How to get ALL characters - Star Ocean Second Story R

Star Ocean the Second Story R is less than a month  away and if you're a new fan of the game well one   of the best parts of this series is being able  to mix and match who you have in your party. Who   you recruit into your party changes so much of  the gameplay experience but it's impossible to   get all of the characters in a single playthrough. But if you plan your route you can choose which   characters you want to take accordingly and if  you do it right you can get all of the characters   into two playthroughs in this video we're going  to cover all of the characters in Star Ocean   the Second Story R as well as the best party  compositions and we're going to talk a little bit   about each of the characters and how they play so  you can make the best possible informed decision   for your playthrough but before we get into it  I'm Solace, this is Solace and Dread we produce   analytical content as well as reaction videos  primarily focused around Square enx Nintendo   and Capcom Publications. be sure to follow us  on Twitter uh formerly known as Twitter uh we're   actually doing a giveaway of a copy of this game  for PS4 I bought an extra copy trying to secure a   collector's edition so uh if you want a chance  at it go ahead and follow us over there and uh   we'll be doing the giveaway shortly after the game  releases. just so you know the footage shown today   will be sourced from the three different versions  of the game since at the time of recording this   the game isn't actually out yet so there will be  very slight differences in the shots between the   PSP PS1 and the remakes but it's all generally  very close to the same. you're a smart gamer, I   know you can figure out the slight differences. I've structured this into two playthroughs one   for Raina and one for Claude if you don't plan on  playing it more than once you'll probably want to   mix and match but there are exclusions depending  on who you pick to take into your party as well   as which character you start the game with. I will  share which of the best characters in my personal   opinion and I will tell you the strengths and  weaknesses of all of them. first up is Rena Lanford she is one of only two of the required  characters in the game Rena is an inhabitant   of the planet Expel in the unassuming Village of  Aria unless you start with her you will meet her   very early on in a chance encounter that sets the  plot of the game in motion she's had a mysterious   healing power for most of her life, and is The  Game's primary healer she's probably the best   AI healer in an RPG since Donald Duck in Kingdom  [Music] Hearts I [ __ ] hate that duck. she's a   well-written character and a fantastic buff  healbot but there's no decision to make here   whether you start with her or you choose to play  with Claude either way she's going to end up in   your party and there's no way around it. so the  summary for Rena great healer great character   in the story but her offensive abilities are a  bit lacking now there's Claude Kenny the other   main protagonist and mandatory character Claude  is the son of two of the main characters in the   first game Star Ocean First departure Ilia  and ronx he's an nen in Earth's pangalactic   Federation and through his his own stupidity he  found himself transported to the underdeveloped   planet of expel where our Story begins in typical  jrpg fashion he's one of the best characters in   the game getting some amazing techniques very  early on he has great stats good range great   attack speed and is a solid addition to any party  you literally can't miss him so the summary for   Claude great short to mid-range fighter great  abilities good character in the story The only   really bad thing I can say about him is he drains  his MP pretty hard in the early parts of the game   now moving on to our first optional character  Seline Jewels she's a treasure hunter a Black   Mage waifu and one of the game's few magic casters  she temporarily joins her party early in the game   but then you have the option to give her the  boot after your mission with her concludes if   you say no you don't get another chance so choose  carefully the early Star Ocean games made casters   pretty useless if they weren't healing but now  that magic doesn't always freeze combat and can   hit multiple times she's worth considering she's  essential to the plot very early game but her   relevance falls off a little bit later still she  feels like a central character and unless there's   someone you're saving a spot for there's no harm  in taking her along personally I'm interested in   seeing how she performs in the remake now that  casters aren't a complete and total encumbrance   on combat so the summary for Seline is she's a  Caster great damage early game and she's relevant   to the early plot uh but she is outshine by the  other magic Caster Leon and her English voice   acting is pretty bad next up is Ashton anchors  the Unlucky swordsman that shortly after meeting   him is possessed by a pair of dragons really  he's unlucky when you recruit him into your   party go check his talents it's random what  you get and if he doesn't come with anything   good reload your save and try again it matters  for item creation Ashton fights with a pair of   shortswords and while he struggles a little bit  early game late game he becomes one of the most   competent fighters of the entire cast while he's  an optional character like Seline he too feels   like a central character having entire areas and  lengthy side quests dedicated specifically to him   it's subject to change but taking Ashton into  your party in the original games you don't have   to complete his side quest I have a strong feeling  that that changes and stars from The Second Story   r with a temporary guest mechanic to recruit him  after finishing the story quest in Mars when you   go to the town of Harley you'll see two guys  talking about a dragon sighting in the Salva   mines near the front of the Town head back to  Salva and enter the mines to find him engaged   with the dragons to begin the quest be aware if  you take Ashton that bars you from taking two   other characters that you meet later on Opera and  Earnest so the summary for Ashton is that he's a   physical short to mid-range fighter he has strong  moves late game and he's an awesome character uh   he does struggle early game and excludes two other  characters not to mention he can come with some   pretty bad talents next comes Welch Vineyard Welch  is a recurring character in all the games and has   varying degrees of relevance to the plot this  is one of those times where she has almost zero   relevance but she's still a fun character to have  in the party she's quirky funny and one of the   Staples of the series she's largely associated  with item Creation in general but in this game   she's playable she's a physical fighter using her  handy stick to do battle wel is not particularly   good or bad at anything she has a few useful moves  later in the game but she doesn't really outshine   anyone else she is fun to play though she's right  in the middle of the pack when it comes to the   fighters certainly not a wasted slot to recruit  her simply enter a private action in the city   of Lor right after the tournament of arms in the  main story walk towards the castle and she will   fall most literally into your lab so the summary  for Welch is she's a physical short to mid-range   fighter decent stat some decent moves but she's  not particularly great in any aspect after that   comes Priestess Newman the extremely quirky and  hyperactive teenage inventor that she'll meet   as soon as you enter the town of linga after the  tournament of arms Priestess is accompanied by a   couple of robots that she often uses in combat  she's a physical fighter and does battle with   a pair of robotic arms she's a formidable fighter  and viable for postgame content you'll first meet   her after the tournament of arms when you first  enter the town of linga to recruit her leave town   and then re-enter in a private action as Raina  find her house and talk with her father as Claude   you can locate her near Bowman's Pharmacy again  this is subject to change in the remake be aware   if you take Priestess this excludes you from  recruiting Bowman we'll cover him in the claw   playthrough the summary for Priestess is she's a  physical short to mid-range fighter and a great   move set but she is harder to get weapons for  early game and she bars you from getting Bowman   now we come to the formidable Diaz Flack Diaz is  the mysterious brooding long-haired swordsman that   is required in every jrpg he's kind of an [ __ ]  to everyone around him but he's raina's friend so   you got to deal with him Diaz is a sword fighter  like Claude and is arguably the best physical   fighter in the entire game his best combat  abilities are actually the ones he comes with too   personally if he's in my party he's the character  I tend to control the most as far as recruiting   him despite him joining you a few times prior you  won't have the opportunity to officially recruit   him until visiting the Lor front line during  the main story just after visiting the Hoffman   ruins on that note he only joins your party  if you start the game with Raina if you start   with Claude he will not offer to join summary for  Diaz is he's a great short to mid-range fighter he   has amazing abilities and he comes equipped with  some of his best techniques however he cannot be   obtained on claude's playthrough and he's a bit of  an [ __ ] that that moves us on to chisato Madison   the determined and overly zealous reporter that  she'll have some run-ins with later in the game   Technically she's the last character that you can  recruit and it's only an option if you still have   space for her she's a physical fighter and fights  using a stun gun her combat is short- ranged but   she has some range in her battle techniques some  of her moves are truly amazing and are among the   best of the entire game to recruit her when you  visit the Cave of the red crystal in the later   half of the game make sure to explore the cave  until you see her drop her ID card while she's   following you go pick it up then head back to  Central City show her the card and you'll have   the opportunity to recruit her so the summary  for chisato is that she's a physical short-range   fighter with a great move set and the only thing  is she's obtained pretty late in the story now   we're going to flip to claude's playthrough  to cover the rest of the cast so skipping both   Seline and Ashton we'll start with Opera Vectra  Opera is a fellow alien like Claude and has crash   landed onx spel made apparent by the third eye  in the middle of her forehead she's in search of   her boyfriend Ernest and will join you to Aid in  her search Opera is a physical fighter and uses a   rifle she's also one of the best characters in  the game and in the original game she was used   in some of the cheese strategies with her healing  technique but she's good outside of that Strat too   to recruit her head to the tavern in the town  of Hilton after the tournament of arms in the   main story she'll mention that she's looking for  someone with three eyes and you'll mention that   you saw him in Cross follow her to cross and get  permission from the King to enter the mountain   Palace wander your way through this super annoying  Maze and eventually you'll find her in there where   you can have her join your party make note if you  take her this excludes you from taking Ashton and   if Ashton is in your party you will not have the  chance to recruit her at all in the original games   you would have had to do a private action in the  town of cross in order to spot nnest but in the   remake they made that automatic so if you're  watching this for the original games make sure   you do the private action and cross Castle first  so the summary for Opera is that she's a mid-range   fighter except for her regular attack with great  abilties she even has an amazing healing ability   and she's the only way to get Earnest however  it's hard for her to get weapons early game and   taking her excludes you from taking Ashton now  let's move on to Bowman Bowman is a pharmacist   in the town of linga that you'll briefly interact  with in the main story that is unless you recruit   him he's kind of a boring character I mean he's  just a dude pushing 30 I feel like he only joins   you because he hates his boring life and you're  the excuse to do something besides push Aderall   to the students of linga anyway Bowman is a  pugilist and he's a very close-range fighter   he's middle of the pack in terms of the physical  Fighters he has a few attacks that are extremely   useful but his competency can diminish late in  post game compared to some of the other fighters   to recruit him simply do not recruit Prius and  I'll ask to join in the main story shortly after   you produce an herb for him him from the sanctuary  of linga remember if you recruited Priestess he   won't want to join maybe Priestess is one of  those Aderall riddled patients that he wants   to escape from so the summary for Bowman is that  he's a short-range fighter with decent abilities   but he's a boring character and his range is a  bit small after him we have Ernest Reve the long   sought after three-eyed boyfriend of Opera he's  an archaeologist and a clear reference to Indiana   Jones he's come to expel for research purposes  and kind of lost his way well anyway he's here   now he's a physical mid-range fighter and he uses  a whip now I can only speak to the original games   but honestly he was pretty terrible definitely  the worst of the physical Fighters I hope the   Second Story R balances him out a bit and makes  him more viable but I've used him to take on   postgame content on the hardest difficulties so  it can be done just makes it a little harder as   all to recruit him there's a number of conditions  to be met if you take Ashton you can't get him if   you don't recruit Opera you can't get him in the  original games you need needed to do a private   action in the town across where you meet him for  the first time as he's running by in Second Story   R they had that chance meeting with him happen  in the main story so you don't need to do a   private action after that you'll need to recruit  Opera once you recruit Opera search the mountain   Palace completely until you find evidence that  he was there after that scene make sure to take   Opera to the forest in Aria where Claude and Rea  first met after the scene that takes place there   you'll come across him in the main story after  finishing Hoffman ruins where you'll have a chance   to recruit him you're also given the opportunity  to boot both him and Opera if you want up to you   so the summary for Ernest is that he's a physical  mid-range fighter and he has a decent attack late   game but his attacks are pretty slow and he has  a very complicated recruitment process also he's   not a great fighter we also have Leon Leon is  the anime catboy of the game and is an arrogant   jackass he's a child prodigy and works with his  parents in the laboratory of Lor you'll meet meet   him after your encounter with Bowman and Keith  and linga he's another one of the game's magic   casters and frankly he's probably the best of  the offensive magic casters sorry Seline while   normally I'm very much anti- spellcaster I fully  intend to pick him up on my first playthrough and   Star Ocean second story R since his magic is  multi-hit and it doesn't have to freeze combat   he actually could be a top tier character this  time around he joins your party temporarily on   the way to Hoffman ruins but to recruit him  in the official capacity you can only do so   in a playthrough that you started with Claude  you'll have the chance to bring him into your   party shortly after you arrive on the continent  of L the summary for Leon is that he's a caster   and probably has the best offensive magic in  the game but he's an annoying character and a   glass Cannon and he's only obtainable on claud's  run and the last character to cover here is Noel   Chandler Noel is a director of a nature preserve  and you'll meet him in the second half of the   game he's a hybrid caster for both offensive and  healing Magic admittedly he's probably the worst   character in the original games at the time of  making this it's my hope that they balanced him   out a little bit his offensive magic isn't as good  as Seline or Leon and his healing abilities are   worse than Raina with no Buffs or no way to raise  the Dead with other characters that are better at   their prospective roles it's kind of hard to want  to use him I'm still going to give him a try in   the remake though cuz maybe he's better anyway  to recruit him you just need to have room in   your party still at that point and just play the  main story until the end end of the red Cavern   scenario where he'll ask to join or you can leave  him to die alone in the cave summary for Noel is   that he's a Caster that has both offensive and  healing magic but he's not great at either job and   the other characters render him kind of obsolete  now on this playthrough that's technically seven   characters that we covered and that leaves you  room to add say cassato or if you wanted to add   Welch into the mix you could have done that too  or you can mix and match or maybe you wanted to   leave Noel out because he's so God awful this is  just my suggestion if you wanted to try all of   the characters and see who you like now you may  want to know who the best party is and it's kind   of hard to say who the best is it all depends on  your play Style and what you like but the general   Community feels that Claude Raina Diaz and Ashton  is the best quartet if it were my call I would say   Claude Diaz Raina and Opera but that's personally  because I like op for as mid-range moves there is   at least one extremely enthusiastic individual who  will tell you that the only way to play this game   is with Opera cassato Claude and Diaz and running  the bloody armor Strat where you can't die but you   use Opera's healing star ability not going to name  any names I'm just saying there are options I've   beaten the other versions of this game on every  difficulty with some pretty terrible character   compositions uh it's all about how determined  you are and you know who you find fun to play   you know I also like to have fun playing with  Earnest who's objectively pretty terrible and   now that everybody has weapon factors and casters  are available honestly it's hard really to say   who's best because you can really kind of make  anybody work if you work hard enough at it so   you can even make a a solo Noel run if you wanted  I don't know why you do that but you could what   party are you going to use let me know tell me  who your character composition is going to be   this guide was helpful to you please consider  hitting the like button it really helps us out   and we'll definitely be doing more Star Ocean  content in the very near future so be sure to   subscribe if you know anybody that's playing this  game for the first time and you wanted to bring   more friends into the Star Ocean Community share  this video with them if they're actually going to   pick up the game so that they can have the most  optimal time playing through the game anyway   that's it from me thanks for watching we'll  see you soon and long live the turtle Kingdom

Channel: Solace and Dread

Views: 80,149

Keywords: star ocean 2 characters, best party star ocean second story, how to recruit ashton star ocean 2, how to recruit ernest star ocean 2, who to recruit star ocean 2, best star ocean characters, Star Ocean the Second Story R, Solace and Dread, Davidvinc, top 10 jrpgs, star ocean 2 character recruitment guide, how to get all characters star ocean 2, how to get ashton star ocean 2, How to get all characters star ocean 2, characters you should get so2r, best characters star ocean 2, so2r

Id: 9qCrL8g0BcA

Length: 18min 7sec (1087 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 12 2023