Sci Fi – Retro Game Resource

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.

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.

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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.

Phantasy Star (Sega Master System) Resource

Introduction

Some time around 1999 or 2000, I purchased an Official Dreamcast Magazine and saw a multi-page spread on on a game called Phantasy Star Online. Being exclusively a console gamer, I was absolutely blown away by the next-gen graphics and the ability to play with strangers online. I read and re-read the article innumerable times, until I finally got the game as a gift from my parents. Though they would not agree to the recurring payment for Dreamcast’s online service, I spent 100’s of hours in solo mode and considered the game one of my favorite of all-time.

With the game, I purchased a strategy guide that had a history of the Phantasy Star series in the back, and I was intrigued. This directly lead to my exploration of these games that I had missed in my SEGA Genesis days, due to a lack of perceived interest in RPGs.

By the time I had experienced PSO, I had already been thoroughly indoctrinated in RPGs, my new favorite genre, and was ready to partake in the founding entries of the series. The obvious starting point was the game that laid the foundation for the series, a game that was truly ahead of its time; that game was Phantasy Star for the SEGA Master System, a console I had previously known nothing about.

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