<<Star Ocean: The Second Story FAQ>>
North American Version
Claude C. Kenni Scenario Walkthrough
By: aox
Email: [email protected]
FAQ version 1.0
7/3/1999

Table of Contents
-----------------

Notes
Introduction
Walkthrough
Secrets
Strategies
Credits

Notes
-----

1.      First of all this FAQ is the first FAQ I have ever written.  I need
as much help as I can get to improve this FAQ.  If you have any
suggestions please send it to [email protected] Thank you very much.

2.      I want to stress the kind of game Star Ocean is.  The walkthrough
is NOT the only way to play through the game as you probably figure
with the 80+ endings the game features.  It merely provides the
basic storyline and its appropriate actions. Also there are
innovations to this game never seen in any RPG, thus making this
game extremely big to be discussed in just this FAQ.  This is just
a general guide produced from what I have played and information is
subject to change.

3.      This is the first version (v 1.0) of the Star Ocean FAQ.  It
includes a general walkthrough that is written as I play the game
in full action mode.  In future updates, there will be information
regarding killer moves and spells, item creation, skills and
specialties.  The next update to this version will include more
strategies and secrets along with the next part of the walkthrough
starting from disc 2.

4.      The walkthrough contains spoilers, so please have fun playing
through the game and use this walkthrough when you are stuck.

5.      I have added the Private Actions of each town.  However, there
could be more than just one private action per town.  Some you will
have to do before a town, while others you do after you've entered
the town.  The descriptions of the private actions are subject to
change because you will obviously response differently from me for
certain situations.

6.      All emails should include in the subject heading: star ocean.  This
way I won't think it's a junk mail and will reply or update the FAQ
as fast as possible

7.      This FAQ is copyrighted 1999 by aox.  Please do not distribute this
FAQ freely without my permission.  If you want to put the FAQ up at
a page, please email me so I can give you my consent.



Introduction
------------

Wow! Star Ocean: The Second Story is an awesome game!  In my opinion, I
think it is better than Final Fantasy VII except for the fact that the
localization is kinda crappy.  The game has the most impressive
graphics I have ever seen (excluding character design but that problem
also exists in FFVII) in an RPG and has many innovative features that
mark the game as one of the best RPG on the Sony Playstation.  These
features include: an active battle system - a system where the battle
is not turn-based; an emotion system – decisions the players make for
their characters will ultimately determine the outcome of a situation;
a customized item system – where players are allowed to create their
own items whether it is of healing or of changing character statistics.
Basically this game allows the player to fully engage in an epic
adventure in every aspect.

Walkthrough
-----------

Planet Milocinia

In the beginning of the game, you get to choose between two characters.
For this walkthrough I chose to be Claude C. Kenni.  The story begins
when Claude is assigned a mission to investigate the mysterious energy
field on the planet of Milocinia.  When Claude's party lands on the
planet, his renowned father Ronixis is in control.  They find a big
dome and enter it.  Claude then finds something strange in the dome.
After touching the energy field he is transported away to what seems
like a primitive land, Planet Expel.

Planet Expel

Village of Arlia

After the mysterious flash, Claude finds himself in a forest.  He
notices a young girl being chased by a monster.  Here as I recall, you
have the decision to rescue Rena or not.  I chose to rescue her.  Upon
killing the monster, she brings you to her village of Arlia.
Afterwards she leaves you and you are left alone to explore the
village.  However, you should find Rena first because she will guide
you through the village.  Her house is located near the bottom-left
corner.  After you are done exploring the village, return to Rena's
house.  Her mother will prepare a gigantic feast for you.  Then she
will accidentally call you "the warrior", which will then trigger an
important event.  When you go downstairs, the mayor of Arlia is there
and he will tell you why they think you are "the warrior" and the story
about the sorcery globe.  After explaining to them that you are just
trying to find your way back home, the mayor tells you to not use your
"sword of light" and hands you a long sword.  He then tells you to
visit the mining town of Salva to the north of Arlia to find more clues
and information.

Salva

When you arrive at the town, there is nothing much you can do except to
equip yourself with the latest armor and weapon.  After talking to a
few people, they will tell you about the mansion in the town and how
the owner/mayor of the town has a kid named Alen who recently found a
very expensive stone and is dating Rena.  There is nothing much to do
but to go back to Arlia.

Private Action – Claude talks to Rena about his dad.  You will then see
some scenes as to how Claude ended up on the planet Milocinia.

Arlia (revisited)

As soon as you arrive back at Arlia, Westa and Regis will explain to
you how Rena was kidnapped by Alen.  I think you get to decide again if
you want to rescue Rena or not.  If you are, you have to head back to
Salva.  But before you leave Arlia, rest at your room at Regis' house.
After you leave the village, build some levels as the enemies are more
than sufficient to raise your levels so you won't take any damage from
them.

Salva (revisited)

Your task here is to rescue Rena.  Talk to everyone in the mansion and
a guy upstairs should tell you about a statue he is not suppose to
touch in the study.  When you arrive at the study, you should be able
to see something shiny.  Touch it and a bookshelf will move to reveal a
secret passage.  Enter the passage and there will be a hurt guy on the
ground.  Pass him and go into the mines.  After collecting all the
treasure, go to the save point and save.  Enter the room, and you will
see a possessed Alen about to perform a wedding ceremony with Rena.
You will then untie Rena and fight the transformed Alen.  However,
before you enter this room, build your levels up to around level 10 and
Alen should be no problem.  Afterwards, Rena heals Alen and you end up
back at Regis' house.

Arlia (revisited II)

Back at Regis house, you tell of your adventure, and there are some
seriously long dialogues here.  Claude decides what to do next, and
Rena asks to come along.  After Regis' permission, Rena goes home to
tell her mother about the news.  You then have control of Claude, go
upstairs and you will hear someone throwing rocks on your window.  Go
out to the balcony and Rena will ask to speak with you.  Go downstairs
and Regis will be gone.  When you go outside, Rena is not there.  You
have to go on to the next screen and she will be on the bridge.  Talk
to her and she will explain to you the reason why she wants to go with
you.  When it's daytime, you get to leave the village.  Regis tells you
to go to the Castle of Cross to find more news from the king.  Before
leaving the village you should check out the private action.

Private Action - You should find Rena at her room.  I asked about the
past, and got to see a FMV.  If you chose to ask what kind of a kid she
was in the past, she will be angry with you.

Cross

On your path to Cross, you should notice how the lighting changes which
indicates the time of the day.  When you enter the town of Cross, there
is no one there and your party decides to stay at an inn nearby.  Rena
then notices that her aunt owns the inn.  For the time being, she will
let you stay at her inn for free.  In the morning, head to the castle
and sign up at the reception desk.  Explore around the castle and you
will find some treasure boxes at the armory.  Talk to the people around
the castle and someone will say how much Claude looks like the prince.
Now head back to the main hall and talk to the guards, they will let
you pass through so you could have an audience with the king.  The king
tells you some information and asks if you want to investigate the
sorcery globe.  At this point I chose to, and the king gave 600 fols
and a passport and said to go to the port of Clik.  When you leave the
castle you will notice a dispute between Celine and some wizard.
Claude will then interrupt them and Celine will ask you if you want to
join her on a treasure hunt at Cross Cave.

Private Action - When you leave the town of Cross, you should check out
the private action.  It is nothing special, but when Claude enters an
alley, he will notice someone that looks very much like him run by,
perhaps the prince that was mentioned earlier.

Cross Cave

Cross Cave is nearby the town.  Head east after leaving the town and
you will end up at an intersection.  To the right of the intersection
is the cave.  At this point, you could go to the nearby towns first to
better equip yourself if you have the money.  The first one is straight
up the intersection.  The town of Mars is Celine's hometown and there
is nothing much to do here except to get the Flame Sword (which you can
get for free later on in the game at the Heraldry Woods.)  Go
furthermore and you end up at the seaport of Herlie.  There is some
good armor to get here.  If you have the money, make sure to pick up
the brigandine armor along with some headgear and footwear.  Also be
sure to buy some skills at the skill guild.  They offer some pretty
advance skills for the time being.  (If you don't have the money, you
can wait because pretty soon you will be back at this place.)  Back at
Cross Cave, it's a pretty easy maze.  Look for all the treasure chests,
and you will end up in a big room with a save point.  Here Celine will
say that the entrance to the treasure should be here.  The party looks
around and finds nothing.  Claude then looks at the map and stumbles
upon small writing on the bottom.  Celine then casts the spell and an
entrance opens.  Save your game.  When you enter there is a star in the
middle of the room.  Open the treasure chest at the most left and you
will get the treasure.  From there open all the chests in a counter
clock-wise circle.  You will then open an empty chest, and two
gargoyles will fly in and attack you.  The gargoyles should be no
problem if your levels are high.  Claude should take no damage from
them.  When you are done, exit the cave and you get to decide if you
want Celine your party.  Your next stop should be port Clik.

Port Clik

Ok, lemme tell you, I am really enjoying the awesome graphics and the
beautiful music this game presents especially in towns/cities such as
Clik.  The only thing that might need a little work is on the character
design but that's not too noticeable.  Here at Clik, you will notice
the big size of the city from all the little shops and stands around.
There are lots of things to do here.  You should learn some skills at
the skill guild and equip yourself with better accessories if you
haven't already done so.  Next head to the port where a ship awaits.
Talk to the guy who is in charge and he will ask you for a passport.
After you hand it to him, he will tell you to look around town some
more since the ship is not ready.  When you go back to the fountain,
some kid will bump Claude, and he will notice that his wallet is
missing.  Now you have to search for the kid.  Talk to some people and
you find out he is at the old warehouses where you entered the city
from.  When you discover Ketil, Rena will talk to him and cause him to
slip his tongue.  He gives the wallet back to Claude and has to show
the party around the city.  Now I think this part has to do with the
emotion system.  Claude gets some chances to build his relationship
with Ketil which probably will affect the ending.  When you enter back
into town you will notice an earthquake, however, nobody cares.  You
could buy some treats for Ketil at the ice cream and crepes stands.
Then you could go to the restaurant and eat up a free meal.  You could
also take Ketil to the clothing store.  When you get there, you get to
choose which character in your party Ketil will say the clothes look
good on.  I chose Claude and he got to wear a funny purple shirt.
Leave this place and head to the port.  You will notice two kids who
don't want to play with Ketil because he is rich.  Claude and the party
will persuade the kids to play Ketil.  When you talk to the guy in
charge of the ship, he will tell you he is almost ready and come back
after a little bit.  Head back to the fountain and if you have a dual
shock prepare for a long shake.  There will be a CG where the
earthquake is engulfing Clik.  Afterwards, you will end up at the
overlook site.  Talk to the captain and he will give you your passport
back and tell you to go to Herlie but first go to Mars to rest which is
on the way.  When you are about to leave, you will notice a big tsunami
which further wipes out Clik.  You will then meet Ketil and some
survivors.  After talking to them, it's time to go.

Private Action - If you chose to do the private action as soon as you
arrive here, you will notice a woman name Filia talking about the
destruction of Clik.  Everyone who is listening to her thinks she is
insane.  Proceed to talk to Rena and Celine.

Ok before you go to Mars, recall Cross town.  To the west of the town,
there is a mountain path.  Here you could gain some serious levels.
The enemies are tough, but once you've defeated a few of them, your
levels will be high enough to destroy them with no problem.  When you
are done head to Mars.  I recommend getting a level of 20+.

Mars

Here, as I have mentioned before you could get the Ruby Wand and the
Flame sword at the weapons store (for a free flame sword wait till you
go to the Heraldry Forest.)  Proceed to the elder's house.  Here you
will meet Celin's father Eglas and mother Labe.  They will be happy to
meet you.  However the situation is pretty bad at the village as all
the kids are kidnapped by a group of bandits at the Heraldry Forest.
The bandits want a 500,000 ransom and the Book of the Secret Seals.
The meeting is held regarding what to do and for the first time in the
game you are introduced to Dias the swordsman.  The dialogue here is
very confusing but nevertheless your party offers to go save the kids.
Rena wants Dias to join your party but Claude refuses.  Rena then runs
off to find Dias.  At this point Claude and Celin forms a party and
goes into the Forest.

Heraldry Forest

The forest is a pretty simple maze.  Just follow the singular paths and
collect the treasures on the way.  For certain paths be sure to equip
Claude with the mud boots that the village elder gave as you cannot go
forward without them on.  In one of the treasure chest will be a Flame
Sword, be sure to pick that up.  The paths will eventually bring you to
a save point.  You've probably guessed by this point you will face a
boss.  If you have built up your level to around 20 this should be
easy.  When you make a left past the save point, a Heraldry Master in
disguise will greet you.  After his gibberish you should realize that
he is a fake.  When you defeat him, Rena and Dias stop by and tell you
that they've freed the kids.  Then Dias makes some weird comment.  Now
hurry back to the village and see if Eglas is ok.

Mars (revisited)

After your arrival, Rena will save Eglas and be thanked by everyone.
Oh yea and be sure to pick up the treasure chests behind the room in
the elder's house.  When you leave, Celine comes out and tells you to
spent a night at her house.  Before Claude sleeps Eglas will talk about
the Sorcery Globe and hints mysteriously about Claude's relationship.
But that's not a surprise as I find Mars full of mysterious
relationships, example, Rena and Dias.  When you are done with the
village head to the port of Herlie.

Private Action – nothing much here.  Celine and Rena will each give an
one sentence line.

Before you come to Port Herlie, you might want to check out some
private actions.  Below are 3 more private actions that is available.

Arlia – When you find Celine she will have a good luck charm for you.
You could decide to take it or not.  Afterwards there will be some
dialogue about a girl that Celine will mention to Claude

Salva – Go to the jam store.  Here you will find Celine looking for the
shop owner.  You could choose to help her or not.  If you do you could
find the owner practicing her singing in the mines behind the mansion.
When you find her you could either encourage or discourage her singing
abilities.  Go back to the jam shop.

Cross – Nothing exciting here.  However you will find Rena at the
Cathedral.  She will talk about how she wants to marry the perfect man
at this place.  Claude will then compliment her.  From there the
compliments go back and forth.

Port Herlie

If you haven't learned the skills here, learn them.  By now you should
be able to increase some levels on the perseverance skill.  Learn the
perseverance skill to its fullest (lv. 10) and you will see many other
skills which only require 1 skill point to advance. (If you want some
quick skill points, head back to the mountain path by Cross.)  Also try
to learn the pickpocketing specialty as fast as possible because in the
next town you will be able to get the pricey Bandit's Glove which
allows you to steal from anyone in a town.  (it's extremely cool!)  Ok
when you first enter Herlie some guy will tell you about a very sick
girl who is incurable.  She is in the building right next to the guy.
I'm not sure if you could cure the girl or not but if you can please
email me.  Right next to her pick up the treasure chest.  It contains
the ring of sadness.  Next go and explore Herlie Mansion behind all the
shops because it contains some treasure chests.  When you are done head
to the port and have 90 fols ready to travel across to the continent of
Lacour.

Private Action – nothing special.  Celine will eat at the Chinese place
and Rena will talk about how nice the ocean breeze is.

Ashton Anchors

Talk to the two men when you first enter Herlie.  They will talk about
2 dragons at Salva Drift. (ignore them if you want Opera Vectra in the
party) Go to Salva Drift and enter the Dragon Nest.  You will find
Ashton walking around.  Follow him and collect the treasures on the
way.  Save your game when you have reached the save point.  Now you
will witness some funny scenes.  Ashton will fight a dragon and a light
will appear.  Soon you'll notice that the he and the dragon are
combined.  Leave Salva Drift and head for Mars.  When you reach Mars,
go to the elder's house and read The Book of Exorcism.  After reading
the book, head to the Mountain Palace.  When you reach the palace, the
guard will tell you that you need permission from the king.  Get an
audience at Cross and the king will hand over 3000 fol.  Head to the
palace and the guard will aid you if you need.  There are two passages
so head west.  When you've reached the save point save.  Now you have
to fight Nightmare.  If your level is above 30 you should have no
problem.  It'll take some time.  When you are done you have to go to
the mountain northwest of Cross Castle.  Head north and you will find a
nest. A bird will come and you will have to fight it.  Xain is a tough
boss but energy arrow seems to work well.

Continent of Lacour

Port Hilton – When you exit the ship, if you have 40,000+ fols and have
the pickpocketing specialty go purchase Bandit's Glove at the tool shop
at the bottom right corner in the next screen.  Don't worry about
spending the whopping 40,000 because some of the people you jack from
will have the glove which you can sell for 10,000+ fols.  Oh yea and
don't get too caught up jacking people and forgetting to talk to them
like me!  When you talk to the people they will tell you to go to
Lacour Castle to get more info.  Your next destination should be
Lacour.

Private action – I'm not sure if this is a private action, but when you
go back into the town, there will be two kids in front of the shops.
When you talk to one of the kid he will tell you that one of his
parents die.  Hehe, just when you thought you stole something good
(gold necklace of some sort) Claude realizes that a picture of the
kid's father is inside.  You then get to decide if you want to return
the item or not.  If you choose to, the kid will thank you for finding
it!  Hehe

You might want to gain some experience in the forest around the town of
Lacour.  The enemies are tough but not you should be able to beat them.

Town of Lacour

The town is extremely crowded, everyone is very excited to watch and
participate in the tournament that is about to happen despite the
military battling the monsters at the frontline.  In the beginning you
cannot shop for weapons, you have to wait… but that's ok just go around
jacking everybody.  When you are done head for the castle and you get
to decide if you want to enter the battle.  If you choose yes, you need
a weapons sponsor.

Shop Name     Attack       Defense      Free Gifts
Counterpunch  Worst        Best         2 swt, 1 mix syrup; 1 blk bry
Knockout      Best         Worst        2 swt, 1 mix syrup; 1 blk bry
Slayer        Second Worst Second Best  1 fruit, fresh syrup; atk vial;
                                         violence pill
Straight      Second Best  Second Worst 2 swt, 1 mix syrup; 1 blk berry

Slayer and Straight are shops that are very similar.  However I would
recommend Slayer because of its free gifts, its decent attack and its
decent armor.

*Note – when you are on the final stage of the tournament, it is very
likely you will not be able to beat Dias Flac.  However, you should be
able to be placed runner-up.  The prize for runner-up is everything you
have equipped from your weapon sponsor.  Thus if you want that nice
sword from knockout, go with them.

When you are done signing up with a store, you could head out and get
some experience before you head to Lacour Hotel to rest until the
tournament.  (Currently, I have about lv.36 for Claude and its still
not enough to beat Dias Flac.  I am not sure if you can beat him or
not.)  When you rest in the hotel, Rena will act weird… I am dying to
find out her relationship with Dias!  When it is time, head to the
castle and get your weapons at the coliseum registration desk.  Dias
will come by and look for his weapons and Rena will mention the weapons
she gave him.  Claude immediately gets jealous and mad causing Rena to
run after Dias.  When you are done head left into the waiting room.
Prepare for your first battle.  I would recommend putting energy sword
if you have it and the strongest killer move possible. The first
fighter is Amon Rau.  He is the character wearing the gold armor.
Extremely easy to defeat.  When you beat him go find Celine at the
spectators' bench.  After a few lines of talk Rena will come and cheer
for you.  You now have to watch Dias cream the other dude.  Afterwards
a guard will call you to the next battle against Dol Aden, some ugly
creature.  Again, he will not cause any damage at all.  Your next
component will be Jose Duran, a being that looks like a gorilla.
Occasionally he will hit you causing over 400+ hp of damage.  Just cure
yourself if you have energy sword, or use an item.  When you beat him,
head over to the spectators' bench again.  Again you have to watch Dias
defeat his opponent with ease.  Your final battle is with Dias.  He
will first talk to you and hint about his dealings with Rena which is
quite a mystery.  He is very agile and has strong magic spells.  I
couldn't hurt him at all.

Private Action – This private action is for the first time you enter
the town.  Rena and Celine gives you a one liner… boring!  However, go
talk to an old lady who tells you she can't walk when you go to the
left of the town.  If you choose to get her grocery for her, she tells
you to go to Pellin Nor's shop which is a little stand on the right
side of the town, 2 screens over.  The shopowner will give you a piece
of gold.  Head back to the old lady and she will reward you with 2
treasures, the rainbow diamond and the star ruby.  Then the old lady
begins to walk!

Private Action – Alright, after you leave the town, do the private
action.  You will find a little girl who ran away from her.  You could
choose to leave her alone or offer her to come along.  I chose to offer
her to come along and she thought I was a molester. Haha.  Anyway you
will probably be wondering where she went.  To find her go all the way
back to Herlie and find her in the warehouse when you enter the town.
She's hidden behind some wood.  When you find her some minions will
come by to get her.  Kill them and you get some 2 core plates and neo
greaves, best equipment to have so far.

Opera Vectra

After the Tournament of Arms, head to Hilton.  In the bar you should
see a three-eyed woman asking about a three-eyed man.  She is Opera.
(If you do not see this scene, go to Cross at head to the bar, there
you will see the three-eyed man)  Opera will then ask Claude if he has
seen Ernest.  Claude says he saw him at Cross.  Go to Cross, get an
audience with the king and ask about the three-eyed woman.  He will
give you permission to the mountain palace and 10,000 fol.  Now head to
the palace and head north.  About two screens up, you will see Opera,
talk to her and she will join you.  Go through the maze and you will
reach a save point.  Save and go to the next room with the two
monsters.  My levels are 40+ and the monsters were easily defeated.  If
you're levels are 20+, you Claude to attack since he won't get any
damage.  After defeating them, go to Ernest's room.  He is not there so
you have to go back to Lacour.

Shingo Forest

To get Ernest, you have see the scene at Shingo Forest.  But first do a
private action at Arlia.  Find Opera on the balcony and talk to her.
Next head to Shingo Forest without private action.  When you get there,
go to the top right corner and Opera will see her destroyed spaceship.
You will also receive her Seventh Ray.  You won't get Ernest
immediately.  Have to wait till Hoffman Ruins.  See the section on
Hoffman Ruins below.

The traveling man

If you go to Salva at this point, you will see Raddle the Traveler who
asks where the harbor town of Herlie is.  Tell him it is to the north.
Now go to Mars.  He will tell you he is lost, but you will tell him to
go further east.  Now head to Hilton.  Tell him to take the return
boat.  At Herlie you can find him in the inn.  Talk to him and he will
reward you with the Funny Slayer, a sword that kills Funny in 1 blow.

Back at Hilton, if you rest in the inn there will be a short scene
where Claude tries to use his communicator.  Rena will follow quietly.
Your next destination should be Linga.

Linga

When you first enter Linga, there will be a girl chasing around a
machine.  His name is Bo-bot.  Now head toward the building right next
to when you enter to buy some skills. These are the most advance
skills.  Next head over to the Professor Keith's house.  His assistant
will tell you to make an appointment, but it will take about 1 month.
Now the party is going to look for someone who has connections with the
professor.  Head over to Bowman's pharmacy at the top left of the next
screen to the north.  He will tell you to get some rare herbs at the
Sanctuary of Linga which is located right by the town.

Sanctuary of Linga

This place contains many treasure chests that have close to invisible
paths.  However the chests do not contain things that are rare.  I
would recommend not picking up the herbs in the beginning of the
dungeon as they are fake.  There are two types of herbs that are
available.  One is the clarisage which you can get on the outer parts
of the dungeon.  The other one is the Dill Whip which is in the inner
part of the dungeon (parts where you see skeletons of enormous beasts
are the inner parts).  There is a secret passage right by a treasure
chest sitting near a Dill Whip herb. If you go into the path you will
reach a save point.  Keep going and you will see three treasure chests.
The party is wondering why there is so many skeletons here.  Suddenly,
3 beasts will attack you.  My recommended level here is 35+.  My level
here is about 45 and I receive no damage when these beasts attack.
Have Celine cast thunderstorm or if you lunar than use that.  I had
Claude and Opera attack and Rena to heal.  The bosses have plenty of HP
so the battle may take awhile.

Linga (revisited)

Before you enter Linga you might want to check out the private action
first if you want to get Precis instead of Bowman.  Give the herb to
Bowman.  He will tell you that you have discovered a whole new species.
He will then take you to Keith's pad.  When you get there, go upstairs
and talk to Keith.  Claude will give him the ancient writings and he
will hold it for awhile.  You will now end up at Bowman's house.  Talk
to your party then go to Bowman's room.  Here you could choose to let
him in your party or not.  After you rest, you should head over to
Lacour Castle.

Private Action – to get Precis

Go to Bowman's pharmacy.  You will meet Precis and Bobot there.  Precis
seems to like you a lot.  She will now bring you to her house and Rena
happens to be there also.  The crowd will have a conversation and
Precis will insist on going with you to the Sorcery Globe.  You could
then choose to let her in your party.  Note – if you have Bowman, you
cannot have Precis.  Vice versa.

Private Action

If you have Bowman in your party already, this is the private action.
Head over to the library, and Rena will come in and ask you if you are
looking for a book.  She will then go get a book herself, and it's a
book on entering college.  She will tell you how she would like to know
what kind of a place a university is.  Then Claude will offer to teach
her.

Lacour Castle –

When you first arrive here, the guard will mistaken you for refugees.
You will learn that a horde of monsters have taken over the continent
of El.  Go to the castle and go to the registration desk.  Next head up
the stairs and talk to everyone.  One of the guards will give you plate
mail.  When you talk to the lady you get a potion.  Go downstairs to
the laboratory and you will see Leon and his family there.  They are
currently working on the Lacour Hope.  However, they need a certain
material or else the cannon will not run.  Your job now is to take Leon
to the Hoffman Ruins.

Hoffman Ruins

Here is a great place to get experience.  My levels here are at lv. 45.
The enemies are tough but eventually you will have enough power to
defeat them easily.  When you first enter the ruins Leon will try to
open the gate.  Then he realizes you need two people at once to open
it.  When you enter go straight and pick up the treasure chests in the
adjacent rooms.  Next head to the right of the entrance.  You will then
be at what looks like a cave maze.  In the maze there are levers which
you can pull.  I'm not sure what they do but when you pull them, you
will get hurt (can someone help me out with this one?).  Pick up the
treasure chests around and you will end up at a save point.  Save your
game and head north into green room.  When you enter, Rena's pendant
will glow.  This is what the party is looking for; the heraldry stone
called the "energy stone."  Two bosses will appear and I recommend your
levels to be at least 45.  If you have the hexagram card, use it right
now to prevent their extremely strong spells.  Hit them with lunar
light if you have it and blast him away Opera from far away.  Let
Claude attack him with normal attacks.  You should be done in a few
minutes.  After the battle, Leon disappeared.  You will find him hiding
behind some rocks.  Now head back to shore and go to Lacour Castle.

Ernest Raveide

If you want Ernest, you have to have performed the operations, which I
mentioned in Opera's section above.  After defeating the two bosses, on
your way out you should see a possessed Ernest asking for the energy
stone.  Opera realizes there is something wrong and you will have to
fight the ghost.  (Note: if you get Ernest, you can't get Chisato
unless you get rid of Leon later at Eluria Colony.)

Lacour Castle (revisited)

Back at Lacour, talk to the king and Leon will go off with his parents
to get to work with the energy stone.  The king knows who you guys are
because he had heard from Cross Castle.  He will ask you to do him a
favor, to go the front lines and stop the hordes of monsters that are
evading.  That's about all you can do here.

Front Lines

When you first arrive here, go to the general store and get equipped
up.  It will be awhile before you can upgrade anymore.  Next head over
to the commander's room.  Here fighters are lined up including Dias.
Claude will join them for the briefing.  When you go out, Rena and
Claude will talk about Dias.  Dias will come out and Rena will go
chasing him again.  Bowman will then make a comment about "little
sister."  Now you will have to head outside and talk to Dias who will
tell you, you are strong and only you can protect Rena.  Rest at the
hospital and the next day the horde will attack.  Before you go off
fighting the horde, save your game at the entrance of the front lines.
Then hurry out to the front lines and you will have to fight Shin.  You
can't defeat.  You just have to survive for awhile and he will be gone.
Talk to the people around you and you will be informed that a big horde
of monsters is coming.  Dias and Claude will tell each other to stay
alive.  Suddenly Leon will come to the rescue and blast away the horde
with the Lacour Hope.

Lacour, Hilton and Sea Trip to Eluria

You are now back at Lacour.  The king tells you that he plans to attack
Eluria on the continent of El but before he does that he needs a
commando team to gather information at Eluria.  The scene will then
switch to Hilton.  At Hilton the party prepares to go off to sea.  Dias
will not be coming and Rena doubts that the party will ever see him
again.  When you are at sea, you will see two monsters with Shin.  The
crew prepares the Lacour Hope and fires a blast.  However, Shin
reflects the beam and fights you and he suggests some spaceship shield.
Again you will not be able to beat Shin.  Just let him waste your party
since the game won't end.  He will then throw your party off the ship.

Back aboard Ronixis's spaceship, they will come upon the Arctura
Sector, which emits a signal and a high-energy field.  The spaceship
will head over and take a survey of the Arctura Sector.

Eluria Shore

At the shore, you will gain consciousness and will be looking for
everyone else.  The only person you will find right now is Leon who is
extremely concerned with his parents.  Now you will have to find the
others who are at Eluria Colony.

Eluria Colony

This place appears as a tent on the map.  When you arrive, you will
meet Rena and the others who will tell you to meet the village elder.
Go inside the tent at the top right.  The elder will tell you to go to
the armory next door.  You get to decide if you want to keep Leon or
not.  Keep him because it would be sad to abandon him.  Besides he will
be of great help.  Go to the armory and search the barrels.  There will
be lots of items for free.  When you are about to leave the shop owner
will give you what Claude believes to be an ID card.  Now you can head
over to Eluria Tower.

Eluria Tower

When you enter Eluria, Claude and the party will notice that the city
is completely different.  Claude will insert the ID card and the gate
will open.  When you are in the tower, go straight and you will see 5
treasure chests with a glass fighting man in between.  Record the
number inscribed in the glass statue, as it will help you solve the
riddle later on.  For example, the first statue is 3-o.  Which means
the third letter is o.  Head up the towers, collect the treasures and
until you reach a room with pillars which means you cannot proceed any
further.  Remember the room where the guide asks you to enter the word.
Recall the statues and enter the letters accordingly.  The 5 letters
should be a – p – o – c – a.  This stands for apocalypse an inevitable
event about to happen.  The guide will give you the card to open the
pillars.  Head to the left first because the boss is at the right.
Claude will then receive some signals from the transmitter.  Claude
then runs to the center and warns the party not to come closer.  He is
then transported to Ronixis's spaceship.

Spaceship

His father will be glad to meet him but Claude insists on going back.
He cannot because of the treaty of undeveloped planets.  Suddenly, an
analyst tells the crew that Expel is on a collision course with another
planet.  Claude then tells him he cannot ditch his friends without
saying goodbye.  He is then given 5 minutes to go and come back.

Eluria Tower (revisited)

Back at the tower, Claude will take off his transmitter and say he
belongs here with Rena.  Ronixis will transport the transmitter back
and realize that this is what his son wanted even before he came back.
Next head to the right.  You will come upon a save point.  Save your
game and head north to the hallway.  Shin is there with two monsters.
This time you WILL be able to destroy him.  He is a pretty easy boss.
If you have Opera with you, use alpha on one because it will just trace
him down and hit him hard before he can even use his powers.  My
recommended level is lv. 55.  When you are done keep heading up and you
will end up at the Sorcery Globe.  Rena's pendant will shine again and
the Nedian Ten Wise Men will pop up.  They explain that the pendant is
actually a crystallized Heraldry quadratic key and the Sorcery Globe is
the Quadratic Sphere that changes the orbit of Expel.  Claude will try
to stop them and Berle gladly accepts the challenge to defeat everyone.
Again, the point is to survive because you can't kill him.  After this,
you will get to see Expel destroyed.

End of Disc 1.

Secrets
-------

So far, the secrets in the game involve how to get certain characters.

Right now, I am testing out the Super Specialty "Come on Bunny" to
explore.

Strategies
----------

Bars and Cafes – These are areas where you will get the most current
info.  They will also be places where people will give you hints and
strategies.

Save points – Always save your game!  You don't want to lose all the
hard work you have done!

Weapons and Equipment – Be sure to get the best weaponry and equipment
available at each town.  It will greatly enhance your characters.

Items – have plenty of items for backup in case your MP runs out for
your healer.

Item Creation – Always try out different combination of things to
produce some of the coolest items in the game.  Be sure to SAVE your
game when you are customizing a weapon because if you fail, the weapon
is gone!

Experience – Whenever you have the time build some levels because it
will give you precious skill points and raise character stats.

Combat – If you can, attack the enemy from behind.  This will give you
an offensive advantage where the enemy will take too much time to turn
around to attack you.

Dungeons – When you are at a dungeon..  check all possible routes
before you advance because you might come up with something you have
missed before.

Private Actions – always pick up clues and follow them because you will
never know what you are gonna encounter... for ex.  If Opera says she
crashed her spaceship at the Shingo Forest, go ahead and check the
place out…  cuz if you didn't you are missing out on getting Ernest.

Credits
-------

Thanks to Enix, Tri-Ace, and Links for creating such a great game -
Star Ocean: the Second story.

Thanks to Prasetia's <[email protected]> walkthrough for giving me
info on characters.  Please visit her page at
http://members.xoom.com/prasetia_g/


Sorry to have taken so long.. I have to work and go to school at the
same time.  :/  A Rena walkthrough will probably come but my tight
schedule may prohibit it from coming for awhile.