In 1999, the most popular game in the Star Ocean series, Star Ocean: The Second Story, graced the original PlayStation console and made a generation of players intimately familiar with the concept of selecting one of two protagonists to function as a perspective character. The hero and heroine, Claude and Rena, respectively, meet each other within minutes of the game; they're the co-leads, no matter your choice. But big differences nevertheless separate their POV tale from their function as secondary teammates.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Star Ocean: The Divine Force repeats this trick, compelling folks to pick either Raymond or Laeticia. Is one route better than the other? Is either route best for first-timers? Let's take a look.
Should You Choose Raymond Or Laeticia As The Lead Character?
Choices, choices.
It probably won't surprise you that there's no right or wrong answer here. It would be pretty rough if the developers made one route significantly poorer than the other, after all. But then, does it all boil down to personal preference? Yes. Mostly.
See, it's important to note that you can control either character almost from the very first battle, just as you can control every party member. If one person's combat style sounds cooler to you — Laeticia is a swift swordswoman and Raymond's a somewhat slower, heavier hitter — just know that you can swap to the character you didn't select as the lead at any time.
At the same time, you will lose out on something (and gain something in turn) when making your decision. Consider their origins: Ray's a merchant space captain who's well aware of the bigger picture, a veritable ocean of stars (ha) filled with advanced civilizations. Laeticia isn't, as she's a native of the underdeveloped planet Aster 4. But as such, and given her royal status within her kingdom, Laeticia knows all sorts of things about her world that will be better-explained to players earlier on through her perspective. As a result, there will be a fair number of scenes, primarily in the earlier hours of the game, in which special treatment is given to either Laeticia or Ray, with extra cutscenes occurring from their POV at the cost of missing out on the others.
You're in the mental space of one or the other, and the specifics of Star Ocean: The Divine Force's sci-fi or fantasy elements, respectively, will be harder to discern for a while. A good example of this is the reason Laeticia and Albaird are traveling together. Ray's right when he says he can 'piece things together' somewhat, but lots of things are murky for him, and by extension for you, until plot moments clarify them. On the other hand, players who select Laeticia aren't going to know about the Pangalactic Federation Battleship that fires on Ray's ship, or quickly recognize any signs of advanced technology on Aster 4, until, again, plot moments clarify them.
OK, But Whose Story's Better?
Both paths coalesce almost completely, so that's not a question that can truly be answered. That said, the real question is: do you prefer Star Ocean's Star Trek elements or its more traditional epic fantasy elements? You'll get a heaping helping of the former through Ray, and the latter through Laeticia, before eventually settling into a rhythm where they're balanced because both characters fully understand each other's origins.
Choosing Ray will also add a sense of the cavalier to the game; his devil-may-care, somewhat wise-cracking attitude makes him a bit less curious to learn the details of Aster 4's strife and the princess' clandestine mission. He'll learn, of course; it will just be at a tempo that his circumstances dictate, rather than him asking a ton of questions to his native companions.
Laeticia is more inherently inquisitive, but there are things Ray leaves purposefully... we'll call it opaque, because he's not sure how much he should say. Still, we'll go as far as to say Laeticia's path probably gives you a little more comprehension of the worlds beyond her own than Raymond's path will give you for Laeticia's own setting. We can't emphasize enough that, in time, it's a non-issue. But if you want to know as much as possible, as early as possible, Laeticia's just barely the stronger selection. Just expect to feel like you're missing little cutscenes here and there regardless, because you very much are.
We'd love to tell you to replay Star Ocean: The Divine Force via New Game Plus after finishing it in order to experience the other side of these preliminary events. Unfortunately, there is no New Game Plus feature, so you'll need to instead start from scratch.
Perhaps the best advice for players who want to see it all, without compromise, would be to play two separate files up until a bit past the introduction of Midas Felgreed, and then continue with one of the files. You won't be missing much thereafter. It's a tall order, of course, but it's doable. (Alternatively, just look things up online right? Surely, YouTube's got you covered...)
One other thing to consider when choosing your protagonist is that the playable characters JJ and Theo are only available through the Raymond and Laeticia routes, respectively. We'll update this guide with further information ASAP, but the reason we haven't included it in bigger, bolder text is that, frankly, newcomers aren't going to know enough about the plot to determine who they'd prefer, and why. It's Star Ocean tradition to add a little wrinkle like this sometimes, but rest assured, you'll experience both characters to some extent regardless!