Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (175)

Ellipses and question marks galore!

Rena is positively confused by the things these guys are saying, yesterday she didn't even know anything about outer space and other inhabited planets. An interesting bit: in the Rena storyline of the game, you can trigger a Private Action with Claude in which he will ask her about what she thinks is 'beyond the sky', to which you can select the answer 'maybe another world?'.

What I could gather from the information these ten men (?) are providing is that:

• they created the Quadratic Sphere (i.e. the Sorcery Globe), which automatically makes them our enemy
• they are from Nede, the same planet Rena is from, but how both have come to this planet and why is still a mystery (and for them it's not really explained even later on)
• they possess (I think) a crystallized form of energy called the Quadratic Key, which is similar to Rena's pendant, but are surprised she has one as well (this IS explained later on, but I still don't know what a Quadratic Key really is or what it's used for)
• each one has a different personality from the others, which will make it slightly more enjoyable for us when it's time to kill them all; however, given that there was a boss battle just a little while ago, and we've still got another Disc to play, I guess this is not the time

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I know it's pretty common in these games to have dialogues that don't make any sense until later on, but here there's an unhealty amount of that. Furthermore, I'm not even sure everything is accounted for: the nature of the Sorcery Globe (whose real name is 'Quadratic Sphere', how clever...) and this Quadratic Key they mention (which is Rena's pendant) isn't really explained, except for their relation to the Energy Stone our heroes had found in the Huffman Ruins.

Claude, Rena and their companions finally come face to face with the cause of all the trouble Expel is facing: ten people hidden in the shadows, with weird-looking dresses, who literally lighten up when talking. But the more terrifying thing about them is that all their names are replaced by '?????'! Terrifying, isn't it? Kidding aside, you can tell they're a menace because one of them intimates the group to refrain from moving (with an all-caps voice, no less), and shoots Rena with his laser-eyes when she disobeys. Naturally Claude shields her from the laser (or something, maybe a particle ray), and Rena heals him after that.

Seeing Rena's healing powers, these men realize Rena is a Nedian (i.e. an inhabitant of the planet Nede; Only recently did I notice that it's Eden spelled backwards, shame on me), and take some time to reveal a bunch of stuff. Namely, they note Claude's an Earthling, someone else is a Tetragene (but nobody cares), and explain some stuff about the Sorcery Globe, or Quadratic Sphere (in the background), and its relation with Rena's pendant, a Quadratic Key. We'll take more time to analyze this in the next post.

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Man, this Shin guy couldn't sound more cliché even if he tried. Try and guess who's gonna win now. I'll give you a hint: he's made a grammar mistake.

After wasting a lot of time on that dead end of the keep (now I recall that they sometimes call this keep the 'Eluria Tower'), our heroes can finally get to the end of it, and unravel the mystery of the Sorcery Globe; but not before the third (and last) battle against Shin, the boss of all demons. Don't worry, he isn't invincible this time, I promise. By that I mean, if you die here it's game over. That should be the last of your problems though, as he should be easy to deal with, and since the bigger problem is something called 'planet collision'; it would have been nice if you had a timer or something for this battle, it would have added some tension.

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Ronixis: I can see that by myself, Kurtzman, thank you...

So Claude has chosen to stay with his friends... even to the end. In a final, desperate effort, Ronixis orders to prepare a search party to forcefully get Claude back; the Security Officer, however, tries to bring him back to the reality that such a move would only put the safety of the whole crew at risk. Disheartened by this perspective, the Commodore gives up and returns to the bridge, putting his mask of Federation officer back on, but secretly hoping that Claude is safe while observing the collision that is about to occur between Expel and that mysterious energy body.

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I don't think it's the right way to say that you're glad he's back... I've got a hunch that it's just bad translation, but it's made funnier by the fact that 'home' (i.e. Expel) is about to be destroyed in the collision.

Ronixis ascertains that the collision between Expel and that... other thing... is inevitable. Claude, however, half convinced that he can stop that, and half in fear of losing his freinds forever, insists on having them beam him back down: Ronixis understands Claude's feelings, because he had similarly made friends on Roak (in the first Star Ocean), so he lets him back on Expel for a short while just to allow him to say his final goodbye to Rena and the others.

Of course, Claude's intention isn't to leave his friends to die by themselves, as he now feels more attached to them than to his old life as an an Ensign on the Calnus, under his father's shadow. 'I belong with you...' he tells himself, and leaves his communicator behind to trick the crew member into thinking he's ready to be beamed back on the spaceship.

After a heartfelt reunion with Rena and the rest, Claude instructs his friends to leave as soon as possible.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (170)

I'm pretty sure this is a mistake: he's the only one on the ship saying that there should be no collision (between Expel and a 'high energy body'), and as Claude talks with his father, they confirm the collision point and time. Either this crew member is a bit dumb, or there was a translation error; although chances are most players won't even read that.

While Ronixis is quite glad to have found Claude, his son doesn't seem to be; puzzled as he is about that, he's still a Commodore, so he has to act like one, trying to contain his emotions. Claude is forced to stay on the ship: he'd like to get back to his friends to try and stop the Sorcery Globe, or whatever the problem is. Unfortunately, he now learns of a much bigger, although perhaps related, problem: a high energy body with an orbital period of some 7 thousand solar years is approaching Expel, and will surely destroy it upon collision.

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I've got the strangest feeling that the punctuation '...!' is actually hard-coded as a single character in the game: that would explain why it's used so often. Oh, Claude is kind of acting like a child here, even though he should have matured quite a bit thanks to his adventurous experience (imagine having to live in a civilization where they don't use toilets).

Claude suddenly gets a call through his communicator (did you forget he had it? It's impressive it still works, maybe it's light-powered, unlike his phase gun...): it's the Calnus, his father's spaceship! They're performing a forced beam-up (you could call it abduction) to get Claude back on. Too bad, things were just getting interesting for him...

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I'll answer that for you: it's a completely pointless dead end in the demons' keep, which was strangely secured with a card key. It would have served no purpose at all, if it hadn't been used as a beam up point by the Calnus to get Claude back on board.

With the card key obtained earlier, our heroes are able to get through the otherwise insuperable barrier of... small weird-looking red pillars, which actually look like they could be gotten around easily. The curious part is that these pillars "block off" two different paths, one of which leads here; the other path leads to the confrontation with Shin, the demon boss we previously fought, but I think there's a further obstacle which prevents you from getting there before this part (I wouldn't know because I've always taken the former path).

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (167)

This is one of the weirdest puzzles in the game: there are these glowing human 'statues' or something, scattered about the monster keep, and each type gives you a different letter, while the priest you see above asks you to give a password. You put the letters together to form the word 'APOCALYPSE' (actually just the first few letters, it was a translation problem), and a card key is given to you to further progress in the game. How all this happens is beyond my imagination; and what about all these 'cards' the demons use? Is it a fad? Was it the government push for RFIDs?

This demon keep looks really weird, but we don't have the time to comment about the interior designer's tastes right now.

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What do you know... The Tetragenes might have had something to do with a certain Microsoft game console. Star Ocean 2 first came out in 1998, while the Xbox console was unveiled only 2 years later.

This is the equipment screen, more specifically the weapon equipment window: on the right is a list of the weapons our character can equip (in this case Opera), while you can check its status modifications on the left. Most weapons just alter the 'ATK' value (spellcaster-type characters like Celine have weapons which raise 'MAG' as well), but a good number of them also affects the other parameters. 'AC' stands for Armour Class, I suppose (in short, it's the character's defense against physical attacks), 'HIT' is attack accuracy (physical attacks may sometimes be parried by the enemy if you hit them in front), while 'AVD' is the ability to parry an enemy attack.

Note how you can find '(None)' at the top of the weapon list: you can leave your character without a weapon, which makes him/her unable to attack. S/he can still use Killer Moves or cast spells, but I'm not entirely sure it's true for everyone. For example, Claude often uses his sword to perform Killer Moves, so he might be unable to use those without it. I haven't checked this yet, maybe I'll do it later on.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (165)

How fortunate that the storage guy back at the hideout had found a spare ID card to the monsters' lair. By the way, how do you use that card? I see no place to instert it... Where are the guards anyway? The interiors are even stranger.

Eluria is just a short walk from the hideout (you have to wonder how the demons couldn't find it): with sword in one hand and ID card in the other, Claude bravely enters the cove those terrible monsters, and, slowly but surely, gets closer and closer to revealing the mystery of the Sorcery Globe (well, not really, the game doesn't really tell you what it is and how it got here, just what was inside it). The beam shield Shin had, and now this ID card, are clear signs for Claude to figure out that an advanced alien civilization had a hand in all this: Rezonians, perhaps? But what could be the reason behind this madness? Trust me, it's very hard to tell even after fully playing the game.

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I don't exactly get how Claude can tell that that ID card is from an advanced civilization: does that mean it's a brain-triggered card, as opposed to an RFID card, or a magnetic one?

Here you can search the whole perimeter of the room to find useful items for your party to equip; keep in mind that one spot may contain not just one, but several pieces of equipment, so be sure to hammer the X button as much as you can, lest you miss some good weapon. Unfortunately, usable items and tools aren't available for free (what they need the money for is a mystery, they're surrounded by demons).

Before the party leaves the room, the storage room guy stops them, because he wants to ask them about a weird object he's found lying around.

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What kind of accent is this supposed to resemble? I don't find it funny, just annoying.

Now that we've got Leon in the party, we finally have access to water and dark magic... Well, it doesn't really matter, not at this point at least. Leon is a versatile spellcaster, and is the only one who can use a multi-hitting spell, Gremlin Lair: if well used, it can be deadly. Other than that, his Heraldry ability is generally inferior to Celine's, but he's got the advantage that most of his spell animations are shorter than hers (he's still a kid), and his normal attack doesn't suck (it's actually usable in fights, but I don't bother). Oh, he's also needed to trigger one of the funniest Private Action scenes in the game, don't forget that!

It's lucky that some refugees had never given up hope, because now we can get all the weapons they gathered for counter attack for free! There's equipment for almost everyone, even those you haven't got in the party: the first time I played the game I was always puzzled by all the weapons I found that nobody could use.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (162)

*hugs*
I find it funny that 'Big Brother' is capitalized though, it sounds a bit orwellian this way.

Claude and the others have a talk with the elder, who, being wise as it's expected from an elder, already desumed that the situation was bad even before they revealed their defeat. Some other refugees show disbelief at this news, but they show even more of that when Claude suddenly proposes to let him and his friends go and defeat the demons by themselves. Talking with the elder (who I don't think has a name, but it's not like he's important anyway), we discover that Eluria, the capital city of El, was hit by the Sorcery Globe, and later, little by little, demons started gathering there: they city was transformed into a monster den, and demons spread throughout the continent and beyond. It's only a matter of time before they find this hideout, so time is of essence. Despite Claude's offer sounding preposterous, everyone's convinced that something must be done.

We also learn from the elder that no other survivors were found so far, therefore Leon is by himself; at first Claude decides to leave the kid with the refugees, in hopes that his parents turn around later, but then a though choice is prompted onto you, the player (probably because Leon looked at Claude with weepy eyes or something). As you can see, I opted to get Leon into the party, but you don't have to, just know you won't see him ever again.

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Wow, this sounds like a declaration to me! Not that it's the right place at the right moment, but Claude could at least have replied to this with something other than 'Rena...'.

There's a funny part about this scene that you can only see in the Rena version. While the party is acting all worried about Claude's safety, Rena doesn't seem worried at all, she almost seems indifferent; then Claude comes and she rushes to him crying. It's not so easy to describe for me, but it felt more funny than romantic (which I think was the original intent of the scene).

The reunion is over though, as Claude should go see the elder of the refuge to explain the situation, and hopefully find some news about Leon's parents and the rest of the crew, now nowhere to be seen.

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Rena is so glad Claude is safe that she has resolved to live the rest of her life attached to him. You can't even see her in this screen, save for a tuft of blue hair.

Leon wakes up and seems well, but he soon realizes that they may be the only survivors in a land of demons. Despite his natural composure, the thought of having lost his parents makes the poor child break out and cry; he is on the very brink of despair, so Claude has no choice but slap him in the face to get him back to his senses. Yes, you read that right. By the way, this is probably the best sprite animation you can find in the game, quite a pity it was wasted on Leon (although it does feel a bit moving, with nice music and all).

After Leon has calmed down, Claude swears to protect Leon and help him find his parents, who may or may not have been saved. Luckily, they find a small refuge of survivors not far from the beach they were stranded to; and even more luckily, every single member of your party is here, alive and well. However, there doesn't seem to be a trace of any of the other crew members, including Leon's parents.

As soon as she sees Claude, Rena dashes towards him, seemingly hugging him and crying tears of joy (you can't really tell for sure, just use your imagination).

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Wait! What are you doing to poor Leon!?

...Oh, well, he seems to like it anyway.

Claude wakes up on a shore in an unknown land, alone; he almost loses it for a second, for he is reminded of when he first came to this planet, only this time he can guess his location. Washed up ashore on the continent of El, Claude is terrorized by the idea that he could be the only one left alive. Fortunately, he can hear a faint voice in the distance: unfortunately, that would be Leon's voice (what, would you rather have him than Rena, Celine or Opera, all soaked in ocean water, lying on the beach? Ok, I admit that was perverted given the situation, but Leon isn't exactly the person I'd like to meet first among the party).

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What doesn that even mean? Besides, how COULD they know it was a decoy?

Now things start getting complicated: the Lacour Hope fires a blast towards Shin, the flying demon, but he seems unaffected by it! Claude briefly notices that he's using some kind of beam shield device: this is when he starts suspecting that there's some extra-expellian force at work here, but he has no time for that, because the demons are attacking!

Making short work of the lesser demons, our heroes now need to fight a more motivated Shin. Differently from last time, this battle is a scripted one: that is, you can't still damage him, but you don't have to survive. Actually, you should lose the battle, so don't waste items during the fight. After a sound defeat, the whole party is mercilessly (really?) thrown overboard (the animation there looks pretty stupid anyway). The rest of the crew has no choice but to jump off the ship as well, terrorized by the monsters. Shin then destroys the Energy Stone in the Lacour hope (or at least I think he does), remarking that now humans have no way of fighting back. It's the end of the human civilization on Expel...

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This must be a pretty ugly design, especially the face: but he's a demon, maybe he's supposed to be ugly... I guess I was spoiled by Squaresoft's CG movies, because these guys here animate really badly.

Just as they're approaching the coast of El, a bunch of flying monsters appear on the horizon: it's Shin, the demon our party was unable to fight at the front! The other ones are pushovers, but we mustn't take any change: time to fire the Lacour Hope.

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First of all, why does Florice say this just now? Didn't she know Leon would be coming along? Didn't she SEE him coming aboard, for that matter? Secondly, what kind of phrasing is that? He's your son! Finally, I think there's a question mark missing, just one among many in this game.

The ship sets sail for the continent of El. Everything is ready: the Lacour Hope is securely positioned on the bridge and ready to fire at command, the crew of all ships are ready for any kind of attack from the monsters, and our heroes are offering their support in guarding the cannon before the scouting begins. There's no turning back now!

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Dias never disappoints when it comes to snide remarks.

Claude and the others, Dias somewhat tagging along, are summoned to the throne room by the king of Lacour; his strategy is clear: strike while the iron's hot! The demons, having faced the terrible power of the Lacour Hope, are likely regrouping and reorganizing at Eluria, their base (formerly the capital of El); the plan's to have a fleet equipped with the cannon to invade the continent and storm their headquarters (of course, not without evacuating any human survivors first). Where do our heroes come in? Simple, they'll be the scouting and rescue team. Dias, however, won't be a part of that; it isn't really explained why...

So here we are again in Hilton, waiting for the Lacour Hope to be loaded onto the ship. It's taking a while, but Leon underlines the importance of handling the cannon with the utmost care; Dias, who has accompanied the party up to here, comments as you can see in the screenshot, making Leon finally go away.

If I remember correctly, we're already past the point of no return: the moment you talked to the Lacour general at the front, you knew there was no turning back. It's the end of the Disc or death for you! Kidding aside, it's a good thing to keep a separate save just before that event, in case you forgot some treasure or Private Action.

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Claude: well because there was noone else who could do that...

After strutting about the terrific power of his invention, Leon gives away some of his precious time to deliver a message to Claude: his parents want to talk with the group of adventurers. Now is the time to plan Lacour's future strategies, and I guess our heroes will be part of those.