_____________ __ ______ ______ _____ _____ __ _______
/ ______ ___//_ \ / __ / / __ // ___// ___//_ \ / _ /
\ \ / / __ \ \ / /_/ / / / / // / / ___/__ \ \ / // /
_____\ \ / / / /__\ \ / _ < / /_/ // /__ / /__ / /__\ \ / // /____
/_______/ /_/ /________\/__//__/ /_____//____//____//________\/__//________\
_______ __ __ __ _____ ______ ______ __ __ _____ ______ _____
/ // / / / / // ___/ / ____// __ // /_/ // ___// __ / / ___/
/ []__// / / / / // ___/ \ \ / /_/ // __ // ___// /_/ / / ___/
/ [] \ / /__ / /_/ // /__ ___\ \ / ____// / / // /__ / _ < / /__
/______//____//_____//____/ /_____//_/ /_/ /_//____//__//__//____/
+-------------------------------------------+
| STAR OCEAN: BLUE SPHERE General FAQ v1.75 |
| Last Updated: September 1, 2003 |
| By Kristina Ann Potts AKA Aussie2B |
| E-mail:
[email protected] |
+-------------------------------------------+
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | TABLE OF CONTENTS | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Notes and Important Updates
Introduction
Where Can I Buy It?
Story
Menu
Characters
- Report
- Type
- Moves/Spells
Battle System and Combos
Skill System - Coming Soon!
Field Actions
Item Creation
Shops - Coming Soon!
Item List - Coming Soon!
Enemy List - Coming Soon!
Versus Mode – Coming Soon!
Private Actions
Contacting Me
Copyright Information
Thanks to...
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | NOTES AND IMPORTANT UPDATES | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
September 1, 2003 – version 1.75 – FINALLY an update! Yep, I’m not dead, and I
still love Star Ocean: Blue Sphere. This is a pretty big one too. ALL of the
moves and spells have been added! A small handful is still missing
descriptions, but that’s insignificant in comparison to the importance of
finally have a full list of every move and spell including the requirements for
acquiring each. Other than that, I’m sure you’ll notice the massive layout
overhaul. I hope everyone likes the ASCII art that I hand-made myself. ^_^ It’s
not just for looks, though, as I felt the guide needed some clearer section
dividers. There’s a lot of other little stuff fixed and added here and there,
but I’ll leave that up to you to discover. Till next time! (And I promise it
won’t be so long until the next update!)
December 13, 2001 - version 1.35 - Several new spells and moves added, minor
corrections, and the entire list of foods you can make with the Chouri Item
Creation ability. Next update for the FAQ probably will be awhile, as I'd like
to get at least half of the game covered in the walkthrough.
November 8, 2001 - version 1.3 - Little things added here and there such as
moves, Field Actions, and Private Actions. Thanks to whisper for the info on
some of them. I also changed my email to
[email protected], so PLEASE
don't use the old account if you somehow come across it. There's no way for me
to access it. And I finally got the Item Creation section added.
October 10, 2001 - version 1.2 - I got the Field Action section added, and I
decided to add a new section to the list. It's to help you acquire a copy of
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere. Added a Private Action and a few spells and moves too.
Yes, I know there are still plenty of Field Actions, moves, spells, and other
stuff missing, not to mention entire sections. I'm working on it. ;)
September 29, 2001 - version 1.0 (initial version) - Since no information on
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere is currently available in English, I'm submitting this
FAQ as soon as I feel possible. Many sections are missing, but it has plenty of
information already regardless. I will update with future sections. No need to
email me about it. I will do it as soon as possible. There are probably some
minor mistakes and typos, but it will all be fixed in the future. Until then I
hope what's available is useful. ^_^
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | INTRODUCTION | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere is a very complicated game. Arguably more so than the
previous Star Ocean games, Star Ocean and Star Ocean: The Second Story. The
game offers you little help. Few things are done automatically. You're in
control of your growth, what moves and spells your characters learn, how
successful you are in Item Creation, and many other things. Before you leap
right into the game, I suggest you skim the basics of this FAQ. Understanding
the menus and the battle system is a must. If you use my walkthrough, you
should use this guide at the same time. Hopefully this FAQ will eventually let
you acquire and do everything the game has to offer. Until then, it should give
you quite a head start!
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | WHERE CAN I BUY IT? | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
I've seen this question asked several times on various message boards, so I
thought I'd offer a few suggestions. The best way to get the game would be to
find a local store that imports games from Japan. Ask them if their suppliers
can get Star Ocean: Blue Sphere for you. If they can't, it would be too
expensive, or you simply don't have any stores like that near you, your next
best bet would be:
http://www.ebay.com
Most people are familiar with eBay, but in case you're not, it's an online
auction site. You have to register to use it, and to do so, you either need an
ISP email account or a credit card number. There's a trick around that, though.
They only require a credit card number if you're using a free web-based email
account that they have in their database, like Hotmail and Yahoo. If you use
something more obscure, they won't ask for a credit card number. There's also a
rule that you have to be 18, so if you're not and you want to use eBay, I
suggest you have a parent sign up or at least get permission. Anyway, it's free
to use unless you're selling something, and you can find all sorts of imported
games up for auction. If you're trying to get Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, though,
you'll likely have to buy from a Japanese seller. It's not that hard; it only
takes longer.
If you want some more tips about using eBay, email me.
If you're not into auctions, there are plenty of online import stores. The
first ones you should check out are:
http://www.ncsx.com
http://shop.himeya.com
They both have had Star Ocean: Blue Sphere for sale in the past, and most
likely still do. NCS also has pretty good customer service.
Here are some other online import stores that you might want to try, but I'm
not guaranteeing that they'll have or ever will have Star Ocean: Blue Sphere:
http://www.videogamedepot.com
http://www.tronixweb.com
http://www.wolfgames.com
http://www.playthegames.com
http://www.buyrite.net
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | STORY | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere takes place two years after the events of Star Ocean:
The Second Story. Some characters moved to Earth, some stayed on Expel, and
others are elsewhere doing their own thing. Ernest and Opera are still
exploring uncharted, primitive planets, and on one ocean-covered planet known
as Edifice (AKA the "Blue Sphere"), they get stranded. They send out a call to
Precis busy working on a report. “Pre...sav...we...cra...” She tried to answer
the call to no avail. “...can’t ma...” “Is it Opera!?” shouts Precis. The
transmission continued, but it was incoherent. Precis knew that it was a
serious situation, though. “...help *puff!*” The call abruptly ended. Precis
finally understood that it was an SOS call from Opera asking for help. She
traced the origin of the transmission – Sector CZLL7. “Wait for me! I will
bring others and come rescue you!!” Precis gathers up all her past companions,
besides Crawd and Rena who were busy with an Earth Federation mission, and they
fly off in Precis' self-made spaceship to the point that Opera had lost
transmission. There is something awry with the planet's gravitational forces,
though, which causes the ship to crash and the communication systems to break
down. Ignoring their own plight, the gang heads out into the unknown to find a
way to repair their ship and to rescue their missing friends, with hope that
Crawd and Rena will follow soon...
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | MENU | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere has a very complex menu. Even if you have experience
with the Star Ocean and/or Star Ocean: The Second Story menus, you could still
find it a bit difficult to navigate Blue Sphere's menus if you don't know
Japanese. Press start to access it and A to make selections. When you are
finished when the menu, press start to leave it instantly, or press B to close
each individual menu. Until you got it memorized, use this little graph to
figure it out:
+----------------------+ +-------------+
|Tokugi (Special Skill)|-->|Field |
|Item | |Create |
|Soubi (Equipment) | |Jumon (Spell)|
| | +-------------+
| | +--------------------+
|Sakusen (Tactics) |-->|Waza (Technique) Set|
|Skill | |Tairetsu (Formation)|
|Status | |Meirei (Battle Plan)|
|Save | +--------------------+
+----------------------+
TOKUGI (SPECIAL SKILL): Choose the first option to set Field Actions, do all of
your Item Creation, and heal yourself.
- FIELD: Select a character, and their list of Field Actions will appear. You
can only use one at a time. Set whichever one you like, and exit the menu. Then
press select until that character is the on-screen character if he/she isn't
already, and press B to execute the Field Action.
- CREATE: Select a character, and their list of Item Creation abilities will
appear. Select whichever Item Creation ability you would like to use. If you
don't have the necessary materials, you won't gain access to that particular
Item Creation ability's menu. For information on the individual Item Creation
ability menus, see the Item Creation section.
- JUMON (SPELL): This is only for healing. If you have a healer currently in
your party, select him or her, and their healing spells will be listed. Select
the one you'd like to use, and select the character it will be used on if
necessary.
ITEM: The items are broken up into groups. Scroll across horizontally to select
the group of items you want to gain access to, then select and use an item if
you wish to. The order of the groups, from left to right, is as follows:
Weapons–Armor–Accessories-Potions-Foods-Tools-Battle Items-? Items-Key Items
SOUBI (EQUIPMENT): Select a character, and the equipment menu will appear. This
is the order it's listed in:
Weapon
Head Gear
Body Armor
Shield
Greaves
Accessory 1
Accessory 2
Select the particular type of equipment you'd like to change, and all of the
equipment that the character can use will be listed. Equipment he or she can't
use will not be listed. Press select while the arrow is pointing at an item to
scroll through all the information available on it. Equipment with red arrows
pointing down will lower your statistics. Equipment will yellow arrows pointing
right will not change your statistics. Equipment with blue arrows pointing up
will improve your statistics. Some equipment has elemental attributes. Some
enemies are weak to certain elements (like fish to fire), while others are
strong against certain elements. If the piece of equipment has an element with
a negative sign next to it, it will make YOU weaker to that element. Avoid
using equipment with negative attributes.
SAKUSEN (TACTICS): Choose the fourth option on the main menu to prepare your
party for battle.
- WAZA (TECHNIQUE) SET: Select a character to set their moves or spells. You
can only set 4 at a time. One for the button B, one for B + right, one for B +
left, and one for B + up. Select the button or button combination you'd like to
set a move or spell to, and choose one of your character's moves or spells.
- TAIRETSU (FORMATION): After choosing this option, choose a character, and
then choose the character you'd like him or her to swap places with. In battle,
the character at the top of the list will be closest to the enemy, and the
character at the bottom will be the furthest from the enemy. Place fighters up
front and spell casters in the back.
- MEIREI (BATTLE PLAN): Select a character to set their Artificial
Intelligence. This only applies to the characters you allow the computer to
control. Unlike previous Star Ocean games, the characters all share the same AI
strategies. They appear in this order:
Zenrokudekougeki - Attack continuously, paying no regard to MP use.
Hodohodo - Use spells and moves moderately.
Onzon - Try to preserve MP. Use moves and spells only when necessary.
Taiki - Do nothing. Wait to be given orders.
SKILL: Select a character, and you will be brought to the skill screen. The
cursor's default is on the list with all of the character's skills. To only
view the one's belonging to a certain type, press up, down, left and right.
When you have selected the skill group you want, scroll up and down to select
skills. Below your character, their Skill Level is shown, and below that is the
Skill Points you have. To the right of a skill, the skill's level is listed. To
the left of that is the number of skill points you must have to raise the level
of that skill. For more detailed information on the skill system, see the Skill
System section.
STATUS: Select a character to view their status screen. Next to their picture
is the name of their favorite food or "??????????" if you haven't discovered it
yet. Below that is their HP, MP, and all of their statistics. Press up or down
to view what they currently have equipped and how their skills points have been
allocated.
SAVE: On the save screen, you will see your current party, your location, your
Fol (money), and your time playing. Select the first option to save or select
the second to return to the main menus without saving.
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | CHARACTERS | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
===============================================================================
-------------------------------PRECIS F. NEUUMAN-------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
Upon entering the dusty town of Linga in Star Ocean: The Second Story, Crawd
and Rena literally ran into the hyperactive 16-year-old inventor girl Precis F.
Neuuman as she was chasing her malfunctioning walking robot, Mujin-kun (AKA
Bobot). She acquired her sense of curiosity from her father, but she’s lucky to
not inherit his looks. Crawd and Rena once again meet the talented girl on
their second trip to Linga, and this time Precis joins the cause to figure out
the mysteries of the Sorcery Globe and to put her machines to the test. She
gets annoyed by how everyone treats her like a child due to her youthful
appearance, but some of the party feels that is the best way to treat her.
Now two years later, Precis has moved to Earth to work on her inventions with
the more advanced technology. She had a difficult time adjusting to the new way
of life, but soon her true genius began to show. She modified her Bobot so that
she can ride in it, but before the rumors begin to fly, she has not been
crippled. On occasion she does walk about the old-fashioned way. Her Bobot can
also hover above the ground and transform into various machines, among other
things. Precis even has her own self-built spaceship now. With all of her new
invaluable resources and the same lust for life that she has always possessed,
it's no surprise that Precis is the star of Star Ocean: Blue Sphere.
Type:
Precis is a fighter who uses mechanical arms. Her Skill specialty order is
Spanner (wrench), Knowledge (book), Battle (sword), and lastly Feel (hand). She
gains her moves and Field Actions by creating them in Machinery. She's not
particularly strong in battle and she's difficult to combo with, but her Hover
Field Action is necessary for advancing in the game. She has grown better at
learning new techniques and item creating. Her beginning stats are:
_________________________________________________________________________
| HP 40 | MP 40 | STR 6 | CON 9 | DEX 10 | AGL 5 | INT 7 | RES 3 | GUT 10 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|________|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------------|
| MOLE | 15 | Earth | * | - | - | Start game with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Mole is more or less the same as it was in Star Ocean: The Second Story. Bobot
turns into a drill, goes underground, and pops up underneath the enemy. Damage
is minimal, but it's a good move to use at the beginning of the game. You can
get a bit more damage in if you start the move while right next to the enemy.
The enemy will take damage from the spinning drill prior to when Bobot goes
underground. This is also a quick and easy way to transport Precis right next
to the enemy. You're left open to enemy attack right after you finish Mole,
though.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| BARRIER | 12 | - | - | - | - |Plasma Biribiribou |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Barrier has gotten quite strange since Star Ocean: The Second Story... In fact,
it's an entirely different move in Blue Sphere. In previous game, Precis's
Barrier attack involved throwing Bobot like a grenade, now in Blue Sphere, it's
not even an attack... One of Bobot's hands turns into a large megaphone and
sends out powerful sonic waves which causes the enemy to become peeped, ie
little stars around their head and unable to move. Barrier stumped me at first.
I tried it again and again waiting to see the damage, but it does none, it only
peeps. Kind of disappointing, but it can prove useful on tough enemies and
bosses that continuously and relentlessly attack over and over. By the way, you
have to be within half a screen's distance from the enemy for it to "hit".
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| MISSILE | 28 | Light | *** | - | - | Missile Koujou |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Bobot opens its mouth, not unlike a normal long distance attack, and shoots a
large missile at the enemy. Damage is so-so, and it tires Precis out after only
one. Add in a fairly high MP cost, and this move just isn't worth using. I
prefer Mole for a quick low MP move or Yurayura if I really want to do a lot of
damage. The only good thing about Missile is that as long as you're on the same
screen as the enemy it'll hit, but that's usually not an issue with Precis's
moves as opposed to say, Opera.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| YURAYURA | 52 | Earth | ** | - | - | Anzendaiichi |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
"Yurayura" means something along the lines of "shake" or "temble". Bobot
transforms into a giant jackhammer and shakes the earth so violently that the
enemy falls over. The MP cost is high and Precis is open to attack for quite
awhile if the move doesn't finish off the enemy, but it does a lot of damage
and can hit from anywhere on the battle screen.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------------|
| DOKKAN | 36 | Dark | ***** | - | - | Kyanonho |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Precis performs Dokkan, Bobot transforms into a cannon and fires a
cannonball at the enemy. It does a good amount of damage, but you have to be
positioned somewhat close to the enemy. If you're too far, the cannonball will
miss, and you'll waste quite a bit of MP.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger |Psychometry |
|----------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------|
| DARUMA STRIKE! | 53 | Light | *** | - | - |QKyokuPunch |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===============================================================================
--------------------------------ASHTON ANCHORS---------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
After hearing rumors of a dragon in the Salva Drift, Crawd and Rena head to
Salva to see the commotion for themselves. They arrive just at the moment a
young heraldic fencer named Ashton Anchors attacks the two-headed beast. He
mortally wounds the creature, but all is not safe. The second Ashton turns his
back to address Crawd and Rena, the dragons possess his body. Everywhere he
goes he has the two heads of the dragon looming over his shoulders. Despite his
shy and submissive personality, he joins Crawd and Rena in order to make them
take responsibility and help remove his curse, but every attempt seems to fail.
Oh, and his secret hobby is “collecting accessories”, but he doesn’t have very
good taste. ;)
Despite the love he has developed for the dragons, Gyoro and Ururun, over the
past two years, Ashton still wishes to remove himself of the burden. He longs
to be able to concentrate, without the two dragons disturbing him, on his
fencing training by himself, day in and day out, on the backside of Linga
Mountain. Unfortunately for Ashton, the only method he knows of doing so would
kill the dragons. He was shocked and couldn’t recover when he learned that
Precis and her rescue party had gone to Earth. “I am so preoccupied with my
fencing training right now.” He spent the last two years searching for a cure
to his curse until Precis on Earth called for his help. It goes without saying
that he was very happy to see Precis again, after so much time had passed. He
quickly forgot all about his fencing training, but he was rushed onto the
spaceship before he had a chance to express himself and let Precis know how
happy he was to see her. His love for the young girl places him right in the
center of this new adventure.
Type:
Ashton is a fighter who uses two daggers. His Skill specialty order is Feel
(hand), Battle (sword), Knowledge (book), and lastly Spanner (wrench). He
randomly gains each move once the corresponding skill/s have been acquired, the
statistical requirements have been met, and you perform the combo the move is
based on. He's a great character for battle, and despite his somewhat awkward
tempo, he's fairly easy to combo with due to his great range of motion. If you
can master his technique, his strength alone can get you through most of the
game, and his Fireball Field Action is necessary for getting through the second
dungeon. It's also useful for surprising enemies. Once you get his Leaf Slash
timing right, few enemies can stand up against his combination attacks. Despite
expectations, he’s quite skilled at Item Creation, and he’s become a good cook.
His beginning stats are:
_______________________________________________________________________
| HP 50 | MP 40 | STR 8 | CON 6 | DEX 5 | AGL 7 | INT 2 | RES 7 | GUT 5 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| LEAF SLASH | 14 | Earth | ** | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When performing Leaf Slash, Ashton disappears in a puff of leafs and teleports
himself next to the enemy to do a couple slashes with his short swords. You
might think this move quickly becomes useless and too weak since Ashton comes
with it at the very beginning of the game, but in actuality, Leaf Slash is one
of the most useful moves in the game. The MP cost is low, it can be performed
from anywhere on the battle screen, it's a safe method of transporting yourself
right next to the enemy, AND you can do it over and over. Like all moves and
spells, it stops the action on the battlefield, so if you perform it just
before an enemy attacks, you'll be able to disrupt and stop that attack. But
unlike most moves, it doesn't tire out Ashton very quickly. You can perform
several before he gets tired. I find Leaf Slash invaluable when facing very
quick-moving or quick-attacking bosses. Just jam out on that B button. ;)
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Combo | Other |
|-----------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+------------+--------|
| HURRICANE SLASH | 25 | Wind | * | - | Guts Sword | MP 50+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Hurricane Slash is right up there as one of the cutest moves in the game.
Ashton spins around quickly creating a couple whirlwinds that travel across the
screen toward the enemy. When he stops spinning, he gets dizzy and wobbles
around on his feet. :) Overall, I don't find this move particularly useful. The
amount of damage done is only average, and it'll miss if you're not within half
a screen from the enemy.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Combo | Other |
|---------------+----+---------+--------+----------------+----------+---------|
| DRAGON ATTACK | 38 | - | **** | Asobigokoro(2) | Nagu Lv3 | MP 90+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ashton makes a violent leap at the enemy with the dragons Gyoro and Ururun head
(heads?) first. Ururun snaps at the monster, and Ashton falls down. :) This
move is pretty useless, IMO. It uses too much MP, you have to be very close to
the enemy for it to hit, and the damage is average. However, when Ashton is
slowed down by paralysis, Dragon Attack will hit more times, so the damage will
be much better.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+--------------+----------|
| SWORD DANCE | 42 | - | ** | Renda (3) | 7+ Hit Combo | MP 100+ |
| | | | | Hayate (3) | | AGL 70+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
This move is a lot less useful than it was in Star Ocean: The Second Story.
Visually, it's about the same. Ashton does a lot of fanciful hacks and slashes.
Unfortunately, though, you miss A LOT more often. If you're not right next to
the enemy, most of the move won't even hit. Even if you do begin it next to the
enemy, chances are Ashton will push the enemy away with his attacks, and yet
again, he'll miss for most of it. Worst yet, it only takes ONE Sword Dance to
tire Ashton out. The only good thing about Sword Dance is that it does do quite
a bit of damage if a miracle happens and the enemy is hit by all the attacks.
My advice: don't bother. Stick to Leaf Slash.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------+-------------------+----------|
| DRAGON | 78 | - | ** | - | Dragon Breath | MP 160+ |
| BITE | | | | | Lv3 Combo | GUT 40+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ashton's dragons Gyoro and Ururun stretch far out and take turns snapping at
the enemy. Dragon Bite has a lot going for it. The damage it does is quite
high, and Ashton can perform Dragon Bite several times before getting tired.
But the MP cost... ouch. Not to mention you have to be fairly close (no more
than a third of the screen away) to hit the enemy. Dragon Bite is best saved
for only when you really need something powerful.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+------------------+--------------+---------|
| | | | | Kikenkanchi (3) | Piercing | |
| TRI-ACE | 55 | Light | ** | Dessan (3) | Swords | MP 180+ |
| | | | | Kyuushonerai (6) | Combo | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ashton points his two short swords diagonally down at either side of him to
form a triangle with his body. He disappears and transports himself to the
enemy, and upon reaching it, he wildly attacks over and over in a triangular
shape until the triangle takes full form. The tri-Ace logo and sound effect
shine and resonate off of the triangle at the end of the move. tri-Ace does
good damage against large enemies, but it may not be a great choice against
small enemies. Normally every point of the triangle will be touching the enemy
thus resulting in a hit at each point, but a small enemy will only get hit as
Ashton passes the side of the triangle that overlaps the tiny enemy. Another
concern is that Ashton can only perform tri-Ace once before becoming tired, and
he stays next to the enemy after finishing the move. The flaws are mostly
insignificant, though, so I highly recommend using tri-Ace.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Psychometry |
|---------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------|
| SPIRIT DRAGON | 90 | - | ***** | - | - |JiineNoTsume |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
In Ashton’s secret Psychometry move, Gyoro and Ururun jump off Ashton’s back to
form a spinning ball that moves like a boomerang from Ashton and back. To those
familiar with the Castlevania series, think of it like the Cross. No matter how
you slice it, Spirit Dragon is a very powerful move that can do a massive
amount of damage even to the strongest enemies of the game, but with a little
intelligent planning... you can get much more out it. If you position Ashton
about a full screen’s width away from the enemy, the dragons will hover
momentarily on the enemy before returning to Ashton. You’ll get a lot more hits
this way, and you’ll do an ungodly amount of damage.
===============================================================================
---------------------------------CELINE JULES----------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
After their meeting with the king of Cross, Crawd and Rena witness a little
squabble between some riffraff and the beautiful sorceress and treasure hunter,
Celine Jules. Once she learned that Crawd and Rena were on their way to Cross
Cave, the expert heraldrist of Mars Village HAD to join them. It was the
perfect opportunity to search the darkest corners of the planet for riches
beyond her imagination. The mismatched group of adventurers found the Ancient
Writings in the cave and defeated many powerful foes together. Celine was an
invaluable member of the group, so they all decided it best for her to come
along on Crawd and Rena's journey to the Sorcery Globe.
After defeating the Ten Wise Men, anyone involved in heraldry knew of the
charismatic woman, who became very good at solving difficult problems in all
the towns she visited. Her relationship with “Chris” AKA Prince Clother of
Cross Kingdom used to be the talk of the town, but their relationship hadn’t
grown any stronger since when she first left with Crawd and Rena. Travelling
the world and trying to solve everyone’s problems has really worn Celine out,
so she immediately said “yes” when Precis suggested that she come help rescue
Opera and Ernest. She wanted to leave at once in order to escape her unpleasant
reality.
Type:
Celine is a spell caster who uses rods. Her Skill specialty order is Knowledge
(book), Spanner (wrench), Feel (hand), and lastly Battle (sword). She randomly
learns each spell once the corresponding skill/s have been acquired, the
statistical requirements have been met, and you cast a spell that the desired
spell is based on. Celine also must use the Item Creation ability Jumonkenkyuu
(Spell Research) to create some of her spells. She is very weak when it comes
to fighting, and it's almost impossible to combo with her, but she can use
heraldry’s strongest spells, especially ones that use fire. Late in the game,
you can get her Teleport Field Action, which allows you to teleport yourself to
any spot on screen. Her beginning stats are:
_________________________________________________________________________
| HP 20 | MP 50 | STR 1 | CON 2 | DEX 5 | AGL 5 | INT 10 | RES 10 | GUT 6 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________|________|_______|
Spells:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| FIREBOLT | 8 | Fire | *** | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Celine creates a ball of fire and hurls it at the enemy to roast it. This is a
great move at the beginning of the game. Later on in the game you might want to
use it to keep the enemy away from you or to stop its attacks since you can
cast it very fast. Damage-wise it's not that useful beyond the first couple
dungeons.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+------------+-------------|
| WIND BLADE | 10 | Wind | **** | - | Firebolt | INT 12+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Celine calls forth a blade of wind (looks more like a whirlwind) to zoom across
the screen and attack the enemy. It's basically like a slightly more powerful
and different elemental version of Firebolt. Use it in the same scenarios.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+------------+-----------|
| THUNDER BOLT | 20 | Thunder | **** | - | Firebolt | INT 25+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Despite what the name might imply, Thunder Bolt is not a lightning elemental
version of Firebolt and Wind Blade. It's considerably more powerful and isn't
as quick to cast. When Celine casts it, a thundercloud is summoned to strike
the enemy with a strong bolt of lightning. This spell is best used to fry robot
enemies.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+---------------------+----------+-------|
| STAR LIGHT | 30 | Star | **** | Monster Chishiki(3) | Firebolt | - |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Numerous stars float up towards the heavens and strike the enemy with their
brilliant light. Damage done by this spell is average, so it's not really worth
the time it takes to cast. You're better off with a quick weak spell or one of
the stronger spells.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------+----+---------+--------+-------------+------------+-------------------|
| RAY | 42 | Light | ***** | - | Star Light | INT 40+ MP 100+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Little rays of light surround the enemy and attack it from all sides. This
spell takes quite awhile to cast, but the damage is well worth it. Stick with
this one for laying the smack down on enemies with low magical resistance until
you're able to learn more powerful spells like Southern Cross.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------+--------------------+---------|
| | | | | | Firebolt or | |
| ENERGY | 30 | Vacuum | ***** | Taisei (2) | Wind Blade or | MP 160+ |
| ARROW | | | | | Thunder Bolt or | |
| | | | | | Star Light | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Arrows of dark energy pierce the enemy from all angles. It does good damage and
can be cast fairly fast, so it's a great "normal" spell.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+------------------+----------+------------|
| ERUPTION | 38 | Fire | ***** | Shuukyougaku (4) | Firebolt | INT 60+ |
| | | | | | | MP 200+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When casting Eruption, geysers of lava erupt from the earth and rain upon the
enemy in a fiery inferno. It doesn't take very long to cast, and the damage is
quite good.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------------+------------|
| THUNDER | 38 | Thunder | ***** | - | Thunder Bolt | INT 60+ |
| STORM | | | | | | MP 200+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Thunder Bolt's big brother Thunder Storm fills the sky with very ominous black
clouds. Then they release their stored up fury on the enemy in the form of
numerous lightning bolts. Damage is pretty average. I prefer Thunder Bolt or
stronger spells myself.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+---------------------+---------+----------|
| SOUTHERN | 45 | Star | ***** | Yakusouchishiki (5) | Ray | INT 80+ |
| CROSS | | | | | | MP 260+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
It takes a long time to cast, but Southern Cross is great. The sky turns to
night, and each star forming the constellation known as the "southern cross"
lights up. When the cross is formed, it starts spinning and hurtles itself
towards the earth. It does a lot of damage, so I recommend you keep this on
Celine's list of spells set to use during battle.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------------+------------+----------|
| EXPLODE | 54 | Fire | ***** | Denpa (3) | Eruption | MP 330+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A torrent of fireballs rains upon the enemy, and the earth surrounding the
enemy explodes into a pit of hellfire. Like Southern Cross, it takes quite a
bit of time to cast, but the damage is very high. I think the ratio between
damage and MP for Explode and Southern Cross are about equal, so if you prefer
more damage, go with Explode. If you prefer a lower MP cost, go with Southern
Cross. Of course, you should always consider what element your enemy is weak
against as well.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+---------------+----------------+------------|
| METEO | 72 | Star | ***** | Doryoku (4) | Southern Cross | INT 100+ |
| SWARM | | | | Dessan (3) | | MP 300+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger |Item Creation|
|---------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------|
| ATOMIC DRAGON | 84 | Fire | ***** | - | - |Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The screen turns blood red with molten lava as Celine calls forth the dragon.
Small bursts of flames assault the enemy from above and below to herald in the
coming of the dragon. The great mythical beast slithers towards the enemy like
a giant Chinese dragon, and the moment it opens its massive maw to release its
chilling shriek, blasts of atomic power scorch the enemy to its core. This
spell is quite possibly Celine’s strongest, so despite the huge MP cost, it is
well worth it for the wallop it’ll give the enemy.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger |Item Creation |
|--------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------|
| TEMPEST VOLT | 70 | Thunder | ***** | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Powerful volts of electricity zip in from the four diagonals joining together
in a crackling, ringed ball of lightning, not unlike the planet Saturn. It
spins and sizzles until the enemy can bear no more. Like Atomic Dragon, Tempest
Volt is extremely damaging, so use it on tough enemies that are weak against
thunder.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| ASCENSION | 75 | Star | ***** | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
| CHOIR | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The world turns black as the enemy ascends to the furthest reaches of outer
space. Surrounded by stars, galaxies, and asteroids, the enemy is assaulted by
countless rays of celestial energy. The blast that results is not unlike a
nuclear explosion, in both appearance and in force. Few foes can withstand the
mighty Ascension Choir spell, so save this one for the fiercest of rivals.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------------|
| BLESS | 18 | - | - | - | - | Start game with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
In what could be called the most... sickening spell or move in the game, Bless
causes a rainbow to appear above one of your characters, followed by a ton of
little hearts surrounding him or her to temporarily increase that character's
statistics. I find status enhancing spells pretty useless, so well... there you
go.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------------|
| ANTI | 20 | - | - | - | Bless | RES 50+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Celine casts Anti, a symbol similar to the one Dispel has, only yellow,
appears above the battlefield, spins around, and disappears. Then every
character individually is surrounded by yellow sparkles. It raises all of the
characters' magic defense, but, eh... still not very useful.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+------------------+-------------+----------|
| ANGEL | 30 | - | - | Shuukyougaku (4) | Bless or | MP 180+ |
| FEATHER | | | | | Anti | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ah, but I did use Bless! For your benefit. ;) I, in turn, learned Angel
Feather. Sort of an uber-blessing. An angel comes down from the heavens and
sprinkles its feathers on one of your characters to protect him or her. Yet
again, quite useless.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------------+---------+-------------|
| NEUTRAL | 17 | - | - | Iryouchishiki (4) | Bless | INT 40+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Neutral is executed on a character, blue bubbles and mist rise around the
character to purify him or her of any impurities cast upon the character by the
enemy. I had a hell of a time getting this spell for both Celine and Noel
because, frankly, you’re almost never given the opportunity to learn it.
Neutral does NOT cure paralysis, poison, petrification, or any of the common
ailments. Instead, it cures statistic-affecting stuff like Delay and Deep
Mist... Don’t get all excited at once, now... It’s hard enough to find an enemy
that can give you any conditions that Neutral can cure in order to learn it,
nevermind being in a situation where you can put it to good use.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+---------------+-------------------+---------|
| | | | | | Firebolt or | |
| CURSE | 20 | - | - | Youseiron (1) | Wind Blade or | - |
| | | | | | Thunder Bolt or | |
| | | | | | Star Light | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Four spinning skulls fall upon the enemy, and if you're lucky, it'll curse
them. It cancels the effects of any status they have placed on your characters.
I don't believe it affects poison or petrify, though (if it did, what would you
need Antidote and Dispel for?). In a few situations it might be useful, but why
waste so much MP curing a character of a status anomaly that will just go away
in a few seconds regardless?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+--------------+-----------------+-----------|
| | | | | | Firebolt or | INT 50+ |
| LOST | 1 | Vacuum | - | Monster | Wind Blade or | |
| MENTAL | | | | Chishiki (3) | Thunder Bolt or | MP less |
| | | | | | Star Light | than 35 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An aura of yellow energy surrounds the enemy to absorb their magical power and
bring it to Celine for her own use in red spheres. It's kind of a neat move,
but only useful towards the beginning of the game when running low on MP can be
an issue. For the cost of just 1 MP, you'll receive about 30-40 from the enemy,
and you can do it multiple times until your MP is completely full.
===============================================================================
-------------------------------LEON D.S. GEESTE--------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
Crawd and Rena met the cocksure young genius Leon D.S. Geeste in Lacour Castle.
The little scientist was hard at work on the Lacour Hope, the ultimate weapon
to fend off the hoards of monsters showing up ever since the Sorcery Globe
crashed into Expel. He begrudgingly accepted the help of Crawd and Rena in
order to get the final material needed to power his weapon. With the Lacour
Hope in tow and Crawd and Rena along for the ride, Leon and his parents headed
for the continent of El. Things quickly turned disastrous when the powerful
monster Shin attacked the ship. The Lacour Hope was no match, the ship was
broken to pieces, and all those onboard were cast into the cold sea to die.
Leon washed up on shore with Crawd. Not knowing if his parents were still
alive, having no means to return to the continent of Lacour, and not having
anyone else to care for him, Leon left behind his arrogant attitude, showing
his true nature as just an innocent, lonely boy. He adopted the party as both
his family and friends.
Leon grew up into a fine 14-year-old young man since his adventures ended two
years ago. He submitted a request to study on Earth and has been hard at work
ever since. Had he stayed on Expel, it would have taken him several hundred
years to acquire the same amount of knowledge the Earth offered, so he was
happy to be surrounded by such advanced science. Crawd’s mother fell in love
with the boy and became his surrogate mother while on Earth, but he still keeps
in touch with his real parents, who survived the attack on the Lacour Hope.
Leon started working on some highly advanced Heraldry research, which is still
young on Earth. His knowledge is quite valuable, and he often draws the
attention of other lab members due to his youth. He had to put his studies
aside when Precis asked him to join her on the SOS mission to the Blue Sphere
planet.
Type:
Leon is a spell caster who uses enchanted books. His Skill specialty order is
Knowledge (book), Spanner (wrench), Feel (hand), and lastly Battle (sword). He
randomly learns each spell once the corresponding skill/s have been acquired,
the statistical requirements have been met, and you cast a spell that the
desired spell is based on. Leon also must use the Item Creation ability
Jumonkenkyuu (Spell Research) to create some of his spells. He is also quite
weak in battle and very difficult to combo with. His beginning stats are:
________________________________________________________________________
| HP 20 | MP 60 | STR 2 | CON 1 | DEX 8 | AGL 1 | INT 10 | RES 9 | GUT 7 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________|_______|_______|
Spells:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| ICE NEEDLE | 8 | Water | **** | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Leon creates a sharp needle of ice, which flies towards the enemy and shatters
on impact. Like Celine's Firebolt, the damage it does is minimal, but it's
powerful compared to your fighters' regular attacks at the beginning of the
game, and later on it's good for stopping the enemy from moving or attacking.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+------------+---------|
| STAR LIGHT | 30 | Star | **** | Koubutsugaku(2) | Ice Needle | INT 25+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Leon's Star Light is identical to Celine's. Like I said before, you're better
off using more powerful spells or a spell that takes less time to cast.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+----------------------+------------+--------|
| WOUNDS | 16 | Dark | **** | Monster Chishiki (4) | Ice Needle | - |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Leon summons a shadow demon beast to appear before the enemy and strike it. I'm
not overly impressed with it. Damage is only average.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+------------+----------|
| ACID RAIN | 21 | Water | **** | - | Delay | MP 60+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Storms clouds gather together above the enemy and pour acidic rain on the
enemy. The enemy writhes in pain as the rain burns its skin. The damage done by
Acid Rain is above average, and casting time is pretty short, so I recommend
it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+--------------+------------+-----------|
| SHADOW BOLT | 34 | Dark | ***** | - | Wounds | INT 60+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Logically speaking, Shadow Bolt is one of the weirdest spells in the game.
Purplish bubbles and mist appear from below the enemy and do it damage. What is
the purple stuff? Shadows? I guess. Regardless, Shadow Bolt's time to
cast/damage ratio is very poor. It takes far too long for such a weak spell.
Not to mention the high MP cost. You should avoid this one.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+------------------+------------+-------|
| DEEP FREEZE | 45 | Water | ***** | Bitekikankaku(3) | Ice Needle |INT 80+|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Leon casts Deep Freeze, a blizzard of large ice chunks and snowflakes
assaults the enemy. I wouldn't call the damage GREAT, but it's one of Leon's
better spells. The MP cost is pretty high, but it can be lowered with proper
skill point allocation.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------------+-------------+----------|
| SHADOW | 50 | Dark | ***** | Kousakugijutsu(2) | Shadow Bolt | INT 110+ |
| FLARE | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The sun appears high in the heavens as the moon slinks towards it. The moment
the moon eclipses the sun, a dark, heavy mist of shadows and heat engulfs the
enemy. Shadow Flare is quite strong, and the casting time and MP cost aren’t
terrible. I recommend it, at least until you manage to learn or create
something stronger.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+-------------+-----------|
| GREMLIN | 63 | Void | ***** | Koukogaku (6) | Shadow Bolt | INT 100+ |
| LAIR | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A sickly, yellow haze fills the screen as Leon calls the gremlin from its
hellish lair. The blood-red beast appears before the enemy and releases its
foul, evil breath. Gremlin Lair is a powerful spell, but the casting time is
far too long. The MP cost is high too, so the only time I recommend using it is
when AI-controlled Leon is far from the frontline. As you’re busy doing your
combos, he should be able to cast Gremlin Lair now and then.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+--------------+-----------|
| EXTINCTION | 66 | Void | ***** | Mekiki (4) | Shadow Flare | MP 300+ |
| | | | | Craft (3) | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| ICE AGE | 70 | Water | ***** | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Thin, piercing stalactites and stalagmites surround the enemy from above and
below as if they’re blades ready to thrust. Despite their ominous look, the
true threat comes from an unexpected place. Ice suddenly appears around the
enemy’s lower regions, binding it to the earth. There is no escape from the
giant, triangular chunk of ice falling from the heavens, which breaks into a
million shards upon impact. The enemy, being chilled to its core, takes a high
amount of damage, unless of course it’s strong against ice or water. In such
cases, use a similarly strong spell of a different element, such as Extinction
or Dark Passage.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Create |
|--------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------|
| DARK PASSAGE | 80 | Dark | ***** | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Like deep within a vampire’s crypt, walls of bluish-gray human skulls surround
the enemy. The picture forebodingly flashes in and out as haunting spirits rise
and descend between the skulls. Their presence is even more terrifying as their
images stretch into moaning, howling expressions of pain and suffering. The
final ghost, a massive phantom of evil, rises right on top of the enemy, and
contorts its face-like appearance into a blood-curdling shriek reminiscent of
the famous painting “The Screamer”. How damage is being done to the enemy is
unknown. Perhaps this is the only spell in which the enemy is literally being
scared to death. Whatever the case may be, the damage is high, but I find the
previous few spells just as effective (and lower in MP cost). Dark Passage is
worth using at least once, though, just to see the sheer coolness of it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------------+------------|
| WORD OF | 28 | Vacuum | - | Lost Magic | Shadow Flare | - |
| DEATH | | | | | Gremlin Lair | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The screen turns black as a huge, human skull within a red circle containing
the words of an ancient curse appears high in the sky. The skull (which
incidentally looks both freaky and kind of comical) opens its toothed jaw and
speaks the words of death. The symbols of the chant appear in a material form,
circling the enemy. Word of Death has the potential to instantly kill an enemy,
but it almost never works. For a spell that nearly consistently fails, it uses
too much MP and tires Leon out too quickly (in only two castings). Use it once
to see the nifty skull, but don’t bother to attempt to use it in a practical
manner.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| PROTECTION | 15 | - | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A shield of magic appears above one of your party members, spins down, and
boosts his or her defense. It COULD be useful, I suppose, but why waste MP on
status enhancing magic when you could be casting attack magic?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+---------------+--------------+--------------|
| HASTE | 15 | - | - | Taisei (2) | Protection | - |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A clock appears above the selected character, and the time spins forwards.
Haste supposedly makes your character move faster (maybe cast spells or perform
moves faster too?), but really, even if it worked, would you ever really need
it? If anything, it would throw off your combo rhythm.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------------|
| DELAY | 18 | - | - | - | - | Start game with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Oy, as if status enhancing magic wasn't useless enough, they give us magic that
affects the enemies statistics... randomly... Delay looks almost the same as
Haste, except the hands on the clock move counterclockwise rather than
clockwise. Also, rather than the yellow sparkles at the end of Haste, which of
course must mean good things, you see a bad looking dark mist. The spell is
supposed to slow down the enemy's movement, but sometimes it won't. Scratch
that - most of the time it doesn't work. And nine times out of ten you wouldn't
even need something like that. Just... don't use it, except for learning Acid
Rain, ‘kay?
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+---------------+-----------+-------------|
| DEEP MIST | 11 | Dark | - | Taisei (2) | Delay | - |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A thick mist fills the battlefield and randomly affects the enemy's vision.
Supposedly it makes the enemy's hit percentage drop, thus causing it to miss
more often, but I haven't noticed much of a difference. Another enemy status
affecting spell that you don't need.
===============================================================================
-----------------------------------DIAS FLAC-----------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
Crawd and Rena encountered the antisocial mercenary Dias Flac many times, but
as soon he showed up, he'd be gone. Not without getting in a few insults
towards Crawd first, though. Rena was always forgiving because she knew his
past. Dias's entire family was slain by bandits right in front of him a few
years back, so he had an unquenchable thirst for justice. Not even friendships
and love could get in the way of his goal to make his fencing abilities as
great as possible. At the Lacour front lines, Rena ran into Dias and tapped
into that desire for justice. Despite his preference of doing everything on his
own, Rena melted his icy heart a little and convinced him to join the party to
help them set right the evils of the world. Of course, Rena was more concerned
about keeping an eye on her "big brother" and offering him some much-needed
solace.
Little is known about Dias's whereabouts the last two years. He appears to have
gone back to his old ways. Wandering the world alone and in silence searching
for bandits and dangerous monsters to dispose of. When he finds them, he
volunteers to take care of them all by himself. His solemn, quiet personality
suits his good looks, so sometimes he garners more attention from people than
he would like. However, he’ll start talking more once he becomes comfortable
with someone. Precis somehow managed to locate him, and his loyalty to his
"little sister" Rena forced him to join the cause.
Type:
Dias is a fighter who uses swords. His Skill specialty order is Battle (sword),
Feel (hand), Spanner (wrench), and lastly Knowledge (book). He randomly gains
each move once the corresponding skill/s have been acquired, the statistical
requirements have been met, and you perform the combo the move is based on.
He's a bit more difficult to combo with than Ashton, but his strength makes up
for it. His beginning stats are:
_________________________________________________________________________
| HP 60 | MP 20 | STR 10 | CON 9 | DEX 7 | AGL 10 | INT 1 | RES 1 | GUT 6 |
|_______|_______|________|_______|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------|
| CHAOS SWORD | 17 | Dark | ** | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When executing Chaos Sword, Dias charges his sword with power and flings two
shots of it at the enemy. It's a pretty decent move. The MP cost is low, damage
is pretty good, and the two shots will hit as long as the enemy is on screen
with Dias.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+-------------+--------|
| KOGETSUSEN | 22 | Light | **** | Kyuushonerai(2) | Touki Combo | MP 50+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Kogetsusen is more or less the equivalent of Star Ocean: The Second Story's
Crescent Moon Slash. The sky goes black, Dias forms a crescent moon with his
sword and then send it flying towards the enemy with a swing of his blade. Not
only is it pretty high on the list of "bad ass"-looking Blue Sphere moves, it's
very powerful and always hits as long as the enemy is on screen. It's
definitely my favorite Dias move, but it has one flaw - he can only perform two
or three before getting tired.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+----------------+---------------+---------|
| HOUKOUHA | 26 | Fire | **** | Tekikanchi (3) | Tataku3 Combo | MP 60+ |
| | | | | | | INT 20+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dias charges his sword, and then sends a phoenix of energy flying towards the
monster. Houkouha is Star Ocean: Blue Sphere's version of Dias's Hawk Scream
Blast from Star Ocean: The Second Story. Damage is average, and Dias gets tired
after two. I find Kogetsusen more powerful AND it uses less MP, so I'd stick to
that one.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+-------------+--------|
| ENGETSUZAN | 40 | - | *** | Kikenkanchi (2) | Oboro Combo | MP 80+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Engetsuzan is nearly identical in appearance to Kogetsusen. Instead of a
crescent moon, however, Dias forms a full moon, which he flings at the enemy.
The move appears to be Full Moon Slash from Star Ocean: The Second Story, yet
oddly enough, Engetsuzan does no damage. Like Precis’s Barrier move, it can
only peep the enemy, which it doesn’t do consistently, but it’s successful
often enough that it could potentially prove useful on fast, aggressive
enemies. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty big chunk of MP to waste if it doesn’t
work, and you’ll be open to attack due to the fact that it only takes one
execution of Engetsuzan to tire Dias out. Also, you’ll have to be no more than
three quarters of the screen away from the enemy when performing Engetsuzan or
it may miss.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+---------------+----------------+------------|
| MUGEN | 53 | Void | ** | Renda (5) | 6+ Hit Combo | MP 110+ |
| | | | | Bunseki (3) | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
In Japanese, "mugen" means "dream" or "fantasy", or in this case, Illusion.
Sounds familiar Star Ocean: The Second Story fans? It is indeed the same move.
Dias does four elaborate attacks with his sword not unlike Ashton's Sword
Dance. Unfortunately, it's similar in more ways than just visually. Like Sword
Dance, it uses a lot of MP, forces you to begin it right next to the enemy to
have any chance of having every attack hit, tends to push away the enemy so you
miss, and makes Dias tired after just one. In other words, stick to Chaos Sword
and Kogetsusen.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+--------------+-----------|
| SUZAKU | 48 | Fire | ***** | Konjou (5) | Shippuudzuki | MP 100+ |
| SHOUGEKIHA | | | | | Combo | INT 40+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Leave it to English translators to remove anything and everything that can be
considered “foreign” in a game. In the American version of Star Ocean: The
Second Story, this move is called Firebird Shock Wave, but this is no mere
firebird or phoenix. It is the great Japanese god Suzaku. Dias leaps into the
air, his body loses form and turns into a blue swirl, and then he immerges as
the flaming, mythical bird Suzaku. He dives straight at the enemy, and upon
impact, he flies back up for a moment before dematerializing and returning to
the battlefield as Dias. Suzaku Shougekiha tires Dias out after only one, but
chances are you won’t care considering the enemy is usually dead by the time
you finish the first one due to its awesome strength. Like Engetsuzan you don’t
want to be more than three quarters of the screen away from the enemy or you
risk missing it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Psychometry |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| BYAKKO | 52 | - | ***** | - | - | Reign Force |
| SOUGEKIZAN | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dias throws his sword behind him to build up power, and when he swings the
blade forward, the energy ball morphs into the Japanese god Byakko. The
mythical tiger lunges at the enemy, and the fierce strike does an extremely
large amount of damage. The great thing about Byakko Sougekizan is that it can
be performed at anywhere on the battlefield, and Dias can use it twice before
becoming tired. A neat trick to try is to perform the move when a large enemy
is “stretched out”. Byakko will always appear in front of the enemy, but if the
enemy is stretched out far enough, the tiger will be slightly on top of it
resulting in more hits than normal.
===============================================================================
----------------------------------BOWMAN JEAN----------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
Crawd and Rena were disheartened when they were refused entrance at Keith's
home, but they found Bowman Jean - their ticket to a meeting with Keith to get
the Ancient Writings deciphered. Bowman, in his usual devious fashion, wanted
something out of the deal for himself first, though. He requested that Crawd
and Rena find him a rare herb from the Linga Sanctuary good enough to impress
him. Risking life and limb, the team was able to find an unusual looking herb
in the dangerous murky depths of the cave, so they hurriedly returned to Linga
with hope that Bowman would accept it. Fortunately, he did, and Crawd and Rena
got to visit Keith that very day to hand over the Ancient Writings. Feeling a
little more generous, Bowman offered his home to them for the night, and they
learned that there was quite a bit more to the man. On the surface, Bowman is a
simple pharmacist, but beneath that exterior, lies the well-toned body of an
expert at martial arts. Not to mention, he has superb skills at mixing herbs.
Bowman was fascinated with Crawd and Rena's adventure and fancied himself a
part of it. Crawd and Rena, needing all the help they could get, welcomed him
with open arms. Because of his frivolous behavior, some thought that Bowman
wasn’t reliable, but he actually tries every possible way to complete something
before giving up.
Despite his lady's man reputation, Bowman returned to his wife and his
pharmacist job in Linga after the Ten Wise Men were put out of commission, and
he has also greatly contributed to the restoration of Expel. During that time,
his wife Nineh gave birth to their first child. Everyone could recognize
Bowman’s unconditional love for the child by the countless number of clothes he
purchased for the baby. While Bowman was enjoying his newfound fatherhood, his
adventurous spirit didn't die. Precis has deep respect for Nineh, so she
decided to not ask Bowman to aid them in the rescue mission. Bowman wouldn’t
take “no” for an answer, though. “You can’t start without me.” Needless to say,
Bowman worries about his family greatly, and he actually decided to participate
in the rescue mission because of Nineh’s strong recommendation.
Type:
Bowman is a fighter who uses knuckles. His Skill specialty order is Feel
(hand), Battle (sword), Knowledge (book), and lastly Spanner (wrench). He
randomly gains each move once the corresponding skill/s have been acquired, the
statistical requirements have been met, and you perform the combo the move is
based on. It doesn't take much practice to combo with him, and his combos can
easily get into the double digits. He is overall weaker than Ashton and Dias,
though, so it balances out. He learns how to combine herbs very quickly, and
one Field Action unique to him allows him to pick herbs. His beginning stats
are:
_______________________________________________________________________
| HP 50 | MP 20 | STR 8 | CON 7 | DEX 7 | AGL 8 | INT 4 | RES 5 | GUT 8 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| KUBIKASE | 16 | Earth | *** | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
During Kubikase, Bowman teleports high into the air and does a diving punch at
the enemy. To those who are wondering, yep, this is Pillory. Damage is pretty
minimal, but it's a good move for its low MP cost, and Bowman can perform it
several times before getting tired.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+----------------+---------------+-------|
| SUZAKU | 22 | Fire | ** | Kyuushonerai(2)| Sakuretsushou | MP |
| SOUSOUGEKI | | | | | Combo | 50+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Bowman does a one-two punch, which sends two flaming shots possessing the power
of Suzaku flying at the enemy. This is the same move as Firebird Attack from
Star Ocean: The Story. The damage of Suzaku Sousougeki is pretty average, but
like Kubikase, the MP cost isn’t bad. You can perform the move about three
times before Bowman becomes tired. You’ll have to be close to the enemy if you
want both shots to hit. If you’re more than half a screen away, you risk having
both shots miss or the first may push the enemy slightly back, which results in
the second shot missing.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+---------------+---------------+-------|
| SENPUUKYAKU | 27 | Wind | * | Kikenkanchi(2)| Rolling | MP |
| | | | | | Thunder Combo | 60+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Senpuukyaku is Star Ocean: Blue Sphere's equivalent of Bowman's Whirlwind Fist
move in Star Ocean: The Second Story. In Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, though,
Bowman uses his legs to turn his whole body into a whirlwind rather than
creating a whirlwind of air with his fists. In Senpuukyaku, Bowman gets down on
the ground and spins his legs around while supporting his body with his arms,
not unlike a break dancer. When he gets enough momentum, his spinning body
flies at the enemy like a tornado. When he stops spinning, he'll hop on one leg
trying to recover his balance, which is very cute. ^_^ Damage is average, but
it's still a very good move since the MP cost is low and Bowman can perform
Senpuukyaku many times in a row without getting tired. It also will hit the
enemy even if you start it practically a whole screen away. You can even
customize how it hits the enemy to some extent. If you start it while right
next to the enemy, the initial spinning will hit the enemy's head or front, but
if the enemy is large, you'll spin right past them thus losing a few hits while
in whirlwind form. The whirlwind will push back smaller enemies, though, so
just about every attack will hit.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+--------------+------------|
| SHIHOUJIN | 30 | Void | * | Nintai (3) | 6+ Hit Combo | MP 70+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Shihoujin is another move that wins my own personal "bad ass" award. Bowman
charges up with power and disappears. In an instant you see him flashing across
the screen at supersonic speed, punching and kicking the enemy from all angles.
For such a powerful move, it uses very little MP, so definitely keep this one
in your repertoire. Just be wary of the fact that Bowman gets tired after only
one Shihoujin.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+--------------------+---------+--------|
| | | | | Shintaikankaku (4) | 7+ | |
| OUKARENGEKI | 39 | - | * | Bunseki (2) | Hit | MP 80+ |
| | | | | Tekikanchi (6) | Combo | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Bowman does some insane Bruce Lee-style high kicks, spinning kicks, and diving
kicks in Oukarengeki. The damage this move dishes out can be very high if you
perform it while close to the enemy in order to get most, if not all, the kicks
to hit. Bowman can execute the move twice before becoming exhausted if he
starts with full stamina. Otherwise, expect him to get tired after the first
one.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Psychometry |
|--------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------|
| OUKA | 45 | Dark | ** | - | - | Heart of |
| SAKURETSUJIN | | | | | | Heart |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Bowman gathers energy between his hands, and when he flings his arms apart, the
enemy is assaulted with several explosions of cherry blossoms. The great thing
about this move is that not only is it extremely strong, but Bowman doesn’t
even need to be on the same screen with the enemy for it to hit. Ouka
Sakuretsujin doesn’t transport him either, so you’ll still be in safety when
you finish the move. Only one performance of the move will tire Bowman out, but
it’s so powerful that enemies are rarely alive afterwards.
===============================================================================
--------------------------------CHISATO MADISON--------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
Everywhere Crawd and Rena turned they bumped in the energetic news reporter
Chisato Madison. It wasn't just a strange coincidence, though. Chisato was
after a big scoop, and Crawd and Rena were it. She knew they were up to
something BIG on Nede, and she had to be the first journalist to report it,
even if that means making a pest of herself. Crawd and Rena were getting quite
annoyed, and when Chisato was careless enough to drop behind her ID card, Crawd
and Rena tracked her down to confront her. They gave her an ultimatum - you can
get your story by joining us and helping us out or stay out of our way. Chisato
happily joined them, and Crawd and Rena forgave her for being a nuisance
before. She used to write stories about heroes, and now she has become one by
using the art of defense she learned years ago.
With Nede gone, Chisato had to find a new home. She chose Expel, but she
quickly realized that it was no Nede. Global communication on the planet was
very primitive. She made it her goal to establish a mass communication system
on Expel. It's a huge job for just one woman, but Chisato has a passion so
strong for reporting that she can accomplish any journalistic feat. Her work
doesn’t always go well, but she is learning things that she never would have on
Nede. She has conducted research in many uncivilized regions of Expel, which
has resulted in an improvement in her fighting skills. She diligently worked on
her task until Precis contacted her with the bad news about Opera and Ernest's
expedition.
Type:
Chisato is a fighter who uses phase guns. Her Skill specialty order is Feel
(hand), Battle (sword), Spanner (wrench), and lastly Knowledge (book). She
gains her moves by creating them in Machinery. She is quite weak, but she can
make very long combos. She has an amusing but useless Field Action that allows
her to take photos of monsters for the Monster Picture Book. Her beginning
stats are:
________________________________________________________________________
| HP 50 | MP 30 | STR 7 | CON 6 | DEX 3 | AGL 10 | INT 1 | RES 7 | GUT 9 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| BURNING | 17 | Dark | *** | - | - | Chisato no Meishi |
| CARDS | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Chisato tosses two playing cards enhanced with power at the enemy. Damage is
pretty minimal, and you have to be within about half a screen for the cards to
hit. They also only hit at a certain height, so it's possible for flying
enemies to be above that range and not get hit. Burning Cards isn't that bad
early on in the game, but later I would stick to the more powerful moves, even
if they do use more MP.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------------|
| 10 MAN | 18 | Thunder | ** | - | - | Overload |
| VOLT | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
No silly, it’s not “man” as in a human being; it’s “man” as in the Japanese
word for “thousand”. :P Chisato whips out her stun gun, charges it up, and
fries the enemy with 10,000 volts of electricity. It's really quite a poor
move. The MP cost is too high for such a weak move, you have to be VERY close
to the enemy for every shock to hit, and it only takes two 10,000 Volt to tire
Chisato out.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| FLAME | 20 | Fire | ** | - | - | Fireman |
| THROWER | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When performing Flame Thrower, Chisato whips out a huge flame thrower from Tria
knows were and torches the enemy. This move can be lousy or great depending on
how you use it. If you start it a distance from the enemy, it won't hit many
times, and it'll do minimal to average damage. If you begin it right next to
the enemy, it should hit for the whole time and do a lot of damage. I don't
recommend using this move if you'd like to stay close to the enemy and/or
follow up with a combo, though. Each hit of the flame thrower pushes the enemy
away. So basically, look at the length of the flame and know ahead of time how
far the enemy will be from you when you finish the move.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------------|
| MAIBO | 25 | Void | *** | - | - | Robo Pet |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
We've all seen 'em... That curse from Japan... Those irritating robot dog toys.
Apparently they're hip, but hell, so are those stupid scooters that make
everyone look like fools. What was tri-Ace thinking? Do they actually like
those things? Are they making fun of them? Or Chisato for owning one? Well,
regardless, during Maibo, Chisato pulls out the remote control for her robot
dog pet, and he comes happily hopping into the battle. He breathes...
something... on the enemy, which of course does damage. He then does an about-
face and hops off just as he came. This move actually does quite a bit of
damage, but still... I don't want to watch that... thing... x_x
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger |Machinery Item |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------|
| PREPARATION | 34 | Light | *** | - | - | P-MODE |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
I had a love/hate relationship with Preparation in Star Ocean: The Second
Story. It was unique and kind of amusing to watch, but it was far too long.
Nevertheless, I stuck with it until I got 999 proficiency. I thought it would
leave too sour a taste in my mouth to enjoy it in Blue Sphere, but not so.
Preparation is by far the cutest, most entertaining to watch move in the game.
Chisato pulls out her cell phone, dials the number to call for missiles, taps
her finger as she talks, and taps her foot impatiently after the call is over
as she's waiting for the missiles to arrive. When she sees the missiles coming,
her mouth drops open in surprise, and she ducks for cover as the enemy gets
pelted with a row of missiles. Anecdotes aside, Preparation is quick to
execute, fairly strong, and will hit regardless of where on the battlefield you
start it. Practical and so adorable. Can't be beat. ^_^ Also, a neat little
trick for Preparation is to use it when Chisato is slowed down by paralysis.
The slower missiles will hit the enemy many more times than normal, so take
advantage of the disability.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| FIRE SHOT | 38 | Fire | ***** | - | - | Field no Teiou |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Good grief, where does the girl get this stuff?! First playing cards, a stun
gun, a flame-thrower, a cell phone, and a robot dog, now a soccer ball! How
does she store it all in that little business outfit? o_O And why is she still
so confused about her profession? Is she a news reporter or a sports reporter?
Getting past the weirdness of it all, Chisato creates an orb of power which in
turn becomes a blazing soccer ball when she throws it in the air. She then
kicks it at the enemy. Other than the novelty of it, this move is useless in
comparison to Preparation. It does less damage, takes MORE MP, and tires out
Chisato after only one.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Psychometry |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------|
| JINGUU | 55 | Dark | ** | - | - | Mirage |
| SENRETSUKEN | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===============================================================================
---------------------------------NOEL CHANDLER---------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
After Crawd and Rena's Synard, their only method of airborne transportation,
went berserk and had to be killed, they left North City to seek the help of the
peaceful zoologist Noel Chandler. Despite his absolute hatred of harming any
living creature, he agreed to lead them through the Red Crystal Cave to find
one of the last wild Synards. The team fought off many powerful monsters, and
they arrived at the Synard's nest just in the nick of time. A savage beast was
attacking the endangered animal. The group quickly put an end the threat. Just
as Crawd and Rena were about to board the creature and fly off, Noel realized
that he needn't feel guilty about harming animals that were evil. It must be
done in order to save the peaceful animals' lives. To save ALL the animals, he
must fight through the evil ones until he reached the Ten Wise Men, the ones
who were responsible for mutating living creatures into evil beasts. Crawd and
Rena were happy to have his help and welcomed the easy-going man, who always
wears a smile, into the party.
Like Chisato, Noel needed to find a new home after the destruction of Nede. He
also chose Expel, but he went through an unstable period of frustration over
the destruction of Nede. He had a hard time figuring out what to do with
himself, but soon he realized that Expel was perfect place for him. Nede had
stopped evolving, and in the world of nature, not evolving means death. Natural
life on Nede was becoming more and more rare, both because of the evils the Ten
Wise Men brought and the technology that sucked the life from the planet. On
Expel, Noel found a lush green, primitive world where birds constantly fly
overhead, seas are brimming with aquatic life, and every cave, forest, and
mountain has an infinite number of new creatures to discover. Noel had found
his paradise, but he had to part with it once Precis called.
Type:
Noel is technically a spell caster, but he is more of an all-around character.
He is so-so at fighting with knuckles, healing, and attack magic. His Skill
specialty order is Knowledge (book), Spanner (wrench), Feel (hand), and lastly
Battle (sword). He randomly learns each spell once the corresponding skill/s
have been acquired, the statistical requirements have been met, and you cast a
spell that the desired spell is based on. He can't learn attack spells by
casting healing spells or vice versa, though. Noel also must use the Item
Creation ability Jumonkenkyuu (Spell Research) to create some of his spells.
Despite that tri-Ace designed him to be an average fighter, he's very weak and
poor at pulling of combos, so you should stick to using his great heraldric
power. He's also the only healer available to you for most of the game, so if
you're not into using items to heal, he becomes indispensable. His beginning
stats are:
_______________________________________________________________________
| HP 30 | MP 50 | STR 4 | CON 3 | DEX 5 | AGL 7 | INT 9 | RES 9 | GUT 6 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
Spells:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------------|
| HEAL | 3 | - | - | - | - | Start game with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Noel casts Heal, a little green star appears above him, and then the
character he chose is surrounded in green sparkles. In RPG land, that means you
recovered some HP. It recovers about 30-40 HP. Good at the very beginning of
the game, but it gets quite useless once the enemies start to do large amounts
of damage.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+-----------+--------------|
| CURE LIGHT | 11 | - | - | - | Heal | INT 40+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Thankfully, if you cast Heal a lot, you should learn Cure Light, a much more
useful healing spell. In addition to the green star and sparkles, there's a
blue bubble floating around the character being healed! Oooh! In RPG land, that
means even more recovered HP! ;) Okay, enough silliness, Cure Light recovers
around 150 HP. It's good for the middle of the game, but towards the end you'll
probably want something that recovers a bit more than that.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+-------------+--------------|
| CURE ALL | 20 | - | - | - | Cure Light | INT 70+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
During Cure All, an image of a golden cross appears above the characters. Then
the screen flashes, and each character is healed individually until the whole
party has been healed. Cure All heals about the same amount as Cure Light for
each character. This move is very useful early on in the game when in only a
couple seconds every character can be near death.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+---------------+------------+-----------|
| FAIRY HEAL | 30 | - | - | Youseiron (4) | Cure Light | - |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Fairies fly in from all directions around the selected character. They leave
behind dark healing orbs in the sky which then heal the character with the same
animation as Cure Light, but your character will recover about 350 HP. You have
quite a bit of trouble in the game if you don't have this move by the end.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------------+------------+------------|
| FAIRY | 40 | - | - | Bitekikankaku (4) | Fairy Heal | INT 90+ |
| LIGHT | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Three fairies swoop in on the caster of this spell, and they leave behind
pinkish healing orbs in the air. Then each character is healed individually
with the same animation as Cure Light. Fairy Heal recovers a bit more for
individual characters, as Fairy Light only recovers about 200 HP for each
character, but if everyone is low on HP, you're better off using Fairy Light.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| RECOVERY | 9 | - | - | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Recovery looks almost identical to Heal, except that instead of green,
everything is in shades of blue. Unlike Heal, which recovers a small amount of
HP, Recovery recovers a small amount of stamina, AKA the stuff that makes your
characters tired for awhile when they run out. Pretty useful later on in the
game when a tired character is a sitting duck waiting for death.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| REFRESH | 18 | - | - | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Refresh looks almost identical to Cure Light, except, like Recovery, everything
is blue. Refresh recovers a higher amount of stamina than Recovery, so if a
character is completely out, this spell is the better choice.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| REVIVAL | 26 | - | - | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Revival looks almost identical to Cure All, except the cross is silver and the
sparkles are all blue. Revival recovers some stamina for every character in
your party, so if everyone is getting tired at once, it can be more useful than
Recovery or Refresh.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------------|
| DISPEL | 20 | - | - | - | - | Start game with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A circular blue symbol appears above the selected character's head, and the
following blue sparkles cure the character of any status conditions. This move
can cure poison, stone, paralysis, slow, confusion, etc. The only condition it
cannot heal is faint (ie death). Some conditions aren't a big deal because your
character can continue to fight and the condition will go away in time or after
the battle is over, but this move is a must in areas where the enemies
frequently stone or paralyze your characters.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| WIND BLADE | 10 | Wind | **** | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Noel's Wind Blade is the same as Celine's. Use it at the beginning of the game
or if you want a quick spell to stop the enemy.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------------+--------------|
| GRAVE | 22 | Earth | **** | - | Wind Blade | INT 25+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Three small stalagmites burst from the earth and pierce the enemy three times.
Damage is about average, but it's quick to cast, so it's a decent spell.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+------------+---------|
| MAGNUM TORNADO | 25 | Wind | **** | - | Wind Blade | INT 45+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A powerful blast of dark tornado winds bombards the enemy to do damage. The
damage is only average, so you're probably better off with Grave unless you
face enemies strong against the earth elemental.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+------------------+-----------+--------------|
| EARTH | 36 | Earth | ***** | Kikaisousa (3) | Grave | INT 55+ |
| GRAVE | | | | | | MP 180+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Noel calls forth several giant stalagmites of earth to pop up from underneath
the enemy. It does slightly above average damage, but it's not really worth the
high MP cost.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+-------------+------------|
| ENERGY | 30 | Vacuum | ***** | Seishingaku (3) | Wind Blade | INT 75+ |
| ARROW | | | | | or Grave | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Noel’s Energy Arrow is the same as Celine’s spell. It’s a great spell to use
while you’re building Noel up in order to learn the “ultimate” attack spells.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------------+--------------|
| FOEHN | 50 | Wind | ***** | Mekiki (3) | Magnum Tornado | INT 90+ |
| | | | | | | MP 260+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Noel casts Foehn, little gusts of air float up in the sky. Then a huge
powerful blast of burning hot air assaults the enemy. The MP cost may be high,
but Foehn does high damage, and it's surprisingly quick to cast. Once you learn
Foehn, I suggest you stick with it when you want to use Noel for attack magic
along with the more powerful spells.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------------+---------+----------|
| EARTHQUAKE | 55 | Earth | ***** | Bitekikankaku (4) | Earth | INT 110+ |
| | | | | Kagakugijutsu (5) | Grave | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Earthquake isn’t as cool looking as in Star Ocean: The Second Story (no earth
gods pounding the ground here), but it’s still a great spell. The ground shakes
and trembles from the force of a massive earthquake. The earthquake causes the
soil to buckle, and huge stalagmites burst from the ground, stabbing the enemy
over and over. It does a huge amount of damage, so few enemies can withstand
one casting of Earthquake. The MP cost and casting time aren’t terrible either,
so definitely use Earthquake.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| PANDA!! | 88 | Earth | ***** | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Maybe it’s just the Getter Love!! talking, but Panda!! (which coincidentally
also has two exclamation points following its title, hmmm...) is the coolest
spell in the entire game, in my opinion. Three fat Chinese pandas roll onto the
screen, and as the picture fades away, all we can see are the signs of a brutal
pummeling. The picture reappears to show two pandas, each on either side of the
enemy, lifting their arms in a joyous cheer over their victory. The two pandas
fade away, and more often than not, the enemy collapses in defeat. The MP cost
of this spell is high, but oh, is the damage worth it. Believe it or not, the
casting time isn’t especially long either.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------------|
| BLESS | 18 | - | - | - | - | Start game with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Same as Celine's Bless. Don't use it unless you enjoy wasting MP.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+-------------+---------------|
| NEUTRAL | 17 | - | - | - | Bless | INT 40+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
This spell looks and works the same as Celine’s Neutral. Like Celine, it’s
painfully difficult to get Noel to learn Neutral, and there’s pretty much no
reward in doing so, as the spell is all but useless.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------------+-------------+-----------|
| CURSE | 20 | - | - | Youseiron (4) | Silence | - |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Noel’s Curse is also identical to Celine’s same-named spell. Yet again, I can’t
really recommend the use of Curse, considering there are much better spells to
use 20 MP on, like ones that have a 100% chance of working.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| SILENCE | 14 | - | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ugh, yet another spell that doesn't have any real benefit. During the Silence
spell, a tiny little angel appears next to Noel. She throws her arms open, and
four spheres of magical energy fly towards each corner of the screen. If the
move fails to work, it will end then, but if it does work, an "X" will appear
above the enemy. That indicates that the enemy can't use magical attacks. It
works randomly and is useless overall.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------|
| BLOOD SUCKER | 12 | Thunder | *** | - | Silence | HP below 50 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Blood Sucker is a palette-swapped version of Lost Mental where everything is a
yellowish green. It’s a really neat spell in that it can be used as not only an
attack spell but also a quick and easy way to heal Noel’s HP. The MP cost and
casting time are very low, and you get a good chunk of HP from the enemy. Even
if Noel is at max HP, you can still use Blood Sucker to attack the enemy, and
the damage is very nice.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+--------------+---------+-------------------|
| LOST | 1 | Vacuum | - | Monster | Silence | INT 50+ |
| MENTAL | | | | Chishiki (2) | | MP less than 35 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
This spell is the same as Celine’s Lost Mental. Like Celine, it might not be
too useful once Noel has a ton of MP, but when you are running low, it’s very
handy to have. It totally beats the socks off using blackberries, and you can
cast it over and over again.
===============================================================================
---------------------------------OPERA VECTRA----------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
From very early on in their adventure, Crawd and Rena kept bumping into strange
three-eyed people. First a man in Cross, then a bold beautiful and... drunk
woman named Opera Vectra. Opera asked them if they had seen a three-eyed man.
They told her that they had, of course, and she darted off. Not without hinting
at where she was heading, though. Crawd and Rena suspected that she went to the
Mountain Palace. They returned to the continent of Cross, got permission from
the king to enter the palace, and after getting confused and lost in the maze-
like ancient structure, they finally found Opera. In a private conversation,
Crawd learned that Opera was also not from Expel. Opera, a daughter of an
aristocratic family, hailed from the artificial satellite Tetragene and was in
search of her boyfriend who always seems to leave her behind when he goes
exploring. Crawd and Opera both agreed that it would be a good idea for her to
join the party. Crawd and Rena would get some much-needed help, and Opera would
get the opportunity to scour the entire planet of Expel for he boyfriend. She
isn’t in the best shape, but she knows how to look beautiful and make good use
of her long phase gun. Her philosophy on life is: “A woman can change.”
The current whereabouts of Opera is unknown. Over the past two years, she and
her boyfriend Ernest have been investigating ruins on uncharted planets. The
excavation trips were the happiest trips she had ever experienced, despite how
difficult they were. They made monumental achievements for the archeological
community, but few knew how much they sacrificed for such accomplishments. On
one planet named Edifice they ran into misfortune. Their ship crashed, and
shortly after their SOS call was sent, they disappeared.
Type:
Opera is a fighter who uses disks to upgrade her gun. Her Skill specialty order
is Spanner (wrench), Knowledge (book), Feel (hand), and lastly Battle (sword).
She gains her moves by creating them in Machinery. She is very difficult to
combo with, but her moves are quite useful in battle. She's also unique in that
she's the only fighter with a healing spell that affects the ENTIRE party. If
you don't want to use Noel or Rena for healing, then bring in Opera with her
Holy Star move. Her beginning stats are:
_______________________________________________________________________
| HP 50 | MP 40 | STR 6 | CON 6 | DEX 6 | AGL 6 | INT 3 | RES 5 | GUT 9 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| FLAME | 13 | Fire | * | - | - | Comes with it |
| LAUNCHER | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Opera's Flame Launcher is almost identical to Chisato's Flame Thrower. As I
said before, if you start it from a distance, you won't hit the enemy many
times, and each hit pushes the enemy away a bit. Unfortunately, even if you
start Flame Launcher right next to the enemy and it hits several times, it
still won't do much damage. It's MP cost is pretty low, though, so you might
want to use Flame Launcher just to push an aggressive enemy away from you.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------------|
| ALPHA | 24 | - | * | - | - | Photon System |
| ON ONE | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Opera fires many small pink shots of energy at the enemy. The game is kind of
picky about where you have to be in order to get most of the shots to hit (or
if you're really lucky, all of them). If you're too close, the shots might go
right over the enemy. If you're too far, you'll miss, or push the enemy out of
range in one or two hits. I find you get the most hits in if you're about one
quarter of the screen away from the enemy. If you can get most of the shots to
hit, Alpha on One is quite powerful and definitely worth using considering the
low MP cost. If most of the shots miss, though, the damage won't be very high.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| SPREAD RAY | 27 | Wind | * | - | - | Arc System |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Opera leaps into the air and fires several large shots from her gun at the
enemy. For Spread Ray to hit, you have to be within about half a screen from
the enemy, but this is still a great move to use. The MP cost is pretty low,
and it's a fairly strong move.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| COLD WIND | 30 | Water | * | - | - | Freezer System |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Cold Wind is similar to Flame Launcher, but instead of fire, it's a blast of
freezing wind and ice twirling out of Opera's gun. Like Flame Launcher, it
pushes the enemy away, and you have to be within half a screen for it to hit at
all. Unlike Flame Launcher, though, it's MUCH more powerful. The MP cost is
about average, so it's a good move to use, especially if you're fighting
enemies weak against water.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| GRAVITY | 41 | Dark | * | - | - | Nemesis System |
| SHELL | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Opera fires a shell, which only flies a short distance before falling to the
ground and exploding. You have to be within half a screen for this move to hit
the enemy. Despite its high MP cost, it's really far too weak. Spread Ray,
Alpha on One, and Cold Wind do more damage and cost less. I recommend you avoid
Gravity Shell.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| LIGHTNING | 44 | Thunder | *** | - | - | Zeus System |
| BLADE | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Another different elemental version of the Flame Launcher/Cold Wind type moves.
Opera points her gun to the sky in order to charge it with electricity from
several lightning bolts, and then she fire the electricity at the enemy to
shock it. Against most enemies, Lightning Blade has too many flaws, such as its
weak strength and its high MP cost, BUT if you’re facing robot-type enemies,
the electricity will fry their circuits resulting in major damage. Always take
note of the area you’re in and the types of enemies you’re facing when setting
your moves and spells.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| HOLY STAR | 19 | - | ** | - | - | White System |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When executing Holy Star, Opera fires a beam straight into the sky, which
explodes and sends little stars of healing energy floating down lightly across
the battlefield to heal every character. It recovers around 100 HP, and the MP
cost is low, so this is a great move if you want someone who can heal but don't
want to sacrifice a spot on your party for a healing mage.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Machinery Item |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| HYPER | 60 | Light | ** | - | - | Green System |
| LAUNCHER | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Opera swings her gun forward, and the end of it widens in order to fire several
large explosive shots at the enemy. Like all of Opera's other attack moves, you
have to be within half a screen from the enemy. It also pushes the enemy away
with each shot, so get in close. Hyper Launcher is VERY powerful, so if you
don't mind the high MP cost, definitely go ahead and use it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Psychometry |
|---------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------|
| BLITZ TACTICS | 70 | Light | *** | - | - | Secret Box |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===============================================================================
--------------------------------ERNEST RAVIEDE---------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
Crawd and Rena first met the mysterious Indiana Jones-esque man Ernest Raviede
(who is actually homage to an old character created by tri-Ace developers named
Earnest Evans) in the city of Cross, but it was little more than a brush by. At
the Hoffman Ruins, Opera thought she glimpsed him. She chased after the image,
and the party followed. It was indeed the famous archeologist Ernest, but after
a brief conversation, Opera sensed that something was not right... An evil
ghost had possessed Ernest, and Opera had to make the heart-wrenching decision
to attack her love in order to save him. The team dispatched of the demon, and
Rena healed Ernest until he was his proper self again. United with her love,
Opera asked if Ernest would join them. She had accomplished her goal, but she
made dear friends in the process and wanted to help them solve the mysteries of
the Sorcery Globe with her boyfriend at her side. Ernest was interested in the
Sorcery Globe himself, so it was an easy decision to make. He is a very noble,
reliable person, but since he doesn’t talk much, he is often misunderstood.
Ernest’s motto is: “One discovery buried underground is more important than 100
paper plans.” He’s also an extremely strong drinker, and he’s the only member
of the party who can drink as much as Opera. ;)
Ernest didn't let the ghost incident scare him, so he continued to explore
dangerous unknown worlds. After defeating the Ten Wise Men, he had a bit more
faith and confidence in Opera's ability to fight and protect herself, so this
time he let Opera join him. It might have been a bad idea, though, because they
BOTH found themselves stranded on Edifice. However, with his wit and
experience, he must be still alive, and he’ll let Precis know exactly why his
ship crashed.
Type:
Ernest is a fighter who uses whips. His Skill specialty order is Feel (hand),
Battle (sword), Knowledge (book), and lastly Spanner (wrench). He randomly
gains each move once the corresponding skill/s have been acquired, the
statistical requirements have been met, and you perform the combo the move is
based on. He's pretty easy and stable at performing combos, and he keeps a good
distance between himself and the enemy with his whip tactics. He has a Field
Action that works the same as Precis's Winch. He can grab onto certain objects
with his whip and pull the party across an abyss. His beginning stats are:
_______________________________________________________________________
| HP 50 | MP 20 | STR 7 | CON 8 | DEX 7 | AGL 7 | INT 5 | RES 1 | GUT 5 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+--------------+--------+-------------+--------------+-----------|
| CLOUD | 15 | Earth & Wind | * | - | - | Comes |
| DUST | | | | | | with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Cloud Dust was probably the most useless move in Star Ocean: The Second Story,
but it's a bit better in Blue Sphere. It's very much like Ashton's Hurricane
Slash. Ernest spins around and creates a small tornado of dust, which flies at
the enemy to do damage. The damage is quite minimal, and Ernest gets tired
after only two. However, the MP cost isn't too bad, so it isn't the worst move
out there.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| BROKEN | 28 | Earth | * | Tekikanchi (3) | Tsukisashi Lv2 | MP 60+ |
| HEART | | | | | Combo | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ernest thrusts his whip into the earth, and the other end bursts from the
ground underneath the enemy. The now thorny whip, which resembles a rose vine,
flails around the enemy scratching it all over. The damage isn’t that great
except against enemies weak against the Earth element, and Ernest gets tired
after performing the move twice. Overall, Broken Heart is a decent but not
particularly impressive move.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+---------------+---------|
| THUNDER | 35 | Thunder | *** | Kyuushonerai(4) | Thousand Whip | MP 70+ |
| WHIP | | | | | Combo | INT 20+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Maybe it’s just me, but I find it incredibly cute that Ernest’s Thunder Whip is
nearly identical in appearance to Opera’s Lightning Blade, considering they’re
a couple and all. ^_^ The only difference is that instead of a gun, Ernest
points his whip to the sky and then whips the lightning at the enemy. The uses
are relatively the same. The strength is pretty good, but it’s best used on
enemies weak against Thunder. Ernest becomes tired after using it twice. Ernest
has a slight advantage over Opera as his Thunder Whip uses less MP than her
Lightning Blade.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+---------------+---------------+-------------|
| SONIC | 46 | Wind | *** | Mekiki (3) | Spiral Whip | MP 100+ |
| WHIP | | | | | Combo | AGL 60+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ernest whips a huge blue blast of sonic energy at the enemy to do massive
damage. While it tires Ernest out after only one, the damage is well worth it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+------------------+----------------+---------|
| GRAND | 60 | Earth | ***** | Kikaisousa (2) | Broken Heart | MP 120+ |
| SLASH | | | | Endorphin (4) | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ernest slashes at the ground with his whip, which causes a divide in the earth
to travel along in a line until it reaches the enemy and explodes, with dirt
and rock flying up into the sky. Grand Slash is very powerful, but the MP cost
can be a little painful. It also exhausts Ernest with just one performance of
the move. Grand Slash stands out as a bit unusual for Star Ocean: Blue Sphere
as it’s the only move in the game that uses another move as its trigger, as
opposed to a standard combo.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Psychometry |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| FINAL WHIP | 65 | Void | ** | - | - | Eternal Byuuto |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===============================================================================
---------------------------------RENA LANFORD----------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
The happy-go-lucky girl Rena Lanford went to her favorite place, the Shingo
Forest, one day to relax and ponder the mystery of her origins, despite her
adoptive mother's warnings. Ever since the Sorcery Globe crashed into the
planet, natural disasters had been occurring at an alarming rate, and monsters
were roaming the land everywhere that people didn't inhabit. Rena wasn't
worried, though, and her bizarre healing powers could protect her if necessary.
But what happened that day she didn't expect... A huge ape beast snuck up
behind her, and if it weren't for a mysterious man who ran in and defeated the
monster with a blade of light, she would have been killed. He must be the Hero
of Light, the one who would come from a far off place to save Expel when it
needed it most... The journey that resulted helped her discover that she was
not an Expellian, but actually a Nedian. Rena gets paranoid very easily, makes
things up, and then talks about them as if they actually occurred. Dias must
have had a lot of trouble with her when she was little.
After her adventure, Rena moved to Earth to study advanced medicine, at Crawd’s
suggestion. She may have been blessed with the magical powers of healing, but
there was also the power of science to work with. At first she didn’t want to
go because she worried about her mother Westa, but she changed her mind based
on the strong recommendation made by Westa herself. She devoted herself to
learning all she could to help people, so she quickly completed a course that
usually takes four years. She currently plans to become an army doctor, so she
joined a short army exercise mission as an intern. When she received mail from
Precis about the emergency, she wanted to join the rescue party, but she has to
carry out her duties first. She replied saying that she would go as soon as she
completed her mission and that Precis and the others should go on ahead.
Type:
Rena is a spell caster who focuses on healing, but she can also attack with
knives. Her Skill specialty order is Knowledge (book), Spanner (wrench), Feel
(hand), and lastly Battle (sword). She randomly learns each spell once the
corresponding skill/s have been acquired, the statistical requirements have
been met, and you cast a spell that the desired spell is based on. She can't
learn attack spells by casting healing spells or vice versa, though. Rena also
must use the Item Creation ability Jumonkenkyuu (Spell Research) to create some
of her spells. You don't get her until late in the game, so she already comes
with many of her spells. Rena is very weak at fighting and almost impossible to
combo with, but if you want a healer, she's the best one available. Her
beginning stats are:
_______________________________________________________________________
| HP 30 | MP 60 | STR 4 | CON 2 | DEX 6 | AGL 3 | INT 8 | RES 9 | GUT 5 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
Spells:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------------|
| HEAL | 3 | - | - | - | - | Rena comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena's Heal is the same as Noel's. Since you recruit Rena at such a late point
in the game, this move is pretty useless. You don't even need to use it in
order to learn stronger healing spells because Rena comes with Cure Light when
you first get her in your party.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| CURE LIGHT | 11 | - | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena's Cure Light is also the same as Noel's. It's not too useful when you
finally get Rena, but you'll need to use it if you want to learn stronger
healing spells for Rena.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+------------+---------------|
| CURE ALL | 20 | - | - | - | Cure Light | INT 50+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Another spell just like Noel's. You'll probably learn Fairy Heal and Fairy
Light at the same time you learn this, so there's really no point in using it
unless you're stingy about MP and don't need the full recovering power of Fairy
Light.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+---------------+------------+-----------|
| FAIRY HEAL | 30 | - | - | Youseiron (4) | Cure Light | - |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Same as Noel's version yet again. You should try to learn Fairy Heal as soon as
possible with Rena because at that point in the game you'll need it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+--------------+----------|
| FAIRY LIGHT | 40 | - | - | - | Fairy Heal | INT 80+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena's Fairy Light is identical to Noel's Fairy Light. Use it when everybody is
low on HP rather than Fairy Heal.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| RECOVERY | 9 | - | - | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Another spell that’s just like Noel’s. Recovery is good for recovering a little
bit of stamina, but in most cases, you’d be better off with Refresh, which
recovers even more.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| REFRESH | 18 | - | - | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Refresh is the same as Noel’s. Use it when one character is out of stamina, or
think ahead and start casting it just before the character performs a strong
move.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-------------------|
| REVIVAL | 26 | - | - | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The last in a long string of spells for Rena that Noel also has! Cast Revival
when the whole party is getting low on stamina.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+------------------|
| ANTIDOTE | 5 | - | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A shower of healing mist (and more silly green sparkles) surrounds the selected
character and cleanses him or her of all toxins. Sounds good, but Antidote is
actually a really stupid move. It only cures the poison status anomaly, and
unlike Star Ocean and Star Ocean: The Second Story, poison is nothing to worry
about. After the battle, the poison status is gone. Not to mention there seems
to be a bug related to Antidote. If you have Antidote selected for use, the AI
will cast it on characters that have status anomalies other than poison. Thus
the character won't be cured, and Rena will just waste MP. Worse yet, she'll do
this even if you have Dispel selected for use. She won't use Dispel at all
unless you make her manually or remove Antidote from her list of moves to use
in battle.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+--------------------|
| DISPEL | 20 | - | - | - | - | Rena comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Another spell that Rena shares with Noel. Like with Noel, it's a good spell to
use when exploring areas that have enemies that stone or paralyze, but other
status conditions usually aren't much of a problem. If you have both Rena and
Noel in your party at the same time (which I don't recommend to begin with), it
isn't necessary to have both characters set to use Dispel. One is adequate.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------------+------------+------------|
| RAISE | 45 | - | - | Iryouchishiki (1) | Fairy Heal | Have dead |
| DEAD | | | | Seibutsugaku (4) | | character/s|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Rena casts Raise Dead, the sky takes on a yellowish orange hue, and the
heavens parts to release an angel who lowers to the earth to revive a character
in a burst of resurrecting sparkles. Raise Dead is a must-have late in the game
when your characters are dying often and you can't wait for the battle to be
over to heal them.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------------|
| RAY | 42 | Light | ***** | - | - | Rena comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena's Ray is identical to Celine's. As I said when describing Celine's, Ray
takes awhile to cast, but it does a lot of damage. Considering how high Rena's
MP should get, the MP cost isn't bad at all. Rena only comes with two attacking
spells, Ray and Press, so I recommend you use this one until you learn
something stronger.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------------|
| PRESS | 18 | Void | **** | - | - | Rena comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena conjures up a 100-ton weight and drops it on the enemy. Despite Press's
low MP cost, it's a surprisingly powerful spell. If you don't have the time to
cast a stronger one, Press is a good alternative with its quick casting time.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+-------------+-----------|
| LIGHT CROSS | 50 | Light | ***** | - | Ray | MP 80+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Little sparkles and crosses of light fill the battlefield and explode all
around the enemy to do massive damage. The MP cost is a tad high, but not a
problem at all when Rena had several hundred MP total. I highly recommend this
spell for when Rena isn't busy healing. The only downside is that it takes a
very long time to cast.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+--------------------+-----------+----------|
| TRACTOR | 42 | Star | ***** | Kagakuchishiki (4) | Press | INT 60+ |
| BEAM | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
When Rena casts Tractor Beam, a huge beam of reverse gravity fills the
battlefield and lifts the enemy up in the air. Then it drops the enemy to the
earth. It does above average damage, but you're probably better off with a
stronger spell or a weaker one that's quicker to cast.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+------------------+-------------+------------|
| STAR | 48 | Light | ***** | Shuukyougaku (6) | Light Cross | INT 100+ |
| FLARE | | | | Denpa (3) | | MP 250+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A huge star, not unlike the sun, appears above the enemy and sends a massive
wave of heat and fire towards it. It does high damage, and the casting time and
MP cost aren't too bad, so it's definitely recommended.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+---------------+----------------+----------|
| GRAVITY | 53 | Void | ***** | Taisei (3) | Tractor Beam | INT 130+ |
| PRESS | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Item Creation |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| CELESTIAL | 70 | Light | ***** | - | - | Jumonkenkyuu |
| ARROW | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+----------------|
| PROTECTION | 15 | - | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Same as Leon's Protection spell. It has the potential to be somewhat useful,
but you're really probably better off sticking to regular healing magic and
attack magic for Rena. You characters will benefit a lot more from recovering
HP than a small temporary defense boost.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------------|
| HASTE | 15 | - | - | - | - | Rena comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Haste is also to identical to Leon’s same-named spell. There’s all the more
reason to avoid it with Rena, considering that even if an enemy slows you down,
you can just use Dispel to get back to normal, unlike Leon.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|------+----+---------+--------+-------------+------------------+-------------|
| ANTI | 20 | - | - | - | Protection | RES 60+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena's Anti spell is the same as Celine's. As far as statistic enhancing spells
go, it's not too bad, but there's only a few rare occasions when you would
truly benefit from it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+------------------+--------------+---------|
| ANGEL | | | | | Protection | |
| FEATHER | 30 | - | - | Shuukyougaku (6) | or Haste | MP 180+ |
| | | | | | or Anti | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Same as Celine's Angel Feather spell. Maybe it can be useful against bosses and
such, but I haven't found it worth using in a practical manner.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------------|
| DELAY | 18 | - | - | - | - | Rena comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena's Delay is identical to Leon's, and it's still useless. It’s true that
there are some fast enemies in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, but there are better
ways to handle them than by casting Delay.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|---------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------------+-------------|
| SILENCE | 14 | - | - | - | Delay or | INT 70+ |
| | | | | | Deep Mist | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Same as Noel's Silence spell. If you're facing an enemy that has strong magical
attacks, it MIGHT be useful; but then again, it only works sometimes. Just
don't bother with it.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| DEEP MIST | 11 | Dark | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rena’s Deep Mist spell is identical to Leon’s. I personally can’t notice much
of any difference whatsoever that casting Deep Mist makes, so just ignore it
and move on.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------|
| FIXED CLOUD | 22 | Void | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
American Star Ocean: The Second Story fans know this move as Energy Net, but in
Star Ocean and Star Ocean: Blue Sphere (and maybe the Japanese version of Star
Ocean: The Second Story?), it's called Fixed Cloud. Rena summons the clouds to
form a large mallet, which pounds the enemy several times in an attempt to peep
it, i.e. make it dizzy and unable to move or attack. It could be useful... if
it worked. Most of the time it doesn't, so it's just more wasted MP.
===============================================================================
--------------------------------CRAWD C. KENNY---------------------------------
===============================================================================
Character Report:
The young man who Rena believed to be the Hero of Light was actually Crawd C.
Kenny, a Lieutenant of the Earth Federation. His "blade of light" was his phase
gun, which he father Ronixis gave him. Rena, being from a primitive planet,
couldn't grasp such technology. Crawd explained to Rena that he wasn't the Hero
of Light. While exploring some ancient ruins on the planet Milocinia, he
somehow got transported to Expel. He had no ship to leave and his communicator
stopped working; he was hopelessly lost. He's a good soul, though, and decided
that while he was there, it was his duty as an officer of the Earth Federation
to aid in their crisis with the Sorcery Globe. For once, he would prove to his
father that he is brave and can do things on his own. Rena developed a bit of a
crush on the dashing young lad, so she decided to come along and help with her
healing powers. She also had a few things about herself she hoped to figure out
along the way... According to Crawd’s friends: “He has, by nature, the sort of
looks that ask for trouble with women”.
Crawd, like his father did with his adventures on Roak, proved himself to the
Earth Federation by defeating the Ten Wise Men. He is an energetic and judicial
officer, but he is sometimes indecisive. He finally moved out of his father's
shadow, which had been affecting his reputation ever since he first began study
at the Military Academy. However, he doesn’t like to talk about what happened
when he was lost due to the numerous hardships he suffered through. When he was
notified of the emergency, he was on a mission, so he couldn’t join the rescue
party. He maintains a good relationship with Rena, and they both plan to travel
to Edifice in Crawd’s personal ship as soon as they are able to...
Type:
Claude is a fighter who uses swords. His Skill specialty order is Battle
(sword), Feel (hand), Knowledge (book), and lastly Spanner (wrench). He
randomly gains each move once the corresponding skill/s have been acquired, the
statistical requirements have been met, and you perform the combo the move is
based on. He's probably the strongest fighter in the game (if you allocated
everyone's skill points correctly), but pulling off combos with him can be a
bit tricky at first. You usually have to be up close to an enemy. He seems to
punch more often than use his sword. o_O His beginning stats are:
_______________________________________________________________________
| HP 50 | MP 20 | STR 9 | CON 7 | DEX 7 | AGL 6 | INT 3 | RES 4 | GUT 7 |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
Moves:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+-----------------|
| PHASE GUN | 22 | - | **** | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Many Star Ocean: The Second Story fans were disappointed when Crawd's phase gun
frizzled out after only reaching the Salva Drift. I guess Crawd remembered to
bring good batteries this time 'cause you can use the Phase Gun move for the
entire game. :) When Crawd executes Phase Gun, he whips out his gun and fires a
shot of energy at the enemy to do minimal damage. You have to be within about
3/4 of a screen from the enemy. It's a decent move, but it's kind of weak.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------|
| KATSUJINKEN | 9 | - | - | - | - | Comes with it |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Katsujinken is more or less the same as Energy Sword from Star Ocean: The
Second Story. Well, except a bit more useful. Crawd spins his sword around, and
then holds it pointing up and straight right in front of himself. A circle of
energy forms around him, and he recovers around 40 of his HP. It's not too
terrible. The MP cost is low, and Crawd can easy pull off several at the
beginning of a battle to refill his HP.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Combo | Other |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+---------------+--------------+--------|
| BAKURETSUHA | 26 | Earth | *** | Hakkei (3) | Kabutowari | MP 50+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Pear into peaches! Hehe, Bakuretsuha is the same as Star Ocean: The Second
Story's Ripper Blast move. Crawd strikes the ground with such a powerful blow
that the earth in front of him gets pushed out and up and impales the enemy.
Damage is only average and Crawd gets tired after two, but since the MP cost is
low and it can hit airborne enemies, I would still consider Bakuretsuha a very
good move.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|-----------+----+---------+--------+-----------------+------------+----------|
| KOURYUUHA | 30 | Light | *** | Kikenkanchi (2) | Souhazan | MP 70+ |
| | | | | | Combo | INT 20+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Kouryuuha is also the same as a Star Ocean: The Second Story move – Dragon
Howl. When performing Kouryuuha, Crawd lifts his free arm above him as he
conjures up a small blue dragon in the sky. He throws the dragon diagonally
down towards the enemy, and it disintegrates after impact. It’s a fairly
powerful move, and you can pull off two before Crawd becomes tired. If you
start the move while right next to the enemy it will hit it more times than if
you start it farther away like 3/4 of a screen away. Any further than that and
it won’t hit the enemy at all.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Combo | Other |
|--------+----+---------+--------+--------------------+-----------+-----------|
| SWORD | 40 | Fire | *** | Shintaikankaku (4) | Burst | MP 100+ |
| BOMBER | | | | | Knuckle | INT 30+ |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The majority of Crawd's moves are taken from Star Ocean: The Second Story,
unlike most of the other characters who have several new moves or spells.
Anyway, when Crawd performs Sword Bomber, he jumps up into the air and fires
three explosive bursts of energy at the enemy. Since damage is only average and
Sword Bomber tires out Crawd after only one, I'd stick to Bakuretsuha and
Kouryuuha.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Other |
|--------------+----+---------+--------+---------------+-----------+----------|
| KYOUMENSATSU | 55 | - | ** | Renda (6) | 5+ Hit | MP 120+ |
| | | | | Craft (3) | Combo | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Crawd assaults the enemy with six fancy sword-swinging attacks. Yep, yet
another move from Star Ocean: The Second Story. Kyoumensatsu is Mirror Slice.
For the obligatory comparison, I feel Kyoumensatsu is much better than Ashton’s
Sword Dance, despite the fact that they share some of the same problems. You
need to be close to the enemy when executing Kyoumensatsu, and sometimes Crawd
will push away the enemy with his attacks, which causes the later attacks to
miss. If the enemy doesn’t die, Crawd is open to attack since he gets tired
after doing Kyoumensatsu just once. It’s a very strong move, though, so in the
right situation, it will outweigh the bad aspects.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | MP | Element | Damage | Skill Level | Trigger | Psychometry |
|-------------+----+---------+--------+-------------+---------+---------------|
| FUKURYUU | 60 | Fire | *** | - | - | Illusion |
| SHICHISEIHA | | | | | | |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Crawd holds his sword high in front of him as it begins to glow with fiery
energy. He slams it into the ground, and the energy travels through the earth
like a subterranean stream (which is what “fukuryuu” means). The red liquid-
like energy bursts from the earth like a geyser, and it transforms into a
dragon shape. The dragon lunges and snaps at the enemy, doing moderate damage.
Any contact whatsoever that the dragon makes with the enemy will inflict
damage, and Crawd can use it from anywhere on the battlefield. He’ll get tired
after only one, but nonetheless, Fukuryuu Shichiseiha is one of Crawd’s best
moves.
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | BATTLE SYSTEM AND COMBOS | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Even if you have had a ton of experience with battling in Star Ocean and/or
Star Ocean: The Second Story, you will probably still be a little confused by
the finer points of the Star Ocean: Blue Sphere battle system. The most foreign
addition to the Star Ocean battle system is combo system. Other changes are
minor and natural to adjust to, but for those who need it I will cover the
basics.
======================
THE BASICS OF BATTLES
======================
In Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, you are limited to left and right movement in the
battlefield. You can only control one character at a time, but you may switch
between the other two characters by pressing select. Once you have the cursor
over the character you desire, press confirm. When your character has fainted
(died) or been completely immobilized in another way, you will automatically be
switched to another character.
You only face one enemy in each battle, but each enemy has several body parts.
The enemy's HP is displayed at the bottom of the screen in the form of bars for
each body part. If a body part loses all its HP, the enemy can no longer use
it. So attack an enemy's legs, and it cannot move. Attack an enemy's jaw or
hands, and it cannot bite or claw at you. Usually if you deplete all of an
enemy's body or head HP, it will die. Different attacks, moves, and spells hit
different parts of the enemy's body. Try to hit the head for a quick death, or
attack a certain pesky body part that the enemy keeps using to attack you.
Experiment to figure out where each attack, move, and spell will hit. You
cannot manually choose what body part to attack (ie there is no cursor to
switch between them all.)
To execute a regular attack in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, press A. Most
characters, in particular fighters, have many different normal attacks. They
will change depending on your distance from the enemy.
To perform a move or spell, press B or a certain direction on the D-pad in
addition to B. You cannot perform moves or spells unless you first go into the
menu prior to battle and set them for that character or set them sometime
during the battle. Spells that affect the enemy or spells that affect your
entire party will be cast immediately after you press the button or button
combination. Spells that affect only one member of the party will make a cursor
appear at the top of the screen. Move the cursor left or right to select the
character you wish the spell to be cast upon, and press confirm.
You may have noticed that B + Down can't be used for moves and spells. That's
because Down is used for defending. When an enemy is attacking or about to
perform an attack, quickly press down to defend. If it's a particularly
powerful attack, it will most likely still do damage, but defending
significantly lessens the damage you receive. If it's a weak attack, you may
receive no damage at all when you defend.
To get to the menus, press start. A cursor appears at the top so you can choose
which character you will be performing the actions with or on, and you are
presented with three options on the bottom of the screen which you can scroll
up and down through. The first is items, the second is for setting moves and
spells, and the third is for setting character AI. They're all basically the
same as in the regular menu, except for items, which is a bit more limited. You
can only use items from two groups - potions and battle items. Select which
group the item you want is in, and select the item you wish to use. Then you'll
go back to the battle screen, and the character will use the item.
To run away from battles, run right, ie away from the enemy. If you get far
enough, all your characters will escape, but often times the character trying
to run away will get tired at least once before successfully escaping. When a
character is tired, he or she can't move. They just stand or sit there
breathing heavily until they get enough energy to fight again or until an enemy
knocks them out of the tired state. It's a very dangerous time for the
character, but it's pretty unavoidable. Besides running away, numerous
performances of moves and spells or very strong moves and spells will tire out
characters. Long combos and even lots of regular attacking will tire out
characters as well.
======================
COMBOS
======================
Okay, you got the basics down? I can actually explain combos in a lot less
words, but I feel it deserves its own little section. It was one of the most
confusing things to me at first, but it's actually rather simple. The easiest
way to explain it is to think of Super Mario RPG's timed attacks, or Squall's
timed attack in Final Fantasy 8 for you RPG newbies, but TO THE EXTREME. Combos
are often times more effective than even the most powerful moves and spells,
and performing a well-executed long combo can mean the difference between life
and death. So as you can imagine, nearly every battle consists of mostly
combos.
All you got to do is press A right as a regular attack hits. You may want to
use the little star-shaped impact an attack makes to help time yourself. If you
time it right, you should pull off another attack immediately, and a little
number should pop up in the upper left area of the screen. Try to do this with
the second attack, the third, and so on. If you learn the timing of all the
various attacks a character does, you can pull off VERY long chains. My longest
ones when casually playing usually don't get higher than the upper teens and
twenties, but on a few lucky occasions I've reached the fifties and sixties! My
boyfriend has me beat, though. He’s gotten to nearly 80, and I’m fully
confident that he’ll hit 100 with Bowman someday. Some characters are easier to
combo with others, and some combos have to stop after a certain point (like if
you pass the enemy).
One final note about combos, besides being very powerful, you will need to
perform combos in order to learn new moves for many of the fighters. See the
character section for information on each individual character's combo
abilities.
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | FIELD ACTIONS | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Field Actions are another new addition to the Star Ocean series. Most RPGs
limit you to walking and running on the field screen, but Star Ocean: Blue
throws some Zelda-like action into the mix. You can jump, push and pull blocks,
shoot various projectiles, pull your party across gaps, set bombs, and perform
many other actions. Every character comes with at least one Field Action, but
most of the other ones have to be learned by allocating skill points to the
proper skills.
For information on setting Field Actions, see the menu area, but I'll give you
a little helpful tip here. I stumbled across this accidentally after already
having spent dozens of hours on the game. To easily switch Field Actions
without having to constantly go into the main menus, just hold select, and
press B. Instead of switching characters, your Field Action will change. Keep
pressing B to scroll through them all. And now for the list (in alphabetical
order):
---------------
BOKUDAN (BOMBS)
---------------
If you have at least one of the item Field Bomb (shows up in the Key Item
list), you can use Bokudan. Just press B when you're standing next to a cracked
or thin wall or rubble to set a bomb. You lose one Field Bomb item every time
you use Bokudan. To know if a wall can be bombed, try to "talk" to it. If your
character comments on the wall, it most likely can be bombed (or has to be
opened in some other special way). Rubble on the other hand usually won't give
you a message, but if there's junk blocking your way to something important, it
can probably can be destroyed or moved. You need Bokudan at the very beginning
of the game, so be sure to have at least one Field Bomb always on you.
Characters who can use: Ashton, Bowman, Celine, Chisato, Crawd, Ernest, Leon,
Opera, Precis, and Rena
----
DASH
----
Press and hold B to move at twice the speed you have normally. Good for running
away from enemies or for simply saving time.
Characters who can use: Ashton, Bowman, Crawd, Dias, Ernest, Leon, Opera, and
Precis
------------
DUNGEON HINT
------------
If you use Dungeon Hint while in a dungeon, Leon will tell you some sort of
clue about it. But it's useless to you if you don't know Japanese... And even
if you do, it's completely unnecessary to use Dungeon Hint throughout the
course of the entire game.
Character who can use: Leon
---------
FIREBALLS
---------
Fireballs is arguably one of the best Field Actions in the game. Not only is it
absolutely necessary to have in the second dungeon (thankfully Ashton comes
with it), but it's useful for the whole entire game. It surprises enemies from
a distance, like a few other characters can do, but it also burns down many
obstacles. Something all those other moves cannot do.
Character who can use: Ashton
---------------------------
HOVER IDOU (HOVER MOVEMENT)
---------------------------
If Fireballs isn't Star Ocean: Blue Sphere's best Field Action than Hover is.
Like Fireballs, you HAVE to use Hover in some areas to advance in the game.
It's also a hell of a lot easier for crossing gaps than jumping. I recommend
you make Hover as soon as you get a Material Kit. If you can only afford one
Material Kit, then just keep resetting the game until you make Hover. It's THAT
important.
Character who can use: Precis
----
JUMP
----
Press B to perform a small hop. Not too useful since the jumping distance is so
short. If you're trying to clear a gap, you'll likely not make it. You're
better off with Hover or at least Winch. Jump can get you out of a pinch if
you're without anything better, though.
Characters who can use: Every character
----------
MAGIC SHOT
----------
Celine casts a spell to send a shot of magic towards the enemy in order to
surprise it.
Character who can use: Celine
------
MAPPER
------
Mapper creates a map of everywhere you've been. On the "overworld", it gives
you a bird's eye view of the continent you're on, which is pretty looking, but
not overly useful. In dungeons, it creates a map of the floor you're on. It's a
very simple map. All it shows is a square for each room and the passages to
other rooms. Rooms that you haven't been into yet don't show up. This Field
Action is a must-have by the time you get Ernest.
Characters who can use: Ashton, Bowman, Celine, Chisato, Crawd, Ernest, Leon,
Noel, Opera, Precis, and Rena
--------------------------------------------
MONSHOUJUU "infinity" (MAGIC GUN "infinity")
--------------------------------------------
Yet another Field Action for surprising enemies. It looks just like Celine's
Magic Shot too.
Character who can use: Opera
--------------------------
MUCHI IDOU (WHIP MOVEMENT)
--------------------------
Press B while facing a stump-like object, and Ernest will latch onto it with
his whip in order to pull himself across. Not overly useful, but it can help
out in a pinch, ie Precis not on your party or without Hover and AND the
particular gap you want to cross happens to have the objects necessary for
Muchi Idou to work.
Character who can use: Ernest
--------------------
OSU/HIKU (PUSH/PULL)
--------------------
Osu/Hiku or "Push/Pull" is an odd Field Action because it's actually two Field
Actions combined into one. In Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, you always learn Osu or
Push first. Then if you allocate skill points to the proper skills, you'll
learn Hiku or Pull. Instead of it being added on to the Field Action list
separately, it's just added on to Osu. It makes sense since you'll likely be
using both at the same time. Use Osu/Hiku to move various blocks and crates
around. Sometimes you'll need to move them to certain spots on screen, and
other times they're simply blocking your way. Press and hold B to grab onto the
object, and then just press the direction you wish it to go in.
Characters who can use: Ashton, Bowman, Chisato, Crawd, Dias, Ernest, Noel,
Opera, Precis, and Rena
---------------------------
PHASE GUN/PHASE GUN “alpha”
---------------------------
Crawd is unique in that his phase gun is both a move AND a Field Action. Phase
Gun shoots a beam of energy to surprise an enemy from a distance or to break
through minor objects. With the Fire Blaster item, which can be made in
Machinery, you can upgrade Crawd’s Phase Gun. The upgrade is indicated by the
Greek alpha symbol following the name. The upgrade allows Crawd’s Phase Gun to
burn through thick wood and branches just like Ashton’s Fireballs.
Character who can use: Crawd
---------------------------
HEYABUNSEKI (ROOM ANALYSIS)
---------------------------
Like Leon's Dungeon Hint, this Field Action usually only gives you clues (in
Japanese, of course), so it's useless to most people reading this FAQ, and it's
completely unnecessary whether you know Japanese or not. But I have learned
that it actually serves a use beyond clues. In one room of the Leviabor Ruins,
Ernest will open up a passage to another room if you use Heyabunseki. It's the
ONLY way to get into that room. There are possibly other rooms and areas in the
game that you can access with Heyabunseki, but none of them are necessary for
the advancement of the game.
Character who can use: Ernest
-----------------------
SATSUEI (PHOTOGRAPHING)
-----------------------
Press B to bring up a cursor, and press A when it's over the enemy. Chisato
will take a photograph of it, which will appear and be saved in the Monster
Picture Book (second item in the Key Items list). The pictures don't serve any
real use, but they're fun to collect.
Character who can use: Chisato
--------------------
SOSEI (RESURRECTION)
--------------------
This has got to be the weirdest Field Action in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere. Took
me awhile to figure out too. If you destroy some object or defeat an enemy,
perform Sosei in the spot where it was, and Rena will revive it. This can prove
very useful if you're trying to gain skill points. Just find an enemy that
gives a high amount, and fight it over and over. You'll also need Sosei to
solve a few puzzles (in the Leviabor Ruins, for example), but those puzzles
aren't necessary to complete.
Character who can use: Rena
----------------------------
TEKIBUNSEKI (ENEMY ANALYSIS)
----------------------------
Press B to bring a cursor up, and when it's over an enemy press A. Data about
the enemy such as location, statistics, items dropped, and other useful tidbits
of info will be listed and saved in your Monster Picture Book. Useful if you're
worrying about how strong an enemy may be.
Characters who can use: Noel and Opera
--------
TELEPORT
--------
Press B to bring a cursor up, and select a location. If it's a place that your
characters can walk, Celine will raise her staff up into the air and teleport
to that location. Since this Field Action would take the challenge out of many
of Star Ocean: Blue Sphere's puzzles, you can't learn it the normal way. Once
you reach the final area of the game, return to your spaceship and walk outside
(with Celine NOT in your party), you should see her walking up to you. Then
she'll tell you about how she learned the Field Action Teleport. If you don't
see her, don't worry. The game kind of strings you along making you think
you're in the final area a few times. You'll know for sure when the secret
dungeon to the left of your ship opens up.
Character who can use: Celine
-----
WINCH
-----
Winch works exactly the same as Ernest's Muchi Idou Field Action. If you
perform Winch while facing an object that looks like something you can latch
onto, Bobot will grab onto the object and pull Precis across the gap. You're
really much better off with Hover, but Winch can be useful if for some reason
you don't have Hover. Of course, it's of no help if there are no objects to
grab onto.
Character who can use: Precis
---------------------------------------
YAKUSOUTORI (MEDICINAL PLANT GATHERING)
---------------------------------------
Took me a long time to figure out this one, but Yakusoutori is actually quite
simple. Just press B while over those strange, candy cane shaped plants, and
Bowman will pick them. Since there aren't as many items available for sale in
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere as the other Star Ocean games, this is a good way to
stock up on herbs, which you can use to make good items like Resurrect Bottles.
Character who can use: Bowman
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | ITEM CREATION | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Item Creation is handled completely differently in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere than
in the previous Star Ocean games. It's one of the most perplexing things in the
game whether you have experience with the first two Star Ocean games or not.
Just for a little recap, though, in the previous games, Item Creation was more
or less about luck. There were many things you could do to increase your
chances of being successful, but after you selected the materials you wanted to
use, the game did the rest of the work for you. You just sat there with your
fingers crossed hoping that you'd be successful.
Now in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, Item Creation is almost like several different
"mini-games". The better you perform, the more points you will receive. Once
the time you're given is up, you will get an item based on your point total.
The "timer" is Bobot/Mujin crossing the bottom of the screen. Low point totals
will result in failure items or sometimes no item. High point totals will
result in very good items. And of course everything in between. There are a few
exceptions, though. Some games will start you off with a high number of points
and you have to perform well to keep yourself from losing points, while most
make you start from 0 and work your way up. Some don't even have points at all.
The following list gives detailed descriptions of how to play all the "mini-
games" of Item Creation and what items can be acquired from each.
======================
KANTEI
======================
Kantei would be "Identify" to us American Star Ocean: The Second Story fans.
This is one of the simplest Item Creation abilities to execute. Simply select
Kantei, select the Spectacles, then one of the "?" items you have. A bag
containing the item/s will appear, and a magnifying glass (spectacle) will be
in front of it. When the game starts, quickly move the magnifying glass all
over the bag. When your character catches a glimpse of the item you'll hear a
sound, and a little star-like thing will appear by their photo. You'll also see
one of the question marks below turn into a Japanese symbol, which is part of
the item's name. If you spell out enough of the name, the character will figure
out what it is. Often times you'll be able to identify the item before Bobot
even finishes crossing the screen. Rare items are harder to identify.
======================
ORACLE
======================
Oracle is once again useless. In Star Ocean it served a purpose, but in Star
Ocean: The Second Story it only provided clues and somewhat helpful bits of
information about the game, as does Oracle in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere. To play
Oracle, select it and you'll go straight to the game screen. When the game
starts, use the winged basket to collect the Katakana symbols (which spell out
"hint") that the tri-Ace logo drops. The higher your point total is when the
game ends, the better the clue you'll receive. But since Star Ocean: Blue
Sphere is a Japanese-only game, the hints are of no use if you don't know
Japanese.
======================
NICHIYOUDAIKU
======================
Nichiyoudaiku is a new Item Creation ability to the Star Ocean series. It could
be loosely translated as "Carpentry". It's not a particularly useful Item
Creation ability, as all you create are items for other Item Creation
abilities, which you can more easily buy from stores. To use Nichiyoudaiku,
select one of two types of timber (you need to first find or buy the timber).
You'll then see the timber with a hammer hovering above it. When the game
starts, move the hammer around so when it swings it'll hit the nail head on.
You get five nails (or five swings of the hammer), and it doesn't matter what
part of the timber you nail them in (even overlapping is fine). The way to do
well is to make the nail go in correctly. If you hit the nail wrong, it will
bend and you won't get as many points for that nail (points don't show on
screen). There are different degrees to how you can mess up the nail, so a
little crooked is better than completely scrunched up. If you completely miss
the nail, it'll still move onto the next nail, and you won't receive any points
at all for the last one. Nichiyoudaiku is one of the few Item Creation
abilities that you can leave up to the computer and still do relatively okay.
The hammer more or less follows the nail on its own, but the computer won't do
a perfect job. Once you get the hang of Nichiyoudaiku you should try adjusting
the placement of the hammer when it swings slightly in order to perform
flawlessly.
Items created from Nichiyoudaiku:
Makuzai (Wood) - Magical Clay, Fairy Source, Magical Canvas, and Spectacles
Tennen Sugi (Natural Japanese Cedar) - Magical Clay, White Scroll, Magical
Film, Fairy Source, Material Kit, and Magical Canvas
Failure Item - Heppokonakazari (Useless Decoration)
======================
CHOURI
======================
Chouri, or cooking, is probably one of the most famous Item Creation abilities
in the Star Ocean series. If somebody is trying to tell a person new to the
series about Item Creation, they would undoubtedly mention that you can cook
food. It's definitely one of the most fun, and in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, it
is the most useful Item Creation ability. Since you don't earn fol, or money,
in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere by defeating enemies, you'll have to sell things.
Making a bunch of food to sell is the most practical way of making a lot of
cash, and it's also the most profitable. You can make foods in two different
ways in Chouri, each being two entirely different mini-games. But to access
them and begin cooking, you must first buy the cooking ware to make your foods
in. The first one is Nabe (Pot), and the second is the Fry Pan. I find cooking
easier with the Fry Pan, and you can create the best foods with it. After
selecting either the Nabe or Fry Pan to use, you select which ingredient you'd
like to cook with. All ingredients can be used in both the Nabe mini-game and
the Fry Pan mini-game. The first five listed are the normal ingredients -
Gyokairui (Seafood), Niku (Meat), Komemugi (Rice and Grain), Yasai (Vegetable),
and Tamago (Egg). Next are the Super Ingredients (which are more expensive in
stores) - Sengyo (Fresh Fish), Koukyuuniku (High Grade Meat), Super Grain,
Fresh Vegetable, and Wonder Egg. Super Ingredients don't make different foods.
They only have different point ranges, so it takes fewer points to make the
better foods. Select which ingredient you want to work with, and the mini-game
for that piece of cooking ware will begin. See below for instructions on each.
Nabe - When cooking with the Nabe, you will see three pieces of food floating
in the pot. You're in control of the ladle. The point total below starts at
480. The more the pieces of food hit each other or the sides of the pot and
break down, the lower the points drop. Try to stir the food away from each
other to keep your point total as high as possible.
Fry Pan - When cooking with the Fry Pan, simply rotate the D-pad left and right
to flip the food. Every successful flip will raise your point total. If you
don't catch the food in the pan on its way down, the message "Miss!" will
appear, and shortly after that the food will reappear in the pan. Missing
doesn't cause you to lose points, but it wastes time and you won't get points
for that flip.
Items created from Chouri:
With the Nabe (Pot):
Gyokairui (Seafood)
0 to 100 points = Kikenna Nabe (Dangerous Pot - failure item)
100 to 170 points = Ara Shiru (Fishbone Soup)
170 to 250 points = Karei no Nimono (Flounder Stew)
250 to 300 points = Lobster Soup
300 + points = Fukahire (Sharkfin) Soup
Niku (Meat)
0 to 100 points = Bloody Soup (failure item)
100 to 170 points = Ton Shiru (Pork Soup)
170 to 250 points = Chaashuu (Roast Pork)
250 to 300 points = Gyuukakuni (Cubed Canned Beef)
300 + points = Beef Stew
Komemugi (Rice and Grain)
0 to 100 points = Dorodango (Messed Up Dumpling - failure item)
100 to 170 points = Okayu (Hot Rice Gruel)
170 to 250 points = Zousui (Medley Soup)
250 to 300 points = Risotto
300 + points = Gomoku Kayu (Rice Gruel Mixture)
Yasai (Vegetable)
0 to 100 points = Henshoku (Wilting) Salad (failure item)
100 to 170 points = Yasai (Vegetable) Soup
170 to 250 points = Rolled Cabbage
250 to 300 points = Cream Stew
300 + points = Matsutake no Suimono (Matsutake [a type of mushroom] Soup)
Tamago (Egg)
0 to 100 points = Umareta Tamago (Hatched Egg - failure item)
100 to 170 points = Kachikachi Tamago (Rock Solid Egg - failure item)
170 to 250 points = Yude Tamago (Boiled Egg)
250 to 300 points = Tamago (Egg) Soup
300 + points = Ajitsuke Keyude Tamago (Seasoned Boiled Egg)
Sengyo (Fresh Fish)
0 to 80 points = Kikenna Nabe (Dangerous Pot - failure item)
80 to 150 points = Ara Shiru (Fishbone Soup)
150 to 230 points = Karei no Nimono (Flounder Stew)
230 to 280 points = Lobster Soup
280 + points = Fukahire (Sharkfin) Soup
Koukyuuniku (High Grade Meat)
0 to 80 points = Bloody Soup (failure item)
80 to 150 points = Ton Shiru (Pork Soup)
150 to 230 points = Chaashuu (Roast Pork)
230 to 280 points = Gyuukakuni (Cubed Canned Beef)
280 + points = Beef Stew
Super Grain
0 to 80 points = Dorodango (Messed Up Dumpling - failure item)
80 to 150 points = Okayu (Hot Rice Gruel)
150 to 230 points = Zousui (Medley Soup)
230 to 280 points = Risotto
280 + points = Gomoku Kayu (Rice Gruel Mixture)
Fresh Vegetable
0 to 80 points = Henshoku (Wilting) Salad (failure item)
80 to 150 points = Yasai (Vegetable) Soup
150 to 230 points = Rolled Cabbage
230 to 280 points = Cream Stew
280 + points = Matsutake no Suimono (Matsutake [a type of mushroom] Soup)
Wonder Egg
0 to 80 points = Umareta Tamago (Hatched Egg - failure item)
80 to 150 points = Kachikachi Tamago (Rock Solid Egg - failure item)
150 to 230 points = Yude Tamago (Boiled Egg)
230 to 280 points = Tamago (Egg) Soup
280 + points = Ajitsuke Keyude Tamago (Seasoned Boiled Egg)
With the Fry Pan:
Gyokairui (Seafood)
0 to 30 points = Neko no Kuikake (Fish Half-eaten By a Cat - failure item)
30 to 60 points = Sakana no Maruyaki (Barbecued Fish)
60 to 120 points = Asari (Short-necked Clam) Butter
120 to 170 points = Hirame no Manieru (Flounder Meuniere [French dish])
170 + points = Awabi (Abalone) Steak
Niku (Meat)
0 to 30 points = Tanso (Burnt) Hamburger (failure item)
30 to 60 points = Genshi Niku (Caveman Meat)
60 to 120 points = Hamburger
120 to 170 points = Steak
170 + points = Saikou no Sirloin (Top Sirloin)
Komemugi (Rice and Grain)
0 to 30 points = Namakome (Raw Rice - failure item)
30 to 60 points = Chicken Rice
60 to 120 points = Hot Cake
120 to 170 points = Chaahan (Chinese-style Fried Rice)
170 + points = Final Chaahan (Chinese-style Fried Rice)
Yasai (Vegetable)
0 to 30 points = Torikabuto Itame (Fried Aconite - failure item)
30 to 60 points = Yasai Itame (Vegetable Stir-fry)
60 to 120 points = Happousai (Chop Suey)
120 to 170 points = Hoikoro [Chinese dish]
170 + points = Miracle Itame (Stir-fry)
Tamago (Egg)
0 to 30 points = Karatsuki Tamago Yaki (Egg Fried Inside the Shell - failure)
30 to 60 points = Scrambled Egg
60 to 120 points = Medamayaki (Sunny-side-up Fried Eggs)
120 to 170 points = Plain Omelet
170 + points = Manmaru Medama Yaki (Perfectly Round Sunny-side-up Fried Eggs)
Sengyo (Fresh Fish)
0 to 5 points = Neko no Kuikake (Fish Half-eaten By a Cat - failure item)
5 to 40 points = Sakana no Maruyaki (Barbecued Fish)
40 to 100 points = Asari (Short-necked Clam) Butter
100 to 145 points = Hirame no Manieru (Flounder Meuniere [French dish])
145 + points = Awabi (Abalone) Steak
Koukyuuniku (High Grade Meat)
0 to 5 points = Tanso (Burnt) Hamburger (failure item)
5 to 40 points = Genshi Niku (Caveman Meat)
40 to 100 points = Hamburger
100 to 145 points = Steak
145 + points = Saikou no Sirloin (Top Sirloin)
Super Grain
0 to 5 points = Namakome (Raw Rice - failure item)
5 to 40 points = Chicken Rice
40 to 100 points = Hot Cake
100 to 145 points = Chaahan (Chinese-style Fried Rice)
145 + points = Final Chaahan (Chinese-style Fried Rice)
Fresh Vegetable
0 to 5 points = Torikabuto Itame (Fried Aconite - failure item)
5 to 40 points = Yasai Itame (Vegetable Stir-fry)
40 to 100 points = Happousai (Chop Suey)
100 to 145 points = Hoikoro [Chinese dish]
145 + points = Miracle Itame (Stir-fry)
Wonder Egg
0 to 5 points = Karatsuki Tamago Yaki (Egg Fried Inside the Shell - failure)
5 to 40 points = Scrambled Egg
40 to 100 points = Medamayaki (Sunny-side-up Fried Eggs)
100 to 145 points = Plain Omelet
145 + points = Manmaru Medama Yaki (Perfectly Round Sunny-side-up Fried Eggs)
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | PRIVATE ACTIONS | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
If you have played Star Ocean or Star Ocean: The Second Story, you surely know
what Private Actions are. When you reach a town, a little message pops up on
the screen saying "Private Action". If you press the corresponding button, your
party would enter the town and split up. Then you would use the main character
to speak with all the other party members. Sometimes they'd say very little,
but other times you'd get into a long conversation or scenario. They mostly
just add to the story or affect how the characters feel about each other, but
sometimes you'd get useful items.
But once you played a little ways in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, you were probably
saddened to see the Star Ocean trademark Private Actions missing. Not so. They
just take a different form. Occasionally during your travels you'll come across
the characters not currently in your party wandering around. If you talk to
them at the right time and with the right character in your party, a little
conversation may take place.
BTW, if anybody who knows Japanese out there could translate the Private
Actions in English for this FAQ, I'd really appreciate it. I'd especially like
to see a translation of the one in Banisu with Bowman. =P
---------------------
INSIDE THE SPACESHIP
---------------------
Hard for me to pinpoint exactly when these Private Actions become available,
but I would say around 3/4 through the game. So around the time when you reach
Scream (don't hold me to that, though ;) ). Anyway, speak to Chisato and Ashton
with anybody in your party, and they'll each give you a weapon that they use.
(Gyoro and Ururun seem to spaz out too.) You can use these weapons to create
moves in Psychometry.
Later on, after you get teleported out of the Grand Knott by the three masters
of Aqua, speak with Dias, and he too will give you a strange weapon with no
statistic bonuses.
----------------------------
FOREST OUTSIDE CRASHED SHIP
----------------------------
After completing Mile Dungeon, you should find Bowman wandering around just to
the left of Scout Village's entrance. He'll give you a bunch of herbs. I don't
believe it matters what characters are in your party.
-------------
MILE DUNGEON
-------------
On F4 you'll find Dias wandering around. If you speak to him with Ashton in the
party, they will have a short conversation about how they need to practice
harder to get back in top form for all the enemies they will face on this new
planet.
---------
ABA CITY
---------
After finding Opera, put her in your party and speak to Celine in Aba City's
inn. Opera and Celine will have a short conversation, and then Celine will give
her the system that enables Opera to learn her Holy Star move. Sure, you can
easily make it with Machinery, but this Private Action can save you a little
work.
If you speak to the boy in the far left area of the town while Chisato is in
your party, you'll be forced to run an errand for him. You won't be able to
talk to the king or leave the town until you finish it. Just talk to all the
shop owners (be sure to break all the debris to find two shops), and then
return to him. Unfortunately, you don't seem to get anything from him for doing
this.
------------
BANISU CITY
------------
Bring Noel along with you to Banisu City and speak to Ashton. They’ll have a
short conversation, but that’s it.
After getting Opera, speak to Ernest with her in the party. They have a
conversation, but nothing more than that seems to come from this Private
Action.
Take Bowman to Banisu City with BOTH Opera and Ernest out of the party. Walk
over to the fish shop, and Opera will be browsing the goods. Opera will be
surprised to see Bowman, and they'll have a pretty lengthy chat. When you get
two options, pick the first. Trust me, it's better. The second only results in
annoying Opera, and the Private Action ends. The first is better because... you
just accepted Opera's offer for a drinking game! :P The scene will shift to the
inn, and Opera and Bowman will be sitting at a table. They'll go back and forth
taking shots, but after only a couple Bowman passes out on the floor. Opera, on
the other hand, keeps going... and going... and going... Until she either runs
out of alcohol or gets bored. She leaves, without even glancing as Bowman's
body sprawled out on the floor, and shortly later Ernest finds Bowman and
brings him back to the ship. When Bowman comes to, him and Ernest have a little
chat, and that's the end of the silliest Private Action in Star Ocean: Blue
Sphere. ^_^
------------------------
DESERT LEADING TO KNOTT
------------------------
On your way to Knott, you’ll discover Dias standing around in a corner. Put
Chisato in the party to watch them have a little conversation about their
relationship (yes, believe it or not, Chisato and Dias are a couple). You’ll
get two options, but neither result in anything of importance. Pick the second
if you want to hear Chisato talk about Dias’s past.
---------------------------
DESERT AT KNOTT'S ENTRANCE
---------------------------
Around when you reach Aqua, teleport to Knott and step outside. You should see
Opera standing at the edge of the cliff. Speak to her with Precis in the party,
and they'll have a conversation. You're given two options, but I don't believe
either will result in much of anything.
------
KNOTT
------
In the main shopping building of Knott, which has two floors with four sellers
total, take Opera with you in the party to see Precis wandering around on the
top floor. They’ll have a short conversation mentioning Ern, and that’s it.
-------------------------------
DESERT LEADING TO GRAVIS CAVES
-------------------------------
Once you have Rena, take her to Knott Laboratory, and go down the underground
tunnel leading to the desert. At the exit of the tunnel, when you first reach
the desert, you should see Celine walking around. Talk to her, and Rena and
Celine will have a conversation. At one point, you'll get an option, but
neither results in anything. You can pick the second one to annoy Celine if you
want, though. :P
-----------
NUSA BEACH
-----------
After opening the door in Leviabor Ruins that leads to the Grand Knott, take
Rena to the forest outside the crashed ship. Climb down the ladder in the cliff
that leads to Nusa Beach, and you should find Chisato wandering around.
Speak to her, and she'll have a conversation with Rena. You're given two
options, but neither results in anything.
__ __ __ __
##/ \#######/ \#############################################/ \#######/ \##
/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | CONTACTING ME | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
OOO-----OOO OOO-----OOO
###############################################################################
Since I don't know Japanese, some of my translations could possibly be
incorrect, but with the aid of Katakana and Hiragana charts, my knowledge of
previous Star Ocean games, Japanese and Chinese Star Ocean: Blue Sphere sites,
and other resources, I think I got almost everything right. If you feel that a
translation is incorrect, or any other information for that matter, let me
know. Some translations come down to a matter of opinion, though, so I won't
necessarily change something just because you don't like my translation
("Knott" and "Not" for example. Until I see something official that says one or
the other, I'm calling the area "Knott".)
When and if there is a fan translation of Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, I will NOT
change my FAQ or walkthrough to match it. If you email me about doing such a
thing, I will delete your email, and if I'm not in a particularly good mood,
you may get a not-so-pleasant reply. ;) I will also not answer emails regarding
if there is, when there will be, or where you could find a translation patch.
If there's any information you think is missing or info that you'd like to see
added, email me about that. I will NOT include info relating to the ROM or ROM
hacking codes. That's not my thing, and I encourage all Star Ocean: Blue Sphere
players to actually go out and buy the game. If you'd just like some help with
something in Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, I would be happy to help. Please don't
ask questions that are already answered by my FAQ or walkthrough, though. Don't
bother asking for the ROM either. I will promptly delete your email. If you
just want to chat about the game, that's fine. I love talking about tri-Ace and
the Star Ocean games. ^_^ My email address is:
[email protected]
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/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | COPYRIGHT INFORMATION | |( > U < )| |
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This FAQ and the ASCII art within it are copyright 2003 Kristina Potts. This
FAQ may be used only if the author has been contacted and gave permission,
nothing is altered, and the FAQ is used in its entirety. Credit must also be
given to the author. This FAQ may NOT be used for commercial purposes.
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/ /\ \-----/ /\ \ / /\ \-----/ /\ \
/ / / /\ /\ \ \ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / /\ /\ \ \ \
| |( > U < )| | THANKS TO... | |( > U < )| |
|_| \ / |_| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |_| \ / |_|
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tri-Ace for making yet another masterpiece. Please hire me! I have big,
American breasts! O_O
Enix for publishing this game.
Nintendo for not including regional lockout on any of their Game Boy systems.
The dude who sold me Star Ocean: Blue Sphere. First copy ever on eBay, baby!
Oh, and no thanks to the lousy online import stores that didn't get the game
until a few months after it had been released.
Eve Anchors of Mayonaka Shimo fame who sold me my two Star Ocean: Blue Sphere
guide books.
The official guide book and the unofficial KB Game Books guide book for
providing a TON of useful information and for saving me a lot of tedious work.
Both the Japanese and English official tri-Ace web sites (www.tri-ace.co.jp and
www.tri-ace.com, respectively) for providing story information.
Akujin for translating many item names for me.
Whisper for giving me info on moves, Private Actions, and such.
Wai for providing me with a little Private Action info and for having a helpful
Blue Sphere site (at least for a short time...).
All the Star Ocean: Blue Sphere board users who helped me through the game when
I was stuck or gave me info to add to the FAQ.
GameFAQs in general for giving a home to my reviews and FAQs. Not that my site
doesn't do the same, but more people visit GameFAQs.
My dear, loving soul mate Andreas. Thank you for just existing. But as far this
FAQ goes, thanks for giving me lots of info and for letting me use your copy of
the game for move and spell information. And of course, I appreciate all the
advice and encouragement too.
And I thank myself because I'm a narcissistic fruitcake with an unhealthy
obsession with all things tri-Ace. And I'm a little old to be finding Leon
sexy. But hey, at least it’s not as bad as finding Freakazoid and Willy Wonka
sexy... o_O
