'>>3460593
Dropped it pretty fast, not worth playing/10';

'>>3460593
It's an arpg. It's better than Tales. 2 or 3 are the best ones. If you're a low IQ storyfag you may end up raging.
Were some of the first games to have meaningful achievements that unlocked difficulties.';

'>>3460593
thinking of picking this up but doesn't look that great story wise which is what I'm after at the moment';

'it's crazy how times change. it used to be virtually everyone in these kinds of spaces would've played this already.';

'>>3460631
I find it hard to replay a game for the 3d time, honestly.';

'>>3460593
>star ocean second story R
awful game. Play Star Ocean 6 instead and thank me later';

'>>3460642
I just can't. The faces of the characters look too uncanny.';

'>>3460630
none of the Star Ocean games have good characters or plots, so don't expect that from the series. But they excel at giving that simple, fun, jrpg experience of killing monsters, getting stronger, exploring and making items. Great pacing, constant progression, and you always see something new every 30 minutes.
Star Ocean 2 is the definition of an 8/10 game. solidly fun and enjoyable, but lacking any real depth that would make it stand out from other games.';

'>>3460593
I couldn't stomach playing through the demo.';

'It's one of the only remakes of a game I actually thought was an overall improvement. They somehow managed to not fuck it up.';

'>>3460593
Can't wist for the Denuvo to be removed. SE always takes it off 6-8 months after release.';

'>>3460593
how fun you will find it probably depends on how much you enjoy doing stupid shit to completely break the game, like crafting weapons better than anything you can buy until the end of the game immediately, destroying the in-game economy, becoming outright invincible, etc. Ignoring these its a pretty alright action rpg but ignoring your ability to break it, the combat turns into zerg rushes at the end to the point you constantly will be getting one-shot if you don't do cheesy shit and that kills a lot of the fun.';

'>>3460593
Which version of 2 is the best one?';

'>>3463374
The new one by far';

'>HD2D
It's garbage';

'>>3463377
>>3460593
Welch Vineyard likes showing off her crotch a lot.';

'>>3465797
she has a nice one';

'It's the only RPG from the last 10 years I've enjoyed. Some of the crafting type stuff was annoying though.
I wouldn't say it was super story-heavy, but I like that. It's somewhat difficult, and takes some grinding. It was a fun time, I thought it looked great too.';

'>>3466611
>It's the only RPG from the last 10 years I've enjoyed
Same, can't tell if nostalgiagoggles or if it's just genuinely a good modernization of a classic game.';

'>>3460593
It's the best star ocean but the bar isn't particularly high';

'Anyone play the new content from the patch? Worth going back for?';

'>>3460593
It's an action rpg, so it's not compared to jrpg.';

'>>3460593
So second story R means it's a sequel right? If so Is the first one on pc too? If so I'll give them a go.';

'>>3460593
It's hard to recommend desu. Story is really basic, combat is a bit of a mess. There's a good bit of replayability as certain characters joining you lock other ones out, but ultimately it doesn't change a great deal.';

'>>3463294
bumping to let you know it's your time, Denuvo is off the game';

'>>3475645
Thoughtful.';

'>>3460593
It's one of the very few games where I think the quantity of content actually makes up for the lack of quality. No one aspect of the game is all that exceptional in a vacuum, but there's so much to do that it never gets stale. If you want to shake things up, you can always switch up what techs/spells/characters you're using, do some item crafting, view some private actions, steal some things, play around with some mini-games, manipulate relationship values, etc. It's all just engaging enough that the game as a whole ends up being really enjoyable.

>>3460630
I wouldn't recommend it if you're primarily interested in a story-driven game.

>>3463301
>the combat turns into zerg rushes at the end to the point you constantly will be getting one-shot if you don't do cheesy shit
That was not my experience, unless by "towards the end" you mean just the secret post-game-ish dungeon and the stronger from of the final boss. Even then I never felt the need to resort to anything as cheesy as bloody armor.';

'Is the actual combat in this game any good (on a mechanical level)?';

'>>3479138
For a PS1 era RPG yes.
>>3479134
This about sums it up. The depth and breadth of systems in SO1 was very groundbreaking at the time, it's not a good game for people who rush to the end as fast as possible you'll miss the flavor.';

'>>3479134
>It's one of the very few games where I think the quantity of content actually makes up for the lack of quality.
this but the opposite
the quality of the content makes up for the lack of quantity.';

'just finished this after dropping the first remake a few times due to the combat
on a technical level its a great remake, the story was basic and really rushed at parts but fine, I liked Claude and Rena as MCs except for any scene with Dias
the combat is better than the first remake but still sucks. Especially late game every enemy recovered faster from being attacked than I did from attacking so they could stun Claude in between his combo strings, and having 3D movement but only horizontal attacks is awful when enemies target someone that isn't you.
Are 3 and 4 worth playing? I've tried 1 but dropped it, 2 now, and beat 5 and 6 before but wasn't a fan of either, especially 6 god damn is that game ugly and dull';

'>>3479138
No';

'>>3480126
You seem committed to this series so give it a shot, I will never touch another Star Ocean game myself. Pure kusoge series.';

'>>3480132
I've always like Tales games and wanted to give SO an honest shot
also a little curious why Tri-ace were the only not DQ thing to survive from Enix';

'>>3480126
>every enemy recovered faster from being attacked than I did from attacking
you must not be doing your skills correctly for your preferred playstyle';

'>>3480207
possibly, it did feel like the auto guard skill was more a detriment than a help with how fucking long it lasts towards the end, but there was nothing else that would impact enemies recovering from one basic attack and attacking me before the next attack in the basic string hits
I've played a couple SO before so I knew roughly how to get strong weapons, but I actively avoided the invincibility armors which felt like a mistake in those last couple dungeons as I either took no damage from everything or was dead in 3 hits, no in between';

'>>3480216
both the original Star Ocean games really favor stacking your odds up in every way you can figure out how to do. they treat you to tough optional fights and that impossible if you haven't literally mastered the game mechanics.';

'>>3480227
with how little actual combat options they give you that is annoying, especially the first game where your only defensive option is move. Thats the biggest reason I bounced off of it a few times now';

'>>3480228
admittedly I'm not too familiar with the SNES version of SO1, but in the First Departure remake there's a lot of skills that when you put points into them your characters are doing all kinds of neat stuff in the midst of combat, and also there's the equipable ability attacks too. it's mostly a beat 'em up, but with skill points into stuff you like you get them doing stuff you enjoy much better.';

'I really liked it. I played a bunch of Star Ocean 2 when I was a kid, and playing the remake made me fall in love with the game all over again.';

'>>3480333
It's one of the few remakes that managed to surpass the original while keeping all the charm.';

'>>3480126
>especially 6 god damn is that game ugly and dull
You'd probably have the same issues with 4 then. 2 and 3 are the series' peak so long as 3's twist doesn't filter you, 4's gameplay is sorta similar to 3's if you end up wanting more after.';

'>>3481364
I don't know who at tri-ace has it out for the character designer but they take this great 2D art for people and turn them into lifeless 3D dolls every time
I don't know anything about 3, and hearing it has a divisive twist makes it more interesting. I'll download that next and give it a shot.';

'Now piratable.';

'>>3460593
this is the best jrpg ever made. it's better than the original. the pacing is great, the story doesn't get in the way, but the plot and general direction are consistent. the combat is a mix of mindless button mashing and little bits of strategy. the fights don't take too long and can easily be avoided if you're on a mission. grinding and leveling is not tedious. the overworlds open up toward the end-game. there's a lot to explore and do.

if you like building yourself up to omnipotence, then this is the perfect jrpg. the crafting and character progression is good.

this is the best remake of any jrpg, and just the best jrpg in general. i didn't like the original. i did like star ocean on snes. i didn't like star ocean 3 or 4. idgaf about jrpgs anymore. this is the first jrpg i've played and beaten in probably over a decade, except for final fantasy 7, which i forced myself to replay for the experience.';

'>>3481364
>>3481414
decided to start 3 today after all and I can't take this game seriously. I can excuse some of the early PS2 3D ugliness like Mirage's fucking massive forehead but I was not fucking ready for this KH character in a medieval court';

'>>3481624
You're taking him as seriously as the game expects you to, it's by design';

'>>3482419
little further into 3 now, just cleared that shitty mine, and I have to ask: Is there a Star Ocean with not bad combat? 3 is really awkward for its era and Fayt having a 20 second windup on his light attack and turning completely around to end his heavy attack is driving me insane
I like Cliff and Nel at least, and clearly the devs liked Cliff too as they basically repurposed him for the MC of 6';

'>>3482453
I remember thinking 4's combat was pretty decent (though I had low expectations thanks to 3). It was everything else that made me drop it.';

'>>3482453
I'd consider Anamnesis (rip), 6, and Blue Sphere the standouts, since 1-5 all devolve to mashing your best skill with varying degrees of clunk. 4's the least clunky of those, though I'm not a fan of blindside.
Anamnesis had fast movement, fast dodge cancels, smooth all around.
6 is kind of like a slowed-down Anamnesis with more systems on top. Can kind of devolve to one-skill spam as well, but I had six unique actions set for every character and wanted more buttons for some, and it's the only game in the series I can say that for.
Blue Sphere has less autopiloting between the combo system and enemy weight and weak points changing what does and doesn't work on any individual monster, with the asterisk that it really shows its age and you will hate it if you don't have high tolerance for that sort of thing.';

'>>3482718
in my experience 6 had a huge issue with that still, at least when I was playing as Ray. Nothing combo'd, so there was no reason to do anything but spam the strong attack you start the game with for the entire game.';

'>>3482760
Boulder Crush spamming is definitely a popular path through the game. I say "kind of" because in its case it's always "good enough", but often Ray still gets more mileage ditching it for or combining it with other moves. 6's tutorials and tooltips don't explain concepts like buff timer mechanics, stun, VA gain, juggling, fall damage, etc. so a lot of things that excel in those regards and make life easier, particularly at filter bosses, end up getting glossed over because their numbers look worse at a glance.';

'>>3482776
in hindsight the webm isn't all that related beyond "Letty's expensive weak wind aoe is great for stun", I'll spoonfeed some stuff for Ray.
Bell Ringer, Quick Ripper: Good stun. Former's better for VA gain, latter for damage.
Outrage: Super armor tanking is useful before unlocking No Guard or against attacks that would break through it, which also pairs well with on-hit procs like First Aid and Captain's Defense System. Also high stun and the best choice for CPU Ray in that regard, but he'll push most enemies around.
Fantasista: Best damage after knockdown, faster and more AP efficient than Boulder Crush, but you may be using Boulder Crush to knock down in the first place.
Abyssal Gate: Mostly self-explanatory, probably not ever the efficient option outside of specific chase situations. Startup gives time to swap to Nina for a buff+AP heal before the teleport.
Berserk, All In: Cast twice to stack to Atk+100%. Former's convenient if you're lazy about uptime and the -def isn't a problem, latter casts faster at less cost and buff timers pause when you're attacking anyway.
I've heard Payback Time is good too, but I've never tried or had room for it. My usual Ray loadout is something like (Bell Ringer or Quick Ripper) / Boulder Crush / Fantasista / Outrage / All In / Abyssal Gate.
I don't have Ray webms, have an Elena.';