STAR OCEAN POWER UP GUIDE Ver 0.1
BY: LBL
Copyright 2/2/2000.
I. INTRODUCTION
II. CHARACTERS
III. POWERING UP
IV. GAINING TALENTS
V. MISCELLANY
VI. THANKS
I. INTRODUCTION
Well, after finally getting a chance to play through Star Ocean: The
Second Story for the Playstation, I decided to go back and play the
original. Having played through the original Star Ocean several times,
I thought I'd write up a quick guide for those of you who like to build
up your characters to be extremely powerful early on and breeze through
the rest of the game.
Star Ocean is tied with Tales of Phantasia as being the largest RPG on
the Super Famicom/SNES at 48 megs. I believe both games were developed
by the same team of programmers, just that Star Ocean was published by
Enix while ToP was published by Namco. They both share lots of
similarities such as voice acting and spell names (Ice Needle, Ray,
Tractor Beam, Extinction, etc.). Star Ocean is a really fun game and I
highly recommend all of you to play it (although finding a copy might
be a little hard... try ebay). It's not the best RPG by a longshot,
it's way too short (15 hours max), pretty easy, and the endings (just
like its sequel) are bad. But the interesting characters, unique
battle system, replay value, and most importantly the item creations
are what make Star Ocean memorable.
II. CHARACTERS
Star Ocean's cast is crammed with personality and charisma. Here I'll
give my assessment on each character's usefulness as well as my own
opinion on them. You can hold up to 8 characters, but you must have
Ratix, Milly, Iria, and Ronixis in your party in every game.
///////
/RATIX/
///////
Well, as the main character in the game, it's not surprising that he's
the strongest character in battle. He moves really fast, has a
powerful attack that has both range and speed, plus he has the best
killer technique in the game: Shichiseisouhazan (it looks like Claude's
Twin Slash but has 2 fireballs coming out at the end). Since Ratix
can't be removed from the party (i.e. you always have to have him in
battle), he'll probably have the highest level of all your characters.
Personally, I'd like to be able to take him out of the adventuring
party once and a while as using him all the time gets boring.
TALENTS:
Originality: always Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing Ability: average Rhythm Sense: average
Pitch: average Love of Animals: difficult
Sixth Sense: difficult Blessing of Mana: never
///////
/MILLY/
///////
The game's only, and thus best, dedicated healing character. After
using this guide and making your characters god-like, I'd doubt Milly
will be much use to you, as enemies will never damage you. She's
probably extremely useful if you played through the game normally, but
for me, her best use was curing status ailments during/from the Gabriel
fight. Her physical attacks do pathetic damage, she's slow in battle,
and can't equip with much good armor. The good thing I like about her
is she has the potential to learn all 10 talents easily, but she'll
have to begin off with both Love of Animals and Sixth Sense, which
happens very rarely.
TALENTS
Originality: difficult Sense of Taste: good
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing Ability: average Rhythm Sense: good
Pitch: good Love of Animals: difficult
Sixth Sense: difficult Blessing of Mana: always
//////
/IRIA/
//////
A pretty good fighter if you rely on her Killer Techniques, a mediocre
fighter if you rely on her normal attacks. Iria's got good speed in
battle, but she's got a painfully slow normal attack where she runs up
to the enemy, pauses, then does a somersault kick a la Guile's Flash
Kick in Streetfighter. Not a problem when fighting normal enemies, but
when you're fighting the Gabriel, it's almost suicide unless Gabby was
distracted by another fighter. Iria functions best with her projectile
Killer Techniques done in rapid succession such as her Kikoshou and her
Dragon Fireball. Both those moves come out really fast and keep her at
a safe distance from the enemy. Later, when she gets her
Oukahakkenshou and Uraoukasakkou (both are multiple punches that look
like E.Honda's slaps), she can afford to get closer to the enemy, as
both those moves protect her entire front.
TALENTS
Originality: never Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: average Design Sense: good
Writing Ability: good Rhythm Sense: average
Pitch: average Love of Animals: never
Sixth Sense: never Blessing of Mana: never
/////////
/RONIXIS/
/////////
One of the game's two attack mages, except unlike the stereotype of
most RPG mages, this one's pretty good at physical attacks too. Once
you power up your characters to Level 100+, magic users will lose their
usefulness as fighting characters will do more damage, more quickly.
But Ronixis' powerful bows allow him to continue to do good damage.
His arrows are fast and allow him to attack from a distance. It's
convenient to have Joshua in the party, since having Joshua allows you
to get a really powerful weapon for Ronixis early. He's not that
useful in the Gabriel fight, as at later levels he'll tend to cast
spells which heal her instead of harming her. Pray that he starts off
with Originality; if you're the impatient-type, I'd doubt you'll be
willing to sit through the whole long scenario on the Federation Space
Ship after reseting to see what new talents he's gotten.
TALENTS
Originality: average Sense of Taste: never
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing Ability: average Rhythm Sense: average
Pitch: average Love of Animals: never
Sixth Sense: never Blessing of Mana: always
//////
/CIUS/
//////
I guess Cius could be compared to Dias of Star Ocean 2; really powerful
but slow in battle. Cius' regular attack is indeed strong with
excellent range, but unfortunately it's slow as well. Not as slow as
Iria, but definitely not as fast as Ratix's either. His running speed
isn't good either, and it takes a while for him to run to an enemy.
His Killer Techniques are strong, but not incredibly useful. His best
technique is the one where he shoots a projectile from the tip of his
sword. Not particularly one of my favorite characters, but I don't
dislike him either. I really like it when he gets mad in battle and
his tail gets all zig-zaggy though. Keep reseting the game right
before getting him until he has the talent Originality, or else it'll
be pretty hard to try to develop it later in the game.
TALENTS
Originality: average Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: never Design Sense: difficult
Writing Ability: difficult Rhythm Sense: average
Pitch: average Love of Animals: good
Sixth Sense: good Blessing of Mana: never
////////
/ASHLAY/
////////
Ashlay cannot be in the same party as Cius and vice versa. So if you
want one, you gotta give up the other. Ashlay isn't particularly
useful in my eyes. He starts off with significantly more HP than your
other characters, but the tradeoff is he has the lowest MP in the game.
Contrary to Ian Kelley's FAQ, I don't think he starts off light years
ahead of the party, rather his HP boost makes him last just a little
longer in battle. In battle, he's pretty good in the beginning, but
unimpressive in the long run. He's got average speed, but his attack
is pretty good and fast. He starts with 3 Ougis, but unfortunately
doesn't ever gain a single useful Ougi Technique. The best reason to
put him in your party is for Ratix to gain 3 Killer Techniques he
otherwise wouldn't get if Ashlay wasn't in the party. Talent-wise,
Ashlay is a flop as he can never learn any more talents than the ones
he starts with, at least that was my experience.
TALENTS
Originality: always Taste of Sense: never
Dexterity: never Design Sense: never
Writing Ability: always Rhythm Sense: never
Pitch: never Love of Animals: always
Sixth Sense: always Blessing of Mana: never
//////
/FEAR/
//////
Hakura...er, I mean Fear, is a great fighting character, second to
Ratix as the best fighter in the game. She has decent running speed in
battle, and is powerful to boot. She fights with 2 boomerang-like
swords which can hit an enemy up to 4 times (hitting twice when thrown
and twice when returning back). Her Killer Techniques are also useful
as well as they too allow her to attack powerfully from a distance.
Keep in mind that in order to get her Ougi Techniques, you must have
either Cius or Ashlay in the party, otherwise she won't be able to
return back to Astral to receive the Ougi from the King. It'd be nice
to have her start off with Originality, but her customizable weapon
isn't her strongest.
TALENTS
Originality: average Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing Ability: average Rhythm Sense: average
Pitch: average Love of Animals: average
Sixth Sense: average Blessing of Mana: never
////////
/JOSHUA/
////////
The other attack mage of the game, who is also part healer. Joshua,
like most RPG magic users, has terrible attack power and defense to
make up for his magic wielding abilities. You'd think with wings he'd
be able to move a little faster on the battle field, but unfortunately
he kinda just floats leisurely towards where ever his destination is.
This fact makes Joshua as good as dead if Gabriel has her sights on him
and is closing in towards his direction. Joshua's pretty much useless
after you power up everyone, but having him in your party allows you to
get a powerful weapon for Ronixis early and his Cure All spell comes in
handy in the Gabriel fight (not as useful as Milly though). He makes a
good musician though.
TALENTS
Originality: never Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing Ability: average Rhythm Sense: good
Pitch: good Love of Animals: difficult
Sixth Sense: difficult Blessing of Mana: always
////////
/MARVEL/
////////
My favorite character in the game, probably because she's the prettiest
when facing you (her profile's kinda ugly...makes her look like a
fatty). Marvel will always join the party if either Ashlay or Joshua
is in the party. She'll also join if neither Cius, Ashlay, or Joshua
is in the party, but only if Ratix is sober enough to convince her to
do so ;). Later in the game, you have an option of removing her from
the party if Joshua is in the group. Well, Marvel isn't exactly the
best in battle. She's probably the slowest "fighter" and her attack (a
punch) isn't particularly fast or has much range. Her Killer
Techniques aren't that useful either except for Hail Orb (the one where
she throws a little fairy at the enemy that turns into a small
tornado). Hail Orbs can be thrown in lightning quick succession to keep
an enemy pinned at a distance (really useful in the Gabriel fight).
Her Ougi Techniques are good for damaging groups of enemies, as they
are all-enemy-targeting moves. Unfortunately she can't throw them out
in rapid succession like the Hail Orb since she pauses after throwing
each one. Marvel is the easiest character to gain all 10 talents (just
make sure she begins off with both Love of Animals and Sixth Sense);
plus she can start off as your strongest character since you can
customize her most powerful weapon as soon as you get her.
TALENTS
Originality: difficult Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing Ability: average Rhythm Sense: average
Pitch: average Love of Animals: average
Sixth Sense: average Blessing of Mana: always
///////
/TINEK/
///////
Tinek's a very good fighter in battle. Not only is he really fast, but
he's got excellent range with his spear. His Killer Techniques are
pretty good too, being for the most part damaging. Just don't get too
close to the enemy, since his defense isn't exactly the best. You
gotta love have a werewolf that wears reading glasses in your fighting
team. I really haven't played much of him; my experience with him are
from playing my brother's file. Make sure he starts off with
Originality.
TALENTS
Originality: average Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing ability: never Rhythm Sense: average
Pitch: average Love of Animals: average
Sixth Sense: average Blessing of Mana: never
/////////
/PERISIE/
/////////
Perisie is also a favorite of mine, just because she's so cute. She's
really fast in battle with quick attacks too. Unfortunately her
attacks don't have much range and she doesn't have good defenses
either. Her Killer Techniques for the most part are pretty lame and
useless, although a lot of them are really cute (like the one where
Perisie dresses up like a witch and flies across the screen on a
broomstick). Stick with regular attacks for her. Having Perisie in
your party allows you the chance to get the Bunny Whistle, which
enables you to call "Bunny" like the one from the "Call Bunny" Super
Speciality in Star Ocean 2 to allow you to travel without being
attacked by random encounters. Apparently it seems like the "animal
characters" of the game (Tinek the wolf and Perisie the cat) are
illiterate, as neither of them can start off with or learn the ability
to write. Perisie makes an excellent musician though. Like most
characters, keep reseting until she gets Originality.
TALENTS
Originality: average Sense of Taste: average
Dexterity: average Design Sense: average
Writing Ability: never Rhythm Sense: always
Pitch: always Love of Animals: average
Sixth Sense: average Blessing of Mana: never
III. POWERING UP
The basic concept of making your characters extremely powerful is
continually fighting Gabriels summoned by the Clarinet 2 song, since
winning that battle will give you an incredible amount of experience
points. Then you can use the Skill Points gained through each level up
to item creation powerful weapons. You can start this process as soon
as you reach Ionis (the town you meet Marvel). Of course, there are
some preparations first.
//////////////
/PREPARARIONS/
//////////////
1) It is important that you not spend any Skill Points (well spending
one skill point on Ratix's Dash is okay). Also try to purchase all
the skills you come across (the really expensive ones at Astral are
okay to skip, but purchase all other ones).
2) Ratix MUST have won the C Rank in the Tatory Arena. The Shichisei
Ougi you get is VERY important.
3) It's really helpful if you've gotten the Dwarven Sword from the
secret cave on Mt. Metox and mined out some ores (Orihalcon and
Mithril especially), but not absolutely necessary.
4) Make sure you've grabbed the Rainbow Diamond in the pirate hideout.
///////////
/AUTHORING/
///////////
Make sure someone in your party has the talent "Bunsai" (Writing
Ability) and at least 200 skill points to spare. Now use 191 of those
Skill Points to raise this character's Writing ability to level 10
proficiency. Then use the remaining 9 points to gain level 1
proficiency in Dessin, Otamajakushi, and Ensou. If you have 4 left
over skill points, gain level 1 proficiency in Koubutsugaku and Cast.
Purchase 20 Research Pens (400 V) at the Item Store in Ionis. And try
to write 7 Books on the Skill "Dessin." After you've gotten 7 books,
go on to the next section.
/////////////
/DUPLICATING/
/////////////
Now you need to get money to fund all the item creations you're about
to undergo. First you need someone in your party with the talent
"Design Sense" (preferably someone who has 270 skill points to play
with). Use all 7 Dessin Skill books to on the character with the
Design Sense talent. If this character has extra skill points, try and
raise his/her Dessin Skill to level 10 proficiency (it'll take 270
points to do that).
Now purchase as many Magic Colors (2000 V) you can. If you can only
afford small amount (less than 5), I'd suggest you save before you try
to item creation in case all of the Magic Colors fail, you can reset.
Now use the Item Creation "Art" and duplicate as many Trumpets you can
(you won the Trumpet in the lower levels of the battle arena). Sell
all but 1 of the duplicated Trumpets and repeat the process until you
have enough money to purchase the Violin in Edcart (the previous town).
Now you can repeat the duplication process with the violin and gain as
much money as you want. Use some of this money to purchase all the
instruments you don't have.
///////
/MUSIC/
///////
Now have the authoring character try to write 7 books in both
Otamajakushi and Ensou (14 books total). These books are difficult to
write on, so keep purchasing Research Pens and trying.
Use them on a character with the talents "Rhythm Sense" and "Onkan"
(Pitch). If none of your characters have both "Rhythm Sense" and
"Onkan," then use it on a character that has just Rhythm Sense. If
none of your characters are rhythmically inclined (unlikely), wait
until you get Perisie or a new character. Now have this character try
to write the songs Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, and Violin 2. Keep
purchasing Creator Pens until you have written all these pieces.
If your characters has Rhythm Sense, but not Onkan, refer to the
"Gaining Talents" part further in the FAQ.
////////////////////////
/MAKING MARVEL POWERFUL/
////////////////////////
This part is completely optional; you don't have to do it but it helps.
Step 1 is to make sure Marvel has the talent "Originality." She
probably won't start off with it, but that's okay. It's quite easy to
develop it through customization; refer to the "Gaining Talents"
section.
Use your authoring character to write 7 books on the skill "Craft," and
use those books on Marvel. Then have her use skill points to raise the
skills Bitekikankaku and Kinoubi to level 1. This should give an
overall Customize proficiency of 3.
Duplicate 20 Rainbow Diamonds from the one you found in the Pirate
Hideout event. Save the game, and have Marvel continually try to
Customize the Rainbow Diamonds until she can make a Holy Orb. Only
customize 19 times (you don't want to use up the last one), and if she
failed all 19 times, reset and try again. Eventually you'll get the
Holy Orb which, with 900 ATK power, will make Marvel a powerhouse.
///////////////////////////
/CREATING POWERFUL WEAPONS/
///////////////////////////
This part is also completely optional. If you got the Dwarven Sword in
Mt. Metox, then this part isn't necessary. Basically you want to try
to forge powerful weapons from the Katanakaji item creation.
Have your authoring character write 7 books on the skills "Cast" and
"Koubutsugaku." Use the 14 books on a character with the talent
"Originality." This character will be your "weapon smith."
Duplicate 20 Longsword +1 you found from the Astral Cave boss (if you
don't have Cius or Ashlay, you'll have to make a Longsword +1 from a
regular Longsword + Damascus). Duplicate 20 Meteorites you've found in
a treasure chest on the way to the town Trop.
Purchase 20 Smith Hammers and save the game. Have your weapon smith
character try to forge a "Duel Sword" from a Longsword +1 and
Meteorite. This particular item creation is very difficult to pull off
successfully, but it will be VERY helpful if it works. Give the Duel
Sword to Ratix. Ashlay can also use one, but I'd try to make a Mithril
Sword for him instead since he'll be able to customize that.
Similarly, if Cius is in you party, you can attempt to make a Slayer
Sword for him using a Claymore +1 and Damascus. First make the
Claymore +1 using a regular Claymore and Meteorite, then follow the
same procedure outline to make Ratix's weapon (duplicate the Claymore
+1 and Damascus and attempt to forge them).
Remember NOT to use up your last mineral (especially the Meteorite),
since you'll want to keep at least 1 for duplication. All you really
need is a strong weapon for Ratix. I suggest after you've gotten 1
Duel Sword to continue on.
///////////////////////////
/GETTING RATIX'S OUGI TECH/
///////////////////////////
First and foremost, you absolutely need the Shichisei Ougi for Ratix,
found by having him win Rank C of the Tatory Battle Arena. Raise
Ratix's "Edarl Swordfighting" skill to at least level 5 (the higher,
the better).
Assign the Killer Technique "Souhazan" (Twin Slash) in one of his
technique slots and save the game. Have your musician play the
Clarinet 1 song to summon 4 Black Slimes.
In battle, have Ratix continually use the "Souhazan" technique until he
learns the Ougi Tech "Shichiseisouhazan." It might be helpful to put
the other 3 characters on a "Do Nothing" strategy. That way, Ratix can
kill the Slimes himself for maximum Souhazan use. The risk of doing
this is that the 3 characters doing nothing have a far greater chance
of being killed (the Black Slimes are usually much stronger than you
characters at this point), but then again, this increases Ratix's
chance of gaining the Ougi Tech through Anger Explosions. Hopefully
Ratix will gain his Ougi Tech soon. Rest at the inn after the battle,
save, and try again.
//////////////////////
/FIGHTING THE GABRIEL/
//////////////////////
This is what all the preparation has been done for. This *WILL* be the
most difficult battle of the game, since you'll be fighting a very
powerful boss that you're not supposed to. You should be at around
level 30 for Ratix to have a chance; fight Black Slimes from Clarinet 1
if you're not. Definitely bring Marvel into this fight if you've
powered her up with the Holy Orb. Ronixis equipped with the Elven Bow
you've found from the Joshua sidequest is also useful. Duplicate 20
Resurrection Bottles (or buy 20 at Van if you've been there), duplicate
20 Recovery Bottles (or buy them at Van), equip Ratix with the
Shichiseisouhazan Ougi Tech, buy 20 black berries, save the game, and
pray for victory. Have your musician play the Clarinet 2 song...
Gabriel: 32000 HP
I've found the "Lower Square" formation with Ratix at position #1 to be
the most useful formation for this fight. Gabriel is *VERY* strong and
she basically will kill you with one hit from either the long range
swing of her staff or the force shield she puts around herself. To
compound this problem, her hits often petrify her targets; so often you
have to cure BOTH death and petrifaction after she hits a character.
She comes with 3 Hound Shapes which, although are nowhere near as
dangerous as Gabby, are still problematic since they too can do lots of
damage to your characters at this stage in the game and can paralyze
your characters as well.
The strategy for winning this battle is having Ratix continually use
Shichiseisouhazan on Gabriel non-stop, hoping that she becomes and
stays dizzy from the first 2 hits. Most likely, the only damage you'll
inflict on Gabby is from the 2 fireballs that shoot out at the end of
Shichiseisouhazan. The problem is that since Ratix will probably be
the only one who can damage Gabby, if she kills him, you're basically
screwed... and there's MANY ways for her to kill Ratix.
Shichiseisouhazan eats up a LOT of MP, so one character (more likely 2
characters) will have to be constantly supplying Ratix with black
berries to keep his MP up. Those Hound Shapes aren't going anywhere
either, so another character will have to be dealing with them too.
Listed below are the strategies I would use for the following
characters: (Keep in mind that I'm writing this from the perspective
of just getting to Ionis, so Tinek and Perisie won't be included).
Ratix: Basically run up to Gabriel and do repeated Shichiseisouhazan.
Hope that the first two sword swings dizzies her and that you avoid her
force shield/staff swings as you jump towards her. Each fireball
should be doing around 1000-1500 damage; more if Ratix gets an Anger
Explosion.
Iria: Use Kikoshou to get rid of the 3 Hound Shapes as quickly as
possible. Then either manually have her use Kikoshou on the Gabriel
(it does only 100-200 damage, but more importantly it makes her
vulnerable to Ratix's attacks) or have her supply blackberries/status
recovery items when necessary.
Cius: If you have him with the Slayer Sword, have him physically attack
the Hound Shapes until they're gone. Then have him supply recovery
items when necessary.
Ronixis: If you have him with the Elven Bow, have him physically attack
the Hound Shapes until they're gone. Then have him constantly casting
"Earthquake" at the Gabriel (again, it causes only around 200-500
damage, but it causes her to go into a hit-stun animation which allows
Ratix's attacks to land). Use recovery items when necessary.
Joshua: Constantly cast "Earthquake" on Gabriel or use recovery items
when needed.
Ashlay: If you have him with the Duel Sword/Mithril Sword, have him
physically attack the Hound Shapes until they're gone. Then have him
supply recovery items when necessary.
Marvel: If you have her with the Holy Orb, have her physically attack
the Hound Shapes until they're gone. Then have her supply recovery
items when necessary.
Fear: Have her attack the Hound Shapes, then use recovery items when
needed.
PROBLEM #1: The most common problem. Gabriel kills Ratix, while the
other characters are trying to revive/cure him, Gabby runs over to them
and kills them. Nothing much you can do about it.
PROBLEM #2: Also very common. The Hound Shapes kill off a character,
Ratix (or another character) gets an Anger Explosion right next to
Gabriel, she hits him/them as he's getting angry. Nothing much you can
do here either.
PROBLEM #3: Gabriel undizzies and hits Ratix, leading to Problem #1/2.
You can actually do something to alleviate this problem. Basically
have other characters that can do damage to Gabriel constantly attack
her. Attacks like Iria's Kikoshou, Ronixis' and Joshua's "Earthquake"
spell, and later Marvel's Hail Orb all do pitiful damage to Gabriel,
but they all cause her to go into that all-important hit-stun
animation. If you constantly barrage her with attacks, she'll stay in
this hit stun-animation, and thus Ratix and hit her without threat of
retaliation.
PROBLEM #4: Ratix runs out of MP from doing too many
Shichiseisouhazans. This can be solved as well by having characters
not participating in damaging Gabriel continually supplying Ratix with
black berries. Don't let Ratix's MP fall below 50 (75 to be safe). If
Ratix runs out of MP, he'll just stand there in front of Gabby as good
as dead.
If you do manage to beat Gabriel, you'll gain a LOT of experience and
several levels. Plus, Gabby sometimes drops Fantastic Swords (720 ATK
power for Ratix, Cius, Ashlay, or Fear) or Fantastic Armor. Rest at an
inn, save the game, and repeat the process. Once you've gained a few
more levels, this battle becomes much easier due to the following:
1) Equipping with Fantastic Swords on Ratix/other characters allow them
to finish the Hound Shapes with ease.
2) Equipping with Fantastic Armor greatly reduces damage from the Hound
Shapes, but the Gabriel can still kill in one hit...
3) Link combo allows you to do Shichiseisouhazan in succession without
having to do each one manually once you have enough SP.
4) Marvel with Hail Orb + Link combo and Iria with Kikoshou + Link
Combo can keep Gabriel in hit-stun animation indefinitely.
5) After Ratix gains up to around level 40, the first two hits of
Shichiseisouhazan will damage Gabriel, making it easier to beat her.
Plus he'll have enough MP to finish the battle without fear of
running out of black berry supplements.
IV. GAINING TALENTS
Like Star Ocean 2, each time a new character joins your party, they are
randomly given certain talents. If that character didn't join with a
particular talent you had in mind, you could reset the game, acquire
that character again, and he/she will have a new set of talents. The
same thing can be done in SO1, except you have to be careful about a
character joining as an NPC (non-playable character). Characters like
Milly at the beginning of the game, and Iria during the most of the
introduction will officially join the party (you see them on the status
screen), but the join as NPCs. Which means you can't check their
status screen to find out what talents they have. More importantly,
this means that if you save the game when that character is an NPC,
don't expect their talents to change if you reset (because it's already
been decided the moment they joined you).
From my experiences, I have never developed the talents "Love of
Animals" or "Sixth Sense" during the course of the game. Also, I've
never developed the talent "Originality" through "Katanakaji" (Weapon
Forging), even though you need the that talent to be successful at
Katanakaji item creation. I've only developed it through
Customization.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/LAST POINT TO SAVE BEFORE "RESET-TO-GAIN-NEW-TALENTS" DOESN'T WORK/
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
This section just tells you where to save the game so that if you get a
character and don't like his/her talents, you can reset and get him/her
and he/she'll have new ones. It also tells you approximately how long
that process will take (provided you skip through the dialogue as fast
as you can).
*******
*RATIX*
*******
Point: Start of a new game
Time: 4 minutes
Notes: Always starts with "Originality."
*******
*MILLY*
*******
Point: Start of a new game (remember she starts off as an NPC, and
you can't check her stats until after she wakes up Ratix in
the middle of the night)
Time: 14 minutes (yikes!)
Notes: Always starts with "Blessing of Mana." If she miraculously
starts with both "Love of Animals" and "Sixth Sense," you can
have her get all 10 talents easy.
******
*IRIA*
******
Point: On Mt. Metox, right before she beams down (NPC rule)
Time: 15 minutes (ouch!)
Notes: none
*********
*RONIXIS*
*********
Point: On Mt. Metox, right before he beams down (NPC rule)
Time: 15 minutes
Notes: Always starts with "Blessing of Mana." If you have the
patience to go through that 15 minute scene aboard the ship,
keep reseting until he gets "Originality" (you don't want to
try to develop "Originality" through Customization with him).
******
*CIUS*
******
Point: Outside of Hot, right after you saw him push the weapons
merchant against the wall
Time: 1 minute
Notes: Reset until he has "Originality."
********
*ASHLAY*
********
Point: Outside of Tatory, after you've talked to him and participated
once in the arena
Time: 1 minute
Notes: Always starts with "Originality," "Writing Ability," "Love of
Animals," and "Sixth Sense." Never gains any others.
******
*FEAR*
******
Point: 1) Save outside the southern entrance of Astral before you
sleep and murder-event occurs [Cius is in your party]
2) Save before you visit Astral to gain the Astral Emblem
[Ashlay is in your party]
3) Save outside the southern entrance of Astral before you
break Fear out of jail [neither Cius or Ashlay is in your
party]
Time: 1) 2 minutes
2) 2 minutes
3) 3 minutes
Notes: As seen above, you can acquire Fear 3 different ways depending
on your party composition.
********
*JOSHUA*
********
Point: 1) Right before you meet him at the entrance of the Parji no
Shinden [Cius/Fear/only Ratix&Iria is in your party]
2) Right before you meet him again and save him inside the
Parji no Shinden [Ashlay in your party]
Time: 1) 2 minutes
2) 5 minutes
Notes: Always starts with "Blessing of Mana." Having him with both
"Rhythm Sense" and "Onkan" (Pitch) would be nice too.
********
*MARVEL*
********
Point: Right before you enter Ionis
Time: 5 minutes
Notes: Always starts with "Blessing of Mana." Continuing to reset
until she gets "Love of Animals" and "Sixth Sense" allows her
to get all 10 talents easily.
*******
*TINEK*
*******
Point: Outside of Tatory right before you fight him in the arena,
after you've visited Van, but before visiting Silvant
Time: 5 minutes
Notes: none
*********
*PERISIE*
*********
Point: Right before you start a Private Action in Clart Village,
after you've visited Van, but before visiting Silvant
Time: 3 minutes
Notes: Always starts with "Rhythm Sense" and "Onkan" (Pitch).
Starting with "Originality" would be really useful.
Here's how I would go about learning the talents. I'm also assuming
that you're using the Violin 2 song to help you develop your talents
where applicable (I'll note it for each one). Be aware of the bug
that's associated with the Violin in the "Miscellany" section of the
FAQ.
/////////////
/ORIGINALITY/
/////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: Yes
Notes: With the exception of Milly and Marvel, it's usually in your
best interest to keep reseting the game until your characters
starts with "Originiality" (unless they can never learn it). If
they don't start with it, they'll have to develop it through
customization, and you'll usually have to make the customizable
item through Katanakaji (which hardly ever works). All leading
to the conclusion that it's better to start with "Originality,"
rather than develop it.
RATIX: Starts with
MILLY: After creating a Magic Persia from a Rainbow Diamond,
duplicate 20 copies and start customizing while Violin 2 is
playing
IRIA: Never learns
RONIXIS: Customize Metal Fangs while Violin 2 is playing
CIUS: Customize Silver Swords while Violin 2 is playing
ASHLAY: Starts with
FEAR: Customize Bloody Swords while Violin 2 is playing
JOSHUA: Never learns
MARVEL: Duplicate 20 copies of Rainbow Diamonds and start customizing
While Violin 2 is playing
TINEK: Customize Spinning Spears while Violing 2 is playing
PERISIE: Customize Neko Fangs while Violin 2 is playing
////////////////
/SENSE OF TASTE/
////////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: Yes
Notes: Ronixis and Ashlay will never learn
Use the Cooking item creation with any ingredient repeatedly while
Violin 2 is playing.
///////////
/DEXTERITY/
///////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: Yes
Notes: Cius and Ashlay will never learn
Use the Saiku (Craftsmanship) item creation using any mineral
(iron/silver/gold are the cheapest) repeatedly while Violin 2 is
playing.
//////////////
/DESIGN SENSE/
//////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: Yes
Notes: Ashlay will never learn
Use the Art item creation with the Magic Canvas repeatedly while Violin
2 is playing. You could also use Magic Paint, but Magic Canvas is
cheaper and faster.
/////////////////
/WRITING ABILITY/
/////////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: Yes
Notes: Tinek and Perisie will never learn
Use the Writing item creation for any skill repeatedly while Violin 2
is playing.
///////////////////////////////////
/RHYTHM SENSE and/or ONKAN (PITCH)/
///////////////////////////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: No
Notes: Ashlay will never learn, and for some reason I've never got my
Ratix to learn both (he always got one, but never both)
Actually learning these talents are surprisingly easy. Go into the
Music menu of a character, select the second command (play), and play
any song. If he/she didn't learn it, get out of the menu, switch to
another character, go into his/her music menu, and repeat the process
until a character learns Rhythm Sense/Onkan. It's easier if the song
being played is "Harmonica 1," since it's the first song on the music
list. You can do these all these steps pretty fast if you're quick at
pressing the D-pad and buttons. You'll never learn these talents
through writing music, only through playing instruments.
/////////////////
/LOVE OF ANIMALS/
/////////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: ???
Notes: I've never learned this talent during the course of the game. I
would assume if you could learn it, to use the Familiar ability
repeatedly while the Violin 2 is playing.
/////////////
/SIXTH SENSE/
/////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: ???
Notes: Like "Love of Animals," I've never learned this talent during
the course of the game. I assume if you could learn it, to have
the character in position #1 use the Scout ability to change
enemy appearance settings.
//////////////////
/BLESSING OF MANA/
//////////////////
VIOLIN 2 USE: No
Notes: You can't learn this talent. Milly, Ronixis, Joshua, and Marvel
will automatically start with it.
V. MISCELLANY
//////
/BUGS/
//////
************
*THE VIOLIN*
************
If you've read Ian Kelley's FAQ, you'd know that using the Violin to
learn new talents will result in the game freezing if you pushed any
button while the gained-a-new-talent music is playing. And you
probably also read that the way to avoid it is to wait for the music to
end before you push the "A" button to continue on. But what Ian forgot
to mention was that you CANNOT BE STANDING INSIDE A TOWN. If you tried
to acquire a new talent while inside any town, the game will still
freeze even if you waited until the talent music was over. Stand in
the "overworld" map screen (if you can call it that) if you want to use
the violin to learn talents.
*******************************
*UNRELIABLE INN/HEALING SPRING*
*******************************
Resting at an inn or drinking from the healing fountain on Mt. Metox is
suppose to cure you of all status ailments. But occasionally, if your
character is inflicted with both the death and petrify status (such as
after a Black Slime/Gabriel fight), the inn/healing fountain won't cure
that character to maximum health. In such cases, you'll have to use an
item or spell to cure the petrifaction first, then rest at the
inn/drink the water again.
***********************
*DUNGEON MUSIC REPEATS*
***********************
Sometimes the dungeon music will suddenly stop and repeat itself when
it's not supposed to. Nothing special about this bug.
****************
*OFF THE SCREEN*
****************
This happened several times to me when fighting the Gabriel. She'd
just start move off into the top of the screen and not come back. None
of my characters could reach her (but she could still cast Meteor Swarm
on my party >_<).
*****************
*FIGHTER'S MAGIC*
*****************
When a lot is happening in battle, sometimes when you try to pull up a
character's combat menu, it'll be invisible. Well, several times when
this happen, I was able to go into what appeared to be Marvel's and
Iria's magic menu! There were no spells listed of course, but it was
an interesting bug nonetheless.
*************
*FILE ERASES*
*************
I'm not sure if this is a regular bug or if it's just a problem of my
copy of Star Ocean, but my game files have erased several times,
resulting in me having to start over again. Just a warning.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/EQUIPPING SHORT/LONG KILLER TECHS ON LONG/SHORT TECH SLOTS/
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Actually I find this trick very useful, as it allows Ratix to perform
Shichiseisouhazan from a distance and other characters to use their
powerful ougi techs without distance restrictions.
Equip any technique in the short and long slots on the "first page" of
your character's killer techniques menu. Go over to the second page of
your character's killer techniques menu and equip the desired technique
on the slot it normally can't be equipped on. For instance, Ratix's
Shichiseisouhazan is usually a short-ranged only attack (except in
combos), so equip it in the LONG-range slot of the SECOND page. Go
back to the first page and remove the long-range killer technique that
was there. Now leave the killer technique menu and return,
Shichiseisouhazan will be in the long-range slot of the first page
where it normally can't be placed!
///////////////////////////
/THE VAN TRIAL CAVE PUZZLE/
///////////////////////////
Hit the switches in this order: 6, 4, 3 and the door in middle should
open.
Door
1 2 3 4 5 6
//////////////////////////////////////
/KILLING NEO JIE REVORSE IN 2 SECONDS/
//////////////////////////////////////
Power up your guys to at around level 90 or higher (you'll know when
they're gods). Bring Ratix, Iria, Marvel, and Perisie into the fight.
Have Ratix do repeated Shichiseisouhazan (as usual), Iria do repeated
Oukahakkenshou or Uraoukasakkou, Marvel do repeated Galaxies, and
Perisie do repeated Charming Poses (that cute heart attack). Jie
should go down in 2 seconds if they all the attacks connect around the
same time and he didn't put up his shield.
VI. THANKS
////////////
/Ian Kelley/
////////////
Obviously for writing the only walkthroughs for the game. I used his
FAQs to get a lot of the Technique and skill names. I also used his
hiragana/katakana charts back when I first played Dragon Quest 6 and
Star Ocean back in 1997/1998. Find it on his webpage at
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~ikelley.
/////////////
/Sherwin Tam/
/////////////
I kinda borrowed the format he used for the talent portion of his Star
Ocean 2 guide. I modified it a little, but I'll credit where I got the
idea.
Email me at lelbx@hotmail.com for any comments, corrections,
contributions, and all that kind of stuff. Until Star Ocean 3...
