Star Ocean: The Second Story is the English version of the second game in the Star Ocean video game series. The original Japanese name lacks the "The", leaving it as . It takes place 20 years after the original game, Star Ocean: Fantastic Space Odyssey, which has never been commercially released in English.
Released in the United States with generally poor voice acting and translation to English, it nevertheless gained a cult following. The English version of the game also changed the names of the main antagonists, who in the original were named after angels, with names such as Gabriel (changed to Indalecio), Metatron (changed to Shigeo), and Lucifer (changed to Cyril). The name of the main character, Crawd, was also changed (to Claude). However, the last case is uncertain, as he has been called both Crawd and Claude in Japanese writing.
In Japan, a manga was released based on the game, which ended on the seventh volume, only halfway through the plot. An anime was also released, based more on the manga than the game, named Star Ocean EX . Like the manga, it, too, ended halfway through the plot. However, unlike the manga, the story was completed, in the form of vocal drama CDs.
The story
Star Ocean: The Second Story tells the stories of Claude C. Kenni, son of Ronixis J. Kenni, and Rena Lanford , a young girl living on the planet Expel. Claude, having recently been commissioned as an Ensign in the Earth Federation, is given his first mission under the supervision of his father. This first mission was to survey the planet Milocinia, where a mysterious energy field appeared. Once they arrive, they find an alien ruin, filled with mostly broken machinery. Finding a mysterious device in the center of it, Claude begins to examine it close-up, despite orders to keep away from it. Upon getting close to it, the machine activates, teleporting him to the planet Expel. At approximately the same time, Rena is resting in a forest just outside her village, Arlia. While there, she is assaulted by a monster. Suddenly, Claude teleports into the area, and, seeing Rena being attacked, rushes in to save her, using the weapon he was given upon commission into the Earth Federation. Upon seeing how she is rescued, Rena decides that Claude is the Hero of Light, spoken of in legends on Expel. The Hero of Light was prophesied to come when the planet Expel was in great danger, wielding a Sword of Light and clad in alien dress, and Rena believed him to be the fabled Hero of Light upon meeting him. Soon afterwards, the town elder explain to Claude what exactly is going on: Three months ago, a meteorite crashed into Expel. Almost immediately afterwards, monsters began appearing, and natural disasters occurred with increasing frequency and intensity. Believing that these events were related, the people of Expel called the meteorite the "Sorcery Globe". Hoping that the Sorcery Globe may be the key to finding his way home, Claude agrees to investigate the Sorcery Globe. Rena, still believing that Claude is the Hero of Light, joins up with Claude in the investigation.
The characters
Claude C. Kenni: One of the two main characters of the game, Claude is the son of Commodore Ronixis J. Kenni who was a character in the first Star Ocean game. A newly-promoted Ensign, he is overshadowed by his famous hero of a father. So much so, in fact, that it was Ronixis who pestered young Claude into joining the Federation military! Despite this, Claude is an honorable young man who excels at sword fighting [to be exact, an Edarl-like sword technique] but isn't bad with a phase gun either. Though his self-esteem isn't great, if there's anyone that can be counted on in a fight, it's Claude Kenni.
Rena Lanford: One of the two main characters of the game, Rena is a young girl living on the underdeveloped planet of Expel, in a village called Arlia. She's rather happy-go-lucky, but has a very serious and romantic side to herself. She has strange, elf-like ears that no one else on Expel seems to have, as well as healing powers that the Heraldic [Symbological] runes of the planet do not allow. Rena fights with knuckles, and sometimes with her feet, but is not a primary fighter. Rather, she excels at disruptive, healing, and statistical Heraldry.
Celine Jules: The first optional character you will meet during your adventure, Celine is a treasure hunter and a Heraldic enchantress. She is rather haughty and is greatly confident in her heraldic abilities. Her beauty is great and she doesn't mind showing it off, to an extent, and oogles strong, muscular men who make her feel physically safe. Underneath this shallow exterior however is the heart and mind of a cunning sorceress who is capable of unleashing lethal spells. Though overconfident, Celine is more than capable of handling her own through Heraldry. If she needs to though she shall fight with a rod.
Dias Flac: The second optional character you will meet, Dias is a childhood friend of Rena's with a tragic past. He is a master swordsman of few words, though he has his reasons. Though he may seem overconfident at first glace, like Celine, he has the raw power and skill to back up his words every step of the way, and even farther. Though he seems cold and emotionless on the outside, he is actually very sad and holds an intense hatred for himself. Though you meet him early, the option to recruit him won't occur until the very end of the first disk—or he may not join at all.
Ashton Anchors: An optional character who appears in the Salva Drift at a later point in the game, Ashton is an unlucky swordsman who just can't seem to get a break in the world. And he's obsessed with barrels, too. He fights with twin short swords and his fighting moves are clearly very ninja-esque in execution. He is effiminate to an extent, not to mention unassertive about relationships and feelings, but one certainly could not tell it by his combat abilities! Currently, he is possessed by a two-headed demon dragon who in fact aid him in combat.
Precis F. Neumann: Though she technically isn't supposed to appear until far later in the game, this optional character can be met as soon as the Continent of Lacour is available. Precis is a hyperactive 16 year old inventor girl who also happens to be a bit of a ditz. Although her perky, overassertive, and rather shallow personality might make you think she's just some kind of dumb fangirl or something, she is in fact a genius technician. And because of this, she has been ignored by her peers and neighbors -- or worse, just plain treated as something other than a person. She fights with a mechanical punching hand and numerous weapons she developed personally. Her reason for wanting to join is essentially a crush on Claude.
There are more characters to be met, including an alien woman seeking her boyfriend, a whip-wielding archaeologist, and a martial artist pharmacist. However, the circumstances that allow you to meet and recruit them sometimes require that you forgo other characters.
Last updated: 05-18-2005 00:36:12
