Star Ocean: The Second Story FAQ Sony PlayStation North American Version Version 1.5 Made by Exdeath E-Mail: [email protected] Page: http://gannex.simplenet.com Exdeath's Star Ocean: The Second Story FAQ This is the Star Ocean: The Second Story FAQ. This copyright belongs to me and may not reproduced in any way without consent of me. This is freely distributed as long as the copyright remains. You may use this Strategy Guide only in its entirety, but give me full credit where it is due. This is the North American version of my Star Ocean: Second Story FAQ. I have another version for the Japanese game, and I have totally translated that FAQ into this one to include the North American translations. Please take this into account. This FAQ is not yet totally complete. If you have something to contribute, please mail me at [email protected]. ---------- Contents: ---------- Version Info Notes Introduction -Episode Description -Episode 1 Description -Episode 2 Description Star Ocean: The Second Story Glossary Private Actions Battle System -"Active Time Battle System" -Killer Move and Spells -Differences from Star Ocean -Status Ailments -Battle Tactics -Fighter Tactics -Spell-Caster Tactics -Rena's Tactics -Battle Formations -Anger Explosions Game System -Game Modes -Earth -Galaxy -Game Controls -Camp Menu -Status Screen -Element -Talents -Ending System General Strategy Characters -Claude Kenni -Rena Lanford -Celine Jules -Ashton Anchors -Opera Vectra -Ernest Raviede -Bowman Jean -Precis Neuman -Dias Flac -Leon Geeste -Noel Chandler -Chisato Madison Killer Moves List Spell List Skills List Character Ratings Useful Killer Move Combinations Frequently Asked Questions Mini Games Bonus Dungeon Plot Information Item List Accessory List Item Creation -Specialties -Super Specialties Secrets -Save/Swap Technique -Instant Kill Technique -GameShark Codes Thanks -------------- Version Info: -------------- -Version 1.5 (6/23/99) *Much more Item Creation data and information *Fixed up many of the FAQ formats/structure *Translated many more items/menus/locations *Translated all Killer Moves and most Spells -Version 1.0 (6/13/99) *Basic structure to FAQ made *Translated all information from Japanese version *Sections touched up on *Corrected differences in North American version *Left the Glossary section in, added translations -Coming in next version: *Completely retranslating the FAQ for the North American version of the game *Still need more translations of items/spells ------- Notes: ------- This is the preliminary version of my Star Ocean: The Second Story FAQ for the North American version of the game. Recently, I've been building a lot onto this, and it will be updated a lot more once the English version comes out. It seems that a lot of the translations will be changed for the North American version of the game, so I will need to make a lot of changes to this FAQ. Look out for the newest version of this FAQ when it comes out for the NorthAmerican version of the game. This is the first FAQ version of the North American release of the game. It will cover everything from the North American version. This means that all of the North American translations will be used in this FAQ if they are known and found in the FAQ. This game is immense, and I am currently producing a walkthrough for the North American version of the game. This FAQ deals with so many of the features of the game, and you'll definitely want to have the FAQ in addition to the walkthrough. Make sure you pick up the full walkthrough when it comes out from one of two sites: http://gannex.simplenet.com http://www.gamefaqs.com Also, the Item Creation section is not complete yet, but when it is completed, it will be huge. I intend on adding huge sections on what items you can make from what other items, and if you've played through the game, you'll know that there is a tremendous amount of items and item creation combinations to be made. Experimenting with each of the items to get Item Creations is going to take a large amount of time, so try to experiment on your own with it for awhile until I can get the section up. I am really needing help in translations! If you see anything that is not translated correctly, and you know the real North American translation, tell me! I want to make this FAQ completely based on the North American version. I could really use help in all of the item lists, as I haven't gotten most of the translations yet. I could especially use help with Bowman's Killer Move translations, since I didn't choose him as a character in either of my two games used to write this FAQ (I never really liked him). If you have any Item Creation submissions, be sure to mail me at with the type of Item Creation (Saiku, Customize, and such), what items are needed to receive the item, and what the item does. -------------- Introduction: -------------- Star Ocean: The Second Story is a unique Role Playing Game for the Sony PlayStation console. Star Ocean: The Second Story is unique in its combat system, skills system, emotional system, and story. Star Ocean: The Second Story is actually the second Star Ocean game, the original Star Ocean was released on the Super Famicom in Japan in 1996. The original Star Ocean was a 48 megabyte cart, and used the full abilities of the Super Famicom. Star Ocean was made by Tri-Ace, and published by Enix (who is famed for many popular games including the tremendously popular Dragon Quest series of games). Star Ocean was one of the unique games, simply because it was so original for a Role Playing Game. Almost every Role Playing Game to date has used a turn-based type of system in combat, but Star Ocean came through to create a very unique active-time system in which everyone attacks and uses their abilities at the same time, making strategy in location a big aspect in battles. Star Ocean: The Second Story begins 30 years after the original Star Ocean left off, when Ratix and his friends destroyed Jie Revors and restored peace to the world, and cured the Roakians of the stone disease. Claude is the son of Ronixis, who was made a hero by the Federation for his work with Ratix in destroying Jie Revors. The story begins when Ratix is on his father's ship, and later on an away team. Star Ocean: The Second Story was made by Tri-Ace. Tri-Ace has made other great games like Tales of Phantasia. Tri-Ace has a great page that gives a lot of information about their games. Check their page out: http://www.tri-ace.co.jp *Episode Description: "In an endless sea of stars, at the edge of the universe, a single fateful encounter is about to take place. For the gods have set forth on a quest to destroy the universe. And a deadly meteorite, which they huried into the vastness of space, has collided with an unsuspecting planet, Expel - putting the whells of fate in motion. Now, two people are about to cross paths, and their meeting will force them to endure both the gods and their devilish advisors." *Episode 1 Description: "After attaining the rank of Ensign in the Earth federation, Claude C. Kenni is given his first assignment. When a mysterious energy field is found on the planet of Milocinia, a survey party is dispatched to investigate. As an escort, Claude boards the starship of his father, Ronixis J. Kenni, and heads toward Milocinia. Upon landing on Milocinia, Claude and the rest of the party discover a gigantic dome-shaped building on the desolate land. The interior of the dome appears to have been devastated by enormous explosions. All that remains inside are pieces of broken equipment and, in the center of the room, a mysterious looking machine. While Ronixis and the rest of the survey team cautiously attempt to examine the object from a distance, Claude becomes impatient. "Just quaking in our boots is getting us nowhere," he thinks. Brashly ignoring his father's warnings, he approaches the object. Suddenly, and without warning, a powerful force takes hold of Claude. A blinding flash fills the room, and when it subsides, Claude is nowhere to be found." *Episode 2 Description: The planet Expel is a lush green world with abundant natural beauty. However, three months ago, after a meteorite crashed to the surface, monsters began to appear and word of strange happenings spread across the land. The people began to regard the meteorite as an omen of disaster, and dubbed it "the Sorcery Globe." At this time, a young girl from the village of Arlia, named Rena, decides to visit the Shingo Forest, which is some distance away from her home. Although her mothes tries to stop her-warning of the appearance of monsters and other strange happenings since the arrival of the Sorcery Glove-Rena insists on going into the forest alone." --------------------------------------- Star Ocean: The Second Story Glossary: --------------------------------------- Star Ocean: The Second Story contains many Japanese terms that could confuse the player. Star Ocean: The Second Story is a big game, and you'll probably need to know most of these terms for the game, especially if you care about your character's ratings toward the other characters. This Glossary only refers to the terms from the import version of the game, but they can still be useful if you're playing the North American version of the game. Aijodo (Love Level): The variable that measures a character's love toward another character. This value is used to determine pairings of opposite-sexed characters in the many endings. Kanjodo (Emotion Level): The variable that measure's a character's feelings toward the other characters in the group. Encompasses Aijodo and Yujodo. Kobutsu (Favorite Food): Favorite food or drink. The special foods and drinks can be used on the characters, and if it's their favorite, it will usually heal them to full HP every time. Killer Move (Kill Technique): Refers to a special technique in a specific fighting style. They are gained through level-ups. Only the fighting-type characters can use Killer Move. Item Creation: Star Ocean boasts a unique system of making your own items by mixing or customizing different other items. There are many different kinds of Item Creations, check the "Item Creation" section for more info. Proficiency (Practice Level): The level of each Killer Move and spell. Each time you use a Killer Move or spell, this number goes up by one, excluding the spells that don't increase at all. Jumon: An individual spell. Pretty much the same as Monshojutsu. Monshojutsu (Crest Skill): This is what magic is called in Star Ocean: The Second Story. The magic of the Star Ocean world. Private Action: A special part of the game in which characters split up and move into towns on their own, so you can associate with your own characters. Skill Points: Points that each character gains after gaining a level. You can distribute these points on skills. Sometimes referred to as SP. Element: The type of attack/defense an item/weapon/armor/spell has, like Fire or Ice. Yujodo (Camaraderie Level): The variable that determines how friendly characters are toward each other. This also has effect on the endings, it determines pairings of same-sex characters at the end. ----------------- Private Actions: ----------------- Private Actions are a very unique feature that began in the first Star Ocean. When you are outside of a town, in the upper-right corner, you will see the worlds "(Triangle button) Private Action". If you press the Triangle Button, your party will split up, and you get to explore the town on your own. When you are in a Private Action, your characters can react with others, get unique treasure, and even change Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo with the different characters. You can complete the game without doing any Private Actions at all, but it's really good to do it, since you learn so much about the story, and can change the way characters feel about another. I strongly recommend doing every Private Action in the game. There are just so many Private Actions, depending on the combinations of characters you choose, so I haven't even seen everything yet. In fact, there are so many possibilities for characters, Private Actions, and ratings, that there are 86 total endings. --------------- Battle System: --------------- "Active Time Battle System": Star Ocean: The Second Story's battle system is much more unique than most RPGs. Battles take place in real time, meaning all of your characters, and the enemies, all attack at once. This causes a lot of strategy is deciding where your characters should be, and makes the battle more real and action-like. Star Ocean: The Second Story has a very complicated system of Killer Move and Jumon, but that's what makes the game so good. You control one character at a time, while the other characters are controlled through artificial intelligence and tactics. You can switch the character that you control anytime you want in battle, though. Most of the battles, especially boss battles, will take a lot more strategy than the normal RPG, and location, Killer Move, character combinations, and tactics all make the battles a lot more strategical. The battles are often much more fun than an average RPG, and that's the thing I like about the Star Ocean games so much. *Killer Move and Spells: There are two types of characters in Star Ocean: The Second Story. Fighting characters, and Spell-casting characters. Fighting characters: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Precis, Dias, Ernest, and Chisato. Spell-casting characters: Rena, Celine, Leon, and Noel. Killer Move are used in battle. To use a Killer Move, first assign it to a character, and then press L1 or R1, depending on what button you assigned them to. Each time you use a Killer Move, its Proficiency level goes up by one. When you get past a certain point (it differs for all Killer Move), the character will be able to pull off advanced forms of the same Killer Move (in example, Ashton's Leaf Slash hits three times instead of two after the Proficiency on it gets to a certain point). If you have a Link Combo Ring, you can do two Killer Move in succession. For more about the Link Combo Ring, check the "Differences from Star Ocean" section. Spells are also used in battle. If you want to cast a certain spell, make sure you're controlling the character you want to cast it (press X and select your character), and then press Triangle. A command ring menu will appear above that character. From here, you can select "Spells", and you can select it by pressing the Circle button. Each time you use a Spell, your Proficiency for the spell is increased by one point, with the exception of several spells that will never increase in Proficiency, because they don't need to (like Rena's Antidote spell). ----------------------------- Differences from Star Ocean: ----------------------------- There are several differences in how the game is run from the original Star Ocean, especially having to do with the battle system. 1) Link Combo is now an item, no more chains of four attacks. Link Combo Rings can be found in the game. When you equip the Link Combo accessory, you can go to the Killer Move assigning screen, and press Triangle. Now that character can choose a character to steal Killer Move from. When you steal Killer Move from one of your characters, he or she cannot use Killer Move at all. It is a good strategy to steal Killer Move from a spell-casting character, since they have no Killer Move to begin with. Once you have stolen a character's Killer Move, you can assign combos of two Killer Move. 2) The battlefield. This is a pretty big difference. The battlefield is now true 3D, and it is much larger than the battlefield from Star Ocean. The original Star Ocean's battlefield was only a plane, as opposed to Star Ocean: The Second Story's 3D battlefield. Also, there are rocks, train cars, and other obstacles in particular areas. For this reason, you'll have to plan your attacks better, and you can even use the obstacles as an advantage (for an example, drawing enemies into the train cars in a certain area). 3) Killer Move system is slightly changed. In the original Star Ocean, you would have four attacks distributed between four buttons, 2 for long range, and 2 for short range attacks. In Star Ocean: The Second Story, you only assign one Killer Move to each button, but some of the Killer Move will be different depending on where you execute the Killer Move from (for instance, Claude's "Kuhazan" is a shockwave across the ground toward the enemy at long range, while at short range, Claude sweeps the ground with his sword, creating bolts of energy around him). 4) No Ougi. In the original Star Ocean, you could get Ougi books through the game, and when used on a character, could give them new Killer Move. The Killer Move that was given by Ougi was often very much stronger than normal Killer Move. In Star Ocean: The Second Story, however, there are a few special Killer Move you must find or make from verious Item Creations. 5) New Proficiency system. In Star Ocean: The Second Story, there is a new system dealing with Killer Move called Proficiency. Each time you use a Killer Move, its Proficiency level goes up by one point. The Killer Move becomes much stronger as its Proficiency level goes up, and when build up, graphics on the attack could change, as well as added effects (like making more hits than the original Killer Move did). 6) Recovery time after casting a spell. Star Ocean: The Second Story adds a new spell system. After you cast a spell, there will be a bit of lag time before you can cast another, as a little bar will appear the spell-casters head, and when the bar goes all the way empty, you can cast a spell again. This lag is very quick, though, and I really don't think it makes much of a difference from the original Star Ocean. ----------------- Status Ailments: ----------------- The status ailments in Star Ocean: The Second Story are exactly the same as the ones from Star Ocean, and there are only four total status ailments. Doku (Poison): HP constantly drops in battle, and also drops as you walk. Mahi (Paralysis): You are stopped in place. This ailment has the same general effects as Sekika. You can't do anything when paralyzed, and you can't get injured, either. You don't win any experience points after battle when paralyzed. Sekika (Petrified): Your character is turned to stone, and you can't do anything at all. You cannot be injured while petrified. If you win a battle when petrified, the petrified character doesn't receive any experience points. Sentou Funou (Incapacitated): This 'ailment' occurs when your HP drops all the way to 0. You can't do anything at all until you are back to normal HP. ---------------- Battle Tactics: ---------------- *Fighter Tactics: Only fighter characters use fighter tactics. The fighter characters are Claude, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Ernest, and Chisato. 1) Zenryoku de Teki o Kogeki se yo! (Do your best attacks!) -Don't pay attention to MP at all, just keep using Killer Move on all enemies. 2) Mikata o Mamore! (Protect all friends!) -Only fight enemies that come toward your characters; use defense. 3) Killer Move o Onzon se yo! (Save Killer Move!) -Only rarely use Killer Move, save up MP. 4) Bunsan Shite Kogeki se yo! (Spread out and attack!) -Try to fight all enemies at one time; don't attack enemies that the other characters are already fighting. 5)Teki kara Hanare yo! (Run away as much as possible!) -Always try to run from battles. 6) Nani mo Suru na! (Do nothing!) -Just stand still on the battlefield. *Spell-Caster Tactics Only spell-casting characters use these tactics (other than Rena). The spell-casting characters that use these tactics are: Celine, Leon, and Noel. 1) Seishinryoku no Tsuzuku Kagiri Kogeki se yo! (Attack with mental power!) -Keep casting spells, don't worry about MP loss at all. 2) Seishinryoku o Onzon Shite Tatakae! (Conserve mental power!) -Cast an average amount of spells, save up MP sometimes. 3) Hanareta Teki o Kogeki se yo! (Attack enemies from afar!) -Target enemies in the back with spells first. This tactic is useful for all of those annoying mages in the game. 4) Monshojutsu o Tsukau na! (Don't cast Monshojutsu!) -Cast no spells at all. 5) Mizukara no Nikutai de Kogeki se yo! (Fight with your power!) -Makes you fight with your weapon rather than with spells. 6) Nani mo suru na! (Don't do anything) Stand still, not doing anything. *Rena's Tactics: Rena has her own special tactics. a) Nakama no Kaifuku o Sennen se yo! (Focus on healing allies!) -Always cast healing spells when a character is hurt. b) Mikata o Hojo se yo! (Support allies!) -Mainly cast assistance spells to the allies (such as defense raising spells), also heal when very low HP. c) Kaifuko o Hozon shi, Hojo wa suru na! (No support and low healing) -This tactic saves a lot of HP. Don't cast support spells, but heal when very low on HP. d) Jumon wa Tonaeru na! (Don't cast any spells!) -I don't see the difference between this and "Mikata o Hojo se yo!". e) Mizukara no Nikutai de Kogeki se yo! (Fight by yourself!) -Fight enemies yourself without casting any spells at all. f) Nani mo suru na! (Do nothing) -Don't do anything at all. ------------------- Battle Formations: ------------------- Yet another interesting feature about Star Ocean and Star Ocean: The Second Story is the battle formations. I think battle formations play a bigger Battle formations play a bigger role in Star Ocean: The Second Story, since the battlefield is much bigger, and there are obstacles, and some bosses are more easily beaten if you use certain formations. 1: Character in first position on the camp screen 2: Character in second position on the camp screen 3: Character in third position on the camp screen 4: Character in fourth position on the camp screen Here are what the battle formations look like, going from top to bottom on the tactics select screen: Linear Motion Square Shift 1 Tri-Shift 1 Tri-Shift 2 Free Fight _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ ____________ | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 4 | | 3 | | 3 | | 2 4 | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 4 | | 1 4 | | | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 3 | | 2 | | 2 | | 1 3 | | 1 | | | | | | | | | |_____________| |_____________| |_____________| |_____________| |____________| Upper Guard Under Guard Square Shift 2 Astral Shift Escape Shift _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ ____________ | 3 4 | | | | 2 4 | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | 4 | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 3 | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | 1 3 | | | | 2 | | | | 2 | | | | | | 1 4 | | 1 3 | | | | 3 4 | |_____________| |_____________| |_____________| |_____________| |____________| Assault Shift Upper Caution Under Caution _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | 2 4 | | | | | | 3 | | | | 3 | | 1 | | | | 1 4 | | | | | | 2 | | | | 1 | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | 2 4 | |_____________| |_____________| |_____________| Linear Motion: This is a very basic formation. Use this formation if all of your characters are equal in terms of strength. Square Shift 1: This is a great formation when you have two fighters and two spell-casters, as it makes a great defense and allows the spell-casters to get all of their spells off in time. Tri-Shift 1: This is one of the most overall useful formations in the game. It is best to have Claude in the first position, and your spell-casting character in the fourth position. Tri-Shift 2: This is another overall useful formation. Use this formation when you want Claude (or another powerful fighter) to start close the enemies. Free Fight: I never found much use for this formation. I guess it would be good if you had two fighting characters in the front, and two spell-casting characters in the back, but I usually use three fighters and one spell-caster. If you like spell-casting characters, though, this is a good pick. Upper Guard: As the name suggests, this is the formation to use when you want to cluster all characters to the top, creating a more secure defense. This formation comes into use in a certain end dungeon in which the boss has a laser that shoots up the middle of the field, and this will prevent that. Under Guard: Like the Upper Guard formation, but defends from the low part of the battlefield rather than the top. Has pretty much the same advantages and disadvantages as Upper Guard. Square Shift 2: This formation is essentially the same as Square Shift 1, except the characters are a bit more spaced from each other. Not much different. Astral Shift: This formation uses the same principles as the Tri-Shift formations. Again, useful for three fighter characters and one spell-casting character. Escape Shift: As the name suggests, this formation is useful if you want to escape battles. This formation isn't useful for much anything else. I didn't use this one much. Assault Shift: This is perhaps the most unique formation. When you select Assault Shift, all characters will appear in the middle of the enemies. This formation is useful if you have four fighter characters, and want to defeat the enemy very quickly. Upper Caution: Essentially the same as Upper Guard, allows good defense from the upper area of the battlefield. Under Caution: Like the Under Guard, this allows a great defense from the bottom of the battlefield. Use this when you want to avoid rushing straight to the center. As you can see, there are many variations of battle formations. My personal favorites are Tri-Shift 1, especially if you have one spell-caster and four fighter characters, and Tri-Shift 2 if you have Claude as your first character. It definitely depends on what characters you have in your party, but I use Tri-Shift 1 or 2 through most of the game. *Anger Explosions: When a character falls in battle, there is a chance that the other characters will fly into rage, causing an "Anger Explosion". While in an Anger Explosion, characters gain huge amounts of power from increased statistics. Power, defense, speed, and magic power are all increased from Anger Explosions. Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo have a lot to do with when/who will fly into an Anger Explosion. If a character has high Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo toward the character that has fallen, chances are much greater that he or she will fly into rage. *Note: It seems that Ashton flies into an Anger Explosion more than any other character in the game. ------------- Game System: ------------- Star Ocean: The Second Story's game system is obviously the main factor that sets the game apart from other RPGs. The game includes totally unique features, and these features take awhile to get used to and master. *Game Modes: Star Ocean: The Second Story adds replay value because of the fact that there are several game modes, each is increasingly more difficult. To get Galaxy and Universe mode as playable options, you need to build up your Voice Collection List. This list is a collection of all 1,278 voice samples in the entire game. Each time you hear a voice sample in the game, it will be added to your list. The requirements for the two hidden game modes are as follows: *Galaxy: 30% of all voices in the game (384 total samples) *Universe: 50% of all voices in the game (639 total samples) *Must Test: 70% of all voices in the game (895 total samples) If you wish to play on one of the hidden game modes, follow these easy instructions: 1) Before starting a new game, go to the Voice Collection Screen 2) If you exceeded the amount for one of the hidden game modes, you will hear a chime noise, and the message "Go back to the main screen and select New Game" will appear. 3) Do as the message says and start a new game. The Music Test game mode is not really a game mode. Once you get it, you will get to access to the sound test where you can listen to any track in the game that you wish to hear. *Earth: This is the normal setting that the game starts on. Enemies are at their normal levels in terms of strength. You have to use Earth mode for the first game you play. *Galaxy: In Galaxy mode, ememies receive a big HP and attack power bonus, and the game is more difficult. *Universe: Universe is a huge challenge. Enemies receive the HP and attack power bonuses they receive from Galaxy mode, in addition to much higher defense, and harder artificial intelligence. Universe mode is insanely hard, and the last boss seems pretty much unbeatable on Universe. *Game Controls: X - X O - O T - Triangle Button S - Square Button Towns, Dungeons, Overworld: O - Run X - Talk/Examine/Confirm S - Start Private actions, Pickpocket T - Open Camp screen L1/R1 - Rotate screen Counterclockwise or Clockwise on overworld Start - Open/Close/Zoom Map Window Status Screen: O - Canel X - Confirm S - Open special panels, such as Item statistic panels, turn spells on/off T - Open special menus, including Talents L1/R1 - Scroll up/down in item/skill/technique fast L2/R2 - Scroll through character list fast Battle: O - Cancel Targeting or change characters X - Target/Attack S - Hold and move character around with control pad, and/or change views T - Open Command Ring menu L1/R1 - Target/Use assigned Killer Move L2 - Switch character to next character on roster R2 - Switch character from auto/manual control Select - Taunt enemy (Chohatsu skill) *Camp Menu: The following are translations and what each camp menu option does. The camp menu is not too difficult to learn, even if you don't know Japanese. Specialty: The Specialty menu is where you assign your character's Killer Move, but later in the game, as you gain Specialty, several other options will open up here as well, like Music and Familiar. Aitemu (Item): This is a list of all of the items in your inventory. If you want to use items on your characters, press the Circle button on the item you want, then move to the character you want, then press Circle again. You can arrange the items here by pressing Triangle, then selecting in which order you want to arrange them. Also, you can press Triangle and go to the second option down to do Item Creations. The third option down is Super Specialty. Equip: You can equip each character with the weapons/armor/accessories you have in your inventory. Skills: Choose a character, and the Skills screen opens. You can select Skills for that character to increase levels in if you have Specialty points. Pressing Triangle here will allow you to see that character's levels for all of the Skills. Status: Check each character's parameters, hit points, magic points, level, total experience, experience to next level, equippment, and portrait. Pressing Triangle here will allow you to view the Talents that each character has. You can scroll through characters by using the L2 and R2 buttons. Configure: You can configure several game options. Screen: After selecting Screen, you get three options. The top option lets you choose battle tactics for each individual character. The second option allows you to choose which characters out of the party you want to send into battle. The left side goes into battle while the right side stays behind. The third option allows you to choose battle formations. Kaado: Kaado allows you to either save or load a game. The option on the top is save, while the option on the bottom is load. *Status Screen: Name: Your character's name. Race: Your character's race. HP: Your character's current and maximum Hit Points. MP: Your character's current and maximum Mental (Magic) Points. Level: Your character's current level. EXP: Your character's current experience. NEXT: The experience your character needs to get to the next level. STR: Strength. Affects Kogeki. CON: Constitution. Affects Bogyo. DEX: Dexterity. Affects Meichuritsu. AGL: Agility. Affects Kaihi. INT: Intelligence. Affects Maryoku. LUC: Luck. With high Luck, your character's accuracy in hits and agility will increase. Luck also determines how accurate you are with certain Item Creations. STM: Stamina. Each character has a set amount of Stamina. When you attack or use Killer Move, your Stamnia decreases. At the end of a battle, whatever Stamina each character has remaining is healed in the form of HP and MP. If you used all of your Stamina up in a battle, you will not heal. GUTS: Guts is your character's spirit. It affects the game in several different ways. If you have a high Guts rating, you can sometimes make fatal hits that do up to double damage, and you could receive a rush in which your character's attack and defense levels raise. Also, sometimes when you get a fatal hit that would bring you below 1 HP, you will stay alive with 1 HP. Having Guts is very useful in the game, especially toward the end, where the bosses will hit for lots of damage, you'll want to stay alive. Kogeki: Attack power. This is the sum of your STR and weapon power. Bogyo: Defense. This is the sum of your CON and armor defense. Meichuritsu: Accuracy. This is how often you hit an enemy for the full amount of power. This is determined by your DEX value. Kaihi: Evasion. The value is determined by your AGL level and the shield that your character is carrying.This is your ability to block attacks Weapon: Your weapon. Armor: Your main body armor. Shield: Your shield. Helmet: Your head armor. Greaves: Your leg armor. Accessory 1: Your character's first accessory. Accessory 2: Your character's second accessory. Favorite Food: This is each character's favorite food/drink. When a character eats/drinks his or her favorite food/drink, his or her HP will be healed very high, and most of the time you will regain full HP. Press the Square button on a character's Status Screen to view each character's Element. The first line on the window is the Element of that character's attack. The Second line is the type of defense a character has against a certain kind of Element. For attack Element, when on, the icon of the Element is highlighted. When off, all Element is greyed out. For defense Element, each Element is assigned a plus or minus sign. A plus sign means that a character is strong toward that Element, while a minus means that the character is weak against that Element. *Element: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Star, Negative, Light, Dark, and Mu (Physical). Pressing the triangle button on a character's Status Screen will bring up that character's Talents. Talents are randomly assigned to character's at the beginning of the game. You can learn new Talents through the game, save the Talent "Mana no Shukufuku" (Mana Power), which is only given to each spell-casting character. *Talents: Originality (Æ’IÆ’Å Æ’WÆ’iÆ’Å Æ’eÆ’C): The ability to make unique things. Cooking Sense (-¡Šo): The ability to determine taste in food. Skill of Fingers (Å í-p‚íˆÅ½w?í¦): The ability of having quick fingers. Design Sense (Æ’fÆ’UÆ’CÆ’"Æ’ZÆ’"Æ’X): A sense of form and balance in work. Literary Ability (•Â¶?í‹): The ability to write books/music. Rhythmic Sense(Æ’Å Æ’Yƒ€Š´): Knowing rhythm in music. Musical Sense (‰¹Š´): The ability to successfully read and perform Music. Liked by Animals ("(r)•Â¨?D‚«): A love of living things. Wild Instinct (-í¬?¶‚íŒÅ ¨): An instinct that animals are near. Mana Power (Æ’}Æ’i‚íŒ?j•Å¸): The ability to cast magic. Only the spell-casting characters receive this Talent. *Note: You'll need a Japanese character viewer to view the Japanese text here, but you don't need one. If you don't know Japanese, just look at a kana and hiragana chart to determine which Talent is which. *Ending System: The ending system in Star Ocean: The Second Story is very complicated. There are a total of 86 endings, depending on what you do through the game, Private Actions, and what characters you choose. It is very hard to get a specific ending, just because there are so many ending possibilities, but most of the alterations in the endings have to do with male characters paired with female characters. For instance, if you want Claude to hook up with Rena in the ending, you must be kind toward Rena through the game and in Private Actions. ------------------ General Strategy: ------------------ -Talk to everyone. The world is vast and huge in Star Ocean: The Second Story, and Enix has really worked hard on the text, and you'll be given a lot of information on the story by talking to every available. -As with the typical RPG, if you are constantly getting killing, or losing to a boss, stop to gain some levels. Gaining levels increases your stats by a lot, and you can pick more Specialties, and eventually overpower the bosses easily. -Take time to explore the dungeons. Most dungeons have some really great treasure, and you'll want to take time to look for all of the rare items in the dungeons. Also, there could be a hidden passage or some other secret in a dungeon. -Every time you get to a new town with new weapons and armor, buy all of it. Better weapons and armor help you survive much better in the dungeons, and will make things for you a lot easier. -Try different Killer Move and spells. Sometimes you'll get attached to a certain Killer Move or spell for a long time, but trying out the others really helps, because there is always some attack that is better. Try different combinations of Killer Move in Link Combos as well. -Try all of the different formations and decide which is best for each circumstance. Certain formations can have huge strengths in certain areas, while others will really be damaging to use. Also, some battles are heavily dependent on the formation, and you'll want to have the best formations for each area. -Always equip your weapons/armor/accessories right after you receive them. -Use different kinds of tactics on each character, and find the ones that you like best. You won't want your characters to constantly use up all of their MP for Killer Move unless you want to build the Proficiency up, so make sure characters are using unnecesary MP. -If you don't have enough Fol for weapons/armor/accesories, go onto the overworld or into a dungeon and gain enough money to buy them. They'll really help in the longrun, and you'll also get a chance to gain some more levels for your characters. -Experiment with different parties. You may become attached to certain characters as you play through the game, but once you try each character out, you may find a new favorite party. Use different Killer Move as well. -Take some time to stop playing through the game to experiment with Item Creations. The most powerful weapons and armor in the game can only be received through Item Creations, and utilizing Item Creations is absolutely neccesary for beating the game, as toward the end of the game, many of the bosses are very hard. It takes a lot of time to master creating weapons and armor for your characters, but in terms of the strength it gives you, the Item Creations you use are entirely worth it. ------------ Characters: ------------ There are twelve total characters in Star Ocean: The Second Story. All of the stats about the characters are taken directly from the manual that came with the game. Note that some characters are not listed in the manual, and therefore I don't have all information on some characters, especially in the height and weight categories. If you can point out where these characteristics are noted, please tell me. --Claude Kenni-- Age: 19 Race: Human Birthday: January 23rd Height: 175 centimeters Weight: 68 kilograms Likes: Food, Computer Games Dislikes: Being a Federation Officer, studying different things. Good At: Being late, Slacking off, Martial Arts His "type.": Someone Active and Cheerful Favorite Food: Steak Favorite Instrument: Trumpet Background: The son of Ronixis Kenni, renowned hero from the first Star Ocean, he is a new officer in the Interplanetary Space Federation, serving on Ronixis' ship, the Calnus. Claude is brought into the adventure when he is on a team to explore an uncharted planet, where he was mysterious sucked into a time-space portal, and he eventually ends up on the planet Expel. Claude is searching the planet for a way off, and trying to find out as much about the planet as possible. Claude hopes to eventually learn about the culture on the new planet while trying to escape as well. Claude is a basic guy that gets along with others pretty well. Claude is nice to all of his allies, and treasures their cameraderie. Claude respects his father for being a great hero in his day, but at other times he is jealous because others look at him in a different way because he behaves differently then his father. Claude wants to increase in physical strength, and is somewhat jealous of others for being stronger than him. Claude uses a longsword as his weapon, and can equip heavy armor. He is the basic fighting character, and in his Killer Move, he combines both sword and martial arts attacks. Starting Statistics: Level 1 HP: 130, MP: 20 STR: 10, CON: 5, DEX: 10, AGL: 10, INT: 0, LUC: 132, STM: 15, GUTS: 20 Specialties: Kagaku Gijutsu, Kinobi Claude's Strengths: -The most powerful attack fighter in the game. -Can equip the best armor in the game, and the best weapon, the Eternal Sphere. -Has the most well-rounded stats, and some of the most effective Killer Move. Claude's Weaknesses: -Needs to gain much more Proficiency than most of characters to build up his Killer Move. --Rena Lanford-- Age: 17 Race: Expel Birthday: May 13 Height: 161 centimeters Weight: 45 kilograms Good at: Cooking, Helping others, Gymnastics, Fist attacking Likes: Running away to the Forest of Holy Protection, beautiful things Her "type": Someone with a sense of humer, someone that doesn't turn mad easily Favorite Food: Shortcake Favorite Instrument: Lyre Background: Rena is from the small village of Arlia, where she has been raised for her entire life. Rena finds Claude in the Forest of Holy Protection, where Claude saved Rena from being attacked by a gorilla. Rena eventually befriends Claude and helps him investigate a way to get home. Rena is informed near the beginning of the game that her foster mother, Westa, was not really her real mother. Rena's new mission is to find out who Rena's real mother was. Rena also wonders about the mystery of her magic, and why no one else in her village has the healing powers that she does. Rena's personality is very kind toward friends. Rena gets worried easily, although she will eventually forgive others for what they do. Rena keeps each friend of hers very close. As she is very experienced in martial arts, Rena fights only with her fists (or claws on them), and uses healing-type magic, although she eventually will gain several Light Element attack spells. Starting Statistics: Level 1 HP: 130, MP: 40 STR: 5, CON: 2, DEX: 10, AGL: 8, INT: 0, LUC: 130, STM: 10, GUTS 30 Starting Specialties: Hocho, Recipe, Mekiki Rena's Strengths: -Her healing spells heal for the most amount of HP in the game. -Best physical attacker of all mages. -Is only character in the game that can cast Raise Dead, one of the most useful spells in the game. Rena's Weaknesses: -Has low defense power, and often dies in battle when not defended by other characters. -When she runs out of HP, you won't be able to heal your characters as easily. --Celine Jules-- Age: 23 Race: Expel Birthday: September 18 Height: 167 centimeters Weight: 50 kilograms Good at: Treasure Hunting, Attack magic Likes: Jewels, different clothing styles, makeup and perfume Dislikes: Selfish people Her "type": Someone strong physically Favorite Food: Kousagi Rizotto Favorite Instrument: Violin Background: Celine is an attack magician, and was raised in the village of Mars. Celine is a treasure hunter, always travelling the world for money or precious treasure. Celine befriends Claude and Rena when they find that she knows where a special treasure is located. Celine begins to be fond of Claude from when they meet. Celine is an attack mage. Celine has the most rounded attack spells in the game, and has two of the most powerful attack spells in the game. Celine is the weakest character physically, and when forced to physcailly fight, she uses a rod. Starting Statistics: Level 8 HP: 400, MP: 100 STR: 15, CON: 8, DEX: 12, AGL: 5, INT: 0, LUC: 154, STM: 14, GUTS: 45 Starting Specialties: Favorite Foodgaku, Craft, Biteki Kankaku, Kagaku Gijutsu, Yoseiron Good points about Celine: -Most rounded attack spells in the game. -Usually starts with many Talents. -Wonderful luck. Bad points about Celine: -Is the weakest character, so in turn she dies in battles very easily. -Can equip the weakest of armor. -Drains MP fast on some of the better attack spells. --Ashton Anchors-- Age: 20 Race: Expel Birthday: September 28 Height: 180 centimeters Weight: 80 kilograms Good at: Sewing cloth, Monshoken Likes: Good luck Dislikes: Omens, Fortune Telling, Cursed Objects His "type": Someone helpful, pure, and kind. Favorite Food: Hamburger Favorite Instrument: Piano Background: Ashton is a basic young man who is travelling the world to look for missions that will make him more known in society. Ashton seems to have horrible luck, as when he goes into a mine, two dragons, Gyoro and Ururun, are mysteriously drawn to Ashton, and when Ashton becomes distracted, the two dragons graft themselves into his back. The two dragons become a part of Ashton, and Ashton decides not to have them taken off if possible. The two dragons criticize Ashton, although they are also good friends to him. Ashton decides to travel with Claude and Rena because they helped him try to find a way to detach his dragons. Ashton is a good guy, and always cares for others, but has terrible luck, which seems to get him into a lot of trouble. Ashton has a powerful conscience, and Ashton would never hurt anything that has been kind to him. Ashton is a Monoshoken, he uses a mixture of sword techniques along with elemental magic. Ashton has two swords that he slashes the enemy quickly with, and uses a lot of magical abilities like splitting into multiple images or disappearing and then reappearing near the enemy. Ashton uses a wide variety of Killer Move. Starting Statisticss: Level 17 HP: 1000, MP: 120 STR: 83, CON: 32, DEX: 50, AGL: 5, INT: 0, LUC: 18, STM: 26, GUTS: 32 Starting Specialties: None. Ashton's strengths: -The second most powerful character in the game, second to only Claude -Can equip some of the most powerful weapons and armor in the game -Has many quick Killer Move that do multiple powerful hits on the enemy -Flies into rage in battle more than any other character Ashton's weaknesses: -A few of his Killer Move take a terrible amount of time to execute, and therefore, are almost useless -Terrible luck, his luck will never go higher than 18 through the game --Opera Vectra-- Age: 23 Race: Tetragenes Birthday: August 24 Height: 160 centimeters Weight: 50 kilograms Good at: Using range weapons, repairing things, piloting Likes: Wine, Long journey, Shopping, Jewelry Dislikes: Compromising, People that act tough Her "Type": Guys that are intelligent and can make decisions Favorite Food: Dulfol Favorite Instrument: Piano Background: Opera is a high-ranking official on an advanced planet with many scientific advances. Opera travels through the universe with Ernest, her boyfriend. As Opera and Ernest are exploring the universe, their ship crashes into the planet Expel, and Opera and Ernest are seperated. The party meets Opera in a bar, where Claude and Rena give Opera a lead to where Ernest may be. Opera is an aggresive woman, and always completes what she does, no matter what the cost. Opera usea a large magic-infused rifle called the "Kaleidoscope". As you go through the game, you collect boxes, which are basically discs that Opera inserts into the Kaleidoscope. Opera uses many projectile attacks from the Kaleidoscope, like ice beams and fire bombs. Opera swings the Kaleidoscope at enemies as her normal attack, and fires a basic bolt out of the Kaleidoscope at airborne enemies. Starting Statistics: Level 21 STR: 60, CON: 31, DEX: 52, AGL: 30, INT: 0, LUC: 142, STM: 21, GUTS: 60 Starting Specialties: Craft, Cast, Kinobi, Kikai Sosa Good Points about Opera: -The best long range and projectile Killer Move in the game -Has a very quick attack -Receives strong weapons very early in the game Bad points about Opera: -Her Killer Move takes tons of Proficiency to power up -Has to be at specific distances away from the enemy to do both short and long range Killer Move -Can equip less powerful armor than the other fighter characters --Precis F. Neuman-- Age: 16 Race: Expel Birthday: February 29 Height: 155 centimeters Weight: 43 kilograms Good at: Machinery, Inventing Likes: Handagote, Turbo Zakku, Mujin-kun, Chocolate Dislikes: Reptiles, Slimy objects and animals Her "Type": A guy that is pretty cool but is not an idiot. (typical ^_^) Favorite Food: Choco-Crepe Favorite Instrument: Harmonica Background: Precis is daughter of the famous inventor of machinery in the town of Ringa. Precis is somewhat trying to follow in her father's foosteps, as she messes with machinery and makes her own items often. Since Precis is inventing and doing things other people on Expel have not done before, others look down on her for being srange and abnormal. Precis joins your group in hopes of becoming friends with your party members. Precis' father wants you to take Precis along because you are the only people that can get along with her, and she needs friends. Precis develops a crush on Claude early on. Precis gets in to trouble often, and is often a rebel. Precis is sometimes somewhat annoying to the other characters, but she can also be very kind and truthful to her friends. Precis weilds a pet robot of hers named Mujin-kun. Precis' fighting style is very unique, she attacks with a robotic hammer attached to her backpack, and controls the functions with a controller. Precis often utilizes Mujin-kun in her Killer Move, and also uses many unique projectile Killer Move, using Mujin-kun as a weapon. Starting Statistics Level 15 HP: 950, MP: 100 STR: 42, CON: 31, DEX: 40, AGL: 5, INT: 0, LUC: 153, STM: 26, GUTS: 32 Starting Specialties: Kinobi, Kikai Chishiki, Kikai Sosa Precis' strengths: -Second to only Opera in terms of proectile Killer Move. -Some Killer Move makes her invincible while executing, which is such a huge advantage, especially later in the game, when taking damage quickly can insure fast death. -A well balanced fighter in any situation. Precis' weaknesses: -Can't wear as good armor as the other fighting characters, just like Opera. -Most of her Killer Move takes a lot of MP, and even if you equip her with Accessories like an Emerald Ring or Fairy Ring, her MP will drain quickly. --Bowman Jean-- Age: 27 Race: Expel Birthday: August 24 Good at: Mixing medicine, Sports Likes: Herbs, Medicine Dislikes: Incurable diseases, Deadly diseases His "type": He says that his wife will get mad at him if he says. ^_^ Favorite Food: Daikon no Misoshiru Favorite Instrument: Harmonica Background: Bowman is an alchemist that runs a medicine shop in the town of Ringa. Bowman is Keith's friend, who is a translator of ancient writing, and one of the only translators on Expel. When the party meets Bowman, they say that they need to find a translator, and Bowman notes Keith. Bowman says if you can find him a rare herb in the Ringa mines for him, he will make Keith talk to you. After completing Bowman's task, he will decide to come with your party. Bowman is an easy-going guy, and doesn't get angry very often. Bowman is interested in science, especially in nature. Bowman is a martial artist, and uses only his hands, feat, and head to fight. Bowman's Killer Move cosists of punch and kick combinations, and medicine Specialties. Starting Statistics: Level 25 HP: 1500, MP: 170 STR: 90, CON: 50, DEX: 62, AGL: 5, INT: 0, LUC: 118, STM: 35, GUTS: 36 Starting Specialties: Yakusogaku, Seibutsugaku, Seishingaku Bowman's strengths: -Second lowest in MP consumption in his Killer Move, second to only Ernest. -Is great with a Link Combo Ring, does linked Killer Move very fast in battle. -Is very quick. Bowman's weaknesses: -Bowman's normal attack has the worst range in the game, even Noel's normal attack has a better range. -Like Opera, Bowman can not equip some of the strongest armor, unlike the other fighter characters like Claude, Dias, and Ernest. --Ernest Raviede-- Age: 35 Race: Tetragenes Birthday: August 31 Height: 190 centimeters Weight: 90 kilograms Good at: Searching and excavating ruins Likes: Adventure, Travel Dislikes: Tomb and grave robbers His "Type": Smart women Favorite Food: Senchuyasaku Favorite Instrument: Cembalo Background: Ernest is an experienced archaeologist who does a lot of travelling across the universe with Opera. Ernest travelled with Opera to Expel, where the couple planned on investigating the ruins there. Ernest is the man that Opera is chasing after, and you can only get Ernest in the party if you already have Opera. Ernest is very intelligent, and is often interested in things other people aren't. Ernest enjoys doing scientific work, and exploring places that haven't been chartted or understood yet. Ernest uses a whip in combat, and his Killer Move consists of multi-hitting whip attacks or charging his whip with different Element to do different elemental attacks to the enemy. Starting Statistics: Level 25 STR: 100, CON: 37, DEX: 60, AGL: 50, INT: 0, LUC: 121, STM: 23, GUTS: 45 Starting Specialties: Yakusogaku, Nintai, Kuchibue Ernest's strengths: -Is a great fighter character, can equip some of the best armor and weapons in the game. -The range of his normal attack is the longest in the game, and it is very useful for flying enemies as well. -Uses very little MP, the least in the game, which makes him a great character to give a Link Combo Ring to. Ernest's weaknesses: -Ernest's normal attack is pretty slow. -Some Killer Move Ernest uses is very slow and almost useless in the game. --Dias Flac-- Race: Expel Age: 25 Birthday: August 5 Height: 192 centimeters Weight: 82 kilograms Good at: Unique martial arts Likes: Sleep Dislikes: Bandits and robbers His "type": Dias doesn't say through the entire game. :) Favorite Food: Chiniwatori Kushiyaki Best Intstrument: Cembalo Background: Dias was a childhood friend of Rena, and is from Arlia. In a terrible attack, Dias' family was hurt, which made him feel weak for not being able to defend the people he loved, so he set out into the world as a swordsman, wanting to some day get revenge on those that hurt him so badly. Dias has a huge ego, and people from Expel think he is the most powerful man alive. Dias is a loner, and barely even talks, but since Dias cares for Rena, he joins the party. Dias barely makes an expressions or speaks. Dias is boastful about how good he fights, and believes that he is in fact the strongest man alive, and he will ignore anyone that says otherwise. Dias' unique style of fighting is different from the other characters. Dias uses longswords like Claude, but Dias uses a special method in which he gives a strong strike as fast as he can, then sheathes his sword again very quickly. Dias gains several special sword-attack Killer Move, and takes advantage of his very fast speed. Dias also can use special Killer Move in which he charges his sword with special powers and then releases them to the enemy. Starting Statistics: Level 35 STR: 175, CON: 70, DEX: 120, AGL: 20, INT: 0, LUC: 96, STM: 45, GUTS: 50 Starting Specialties: None *Note: Dias can only join your party if you are playing Rena's scenario. Dias' strengths: -Second best character in terms of pure physical strength. -Has the fastest normal attack of all of the characters. -Can equip the best armor in the game. -Has some of the most powerful single-hitting Killer Move in the game. Dias' weaknesses: -Starts off as the best fighter, but slowly dwindles to only average toward the end of the game. -Has no rengeki Killer Move, and can only do a maximum of three hits on any given Killer Move. -A lot of his Killer Move uses a lot of MP. --Leon Geeste-- Age: 12 Race: Felpool Birthday: November 25 Height: 135 centimeters Weight: 36 kilograms Likes: Chess, strategy games Dislikes: Work, his parents nagging at him His "type": Leon is young, and doesn't note this through the game. :) Favorite Food: Carrot Juice Favorite Instrument: Violin Background: Leon is a special scientist that knows a lot about magical power in the kingdom of Racool. Leon does work with his parents, benefitting the kingdom. Leon is unique to the people on Expel in that no one else can develop the unique and special magical technology that he can. Leon meets the party unexpectedly in the lower levels of Racool castle, and puts you to helping him find an "Energy Stone" for the kingdom's benefit. After going on Leon's special quest, he will join you, and his new mission will be to find where the Sorcery Globe fell to. Leon is very intelligent, even though he is very young. Leon studies many topics, especially magic machinery, and always boasts about how he always comes through with his work. Leon brags often, but also does it fairly jokingly. Leon is a spell-casting character. In battle, he uses books to attack (using a special spell locked within the book), and has mainly Water, Darkness, and Mu spells. Leon has many offensive support spells, as well. Starting Statistics: Level 30 STR: 40, CON: 30, DEX: 35, AGL: 5, INT: 0, LUC: 120, STM: 23, GUTS: 10 Starting Specialties: Favorite Foodgaku, Kagaku Gijutsu, Yoseiron *Note: Leon will only join your party if you are playing Claude's scenario. Good points about Leon: -Has the most MP in the game. -Starts with many talents. -Very quick. Bad points about Leon: -Has a less variety of spells than any other spell-casting character. -Like the other spell-casting characters, he is very weak in combat, and can equip only the worst of armor. --Noel Chandler-- Age: 24 Race: Nedian Birthday: February 2 Height: 173 centimeters Weight: 74 kilograms Good at: Helping animals Likes: Animals Dislikes: Nothing in particular His "type": Someone that shares his interests in nature Favorite Food: O-toro Favorite Instrument: Shamisen Background: Noel protects the animals on the planet Ned. Noel lives by himself in a cabin where he loves to observe nature and be with his animal friends. Noel is a scholar, and is experienced in both attack and healing magic. Noel joins the party to help them find a Sainard to travel on, and after going with you on the Sainard quest, he will eventually join the party and seek the Sorcery Globe. Noel is one of the more mysterious characters of your party. Noel always does his best for the benefit of his friends, and is opposed to fighting of any kind, but when his friends are in danger, Noel will always come through to help. Noel is a spell-casting character that uses both healing and attack magic. Noel has the widest variety of spells in the game, and his attack magic is basically cenetered around Wind and Earth elemental spells. Noel uses fists and claws to physically fight enemies. Starting Statistics: Level 40 HP: 2700, MP: 340 STR: 61, CON: 55, DEX: 50, AGL: 5, INT: 0, LUC: 87, STM: 30, GUTS: 28 Starting Specialties: None Noel's strengths: -Only character other than Rena to use healing spells. -Can most fighter-type armor, giving him a huge defensive advantage over the other spell-casting characters. -Has the widest variety of spells in the game. Noel's weaknesses: -Noel's healing spells heal for much less HP than Rena's healing spells. -Noel's attack spells do much less damage than that of both Celine and Leon. --Chisato Madison-- Age: 22 Race: Nedian Birthday: October 22 Height: 164 centimeters Weight: 52 kilograms Good at: Spying, collecting special data Likes: Information Dislikes: Hypocritical people Her "type": Someone that is truthful and willing to work Favorite Food: Fruit Sandwich Favorite Instrument: Organ Background: Chisato is a reporter that lives in Central City, who notices that your party are outsiders and immediately decides to stalk you and find out more information about the party. The party notices Chisato in many places, and finally finds out who she is when she drops her business card in a dungeon. When you ask Chisato why she is following you, she tells you that she wants more information about you, so you decide to let her join your party. Chisato is totally dedicated to her work as a reporter. Chisato knows that you are the guys trying to save the planet, and she wants to help you through. Chisato uses guns as her normal weapon, and uses all sorts of special martial arts type Killer Moves. Chisato has a lot of Killer Move that do a combination of punches and kicks to the enemy. Chisato uses her phone to summon special machines to help her as well. Starting Statistics: Level 40 STR: 164, CON: 60, DEX: 150, AGL: 50, INT: 0, LUC: 119, STM: 32, GUTS: 42 Starting Specialties: Copy Chisato's strengths: -Is very quick. -Has rengeki Killer Move that hits for the most amount of times in the game. Chisato's weaknesses: -Is much weaker in terms of strength than the other characters. -Has very few Killer Moves, some uneffective Killer Moves, and some that take up too much MP for what it's worth. -Can equip only weak armor. ------------------- Killer Moves List: ------------------- Here is a complete list of all of the Killer Moves in the game. "Final Change" means that it takes that many Proficiency points to become its strongest form. For examble, when Claude's "Kuhazan" Killer Move has 200 Proficiency, the shockwave is now gold, and is Stronger. *Claude's Killer Moves: Phase Gun MP: 0 Gained: Level 1 Final Change: None This is a phase gun that Ronixis gives Claude in the very beginning of Claude's scenario. The people in Arlia think that this is the legendary "sword of light". Air Slash MP: 4 Gained: Level 3 Final Change: 200 Short range: Claude sweeps his sword around him, creating bolts of energy. Similar to the original Star Ocean's Shoretsuha move. Long range: Claude creates a shockwave across the ground to the target. At final change: The shockwaves turn gold and do a lot more Damage to the target. Shooting Stars MP: 7 Gained: Level 7 Final Change: 300 Short range: A series of pummeling punches. Long range: Claude fires a large bolt at the enemy. At final change: At short range, Claude hits more times with his punches and they go faster, and at long range, the energy bolt turns to a gold color and does more damage. Head Splitter MP: 9 Gained: Level 12 Final Change: 260 Claude jumps very high up in the air, then drops down on the enemy, Hitting them with is sword. At final change: Claude will spin his sword downward rather than Stabbing it. Energy Sword MP: 11 Gained: Level 20 Final Change: 200 This is a simple healing Killer Move. At final change: Healing area expands and others can reive healing If close to Claude. Burst Knuckle MP: 12 Gained: Level 28 Final Change: 100 Short range: Claude punches the enemy with a fist of fire. Long range: Claude throws a flame of fire at the enemy. At final change: Claude does more damage with the fire. Ripper Blast MP: 17 Gained: Level 38 Final Change: 270 Claude thrusts his sword downward and lots of earth spikes come up to hit the enemy. At final change: The spikes spread outward more, so you can hit Multiple enemies easily. Twin Slash MP: 15 Gained: Level 45 Final Change: 160 A double-slice of the sword. At final change: Claude will do four slices instead of two. Dragon Howl MP: 28 Gained: Level 53 Final Change: 500 Claude raises his hand, and a dragon appears above his head to breathe bolts at the enemy. At final change: The dragon fires more bolts at the enemy. Sword Bomber MP: 32 Gained: Level 62 Final Change: 420 Claude jumps in the air, slashes his sword, and several fireballs will hit the enemy from above. At final change: Claude fires up to 5 fireballs from his sword. Mirror Slice MP: 38 Gained: Level 70 Final Change: 460 A series of very powerful strikes, ending with a powerful jumping slash with the sword. At final change: Claude will slash many more times than usual. *Ashton's Killer Moves: Twin Stab MP: 4 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 100 A double-stab with swords. At final change: The strikes do more damage to the enemy. Cross Slash MP: 8 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 100 A jumpin slash, and then charges into the enemy with a charging dash hit. At final change: Both of the strikes do more damage to the enemy. Leaf Slash MP: 19 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 200 Ashton disappears, a shockwave surrounds the enemy, then reappears close to his enemy, and does two strong slashes. At final change: Ashton does three slashes after reappearing. Northern Cross MP: 9 Gained: Level 18 Final Change: 200 Two slashes with his swords, and then creates a large bolt of ice in front of him, and releases it to hit the enemy. At final change: Ashton's slashes do more damage. Piercing Swords MP: 12 Gained: Level 22 Final Change: 130 Ashton throws two swords into the ground, and then throws two other Swords at the enemy. At final change: Ashton will throw more swords at the enemy. Hurricane Slash MP: 16 Gained: Level 45 Final Change: 200 Short range: Ashton slashes while spinning, and a whirlwind hits the Enemy. Long range: Ashton jumps twoard the enemy and does a slash, and then Creates a whirlwind and releases it to hit the enemy. Final change: Ashton does the attack faster, and it does more damage. Death Triangle MP: 19 Gained: Level 53 Final Change: None. Ashton appears in three images around the enemy, and all three of The Ashtons create a force around the enemy, and then the force Expldes and does high damage, and freezes the enemy in place. Dragon Breath MP: 28 Gained: Level 64 Final Change: 140 Ashton's two dragons, Gyoro and Ururun both breathe fire and/or ice bolts at the target, doing many hits. At final change: Both dragons will fire their elemental at the enemy. Sword Dance MP: 32 Gained: Level 70 Final Change: 400 Ashton's most powerful technique. Ashton slices at the enemy many Times in different areas, each slice doing lots of damage. At final change: Ashton will slash many more times at the enemy. Tri-Ace (you find this Killer Move in a treasure chest) MP: 45 Final Change: 140 Ashton puts his swords together and they form a single sword, then the two dragons come together into the sword, and Ashton swings it on the battlefield, doing massive damage on all enemies. At final change: Ashton will do much more damage on all enemies. *Opera's Killer Moves: Photon Prison MP: 10 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 270 Opera fires a freezing beam at her enemy, freezing it in place. At final change: The enemy's actions are freezed for a longer amount of time. Flame Launcher MP: 7 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 200 Short range: A blash of fire at the enemy for multiple hits. Long: Shoots a fireball, it lands near the enemy and then the fireball explodes, hitting the enemy a few times for fire damage. At final change: The attacks are done faster and do more damage to the enemy. Alpha on One MP: 23 Gained: Level 24 Final Change: 440 Opera fires multiple homing bolts that seek the enemy and do electric elemental damage. At final change: Opera shoots many more bolts. Spread Ray MP: 16 Gained: Level 34 Final Change: 540 Opera leaps up and the fires lots of energy bolts down at her target. At final change: Opera shoots many more bolts. Cold Wind MP: 25 Gained: Level 41 Final Change: 300 A cold mist is fired and hits the enemy many times for ice elemental. At final change: Opera shoots the mist faster, and the mist does more hits to the enemy. Gravity Shell MP: 20 Gained: Level 54 Final Change: None. Opera fires a capsule high into the air, it opens up and a sphere of gravity elemental hit the enemies in its range. Lightning Bullet MP: 20 Gained: Level 69 Final Change: 200 Short range: Opera shoots lightning into the ground, and a wall of Electricity and spreads out. Long range: A simple beam of electricity elemental. Heal Star (Machinery Killer Move, Black System) MP: 9 Final Change: None. A healing beam shot in the air that heals all allied characters. Laser Bit (Machinery Killer Move, White System) MP: 8 Final Change: 300 A prisimic light thrown, then Opera fires a split beam that hits all enemies in range. At final change: The special beam is split into many more beams, making hits to a longer range.. Hyper Launcher (Machinery Killer Move, Green System) MP: 34 Final Change: 500 Opera's most damaging Killer Move. A huge beam is fired, doing many hits to everything in its path. At final change: The beam does many more hits to the enemies in the beam's range. *Bowman's Killer Moves: Spirit Attack MP: 4 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 200 A blast from the fist. At final change: Bowman will make two hits instead of only one. Poison Pills MP 5 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 250 Bowman throws posion-laced bombs at the enemy to do damage, and sometimes poison status. At final change: More poison-laced bombs will be thrown. Pillory MP: 6 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 380 Short range: Bowman jumps and does a weird flip manuever and lands on top of the enemy. Long ranger: Bowman teleports on top of the enemy and lands on it. At final change: Bowman will hit multiple times. Firebird Attack MP: 10 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 400 Bowman channels fireballs and shoots them at the enemy. At final change: Bowman shoots double the amount of fireballs at the enemy. Secret Medicine MP: 8 Gained: Level 28 Final Change: None. Bowman eats a pill and heals himself. Death Siege MP: 13 Gained: Level 35 Final Change: 100 Bowman becomes two images, and then charges at the enemy from both sides. At final change: Bowman splits into four images instead of two, and all images charge the enemy for more damage. Whirlwind Fist MP: 15 Gained: Level 43 Final Change: 400 Bowman spins around, creates a tornado, and flings it at the enemy which delivers a blow that sends them flying. At final change: Bowman does a double hit that sends the enemy flying into the air. Burst Fist MP: 28 Gained: Level 51 Final Change: 200 Short range: Bowman makes a forcefield around him, and then throws his Body into the enemy. Long range: Bowman fires the forcefield directly at the enemy. At final change: Bowman's forcefield becomes bigger and gets stronger. Explosion Pills Level 66 MP 20 Final Change: 200 Bowman throws a bomb of fire at the enemy, and it does fire elemental damage. At final change: Bowman throws multiple fire bombs, and the range of the explosion expands greatly. Sakura Attack MP: 36 Gained: Level 74 Final Change: 250 Bowman quickly fires multiple punches and kicks to the enemy, doing high damage with multiple hits. At final change: Bowman will execute more punches and kicks. *Precis' Killer Moves: Rocket Punch MP: 4 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 120 Precis launches a punch at the enemy from her backpack. At final change: The punch's range gets better. Hop Step MP: 5 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 140 Precis jumps up, and then lands down on a enemy, punching them with a hammer. At final change: Precis will do two hits instead of one. Mole MP: 7 Gained: Level 17 Final Change: 100 Precis changes her backpack to a ram-drill, then gets in and submerges underground, and then surfaces at the enemy, doing damage. At final change: Precis will hit several times with the drill. Ally-Oop! MP: 8 Gained: Level 25 Final Change: 220 Precis will throw Mujin-kun at an enemy for damage. At final change: Precis does a second Mujin-kun after the first. Parabola Beam MP: 12 Gained: Level 38 Final Change: 240 Precis pulls out a long antenna from the backpack and fires beams of light at the enemy. At final change: Many beams will be fired from the backpack at the enemy. Bang-Bang Attack MP: 15 Gained: Level 49 Final Change: 510 Precis hits the enemy twice with a double-hammer strike. At final change: Precis swings the hammers many times, doing multiple hits on the enemy. Bloody Mary MP: 32 Gained: Level 57 Final Change: 360 Precis makes Mujin-kun huge, and then gets in the seat and charges the Enemy with the drill, doing multiple hits on the enemy. At final change: Precis will do many more multiple hits from the drill. Mujin Super Beam (Machinery Killer Move, High Mecha Launcher) MP: 24 Final Change: 120 Mujin-kun grows huge and fires a large beam at the enemy for a lot of strong, multiple hits. Barrier (Machinery Killer Move, Plasma Biribiribo) MP: 28 Final Change: 200 With this attack, Precis throws Mujin-kun at her enemy in an arc, and when he hits the ground creates a large explosion. Once this Killer Move is powered up Precis will throw a second Mujin-kun at the enemy. This Killer Move must be created through the Machinery Specialty. *Holo-Holograph (Private Action Killer Move) Final Change: 130 Precis makes a holograph that looks like Ashton, and then Ashton slices The enemy many times with his swords. *Note: You can only get this Killer Move through a certain Private Action in the game. *Ernest's Killer Moves: Dimension Whip MP: 5 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 240 Ernest whips his whip into a vortex, and the whip goes through the vortex and hits the enemy from the top. This Killer Move even hits from far distances. At final change: Multiple whips come out of the hole and hit the enemy Four times. Spiral Whip MP: 7 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: None. Short range: Ernest uses his whips to hit a few times and create a whirlwind, then fires it toward the enemy. Long range: Ernest fires the whirlwind from far distance at the enemy. Arc Attack MP: 7 Gained: Level 32 Final Change: 200 Ernest throws his whip toward the sky and swings on it, kicking at the Enemy. At final change: Ernest will kick the enemy as many as four times while in the air. Thousand Whip MP: 10 Gained: Level 41 Final Change: 120 Ernest lashes out multiple whips at the enemy and keeps twirling them Around, doing multiple hits. At final change: More whips will hit the enemy multiple times, doing many hits on the enemy. Cloud Dust MP: 18 Gained: Level 49 Final Change: 100 Ernest flicks his whip around himself, creating a storm of sand that He fires at his target. At final change: Ernest will also increase his dodge level after Using this Killer Move. Broken Heart MP: 17 Gained: Level 58 Final Change: 200 Ernest flings his whip into the ground, and it comes up at the enemy with thorns on it, and a rose appears on the enemy. At final change: Ernest will hit the enemey many times from the ground. Thunder Whip MP: 22 Gained: Level 65 Final Change: 200 With this technique, Ernest raises his hand into the air, draws a lightning bolt on his whip, then he shoots it toward the enemy for multiple hits of lightning elemental. At final change: After shooting the lightning bolt at the enemies, the whip spreads into many seperate bolts, having a great range and adding more hits. Sonic Whip MP: 25 Gained: Level 73 Final Change: 100 Ernest whips the whip through the air, creating a huge vacuum that does multiple hits on any enemies in range. At final change: Ernest does more hits on the enemy and the range of the vacuum increases. *Dias' Killer Moves: Cross Slash MP: 8 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 120 Dias jumps in the air toward the enemy, doing a double slice to hit the enemy twice for damage. At final change: Dias executes the move faster and does more damage. Air Slash MP: 4 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: None. Dias swings his sword through the ground, creating a fast blue shockwave that heads for the enemy. Similar to Claude's Killer Move of the same name, except Dias' Kuhazan goes much faster. Crescent Wave MP: 10 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 130 Dias does a powerful slash toward the enemy, creating an arc of energy that pierces through the enemy's defense to do big damage. At final change: Dias will hit two times with Crescent Wave instead of one. Chaos Sword MP: 5 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 120 Short range: Dias does a very fast slash that creates a blue field to do damage to the enemy. Long range: Similar to the Kuhazan. Dias puts his sword into the ground, and a shockwave travels toward the enemy, except the shockwave looks different. At final change: At short range, Dias can hit up to three times with his sword. At long range, Dias' shockwave travels faster. Gale Stab MP: 10 Gained: Level 40 Final Change: 130 Dias charges the enemy with a fierce stab. At final change: Dias can hit the enemy twice instead of only once. Crescent Moon Flash MP: 13 Gained: Level 48 Final Change: 100 Dias slashes through the air, firing an arching shockwave that hits the enemy from a big distance. At final change: Dias executes the Killer Move faster and it does more damage. Hawk Scream Blast MP: 16 Gained: Level 56 Final Change: 100 Dias holds his sword out, collecting energy to form a Phoenix image, then releases it at the enemy from a distance. At final change: Dias hits the enemy for many times and the range that the Phoenix travels through the battlefield is greater. Full Moon Slash MP: 25 Gained: Level 63 Final Change: 100 Dias flings his sword around his body, making a field of energy that launches an invisible projectile. At final change: Dias spins around very fast and releases the invisible projectile very soon. Illusion MP: 21 Gained: Level 70 Final Change: 420 A special double-slash at close range. At final change: Dias will slash more times, and the swords will fly around faster. Firebird Shock Wave MP: 30 Gained: Level 78 Final Change: 200 Dias jumps high in the air, and transforms into a Phoenix, and the Phoenix dives down on the enemy, doing fire elemental. At final change: Dias will hit multiple times and the dive range is bigger. *Chisato's Killer Moves: Twister MP: 5 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 240 Chisato turns into a ball and rolls into the enemy, spinning around and around multiple times to do multiple hits. At final change: Chisato will do many more hits while rolling around. Burning Cards MP: 10 Gained: Starts with it. Final Change: 200 Chisato throws multiple cards at the enemy, striking an enemy from a distance. At final change: Chisato will throw six cards at the enemy. Whirlwind MP: 14 Gained: Level 40 Final Change: 200 Chisato does a spinning high kick to the enemy, then does a tripping move for a great double hit. At final change: Chisato executes an axe kick after the first two kicks for a total of three hits. 100,000 Volts MP: 22 Gained: Level 44 Final Change: 200 Chisato fires a large electrical field out of her stun gun at the enemy. At final change: The range of the the electrical charge is much bigger. Flame Thrower MP: 20 Gained: Level 53 Final Change: 200 Chisato uses a big flamethrower on the enemy from close range, doing multiple hits of fire elemental. At final change: Chisato fires the flamethrower more towards the air, and the flame falls into the enemy for more hits. Rising Dragon MP: 17 Gained: Level 62 Final Change: 200 Chisato does a three hit combo, hitting once low, then once mid, and then once high on the enemy. At final change: Chisato executes six moves instead of the usual three. Tear Gas MP: 32 Gained: Level 68 Final Change: 0 Chisato phones a big machine out of the ground, and it blasts a huge cloud of gas on the oppenent, doing many hits. Preparation MP: 25 Gained: Level 72 Final Change: 240 Chisato uses her phone again and many bombs are dropped on the enemey from above. At final change: More bombs will fall down on the enemy. ------------ Spell List: ------------ Here is a complete list of every spell in Star Ocean: The Second Story. Only spell-casting characters (Rena, Celine, Leon, and Noel) can cast Spells. The spells are arranged by healing and effect spells first, then attack spells. Also note that some spells don't have power up as you cast them, these spells have been noted with "No Proficiency" at the end of the spell info. Heal Heals an ally for a small amount of HP. MP: 3 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Starts with it, Noel: Starts with it. Cure Light Heals an ally for a medium amount of HP. MP: 11 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 10, Noel: Starts with it. Cure All Heals every ally for a medium amount of HP. MP: 18 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 20, Noel: Level 41 Fairy Heal Fairies dive down on a character, and that character is healed for a large amount of HP. MP: 30 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 52, Noel: Level 55 Fairy Light Faries surround each ally, and each character is healed for a very large amount. MP: 40 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 65, Noel: Level 77 Raise Dead Revives a single incapacitated character and heals them to about 50% of their total HP. MP: 45 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 60 No Proficiency Antidote Extract poison from a single character's body. MP: 5 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 3, Noel: Starts with it. No Proficiency Dispel Extracts Poison, Paralysis, or Petrification from a single character. MP: 24 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 25, Noel: Level 60 No Proficiency Neutral Cancels all effect spells that have been cast on a target. For instance, if one of the enemies casts a spell that lowers a character's defense, you can cast this on that character and return to his or her original state. MP: 17 elemental: None Characters: Celine: Level 27, Noel: Level 45 No Proficiency Curse This spell is the same as Neutral, for some odd reason. Any effect spells will be nullified on a single character. MP: 20 elemental: None Characters: Celine: Level 39, Noel: Level 66 Silence This spell makes a single target not able to speak. That target cannot cast any magic for a battle. MP 14 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 12, Noel: Level 41 Forget A huge bolt of lightning strikes one target, and that target "forgets" all of his or her spells, and is unable to cast them. Similar to Silence. MP: 10 elemental: Lightning Characters: Celine: Level 15 Deep Mist A cloud of mist surrounds enemies, and the enemies are blinded, making it hard for them to hit your characters (lowers accuracy). MP: 11 elemental: Darkness Characters: Rena: Level 8, Leon: Starts with it Acid Rain Acid rain falls on all enemies. Each enemy's armor melts, and their defense level is lowered. MP: 7 elemental: Water Characters: Leon: Starts with it Haste Increases the running speed on a single ally during battle. Very useful for the last boss, especially. MP: 20 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 42, Leon: Level 42 No Proficiency Delay Makes the moving speed of an enemy much slower than what it originally was. MP: 18 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 22, Leon: Level 36 Fixed Cloud A big cloud falls down onto the battlefield, creating a shockwave that stuns all enemies on the battlefield. MP: 12 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 18 Growth Increases one character's strength in battle (increases attack power). MP: 22 elemental: None Characters: Rena Level: 47, Leon: Level 50 No Proficiency Protection Gives a character increased defense for a single battle. MP: 18 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 33, Leon: Starts with it No Proficiency Bless Increases a character's accuracy for a single battle. MP: 18 elemental: None Characters: Celine: Level 28, Noel: Level 72 No Proficiency Reflection A shield of light energy surrounds a character and gives that character increased defense for a single battle. MP: 8 elemental: Lightning Characters: Celine: Level 19 Anti A barrier of magic energy surrounds all allies on the battlefield, giving each character increased magic defense power (spells do less damaage). MP: 40 elemental: Mu Characters: Rena: Level 54, Celine: Level 59 No Proficiency Angel Feather Summons a guardian angel to increase every of a single character's parameters for a single battle. MP: 30 elemental: None Characters: Rena: Level 72, Celine: Level 76 No Proficiency Grave A large piece of earth ruptures through the ground a spikes an enemy. MP: 4 elemental: Earth Characters: Noel: Starts with it Earth Grave Numerous pieces of sharp earth shoot out of the ground and hit all enemies facing the spell-caster. MP: 16 elemental: Earth Characters: Noel: Starts with it Earthquake A huge earth golem comes out the ground, slams the battlefield with his right fist, then his left fist, and then both fists to make a gigantic earthquake on the battlefield. Flying enemies or enemies hit into the air will not be affected. MP: 65 elemental: Earth Characters: Noel: Level 82 Fire Bolt A small bolt of fire is summoned by the spell-caster, and then fired at the enemy from a distance. MP: 2 elemental: Fire Character: Celine: Starts with it Eruption Lava shoots up out of the ground in a radius, and all enemies in the eruption's radius will get fire elemental damage. MP: 30 elemental: Fire Characters: Celine: Level 34 Explode The most powerful fire-based spell, Explode summons a series of huge explosions, damaging all enemies facing the caster. MP: 54 elemental: Fire Characters: Celine: Level 66 Ice Needle Summons a spear of ice to shoot out at an enemy target. MP: 2 elemental: Water Characters: Leon: Starts with it Deep Freeze Many ice needles fly at the enemy within a range from the spell-caster. MP: 15 elemental: Water Characters: Leon: Starts with it Noa A huge tital wave hits all enemies, killing most weak enemies outright, and doing huge damage to stronger enemies. MP: 35 Element: Water Characters: Leon: Level 54 Wind Blade A very small vortex is shot across the ground to the target from the spell-caster. MP: 2 Element: Wind Characters: Celine: Starts with it, Noel: Starts with it Tetnus Wind A large vacuum of pointed objects slice a single enemy. MP: 10 Element: Wind Characters: Noel: Starts with it Sonic Saber A vacuum blade is launched from the spell-caster, travelling across the ground in a single path, doing damage to any enemy that is within its path. MP: 11 Element: Wind Characters: Noel: Starts with it Magnum Tornado A tornado is shot from the spell-caster, damaging any enemy that comes within its straight path. MP: 18 Element: Wind Characters: Noel: Starts with it Phane The most damaging wind spell. Shoots a huge wave of powerful wind that slices at all enemies on the screen. MP: 25 Element: Wind Characters: Noel: Level 52 Thunderbolt A single small bolt of lightning comes down to attack a single target for a very small amount of lightning Element damage. MP: 4 Element: Lightning Characters: Celine: Starts with it Thunder Storm Many bolts of lightning strik all enemies facing the spell-caster to do lightning Zouksei damage to all enemies. MP: 28 Element: Lightning Characters: Celine: Level 31 Thunder Cloud Thunder Cloud is the most powerful lightning spell; it creates a very large stormcloud which sends down several bolts of lightning to strike each enemy facing the caster. MP: 40 Element: Lightning Characters: Celine Level 55 Star Light A star beam is shot into the air, and then several blue beams of light strike every enemy on the battlefield for star Zouksei damage. MP: 10 Element: Star Characters: Celine: Level 17, Leon: Level 34 Tractor Beam A radius of light appears on the ground, then enemies are pulled into the air, and then dropped from the sky to do star Element damage. If cast upon flying enemies, the spell does not do any damage. MP: 22 Element: Star Characters: Rena: Level 36 Southern Cross Five stars crash into the battlefield, causing a big explosion on the ground, doing star Element damage to every enemy facing the caster. MP: 42 Element: Star Characters: Celine: Level 49 Meteo Swarm One of the most powerful attack spells in the game. Many meteorites crash down from space and slam into all enemies facing the spell-caster for huge amounts of star Element damage. MP: 82 Element: Star Characters: Celine: Treasure spell Energy Arrow Multiple bolts of purple energy gathers into a large clump and then explodes on the enemy. MP: 17 Element: Fu Characters: Celine: Level 12, Noel: Starts with it Blood Scylla Drains some of a single enemy's HP and gives it to the spell-caster. MP: 12 Element: Fu Characters: Noel: Level 49 Lost Mental Drains some of a single enemy's MP and gives to to the spell-caster. MP: 1 Element: Fu Characters: Celine: Level 22, Noel: Starts with it Word of Death A magical word is said to an enemy, and some enemies are killed outright. MP: 18 Element: Fu Characters: Leon: Starts with it Ray Multiple beams of energy are fired onto the battlefield, making an explosion and dealing light damage to all enemies facing the caster. MP: 10 Element: Light Characters: Rena: Level 14, Celine: Level 9 Light Cross A large cross of light explodes on the battlefield, doing light Element damage to all enemies facing the spell-caster on the battlefield. MP: 18 Element: Light Characters: Rena: Level 30 Star Flare A big star is summon on the battlefield, and the star fires multiple bolts of light energy to the ground, causing light damage to all enemies on the battlefield. MP: 26 Element: Light Characters: Rena: Level 63 Lunar Light Multiple light bolts come down from the moon to create a huge explosion of light Element on teh battlefield, dealing large amounts of light damage to every enemy on teh battlefield. MP: 38 Element: Light Characters: Celine: Level 43 Wounds A demon is summoned from the demon world and it attacks a single enemy. MP: 4 Element: Dark Characters: Leon: Starts with it Shadow Bolt Multiple of dark energy bolts form a shadow and do small dark Element damage on a single enemy. MP: 7 Element: Dark Characters: Leon: Starts with it Black Saber A bolt of dark Elementsei is fired from the spell-caster, doing damage to any enemy in the spell's straight path. MP: 14 Element: Dark Characters: Leon: Starts with it Shadow Flare A huge fireball from the demo world is summoned to explode all over the battlefield and burn every enemy facing the spell-caster. MP: 32 Element: Dark Characters: Leon: Level 39 Press A huge weight falls out of the sky and does mu damage to a single enemy. MP: 7 Element: Mu Characters: Rena: Gravity Press Many weights falls out of the sky and fall on any enemy in the spell's radius doing mu Element damage. MP: 24 Element: Mu Characters: Rena Level 28 Gremlin Lair A demo is summoned and throws a spinning projectile attack to do damage to all enemies facing the spell-caster, then bites the enemy several times. MP: 26 Element: Mu Characters: Leon: Level 60 Demon's Gate A gate to the demon world is opened, a single demo comes out of the hole and shoots a wave with its staff to do damage to all enemies facing the spell-caster. MP: 37 Element: Mu Characters: Leon: Level 66 Dark Circle A portal of mu energy is opened, and sucks in a enemy will 1/4 or less of the enemy's HP. MP: 65 Element: Mu Characters: Leon: Level 78 Extinction The most powerful attack spell in the game. A huge energy wave consumes all enemies, killing some enemies outright and doing huge damage on others. MP: 90 Element: Mu Characters: Leon: Treasure spell ------------ Skill List: ------------ The Skill system in Star Ocean: The Second Story is perhaps the system that allows the most customization of your characters' strengths and weaknesses. Skils allow you to decide what ratings you want to increase in. For instance, if you want to make Claude have a higher guts rating, taking Poker Face is a good Skill for it. Distributing Skills is done when you have amassed Skill Points, which are gained after every level you gain, and after you gain new Talents. Skills are bought in Skill guilds in the towns in the game, where you buy sets of Skills. Each set contains from 3 to 5 Specialties. When you buy Skill sets, the Skills within the Specialty sets will now appear on your Skill screen, where you can now distribute Skill Points to the new Skills. There are four types of Skill sets. Chishiki Kanren: Knowledge Specialties. Gijutsu Kanren: Technical Specialties. Kankaku Kanren: Sensation Specialties. Sento Kanren: Combat Specialties. Each type of Skills have 3 levels, and you can buy the different levels of Skills as you progress in the game. *Knowledge Level 1: Mineralogy: Knowledge of identification of gems and other rare minerals. Increases learner's Intelligence by Specialty Level x 3. Herbal Medicine: Knowledge of the medical uses of herbs for healing. Increases learner's healing of Blueberries and Blackberries by Specialty Level x 3%. Recipe: Knowledge on food recipies and their effectiveness in taste. *Knowledge Level 2: Musical Notation: Knowledge of musical taste. Increases learner's Dodge level by Skill Level + 1. Biology: Knowledge of organisms and their enviornments. Increases learner's maximum HP by Skill Level squared x 10. Tool Knowledge Knowledge of equipped items (weapons, armor, accessories). Increases selling price of all items by Specialty Level x 3%. *Knowledge Level 3: Mental Science: Knowledge of the senses and power of the mind. Increases learner's maximum MP by Skill Level x 5. Piety: Knowledge in a heavenly and more perfect power over other life. When Piety Specialty Level is raised, one random ability gets increased in power for the learner. Fairyology: Knowledge of the source of living beings and how people came into being. Increases learner's Intelligence level by Skill Level + 1. *Sensation Level 1: Courage: The Specialty of doing outrageous things in front of peers without feeling any stress or becoming nervous. Patience: The Specialty of being able to take no pain from physical attacks, having strong will-power in force. Increases learner's defense power by Skill Level + 2. Esthetic Sense: A sense of appreciation in art or natural things, and being creative in natural criticism. Good Eye: The abilily to look out for perfect ingredients in terms of tasteful food. Increases the healing potential of healing items. *Sensation Level 2: Playfulness: The ability to have an open mind toward others and their beliefs. Each time the learner gains an experience level, you will gain some bonus Fol (the higher the Skill Level, the more bonus Fol you receive). Danger Sense: The hidden ability to sense danger or dangerous situations. Increases the learner's Stamina by Specialty Level x 3. Perseverence: The ability to endure the force of physical energy and deadly and powerful plows. This ability decreases the amount of Specialty points needed to learn all Specialties. Note that this is one of the most important Skills in the game, as if you get a new character with tons of Skill Points to use, first get this Skill up to level 10, then all Skills will be decreased by a lot, making getting Skills powered up much easier. Poker Face: The ability to stay calm and keep a straight face in even the most dangerous situations. Increases learner's Guts level by Specialty Level x 3. *Sensation Level 3: Functionality The ability to determine what is beautiful, and what is good for functioning in everyday life. Increases learner's Strength, Intelligence, Evasion, and Accuracy by Specialty Level + 6. Radar: A hidden sense of calling higher powers and more perfect beings to assist you in earthly matters. When you increase Denpa, you get a random item. Effort: The ability to concentrate on what one has to do, and persevering in every situation one encounters. When increasing Doryoku's Specialty level, the less experience points needed to reach the next level for the learner. *Techincal Level 1: Whistle: The Specialty of being able to whistle effectively. Copying: The ability to make an exact replica of an object using the hands, while capturing unique details. Sketching: The abilty to show originality in artwork, but by paintins and molding objects out of clay. Kitchen Knife: The ability to effectively use a kitchen cleaver to preform multiple tasks. Increases learner's Strength by Skill Level x 20. *Technical Level 2: Mech Knowledge: Knowledge of how machines work, their functions, and how to make and program them. Craft: The ability to have fast reactions to movement, quick reflexes. Increases learner's Dodge ability by Specialty Level + 3. Animal Training: The ability to effectively train animals to do tasks that you want them to do. Writing: The ability of effectively writing long documentation on different subjects.Increases the learner's Accuracy ability by Skill Level + 2. *Technical Level 3: Musical Instrument: The Specialty of being able to effectively play musical instruments. Increases the learner's Evasion rate by Specialty Level + 1. Scientific Ability: The ability of being able to use multiple tools to preform usedful functions. Increases learner's Strength by Skill Level x 10. Mech Operation: The ability to effectively operate machinery to do helpful tasks. Metal Casting: The ability of tempering and bending metal into useful objects and weapons. Increasese learner's Accuracy by Skill Level x 2. Combat: Level 1: *Note: Combat Skills are different from the other three types of Skills in that in battle, you have a certain chance of preforming the Skill in battle, and raising their Skill levels make the Skills have a better chance of being executed in battle. Spirit Force: The ability to concentrate on tough battles and not lose hope. Reduces the damage taken from attacks, raising defense power. Below the Belt: The ability to strike an enemy's weak point, breaking through all defense they have equipped. Ignores a certain percentage of the enemy's defense power, doing more damage to the enemy. Strong Blow: The ability to launch a powerful blow that makes the enemy fly backward in combat. Cancel: The ability to consistently throw attacks. In battle, right after doing an attack, with good timing, you can press either L1 or R1 buttons to immediately throw your assigned Killer Move, allowing you to do a great normal attack/Killer Move combo. *Combat Level 2: Flip: The ability to hit the enemy in multiple places. Increases learner's chances of running behind the enemy and hitting it from behind with a normal attack or Killer Move. Gale: The ability to run very fast in battle. Feint: Increases the accuracy of the learner's attacks. Mental Training: Your character will draw extra hidden energy into his or her attack and the learner's attack power will be greatly increased. *Combat Level 3: Counterattack: The learner of this Skill can sometimes press the Circle button right as he or she is getting hit by the enemy to counterattack immediately. As this Skill is build, the character will counterattack the enemy at a much higher percentage. Parry: The Specialty of making quick movements on the battlefield. Increases evasion rate, making dodging enemy attacks much easier. Body Control: The ability to focus on standing against the enemy. The learner of this Skill will have a higher percentage of not being dizzy after a strong enemey attack. Motormouth: The ability to say words and chant songs very fast. The learner of this Skill has a higher percentage of very little delay time between casting spells, making casting consecutive spells very easy. Provocation: The ability to successfully provoke and enrage the enemy. The learner can press the Select button in battle to use a battle taunt. When a character uses their battle taunt, all enemies are drawn to attack the taunter. This Skill doesn't seem to be useful, but when your other characters are being beaten, it is very useful to use. *Combat Level ?: Float: The ability to do a special normal attack. The learner will sometimes hits the enemy far into the air with a very powerful blow. *Note: You cannot buy Combat Level ? Skill in the game, you must find it in a special location. ------------------- Character Ratings: ------------------- In my FAQs, I like to do character ratings on the characters. I think it is a challenge to explore every character and learn their strengths and weaknesses, and determine what I think is the best party. These are my own personal opinions, and are by no means actually correct, so you'll have to decide what the best party for you is. Claude: Claude prevails over all characters in Star Ocean: The Second Story, just like Ratix from the first Star Ocean. He has high attack power, HP, MP, great defense, great agility, and gets he best weapon in the game, the Eternal Sphere. He also gets some of the most effective Killer Move in the game. Most of his Killer Move is very strong, and when powered up, is the best in the game. He usually gets effective Talents used in Item Creations, and he becomes the best character in the game. Overall rating: A+ Rena Lanford: Rena is going to be your main healer for the game. Her attack, HP, agility, defense, and stamina are quite low, but she has excellent MP and healing spells. You will probably want her in your party at almost all times, and definitely toward the end of the game. Rena can even get some decent weapons toward the end of the game, even though she is a spell-casting character rather than a fighting character. Overall rating: B+ Celine: Celine is tied with Leon as the best magician, if not the best magician. Her attack spells are so strong, and she gets some awesome attack spells early in the game. If you like attack magicians , you'll like Celine a lot. She isn't much of a fighter, though, just like the other spell-casting characters. She can equip decent armor. Overall rating: B Ashton: Ashton is my second favorite character in the game. His multi-hitting Killer Move is incredibly strong, and he gets *very* strong weapons. He's very fast, has great HP, and pretty good MP, and good stamina. The only bad point that Ashton has is that his Luck will never go about 18 (although you don't really need Luck much in the game). Some of his Killer Move are virtually useless, since they take so long to pull off, but his multi-hitting Killer Move is the best in the game. His last two Killer Move are also two of the best. Overall rating: A Opera: Opera has the best distance Killer Move in the game. She also gets very powerful weapons early in the game, which makes her a form for the entire game. Opera uses different types of guns and projectile Killer Move. Some of her later multi-hitting Killer Move is incredibly effective, and the only bad side to her is that she has to be certain distances away from the enemy for all of her Killer Move, even close range ones. You have a decision at a point in the game to take either Ashton or both Opera and Ernest, but I usually take Ashton. If you like long-range Killer Move, though, Opera is your pick. Overall rating: A- Ernest: Ernest has the best distance in the game on his normal attack, And gets some pretty effective Killer Move later, but starts out getting only Killer Move that is pretty useless. He'll become really strong as you power him up, and will become a good fighter later in the game, especially if you get some of his best weapons, like the Dark Whip. Also, Ernest uses really low MP for his Killer Move, which is a definite plus towards the end of the game. Ernest has perhaps the best Killer Move when powered up in the game, but some of his Killer Move seems almost useless towards the beginning. I think Ernest has a very wide variety of Killer Move, and some great rengeki Killer Move. A really good addition to any party. Overall rating: B+ Bowman: Bowman is probably the weakest fighting-type character in The game. Although he can throw Hissatasuwaza very fast, he doesn't effective ones, and his normal attack is pathetic. His normal attack doesn't even reach as far as Noel's. Even if you like fast linking combos, you probably won't want Bowman, since he's overall not too effective. His Killer Move uses incredibly low MP, but it really doesn't matter, since his Killer Move is incredibly weak to begin with. Overall rating: D Precis: Precis has some really good distance Killer Move, just like Opera. She'll get some great weapons and armor later in the game, and her attacks are really good. If you like projectile Killer Move, and don't have Opera in the party, definitely choose her, but if you already have Opera in your party, you probably won't have much use for her. Overall rating: B- Dias: Dias is one of the most powerful fighting characters. He is a great fighter, and gets some great powerful and multi-hitting Killer Move. You'll definitely want to use Dias at almost all times. Later in the game he gets some of the best weapons, armor, and Killer Move. He also has high HP, decent MP, and high defense. You can only get Dias in Rena's scenario. His main downside is that he doesn't have any regenki Killer Move, his most multi-hitting Killer Move does only three hits. Overall rating: B+ Leon: Leon is an excellent attack mage. His attack spells are really, incredibly powerful. When you get to the bonus dungeon, most of his best spells will do 9999 damage, which is vital, since the enemies there have a *lot* of HP. I think overall that he is equal with Celine. His uses books as weapons, and are some pretty good weapons for a spell-casting character. You can only get Leon in Claude's scenario. A single downside is that he doesn't have as many spells as Celine. Overall rating: B Noel: Noel is similar to Joshua from the first Star Ocean in that he can use both attack and healing spells. He's excellent to use as a back-up healer to Rena during the end of the game, and is really useful for some of the boss battles. He is actually also a decent attacker if you make his best weapons through Customize, but the range on his attack is really bad. He'll be great as a back-up magic attacker as well as healer. Overall rating: B Chisato: Chisato starts out very weak, but once you build her up, she can get some pretty useful multi-hitting Killer Move later in the game. She is one of the weaker fighting characters, but if you take the time to gain some levels and Specialties for her, she can become almost as strong. Overall rating: B- ---------------------------------- Useful Killer Move Combinations: ---------------------------------- A lot of Sta r Ocean: The Second Story reFolves around how effective you use Killer Move. Sometimes by trying different Killer Move combinations using the Link Combo Ring, you can find some really effectve combinations to use on enemies. In this section, I will cover some of my favorite Killer Move combinations. If you want to submit any of your favorite Killer Move combinations to me, mail me at . *Claude: For Claude, you'll basically want to hit an enemy with a single Killer Move that leaves that enemy at bay, and then follow up with a powerful attack that does a lot of damage. Claude has some of the most useful multi-hitting Killer Move in the game, like Bakuresuha, Suhazan, Sword Bomber, and Mirror Slice, so these attacks make excellent combination enders. *Bakuretsuha, Kabutowari Total MP: 26 *Bakuretsuha, Suhazan Total MP: 32 *Dragon Howl, Mirror Slice Total MP: 66 *Sword Bomber, Suhazan Total MP: 47 *Sword Bomber, Mirror Slice Total MP: 70 *Ashton: Ashton has some of the most powerful multi-hitting Killer Move in the game. Some of Ashton's Killer Move takes way too much time to pull off, but some of his best multi-hitting combinations can keep dealing ultimate damage. The idea is to make combinations that make Ashton keep doing multi-hitting Killer Move on the enemy, not letting the enemy even be able to move. *Leaf Slash, Hurricane Slash Total MP: 35 *Leaf Slash, Dragon Breath Total MP: 47 *Hurricane Slash, Dragon Breath Total MP: 44 *Leaf Slash, Sword Dance Total MP: 51 *Hurricane Slash, Sword Dance Total MP: 48 *Dead Triangle, Sword Dance Total MP: 51 *Dragon Breath, Sword Dance Total MP: 50 *Dragon Breath, Tri-Ace Total MP: 73 *Opera: Opera has the best projectile Killer Move in the game. Most of Opera's Killer Move do many hits from afar, so she becomes one of the most valuable characters later in the game, when there are bosses that move around at an insane speed, and you'll really need the projectile distance advantage. Among Opera's most useful Killer Move for linked combinations are Hyper Launcher, Lightning Bullet, and Alpha on One. *Flame Launcher, Alpha on One Total MP: 30 *Alpha on one, Spread Ray Total MP: 39 *Gravity Shell, Alpha on One Total MP: 43 *Gravity Shell, Spread Ray Total MP: 36 *Gravity Shell, Lightning Bullet Total MP: 40 *Lightning Bullet, Cold Wind Total MP: 45 *Lightning Bullet, Alpha on One Total MP: 43 *Alpha on One, Hyper Launcher Total MP: 57 *Gravity Shell, Hyper Launcher Total MP: 54 *Laser Bit, Alpha on One Total MP: 31 *Bowman: Bowman is the fastest consecutive hitting Killer Move character in the game, and in addition to having low MP consumption in his Killer Move, you'll want to have a Link Combo if you choose to use him in your party. Bowman has several Killer Move that really aren't very useful, though, so you won't really use some of his Killer Move in effective combinations. *Firebird Attack, Pillory Total MP: 16 *Whirlwind Fist, Death Siege Total MP: 28 *Burst Fist, Sakura Attack Total MP: 64 *Burst Fist, Hasaiden Total MP: 48 *Whirlwind Fist, Sakura Attack Total MP: 51 *Precis: Precis is the character with the second most useful projectile and long-range Killer Move, second to only Opera. Most of Precis' Killer Move combinations are very damaging physically, and she can even throw certain Killer Move very fast. Precis has some of the most unique Killer Move as well, because of the fact that some of her Killer Move leaves her unattackable to enemies while she executes it. *Barabara Beam, Ally-Oop! Total MP: 37 *Bloody Mary, Barbara Beam Total MP: 45 *Bloody Mary, Ally-Oop! Total MP: 40 *Bloody Mary, Hoholograph Total MP: 32 *Barrier, Pokopoka Attack Total MP: 43 *Mujin-kun Super Beam, Bloody Mary Total MP: 56 *Hoholograph, Mujin-kun Super Beam Total MP: 24 *Hoholograph, Barrier Total MP: 28 *Dias: Dias has some of the strongest Killer Move in the game, but most of his Killer Move only hits one or two times, and his biggest multi-hitting Killer Move hits only three times, so he'll be at somewhat of a disadvantage in fighting, although his hits are huge in strength. Some of Dias' Killer Move like Crescent Wave, Illusion, and Firebird Shock Wave, so you'll be able to have a unique attacker in the sense that his Killer Move is some of the most damaging in the game. *Crescent Wave, Cross Slash Total MP:18 *Illusion, Crescent Wave Total MP: 31 *Illusion, Cross Slash Total MP: 29 *Hawk Scream Blast, Illusion Total MP: 37 *Hawk Scream Blast, Full Moon Slash Total MP: 41 *Hawk Scream Blast, Cross Slash Total MP: 24 *Firebird Shock Wave, Crescent Wave Total MP: 40 *Firebird Shock Wave, Illusion Total MP: 51 *Hawk Scream Blast, Firebird Shock Wave Total MP: 46 *Ernest: Ernest has many useful Killer Move, and perhaps has the most variety in his Killer Move than any other character. The idea is to keep the enemy at bay from far away, as Killer Move like Broken Heart and Thousand Whip are good from far away. Ernest will be able to utilize some of the best physical Killer Move combinations in the game. Also, Ernest uses the least in MP consumption for his Killer Move in the game, so he's often a very good choice to give a Link Combo to early on. *Spiral Whip, Dimension Whip Total MP: 13 *Thousand Whip, Dimension Whip Total MP: 15 *Thousand Whip, Broken Heart Total MP: 27 *Broken Heart, Spiral Whip Total MP: 24 *Thunder Whip, Dimension Whip Total MP: 27 *Thunder Whip, Thousand Whip Total MP: 32 *Thunder Whip, Broken Heart Total MP: 39 *Sonic Whip, Broken Heart Total MP: 42 *Sonic Whip, Thousand Whip Total MP: 35 *Chisato: Chisato is probably the weakest fighting character, and she doesn't really have that much use, but she has some decent Killer Move that are very quick. One good side to Chisato's Killer Move is that her Killer Move causes the enemy to be dizzy more than any other character in the game. *Twister, Whirlwind Total MP: 19 *Flame Thrower, 100,000 Volts Total MP: 42 *Whirlwind, Flame Thrower Total MP: 34 *Whirlwind, Tear Gas Total MP: 46 *Rising Dragon, W hirlwind Total MP: 31 *Rising Dragon, Flame Thrower Total MP: 37 *Rising Dragon, Tear Gas Total MP: 49 *Twister, Tear Gas Total MP: 37 *Burning Cards, Preparation Total MP: 35 ---------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions: ---------------------------- Star Ocean is a fairly tough game, because it has some complicated puzzles and enemies. In this section, I hope to answer the questions that people ask the most. If you want to know something about the game, E-mail me at , and I will possibly add your question to this section. Q: Why isn't my character healing HP and MP after battle? A: Well, healing HP and MP after battle is determined by the ammount of Stamina that a character has, so you can either gain levels for that character, or equip accessories that increase your Stamina level. Also, some armor in the game takes away all of your Stamina, and after battles, you won't gain any MP or MP at all, so make sure to unequip this kind of armor immediately. Q: What is your favorite four-character party for fighting? A: Well, this really depends on where you are, and what kind of Killer Move and Spells you like. If you want the best attacking party, take Claude, Ashton, Dias, and Rena (this party can only be gotten in Rena's scenario). If you want a party with more Killer Move and variety, take Claude, Opera, Ernest, and Rena. I find the attack spell-casting members of the party not very useful, because even though some of their later spells do 9999 damage to each enemy, the fighting characters can usually do much more damage in a lot less time, and the attack spell-casters have to wait a few moments after casting a spell to cast another. This is really a matter of an opinion, though. Q: Are there any really useful pickpocketed items in the game? A: Yes. Perhaps the most useful thing to pickpocket in the entire game is in Fun City. Go there and then to the Bunny Races. Steal from the pink rabbit there, and you will get the Bunny Shoes. When you have the Bunny Shoes equipped on a character, he or she will run very fast on the battlefield. Also, I find that stealing from everyone in Raqua gives some really good items like the Infinity Ring. There is a catch to stealing items in Raqua, though, as you can't do a Private Action there, the characters will look down on the character that stole, so his or her Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo becomes lowered for each other member of the party. Q: What is the most benefitial shop to register at to end the Racool fighting tournament? A: Knockout. Knockout offers the best sword you will be getting for a long time, the Long Edge. Although it doesn't offer much in armor (your armor should be better already), Claude should already have very good armor, and you won't be at much of a loss in defense. Slayer is the most well-rounded shop, but the armor it offers isn't very much better than the armor you already have. Q: Does it make a difference whether I bring the Clairsage to Bowman rather than the Dilwhip in the Ringa Ruins? A: As far as I know, it doesn't make any difference at all in the game. If you get the Clairsage, you can't get the Dilwhip, and vice versa. The only difference is that you can't get the Dilwhip until you are very far into the ruins, and the Clairsage can be picked up fairly close to the beginning of the ruins. When you bring back the Clairsage to Bowman, he will be slightly annoyed that it was already discovered, but he will accept it anyway and let you see Keith. If you bring the Dilwhip, he will be happy. I don't think this makes any difference in the game at all, though. Q: What is the password at the top of Elria Tower? A: Mo-ku-shi-ro-ku, which means "Apocalypse". Q: What do you think the best order for conquering the fields? A: I usually do the Field of Power first, then the Field of Knowledge, then the Field of Courage, then the Field of Love. This way, you'll be able to gain some really good experience for your characters in the Field of Power, and the enemies are a bit easier. Also, there are some fairly tough enemies in the Field of Knowledge, so you'll want to be at higher levels when you face the enemies there. Q: What are all of the things that the fortune teller tells you in Fun City after paying 300 Fol? A: You can choose to analyze: 1) Percentage of all trasure chests in the game you have opened 2) Percentage of your Item Creation successes 3) Percentage of Pickpocket success 4) Times you have saved your game on a memory card 5) Total number of battles you have been in 6) Number of times you ran from a battle 7) Number of total monsters you have defeated 8) Highers number of consecutive Battle Specialties you have scored Q: Does the Dojinshi store above the battle stadium in Fun City actually serve any purpose at all? A: I don't think so. You can buy different types of Dojinshi (manga), but they appear to do nothing in the game. I guess this is just a fun thing that was added to the game. Q: Where can I buy the best armor sold in the game? A: There is a very hidden store near Givaway that is easily passed up by most players. There are no clues to this store, and it was hard for me to find, even when I heard where it was, so it's obviously a big secret. Anyway, go to the area where Givaway is. There are two main islands in the land of snow, and a few very tiny island between the two larger ones. Land on one of the tiny islands, and walk around on it until you find a hidden location. There is a store here, selling all of the Mithril equippment, and several awesome items, like the Tri-Emblem accessory and the "Magical Rasp", the useful Customize Support Item. There is even better armor in the game than the Mithril equippment, though, but you will have to use the "Blacksmith" Super Toguki to get it with your different gems and minerals. Q: How do you get Chisato as a playable character? A: First of all, you have to have seven or less members in your current party while visiting Central City. After you first talk to Narl, walk out of the large building, and go to the western party of the city. You will see someone spying on you. That person will run away, and you will wonder if it's a stalker. After that, go to North City, and head to the northern part of the city. You will see that person stalking again. Now, play through the Red Crystal cave, and you will eventually run into Chisato in the cave, and find her business card. Play through the game until you get the Sainard. After receiving the Sainard, go back to Central City, and to the newspaper room. Talk to the red-haired Nedian there. After talking for awhile about why she was stalking you, you will get these options: 1) Do you want to travel with us? 2) Don't follow us anymore. Pick option 1 to have Chisato join you. Q: The Atlas Ring is a great accessory, but how do I stop its defense lowering downside? A: To make the bad affects of the Atlas Ring go away, all you have to do is equip a Paras Atene on the character that has the Atlas Ring. To get a Paras Atene, use Blacksmith on Mithril when you have the Magical Rasp support item. Q: I keep trying to make a certain accessory with Saiku, but I always end up making a different accessory. How should I make the accessory that I want? A: Well, there are usually about eight or nine things that can be made out of Saiku, but each character can only make about four or five of them. Some characters can make given accessories, and others can't. In my Saiku list in the Item Creation section, it tells you which characters can make which accessories from Saiku. Q: What are the best battle formations? A: This really depends on the party. If you have three fighting characters and one spell-casting character (which I usually do), the Tri-Shift formations work quite well. Try to experiment with the formations you think will best suit your party, because there are many party combinations that will work well. Personally, I use Tri-Shift through most of the game, but for certain bosses, like the one for the Field of Power, other formations are vital to survival. Q: Should I change character's tactics at all? A: Not really. Through most of the game, you'll want everyone to use their Killer Move and spells, even on normal enemies. This is partly because in Star Ocean, you recover HP and MP after battle from Stamina, so especially if you have high Stamina, you won't run out of MP very fast. Characters with lower Stamina (like Opera or Noel) might want to choose other tactics though, but it isn't really neccessary. If you're constantly running low on MP, change them, but it won't really make much of a difference in battle, especially near the end of the game, where characters have a lot of Stamina. Q: How do I find ? I've looked through the entire game, and it isn't sold in shops or in chests! A: Well, there are a very huge amount of weapons that can only be made by the Customize Item Creation. Getting different ores and weapons can help you make more and better weapons, and it is best to experiment with what you have to see if you can make any weapons that are better. Even most weapons that are sold in shops and found can be made through Customize, so it is best to take advantage of it. Q: When I assign Killer Move to my characters, they only use one of the Killer Move. How can I make them use the other? A: The artifical intelligence that the other characters have is not very good. They are programmed to use the most effective Killer Move they have, but often the other Killer Move that they have assigned is much better. If you want your characters to use certain Killer Move, try assigning different combinations to your characters and see if they will use the Killer Move you want them to. You can also try to make different Killer Move combinations with Link Combo rings, and then Killer Move Specialties will be used in succession given that the enemy is still standing. This is a good way to raise Proficiency for characters fast. Q: Noel isn't healing my characters at all. What should I do? A: Noel is the only spell-casting character in the game that uses both offensive and defensive spells. Noel starts with spells that are really weak in terms of damage they do. If you want him to only use healing spells on your allies, you can turn off all of his attack spells from his Jumon menu. When Noel starts to gain all of his spells, though, he will heal all of the characters in the party when they get hurt anyway, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. If you still have problems, I suggest using Rena, and Rena's healing spells heal for a lot more than Noel's, anyway. Q: How can I make my characters run fast in battles? A: Use the items "Idaten Ship" or "Idaten Nanko" on your your characters in battle, or equip the Bunny Shoes on a character. Running fast on the battlefield is a huge advantage to your characters, especially for the later bosses and the final boss, and they are almost vital for the bonus dungeon. The Bunny Shoes are arguably the best item in the game. Q: Are there any accessory combinations that will make all of my characters invincible in battle? A: Yes. Here are a few, and the explanations: *Bloody Armor + Katsujinken: The Bloody armor makes a character immune to damage in battles, but that character will decrease in HP at a set rate in battle. The Katsujinken stops this, but not that only Claude and Bowman can equip this, so this combon only works for them. *Lunatic Ring + Piyonon: The Lunatic Ring makes the wearer take no damage at all in battles, but also makes that character dizzy all of the time in battles. The Piyonon will stop the dizzy effect, so your character will be invincible. Q: Why can't I ever learn the "Mana no Shukufuku" Talent for my characters? A: The Talent "Mana no Shukufuku" (Mana's Blessing) can only be a Talent for spell-casting characters, not physical characters. In each game, all of the spell-casters always have the Talent of "Mana no Shukufuku", which basically gives them the ability to cast spells. So, physical characters can never learn the Talent "Mana no Shukufuku". Other than "Mana no Shukufuku", "Yasei no Kan" is the hardest Talent to learn in the game. Q: Is there any way to change the Talents my characters have? Isn't it all random before you get the character? A: Well, there is a way you can change the Talents a character has before you get him or her. Save before getting a new character, then get him or her, and see if you like his or her Talents. If you don't like the Talents that he or she has, you can reset the game, load the game you have, and get that ally again, and he or she will have new Talents that are generated randomly. This is a good way to make a party with the Talents you want for Item Creations and Specialty. Q: What is this "Machinery Killer Move"? How can I get this special type of Killer Move? A: Three of Opera's Killer Move and two of Precis' Killer Move can only be made through the Machinery Item Creation, and only the characters that have that special Killer Move can make it. Use the Machinery Specialty to randomly get Machinery items, and if you are lucky, you will receive one of the Machinery Killer Move. Also, Precis has a special Killer Move that can only be learned in a Private Action, and only if Ashton is in the party. Q: Where can I get good Chori ingredients early in the game? A: There is a desert area on Cross Continent early in the game that has enemies that give great ingredients after battle. A good way to make a lot of money early in the game is to create some great Chori from these ingredients and then sell them to stores. Q: How do I beat the soldier type enemies with the big body shields? They keep blocking all of my attacks. A: Run behind them and hit them. If you hit an enemy from behind in any battle, you will automatically hit them, no matter what their defense or dodge rating is. If you have two characters sandwitch a soldier type enemy, it is a lot easier to kill them. ------------ Mini Games: ------------ In the original Star Ocean, the mini games were a big part of the replay value of the game, and enhanced the story. In Star Ocean: The Second Story, all of the mini games are improved and there is a lot more to do in the game. In Fun City, you can play different games that add to the fun factor of Star Ocean: The Second Story. Some of the games can be very benefitial to getting really good items, and others are just fun to play. *Arena: To get to the Arena, go west on the first screen of Fun City, then through the lower door. If you've played the original Star Ocean, you probably will already know how the Arena system works. Basically, you send one character into the arena, and your character faces one enemy. If you get Incapacitated, petrified, or paralyzed, you will receive a loss. If you defeat the enemy, you will win. If you win a series of battles for the rank that you choose, and haven't won it already, you will receive the items or money that battle rank awards. In the original Star Ocean, you had to work your way up from the lowest rank. However, in Star Ocean: The Second Story, you are allowed to choose what rank you want to play instead of being automatically advanced. There are four types of battles. Duel Battle, Bring Battle, Team Battle, and Survival Battle. Every time you use the Arena, you must pay 2000 Fol. Duel Battle: Duel battle is the same as the battles you did in the Arena in Star Ocean. A character fights a series of one on one battles against the opponent. If you win all four battles, you are given special items or Fol. Prizes: Rank E: Piyohan (fighters), Kaeru x 5 (spell-casters) Rank D: Bomberman Set [Assault Bomb, Flare Bomb, Protect Bomb, Nuclear Bomb] (fighters), Hoseki Set [Orihalcon, Damascus, Star Ruby, Meteorite, Mithril, Rune Metal, Moonite] (spell-casters) Rank C: Gokabishiko Set [Fukahire Jiaozi, Umi Tsubame no Ha Soup, Beijing Duck, Kokuryuu "Sekidaya"] (fighters), Romaconenchi x 5 (spell-casters) Rank B: Moon Tiara (fighters), Magical Drop (spell-casters) Prizes for Rank A: Claude: Meiken Veinslay Rena: Felpar Nail Celine: Prime Prayer Ashton: Somato Opera: Psycho Box Precis: Hyper Punch Bowman: Flare Burst Dias: Yoto Cromlayer Leon: Satori no Sho Ernest: Nine Tail Noel: Death Fang Chisato: Aerogun Bring Battle: Bring battle is almost the same as Duel Battle, except your one character must face several opponents. In Bring Battle, you only win Fol and Specialty Points for a single character. Rank F: 1000 Fol, 2 Specialty points Rank E: 5000 Fol, 5 Specialty points Rank D: 10,000 Fol, 15 Specialty points Rank C: 20,000 Fol, 30 Specialty points Rank B: 40,000 Fol, 50 Specialty points Rank A: 80,000 Fol, 100 Specialty points Team Battle: In Team Battle, you send five characters into a fight, and they fight a series of one on one battles with a team of an equal number of enemies. If you win more fights than the enemy, you win the match. The first team to reach three wins is declared the winner of the Team Battle, so if you win three fights in a row, you automatically win without having to fight the other two battles. You get special items for winning Team Battle. Team Battle Items: Rank F: Purple Mist Rank E: Soyokaze no Pierce Rank D: Magic Cross Rank C: Dream Crown Rank B: Right Cross Rank A: Star Guard Survival Battle: Survival battle is the most unique type of battle in Star Ocean: The Second Story. Survival Battle will take a long time to complete, as you have to beat 50 matches in a row against harder monsters each fight. Some of the monsters that you must fight during the last fights are very tough, and it is very hard to win the Survival Battle. If you win the Survival Battle, you receive a Fortune Item, which acts like a Trickster. It is very hard to win the Survival Items, but here is a general strategy: Use Claude, as he is the strongest. Equip him with the Eternal Sphere, all of the Duel equippment, the Bunny Shoes, and the Atlas Ring and Paras Atene. Claude will be very strong, and you'll be able to at least progress very far in the Survival Battle. Your levels should be very high before attempting it, probably about 120 or so. *Bunny Races: To get to the Bunny Races, go to the north area of Fun City. To get into the races, you must buy a ticket for 1000 Fol. You can buy up to eight tickets from the bunny there. When the race starts, you can look at the four bunnies that are competing, and you can look at their individual statistics. After this, you get a list of the prizes that are offered if you win the races, and you must now bet on which bunny you think with win the races, and which bunny will finish second. You only win the specified item if you guess right on both bunnies. Rules: Speed is probably the most important aspect for a bunny. It determines how fast the bunny runs around the track at a normal pace. Sometimes bunnies will dash ahead with a lot of speed, but this takes up some of the bunny's Stamina, and the bunny will sometimes have to catch his breath. Sometimes when you use a burst of speed, and hit a bunny while going very fast, you will knock the other bunny to the side, leaving it stunned. It is good to have a bunny that has average statistics in most areas. *Cooking Master Contest: The Cooking Master contest costs 1000 Fol. By winning the Cooking Master conest, you can win some rare Chori ingredients that aren't sold, making it easier to get the best Chori items in the game. You will have to cook against one of the Cooking King's students in a food creating contest. You have five minutes to make as much food in the game. Matches: There are many different matches, determined at random at the start of the match. For each match, you are given a different set of ingredients. The prize ingredients you receive will depend on the match you are playing. The matches: Yasai Taiketsu (Vegetable Match): Kokumotsu x 10, Pure Leaf x 2, Yasai x 10, Magical Rice x 1 Umi no Sachi Taiketsu (Fortune of the Sea Match): Gyokarui x 20, Kokyu Maguro x 2, Ganze x 1 Dessert Taiketsu (Dessert Match): Kokumotsu x 10, Sweet fruit. x 4 Niku Taiketsu (Meat Match): Nikurui x 10, Tamago/Nyuseihin x 10, Juicy Beef x 3, Creamy Cheese x 3 Full Course Taiketsu: Gyokarui x 6, Kudamono x 6, Kokumotsu x 6, Nikurui x 6, Yasai x 6, Tamago/Nyuseihin x 8, Pure Leaf x 2, Juicy Beef x 1, Kokyu maguro x 3, Ganze x 1, Magical Rice x 3, Creamy Cheese x 3, Sweet Fruit x 4, Slime Taiketsu: Geregere Slime x 10, Buruburu Slime x 3 Cooking: Press the Triangle button to go to the Chori Item Creation screen. You can only use this screen when you are standing by the kitchen on the right side, however. Here you can choose the ingredients you have. If you have a high Chori level, the more food you can make here. To get more ingredients to work with, run to the food pile in the middle of the room and get some. Pressure: There is a time bar and a pressure bar, the pressure bar is below the time bar. This bar measures how much stress the cooking character has. If the pressure bar gets too high, it is tougher for that character to concentrate, and likewise it will be harder to make much food. Every character has a set pressure range, and that will determine how much pressure you start with. It is good to take Claude or Rena here, since some characters like Ashton have a very high pressure level. Increasing the Dokyo Specialty takes away from a character's set pressure rate. If you successfully make items in the match, your pressure decreases. If you make really rare food, your pressure will increase, and the better the ingredient you are using, your pressure will also increase. If you fail food creations, your pressure will increase. Don't take super ingredients from the food pile, because that will also cause your pressure level to decrease. Winning Cooking Master: After five minutes, the Cooking King and his penguin (Tenchu) will taste each party's food and determine who will get the win. Each food is worth a certain amount of points (rarer food being worth more). Your final taste value is the sum of all of the foods you successfully made. --------------- Bonus Dungeon: --------------- One of the original Star Ocean's most redeeming qualities was it's bonus dungeon, which was a huge 30-level dungeon filled with very tough monsters, puzzles, and no save ponits at all. Getting through Star Ocean's bonus dungeon was no easy thing to do, and many of the most experienced players couldn't do it because it was so long and tough. Getting to the bonus dungeon in the original Star Ocean was a secret, and some people passed it up. In Star Ocean: The Second Story, the bonus dungeon is back, and it's just as hard and challenging. It's a pretty well kept secret, so read on if you want to spoil yourself. To get to the bonus dungeon: 1) Go to Feenal, and save on the save point right before the last boss, Gabriel. You can beat Gabriel right now and win the game, but just be sure to save here. 2) Go all the way out of Feenal, and go back to the main part of Ned. 3) Go to Fun City. Here, enter the battle arena. Go toward the back area. Here, there will be a new old man that hasn't been there before, and he'll ask you if you'll let him send you back to Expel. Say "yes", and he'll transport you back to Expel, in Arlia village. 4) Outside of Arlia, you will find your Sainard, it has been transported to Expel with you. Go in your Sainard, and fly to the Southwest continent that you couldn't go to before (it looks like a desert with mountains). Here, there is a cave. This is the bonus dungeon. Be aware that most enemies in the bonus dungeon are very tough. Even at the lower levels of the dungeon, the average enemy you will fight has about 100,000 HP. It's useful to have three fighters and Rena through the entire dungeon, since you'll want to creme the enemies as fast as possible, and Rena is useful for her great healing and status ailment recovery. Bringing attack spell-casting characters is not very useful, though, because the fighting characters can often do more damage faster with their Killer Move, and the attack spell-casters could have a hard time getting their spells off quickly, even though Leon and Celine have spells that do 9999 damage each time. You will definitely need to have the best weapons, the best accessories, and the best armor in the game to do well in the bonus dungeon, so don't even consider taking it on unless you are well equipped and have the best items in the game. ------------------ Plot Information: ------------------ The story in Star Ocean: The Second Story takes place 30 years after the original left off, and a lot of things in the game are very similar. This basic information should cover enough in the game to know what is happening if you don't know Japanese. *Claude: Claude is the son of Ronixis Kenni, who fought along with Ratix and others 30 years ago to slay Jie Revors and restore peace to the world. Claude is very unlike his father, as he often doesn't work hard, likes studying, and sometimes keeps to himself. Claude is an Ensign as a Federation officer, although sometimes he doesn't want to be a Federation officer at all. In the beginning of the game, Ronixis finds a new planet, and wants to send an away team down to investigate it. Ronixis goes along with Claude and several other officers to the surface. The team is searching around when they finally find a mysterious button. Claude pushes the button, and then walks north and is sucked into a portal. Ronixis is very worried, and leaves with the rest of the away team to his ship. Claude ends up stranded on Expel, where his communicator cannot reach the ship. Claude finds that a girl with blue hair is being attacked by a large gorilla, so Claude fights with the gorilla and saves Rena, and the adventure begins. *Rena: Rena is a somewhat normal girl from Expel that is living in Arlia. Rena sometimes likes to spend time alone in the forest, thinking about things. Sometimes Rena's mother, Westa, doesn't want Rena to run off, but she does anyway. One day, Rena runs off into the forest, and is attacked by a large gorilla. Claude jumps in and helps her by killing the gorilla, and the adventure begins. ----------- Item List: ----------- The following is an attempt to list every item in Star Ocean: The Second Story. This list is far complete, partially because there are over 800 items in Star Ocean: The Second Story, and I have not done some advanced Item Creations to receive them all. If you know what some items do that I don't have listed here, please mail them to me. Attack Bottle: Increases attack power for one character in battle. Assault Bomb: Attacks all enemies close by with a special bomb. Bubble Lotion: Randomly kills enemies hit by ally character's magic. Bikkuribako: Use it and you will either get an item or fight in a battle. Bitter Lotion: Randomly kills various enemies attacked by user's weapon. Biyaku: Sets all character's Aijodo --> user to 8. Blank Mist: Ignores all Element strengths and weaknesses in battle. Care Tablet: Protects the user from all status ailments in a single battle. Chie no Kagami: Increases intelligence parameter for all members of the party. Cinderella Glass: Decreases all prices in shops. Crash Pill: User turns all of his or her lfe energy into a strong energy blast, killing him or her, but attacking enemies with a strong blast. The user transforms his or her/life energy into an energy blast, killing him/herself to attack the enemies. Cure Paralyze: Cures paralyzation. Cure Petrify: Cures petrification. Cure Poison: Cures poison. Danger Pot: Heals all characters, but inflicts a random status ailment to the character that uses it. Discovery Card: Increases chance of getting items after each battle. Dummy Doll: Reduces accuracy level for all enemies. Energy Tonic: Switches one character's HP and MP values. Fountain Card: Gives you a random item. Fairy Glass: No character uses up any MP in battle for a short amount of time. Fairy's Card: Heals HP for every character in a single battle. Fairy Toilette: Causes enemies to avoid the user in a single battle. Fairy Mist: For a short period of time, no character uses up any of his or her MP in battle. Flare Bomb: Does fire damage to a single enemy in battle. Flash Pot: Allows Item Creations to suceed for a short period of time, even if a character doesn't know the Talents neccessary for them. Goshintai: Kills a random enemy that is facing the user. Half Dead Bomb: Cuts one enemy's HP in half. Hyper Ball: Fires a series of orbs at the enemy to do damage. Idaten: Automatically lets the party escape from a single battle. Idaten Nanko: Increases all characters' running speed to the highest level for a single battle. Idaten Ship: Increases one characters' running speed to the highest level for a single battle. Kaiga "Haru": Heals each character in battle to full HP/MP. Kaiga "Saigo no Bansan": Heals all other characters to the maximum, but kills the user. Kaiga "Saigo no Shinpan": Casts Shadow Flare on the enemy. Kaiga "Sakebi": Summons a support demon to attack one enemy. Kamikaze Tonic: Increases attack power for the user for one battle. Killer Poison: Randomly poisons all enemies in battle. Kimyo na Kusuri: Randomly either heals a character, raises them from the dead, or kills that character. Lilith Tonic: Attack power is raised to a huge level, but the character goes berserk and you cannot control him or her. Mind Bomb: Reduces a single enemy's MP to 0. Mad Mist: Confuses all enemies for a short period of time in a single battle. Magical Drop: Stops time so that you can attack enemies at will for a short period of time in a single battle. Marionette Pill: Revives a dead character in battle and raises their attack power, but that character will become berserk. Mint Pot: Increases Item Creation success rate for a short period of time. Medical Rinse: Causes all characters to slowly regenerate MP in battle. Melty Lotion: Randomly kills any or all enemies attacked by user's weapon in a single battle. Mental Pot: Increases magic power for a single character in battle. Mortarial Card: After use, that character will always do a critical hit on the enemy in a single battle. Nightmare Pot: Heals one character, but damages other characters. Natural High: After use, a character becomes high, and goes berserk for a single battle. Nuclear Bomb: Damages all enemies and allies on the battlefield heavily. Paralyze Mist: Paralyzes all enemies. Paralyze Oil: Paralyzes one enemy. Pikopiyo Bomb: Dizzies one enemy. Pixie Cologne: Increases a character's magic power for a single battle, but that character becomes berserk. Protect Bomb: Attacks all enemies near the user. Revival Card: If a character gets killed in battle, they will automatically be brought back to life. Risky Liquid: Revives a single character, but that character will come back to life with various status ailments. Shock Oil: Puts a magical oil on the ground that causes enemies walking on it to be drained of their MP. Silence Card: Mutes a single enemy in battle. Smoke Mist: Reduces all enemies' speed for a single battle. Smoke Oil: Reduces one enemy's speed for a single battle. Soul Trap: If you land on top of an enemy, that enemy has a random chance of being killed. Stink Gel: Randomly poisons enemies attacked by a user's weapon. Succubus Cologne: Causes all monsters to start attacking the user in a single battle. Super Ball: Fires a magical ball to deal damage to the enemy. Tamatebako: Get three random items, range from extremely valuable to worthless. Tetrabomb: Fires different beams of light energy in four different ways on the battlefield. Tri-Ball: Fires three super balls at the enemy to do damage. Twins Tonic: Yujodo for all characters to 8 --> user. Victorial Card: Increases guts rating for all characters in a single battle. Violent Pill: Has a random chance of either healing a character or killing he or she in a single battle. Fol Up Card: Doubles the amount of Fol you receive at the end of battles. Yosei no Zo: Kills a single enemy, but does not work on bosses. ---------------- Accessory List: ---------------- The following list is an attempt to cover each accessory in Star Ocean: The Second Story. This list is incomplete, as I have not found every accessory in the game, and don't know what others do. If you have accessory submissions, make sure to send them to me. Aqua Ring: Ice and water spells do only half the damage that they would normally do to the wearer. Atlas Ring: Gives a huge boost to wearer's attack power, but also causes several defensive losses. Berserk Ring: Increases anger explosion rate for the wearer. Bile Tear: Absorbs 10% of all magical damage to the wearer's MP. Blood Pierce: Absorbs 10% of physical attacks as HP for the wearer. Blue Talisman: Gives a boost to the wearer's defense power. Eclipse Ring: Gives Kyoda Specialty of 3 to the wearer. Dream Bracelet: Increases the wearer's level by 1 when wearing it. Emerald Pierce: Makes the wearer's Hayaguchi Specialty to 5. Emerald Ring: Reduces MP usage to the wearer by 1/3. Fairy Ring: Reduces MP usage to the wearer by 1/2. Fairy Tear: Absorbs 10% of magic damage to the wearers HP. Feat Symbol: Increases the wearer's attack power and avoidance. Fire Ring: Increases the power of all of the wearer's fire Specialties and spells. First Pierce: Prevents back attacks for the party. Flare Ring: Gives a 50% chance of nullifying fire attacks to the wearer. Flash Pierce: Absorbs lightning damage as MP for the wearer. Fortune: Randomly gives you items while walking around. Gale Pierce: Increases the wearer's number of attacks by 1. Gold Pierce: Increases evade rate for the wearer. Infinity Ring: Increases the wearer's experience points after battles. Kanashimi no Yubiwa: Reduces attack power and raises defense power. Kofuku no Pendant: Gives less of a chance of getting into random battles. Hama no Yubiwa: Repels enemies from the wearer. Hard Pierce: Increases attack power and decreases defense power for the wearer. Hard Ring: Increases attack power. Heal Ring: Regenerates the wearer's HP during battles. Holy Ring: Protects the wearer from 10% damage of all spells in battles. Left Cross: Increases a character's maximum HP. Link Combo: Allows the character to create linked combos with Killer Move. Lunar Tablet: Increases a character's maximum MP. Lunar Talisman: Increases a character's maximum HP. Lunatic Pierce: Increases power and reduces accuracy for the wearer. Lunatic Ring: The wearer cannot take any damage, but the wearer is also dizzy all of the time in battle. Magician Hand: Allows Pickpocket usage with a much better success rate than just using a Tozoku Tebukuro (Thief's Glove). Magic Cross: Redirects 20% of all attacks to nearby attacking enemies. Magic Mist: Gives greater success of running away from battles. Might Chain: Increases attack power. Mind Ring: Regenerates MP for the wearer during battles. Mischief: Gives you random items while walking. Mental Ring: Regenerates MP for the wearer during battles. Meteo Ring: Increases the wearer's number of attacks by 1. Moonlight: Raises the wearer's maximum HP and MP. Moon Pierce: Redirects 10% of all attacks to nearby enemies. Paralyze Check: Immunizes the wearer from the petrification status ailment. Piyohan: Cuts dizzy time for the wearer in half in battles. Piyonon: Prevents the wearer from getting dizzy at all. Poison Check: Immunizes the wearer from the posion status ailment. Princess Ring: Increases the wearer's maximum MP. Prism Ring: Wearer has a 5% chance of receiving no damage from each attack in battles. Protection Ring: Randomly causes some attacks to heal the wearer instead of damaging him or her. Purple Mist: Allows the party to run away from battle more effectively. Recoil Bracelet: Redirects 10% of all attacks to nearby enemies. Reflection Ring: Absorbs magic damage as HP in battles. Regenerate Ring: Regenerates HP for the wearer in battles. Resist Ring: Nullifies 90% of magic damage to the wearer in battles. Reverse Doll: If a character dies in battle, they will come back allive, but the Reverse Doll is then destroyed. Right Cross: Increases a character's maximum MP. Rot Bracelet: Changes damage the character wearing it receives to double damage to 1/4 damage. Shield Pierce: Reduces magical damage to wearer by 80%. Shield Ring: Reduces physical attacks to the wearer by 90%. Shikkoku no Pierce: Absorbs 1/20 of magic damage to the wearer's MP. Silver Charm: Increases the wearer's magic power. Silver Pendant: Increases the running speed of the wearer in battles. Slayer Ring: Increases the wearer's number of attacks by 2. Stardust Ring: Negates 50% of all star Element spells that hit the wearer. Star Necklace: Gives the wearer a Hayaguchi Specialty of 3. Star Pierce: Gives the wearer a Hayaguchi Specialty of 3. Stone Check: Immunizes the wearer from the petrification status ailment. Soyokaze no Pierce: Increases the wearer's running speed in battles. Talisman: Increases defense power for the wearer. Thunder Ring: Increases damage of lightning Element spells that the wearer uses in battle. Tozoku Tebukuro: Allows the wearer to use "Pickpocket" Specialty. Trickster: Gives you random items while walking around. Water Ring: Increases the damage of water Element spells that the wearer uses in battle. Wise Ring: Immunizes the wearer to all status ailments and conditions. ---------------- Item Creations: ---------------- In a game with so many unique features, the Item Creation system is perhaps the game's most unique feature. There are many different kinds of Item Creations in Star Ocean: The Second Story. There are many more types of Item Creation creation than in the original Star Ocean, so the game gains even more depth and replay value. In the original Star Ocean, you could make the best weapons and armor in the game very early if you had the right Specialties. In Star Ocean: The Second Story, it is more difficult, because you need the right Specialties, and special items also enhance your chances of making special Item Creations. Also, some items can only be made by specific characters, unlike the original. Some Item Creation Specialties are accessed from the Item Screen by pressing Triangle, and then choosing "Item Creation", and others are accessed by going into a character's Specialty screen from the main camp screen. Specialties Needed - These are the Specialties needed to learn the Specialty ability. Increasing these Specialties will increase chances of doing a good Item Creation. Enhancement Talent: Most Item Creations have a set Talent that increases the chances of successful rates of Item Creation by a lot. I call these Talents "Enhancement Talents". Items: These are the items needed to use the Item Creation. Support Items: Most Item Creations use special items that you can find throughout the game that allow you do to more Item Creations. For instance, the special item "Magical Rasp" gives you the ability to create many more weapons with the "Customize" Item Creation. --Specialties-- *Art: Art is the special ability of being able to make unique designs. To do art, you need either Magical Clay or Magical Canvas, which you can buy at Item Creation stores around the world. Items made from Magical Clay are attack items, you can get special items to use on the enemy. With Magical Canvas, you can make items that are either portraits of the characters, or items you can use in battle to increase your characters' attributes. Specialties Needed: Dessin, Biteki Kankaku Enhancement Talent: Design Sense Items: Magical Canvas, Magical Clay Support Items: Graphics Tool Art Data: Magical Clay Items: Idaten, Dummy Doll, Chie no Kagami, Triball, Silence Card, Bikkuribako, Tamatebako, Hyper Ball, Hexagram Card, Magic Rock, Super Ball,Tenshi no Zou, Yousei no Zou, Megami no Zou, Goshintai Failure: Hen na Katamari Magical Canvas Items: Discovery Card, Extend Card, Kaiga "Saigo no Shimpan", Kaiga "Saigo no Bansan," Kaiga "Sakebi," Fol Up Card, Victorial Card, Mortarial Card, Revival Card, Fairies' Card, Fountain Card Portraits from Magical Canvas: Shozoga A (Claude), Shozoga B (Rena), Shozoga C (Celine), Shozoga D (Bowman), Shozoga E (Dias), Shozoga F (Precis), Shozoga G (Ashton), Shozoga H (Leon), Shozoga I (Opera) Shozoga J (Ernest), Shozoga K (Noel), Shozoga L (Chisato) Failure Art: Rakugaki *Music: Music is accessible from the Specialty menu. Music is used to play and compose various musical pieces with instruments you can find and buy during the game. The music you play has different effects on the party, depending on what song you play. You can only play music after you play it, and you need Creator Pens to write Music. The higher your Specialty level in Music, the better success rate you have in writing a song. Two different songs can be written for every instrument. To play songs, you need a Shikibo Rod. When you play a song, you will hear it in the background music as you play, but only last a few seconds. Specialties Needed: Ensou, Otomajakushi Enahancement Talents: Onkan, Rythm Kan Items: Creator Pen, Shikibo Rod Support Item: Music Tool Here are all of the musical instruments, their songs, and what each song's function is: *Piano: Suki no Uta (Rescue Song): HP and MP regenerates each step you take as long as the music is playing in the background. Shukufuku no Uta (Blessing Song): All characters parameters (attack, defense, agility, and such) are increased as long as this song is playing. *Chenbaro: Seirei no Mai (Spirit Dance): While this song is playing, all characters' accuracy levels are increased. Yosei no Mai (Fairy Ballad): While this song is playing, all characters' doge rates are increased. *Shamisen Aoki Shippu (Blue Whirlwind): While this song is playing, all characters' agility levels are increased. Himetaru Chikara (Hidden Strength): As this song is playing, all characters' maximum HP and MP are raised. *Trumpet Akuma no Senritsu (Demon Melody): This song calls a very powerful group of monsters to attack your party. Kamigami no Senritsu (Melody of the Gods): While this song is playing, all of your Specialties will succeed no matter what, even if you don't have the needed Talents. *Harmonica Tatakai no Shirabe (Searching for Battle): While this song is playing, monster encounter rate is increased. Kodoku no Shirabe (Searching for Solitude): While this song is playing, monster encounter rate is decreased. *Lyre Sabaki no Melody (Melody of Judgement): While this song is playing, all character's attack power levels are increased. Eien no Melody (Endless Melody): While this song is playing, all characters' defense levels are increased. *Violin Hero Tojo (Enter the Hero): Like Akuma no Senritsu, this summons a group of monsters to attack your party. Megami Korin (Godess Descent): While this song is playing, all Specialty Specialties' accuracy is increased. *Organ Iyashi no Uta (Healing Song): While this song is playing, all characters' HP recovers each step you take. Yasuragi no Uta (Song of Comfort): While this song is playing, all characters' MP recovers each step you take. *Customize: Customize is probably the most useful Item Creation ability in the game. This is basically the same as the original Star Ocean's "Katanakaji" Item Creation ability. Using special gems and minerals, characters temper any weapons he or she has with the gems and/or minerals. If you suceed, you usually get a much stronger weapon. If you fail, you will lose both the weapon and the gem or mineral, so it is a very good idea to save before you attempt Customize on anything. The best weapons in the game are made by Customize, so you'll definitely want to stop at some points to experiment with all of the weapons that can be made uniquely. Customize is probably the most important Item Creation Specialty in the game because the weapons you can get through is are incredibly powerful. Specialties Needed: Craft, Cast, Kinobi Enhancement Talent: Originality Support Item: Magical Rasp The following is a list of some of the best weapons customizable in the game. If you have anything to submit, make sure it is a unique combination, and is very strong, and I will add it to this FAQ. Mail any Customize Item Creations to . I have compiled this list from personal experimenting, other information on the internet, and other FAQs, so I think I pretty much have all of the best weapons, though. Also, many thanks go to Ian Kelley for many of these combinations, and help on all of my general questions on Customize. Note that if you see [Weapon] or [Ore] it means that any weapon or ore can be placed in the Customize to get that Item Creation. Also, some weapons cannot be made without the support item "Magical Rasp", which allows most of the [Weapon] and [Ore] combinations to be made. *Claude: Flame Sword: Weak Weapon + Ruby Silver Fangs: Weak Weapon + Silver Golden Fangs: Weak Weapon + Gold Ignite Sword: Strong Weapon + Star Ruby Silvance: Strong Weapon + Orihalcum Grand Stinger: Sharp Edge + Damascus/Minus Sword + Damascus Heart Breaker: Veil Piercer + Diamond Minus Sword: Sharp Edge + Mithril Eternal Sphere: Minus Sword + Mithril *Rena: Pain Cestus: Weak Weapon + Damascus Metal Fangs: Weapon Weapon + Rune Metal Dragon's Claws: Strong Weapon + Moonite Rune Full Moon: Magical Gloves + Moonite Sorceress Knuckles: Magical Gloves + Rune Metal/Rune Full Moon + Sage's Stone Kaiser Knuckles: Sorceress Knuckles + Diamond Empresia: Kaiser Knuckles + Moonite *Celine: Silver Rod: Weak Weapon + Mithril Ruby Wand: Strong Weapon + Ruby Ruby Rod: Strong Weapon + Star Ruby Holy Rod: Strong Weapon + Orihalcum Silvermoon: Silver Rod + Moonite Dragon's Tusk: Holy Rod + Star Ruby *Ashton: Smaller: Twin Swords + Damascus Pair Nuts: Smaller + Moonite Shield Sword: Guard Sword + Iron Holy Cross: Twin-Edge + Mithril Gemini: Pair Nuts + Meteorite/Lotus Eater + Meteorite Melufa: Scyther + Damascus *Opera: Black Box: Booster Box + Damascus Light Box: Black Box + Crystal Magic Box: Light Box + Rune Metal Burst Box: Magic Box + Sage's Stone Pulse Box: Beta Box + Orihalcum/Gamma Box + Orihalcum Seventh Ray: Light Box + Rainbow Diamond *Precis: Fire Punch: Medium Weapon + Ruby Ice Punch: Medium Weapon + Sapphire Thunder Punch: Medium Weapon + Diamond Burning Hand: Strong Weapon + Star Ruby Spark Hand: Strong Weapon + Rainbow Diamond Iron Hand: Magic Hand + Iron UGA Punch: SD Punch + Damascus SDUGA Punch: UGA Punch + Meteorite *Bowman: Metal Fangs: Weapon Weapon + Rune Metal Braised Knuckles: Weak Weapon + Meteorite Titan's Fists: Giant Fists + Rainbow Diamond/Hecatoncherie + Iron Asura: Titan's Fists + Crystal Hecatoncheire: Asura + Diamond Moon Fists: Rune Full Moon + Diamond *Ernest: Flare Whip: Strong Weapon + Star Ruby Freeze Whip: Strong Weapon + Sage's Stone Spark Whip: Strong Weapon + Rainbow Diamond Rose Whip: Splinter + Ruby Twin-tail: Rose Whip + Silver Light Whip: Hard Whip + Crystal Invisible Whip: Light Whip + Mithril Dark Whip: Molecule Wire + Damascus *Dias: Whirlwind: Strong Weapon + Meteorite Soul Slayer: Strong Weapon + Star Ruby Ruin's Fate: Grand Stinger + Damascus Hard Cleaver: The Hope of Breeze + Rainbow Diamond Crimson Diablos: Soul Slayer + Sage's Stone/Hard Cleaver + Damascus *Leon: Thick Book: Weapon Weapon + Iron Book of Darkness: Strong Weapon + Damascus Heraldry: Strong Weapon + Rune Metal Heraldry Book: Heraldry + Moonite Holy Scriptures: Book of Darkness + Mithril Book of Chaos: Book of Darkness + Damascus Ancient Wisdom: Book of Chaos + Damascus *Noel: Metal Fangs: Weapon Weapon + Rune Metal Dragon's Claws: Weapon Weapon + Moonite/Eagle's Claws + Green Beryl Serpent's Tooth: Eagle's Claws + Sapphire Eagle's Claws: Hard Knuckles + Mithril Grizzly Claps: Dragon's Claws + Iron Tiger's Fangs: Cat's Claws + Orihalcum Platinum Nails: Tiger's Fangs + Mithril *Chisato: Shock Gun: Weak Weapon + Mithril Cracker: Strong Weapon + Damascus Flame Gun: Strong Weapon + Star Ruby Freeze: Shock Gun + Sapphire Psychic Gun: Cracker + Sage's Stone *Kantei (Appraise): Appraise is another Item Creation ability that allows you to identify the mystery items you find during your adventure (?Weapon, ?Armor, and such). You will come across a lot of mystery items, especially in chests, and appraising them can help you a lot. Every time you attempt to appraise a mystery item, you will need a Spectacle, which can be bought very cheaply at Item Creation stores. You will lose the Spectacle whether you suceed or fail, so stalk up on them. If you suceed, you receive the item that the mystery item revealed. If you fail, the item remains unidentified, but you don't lose that item. Specialties Needed: Dogu Chishiki, Yakusogaku, Favorite Foodgaku Enhancement Talents: None Item: Spectacle Support Item: Genso Bunsekiki *Saiku (Craft): Saiku is yet another useful Item Creation Specialty. Using gems and minerals you receive, you can make them into special accessories, often ones that you cannot find normally through the game. If you suceed, you will lose the gem/mineral, and will get the accessory, and if you fail, you will lose the gem or mineral, and make a useless piece of junk. For each gem and mineral, there are eight or nine different accessories you can make, but each character makes certain accessories, so each character can only make about four accessories out of a gem. This is one difference from the original Star Ocean. In order to get the accessory you want, you must have the characters that can make the specific accessory. Using Saiku can net you some of the best accessories in the game, and if you have multiple ores, you can create the best accessories for each character in the game. Specialties Needed: Favorite Foodgaku, Craft, Biteki Kankaku Enhancement Talents: Originality, Kiyo na Yubisaki Support Item: Handagote The following is a list of Saiku. There are usually eight or nine accessories that can be made from each gem or mineral, but each character can usually only make about four of those, so the characters that can make the accessory are listed to the right of accessory. Again, thanks to Ian Kelley for experimenting with Saiku more than I did, I believe he figured out every possible Saiku combination. *Iron: Shikkoku no Pierce: Rena, Celine, Opera, Precis, Leon, Noel Heavy Ring: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Precis, Ernest, Noel, Chisato Hard Ring: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Precis, Ernest, Chisato Hen na Ningyo: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Precis, Ernest, Noel Poison Check: Claude, Opera, Bowman, Dias, Leon, Chisato Paralyze Check: Rena, Opera, Bowman, Dias, Leon Stone Check: Rena, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Noel Hard Pierce: Claude, Ashton, Precis, Dias, Ernest, Chisato *Silver: Silver Ring: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Precis, Leon, Ernest Silver Pendant: Rena, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Noel, Chisato Silver Baretta: Claude, Celine, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Chisato Silver Charm: Rena, Celine, Leon, Noel Silver Idol: Rena, Ashton, Precis, Ernest, Noel Silver Pierce: Rena, Celine, Opera, Precis, Leon, Noel Silver Cross: Claude, Ashton, Precis, Dias, Ernest, Chisato Angel Hair: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Ernest, Chisato *Gold: Necklace: Claude, Celine, Opera, Noel Gold Ring: Rena, Celine, Opera, Noel Gold Crown: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera Gold Idol: Rena, Ashton, Ernest, Noel Gold Bracelet: Claude, Bowman, Precis, Dias, Leon, Noel, Chisato Gold Pierce: Claude, Ashton, Bowman, Precis, Dias, Leon, Ernest, Chisato Gold Cross: Claude, Precis, Dias, Ernest, Chisato Shutrum Ring: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Leon, Noel *Sapphire: Blue Talisman: Rena, Celine, Opera, Precis, Ernest, Noel Aqua Ring: Rena, Celine, Precis, Dias, Leon, Noel Water Ring: Leon, Noel Feat Symbol: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Precis, Leon Purple Mist: Claude, Dias, Ernest, Noel, Chisato Anklet: Rena, Celine, Precis, Dias, Leon, Noel Gale Pierce: Claude, Ashton, Bowman, Dias, Chisato *Ruby: Recoil Bracelet: Claude, Celine, Opera, Precis, Chisato Fire Ring: Celine, Leon Flare Ring: Rena, Celine, Dias, Precis, Leon, Ernest, Noel Berserk Ring: Claude, Precis, Chisato Blood Pierce: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Ernest, Chisato Shield Pierce: Rena, Ashton, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Ernest, Noel Ruby Pierce: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Chisato *Crystal: Holy Ring: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Ernest, Noel Princess Ring: Rebam Celine, Precis, Chisato Resist Ring: Claude, Ashton, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Leon, Ernest, Noel Reflection Ring: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Ernest, Noel Prism Ring: Claude, Opera, Precis, Chisato Kofuku no Pendant: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Leon, Ernest Glass no Kutsu: Rena, Celine, Opera, Chisato Kaeru: Claude, Dias, Precis, Noel, Chisato *Green Beryl: Crown: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Ernest Emerald Ring: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Noel Fairy Ring: Claude, Rena, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Ernest, Chisato Emerald Pierce: Rena, Celine, Noel Green Bracelet: Rena, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Leon, Noel, Chisato Rot Bracelet: Claude, Opera, Precis, Ernest, Chisato Talisman: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Bowman, Leon, Ernest, Noel Might Chain: Claude, Opera, Dias, Precis, Chisato *Diamond: Pretty Idol: Rena, Ashton, Ernest, Noel Thunder Ring: Celine, Noel Attack Pierce: Claude, Celine Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Leon, Chisato First Pierce: Claude, Celine, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Ernest, Chisato Flash Pierce: Claude, Rena, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Leon, Ernest, Chisato Kagayaki no Pierce: Rena, Ashton, Opera, Leon, Noel Promised Ring: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Precis, Leon, Noel Reverse Doll: Claude, Dias, Bowman, Ernest, Chisato *Star Ruby: Stardust Ring: Rena, Celine, Dias, Precis, Leon Star Pierce: Rena, Celine, Leon, Noel Star Necklace: Rena, Celine, Leon, Noel Ruby Pendant: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Noel, Chisato Protect Ring: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Leon, Noel Eclipse Ring: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Ernest, Chisato Shield Ring: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Precis, Ernest, Chisato *Rainbow Diamond: Dream Bracelet: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Chisato Heal Ring: Rena, Precis, Leon, Ernest, Noel Regenerate Ring: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Chisato Magic Mist: Rena, Leon, Ernest, Noel Magic Cross: Rena, Precis, Leon, Noel Left Cross: Rena, Celine, Precis, Leon, Noel Soyokaze no Pierce: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Ernest, Chisato Atlas Ring: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Ernest, Chisato *Moonite: Lunar Tablet: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Bowman, Precis, Enrest, Chisato Lunar Talisman: Claude, Dias, Leon, Noel Moon Pierce: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Bowman, Precis, Leon Moon Light: Claude, Celine, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Noel, Chisato Battlelayer Ring: Rena, Celine, Ashton, Precis, Leon, Ernest, Noel Insane Ring: Claude, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Chisato Lunatic Ring: Rena, Celine, Precis, Ernest Lunatic Pierce: Claude, Opera, Dias, Ernest, Noel, Chisato *Kenja no Ishi: Hama no Yubiwa: Rena, Ashton, Leon, Ernest, Noel Piyohan: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Chisato Misty Symbol: Rena, Celine, Precis, Leon, Ernest, Noel Piyonon: Claude, Ashton, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Leon, Chisato Mental Ring: Claude, Celine, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Leon, Ernest, Chisato Wise Ring: Claude, Celine, Opera, Dias, Bowman, Precis, Chisato Mind Ring: Rena, Ashton, Opera, Noel Infinity Ring: Rena, Celine, Precis, Ernest, Noel *Bibiwareta Hoshu: Guren no Hoshu Failure Saiku: Heppokonakazari, Dasadasa na Pierce, Omotai Yubiwa *Shippitsu (Authoring): Shippitsu is an Item Creation ability that allows characters to write books on any Specialty he or she has a level of 5 or greater in. If you use one of these books on a character, he or she will gain one Specialty level in the Specialty that the book represents. After Specialty level five in each Specialty, though, you cannot go past level in this way. Also, there are many Specialties that you cannot write a book on to begin with. To write books, you need Mannepitsu. Leon uses books for his weapons, so he can make weapons for himself using Shippitsu. Specialties Needed: Bunpitsu Enhancement Talent: Bunpitsu Support Item: Wapuro Soft *Shippitsu Handbooks: Note that items with a * marked by the name means that only Leon can make this item. Seishingaku: Kokoro no Shoheki Favorite Foodgaku: Daichi no Himitsu Dogu Chishiki: Pocket Mini Zukan Craft: Kinsaiku-Ginsaiku Recipe: Kyo no Ippin Otomajakushi: Gakuten Chokyo: Mori no Nakamatachi Yakusogaku: Yaso no Subete Seibutsugaku: Daishizen no Seimei Dessin: Pose Zenshu Kikai Sosa: Sosa Manual Hocho: Ryori ha Kokoro Enso: Bayer Cast: Aun no Kokyu Counter: Gyakuso no Hon Copy: Ochakumi no Aima Kagaku Gijutsu: Hermes no Riron Kikai Chishiki: Kogakuron Mekiki: Shokuzai Erabi Yoseiron: Shinpi no Ikimono Renki: Renki no Sho Failure handbook: Kamikuzu *Sankosho, *Monshojutsu Riron, *Monshojutsu Daijiten, *Senmonsho *Shugyo (Train): Characters in training Specialty mode can increase the amount of experience points they receive from battle by as much as 30%, depending on the level. There is a downside to training though, when the characters in training mode enter battle, their parameters go down (attack power, defense power, dodge, and accuracy). When you stop training, the parameter levels will not change at all, though. You can turn this ability on and off from the Specialty menu. Specialties Needed: Konjo, Nintai, Doryoku Enhancement Talent: None Support Item: None *Scout: Scout is a special Specialty that allows you to control the enemy encounter rate. You can choose to leave as it is, search for enemies, or attempt to avoid enemies. When you gain Specialty levels in this Specialty, the better successes you have in the option that you choose. Only characters in the first position of your party can be a scout, and if you have more than one scout in your party, the character in the first position will always be the scout, reguardless. If you want to get through certain dungeons and the overworld map very fast without getting attacked, Scout is a good Specialty to use. Specialties Needed: Kiken Kanchi Enhancement Talent: Yasei no Kan Support Item: None *Chogo (Mixture): Chogo is a special Item Creation ability that allows you to mix different herbs together to create medicine and/or items. Each time you attempt a Chogo, you need to choose two herbs that you already have. The item you get depends on the two herbs that you mix, and your Specialty levels in the appropriate Specialties. If you suceed, you will gain the appropriate medicine. If you fail, you will loose both herbs that you used to attempt the total mixture. Specialties Needed: Yakusogaku, Seibutsugaku, Seishingaku Enhancement Talent: Kiyo na Yubisaki Support Item: Mekki Tebukuro *Mandrake: Mandrake + Rose Hip: Flash Pot, Attack Bottle, Kamikaze Tonic, Smoke Mist Mandrake + Artemis Leaf: Danger Pot, Sweet Syrup, Liquor Bottle, Sour Syrup Mandrake + Trikabuto: Lilith Tonic, Fairy Toware, Melty Lotion, Bubble Lotion Mandrake + Lavender: Maple Syrup, Nightmare Pot, Marine Drink, Smoke Oil Mandrake + Aseras: Hot Syrup, Risky Liquid, Herbal Oil, Energy Tonic Mandrake + Mandrake: Risky Liquid, Crash Pill, Violent Pill, Natural High *Rose Hip: Rose Hip + Artemis Leaf: Cure Poison, Cure Paralyze, Marionette Pill, Idaten Ship Rose Hip + Trikabuto: Nightmare Pot, Danger Pot, Paralyze Mist, Succubus Cologne Rose Hip + Lavender: Fresh Syrup, Fruit Syrup, Sweet Syrup, Holy Mist Rose Hip + Aseras: Mental Poit, Kamikaze Tonic, Succubus Cologne, Idaten Nanko Rose Hip + Rose Hip: Cure Poison, Cure Paralyze, Maple Syrup, Mix Syrup *Artemis Leaf: Artemis Leaf + Trikabut: Sour Syrup, Hot Syrup, Fruit Syrup, Violent Pill Artemis Leaf + Lavender: Kitsuke Kusuri, Medical Rinse, Tokkouyaku, Ressurect Mist Artemis Leaf + Aseras: Fresh Pot, Liquor Bottle, Tokkouyaku, Herbal Oil Artemis Leaf + Artemis Leaf: Care Tablet, Danger Pot, Liquor Bottle, Fairy Glass *Trikabut: Trikabut + Lavender: Bitter Lotion, Paralyze Oil, Melty Lotion, Stink Gel Trikabut + Aseras: Shock Oil, Pixie Cologne, Lilith Tonic, Bubble Lotion Trikabut + Trikabut: Mad Mist, Stink Gel, Melty Lotion, Bitter Lotion *Lavender: Lavender + Aseras: Resurrect Mist, Energy Tonic, Fresh Syrup, Holy Mist Lavender + Lavender: Medical Rinse, Mix Syrup, Resurrect Bottle, Herbal Oil *Aseras: Aseras + Aseras: Kitsukekusuri, Fairy Mist, Idaten Nankou, Resurrect Bottle *Chori (Cooking): Chori is the an Item Creation ability that allows characters to make special types of food that they make from different generic foods. Using Chori, you can also create Favorite Food (favorite food/drink) of each character. When a character's Favorite Food is used on them, they will often always gain back all of their lost HP. Items made from Chori usually heal characters' HP and MP. There are two types of ingredients used in Chori, normal and rare. The normal ingredients are sold in shops all around the world, and the rare ones you must find through the adventure. If you fail with Chori using a normal ingredient, you'll create a useless piece of food. If you fail with a rare ingredient, you won't get anything. If you suceed in the Chori, you will gain the appropriate item. Specialties Needed: Recipe, Mekiki, Hocho Enhancement Talent: Mikaku Support Item: Bannohocho *Note that alcoholic drinks with a * in front of them cannot be made by any characters under 20 (legal drinking age in Japan). Claude, Rena, Precis, and Leon cannot make any alcoholic drinks. *Normal Ingredients: Gyokauri (Seafood): Fukahire Soup, Ebi Pilaf, Ebi Gratin, Shita, Ootoro, Osuimono, Hirame no Kajitsu Sauce, Toro, Wakame no Misoshiru, Shumai, Salmon Omlette Failed Gyokarui: Itanda Sashimi Kudamono (Fruit): Ringo no Crepe, Umeboshi, Orange Sherbet, Orange Gratin, Hakuto no Ice, Ichigo no Babaroa, *Dulfol, *Wine, Graneshezo, Orangeade, Banana no Crepe Failed Gyokarui: Nigai Juice Kokumotsu (Grains): Hotcake, Daikon no Misoshiru, Daifuku, Omrice, Tonyu, Rice Corokke, Chahan, Kayu, *Kokuryu "Ishidaya", *Beer, *Yaegaki "Mu" Shizuku Shibori, *Senchuyasaku, *Bijobu "Usunigori", Ebi Doria, *Tama no Hikari "Yukiyocho" Failed Kokumotsu: *Sanbaijozo Sake, Niou Ohagi Nikurui (Meat): Minchi Steak, Beef Corokke, Kousagi no Rizott, Steak, Nikuman, Jiaozi, Chicken Doria, Jambaraya, Chiniwatori Kushiyaki Failed Nikurui: Mazui Stew Yasai (Vegetables/Herbs): Combo Tarju, Nanka no Korokke, Senkiyoke, Corn Pottage, Green Pottage, Ninjin no Ice, Harumaki, Nanka no Harumai, Carrot Juice, Vegetable Juice, Roll Cabbage Failed Yasai: Shinabita Salad Tamago/Nyuseihin (Eggs/Milk Products): Bacon Egg, Medamayaki, Choco Crepe, Shortcake, Yogurt, Vanilla Ice (cream), Fruit Gyunyu, Tamago Sand, Plin, Macaroni Gratin Failed Tamago/Nyuseihin: Karai Cake, Motogyunyu *Rare Ingredients: Pure Leaf: Ogon no Stew, Special Itame, Milky Pottage, Magical Salad, Juicy Beef: Kokoro Odoru Tender, Kyukyoku no Surloin, Fine Sautee, Yuwaku no Filet Kokyu Maguro (Expensive Seafood): Ootoro no Kushiyaki, Maboroshi no Ootoro, Koukyuu Maguro Steak, Shiawase no Kamayaku Ganze: Tonosama Zassha, Shiko no Ichigoni, Tamashi Kometa Uni Donburi, Ichigoni Magical Rice: Gokuraku Doria, Miracle Chahan, Goka na Doria, Ochinamida no Rizotto Cream Cheese: Senritsu no Gratin, Maroyaka Cheese Pizza, Hizo no Gorgon, Senritsu no Gratin, Choemi no Plateau Sweet Fruit: *Chateau Lateul, Gateau Margorenne, Byuriho Ice, 1up Pudding Geregere Slime: Amoeba Soup, Gelatin Steak, Ooze Cocktail, Slime Jelly Buruburu Slime: Amoeba Soup, Slime Jelly, Ooze Cocktail, Gelatin Steak Yarma no Shokuzai Set (Yarma's Ingredient Set): Majin-ryu Martini, Majin-ryu Yasai Soup, Majin-ryu Hire Steak, Romanekonchi *Familiar: Familiar is a Specialty that allows characters to call birds to buy items for the party to use without having to go back to a store. To use Familiar, you need a Pet no Esa (pet food). If this Specialty fails, the bird will ignore you, but if it suceeds, the bird will come to your aid, and you will be allowed to select items to buy from the nearest town. The higher the Specialty level you have, the better the birds that come to buy things for the group. Also, Noel is always the best person to attempt the familiar Specialty, since he always has the Talent "Dobutsuzuki" in every game. Birds and the items they can buy from shops: Specialty Level 1: Hato (Pigeon): Blueberry, Aquaberry, Spectacles, Blackberry Specialty Level 3: Karasu (Crow): Rosehip, Torikabuto, Lavender, Flare Bomb Specialty Level 5: Konotori (Crane): Cure Paralyze, Mind Bomb, Mandrake, Resurrect Bottle, Cure Stone Specialty Level 7: Taka (Hawk): Gyokarui, Kudamono, Kokumotsu, Nikurui, Yasai, Tamago/Nyuseihin Specialty Level 9: Washi (Eagle): Aquaberry, Blackberry, Blueberry, Spectacles, Liquor Bottle, Aseras, Resurrect Bottle, Magic Canvas Specialties Needed: Kuchibue, Chokyo Enhancement Talent: Dobutsuzuki Support Item: None *Renkin (Alchemy): Renkin is an Item Creation ability that is used to create different types of minerals and gems out of a generic iron piece. Every time you build up the Renkin ability, you can create new and rarer types of gems and minerals. If you fail in Renkin, you will lose either the iron, or make a useless gem or mineral, and if you suceed, you will gain the appropriate mineral or gem. Specialties Needed: Kagaku Gijutsu, Favorite Foodgaku, Yoseiron Enhancement Talent: Mana no Shukufuku Support Item: Sankaku Furasuk, (Triangle Flask) Rezard's Flask The following is a list of Renkin. Note that if an item has a 8 by its name, it means that you must have the item "Rezard's Flask" to make that item. Specialty Level 1: Silver, Gold Specialty Level 2: Ruby, Sapphire Specialty Level 3: Green Beryl, Crystal Specialty Level 4: Diamond Specialty Level 5: Star Ruby Specialty Level 6: Damascus, *Rune Metal Specialty Level 7: Orihalcon, *Rainbow Diamond Specialty Level 8: *Moonite, *Meteorite, *Mithril, *Kenja no Ishi *Survival: Survival is an ability that allows character to search out for items. A character with Survival searches around and looks for items that could come in handy, and then takes them. The things you find can be extremely valuable, so give it a shot. Every time you want to use Survival, though, you use 4 MP. The items you find largely depend on the terrain you are searching for them from, and there are huge differences from the beach to the forest. Sometimes you can get extremely good weapons, armor, and even special bombs you can use in battle from Survival. Specialties Needed: Yakusogaku, Nintai Enhancement Talent: None Support Item: Survival Kit *Pickpocket: Pickpocket is a unique addition added to Star Ocean: The Second Story over the original. With this Specialty, you can steal items from townspeople or even other members of your own party when you are doing a Private Action. To pickpocket, you first need to find the "Tozoku Tebukuro" ("?'¯‚턂픂‚í«, Thief Glove), then you must walk into the village and walk up to a townsperson. Press the Square button near that person to attempt to steal. If you suceed, you get the item that person had, and if you fail, the person either catches you or you fail to steal. Either way, whenever you try to steal froms a person in the game, you can never try to steal from that same person again in the game, so make sure to save if you are going for good items. Also note that whenever you steal from a townsperson while there are other members in your party, and if you steal, all characters in the party will have their Kanjodo level reduced for the character that tries to steal, so if you don't want these values lowered, make sure to steal during a Private Action. Specialties Needed: Dokyo, Poker Face Enhancement Talent: Kiyo na Yubisaki Support Item: Magician Hand (must equip it to work) *Fukusei (Duplicate): Fukusei is an Item Creation ability that allows you duplicated items from your inventory. You need the item "Magic Camera" to take a picture of items, using "Magic Film". Every time you use the Specialty, one exposure of Magic Film is used. However, you get to keep the Magic Camera for the rest of the game, even if you fail in making the item. If you suceed, you can duplicate the selected item. If you fail, you just get a useless negative exposure. Also note that most of the best items in the game cannot be reproduced at all, which is something the original Star Ocean never put restrictions on. Duplicating the most expensive items in the game and then selling them is a great way to make money, especially if your Specialties in Copy are maxed out for each character. Specialties Needed: Copy Enhancement Talent: None Support Item: RIRICA (have to select) *Machinery: Machinery is a special Item Creation ability that allows you to build various types of machines that are weapons or items. Most machinery is bombs, which can be used in combat to hurt the enemy, but Precis and Opera both have unique Machinery that they can make that is used as weapons, and only they can make the unique Machinery. To build Machinery, you will need Material Kits. If you suceed, you'll gain the appropriate Machine, and if you fail, you'll only lose the Material Kit. Machinery is very important to getting Opera and Precis' best Killer Move in the game, so make sure to spend some time on it later in the game. Specialties Needed: Kikai Chishiki, Kikai Sosa Enhancement Talents: Design Sense, Kiyo na Yubisaki Support Item: None Survival Kit, Handakote, Flare Bomb, RIRICA, Sankaku Flask, Genso Bunsekiki, Mekki Tebukuro, Protect Bomb, Music School, Text Software, Magician Hand, Graphics Tool, Pikopiyo Bomb, Tetrabomb, Nuclear Bomb, Assault Bomb, Half-Dead Bomb, Orgol, High Mecha, Killer Poison, Soul Trap, Mind Bomb *Launcher, *Plasma Biribiribou, *Ultra Punch, *Iron Punch, *One-two Punch, *Straight Punch [White System], [Green System], [Black System], [X Box], [Booster Box], [Black Box], [Magic Box] * These items can only be made by Precis ** These items can only be made by Opera --Super Specialty-- Super Specialty are the advanced forms of regular Specialty. Super Specialty allows for more success rate and better items. Super Specialty is basically a way of Item Creation using all of the characters' abilities. To gain Super Specialty, you have to get the neccesary Specialties. To learn each Super Specialty, you have to raise of the component Specialty to level 5 in any characters in your party. A Super Specialty's level is determined by averaging all levels among all of the characters in your party. I believe that Super Specialty is averaged among all Specialty levels for the characters in your party. Building up Specialty levels make the Super Specialty levels raise. Unlike normal Specialty, Super Specialty does not use any Talents from the party. *Master Chef: Master Chef is an Item Creation Super Specialty where all of the members in the party work together to cook up advanced meals and drinks using many different types of ingredients. In Master Chef, rare ingredients are not used, only normal ingredients. You basically choose any two ingredients from your inventory, and all of the members of your party will attempt to make food out of the ingredients. If you suceed, you will receive the appropriate food. If you fail, you lose both of your ingredients, and get a piece of useless food. The food you create with Master Chef will heal for much more than Chori food. Having high levels in Chori and Chogo will also make it much easier to win the Master Cooking Contest in Fun City. Specialty Needed: Chori, Chogo Support Item: Bannohocho Food gained from Master Chef: *Gyokarui: Gyokarui + Gyokarui: Osashimi Gyokarui + Kudamono: Shita Hirame Wine Sauce Gyokarui + Kokumotsu: Fukahire Jiaozi Gyokarui + Nikurui: Umi Tsubame no Ha no Soup Gyokarui + Yasai: Matsutake no Osuimono Gyokarui + Tamago/Nyuseihin: Chawanmushi *Kudamono: Kudamono + Kudamono: Yonashi no Conopote Kudamono + Kokumotsu: Ichigo Daifuku Kudamono + Nikurui: Muscat Jelly Kudamono + Yasai: Konnyaku Jelly Kudamono + Tamago/Nyuseihin: Coconut Milk *Kokumotsu: Kokumotsu + Kokumotsu: Kinako Ohagi Kokumotsu + Nikurui: Niku Hosokiri Chahan Kokumotso + Yasai: Kasukiyoke Kokumotsu + Tamago/Nyuseihin: French Toast *Nikurui: Nikurui + Nikurui: Gyuhireniku no Steak Nikurui + Yasai: Beijing Duck Nikurui + Tamago/Nyuseihin: Cream Stew *Yasai: Yasai + Yasai: Yasai Itame Yasai + Tamago/Nyuseihin: Yogurt Salad *Myusihin: Nyuseihin + Nyuseihin: Plain Omlette *Orchestra: Orchestra is a musical Specialty in which every member of your party plays musical instruments together to make a big band type of song. The songs that the characters play only last a short time, but Orchestra is very useful for Item Creations and Specialty because while the song is playing, Item Creation and Specialty almost never fail, even if you don't have the enhancement Talents. When songs are playing, characters also have an increased rate of learning new Talents. To use Orchestra, your party needs to have enough instruments in your inventory for your entire party, and numerous songs for each character. Each time you use the Orchestra Super Specialty, you use a Shikibo Rod, just like music through Music. Knowing Orchestra is vital to making the best weapons in the game, because when Orchestra is playing, you have little chance of failing an Item Creations, especially Customize, at all. Make sure to work on getting Orchestra early in the game. Specialty Needed: Music, Art Support Item: None *Kaigan: Kaigan is a Super Specialty in which all characters push to their mental limits, and if Kaigan suceeds, characters will gain more Specialty Points than normal when they gain a level. Characters using Kaigan try to be "enlightened", and harness mental power to gain Specialties. If Kagain fails during a level up, you can also get less Specialty Points than you would normally. By using Kaigan, you can get a lot of Specialty Points very early in the game, even before you reach high levels, so it is a very good Super Specialty to use. Specialty Needed: Shugyo, Survival Support Item: None *Come on, Bunny: Come on, Bunny is a Super Specialty that allows the party to work together to call a bunny to come and take the party where they need to go to. When riding on the bunny, you will travel faster across the ground, you can't encounter enemies, and you can climb over mountains, castles, and hills. You can't travel on water, though. I didn't find Come on, Bunny to be a very useful Specialty through the game, so you don't need to mess with it very much. Specialty Needed: Familiar, Scout Support Item: None *Shuppan: Shuppan is a Super Specialty that allows the party to work together to publish books. One character writes the book, and the other characters in the party put it together and produce it. When you use Shuppan, you you first choose who should write the book. If you succeed in writing, the character you have chosen will write a book. Books that are created through Shuppan can be sold at a publisher, and they will be published and distributed to the world. When you publish a book, you can return to the publisher regularly to collect royalties from book sales. Characters who use the books created by Shuppan will have their Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo levels increase toward the author of the book. There is a catch to this, as if the character that read the book already has high Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo toward the author, there is a chance that Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo levels will be lowered. Each time you create a book using Shuppan, you use up one Mannenpitsu, just like Shippitsu. Specialty Needed: Shippitsu, Machinery Support Item: Text Software Books that can be made using Shuppan: Claude: Kaze no Wakusei (The Planet of Wind), Hoshiboshi no Taikai (Star Ocean) Rena: Anata Shika Mienai (I See Only You), Koi wa Romance (Love is Romance) Celine: Sekai wa Watashi no Tame ni (The World Was Made For Me), Moero, Ii Onna (Burn, Sexy Lady!) Ashton: NO to Ieru Otoko (The Man That can Say No), Furikaeranai (Never Look Back) Opera: Michi no Bunmei (Technology Not Yet Discovered), Idai na Senjin-tachi (Our Great Ancestors) Precis: Katte ne (Buy Me!), "O"tome no Himitsu (Secret of a Virgin) Bowman: Kuronekokan Satsujin Jiken (The Case of the Murder in Black Cat Manor), Ro-Ningyo Satsujin Jiken (The Case of the Wax Dummy Murder) Ernest: Countdown, Ushinawareta Saigo no SeiíŠ(The Lost Last Holy Coffer) Dias: Chinureta Michi (WThe Bloody Path), Ikiru (Live) Leon: Monsho Goseigaku Jokyu-hen (Advanced Monshojutsu Synthesis), Tokushu Monshogaku Riron (Special Monshojutsu Theory) Noel: Dobutsu to Tsukiau (Befriending Animals), Daishizen no Setsuri (Providence of Nature) Chisato: Shinjitsu wa Hitotsu! (There Is Only One Truth!), Kanzen Tasatsu Manual (The Perfect Murder Manual) *Nandemo Kantei Da! (Appraise anything): Nandemo Kantei Da! is a Super Specialty that lets the characters in a party able to judge the true value of special items. Through Nandemo Kantei Da, you can raise or lower the selling prices of items in shops. You can choose to "Waribiki" or "Warimashi" using a Spectacle. "Waribiki" allows for discounted items in stores, while "Warimashi" gives the party "Premium" prices. When you pick either "Waribiki" or "Warimashi", the game switches you to either Discount or Premium prices. The next time you visit a store, you can either lower or raise the prices on the goods. The only downside is that if you sell while in a discount price status mode, the items you sell will net you less Fol. After you leave one store, prices on the goods will go back to normal, so it only works once. Each time you use Nandemo Kantei Da, you use up one Spectacle, which are bought for cheap at all Item Creation shops. Specialty Needed: Kantei, Saiku Support Item: None *Blacksmith: Blacksmith is a special Item Creation Super Specialty that allows the entire party work together to temper gems, minerals, and ores together to create the most powerful pieces of armor in the game. The armor made from the Blacksmith Super Specialty is the best in the game, better than even the most expensive armor elsewhere. A lot of the armor made from Blacksmith also will sometimes have special magical effects (for instance, making your character resistant to fire damage). If you succeed, you will create the appropriate armor. If you fail, you will create a piece of junk armor, and you will also lose your ore, so be sure to save before trying the Blacksmith Super Specialty. You can usually four or five different types of armor for each ore. Blacksmith is one of the most important Item Creation Specialty in the game because there is no other way to get the most powerful armor in the game. Specialty Needed: Customize, Renkin Support Item: Magical Rasp Blacksmith Armor: *Note: Most Blacksmith armor depends on whether or not you have the Magical Rasp support item. With the Magical Rasp, you can create better armor than you would be able to normally. Iron: Ring Mail, Knight Shield, Plate Greave, Plate Helm, Banded Helm Orihalcon: Neo Greave, Barrier Shield, Barrier Armor, Hermit Helm, Rare Gauntlet Damascus: Bloody Armor, Bloody Helm, Chaos Mail, Core Plate Moonite: Jannu Helm, Jannu Shield, Jannu Armor, Witch Boots Mithril: Mithril Coat, Mithril Dress, Mithril Shield, Mithril Mesh Meteorite: Star Cloak, Star Greave, Star Guard, Star Necklace Rune Metal: Wizard Met, Wizard Mail, Rune Shoes, Rune Buckler With the Magical Rasp: Iron: Bannou Houchou, Plate Mail Orihalcon: Odin Helm, Reflex Damascus: Duel Suit, Duel Helm, Algol Moonite: Ishtar Robe, Isis Tiara, Kali Hand Mithril: Paras Atene Meteorite: Sylvan Mail, Sylvan Helm, Sylvan Boots Rune Metal: Mirage Robe, Taka no Hagoromo *Reverse Side: Reverse side is a Super Specialty that allows the party to work together to create "illegal" items out of a piece of Joshitsugami. You can create humorous items from counterfeit money to drugs. The items you create through Reverse Side can be almost useless, except for selling for a huge amount of money. Some of the items are very useful in that they make the number of experience points needed to gain a level for a character equal to 1. Failed Reverse Sde is fatal, because it will make a Fuwatari Tegata that makes you money decrease every second, and you must *pay* to sell it. Illegal items make other characters look down on the characters the use it, Aijodo/Kanjodo/Yujodo levels will decrease for all members of the party. Some of the items you can create with Reverse Side are very useful, especially for changing prices in shops. Specialty Needed: Pickpocket, Fukusei Support Item: None Items Gained from using Reverse Side: Gizo Kogitte, Gizo Shorui, Gizo Kunsho, Fill Up, Sashiosae, Keiyaksho, Nisesatsu, Ura Chobo, Kakebun, Seimei Hoken Failure: Fuwatari Tegata --------- Secrets: --------- Star Ocean: The Second Story has many secrets, partially because there are a few bugs in the game, and partially because there are many items with different possibilities, and there are ways to cheat. If you know some secrets in the game that I don't, feel free to submit them to me. *Save/Swap Technique: The Save/Swap Technique is a bug that wasn't fixed when Star Ocean: The Second Story was released. It allows you to basically transfer game information from one game to another using musical instruments. 1) Start a game, and go to an area where you are attacked by monsters (the world map or a dungeon), and play the Violin Song Hero Tojo or the Trumpet Song Akuma no Seiritsu. A group of monsters will come to fight you. 2) Before the song is over, quickly go to File screen, then load, and load another game. 3) When your second game loads, the effects of your songs will still be in effect, so your party in the second save will enter a battle. Run or deafeat the enemies in the battle, and the party from save 2 will be transported to the area where the party in save 1 was at when you played the song. Save the game in a new slot, or over an older one. This trick is useful since you can do many things that you couldn't do normally, like getting items twice or changing the the characters in your party to character combinations you couldn't get normally. *Reasons to use the Save/Swap Technique: -Get items you've already gotten. For instance, say that the party in save 2 found an Atlas Ring in a cave. You now have the Atlas Ring, but the chest you found it in is now opened (obviously). If the party in save 1 hasn't opened this treasure chest in the game yet, you will have the Atlas Ring in your inventory, but when you get to the point where the chest for the Atlas Ring is, you can get another Atlas Ring. In this way, you can get more than one of the best items in the game and become virtually unstoppable in power. -Changing Party. It is really complicated, but if you have a save in save 1 very early in the game somewhere, and a save with a certain combination of characters in save 2, you can transport all of your characters to the first save, and get different combinations of characters that you could normally. By changing your party, you can get the best combination of characters in the game, making a great attack force for the bonus dungeon. -Do the same Private Actions multiple times. By doing Private Actions many times, you can basically control the male/female combination pairings, so you can receive different endings. You can keep doing the private actions if you still have a save state in save 1 where you haven't done the Private Action yet. By effecting the Private Actions, you can raise or lower the Emotional Points for each member of the party. *Glitches while using the Save/Swap Technique: The Save/Swap Technique was never intended, and is a pretty big bug in the game, but using the technique sometimes glitches the game. Sometimes after the fight in save 2 ends, the screen blacks out, or blacks out and then resets. If this happens, an effective way to make the trick work is to fight a few battles on save 1, then save again, and try the trick again. *Instant Kill Technique: The Instant Kill Technique is probably another bug in the game that was supposed to be remove. There are three items in the game that gives you a chance of killing an enemy every time you hit it (Bubble Lotion, Melty Lotion, Bitter Lotion). The lotions even work on bosses, including the bosses you normally aren't supposed to beat! The unbeatable bosses in the game are killable when you use the lotions. If you beat an unbeatable boss using the lotions, the story will progress in the same way. It is not certain you will kill an unbeatable boss when using one of the lotions, as the lotions only give you a random chance of doing it. *GameShark Codes: Thanks to Ian Kelly for these GameShark codes, and especially for the item modification table. There are many more codes for the game, but until they are posted on a site, you can mail your Star Ocean: The Second Story GameShark code submissions to me. Full Voice Collection: B0500002 0000 8009AB60 FFFF This code only works with a Pro Action Replay or a Game Xploder. It allows a complete list of all of the voices in the game. If you use this code, make sure to turn the Pro Action Replay/Game Xploder off if you intend to play a game, because if you don't, your game will freeze, or other glitches could happen. 999999999 Fol: 8009A9DB C9FF 8009A9DA 3B9A Skill Point Code: 8009B8C2 0XXX Enter the value of the number of skill points you want for the first member of the party into XXX in hexadecimal form. 65535 experience points given to character in first position after one battle: 8009BF48 FFFF Item Modifier Code: 8009ACXX YZZZ The Item Modifier Code is a special code that basically allows you to get any item in the game you want. In XX, indicate which slot in your inventory you want the item to go in. If you already have an item in that slot, it will be changed by the modified item. In Y, you enter the quantity of the number of items that you want. In ZZZ, you must enter the number of the item you want to get. Each item in the game has a special hexadecimal number, and a small table is provided below. Thanks go out to Ian Kelley for testing the codes to find out which hexadecimal numbers give you which type of items. XX indicates which slot in your inventory your item goes in: 70=slot 1 72=slot 2 74=slot 3 7A=slot 6 80=slot 9 Y is the quantity of items you want: 1=4 items 2=8 items 5=20 items the ZZZ indicate what item goes in the slot: 000: Nothing 001: Magic canvas 002-012: Portraits 013-01C: Cards 01D-02B: Magical Clay items 02C-035: Music items 036-0A3: Saiku items, Accessories 0A4-0DB: Skill Books 0DC-0E1: Herbs 0E2-116: Lotions, healing items, pots 117-1A2: Food items, ?Machines 1A3-1B4: Minerals 1B5-1D5: Machinery items 1D6-1E4: Smith Hammer, Reverse Side items 1E5-219: Swords 21A-235: Gloves 236-243: Rods 244-251: Energy Packs 252-261: Punches 262-26F: Whips 270-27F: Leon's weapons 280-28E: Guns 28F-2A7: Helmets 2A8-2C9: Armor 2CA-2D7: Shields 2D8-2F1: Boots 2F2-31F: Strange items When the North American version of Star Ocean: The Second Story comes out, I will have many more GameShark codes, because they are much more popular here. Expect for the GameShark section to grow by a lot for the North American version. -------- Thanks: -------- -Tri-Ace, for making the great game on the PlayStation, and for making a sequel to one of my favorite games. Incredible job. Most sequels don't turn out nearly as good. -Enix, for publishing the Star Ocean games. Everything with the Enix logo on it is destined to be a huge hit. -Ian Kelley, for putting up with my coutless questions (just like he did for the original Star Ocean ^_^) on the game, and supplying me with a lot of info on hidden items and Item Creations. -Sony, for bring this game over seas to North America. Look out for Star Ocean: The Second Story in early summer of 99. -Web Pages: Ian Kelley's Home Page: http://www.sas.upenne.edu/~ikelley Star Ocean: The Second Story Database: http://tariki.nu/sc2/index.html Master Star Ocean Second Story!: http://www.fsinet.or.jp/~renzoku/Stocean.html Star Ocean: The Distant Sea: http://www.jade.dti.ne.jp/~higo/SO2/ Star Ocean Info Warehouse: http://www4.osk.3web.ne.jp/~makishi/so2/so2.html -The Star Ocean: The Second Story message boards around the internet. A lot of information on this walkthrough was gained by reading through various posts on the message boards, especially about finding some of the hardest items to get in the game, and information on the characters Opera and Ernest. Many thanks to Revolution readers Exdeath!
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