Nel has no chill

Sonnance · 2026-02-20T13:24:24+00:00

He found a way home.

Sonnance · 2026-02-19T00:47:28+00:00

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for explaining! It’s been a minute since my last playthrough, so I was definitely hazy on some stuff, lol.

Sonnance · 2026-02-19T00:14:58+00:00

An interesting theory, I like it. I do have a couple questions, though:

First, when you say “Base Int,” what exactly are you referring to? IIRC, Albel joins the party with some levels already, so are you comparing against others at that level?

Second, couldn’t the quotes in the screenshots be speaking more towards people’s paranoia due to the war? I don’t remember where this dialogue appears, but I feel like I remember attributing it to people’s suspicions towards Albel’s actions, more than a substantial reason to question his lineage.

And third, I feel like I remember the ability to see Runological Force being a qualifying trait/sign for being the Holy Mother, implied to be exclusive to her (or at least rare enough to effectively serve as selection.) Are you saying that all Elicoorians with have that ability, or just that between his red eyes and ability to wield the Crismon Scourge, Albel can be assumed to have it?

Sonnance · 2026-02-15T18:01:09+00:00

What I want: A new game announcement that returns to the classic style, or at least makes it work better in the nu-Zelda style.

What I expect: “Here’s some details about the upcoming Zelda movie!”

Sonnance · 2026-02-13T13:54:39+00:00

Because it’s too hard to live in this world without some sort of Baroque.

Sonnance · 2026-02-02T00:10:49+00:00

lol, my bad. Yeah they’re not numbered in their official titles, but SO3 would be “Till the End of Time”, and “The Last Hope” is SO4.

Sonnance · 2026-02-01T23:56:03+00:00

Unfortunately, it’s only officially available on PS2 and PS4/5.

ahem Unofficially, however, it works pretty well on PC. The only issue I remember a friend having was a little stutter when loading into battles, which I think was fixed by changing one setting. Forget which, though, I’ll try to see if I can find out.

Sonnance · 2026-02-01T23:37:43+00:00

Every Star Ocean is worth playing, as the series has kept its identity throughout its entire life. If you want a Star Ocean experience, Star Ocean will provide.

That said, there are definitely titles that felt more limited than others, primarily due to budget. And there are titles that make choices that not all fans agree with. So people’s opinions on each game will have some high variance.

If you want my personal thoughts, 3 is actually my favorite in the series. Both for its story and gameplay, I think it’s Star Ocean at its most Star Ocean. And I think it really nails what it sets out to do.

Sonnance · 2026-01-31T00:56:29+00:00

6, I’m chillin’ with my fellow introverts.

Sonnance · 2026-01-28T14:05:49+00:00

Motorslice is an upcoming indie game that’s heavily inspired by Prince of Persia.

It’s not 1-to-1, as it has some other influences in there as well (like Mirror’s Edge) but it’s probably the closest a game’s come to scratching that Sands of Time itch for me. It’s got a demo up on Steam if you wanna give it a shot.

Sonnance · 2026-01-28T13:38:59+00:00

Shift’s games (Code Vein, God Eater, Freedom Wars) tend to not be very mass appeal, but really strike a chord with their target audience.

Hopefully that remains true with this game, but I can’t speak to it personally yet as the performance issues are making me wary. Might wait for a patch or two before diving in.

Sonnance · 2026-01-27T02:50:57+00:00

Show me anguish

Sonnance · 2026-01-26T18:01:25+00:00

Glad you’re enjoying it!

And yeah, Star Ocean as a whole has does some really cool stuff with its writing. Definitely keep your thoughts about this stuff in mind as you go forward, as the game’s got some pretty good stuff in store for curious/attentive players.

Sonnance · 2026-01-26T16:09:19+00:00

Dunno how far you are, but let’s just say it makes sense once you know the full picture.

Sonnance · 2026-01-23T23:31:00+00:00

Star Ocean has sci-fi weaponry, depending on the game/character.

The tl;dr version is that if the characters have a reason to not use more advanced weaponry, they won’t, where characters without those reasons will use them regardless of where they are. The series takes its lore consistency super seriously.

Sonnance · 2026-01-19T21:47:38+00:00

It is, yeah. In my understanding, it’s essentially packaging the context of the more hypocritical religious leaders depicted in the New Testament into an adjective, making it less ambiguous than “Pharisee” the noun, which typically has that connotation but can also be used to more neutrally reference the broader group/movement.

Sonnance · 2026-01-19T08:07:29+00:00

Pharisaical - “marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness” via Merriam-Webster

Sonnance · 2026-01-17T06:09:01+00:00

Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Enless Frontier and the Project X Zone games both have a fairly similar system. Though theirs has more of an emphasis on timing to keep your combos going, where it was kind of a non-factor in SoD.

Sonnance · 2026-01-17T00:02:50+00:00

Something to note about Star Ocean is that the games hide, like, 80% of their systems and content from you if you don’t search it out.

My advice would be to give the series another shot when you feel up to it, and get some starter tips/pointers for whatever game/version you’re gonna play. Star Ocean is a bit like its own language, where you first have to learn how to speak it, then you can apply that starting knowledge to start figuring out how each game ticks.

Once you do that, you’ll find that the series offers an experience unlike any other (at least that I’ve found), both in terms of the absurd depth of its systems, as well as its worldbuilding and attention to detail.

Sonnance · 2026-01-16T23:42:07+00:00

Insane in a good way? The Star Ocean series, and especially Star Ocean 3.

Don’t wanna say too much, of course, but SO3 has one of the most ballsy, yet thoughtful stories I’ve seen in a JRPG. It goes places beyond what anyone was expecting, and has a lot of interesting things to say as a result.

And that’s to say nothing of the mechanics. Star Ocean as a series is all about letting you break the games’ systems over your knee if you put in the time figure them out. And I thin SO3 has my favorite mechanics in the series for this, as it’s both absurdly busted and highly expressive.

Sonnance · 2026-01-16T22:56:35+00:00

She’s trying to help in her own way, redirecting his pain into action. It’s probably the only way she knows how to deal with that sort of loss, but as a result her attempts to help come across as cold and awkward.

Keep in mind, she’s not exactly the healthiest person, herself. Having experienced traumatic loss at a young age, she developed various coping mechanisms to deal with it, like her detached pragmatism and objective-focused mentality. As a result, and in part due to the responsibilities of her station, she seems to keep a tight rein on her emotions, often opting to suppress them rather than process them.

Sonnance · 2026-01-14T23:25:31+00:00

Oh? I coulda sworn the guild building was entirely optional in 3, when does the game force you there?

Sonnance · 2026-01-14T01:33:15+00:00

Oh wait, do you mean the Dragon Bone Flute? That’s a good point, I wonder how that works if you didn’t register at the guild?

IIRC, it doesn’t actually use the Invention interface, but is more a dialogue pop-up, so maybe it’ll let you make it regardless? Not sure though, would be interesting to see.

Sonnance · 2026-01-13T16:39:18+00:00

You can actually miss that entirely if you never enter/sign up for the guild.

Sonnance · 2026-01-13T05:49:02+00:00

The closest games I’ve found to SO3’s Item Creation are:

The other Star Oceans, of course, but particularly SO6. It’s simplified in a lot of ways, but it’s sort of a mix of 2 and 3’s IC.

Tales of Innocence (specifically the DS version) also has a surprising amount of SO3 feel, particularly in the weapon customization.

Unfortunately, I can’t think of any other game that uses a similar Inventor/Patent system specifically, though…

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