Star Ocean III: Till the End of Time

Generally speaking, if you’re going to play an RPG, keep an eye out for two things and how they’re executed – storyline, and gameplay. Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time does alright in the gameplay department, but it manages to throw the idea of telling a competent story out of the window. I keep on getting told by peers that it’s an awesome game. I questioned their obliviousness – this game screwed up one thing that holds RPGs together. It’s like if you made a pizza, but forgot the cheese. It’s going to fall apart the minute it’s out the box, and that’s how I felt about this entire game.

The story is that Fayt and his childhood friend, Sophia, are separated when the planet they’re at known as Hyda IV is attacked by the Vendeeni Empire. Since the attack is unprovoked, a war breaks out. However, you’ll be spending a decent amount of time following Fayt and his merry adventures involving some problems that...

By now, I'm sure the majority of gamers have heard of the two companies Squaresoft and Enix. Well, a few years ago, they formed into Square-Enix, which is widely known for its Final Fantasy franchise. Tri-Ace is also a popular company with gamers over the world. Star Ocean 3 was announced for the first time a long time ago, but the game was never released until 2003 in Japan, and 2004 in the United States. So with Tri-Ace making the game, and Square-Enix publishing the game, you'd think that with the history of these two companies that the game would be a great product of great quality, right? Sadly, this isn't the case.

Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time (or Star Ocean 3) starts off with the main character, Fayt Leingod, vacationing on Hyda IV with his parents and his childhood friend, Sophia Esteed. Fayt is a college student on earth, and while on vacation, he and Sophia decide to stroll around the hotel. During their stay, though, Hyda is attacked and Fayt is forced to...

THE GOOD:
Intense combat, many, many hours of gameplay, good storyline, good sound and music, and good graphics.

THE BAD:
Some voices, a bit too easy.

SUMMARY:
Ah, here we have the third game of the Star Ocean series, Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time. Question is, is the game as good as players were expecting? Let's find out.

STORYLINE 9/10: The storyline of this game is definitely one of the best ones to date. It starts off as a 19-year-old boy who loves to play something called "Battle Simulator." He, and his family from Earth, go to the planet Hyda IV on a vacation. After not hanging out with his cousin Sophia, who is now pissed at him for not hanging out with her, he tries to make her happy again. How does he try? He gets her to play the Battle Simulator with him.

All goes well until a mysterious alien force invades and attacks the planet. Fayt, and the rest of his family...

THE GOOD:
The gameplay is magnificent for an rpg, I mean it ain't no Devil May Cry but this is still tons of fun. Also this game is super long if your a completist, I have 130 hours and I haven't even completed have of the extras

THE BAD:
Bad: Ok here it goes, well the story is weak, the voice actors need to get fired (except for Roger and Maria's actors, I like them). Another thing that bugs me is that when your out of MP you die and that just sucks, also in my opinion it is not as good as other releases like this, such as Star Ocean 2.

SUMMARY:
At first I wondered why the hell was this the title if it had nothing to do with the game, the I realized that it takes just that long to completely beat this game. This game is about Fayt Leingod. When you first see him he is on vacation, he's just chillin, then out of nowhere these people attack for no reason and to make matters worse he ends up on an underdeveloped...

THE GOOD:
There's a bit in here that some people would kill for. The storyline is yes, a little cliche'd, but otherwise, it's got that edge of the evil forces of doom and such. It's not all that bad, so the storyline is worth getting into, yes.
The graphics also shine out. They're pretty amazing. Fans of anime will be happy with the massive eyes. The cuscenes are extremely detailed and some of the space cutscenes can really take you out. The cutscenes with fighting are just truly amazing. Your eyes will take a beating from the colours.
THe sound. THe music isn't highly addictive, but still worth a download or something.
Also, the time. On your first try, it'll keep you amused for about 150 hours. A two disc adventure to love, really.

THE BAD:
Ugh. THe ending. It's just not worth going along this two disc adventure for. It's absolutely terrible, the ending. The plot is very cliche'd and yes, the storyline wouldn't leave you...

THE GOOD:
50+ hours gametime
Side quests and activities
Graphics
Initial character development
Draw for players to feel involved in story

THE BAD:
Plot twist
Lack of fulfilling character potential
Ending
Poor picture quality on HDTV

SUMMARY:
Character development of several characters in your main party is pretty good and I give Square Enix Kudos for developing another great title in this aspect. Unfortunately, this in my opinion is cause to one of the most serious flaws of the game. Now before reading further, keep this in mind, if you want in on a wild ride, with an overall good story mix, some extras, and feeling of involvement regardless of what twists to the plot may lay ahead, do yourself a favor if you haven't already and go pick up this game. For those that are skeptical, or want to play a game that seems to be a complete package, you might want to pass this...

THE GOOD:
Everything. I have never seen a more captivating video game. Its twists and turns have sent me flying. I dont know who or what created this game, but I praise them almost as much as I praise god. I was almost brought to tears by this captivating game.

THE BAD:
Nothing. I have tried for flaws and found nothing. Some people may dissaprove of this game, but I say those people are crazy. The one thing close to a flaw, is it is very challenging. But hey, who doesnt enjoy a good challenge, y'know?

SUMMARY:
Its graphics resemble FF10 (Final fantasy 10) but are even better. The creation of characters is detailed and surprisingly realistic. It made my heart skip a beat after I bought and played this game. It is also challenging, but for the creative mind, its a breeze. This game is flawless. Perfect in every way. 10 out of 10, I rate this a 200. My advice, buy it. Period. This game gives a new meaning to...

THE GOOD:
Fun battle system, good story, good extras like inventing and good music.

THE BAD:
It's no Star Ocean 2.

SUMMARY:
Star Ocean Till the End of Time starts you off as Fayt, a easy going kid who likes games and hanging out with the second character of the game Sophie. One day at a resort his life is flipped upside down when a mysterious enemy attacks and Fayt is separated from his family and friends through the chaos and evacuation. This is the beginning of Fayt's tale...

Basic RPG story here, hero fights on through lots of plot twists and enemies. Star Ocean has always had great stories most notably part 2, however I thought this story was lacking compared to part 2. I am a huge fan of part 2 so you will find me comparing the two often throughout this review.

Another difference between the two is the battle system. A few tweaks have been done, it's still real time but you have 3 characters...

THE GOOD:
Graphics, sound, dialouge, and just about everything else.

THE BAD:
Found a glitch in one part other than that nothin bad.

SUMMARY:
Probably one of the all time fav amoung any SO player. Those who played from the first one know that seeing this game makes them think that this totally blows the other ones out of the water. Not to mention Square had a hand in making this. If there was a game out there to suit an RPG craving this is it. It does just about everything you could think of. If they were making a 4th one I'd definitely buy it. But after this game I might think bout taking some time to replay this game over and over again til I know it like the back of my hand. What I'm tryin to say is that the bottom line is "This game totally rapes the other games in adventure, story, and unpredictablity."