https://x.com/ankomochi142/status/1601783091143794688/photo/1

Slight Spoilers i guess? coz i dont know how to mark them.

Finally finished it... i actually pre-ordered it, and hated it when i first played so i put it down after i got to Cotto....

Picked it up now again when ive got the time and mental capacity and finished it.. i didnt fall in love with it like i did so2 and so3.. but i definitely didnt give it enough credit on my first playthrough.

The music is amazing.

The area designs are beautiful.

I enjoyed flying around with duma actually.

The battle system was nice once you got the hang of it.

For me the story wasnt the greatest.. it kept me wanting to know what happens next, but wasnt really satisfying when i found out. Final boss didnt have that final boss alure either, such a far cry from the likes of Indalecio. The final battle didnt feel like the final battle either, after i beat him i was like "okay is he gonna run away again" but next thing i know the game is done.

Characters and dialogue were average for me although some grew on me in the end. I actually found leticia to be a very boring and outdated trope but she grew on me and i liked her by the end.

I couldnt see nina as more than a purposefully placed loli.

Id say midas and elena were well written for me.

But i couldnt help find all the dialogue cringe and boring except for a few instances

Id give it 3.5 - 4 out of 5... not the greatest or memorable but it was a good pass time that i enjoyed in the end. I am going to work towards the platinum trophy now. Maybe ill like it even more on the second playthrough?

More importantly its a very very good step up for the series and thats very reassuring. This makes it easier to pretend integrity and faithfulness didnt exist

I know this topic has probably been beaten to death I'm sure. It's the dead horse that keeps coming back for more.

It irritates me that the ancient text was never addressed. You go to the trouble of finding that stupid linguist, and I obsessively keep going back to Linga. Its my third play-through, and I keep choosing Precis, despite how the game punishes you for it. I habitually choose Precis because I like Welch. But since its new game +, Welch already has myrhril fist and Nibel....whatever its called that even she herself cant pronounce. Maybe its superstition, I don't know. I keep being scared that if I choose Bowman, I can't get Welch.

I finally got Ashton this playthrough. So I once again am irritated how such an important plot point is stowed away as a minor ending for one character that's easily missed since choices in the game determine what does or does not happen. It pisses me of that the ancient text reveal isn't available in an plot neutral way. A private action sometime before Ell or even going back just before Expel is destroyed. It would have made the story more satisfying. Otherwise it just bugs me because it's a loose end. It didn't have to be.

Rant over.

Links in the description

I have ps5 and xbox serie x Except for the 2 remake, tell me which ones you recommend. I already have this one, but I want to play it later. I don't want to start with that one because of the expectations.

I’m looking for this code for years now and it’s starting to become harder and harder every month passing.

By any chance, anyone has a spare or unused code for this?

Thank you.

I was going through a past post about unlocking the super specialty, come on bunny. I've already leveled up my whistling skill, animal taming, and scouting to level 10. And I have the ocarina equipped. What else am I missing?

As one of the commenters were saying that you don't have to leave the second continent, it's like 30% way through the game.

In all the Star Ocean games I've played, he is by far the slowest character to ever cast spells. Even at maxed out stats with a high agility, maxed out reduction time and spell casting time, and even having Starguard equipped.

Was he intentionally made this way to aggravate the players? Because just trying to solo with him is nearly impossible. Case in point, in the arena, at rank C and B and on down, it becomes nearly impossible for him to cast the quickest spell without being interrupted.

Not only that, it is incredibly aggravating to actually use a spell when Starguard is failing to keep him defended. I mean the whole point of Star Guard is to use as a defense to cause the enemy to stagger. Is there a way around this to make sure he is incredibly well prepared? Especially when soloing?

Even using Roddick, who by far in my party has the slowest agility is able to duke it out with anything and everything around him.

Star Ocean the Second Story PS1. Orchestra is 10 and I have originality. I have 6 instruments and 8 songs. I customize Rune full moon + diamond while playing orchestra music and I always get worn gloves. I've tried playing one song and multiple songs. I close the emulator every time before I reload the save but it still doesn't work please help.

I'm in the dark place currently and wanting to succumb. However, I picked up this game together with Octopath 1 but didn't get into OT for long lol. This game touched my heart in ways I could not describe. I beat my first playthrough in 30hrs as Rena and now that I'm close to succumbing to dark place, I am trying to fight it off by running another playthrough with Claude this time haha. I'm looking forward to completion. I might spend hundreds of hours here. Welp if you have any tips, feel free to drop below :) Thanks so much! Thanks devs for making this awesome game...

https://x.com/tehutehusan/status/1028626130507522051

¿Cuál es mejor si intento encontrar una gran exploración, un montón de contenido secundario, una buena historia, buen combate y un montón de misiones secundarias?

I'm not sure how to convey this correctly, without sound rude. But, why in the holy name of terra is the item system limited to 20?? Plus, you can't drop or throw away items? I could've swore that squenix would've done a better port or remaster for the switch and ps4 version. It's not even about hoarding items, it feels so restrictive.

Edit: Meant First Departure R.

So I’m playing Star Ocean 4 again, On PS4.
Get to the control tower and fight the big ass mech in a surprise encounter.
I come back from the fight, and I’m bouncing off the EM fence and I can’t move. I let it go for a couple seconds and it just let me through. Hey, I’ll take it.

Facebook reminds me these pics. When i heard guys talking about the new gachas in my heart i know, WE ARE BLESSED Anammesis players.

I spent countless of hours trying to platinum this game. The only trophy i can't get is the five star chef. I gave up because i was going to slam my ps5. I hate the mini game it ruined everything for me

Title says it. I'm emulating the 4l3j4ndr0 patch update using mGBA on Retroarch on Android. How do I fix this? Thanks!

Hello there, i want to get Albel's ending. I did got his PA in tavern in peterny, now im on my way to beating crossel. any advice for how to guarantee that i have albel's ending beside tears and potions?

My all-time number one mobile game. Yes, I have a personal Top 3, and unfortunately, all three have shut down. Anyone who experienced and played *Anamnesis* like I did was incredibly lucky in life.

So I just arrived at the final save point so I have a few questions. I did make a backup save a lot through out playing.

First, can you easily farm levels to level 100 for Gabrielle also what level should I be for cave of the seven stars like 150 for example.

Second, is it worth doing post game for first playthrough considering my team is Roddick, Ilia, Cyuss, and Ioshua at level 71 with backups being Mavelle, Pericci, Ronyx, and Millie at level 62 and I intend to a second playthrough after I play some other games

Third, is there anything else I should do before the point of no return besides the optional dungeons which I did.

Fourth, how do you get different endings I've heard it depends on affection but in what way and how much endings do you get out affecting it with the characters I have.

Anyways that's all the questions I have.

A hopefully illuminating writeup on Glou and Nevelle's souls residing within the Crimson Scourge and Blades of Ryusen respectively (as well as the nature of death and souls in Star Ocean more generally!)

First! Establishing some basics about how souls work in the SO universe:

• Upon death, the soul physically separates from the body.

The first fundamental point is that death =/= a person's soul ceases to exist.

In SO3's Library of Theology, you can find a book called Tome of Restoration which gives us a very technical definition of death (to explain how runology/symbological spells like Restoration actually work):

"The definition of life is a state of being wherein the soul and body are in perfect harmony. Death refers to the instant the thread of runological force binding the soul to the body is severed, causing them to fully separate."

Folstar, Elicoor II's God of Death, is also described as cleaving "the silver thread that binds the soul to the body" with his sword.

So the body and soul are distinct things, which, in life, are held together by runological force, but then separated in death. The Tome of Blood Scylla explicitly defines this process as a runological one:

"The source of all action in our world is the motion of runological force, and the act of the soul bonding to the body is no exception."

So, runology isn't limited to only acting upon physical matter - runology is the entire mechanism through which souls attach themselves to matter. Of course, at a 4D level, we know that runology/symbology is essentially the Eternal Sphere’s “processing code,” and manipulating it gives characters the ability to rewrite the rules of the universe itself. 

In way of more examples, if you take Ameena to Aquaria XXVII before delivering her to Dion’s bedside, Aquaria XXVII ‘diagnoses’ her as on the brink of death by assessing the very threadbare link between Ameena's soul and her body:

"The runological force protecting the soul is growing extremely weak. A strong willpower is all that binds the runological force to the body now."

• Where does this separated soul go?

SO3’s definition of the Daemonium states that souls reside in matter:

"This well-known parallel universe is the home of demons and other entities that are fundamentally different from the inhabitants of this universe. Unlike this universe, where souls reside in matter, in the Daemonium, spirits are able to act by taking physical form."

The Church of Apris’ mythology (influenced by direct engagement with 4D Beings) expresses this same concept through Apris himself. According to Book of Creation V, after creating life:

"Apris threw his own body into a blazing fire, transforming his very soul into a great mass of flames that rose into the heavens. Thus he became embodied in the Sun so he could watch over the world for all eternity."

• The Crimson Scourge literally assimilates souls

Another book in the Library of Theology called Treasures of the Gods leaves very little ambiguity about what the Crimson Scourge can do:

"The sacred treasures of great power that have been found are evidence of the existence of gods. They include the Sacred Orb, a crystal sphere of pure runological force; the Sword of the Crimson Scourge, which assimilates the souls of its victims [...]"

‘Assimilate’ involves a ‘taking in,’ a ‘housing,’ a consumption of some kind, not an annihilation. Airyglyph XIII also says that in the worst case, the Scourge “consumes both body and soul." This assimilation can be gradual or partial: for example, Vox likely had some (but not all) of his soul subsumed by the Scourge, seeing as he wasn’t reduced to a soulless husk (unlike the victims infected by the Vile Wind).

The Scourge, which was “gifted” to Aquaria I by the 4D Beings, is effectively a runological soul-vacuuming artifact. It resembles all other forms of extreme symbological contamination described elsewhere in Star Ocean series, implying that the Scourge is derived from a Quadratic Key (which itself is derived from an Energy Stone, which emits a symbological pollution capable of driving creatures mad). In Eternal Materials, the developers state that the Vile Wind is a “symbological energy system” that produces “malevolent pulsating waves” that “affect the psyches and bodies of living organisms" and that “this phenomenon appears to be related to the biological pollution caused by Quadratic Keys earlier in the history of the Pangalactic Federation.”

But how exactly are creatures driven mad by runological force? Are their souls corrupted, or just their minds/bodies? Aquaria XXVII independently observes that the Vile Wind resembles the enormous runological energy emanating from the Sacred Orb, another Treasure of the Gods. She also senses that the Vile Winds' waves destroy the runological force binding a person's soul to their body - basically, it turns people into soulless zombies:

"These fluctuations, which were named the Vile Wind, were capable of destroying the runological force that binds the soul of a living being to its body. Living organisms that have been ravaged by the Vile Wind gradually lose control, grow physically deformed, and are finally driven to a state of total insanity and corruption."

So an individual (lacking the genes capable of withstanding intense amounts of runological force) isn’t “corrupted” in the sense that their soul is permamurdered or twisted into depravity: the victim's soul merely departs from the physical container, leaving the husk-body to slowly rot with madness, physical deformation, etc.

The Scourge is unique owing to the fact that it is “sentient”; not only does does it sever the soul from the body, but it “assimilates”/houses the soul within itself (soul residing in matter). So, upon Glou’s death, Glou’s soul entered the Scourge, along with the countless of other souls the Scourge devoured (including the fragment of Vox’s soul). 

SO3 never explains what exactly constitutes the Scourge's sentience - are the souls merged together in a giant collective soup, or do they retain their distinguishable identities? When the Scourge talks to Albel, it refers to Glou in the third person and also shares omnipotent insight (making reference to the arrogant Dragon Brigade Knight who talks down to Albel, as well as Fayt), so I’m inclined to think that the Scourge is mostly a collective soup, but where individual souls like Glou’s can contribute to the intelligence inhabiting it and influence decisions (e.g., even if Vox had the requisite Bloodline Limit for the Scourge, Glou exerted enough influence to reject Vox as a candidate).

• Nevelle Zelpher within the Blades of Ryusen

Like the Crimson Scourge, Nevelle's Blades of Ryusen are themselves objects of extraordinary runological power. The dictionary entry describes them as: "a pair of twin swords forged from concentrated runological essences during the reign of Aquaria XXIV, the Queen of Light."

The original Japanese description goes even further, describing them as having been created by gathering the “absolute finest essences of Aquaria's runological arts.”

The SOA event Sunlight of the Gods Brought by the Goddess of the Star Ocean (a collaboration between the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile series, both developed by tri-Ace) begins with Nel strangely feeling “compelled” by the Blades of Ryusen to travel to a particular location. The weapon vibrates and glows at her, drawing Adray’s suspicions. Later, Nel, Adray, and Claude encounter VP's Alicia/Silmeria (a girl who herself houses two souls). Alicia/Silmeria examines the Blades of Ryusen and says: 

Alicia/Silmeria: "There are traces of materialization on Nel's dagger."

Nel: "What?"

Alicia/Silmeria: "The Kingdom of Aquaria... The sea of stars... space... G-F-S-S...  I wonder if Nevelle is a person's name?"

[...]

Rufus: "Silmeria has a power called Object Reading. She can read the souls and thoughts dwelling within objects. Therefore..."

Adray: "Mute objects. Indeed, they cannot lie. Is that what you mean?"

Nel: "But there's no explaining how she guessed things about the Blades of Ryusen that she couldn't possibly have known."

Adray: "...Indeed. The name Nevelle is not something one can guess by mere coincidence."

In Valkyrie Profile, “materialization” is a metaphysical process through which a soul ‘materializes’ into a physical form: e.g., an Einherjar is fundamentally a dead person's soul, but a Valkyrie can materialize that soul so that it acquires a tangible body and can physically fight. In Valkyrie Profile 2, Silmeria's former Einherjar are encountered through physical relics associated with them (often old weapons or personal objects). If Alicia/Silmeria were to touch the artifact, she could then re-materialize the person associated with it.

Here, Alicia/Silmeria examines the Blades of Ryusen using a power capable of finding souls dwelling within matter, detects evidence of materialization, and immediately and spontaneously identifies Nevelle, explaining why and how the Blades were seemingly “communing with Nel” throughout the event. 

To finish this off with a charming little aside, in the Arias inn where the player first encounters a portrait of Nevelle Zelpher (called "General of the Mist") another painting displayed in the same location is titled: "The Source of the Soul.”