Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (339)

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.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (338)

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!

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (337)

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.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (336)

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.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (335)

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.

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (334)

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...?

Funny Bits in Star Ocean 2 (333)

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.