Star Ocean: Till the End of Time was not a game on my radar when it was first released. That changed once adoration for the game reached my attention - the above average reviews and boisterous praise convincing me of the error of my ways. Spectacular graphics, an engaging story and a phenomenal battle system were making this second-tier Japanese RPG one safe purchase. The hype finally became too much for me to ignore and like a fish being teased by colored lures shining quietly with allure, I bit.

Now as I sit here, thinking about the forty-four hours or so that I spent in the world of Star Ocean, my disappointment continues to bloat. While the game I was anticipating does indeed exist on these two game discs, it was found suffocating beneath the weight of inconsolable flaws. If it wasn't the lifeless script and amateur voice acting laying waste to any emotional ties and endearment the story attempts to provide, it was incompetent ally A.I. making normal battles difficult and difficult battles near impossible. If this is the properly bug-tested director's cut, the pain and torture of Japanese gamers who purchased the original must have been unbearable.

Wait, I see a hand. Yes, you, in the front. What's that? How could I put 44 hours into the game I despised; it can't be all bad you're thinking, right? Where-oh-where did you find those innate observation skills? This is correct - there are many aspects of Star Ocean that are downright spectacular. The most obvious of praise must be handed to the presentation. When it was originally released two years ago, Star Ocean was a feather in the cap of PS2 owners. With a unique art design backed by plenty of graphical muscles, tri-ace's vision of the many planets and cities within the Star Ocean universe are each brought to life with unparalleled results. Sprawling cities reaching as far as the eye can see, wilderness outstretched into the great unknown, tightly packed neighborhoods brimming with the activity of daily life - it's hard not to look down at the PS2 to make sure it's the one producing these sights. The sense of environment provided left me with the impression of a fantasy version Grand Theft Auto.

The story calls upon an orchestra to help in conveying its message and here there are no complaints either; each track easily draws you into the moment, be it a happy ditty, a dramatic tune or a mourning song. Standing in the wilderness while a nice traveling song plays can lead to staring out at nothing, just enjoying the moment. Then it flips to a rock track and your ears will bleed (and not in a way Dethklok would enjoy). These tracks are supposed to represent, I assume, some facet of music found in the more futuristic worlds. Not only do these tracks severely clash with the orchestrated ones but they are devoid of the catchiness and the moment-sensitive traits the former bring to the table. Thankfully the rock tracks are not very prevalent.

Now that we have reached the fighting system, my opinion begins to turn. For the most part the almost real-time but not quite fighting system is enjoyable - after you get the hang of it. All monsters can be seen on the playing field so there are no random battles. If you touch a monster your party is transported into a large arena for some butt kicking. You control one party member (which can be changed on the fly at the press of a button), executing moves and combos with simple button presses. Your move set during battle is limited but it can be altered in-between battles to fit your preferences, with moves ranging from melee, healing, elemental and long-range as well as ranging from what is needed to use them, be it HP, MP or Fury. What will throw you off right away is the execution of these moves, as they rely much more on finesse and timing than button mashing. The game doesn't care how many times you press X - it'll get to the next move when it's ready.

With the huge level of customization, it's hard to get sick of the fighting system, no matter how many times you go into battle. Constantly having to alter your tactics and move sets for each area's monsters, especially towards the end of the game, keeps things fresh. All enemies are far from feeble, actually more on par with your party than in other games, which keeps tension and attention up. When a boss does make an appearance their unusual tactics and sometimes large size make for interesting moments. You'll be hard pressed to find an RPG fighting system that provides this much fun and customization.

You'll also be hard pressed to find a RPG fighting system this self-destructive and aggravating. When you are in a battle, the party members you aren't controlling act according to a style selected from a predetermined set. The usual styles are all here - go all out, stay back, attack reserved, and so on - but no matter what fighting style I set my allies on, other than beat the crap out of everything and waste all their HP, MP and Fury, the majority of the time they would be avoiding combat and/or sitting on the sidelines. God only knows what they were really doing while the one I was controlling was getting the snot kicked out of him or her. Catching up on the latest installment of Harry Potter or balancing their checkbooks, perhaps?

As I said before, this can make normal battles difficult and difficult battles near impossible. Too many times my allies would overexert themselves into an early grave within thirty seconds of a tough boss battle or just smoke quietly in the corner and watch me run myself down. Along with the seemingly broken fighting settings, there is also no 'you sit there and cast healing and protective spells' option either; you have to either rely on the A.I. to heal when necessary - never a sound plan - or switch between each character and do it yourself, leaving yourself open to A.I. caused damage. For a game that supposedly gives you the tools to not have to micromanage to this extent, this is ridiculous.

Ah - you again; another question? Make it quick, we are in the middle of a review. Who cares about my troubled fighting system babble, you want to hear about the only thing that matters in a RPG, the story, right now? Patience isn't a virtue you were imbued with, was it? Well, I'll cover that after security escorts you out to our patience-teaching chamber, equipped with a PSOne playing only Shadow Madness. You are about find out just how painful waiting can be.

Back to the matter at hand. The story was to be the saving grace of Star Ocean. This outer space, time-traveling adventure, with an interesting and original cast and countless unforeseen twists and turns was well-received by the hype machine, with most opinions ranging from above average to unabashed affection. And with good reason, as this game takes you down a less-traveled road.

The story begins at a futuristic-looking vacation resort. Our main character, Fayt Leingod (yet another feminine-looking hero) is here with his scientist parents, his best friend Sophia Esteed and her scientists parents, all enjoying some much needed time off. Just as Fayt and Sophia are about to enjoy some videogames, the resort is taken over by terrorists in search for Fayt's parents. After some wild moments, Fayt finds himself stranded alone on a far less advanced planet than he came from - think medieval. While attempting to blend in with his surroundings as he searches for a way off this planet to find his parents and friend, a task he fails at with ease, a blond brute from his time by the name of Cliff Fittir flies down and nabs him. Cliff, a member of the rebel organization known as Quark is also searching for Fayt's parents, though he refuses to reveal why. Fayt is forced to either team up with this organization on his own terms or become not only their prisoner but their trade bait. Intriguing and far from your normal RPG fare.

As you progress through the story you will come across many moments which fall under the category of non-linear expansion. Don't misinterpret that as Star Ocean being a non-linear game though, because it is very linear. Non-linear expansion is the term given to the optional story events that can be sought out and pursued during your travels. These events can add nothing more than a new piece of info about a character or a storyline additive, while others can lead to new characters and items. The sheer amount of these events is huge and, coupled with the item creation and game plus modes, gives the completist plenty to keep themselves busy.

As the storyline continues to steam forward, continually keeping you on your toes with its twists and turns, some pacing issues and unresolved questions give the overall experience a few bumps to overcome. But that is nothing compared to what the storytelling is ready to inflict. Through liberal use of amateurish voice acting and a minimalist script, what were merely bumps are now mountains to be crashed into. I wish I had an answer as to why this happens, a specific person or group to point my finger at and send evil glares, but alas, the excuses are not common knowledge.

Voice acting can be broken into two categories: chit-chat and meaningful. When the dialogue one would consider chit-chat is being exchanged, such as "Hi, how are you," the voice acting is acceptable. There seems to be no confusion on how to properly read these lines. That goes right out the window when the meaningful lines come up. Once a moment calls for a portrayal of emotion and/or tension, the voice actors seem to fall apart. Deliveries sound rushed as well as lacking precision and practice, the actors seem confused as to the context of the situation, or maybe it's just a lack of talent on the part of the voice director and/or the actors. This story is full of tense and emotional moments that are integral to showing us why we should care about the people involved, making each unsuccessful line delivery more destructive than the last.

A side note to this is that there are many experienced voice actors tapped for this project, including notable anime voice actors such as Wendee Lee, Sherry Lynn, Crispin Freeman and Beau Billingslea. With those four alone they should have be able to shore the acting up enough for it to be acceptable. The problem is, other than Nel, they were all given the roles of optional characters. And Adray, who was added only in the director's cut version, has almost no involvement in the story, along with never coming out during cut scenes with the rest of the party; translating roughly into him having almost no lines.

There is one way the terrible voice acting could be given a bit of slack - a solid script. Alas, this is not the case. I felt as if I was reading a play for fifth graders - very minimal lines that are straight to the point. No fancy adjectives, no overly dramatic or emotional dialogue, just robotic movement. I thought about using cliché, but that's not an accurate term - it goes beyond that. Think of a conversation you would have with a stranger or an acquaintance. Dilution sets in swiftly as every character in the game seems to be pulling from the same line reservoir. No character, other than maybe Nel, Albel, and randomly Cliff, set themselves apart with their words alone. No one came alive for me as they all said the same things and felt the same feelings. There was never an unexpected action or out of character response, nor were there any substantial emotional changes within any of the characters. It began to feel as if all the challenges the story presented were dealt with physically, not spiritually or emotionally, as if they were machines.

When I first penned a quick review after finishing the game, I used an age old cliché which I feel still sums up this game pretty accurately. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is the RPG equivalent of a stereotypical supermodel - all looks, no brain, confused heart. This is the perfect RPG for newcomers to the genre as well as the younger teenagers who will come for the visuals, stay for the fighting and accept, maybe even appreciate, the simple, dry dialogue. Veterans of the genre, ask yourself this question before picking Star Ocean up: just how forgiving are you?

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).