Japan-Only Release: Star Ocean (SNES) Review and Resource

In the early 2000s I began to dabble in the emulation scene. As the decade progressed, access to games was exponentially increasing, with some of the more popular consoles receiving the most attention.

Of course, the SNES was one of the focal points of the scene with compatibility increasing at a steady rate, and a blossoming community of fan translators giving English speakers, like myself, the opportunity to experience narratives previously locked away in Japan.

One of the first games I played was Final Fantasy V. As a completed translation of the SNES version, it provided the entire experience, with a huge advantage over the slow loading times of the Final Fantasy Anthology edition for PlayStation.

I immediately followed with the Fire Emblem SNES trilogy: Monshou no Nazo (Mystery of the Emblem), Seisen no Keifu (Genealogy of Holy War), and Thracia 776, the latter of which had an incoherent and essential barely usable translation (in 2019 TEAM EXILE fixed this issue by providing a near perfect translation HERE for details.)

Despite all the issues with Thracia, and the epilogue of Seisen no Keifu not being translated (ouch), I still immediately considered these three games some of my all-time favorites.

Thirsty for more of what I was missing, I then stumbled upon fan translations for Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean, two games whose greatness were continually promoted on internet forums.

I started with the exceptional Tales of Phantasia, a JRPG, but upon entering battle the player is thrusted into a side-scrolling, action RPG-like battlefield. This novel battle system combined with the ability to cook food and modify items, provided an exciting experience that offered an engaging level of depth.

I wanted to experience something similar, but sufficiently different to provide a sense of nuance. So instead of diving more deeply into the Tales series, I decided to play the spiritual successor to Tales of Phantasia, the aforementioned Star Ocean.

Star Ocean promised an even deeper level of customization with a completely different, real-time battle system.

When I finally was able to configure the specialized add-ons to the ZSNES emulator and got my translation patch, I dove right in.

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SPOILERS: How to Unlock and Beat Star Ocean’s (SNES) Seven Star Dungeon includes Ultimate Weapon Guide, Gabrielle Secret Boss Fight, Infinite Money, Range Bug and Santa’s Secret Shop !

Star Ocean for the Super Famicom is a visually beautiful, mechanically solid JRPG that was unfortunately kept within Japanese borders.

Despite being very enjoyable, Star Ocean suffers from being very short, ~25 hours will easily allow the player to complete the main narrative and most side quests.

Luckily, the developer’s decided to add a rather lengthy and difficult 30 floor post-game dungeon, that will likely require grinding nearly to level 100, which is a lot considering all that is required to easily beat the final boss is leveling up to 40-50.

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Star Ocean (SNES) Music Skill song list

Music is incredibly useful in Star Ocean. The variety of effects can make the gameplay so much better, and save you a lot of money on healing items. It also helps characters more readily learn Talents, which is hard and time consuming. Below is a quick list of each song’s effects for your convenience.

Clarinet:

Clarinet 1: 4 black slimes

Clarinet 2: 3 Hound Forms + Gabrielle (hard, but great EXP and items)

Harmonica:

Increases the encounter rate. Harmonica 2 causes a higher encounter rate than Harmonica 1.

Trumpet:

Decreases the encounter. Trumpet 2 lowers it further than Trumpet 1 does.

Sax

Makes MP increase. Sax 2 makes the party’s MP increase at a higher rate than Sax 1.

Guitar

HP will increase as the song plays. Guitar 2 makes their HP increase more rapidly than Guitar 1.

Trombone

HP and MP increase as song plays.Trombone 2 heals faster than Trombone 1.

This is incredibly useful and helps save items.

Violin

Increases the chance of learning a new Talent when performing a related skill outside of battle. Violin 2 is better than 1.

Warning: Using Violin can freeze the game.

To avoid the bug:

When you gain a talent you will get a message stating you gained the talent and got 50 SP. DO NOT PRESS THE A BUTTON UNTIL THE VIOLIN SONG IS FINISHED.

Shamisen

As far as I know only obtainable by hacking, so annoying. It increases your Fol as it plays, Shamisen 2 does so faster than Shamisen 1.

Check Out the Full Talents and Skills Guide

Talents and Skills Guide

Star Ocean (SNES) Talents and Skill Basics Guide

The depth of Star Ocean is defined by its incredibly satisfying skill system, which provides benefits both in and out of battle.

Ranging from gaining positional advantage in battle, to smithing, to even playing music, these skills are almost universally useful.

Success of skills is determined not only by RNG, but also by a character’s specific “Talents.”

Talents are a character’s natural inclination to be successful at a particular set of skills. Talents can be innate, the character joins with them, or can be learned, in an often tedious process.

Appropriately pairing skills with the appropriate party member is key in saving the ever valuable SP. Specialization is key in getting everything you need in a prompt manner.

This guide will provide a basic primer on Talents and Skills and when to learn them.

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Fire Emblem Thracia 776 Guide: Chapter 1

Chapter 1… so begins our journey through probably the toughest game in the Fire Emblem universe. Thracia 776 acts as a mid-quel to the previous installment of the series, Fire Emblem: Genealogy of Holy War (Seisen no Keifu).

Leif, the primary Lord, and a band of warriors return to the village they have called home for years to find it taken over by Imperial troops. Two of his female companions were also kidnapped in the commotion.

I am trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible, so vague story summary aside, lets get into it.

Enjoy one of the few easy Chapters in the game.

Goal:

simply defeat the boss and use the “Seize” command on the top-rightmost building.

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Europe’s Chrono Trigger?: Terranigma (SNES) Resource

Introduction

Terranigma PAL release.jpg
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41896787

One of my favorite genres is top-down action RPG’s. This love stems from a life-long obsession with 2D entries of The Legend of Zelda series. Though it is arguable whether or not Zelda belongs solely to this genre, it regardless is a genre that provides the best of both worlds: the sense of growth and exploration, prevalent in RPGs, and the fast-paced, skill-based mechanics that define the action genre. As such, I am always on the look out for quality games that fit this archetype.

In high school, I became deeply involved in the emulation scene; spending most of my gaming time both reliving my childhood favorites, and further exploring the libraries of the consoles that laid the foundation for my life-long interest in gaming. Armed with my SNES controller and a USB-adapter, my under-powered family PC in my basement became a make-shift Super Nintendo.

I absolutely attacked the Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis library, efficiently working my way through the system-defining gems regardless of region. My exploration of region-locked games ultimately led to the discovery that Europeans flipped shit about a game called Terranigma.

Heralding it as their equivalent to Chrono Trigger, not in gameplay style, but rather in level of influence and exclusivity, my European counterparts indirectly urged me to try Terranigma. With every positive review, every emotional forum post, and every sample of the game’s music, my interest grew exponentially.

I read on to discover Terranigma was the final entry in the Quintet Trilogy for the SNES, which also included the US releases Soul Blazer, and the fairly popular Illusion of Gaia. Being in the company of such quality games solidified my confidence in the Terranigma’s rave reviews

Despite my excitement to play the game, and the apparent legitimacy of its greatness, it eventually slipped through the cracks, lost in my ever-expanding backlog. For years, Terranigma always lingered in the back of my mind, begging me to partake in the divine adventure. That is until one day, I could no longer justify the procrastination; I finally dropped everything and dove into the adventure head first.

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Top 10 Japan-Only SEGA Genesis Games

Introduction

Though the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive was immensely successful in North America, there are still quite a number of games that remained in Japan for a variety of reasons. This list is meant to elucidate some interesting titles that never left the shores of Japan. This is by no means a definitive list and these are not necessarily the 10 best Japan-only Genesis games, but they are simply games that I personally had a positive experience with.

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Japan-Only Release: Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (SNES) Resource

UPDATE: a new, complete translation patch has been released by Team Exile, CLICK HERE to download

I will never forget the day I unlocked Roy and Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo Gamecube. My initial reaction was “who the hell are these dudes,” but this sentiment was quickly replaced by exaltation when I realized how much I enjoyed playing as these characters. Unlocking their trophies revealed tales of medieval battles and saving kingdoms. I had no idea which genre these game’s fell into, I imagined it was some sort of action or role playing game. As I grew more fond of the characters I became increasingly perturbed, knowing I may never get the chance to play their original games. Then came the day Fire Emblem was announced for the Gameboy Advance. To my pleasant surprise it was a turn-based strategy game, similar to the previously released Advance Wars. Being a huge fan of the latter, I pre-ordered Fire Emblem immediately and was treated to one of my favorite games of all time. After playing through eight times and completing all possible routes, I ventured forth to the internet to search for new  route of Fire Emblem delivery to satisfy my new addiction. This was when I was introduced to emulation in all its early, somewhat inaccurate glory. The first game I obtained, or “ripped from my personal copy of a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge” was Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (translation: Genealogy of the Holy War) along with an early version of its translation patch. I was absolutely blown away by the game, its multi-generational plot, large scale battles, and series staple perma-death mechanics resulted in it being instantly classified in my top 5 favorite games of all time. I yearned for more, and luckily my needs were satisfied by Seisen no Keifu’s epic “mid-quel” entitled Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.



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