The Star Ocean Universe

I thank Kojika for discussing Star Ocean thoughts with me over at deviantArt. It's definitely nice to have someone to talk to about Star Ocean and have that same love of fandom, if not always for the same pairings. :)

Anyway, this came about when we were talking about the whole childhood friends turned romantic relationship ideal that the Star Ocean creators like to sell to the fans.

( The Issue of Trust )
Mind you, these are pairings I'm not overly fond of and won't read in terms of fanfiction. I skip over the art. Those are just my personal preferences for pairings, but I also believe there's just too much emphasis on pairing. Here's what I mean.

For Star Ocean 3, my favorite pairing, my OTP, is that of Luther Lansfeld with Fayt Leingod. An unlikely duo as seen by many, about as implausible to them as Fayt/Sophia or Fayt/Maria is to me, and therefore they won't read the stories I write because of that. Okay, fine. That's something I can deal with and appreciate because, hey, I do it myself. If the person doesn't like it, but likes the story premise and reads it for that, that's cool by me, too. I'm sure if I were to find a Fayt/Maria or Fayt/Sophia story where the plot premise sounded intriguing, I might be inspired to read it. What I don't like are the people who will read it, minds made up they don't like the story based on the pairing alone, and leave a stiff and haughty-sounding review with the plot premise as the disguise for their disdain. (Yes, I've had that happen before.)

Now, I will read Fayt paired with other people so long as it isn't some sappy written drivel where the characters act like morons from a chidren's anime episode and filled with grammar and spelling errors galore. I have a very high set of standards when it comes to reading.

That being said, I do say to each his or her own when it comes to pairing and what you want to see and read. These are just my thoughts, and if it inspires those who love such canon pairings to take a different look at them, so be it. :)

On a final note, the other part of this entry's subject, I hope to see more Star Ocean games. I'd love to see Blue Sphere translated and adapted for another system like the PSP or something less portable, like the Wii or PS3. I'd also love to see follow-ups for The Last Hope and Till the End of Time and even a crossover game between those two . . . perhaps Luther has returned, or someone just as insidious as he has appeared as a threat (it is possible - he was defeated only, not killed . . . it seems like it's impossible to kill someone from the 4-D realm), and the space time continuum is threatened and only by combining forces with Edge and a select number of his crew will Fayt and a select number of his friends. Of course, if one runs with that theory, then the non-optional characters would definitely be Edge, Reimi, Fayt, Maria, and Sophia . . . I'd toss in Crowe as well simply because you don't get to have fun with him in battles. The guy can wield both a gun or a set of laser blades. That is just so cool! There's six right there so that leaves two spaces fill . . . for which I'd say leave that up to the players to choose who fills them. (I can see having Albel and Arumat in that group . . . may not be a wise idea, but I could see some people doing that!)

Actually, what would be better with that scenario is gaining everyone that you had before, including Faize, in reserves and just rotate out the ones that you need. I know I'm getting ahead of myself on this, but I really do love this series. I'm very much looking forward to playing First Departure and Second Evolution once I get a PSP, so that will take care of some of my Star Ocean game craving, but not completely. I know I may never get my wish of more Star Ocean games. The series hasn't quite reached the popularity levels of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, but there is still a large enough fanbase for more games to be made. I shall keep my fingers crossed. :)

Next entry will be more Star Ocean: The Last Hope centered . . . In fact, the next three entries at least will be TLH-centered because I'll be writing two different character studies on Edge Maverick. One will deal with how the game ended while the other will deal with Edge's actions on the alternate Earth. The third one will also deal with the alternate Earth situation, but it'll take a closer look at the influences that led to Edge's decision and the end results. Also, I'm going to start posting fanfiction snippets and chapters. The first chaptered story up will be Destinies Intertwined by Fate, a Star Ocean: Till the End of Time end-game story.