What is STAR OCEAN? - A Beginner's Guide To The Series 

I'll never understand why SO2 is abandoned on dead systems. It's probably one of the most fondly remembered of the series. And really, if I was a company that was struggling financially, I'd definitely take advantage of that nostalgia to release it and make a few bucks.

The only Star Ocean game I've ever played was Star Ocean: The Second Story back in the PS 1 days. They all look cool & I'm thinking of buying the remaster of the first one on my Switch.

I love this series so much. I agree that the second is the best, it holds a special place in my memories. I have high hopes for this new entry, I want Tri-Ace to do well, it’d be a tragedy if they actually go bankrupt…

Hi David! Been a fan of the Star Ocean series since the beginning. SO2 was one of my favorite rpgs on the PS1 (along with Xenogears and FF9). I also enjoyed Til the End of Time on the PS2. Really looking forward to Divine Force!

This video came out at a perfect time. Most of the Star Ocean games are on sale for PS4 digital. First departure is also on sale for the switch.

This is what I like waking up and seeing a count down to one of Davidvinc’s videos !

For a game boy game. “Blue sphere” looks pretty cool. Coolest game boy graphics I’ve ever really seen to be honest. They got it to look pretty awesome

Thank you so much for this video. I was getting crazy because i didn't know where to start. Plus i see a lot of discounts on that saga lately. Thanks a lot

The map death system was cool as fuck and open up extra ways to fight some enemies.

This is what I needed. Never really got into the series. Just purchased till the end of time on ps4. It was like 9.00. I need a game to play and my back log of games ain’t cutting it. I am waiting for god of war ragnorock to come out , so I needed something to play until then.

Glad to see that there are others(RU-vid content creators especially) giving recognition to underrated JRPG titles such as Star Ocean. Started out with the classic SNES game and am hoping that this new title will be much better than what has been shown via trailers/demo.

It irks me that in many reviews Mp death system of SO3 is portrayed as a negative, when it also offers much easier time against enemies with massive hp pools when you can just destroy their brains instead.

Great video David!, Just a quick fact, the Star Ocean 3 port on the PS4 is actually an emulated version of the PS2. So it's not technically a remaster although they did a little bit of an upscale but no performance enhancements.

Thank you for this! I missed out on this games when I started gaming (eons ago), so it’s nice to have an overview of the series. Nice work!

SO1-2 are classics at this point. A throwback to a different era of JRPG. SO3 is a good game even if the big twist is *very* divisive. Everything else gets pretty bad in a hurry.

Star Ocean is amazing. My first experience was Star Ocean 2 on PS1. I loved every second of it.

A great run down of the series and what to expect, looking forward to the newest one Honestly, I could listen to you talk about any JRPG for hours

Everyone buy Star Ocean The Divine Force! SAVE TRI-ACE!

Thank you for this!

Wow just found your channel, what took youtube so long! Loved your P5 gift from Atlus, and thanks for this video from one who plans on finally entering this universe. Will deff lookup your other RPG videos!

First departure is my favourite, it and second evolution are great starts in the series because combat is overall easy and recruiting new characters each run makes it fun.

Thanks for the review, David! SO series always holds a very special place in my heart. I started with SNES SO1 patched translation sometime in '99 (when I started college). Translation was rough but the game looked (still looks) stunning! Then, I saw SO2 on PS1 and paid full price $60! Big money for a broke college kid. Man, I spent SOOOO much time in that game. Easily 50hrs+ and kept me engaged. Lots of good memories between this an Xenogears (also it was at a time when I was DEEP into existentialist philosophy). Fantastic game, excellent teaching lessons, awesome cast, unique battle system, challenging yet fair, the craft system, and the randomness of it all. Unfortunately, I never played the rest. I do own SO4 on Xbox and played a few hours.. Might pick it up on the next Steam sale. Now when do I get to it? yeah...gamin backlog first world problem is real

Love the Star Ocean series. I'm really looking forward to The Divine Force.

I'm watching this video AGAIN. Right after the announcement of star ocean second departure for switch. I'm so HAPPY NOW!!!! btw you should create a workout routine base on RPG characters or something like that. It would be a blast.

I hope this series will flourish like Tales one day. I love the sci-fi aspect most & even consider their stories to be enjoyable than Tales sometimes. The battle system is awesome ever since Till the End of Time. Star Ocean Till the end of Time is my favorite Star Ocean to this day. Hoping The Divine Force would be better than 4 & 5.

Played them all but SOTET was my favorite. I was 13 when I played it and the story really hooked me. I still think we are in some kind of simulation lol. I love games that make you question your reality.

Useful, thank you.

I first played star ocean: till the end of time in jr high and it’s one of my all time favorites. I just recently started first departure on my switch and it’s amazing

Its fortunate that SO 6 is being made and sold and just like you David, I presumed the 5th game was going to drag out the casket for the series. There are a lot of adventures packed into this series. You make a great point on the accessibility of newer gamers and the Second Story. That one could use a newer remaster or something to get more people interested. Fantastic video and here's hoping that this is not the last time we hear from Tri-Ace. Thanks David, this is great! 🙂

Too much good memories. my Elementary school time i played Star Ocean the second Story. I love the characters, the possibillities and the antagonists. First Departure was also nice. But the blast was for me the third game. I love the story, the dictionary and especially Sophia. Everytime i play this game i end up play everytime here. This feeling if a enemy is moving to you and you usw symbology its so excitic. Also to fight. with a team of albel, adray ind sophia and the entire screen is covered of explosions, i love it! The battle music is also this kind of music i never get tired of. Also themes like the music on planet styx. It has some good music pieces. Problem of the third part is the complexitiy, especially if you dont understand the invention part. Good early help for play is to farm the skeletons in the airyglyph aqueducts for the regenerations symbols to prevent mp deaths and also to make sure that you have the entire time enough mp to cast healing. A bit sad is that i doesnt like Star ocean 4 for the characters and Star ocean integrity was very weak. I hope the new one will get better.

I've only played the 3rd one, but now that I know the others are available, I know what I'm doing the next few months lol

I have to admit, I like First Departure best. It’s about half the length of the rest, and it’s a lot punchier for it. I’m hoping that being focused on packing a lot of game and character into a modest runtime is the direction Divine Force goes.

Excellent video, kay?

Don't forget the Star Ocean 2 anime! Incidentally, there's this game called Dungeon Encounters, maybe you might be intrigued, I heard some company called Square Enix made it, they seem like a big deal, but who knows. Look, here's another, comma!

so psyched they’re remaking SO2! I’ve never played any, so I’m going to play the first remaster on my PS5, and the second when it comes out 😅

First Departures $8 on Switch right now so Ill be giving this a go.

I really hope the New Star Ocean game blows up and sells like crazy!! :)

A new trailer just dropped for the 6th game...we finally have a female Kenny family member!

I’m trying to comment to say good video and as as an FYI for anyone that is fortunate enough to speak Japanese as a second language you can indeed get Star Ocean 2 on PS4 officially via the Japanese PSN, however my comment keep getting deleted.

I've only played First Departure, but I enjoyed it and definitely want to check out the rest of the series. It's shame they didn't stick with the look of the first 2 games, because I vastly prefer their style.

I suspect that this video will get a lot more attention now that 5 Star Ocean games have dropped on ps plus.

"None of the stories build off each other in the way the trails series does". Question: Does ANYTHING have stories that build off of each other the way the trails series does? Trails is a category of world building and continuity onto itself. I can't even really think of anything that could give Trails a run for its Mira. Everything I've seen about the Divine Force looks like a winner, and this is going to be a day 1 purchase for me when it comes out next Thursday. I'm happy to see the series seems to have finally put the issues of the past behind it and is coming out with an excellent game.

Nice video.

I’ve only beaten star ocean 3 and 4. I started playing 5 but didn’t get far tho. I will be going back to them.

I've played 1 on PSP, 2 on PS and PSP, and 3 on PS2. 2 and 3 are my favs, I own 4 but haven't ever really started it yet. Maybe I should

Thanks for making this! I've had my eye on the Star Ocean series and almost tried Integrity and Faithlessness before hearing all the bad reviews for it. I think Star Ocean Divine Force will be my first since it looks pretty great.

I know a lot of us here try to buy games whenever they can - but when something like the GBC Star Ocean game are only available in Japan, does emulation feel more justified? I’m really new to JRPG collecting so I’d love to know what people think about emulating games that aren’t really accessible. Love that everything else is pretty much available on psp/ps4 though - thanks for making the video!

Second Story is hands down the best in the series. There is so much to do in that game!

Here is hoping for Till the End of Time R is made after Second Story R is out in November.

I have too many games to play to get into another series which seems to be pretty hit or miss. Glad to hear more about it though, since i barely know nohing about it.

I would be interested to see you make a best to worst playable character list for the star ocean playable characters. ALL OF THEM lol

Come join me for a fun filled playthrough of Final Fantasy Tactics RANDOMIZED! www.twitch.tv/davidvincstreams

sigh i am still waiting for a re-release/remake of till the end of time. :(

So2 needs a remake it’s the BEST ONE THEY HAVE EVER MADE

Might pick up SO2 R now that its out

It truly is ironic that the people who left Team Wolf because they didn't like the development of Phantasia but look where it got'em? Whereas the Tales series went on to get bigger, Star Ocean dropped off a cliff. From breaking over a million with SO2 & SO3, to barely scraping past 200K with SO5 (even Phantasia on PS sold far more than that). It's to a point where people are very worried about SO6. To me, Star Ocean is a C-tier series, even with Second Story, the series can't coast by it forever. Sorry David, this was still a good video tho.

GAH! I want SO2 on the switch so badly! I bought SO1 but just couldn't get into it, everytime I tried I just kept wanting to go back to SO2

It seems that now all games are on the PS5, with most being free with the subscription model. I may give them a chance.

So if you had to recommend one first, which would you go with? Anyone feel free to answer if you wish, I'd be happy to read your thoughts. I got the PS2 remake first, but so far I haven't cared for it. I hope it opens up a bit. Not far in. The second one looked pretty great and different. I was worried about it being a bit dated though. Recently played through the first three Dragon Quests, and while I loved them, they were a bit of a grind for me.

the crazy thing is that tri ace could make some money off of second story...i can't speak for everybody but i'd honestly pay full price for a so2 on ps5

I tried to start with Till the End of Time but got a glitched used disc so I never got past the opening few scenes. I wonder if I’d have stuck with the series if I could have played that game…

SO 2 psx is one of the very few physical games I held onto now that my collection is all digital. 5 is a nightmare nobody should every play and I'm still wary going into 6 even after playing the demo because of it. I really hope I'm wrong and 6 is amazing!

This is nice but when is Infinite Undiscovery 2 coming out?? Jk jk, I actually enjoyed that game a surprising amount, but all I wanted at the time was Star Ocean 4, and I've always been thankful it didn't disappoint! Hopefully SO6 can get things back on the right track.

Heyo, do you have a how to play video for the first game remake I’m Very confused on how combat works😊

I actually can’t find Till The End Of Time on the PS4. What am I doing wrong?

Just got to the end of Till The End of Time. I've actually played through The first one, and the last hope. Anyways I got to the final boss from Till The End of Time. And he looks basically like Edge Maverick. So is it possible that Luther Lansfeld is actually playing the avatar of Edge Maverick inside of the Infinite Sphere?

I'm really curious if they'll include any nods to the Till the End of Time plot twist in this new game?? I hope they do! I like the theory that the Grigori in The Last Hope were in reality a virus in the Eternal Sphere implanted by a terrorist group 🤔

I don't understand the combat system in First Departure. It feels like I just mash buttons and random stuff happens, but that can't be right, can it?

Star ocean takes me back man..... I remember struggling trying to emulate the game. I couldn't do it until many years later. Lucky for me it was worth it! I also tried the second story but never finished it. Maybe someday i will.

I love Star Ocean games, but I have not played one that does not have a terrible soundtrack. I turn the music volume way down when I play these games. Totally worth it. This go around, I think Tales wins the fight. Playing Divine Force after Tales of Arise feels like a downgrade.

The Star Ocean series is one of my favourite ARPG series and mist of the games in the series are very fun to play/ SO6 hopefully better sell well enough otherwise Tri Ace is in the shitter and i'd hate for that to happen.

I lost interest in a bad F2P game which gave me a bunch of free SSD space, went and got into PSO2 New Genesis and that gives me SO4+ vibes in good ways, very enjoyable combat and I'm the guy who prefers turnbased if it's not like FF7R or SO4-5. Eagerly awaiting watching people do SO6, I want to learn more of pink-purple gramps with the white hair that I probably have a weakness for.

Does this series share the same artist of the tales of series

Wonder why Square doesn't want to put 2 and 3 onto current systems, at least in the west.

Hooray for Star Ocean! \(•v•)/ I've never made my love of the series a secret, and I'm so glad so many of the games are available on at least one modern platform (though why Second Evolution wasn't rereleased internationally boggles my mind) I hope Divine Force can revitalize interest in the series and spur more new fans to try the classic games in the series, you can't really go wrong with any of them except SO5 (and even that one is okay-ish, just don't pay more than $15 and know what to expect xD)

Starting with the PS2 onwards games they all started to suck not only was item creation even MORE random then the SNES/PS1 games but you couldn't even do so through the menu itself. That made back tracking to the Closest towns in Till end of time take forever and backtracking to the Calnus Claude's Fathers ship but in the 4th game isn't any EASIER since Last hope HAD no fast travel option it also didn't help that for Last hope the ONLY Broken equipment was on the X box 360 version the PS3/PS4 remaster of Last Hope made it 100% IMPOSSIBLE to make Exp/Fol boosting weapons.

the OG star ocean was phenomenal, you can find a translated rom patch for it if anyone is interested, the translators are called "DeJap" if you are interested, shouldnt be hard to find online ;)

Should be mentionned that the games are also available on PS5 thanks to the PS5 being retrocompatible with PS4 games. In my opinion : -Star Ocean 1 : Solid Start -Star Ocean 2 : Best Game overall -Star Ocean 3 : Good game however story wise the plot twist will either make or break your love for the story, I personnaly hated that plot-twist -Star Ocean 4 : Best overall gameplay in my opinion, graphically very impressive for his time (this is easily one of the best looking early 360/PS3 gen JRPG), decent story but some very annoying characters. -Star Ocean 5....... we don't talk about Star Ocean 5.

I've enjoyed the hours that I invested in three titles within the series ("Till The End of Time," "The Last Hope," and "Integrity and Faithlessness") so thank you for the warm embrace of nostalgia. The flash of Lymle's face made me shudder. I prefer brawny male heroes over "adorable" girly-girls, but I understand and accept that I'm not the only gamer. Someone (or thousands of someones) saw that "abomination" and shouted, "Yes! Finally."🙄🙂

My favorites in the series are second story, first departure R and till the end of time everything else was just okay... Divine force looks fun but that combat is so fast pace compared to previous entries holy hell.

All the SO games take place in the same universe though just centuries apart. The FF comparison isn't really valid here.

I find it odd to complain about voice acting and mention the Japanese audio as a side option of sorts. I'm a dub guy myself but it's very surprising to evaluate the product or art itself by a dub, especially an outsourced dub like many J-games. Dubs are nice options but certainly shouldn't be considered "THE voice acting in the game" on an artistic level and it's surprising to see so many game review channels do just that. Especially for a game as "anime market" as this

other then the cringe voice acting SO4 is pretty good also other then the MP death system what didn't you like about SO3 for me the story of 3 is way better then 2 honestly

Gaiden is pronounced guyden not gaydin.

I Share the same opinion on SO2, for me it's one of the best JRPGs ever made, Motoi Sakuraba peaked in this game, the OST is amazing, the sound font is perfect and each one of the songs have a really strong emotion to it. The Story is very well done too, and the combat and skill system was fun. I'd have to add that, before SO6, The Last Hope had the best and most fun combat system of them all, I really enjoyed playing it, several times in fact, thanks to this.

While I love the Star Ocean games, I have to admit that I appreciate that they got rid of optional party members in the later games. I understand that optional party members give extra variety for multiple playthroughs, but RPGs are too long and there are too many great ones to be playing through them all multiple times, so letting me try out every party member in one playthrough will always be my preference.

Well, even if SO6 is another short experience, there is the dual protagonist system to tempt another play through and it seems there's a fair bit of customisation for characters so for a second playthrough you could build a character in a completely different way. None of this matters if all the combat is terrible but in the beta it did seem that Raymond was significantly stronger, tougher than his co party members. Sure there should be differences but it was a bit too much in one direction, many of his attacks were slow and were easily stuffed by enemies. I feel SO6 combat is a bit more deliberate than SO5, picking the wrong attack or even the wrong moment to attack could get a character ko'd in SO3 and SO4 but what both those games had in common was the old grid arena battle where everything was in a box and you knew how many enemies you're fighting max. SO6 demo got a bit ridiculous with the numbers of enemies. I'm concerned about tri-ace's earnings call which puts them in a very bad position if true. But then again I don't have the other years to go off of and maybe this time of year is just the deficit quarter. I don't agree with people saying that shutting down the gacha was the cause of this as they have to be maintained and plenty that underperform meet fast deaths (RIP BBDW we barely knew you!). Doing that probably saved tri-ace money. Tri-ace might have had a foot in the grave for a while now, maybe since SO4 even but if the fans keep the series alive that might justify another title but so much was wrong about SO5 it might mean they keep changing too much. Instead of reinventing the wheel tri-ace should stick with the engine they're working in if a SO7 comes along. With everything they've learned and not needing to change too much they could have another SO2 kind of classic. I'm wary about the platforming aging badly or the gimmick wearing off however.

I already play the demo of Divine Force. It's feel like Integrity Faithless (the worst game). So i don't feel like pre order the game. Sorry but i don't feel optimistic for this 6th series. I don't want to disappointed like valkryie elysium

I can't wrap my head around the fact S02 is the ONLY Star Ocean game unavailable on the PS4/5 store. Its so beyond completely stupid.

Cliff-notes version for me: *Play SO1 and SO2 *Play SO3 and pretend the last 3rd of the game doesn't happen. *Play SO4 and pretend it isn't a SO game. *Ignore SO5. *Finally go online, search up guides and come to the exhausting realisation that you missed almost half the content in the entire franchise because Tri-Ace loves putting points of no return and obscure missable hints in their JRPGs.

2 and 3 are amazing. divine force is so bad i got a refund for the game

Oh you wanna get into Star Oceeeaiiian? Don't. Your heart gonna break with each title you beat as the games get worse and worse after The End of Time. Shiiiiiiieeean

Another great video!!! So far I’ve started both “Star Ocean 1 & 2”” now and enjoying both so far! (Although “S.O.2” takes a WHILE to get going, lol. And playing Switch remake of first).