Subject: --Star Ocean FAQ 1.1--
From: tomo1657@aol.com (Tomo1657)
Date: 30 Nov 1997 02:49:03 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.games.final-fantasy

Star Ocean FAQ 1.1

Q:  Star Ocean!?  I have never heared of it.  What is it?

A:  It is a SNES game by Enix, but only licensed by Enix.  Only the Japanese
 version has been released, but the game so far has the best sound/ graphics
 than any RPG in SNES.  (48-b with sound chips which enable triple foreground
 sounds plus BGM)

Q:  Cool...  What's the story like?

A:  It's basically a science fiction.  The first part is in a middle-age style
 planet, while the second part is in the technology world.  Yes, it's another
 "save the world" game BTW.  If you want to know more about the plot, e-mail
 me....  (trying not to spoil anything)

Q:  I hear a lot about "Millie"...  Who the hell is she?

A:  She is the heroine of the game, who has a crush on the hero.  She's really
 pretty, with pink hair and a pony tail...  (ask Gilgamesh for more about her)

Q:  Then, what are the characters like?

A:  Star Ocean grabbed buyes with its fantastic characters, too.  Including few
 secret characters, you can choose which characters to stay on your party or
 not.  (number is limited...)  From cat-girls to angels, there are all sorts of
 people (?).

Q:  I hear that you can develop characters in your own style...  How?

A:  Like the ability system of FF5, you get ability (different name, but)
 points in each battle.  You can distribute them into any of abilities such as
 "musical sense", "back-stab", "dash", and even "cooking".  (there are about 50
 different abilities)  Dependin on which ones you put in ability points (skill
 points), the character gets many skills usable in battle or field.

Q:  Is it true that you can create items?

A:  Yes.  When you get skills such as "cook", "examine", "blacksmith", etc you
 can turn existing items into new items.  Unless your skill level is high, you
 most likely will fail, though.  (making "rockhard pudding" and stuff)

Q:  This game REALLY looks like "Tales of Fantasia"...

A:  Same developers.  They've released "Tales of Destiny" in PSX, too.

Q:  I hear that the characters talk...  Do they really?

A:  In battle scenes, just like "arc the lad."  Characters say things such as
 "Let's go!", "Ouch!" as well as names of magics and special moves.  You can
hear every sound/music that you've heared in the game by going to the sound
test.

Q:  How's the battle system like?

A:  Trying to eliminate "boring battles" of RPG, Star Ocean uses an active
 time, action meathod which you need to press buttons to attack, or move the
 characters.  Although your levels and skills are most important, your skills
 as a player is important, too.

Q:  Any possibility of coming to US?

A:  No.  Even the emulators won't support it.  Yet, Star Ocean 2 is being
 developed for the PSX, which MIGHT be translated into US.

Q:  Sounds cool.  How would you rate it?

Graphics:  10 (SNES wise), 7 (PSX wise)
Music (quality):  10 (SNES wise), 8 (PSX wise)
Music (melody):  7.5 (the melodies are all similar)
Story:  8 (pretty predictable, but a lot of side-lines.)
Characters:  9 (The field SD characters don't look so good, though)
Playability:  8 (the system is very confusing, but you won't be able to put it
 down)

Q:  I have more questions...

A:  I have answers.  (see my sig below)

-Tomo, a Lenna's defender (AGFF Secret Man)
http://members.aol.com/tomo1657/music/midi.htm
for FF music MIDIs.
<center>MERRY CHRISTMAS!!</center>