Video games - Star Ocean: The Second Story

Home > Listing Index > Video games > Star Ocean: The Second Story

	Video games - Star Ocean: The Second Story

Star Ocean: The Second Story is the English version of the second game in the Star Ocean video game series. It takes place 20 years after the original game, Star Ocean: Fantastic Space Odyssey, which has never been commercially released in English.

Released in the United States with generally poor voice acting and translation to English, it nevertheless gained a cult following. The English version of the game also changed the names of the main antagonists, who in the original were named after angels, with names such as Gabriel (changed to Indalecio), Metatron (changed to Shigeo), and Lucifer (changed to Cyril).

In Japan, a Star Ocean: The Second Story manga was released in 1998 (serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan) based on the game, which ended on the seventh volume, only halfway through the plot. An anime was also released, based more on the manga than the game, named Star Ocean EX. Like the manga, it, too, ended halfway through the plot. However, unlike the manga, the story was completed, in the form of vocal drama CDs.

Setting

The universe of Star Ocean holds many similarities to that of Star Trek. Most aliens look like humans, although more so in Ocean than in Trek. The Earth Federation is the central human government and works very similarly, albeit likely more controlling than the United Federation of Planets.

Most of Star Ocean 2 takes place on the planet Expel, an underdeveloped planet on the verge of its industrial age. Kings still rule over great kingdoms, swords and sorcery dominate the battlefield, and sailing ships are still made from wood. According to a Federation law, a planet with such a level of civilization cannot be directly contacted under any but the most dire circumstances -- and even then, contact must be minimal and secretive.

Storyline

Star Ocean: The Second Story tells the stories of Claude C. Kenni, son of Ronixis J. Kenni, and Rena Lanford, a young girl living on the Planet Expel. Claude, having recently been commissioned as an Ensign in the Earth Federation, is given his first mission under the supervision of his father. This first mission was to survey the planet Milocinia, where a mysterious energy field appeared. Once they arrive, they find an alien ruin, filled with mostly broken machinery. Finding a mysterious device in the center of it, Claude begins to examine it close-up, despite orders to keep away from it. Upon getting close to it, the machine activates, teleporting him to the planet Expel.

At approximately the same time, Rena is resting in a forest just outside her village, Arlia. While there, she is assaulted by a monster. Suddenly, Claude teleports into the area, and, seeing Rena being attacked, rushes in to save her, using the weapon he was given upon commission into the Earth Federation. Upon seeing how she is rescued, Rena decides that Claude is the Hero of Light, spoken of in legends on Expel. The Hero of Light was prophesied to come when the planet Expel was in great danger, wielding a Sword of Light and clad in alien dress, and Rena believed him to be the fabled Hero of Light upon meeting him.

Soon afterwards, the town elder explain to Claude what exactly is going on: Three months ago, a meteorite crashed into Expel. Almost immediately afterwards, monsters began appearing, and natural disasters occurred with increasing frequency and intensity. Believing that these events were related, the people of Expel called the meteorite the "Sorcery Globe". Hoping that the Sorcery Globe may be the key to finding his way home, Claude agrees to investigate it. Rena, still believing that Claude is the Hero of Light, joins up with Claude in the investigation.

Their journey would take them across all three continents of Expel, and eventually beyond it.

Characters

Claude C. Kenni

One of the two main characters of the game, Claude is the son of Commodore Ronixis J. Kenni who was one of the main characters in the first Star Ocean game. A newly-promoted Ensign, he is overshadowed by his famous hero of a father. So much so, in fact, that it was Ronixis who pestered young Claude into joining the Federation military! He is also showed favoritism by his father which causes the rest of the crew to dislike him slightly. Despite this, Claude is an honorable young man who excels at sword fighting (to be exact, an Edarl-like sword technique) but isn't bad with a phase gun either. Though his self-esteem isn't great, if there's anyone that can be counted on in a fight, it's Claude Kenni. And his more than passing interest in Rena Lanford makes for some great touching moments during the game.

Rena Lanford

One of the two main characters of the game, Rena is a young girl living on the underdeveloped planet of Expel, in a village called Arlia. She's rather happy-go-lucky, but has a very serious and romantic side to herself, especially around Claude. She has strange, elf-like ears that no one else on Expel seems to have, as well as healing powers that the Heraldic (Symbological) runes of the planet do not. Rena fights with knuckles (the equivalent to monk fist weapons from Final Fantasy), and sometimes with her feet, but is not a primary fighter. Rather, she excels at disruptive, healing, and statistical Heraldry. In fact, she is the only healer you have for the first half of the game, and the only one who can support your party in that role for the entire game. Noel has some healing abilities, but not even 1/100 of the power that Rena had, has and is capable of possessing.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Star Ocean: The Second Story ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Star Ocean: The Second Story; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay