because our hearts are with you' says Narl.

In a moment an intense white light fills the air...

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How in the world did they get up here so fast? Even if defeating Indalecio had instantly deactivated the barrier around Fienal and lowered all its defenses, it was mere seconds ago. I guess I can't really be unhappy about it though, as Rena would have forgotten about her important task.

The Crest of Annihilation has been activated! Indalecio is probably thinking that, even though he's been defeated, all is going according to keikaku (translator's note: keikaku means plan in Japanese). But Narl and Mirage suddenly appear behind our heroes and tell Rena to use the special crest they gave her. Some questions:

• as already mentioned, how did they manage to get here so quickly?
• where is the Crest of Annihilation exactly?
• how do you place the Crest of Enchantment upon it?

I've always wondered about Heraldic Crests, and how we never really see what they really are. Even now that Rena has performed the crest 'overwriting', we only see a drawing of two circular inscriptions, one red and one blue, over the game screen. Were they inscribed on paper? Were they engraved upon a stone, or a piece of metal? I suppose these are just some of the many questions I've been asking about the game without finding a sound answer.

The Crest of Enchantment appears to work: the Crest of Annihilation is overwritten and the ground stops shaking. 'Did we do it...?' Claude wonders, but his question is immediately interrupted by the start of an even more violent quake. 'What? Why?' asks Rena, worried about the situation. Turning towards Narl and Mirage, the group is surprised at seeing them very calm and composed, even with a kind of solemn look on their faces. 'It has begun' Mirage states.

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Unless by 'we' he means himself and not all of the Ten Wise Men, that isn't exactly true. This scene looks so anticlimatic though: everything feels so static, there's a distinct lack of pathos.

And thus Indalecio's plans have been foiled. Our heroes stand in triumph, yet listen to the last words of their final opponent; he doesn't seem to reveal much more about his mission, except that he was created specifically for the purpose of destroying the Universe (but he doesn't say by whom). Is it really over? Suddenly the ground starts shaking...

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Since there's nothing really funny about the last battle, I thought I'd at least have a screenshot of it, even if it isn't funny. By the way, you can see all my characters are doing fine so far: having the Eternal Sphere and Bunny Shoes equipped, Claude is almost no match for the opponent, although he still needs help from his friends.

The last of the Ten Wise Men, Indalecio, is busy activating the Crest of Annihilation, in a room on the 8th floor of the Fienal stronghold that can only be accessed by going up to the 9th (and last) floor. Yeah, if you thought this place was an architectural mess, now you know it's even worse... To be fair, I guess they might have made it like a castle or a fortress on purpose, but I don't want to know how. When our heroes arrive to the room, which seems to house the Quadratic Sphere (remember the Sorcery Globe?), they're too late - or at least Indalecio says so: the crest is completed and it only needs activation. Indalecio is sure his plan will succeed because he knows the crest will be activated in any case, but he doesn't know about the Crest of Enchantment Rena is carrying with her.

Before the inevitable fight, our heroes question Indalecio about his need to destroy the Universe, for they hope to change his mind since it's so dumb an idea, to which he replies by saying that the destruction of the Universe was the sole purpose he was made for, his raison d'etre. We don't get any more than that, but let me tell you a bit of what could have happened...

There are two separate events that reveal a bit more of who the Ten Wise Men, and more specifically Indalecio, are: the first is the set of Private Actions involving Chisato which I've already mentioned, and that only gives you some more information; the second is completely independent from the first, and it only reveals part of what you can find out with Chisato, but it changes the final part of the game. You can trigger both events anyway. We'll eventually come back to that.

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Does this stone naturally have that yellow Q-shaped frame?

The more our heroes advance in their mission, the stranger the treasures they uncover are. Minerals they've never seen before are a good example of that: I bet neither Claude nor the Expellians knew Mythril actually existed (and Claude is certainly glad it does), although probably our friend Ernest the adventurous space archaeologist has already had the pleasure of seeing some... Oh, about him... To think that I've almost forgotten about him being in the party: I've simply stripped him of all his equipment and thrown him at the last party slot, never using him in battle. The only times I'm reminded Ernest is still with us is during cutscenes and when I'm scrolling through the characters' equipment screen.

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Ok, this is just another typo, but it stands out so much... We're close to the end of the game, you know that.

Cyril's plans to overthrow the leader of the Ten Wise Men failed the moment he decided not to wait for our heroes to defeat his boss first: he might have had a chance at defeating them if he had attacked them by surprise after they had won, since they'd be tired then (on second thought, no, he wouldn't have, not in my case at least). In the end, he was just another (un)wise man who fell by the hands of justice.

Battling these powerful beings one after another, our friends don't have much time to wonder about what the Ten Wise Men's reasons were for wanting to annihilate the whole universe; rule it? That, one could understand. But since we're almost at the end, someone in the party already feels in grasp of victory, loses the constant fighting tension that accumulated during the assault: it won't change their final task, that is to stop the Crest of Annihilation, but they have a right to know the reasons they're fighting against.

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If only these Ten Wise Men had tactics that were a tad more advanced that the typical 'wait in a room and deploy weaker fighters to face the attackers', or the slightly more refined 'gang up on the attackers, but not more than 3 at a time'. I mean, when they got the news that Marsilio & co. had been killed, wouldn't they feel like using something like that intergalactic cyclotrone cannon they used to blow up the Calnus on our emerging heroes? You know, just to be sure. After all, didn't Berle himself say 'a lion must expend all his effort to catch a rabbit'? I suppose he was the only one who thought that way...

Cyril is skilled in wind Heraldry, and as we all know, wind is the least powerful element in RPGs (excluding heart, but I doubt many RPGs count that as an element); however, he makes it hit very hard, so it's advisable to have some protection (the Anti spell if you have it, and generally a good number of HP for all your characters). Being a spellcaster, Cyril is weak in close combat, and while he likes to teleport around, if you keep pounding him, he'll stay in place most of the time.

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From time to time I forget whether it's known that the Ten Wise Men are androids and not real people (before the research event with Chisato anyhow), which makes this line quite funny to me.

Only two of the Ten Wise Men are now left. Leaving the floor where our heroes defeated Decus and Vesper, the party faces an imperscrutable labyrinth... By that I mean a boring maze with coloured switches that unlock the way forward or reveal treasures; there aren't even any enemies around. After this pathetic excuse for a puzzle (for some more interesting ones, you'll have to reach the after-game Cave of Trials), there are still some more floors separating the group from the room where Cyril, the second in command. This guy seems a little different from the others: sure, he's still talkative, full of himself, and quite powerful, but he seems to have some mixed feelings about the plans of his leader. I guess Cyril is more of a classical 'rule the world' villain, with traitorous traits to boot, but that doesn't really change anything in the end, since he's still our enemy.

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I bet you can't see the funny here. Well, there's a series of rooms that look pretty much like this one in Fienal, and in some of them there's something in the centre that blocks your character from walking through: I don't know what it is. Also, there's a door in this area that will never open, no matter what switches are pressed; it always nags me, and every time I play the game I want to know what's behind it.

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Claude: You're already dead!

After having disposed of the three forgettable Wise Men at the entrance of Fienal, our heroes, full of confidence, head inside the fortress. This place is a sight to behold: the interiors have all kinds of irregular decorations, from the oddly-shaped tiles on the floor to the tubes running along the walls, to the weird machines you can find here and there. Every door has a red symbol engraved on it (is it the Crest of Annihilation?), and every floor has transporters that lead only to a floor above or below. That last part makes me wonder how much of this is the Ten Wise Men's work, and how much was already there in the building.

There's a good number of robotic guards around, some of which our heroes fought on their first assault to the stronghold; there are also some flying... cartridges of sorts, that can plug into these robots to "upgrade" them, improving their speed and strength. Here and there you can also find a huge phoenix monster (no doubt some other crazy Heraldic beast) resembling Xine from Expel (a creature you can only meet in your quest to help Ashton Anchors, who we didn't bump into); it packs quite a punch, and it has a quick charge attack that easily stuns its opponents, so if you don't have the Eternal Sphere stay on your toes.

Going up from floor to floor, our friends eventually reach the fourth level, where two more of the Ten Wise Men (now down to four) await: Decus and Vesper - so they introduce themselves - seem even more full of themselves, and with some reason, as they're decidedly stronger than the three guys from before. Decus specializes in fire attacks, some of which have devastating power, and smack talk (yes, it's probably the most annoying part, generally because of his voice), while Vesper is the polar opposite, unleashing water attacks. Since it's not common to have accessories that protect against both elements at once, I'd suggest you make your party level up until Rena or Celine learn Anti, a very useful defensive spell that improves the elemental resistances of the whole party for the battle. These two only have brute force on their side, therefore you can eventually overpower them (you can oversmart them as well, if you prefer, but that would involve switching characters a lot, since it's hard to have the AI keep one of them busy).

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I still fail to see the link between these pink, thick-heeled boots and bunnies.

Next to the Eternal Sphere, here's another item that breaks the game; this one you can also get as soon as you're on Nede (well, you need a Synard first), but its powers are much less obvious to the ordinary adventurer. Equipping the Bunny Shoes on a character will make him/her run A LOT faster on the battlefield (emphasis on A LOT, cause I don't wanna change font size), that much you can figure out, but that this gives you an unfair advantage against most enemies isn't a given. While attack speed isn't affected, you should know by now that almost all attacks and Killer Moves require the character to line up with his/her target, in which a dramatic increase in speed helps a lot.

The extra speed from the Bunny Shoes is also useful for significantly shortening the duration of battles against weaker enemies, since now you can have a fighter quickly reach your enemies and dispatch them. Oh, and let's not forget about a very nice side-effect these shoes have: this piece of equipment is one of the few in the game that raises your character's stamina by a good amount, giving him/her the added benefit of almost never having to heal or regain MPs after a battle (if his/her base stamina is high enough, s/he'll even start regaining strength during battle). Finally, the Bunny Shoes can be useful even for spellcasters, both for the increase in stamina and for making them less vulnerable to direct attacks (although it's a waste to equip them on spellcasters, unless you've got spare pairs).

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Not only is there that stuff  in Star Ocean 2, it's also distributed as candies to trick the children into trying them!

They say you can only win them at the Bunny Races. These Magical Drops can be really useful when you're in a pinch in battle (although I don't think they always work), because once ingested, they freeze everyone but the party on the spot for some time. I only got some because I won a race where there were no Bunny Shoes among the prizes, don't get me wrong...

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About what? He must have hit his head when falling to our heroes' beating, that's all they say right after the fight, and then they disappear. I smell bad translation...

It looks like the Ten Wise Men are still cocky, as they didn't block the underwater passage; some of them are actually waiting for the assault team to show up at the gates of Fienal. But this time it's three of them, attacking the group together rather than one by one. After some smack talk (and introductions), Ruprecht, Jibril and Nicolus initiate the battle.

These three guys are stronger than Marsilio and the others, but not by much; however, having all three attack at once can be a problem. Ruprecht and Jibril can teleport around the area instantly, and each of them is very dangerous: Ruprecht has a giant tuning fork for a weapon, and he can use it to create a huge wind blast in front of him, heavily damaging (or most likely killing if your party isn't over-leveled) anyone he's facing; Jibril can 'absorb' one character into some kind of black hole under his tunic (!!! I'm afraid to comment here). Nicolus is the spellcaster of the group, and he specializes in water and lightning Heraldry, so it's best to have some protection against these two elements (if Rena or Celine have already learned Anti it won't be necessary).

If you come to this battle unprepared, you may take a sound beating, but there's no need to worry: being at the entrance of Fienal, not only can you save the game right before the fight, you can also easily return to Nede and make some more preparations. Even then, a bit of strategy will get you past this fight a lot faster: you can either spread out your fighters to keep everyone busy, or you can focus of Ruprecht, who's the most dangerous (if you have the Eternal Sphere and the Bunny Shoes on Claude - like I did - you won't have any problem as long as he stays alive).

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I like how, despite the flaunted seriousness of the story, Narl treats time paradoxes as 'minor problems'. All science fiction novels and movies about time travelling should do the same.

The next morning... Wait, have I ever inquired about Energy Nede's day-night cycle? You know how the artificial planet has an extremely lengthy orbital period, but what about its rotation? And should we really care? After all, like it was on Expel, the game has us believe the night only comes when the party rests at an inn, and in a few other instances.

Sorry for the digression. Our heroes are rested and ready to battle: they line up to embark the Herush once again (won't they have their defenses up this time), but Narl has some additional instructions for them this time. The mayor hands Rena the Crest of Enchantment, a special Heraldic crest that, when placed over the Crest of Annihilation, will 'overwrite it and change its meaning'; before he can explain what it does in further detail, Dr. Mirage shows up and cuts it short, explaining that it'll simply avert the destruction of the universe. After Claude has expressed some concern about the doctor's wounds, which she doesn't seem to care about now, Narl adds that all preparations for their plan to bring Expel back are done, and as soon as the Ten Wise Men are defeated, they'll be able to use Fienal's energy generator immediately.

Reassured by these words, the group hops onto (into?) the Herush once again.

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Claude: I'm not sure I can take that as a compliment, Celine darling...

Wow, that was unexpected! Having ignored Claude's romantic relationship with the girls in the party most of the time, I figured he'd end up with Rena, or even Precis... The last Private Action he had with Celine was in North City, if I remember correctly.

Ahem! I'm sorry, please let me explain the whole thing to the unacquainted with the game.

The group reaches L'Aqua and meets up with Narl; as they're all ready for the final mission - attempt number 2 - the mayor holds a brief meeting in the conference room. He explains that while they've already defeated three of the Ten Wise Men, we will still call them 'Ten' because we're used to it... er... I mean, he explains that the others are way more powerful than those, and now that the threat our heroes pose to their plan is known to them, they may try to employ more effective tactics as well. However, all he can do is ask Claude and the others to be fully prepared for the assault, which will take place as soon as possible... Tomorrow!

Narl tells our friends to enjoy their 'last night' in L'Aqua (this time it's for real, although, game-wise, you can still go back to explore Nede some more whenever you want), which, despite being a military outpost, is still quite a charming place, with all those lush natural surroundings, and the sea shore. Tonight is a quiet, clear, starry night, the perfect moment to spend some special time with the one you love, before the final battle. Claude, despite the advice he gave to Leon, is very fond of double-timing, as he was involved with all the girls in the party (except for Opera... If only we hadn't found Ernest, she'd be... Oh, sorry), but who is the one he really loves? And does she love him back?

The real question is, though, is Celine really the one for Claude? This night doesn't establish that, but it's generally a good enough indicator of that. The pair exchanges some romantic words with one another, and we leave them close together, as the view scrolls up to the starry sky.

Not happy with how the scene played out? Don't worry! This is a game, which means you can have fun with the characters' feelings all you want, and never feel bad about it! For example, there are ways to quickly alter the romance level between characters right before this night, allowing you to view practically each and every possible combination (only between Claude and one of the girls, though, so be warned). If Claude has either a high or a low romance level with every girl (that is, if everyone is about at the same level), you can easily use the authoring skill of each character to make only one girl have a high enough level, resulting in her spending the night with Claude for sure. If that's not applicable, then it may be harder, but it's definitely possible.

What's with the authoring skill screwing with people's hearts, you ask? Well, if a character produces a book, by means of his/her Writing Specialty (and a fountain pen, aren't we the refined writers?), and makes another character read it (once read, the book is discarded for some reason, so always make extras), it will alter the relationship level between the author and the reader. More specifically, one of the books a character can make will alter friendship, while the other (they're randomly chosen, but this one is more rare) will affect romance; in any case, the relationship level will always reach a fixed level (technically, it's an 8 out of 12). Make romance books as needed to have a romantic relationship above the rest, and you're done.

Yes, I did that with every girl (didn't bother with every man in the Rena story), because it's easier than manipulating the game ending (having to win the last fight and all). Unless I've screwed up somewhere, the scene with Claude and Rena is the most platonic one, possibly even the most cliché (after all, it's the one you're most likely to watch). None of these show anything beyond a kiss on the cheek (I'll let you guess who the girl is in that case), and I bet it's the same for Rena.

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Claude: How are you gentlemen!
Funny how they look surprised to see our heroes; maybe they thought they had been killed by the Ten Wise Men, or maybe it's just that they've spent so much time in Fun City having a good time, that they can't believe they're showing themselves like that without making excuses.

Claude, Rena and the others all gather outside of Fun City; telling each other that now the final battle is approaching, everybody resumes a serious attitude, some a gloomy face because still feeling insecure about their victory, some in higher spirits for their success in repelling the Ten Wise Men's attack. The Synard flies our friends to L'Aqua, where Narl is supposedly waiting for them... I hope we didn't make him wait too long.

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This is one of the funniest outcomes you can have: Precis and Leon insulting each other. They're both kids at heart...

Claude and Leon decide on a 'confession spot' for the little Felpool: the Cooking Master room is unoccupied at the moment, and there's nobody around, so it's a perfect quiet spot. Leon literally zooms there, excited as a kid can be, and entrusts Claude with the task to choose the girl for him and bring here there. Our hero is a bit entertained by the idea, but he's also a bit concerned that Leon might have a breakdown in case of rejection, so he thinks about who to choose for a minute. In the end, he goes for Precis, thinking that she's the closest to a kid's mindset, and may understand Leon's behavior better (however worried he may be at her being too rash).

Claude finds Precis still looking at stuff at the souvenir shop; he asks her if she could come with him someplace. The girl is quick to figure out that this is a love cofession, although, to her disappointment, it's not Claude's, he promptly clarifies. She agrees to go with him nonetheless, and once in the Cooking Master pavilion, Claude has to decide on the approach: Leon is hiding behind a seat, waiting for his signal, so he has to choose whether to explain things to Precis first or to let Leon take the initiative. Thinking that Leon probably couldn't handle it by himself, Claude tells Precis about the kid's feelings.

Surprised as she is, Precis somehow jokes about it, thinking Leon might become her assistant in her machine experiments. The little scientist, hearing this, apparently can't take this offense, and comes out of his hiding place: the two start quarrelling, and Claude's at a loss on what to do, except enjoy the show for a bit maybe.

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Oh, it looks like there's some romantic development going on behind our backs...

Well, that was a surprise! I guess you have some competition now, eh Claude?

...well, somebody should tell Leon that when 'it' happens, it doesn't mean you're in love.

This is one of the funniest Private Action scenes you can witness: basically Leon says he's fallen in love with all the girls in your party (if I had recruited Chisato as well, he'd be in love with 5 girls altogether!), and Claude offers to help him confess, but since he's against two-timing, he says he'll only bring one to him (you're no fun, Claude). It's up to you to decide who to bring, but you can always save outside of Fun City and reload the game to see all the possible matchings (yes, I did all of them... Yes, I'm sick). Next time I'll show you one possible outcome, but I'd like to add something now: for some reason, this Private Action can only be triggered if Leon has participated in the Cooking Master cook-off at least once (you don't have to win). Does anyone know why?

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To be frank, Opera, if the main attractions of Fun City are a battle arena, betting on races, and cook-offs, I'd say nobody's too old for that.

Opera's futile attempt at bringing back some dignity to the group only serves to remind our heroes that they should be going; they agree on having one last 'ride', and then it's onwards to L'Aqua. Opera and Ernest decide to relax at the hotel, Rena and Precis are off to make some last-minute purchases, and Celine opts for the bunny races (she seems to like those bunnies). Claude doesn't have anything interesting to do, so he enters the bar to have something to drink, and he's surprised to see Leon inside. The little Felpool, seeing the concerned look of his 'big brother', tells Claude he's just drinking orange juice. They start talking a bit, and it seems Leon has something on his mind...

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Don't you usually say 'fan girl' instead?

Claude didn't really notice how similar the Battle Stadium on Nede is to the arena in Lacour (lazy developers!) until now, and that brings back memories to him, good and bad ones. He wanders around the arena thinking about his adventure, and how he's changed during his travels (not much, after all); absorbed in thought, he unexpectedly finds himself in the comics shop, which is just above the stadium.

Claude doesn't seem to be into comics much (maybe they're not as common on Earth in 2440 AD), but it'd be weird for him to just walk out now, so he decides to look around. There's quite the crowd in here, and Claude notices a girl intent on leafing through an art book. 'Funny' he thinks 'That character has the same name as the dog I had when I was little... Probably just a coincidence'.

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That character's name sounds very interesting...

...but this one has him beat! He's truly hopeless, and an eclectic (or simply way too superstitious for comfort); it's also funny how some religions have carried over from Earth to Nede (or could it have been the other way round?).

After that meeting with Rena, with her dismissing him with a good laugh (if a bit forced, he thinks), Claude resumes his solitary stroll: he has no desire to return to the races, sick of the Bunny Shoes hunt as he is, and there's only one attraction left for him in Fun city. The Battle Stadium is always open to fighters who want to put themselves to the test, and there's a variety of battle modes one can choose from. Being alone, Claude may choose to take on ranked Duel Battles, or opt for the extremely tough Survival Battle, the latter having him endure 50 battles in a row, with only a bunch of support items to aid him. The prizes are good, but not great: a top-rank Duel Battle yields a very good weapon for the participating character, while the Survival Battle nets you a Fortune accessory. 'Fortune' will cause random items to magically appear in your inventory at fixed intervals; you may get something good, but an annoying text box telling you which item you got pops up every time. The real prize for Survival Battle is the huge amount of experience you get, even if you lose! Unfortunately it's only good for fighter characters, since spellcasters usually have a very hard time defending themselves in the tougher battles.

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Here's when Rena finally found out how dumb Claude is.

Claude doesn't seem to get any good prize at the races (except for a bottle of Seltzer... I hear it's getting more and more valuable), and he's bored to death; he thinks maybe some distraction is in order. Let's see... There's the Cooking Master, but Claude can't cook, and there's no match to watch right now. The shops... He's already taken a look there. The comic store? Naw, not interested. What about seeing a fortune teller? What do you know, it might even give him something to think about.

Claude approaches the fortune tellers' pavilion, but he notices that there's someone else other than the usual group of girls: it's Rena! At first Claude thinks he probably shouldn't pry, but the same thing happened with Celine back on Expel, so it can't be a bad thing; he quietly steps closer, trying to hear. To his surprise, Rena's asked the fortune teller specialized in romance readings, specifically about her compatibility with him; she's told that things are looking good, but also that she should take more initiative (Rena always gets the same reading, because for this event to occur Claude needs a high relationship level with her). Interesting.

Unfortunately, Claude is listening so intently to the reading that he doesn't realize Rena is done, and when she turns around she sees him, looks a bit embarrassed, and asks him how long he's been there. At this point you have three options, one of which making Claude admit to have heard everything and add that he's happy about it. The result is more or less what's shown on the screenshot above (Rena also says 'What a cliché!' while laughing... I have no idea what she meant by that).

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Why are the results of the bunny races always truly AMAZING? The real challenge isn't guessing the winners, but enduring the sportscasters' dialogue. By the way, that drawing in the center of the track... Are those bunnies kissing? I suppose it'd look cute, if it weren't for the fact that these giant bunnies aren't cute at all.

The track in the races is a boring oval, which the bunnies have to loop twice in order to win; the race ends after the first two bunnies cross the finish line, determining the winning ticket and the prize. A sportscaster and a commentator introduce us to each race: apparently there are four or five different races/leagues, but that only affects the introductory dialogue, as the prizes and bunnies are entirely random. Yeah, every racing bunny has specific attributes, such as speed, stamina, and intelligence, and the commentator can offer you some insight on these before the race (you can skip that though).

Since we're here to get the Bunny Shoes (what else would we be here for? The races are boring and repetitive, and the other prizes are merely of great value, not that useful), we'll ignore the commentator's bunny overview, and the tipster outside of the track (who offers a probable winning combination for a price); our objective is choose whichever winning pair nets us the shoes, if any. Unfortunately, if the Bunny Shoes aren't among the prizes, you can't take your bet back, and you have to sit through the race anyway, so you'd better choose a good prize, such as a Seltzer or Magical Drops. The only remotely enjoyable activity you can have at the races is watching a bunny charge into the others, tackling them; yes, it's that much fun.

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Why does Claude worry about this bunny having an attention deficit disorder (or an addiction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, whatever's the case), when he should be worried that a bunny is here, selling betting tickets for the races?

As mentioned before, the Bunny Races aren't that fun, but you can get some very nice prizes if you win your bets. The items you get for a winning ticket are random, and they range from an ordinary Blueberry, to a Seltzer, to the exceedingly rare Bunny Shoes. Yes, you can get Bunny Shoes even right here, by stealing them from the overly enthusiastic bunny that's selling the tickets, but stealing is wrong! That, and you can only steal once from him, while you can get as many as you like in the races; and I think there are only two or three Bunny Shoes around.

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I didn't get the pun at first, but 'tipster's dogma' seems a bit forced, don't you think? I guess the translators either had a hard time carrying over a Japanese pun, or they were just bored at this point.

Another highlight (if you can call it that) of Fun City entertainment is the Bunny Races: as that giant bunny in Central City advertised, not only do these bunnies exist on Nede as well, they're used in racing events, and everyone can bet. Like the Chocobo Races in Final Fantasy VII, you have to guess the winner and runner up, in the correct order; unlike them, you can't participate in a race as a jockey, because these bunnies have none. It's weird, they're kind of like chicken races, even though you'd think Chocobos would be more suited for that.