Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (226)

But that only happens when the great responsibilities coming from those powers are left unattended, right?

The task our heroes are to complete is not an easy one: we've already had a small taste of what the Ten Wise Men are capable of, by fighting Berle and by witnessing the influence they have over wild beasts on Nede. Getting powerful enough to face all ten of them must be tough. It's weird, though: how can the Nedians trust our group of randomly assorted heroes so quickly? Providing them with their own sources of power might also make them the next biggest threat to the planet. I guess Narl can tell that Claude's intentions are good.

On a side note, during this playthrough I must have tripped on a bug of sorts: after getting the Synard and talking to Narl once again, I checked the news office to see if that stalker-reporter was there, and eventually return the job ID card she dropped to her. To my disappointment, and unlike every other time I've played Star Ocean 2 (i.e. a dozen other times at least), the hot-blooded girl wasn't there. I've tried checking numerous times later, with no success. I've also searched about the matter, and found that I was not the only one to have experienced this, but also that there was no consensus about the cause: one would suggest that talking with Narl right after getting the Synard would make me miss the 'quest', another would say that, since in the Synard cave I already had 8 party members (the maximum number), even if just temporarily, the game thought the group was already full and dropped the next encounter with her (yes, she's recruitable). If it's the latter, then it's all Ernest's fault!

I'll still check the office every time I can, but if that girl doesn't show up, I can say goodbye to my harem dream work of insight on the history of Nede.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (225)

I guess they had to fit all that text into the dialog box, so they decided to skip a couple of spaces. Also, maybe it's just me, but doesn't Narl always sound a bit soulless? Be it his face (are those eyebrows, or his eye cavities?), his manners, or his way of speaking, he gives me the creeps.

Finally our heroes have obtained some means of transportation around Nede: the Synard might be an unusual flying vehicle, but apparently you needn't worry about falling off, nor about fuel (what do Synards eat?). They would gladly take this opportunity to go sightseeing around the planet, but no, they're heroes first and foremost, and since they wasted so much time on their quest, they've decided to fly back straight to Central City. There, Narl is ready to brief them with the next step of their mission.

What do we do now? Gather new weapons? Learn powerful spells? Train in battle? No, of course not! What our heroes really need is to master the power of Nede. What does it entail, you ask? Naturally, Claude and Rena must overcome their innermost fears and doubts, becoming stronger both in body and mind (sorry to spoil it for you, but this way I'm saying it once and for all). In order to accomplish that, they need to conquer the four 'Fields' that withold Nede's secrets: the Fields of Intelligence, of Power, of Courage, and of Love. Narl provides the group with 'Rune Codes' (don't ask me what exactly they are, they appear to glow or shimmer when used), needed to unlock the otherwise securely locked Fields.

That sounds almost as ridiculous as the Synard, but at least this time Narl omitted the 'overcome one's fears' part of his explanation, so our friends fell for it again.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (224)

That's the Synard seen on the outside, in all its polygonal glory. Now it almost looks like a spaceship, doesn't it?

Having saved the Synard from those monsters and healed her (and spared it more pointless harm by Claude's sword - better be thankful about that) sure helped showing our heroes' superior heart: now the flying beast is ready to offer herself as a mount (pardon the odd wording, but it's technical speech, you might not understant...). What becomes of her cubs is anyone's guess, but I suppose that's not our problem now; since we don't want Noel in our party (he offered his help as well), we'll leave him here to take care of the little newborn creatures and the rest of the animals - it's his job after all. Don't ask yourself what happens if you accept Noel into the party though, you might want to get to the end of the game before.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (223)

That's a very helpful explanation, Rena, thank you. You know what? She's been acting like this since the group landed on Energy Nede: always with such a mystical air in her behaviour and speech, so determined and self-confident... So uninteresting, compared to her former self on Expel. Rena almost turns into a tool, an icon, a deus-ex-machina for this part of the game; she still has her moments, but she's not that down-to-earth yet dreamy girl Claude met at the beginning. You might say 'character development', but I'd argue there's hardly any development, more like an instant transformation from one disc to another.

Claude puts down his sword and Rena kindly offers her healing powers to the wounded Synard, along with some conforting words for her bravery. Our heroes are about to give up on their quest and get back to Narl to ask for more sensible alternatives, but Noel notices that the beast, now fully healed, is 'trying to say something' (I assume she's emitting some kind of cry, but we can't hear it). Unexpectedly, Rena steps forth and claims to understand she's offering them her help. Whatever, if this gets us a flying vehicle, I'm willing to believe her.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (222)

This is ridiculous: Claude now acts as if his friends are depending on him to tame the Synard, while they've been telling him 'you can't fight it, it's HURT!' instead.


See? He's trying to play the part of the kind hero. His friends don't even say a word about this sudden change in attitude.

Its last strength fading, the Synard heavily falls to the ground, revealing what it was trying to protect all the time: its cubs! ...Ok, those two 'things' near it, it's not easy to make out what exactly they are, but they do share the same colours with the mother.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (221)

Well, I must confess that this whole Synard segment confused me in many ways: everyone looks like they're overacting their part, and the ones in the wrong are so obviously pointed out that i can't even figure out whether they're joking or not. Here Claude is asking himself if he should fight the Synard to demonstrate his superiority, but it's already wounded, so it wouldn't really count: but he's still in doubt about it, and Rena even goes all caps about it being hurt and everyone is like 'you can't' and 'you mustn't', not even bothering to mention why.

Taking the long way around, our heroes finally reach the Synard, but they're late, for a couple of arachnid-monsters have appeared, and are fighting against the poor beast; luckily these monsters turn onto Claude and the others as soon as they arrive, leaving the Synard still alive. It's battle time! Don't worry, these two certainly aren't a match, compared to the Synard we fought in the House (especially since they're on the ground, where the full power of the Eternal Sphere can be unleashed); however, they can teleport around on the battlefield, so keep an eye on your spellcasters.

Now that the monsters have been beaten, the Synard is safe, but it's wounded. Claude apparently perceives some hostility from the beast though, so he wonders if he should still try to tame it by force; the teary eyes and preaching voices of his companions can't convince him to let off guard, but then something happens...

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (220)

Here's the wild Synard; it seems to be doing fine, should we drop down and get to it? Naw, let's follow the long, interminable, roundabout path, there's treasure there.

This cave is huge and really beautiful in its colourful arrangements of crystals, but let's not get distracted: our objective is close by, and monsters are still around. Some of the crystals also get in the way though, like the huge pink one that always stands in the middle of the battleground, making my favourite battle formation, Astral Shift, ineffective.