Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness (PS3, PS4)

[Elcura]

SO1 and 2 remakes, then SO3, then SO4 if you want.

Generally you only really need to play 3, but if you got time to go through them all, try all but 4 (unless you're itching for new SO).

[Pirian]

Did you just suggest skipping 2? Leave. Now.

[Ayn]

I think Elcura just lost somewhere around 80 points in Pirian's book.

[Teknique]

Why even both with the remakes, the originals are much better IMO. rattix is always rattix to me. Also 4 is fantastic, aside from a certain child character that needs to be murdered and the stupid final boss. i will never under japans fascination with lolis. Well the originals are better in translation, not in terms of graphical quality or sound quality. those are better in the remakes. But even so, if you cant play the first one, at least play the second one to get started. Definitely dont start with 3 because it is technically the end of star ocean

Spoiler: show

the star ocean Universe that is

[ronin sparthos]

I'd say play 2, it's the definitive entry in the series. If you enjoy 2, go play 1 since its also on PSP then play 3, 4. IGNORE the hate on 3, your potential gripe with it will arise late in an otherwise solid JRPG.

4 isn't quite up to par so if you're going to play it, it's for the combat / completionist reasons.

[Elcura]

Did you just suggest skipping 2? Leave. Now.

I didn't suggest skipping 2, I suggested prioritizing 3. It's not rocket science.

If you have time play them all (with exception to 4 like others have said), but if you don't I highly recommend 3 for the best all round Star Ocean. I love 1 and 2, but if you can only play one SO game it should be 3.

[Kaslo]

I'd say play 2, it's the definitive entry in the series. If you enjoy 2, go play 1 since its also on PSP then play 3, 4. IGNORE the hate on 3, your potential gripe with it will arise late in an otherwise solid JRPG.

4 isn't quite up to par so if you're going to play it, it's for the combat / completionist reasons.

And that combat is amazing

[Gredival]

Spoiler: show

As for 3's twist, it basically suggests that SO universe is an alternate universe created in a program that became too sentient/uncontrollable so they decided to delete/destroy the world. SO3 is basically you finding out your world is a "game" so to speak and fighting to save it. In the end the universes are split off and essentially there becomes the real universe and Eternal Sphere.

I'm summarising a lot it's been years since I played 3.

I loved SO3, although I still think that mana-KO is a terrible concept, but the twist always bothered me.

Spoiler: show

Since the SO universe is supposed to be a hypothetical future of the actual Earth timeline, is time progression between universes the same? Because the fuck was the point of having the Eternal Sphere around for millions of years as an MMORPG when there was nothing around?

[Ornery Sheep]

I loved SO3, although I still think that mana-KO is a terrible concept, but the twist always bothered me.

Spoiler: show

Since the SO universe is supposed to be a hypothetical future of the actual Earth timeline, is time progression between universes the same? Because the fuck was the point of having the Eternal Sphere around for millions of years as an MMORPG when there was nothing around?

Spoiler: show

I might be misunderstanding what you're saying here, but couldn't the "NPCs" in the universe just have been programmed to believe that rather than it being an actual thing? If everyone in the universe believes that is truth then it essentially is to them even if the universe had potentially been created directly before the events of SO4. Also, I'd doubt the progression of time in the Eternal Sphere would be the same as the outside world. Don't you think an MMO like that would be terribly inconvenient to play? :D

[Elcura]

I loved SO3, although I still think that mana-KO is a terrible concept, but the twist always bothered me.

Spoiler: show

Since the SO universe is supposed to be a hypothetical future of the actual Earth timeline, is time progression between universes the same? Because the fuck was the point of having the Eternal Sphere around for millions of years as an MMORPG when there was nothing around?

I initially thought MP death was annoying and stupid but then it grew on me and I'm surprised it hasn't been done more. I liked that some bosses had really low MP so if you had some really good MP attacks you could just melt them way faster than through HP. In the end your MP is just as high as your HP (relatively) and you get a fuck load of items to recover it so it becomes less of a thing than it was in the early game.

Spoiler: show

I doubt it's the same time scale, it's been a while but considering the time they needed to delete the program and the time it took for them to escape kinda seemed to me like time was much faster in the game. Though if it's a game then stuff can change and ultimately I don't think we know anything about the "real" world's timeline or even if it was a hypothetical variation. It could've just been organic and made up history that over time grew itself and ultimately got out of control.

There's a lot they could've explored with the concept but I think they chickened out after the negative reactions.

[Lonely]

From SE E3 there is emphasis on seamless gameplay, you will battle with 6 party members in real time, transition from exploring to battles are seamless, the games story won't be pure static cutscenes like star ocean 3/4 and has more active cutscenes, 60 FPS on final release for PS4, confirmed and releasing in 2016 for NA/EU.

[Julian]

Fap.

Although I personally disagree with his movie analogy. It's more like a book, rather than a movie, and I personally find that aspect very enjoyable.

Although story has never been a strong point for star ocean (although it had potential...) and the battle system is where it's all at, so I think it'll be alright.

Shame we have to wait until next year and Japan gets it later this year.

[6souls]

[Not Kuno]

Although story has never been a strong point for star ocean (although it had potential...) and the battle system is where it's all at, so I think it'll be alright.

One of the things that stuck with me about SO2 was how the story started so simple and basic and the journey brought you to something incredibly massive by the end of it. I know thats a very cliche trope in story telling and in video games but I feel SO2 pulled it off very well.

[Gokulo]

So they just said the protagonist is 23. He's like a jRPG grandpa.

[darkepyon]

Oldest in the series if I'm not mistaken. Not necessarily a bad thing, depending on its execution. Funny how they seemed to settle on 19 for every protagonist except for Edge.

[Gokulo]

Yeah, it seems this time they want a more mature and experienced character instead of a teenager dealing with his silly problems.

[6souls]

http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/17/st...an-4s-foibles/

SO4 was a mess because SE changed the formula to attempt to appeal to the Western audience.

[Kaslo]

Outsourcing the story never sounds like a good plan.

[Teknique]

Why am i the only one hyped for your entire character cast to be in battle at the same time?