Games

Star Ocean: Blue Sphere is a Role-Playing game, developed by Tri-Ace and published by Enix Corporation, which was released in Japan in 2001.

Star Ocean games are known for their real-time battle engines, and, for being one of the first of its kind to come to the consoles. Battles take place on a separate screen, but all characters (rather than waiting in one spot and taking damage) are fully mobile in three dimensions, can dodge and chase foes, and must cast their spells and deploy attacks despite enemy harassment. In the earlier games, magicians had spells, whereas fighters had special physical attacks called "Killer Moves"; both are learned after passing certain level requirements (or through specific items and sidequests) and cost HP or MP to use. In Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, all the characters are able to use spells and battle skills (i.e. killer moves).

The Second Story's gameplay is broadly similar to that of most RPGs. The player goes from town to town and dungeon to dungeon, following the central story and occasionally branching off to perform side quests. Characters gain Experience Points from battle and level up as a result, becoming gradually stronger as time passes and more battles are fought. Battles are much more action-oriented: they take place in real time, during which the player has manual control over their character, as opposed to choosing options from a menu. Battles take place on a broad battlefield, over which the player's character can move without limit, allowing them to trade blows face-to-face with the enemy or circle around for a flanking attack. The other party members (up to 3 others) are controlled by the game's AI; the player may change an ally's Strategy to one of six different pre-determined options (ranging from "Spread out and attack" to "Save your Magic Points" to "Stand Still and Don't Do Anything").

The game gives the player the choice of playing as Rena or Claude, with the journey evolving and ending differently depending on the choices one makes. Star Ocean: The Second Story is a world of magic, science, space travel and deadly demons! Enter a world where love knows no bounds, the evil is neverending and good can overcome all if the heart is just and true. Featuring three battle modes, the ability to master skills to create items and an emotional level for each of the characters, Enix has pulled out all the stops in their latest (and first) title to be brought to the North American PlayStation. Star Ocean: The Second Story takes place twenty years after the original game, Star Ocean. Roughly the first half of the plot of the game takes place on the planet Expel, an underdeveloped planet on the verge of its industrial age. On Expel kings still rule over great kingdoms, swords and sorcery dominate the battlefield, and sailing ships are still made from wood. According to a Federation law, named the Undeveloped Planet Protection Treaty, a planet with such a level of civilization may not be directly contacted under any but the most dire circumstances—and even then, contact must be minimal and secretive. This law is reminiscent of Star Trek's Prime Directive.

An attack from an unknown power in space threatens the peace between humans and aliens. The attack forces Fayt Leingod and his friend Sophia Esteed to separate from Fayt's parents and flee from the planet. Now it's up to you to guide these two characters through a variety of side quests and sub-events to find their loved ones. Dress your characters, equip them with weapons, and then conquer the land. Up to three characters can fight and move together on the battlefields.

The game's plot involved captain Rover Pawstrong (a dog in a space suit) in his adventures on a planet, attempting to eat 20 Space Griffiths (essentially chickens). Gameplay involves the player's character running back and forth on a side-scrolling planet surface, attempting to catch the griffith. The player finds crates which contain items that the player can use to help catch the bird - or the player can simply try and run and jump on top of the bird, thus catching it. During playtime, there is a time limit by which the bird must be caught (indicated by a roast chicken slowly turning into chicken bones), or else the game ends. At later stages in the game, the player may have to enter some abandoned mines, where the griffith may be hiding.

Star Raiders was distinctive for its graphics, which (under most conditions) represented an out-the-cockpit, first-person view from a fictional combat spaceship traveling through a streaming 3D starfield in pursuit of enemy fighters called "Zylons".