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).

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (344)

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.