STAR OCEAN: THE SECOND STORY CHARACTER FAQ (v2.1, 1-21-00) by Edward Chang (EdwChang@aol.com) Revision History: v2.1 Whooo! It's been a long time, hasn't it. No, don't have the Music Test catalogued... other things, such as FF8 and FFA, have been taking up my time. But a couple of revisions thanks to the kind and patient work by Deona Lindholm. Thanks!!! v2.0 Finished the voice collection! Yay! Thanks to everyone who wrote in with quotes. Also finally managed to get the Music Test. You need AT LEAST 959 quotes to access it! I think I'll start cataloguing the music samples for the next revision... v1.4 Few minor corrections. With the start of school I've had waaaaay less time to hunt down those last few stray quotes. Ah well... v1.3 Got even more quotes in... sigh, apparently I need only 7 more quotes for the Music Test. Time to hunt those down... added the Bloody Armor trick courtesy of G Nocide. v1.2 Fleshed out some more quotes... just finished the game for the third time, (first time on Galaxy). On to Universe... by the way, has anybody been able to access the music test? I have well over the 70% required, but I can't find it... any help? v1.1 Revised a few attack descriptions. Added the "Spell Reactions" section, still in very early development. v1.0 Why is this version 1.0? Well, because I've finally catalogued all the voices in my Voice Collection. I'm still looking for the missing ones so if you have 'em, send 'em in! v0.94 Added many Celine, Bowman, Precis, Ashton, and Dias quotes. Also added another money-making trick. Revised description of Precis' attack. Added some more voices courtesy of Dias Flac. Added my own tip about party compositions. Altered description of Press (thanks go to Matt LeVan). v0.93 Continued adding voices; started writing down the actual quotes. Also still working on getting the alternate (and very rare!) quotes for ally deaths... I pretty much have Claude and Rena done except for a lot of ally death quotes. (So? So what if I'm good enough not to die ;)). Added the Amazing Eternal Sphere Trick courtesy of James Sigountos. Added the SPECIAL NOTE (see below). v0.92 Revised some Killer Moves descriptions. Anybody who can send me missing voice samples will be greatly appreciated! v0.91 Continued filling out the quotes, altered a few Killer Move descriptions also, thanks to YelseyKing and Jonathan Hensley for the input. Another (untested) tip from Setzer X. Realized that one of the quotes I attributed to Bowman was actually Ernest's. v0.9 Mini-revisions. Slightly altered description of some of Opera's Killer Moves and added more items to the Tips and Tricks section. Realized that I left out the Nitpicky Commentary on Voice (TM) for Chisato. Started adding Voice Collection catalog, description only at this point. Will add actual quotes later. More money tips courtesy of Setzer X v0.8 First version Introduction: Greetings! Those of you who have seen my previous FAQ on Xenogears know that I like to focus on the characters. For this reason, this FAQ will not be a walkthrough or cover gameplay issues or anything. Rather it will be, like the title says, a character FAQ. (Those of you who want to e-mail me and yell at me for the like-as grammatical error in the previous sentence can go away now.) I won't put too much "old" info, that is, any information you can find in three other different places. Those of you looking for good in-depth info over general gameplay and what-not should refer to Ian Kelly's absolutely fantastic FAQ, make that FAQ's. (Although the information is applicable to the Japanese version, so names and some other stuff are incorrect for the US one). So without much further ado, here's the FAQ! SPECIAL NOTE: Okay, some further ado. In an interview with Japanese gaming mad ZA PUREESTESHON (The Playstation) tri-Ace stated that as it was, it was impossible to get a 100% filled voice collection. Apparently, some of the blocks in the voice collection you will never hear, such as Noel saying "Firebolt!" or "Antidote!". As to why these gaps appear, who knows? Maybe just to annoy perfectionists like me. CLAUDE KENNI Claude is required to be in your party, so you don't have much of a choice. Regardless, he is probably the best fighter in the game. Since you get control of him early in the game, no matter whose scenario you play, you get to control his "evolution" (i.e. Skill Points, etc.) much more thouroughly than some other characters. Claude's attack has excellent range and recovers pretty quickly. Add to that the fact that he can use the most powerful weapons and he becomes a valuable addition to the team. However, he doesn't really fall under the "Orlandu syndrome" so you still have to be careful with him. Pump up his Mental Training, Feint, and Parry skills and he'll be virtually unstoppable. The other combat skills help too, of course. Feed him Steak and make him play the Silver Trumpet :) My nitpicky commentary on voice: Eh, I really have nothing to say about Claude's voice acting. It's okay. There's one voice clip where he says "Crawd has advanced forward", though, and it seems as if it was recorded before they decided whether his name should be Crawd or Claude (both are valid transliterations of the Japanese name). KILLER MOVES Phase Gun MP: 0 Not a real Killer Move, since you can't use it as soon as you step into the Salva Drift. Too bad, too, because this move is at least ten times as powerful as your starting sword attacks. Air Slash MP: 4 Level: 3 Top Proficiency: 200 At long range, fires a beam of energy across the ground for fairly good damage. At close range, makes a wave around Claude. I find this move a LOT more useful at long range, since the execution time means that you'll probably get hit out of it at short range. Shooting Stars MP: 7 Level: 7 Top Proficiency: 300 At long range (well, longer short range), fires a wave of energy at the enemy. The wave is no more powerful than a regular attack, so the only advantage is range. At short range it becomes a lot of punches. This will probably be your first multi-hit Killer Move, but I don't find it all that useful. You'll usually knock the enemy away and end up hitting them at most twice. Head Splitter MP: 9 Level: 13 Top Proficiency: 260 This is why I don't find Shooting Stars that useful: I use this instead. At any range, Claude jumps high into the air and falls sword first on the enemy. If Claude is being controlled by the computer he'll use this Killer Move like there's no tomorrow, which is bad in that it drains MP like heck, but it's good because you can build up proficiency easily. While he's high in the air he's invulnerable to normal attacks too, so that helps. If he's too far away though, the enemy will move and this will miss. Also, if you want to cross the battlefield really quickly you can perform this move on a far-away enemy instead of running over there. Energy Sword MP: 11 Level: 20 Top Proficiency: 200 To me this move is utterly useless. If Claude is doing his job he'll be smack in the middle of enemies, and this move will get disrupted before he ever finishes. Otherwise, it's supposed to refill some HP, but it's not that powerful anyway. Burst Knuckle MP: 12 Level: 28 Top Proficiency: 100 Claude fires flames at the enemy. I guess it's a more powerful version of Shooting Stars. I don't use this one that much either since it only hits once (at least until you power it up) and drains MP really quickly. It reaches top proficiency pretty quickly though. Ripper Blast MP: 17 Level: 38 Top Proficiency: 270 With a cry of "Tear into pieces!" (which my sister insists is "Pear into peaches!") Claude causes jagged boulders to rise up around him to hit the enemy. The rocks go high enough to hit aerial creatures. This move also hits multiple times if the enemy is caught in the middle of it. Like Head Splitter, the computer AI uses this one a lot too. It's a good move to invest proficiency into, though. Higher levels means more rocks. Twin Slash MP: 15 Level: 45 Top Proficiency: 160 Claude slices the enemy twice with his sword. At higher levels he does four slashes. Good if you're trying to disrupt enemy spellcasters, but the execution time is long if you miss. Another easy-to-level move. Dragon Howl MP: 28 Level: 53 Top Proficiency: 500 Claude creates a ghost dragon which shoots down energy at the enemy. This move is okay, but the MP cost is pretty high for the amount of damage it does, and unless you devote a lot of time into it, you can forget about achieving maximum proficiency in this move. You can use it to keep flying enemies away from you though. Handy against Weird Avior's and their ilk. Sword Bomber MP: 32 Level: 62 Top Proficiency: 420 Claude jumps into the air and lobs fire down at the enemy. Again, the higher the level, the more fireballs. I tend to not use this move too much, simply because of the high MP cost. Besides, you're only eight levels away from... Mirror Slice MP: 38 Level: 70 Top Proficiency: 460 Whoo! This is a great move. Catch a enemy in the blade and you can expect to hit at least five times for a heck of a lot of damage. Who cares about the MP cost? By the time you get this move you should have enough MP to perform it a lot of times, and the damage-to-MP ratio is really worth it. Turn off Strong Blow if you use this move or else you might knock the enemy out of the effect area. VOICE SAMPLES (0-87) voiced by Jimmy Freeman 0-9 -- attack 10-19 -- injured 20 -- "Hey!" (level up) 21 -- "My strength!" (level up) 22 -- "Yes!" (level up) 23 -- "Advance forward!" (level up) 24 -- "Crawd (sic) has advanced forward... ha." (level up) 25 -- "Oh it's just them." (begin battle) 26 -- "Things'll work out somehow." (begin battle) 27 -- "We can win this!" (begin battle) 28 -- "The enemy..." (begin battle) 29 -- "Be careful!" (begin battle) 30 -- "Things'll work out... I think." (begin battle) 31 -- "This is bad!" (begin battle) 32 -- "This is bad, here's the enemy!" (begin battle) 33 -- "Stay focused!" (begin battle) 34 -- "What!" (begin battle) 35 -- "Behind?!?" (begin battle) 36 -- "Be careful!" (begin battle) 37 -- "Looks like we won..." (end battle) 38 -- "Unexpectedly weak!" (end battle) 39 -- "We have a full score with this!" (end battle) 40 -- "It was okay." (end battle) 41 -- "Are you hurt?" (end battle) 42 -- "Well, that's somewhere around eighty points." (end battle) 43 -- "That was close!" (end battle) 44 -- "You must be careful!" (end battle) 45 -- "That was around... fifty points?" (end battle) 46 -- "Let's get out of here!" (run) 47 -- "We're out of here!" (run) 48 -- "I guess this is it..." (near death) 49 -- "We can't go further..." (near death) 50 -- "I can't see!" (near death) 51 -- "I'm losing strength..." (near death) 52 -- "I don't want to lose..." (near death) 53 -- "I can't afford to lose..." (near death) 54 -- "No..." (death) 55 -- "Mother..." (death) 56 -- "Rena..." (death) 57 -- "Waa!" (ally death) 58 -- "This can't be!" (ally death) 59 -- "Shucks!" (ally death 60 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 61 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 62 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 63 -- "You're kidding!" (ally death) 64 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 65 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 66 -- "No way!" (ally death) 67 -- "Sorry..." (aided) 68 -- "Thank you." (aided 69 -- "Sorry!" (aided) 70 -- "You're a savior." (aided) 71 -- "Thanks for saving me." (aided) 72 -- "Thank you very much" (aided) 73 -- "We're gonna win!" (taunt) 74 -- "Come on!" (taunt) 75 -- "Shouldn't you run away?" (taunt) 76 -- "You think you can win over the Hero of Light?" (taunt) 77 -- "Shooting stars!" 78 -- "Air slash!" 79 -- "Hya!" (Head Splitter) 80 -- "Twin Slash!" 81 -- "Burn!" (Phase Gun) 82 -- "Burst Knuckle!" 83 -- "Energy!" (Energy Sword) 84 -- "Dragon Howl!" 85 -- "Sword Bomber!" 86 -- "Mirror Slice!" 87 -- "Tear into pieces!" (Ripper Blast) Summary: Earlier in the game I stick Head Splitter and Air Slash on him. After he gets Ripper Blast I use that instead of Head Splitter. From there I usually don't change anything until he gets Mirror Slice, at which point I use that. RENA LANFORD Rena is the other character you are required to have. But she is worth it! For about the entire game she'll be your only healer (since Noel's really no good at it), and for many boss fights you'll definitely want her in the ranks. Set her strategy to Aid Friends! or Recover Friends Only!, since if she gets mixed up too much with the enemy she'll die. Earlier in the game she's actually pretty good at fighting though. Jack up Motormouth so she can cast spells really quickly. You'll also want skills that affect Intelligence (Functionality, Fairyology) and probably Mental Science. Her attack has an okay range and relatively short recovery time. She is probably the best "fighter" among the spellcasters. Just don't use her too much when fighting. Feed her Shortcake and make her play the Lyre. My nitpicky commentary on voice: The voice sounds kind of young for a 17-year old, but it's okay. For some reason the fact that they left a Japanese voice sample in for "Tractor Beam" really annoys me. Make it completely one way or the other, okay? SPELLS Heal MP: 3 You'll heal a bit of HP. Absolutely essential during the first portion of the game, but later gets outclassed by other spells. Even using Blueberries will beat this spell eventually. Antidote MP: 5 Level: 3 Another important spell. As the name implies, it'll negate poison on a single person. A good support spell, and relatively cheap. Press MP: 7 Level: 5 This spell creates a "100-ton" weight and drops it on a single enemy. Not terribly powerful, but it might help you if you're trying to disrupt a far-away enemy spellcaster. As with most of her attack spells, though, Rena is completely outclassed by Celine. However, using this spell there is a small chance that you can instantly kill the enemy. Don't depend on it though, it's not that common. Void-elemental. Deep Mist MP: 11 Level: 8 This spell apparently makes it harder for enemies to hit you. I never see much of a difference though, so I usually turn this spell off since the AI tends to cast it too much. Dark-elemental. Cure Light MP: 11 Level: 10 A much more powerful version of Heal. You'll use this spell a lot until your HP's start getting towards the 3 or 4 thousands. It takes a while to take effect, though, and your target might die before the HP refills. Silence MP: 14 Level: 12 Like Deep Mist, another spell I tend to turn off. It never seems to work when you need it to, and I find it easier to disrupt enemy spells simply by casting one of Rena's attack spells. Ray MP: 10 Level: 14 Rena's first major attack spell. By the time you get this Celine will have had it for awhile, so it's not all that useful, but still handy. It will hit all enemies so it's good for disrupting enemy spells. Try having Rena cast this at the same time as Celine's Ray... Light- elemental Energy Net MP: 12 Level: 18 This spell drops a purple energy field over the enemies, stunning them. Doesn't always work, and the effects don't last that long, so I turn this spell off too. It might be good in a pinch, though. Dark-elemental. Cure All MP: 18 Level: 20 This spell will save your life many, many times. It'll heal all memebrs of your party for about the same amount as a Cure Light. Always have this spell handy, at least until you get Fairy Light. Delay MP: 18 Level: 22 Slows down a single enemy. It's an okay spell, but I find it easier to speed up your own party members with Haste since Haste doesn't miss. Dispel MP: 24 Level: 25 Another life-saving spell. Usually if a character is paralyzed or petrified, Rena will cast this spell immediately (if the AI is good). Very handy to have, unless Rena herself is the one petrified or paralyzed... Gravity Press MP: 24 Level: 28 Like a mass version of Press. The damage it does is okay, but again it is outshadowed by Celine's spells, which will do at least twice the damage. You do get it sooner than Celine in terms of levels, though. It will only hit within a certain area. Void-elemental. Light Cross MP: 18 Level: 30 Now this is more like it. This will hit ALL enemies, and it costs less MP than Gravity Press! The damage is respectable, but not great. A lot of enemies are weak against Light, though... Try combining this spell with Celine's Lunar Light. Light-elemental. Protection MP: 18 Level: 33 The first really useful support spell. Cast it on fighter characters; the AI tends to be a bit "selfish" and will cast it on the people that don't really need it all that much first. Tractor Beam MP: 22 Level: 36 For some reason the voice sample to this spell was left in its Japanese version, at least on my copy... It will take an area of enemies and drop them on their heads. Okay for damage, but Rena's forte isn't attack magic. Star-elemental. Haste MP: 20 Level: 42 Speeds up the movement rate of a single ally. If the enemies are just slightly faster than your characters this could save your life. On the other hand, you might want to conserve Rena's MP for healing... Growth MP: 22 Level: 47 Raises attack power. I don't find this spell that useful, since there are many other ways to raise attack power. Again, you might want to save up Rena's MP. If Leon is in your party you might want to have him cast this instead, since he can afford to give up more time. Fairy Heal MP: 30 Level: 52 Now this is a great spell. The MP cost might be a bit high, but it will heal several thousand HP for a single character. Absolutely essential in boss battles. Anti MP: 40 Level: 54 Raises the party's magic defense. The spell is useful, certainly, but I usually make Celine cast this spell instead to conserve Rena's MP. This spell can be so strong that it will actually negate some lesser attack spells. Void-elemental. Raise Dead MP: 45 Level: 60 Another essential spell. Be sure to have Ressurection items on hand though, in case Rena is the one that falls. Less advantageous than items since it takes time to cast, but it can literally be a life- saver. Star Flare MP: 26 Level: 63 I could pass on this spell. By the time you get this spell Celine will be doing so much more damage you'll look at this spell and say "That's it?" It does affect all enemies, though, so it's mildly useful. Light-, not Star, elemental. Fairy Light MP: 40 Level: 65 Heals everybody for a really large amount. Essential once you get to Fienal. What more can I say? Rena is the queen of healing. Be sure to have her for all boss fights. Angel Feather MP: 30 Level: 72 This spell's description says it raises "all parameters", but doesn't bother to say exactly what's included in "all parameters". Again, I usually make Celine cast this instead, but in cases where you want to cast this spell quickly on all your characters, it can be handy to have both of them cast it. VOICE SAMPLES (88-204, 205?) voiced by Donna Mae Wong 88-97 -- attack 98-107 -- injured 108 -- "Yes!" (level up) 109 -- "Oh good!" (level up) 110 -- "I did it!" (level up) 111 -- "My strength is starting to overflow!" (level up) 112 -- "I feel stronger." (level up) 113 -- "There's the enemy." (begin battle) 114 -- "I'm coming!" (begin battle) 115 -- "Beware!" (begin battle) 116 -- "Heads up!" (begin battle) 117 -- "Are you ready?" (begin battle) 118 -- "Better be careful." (begin battle) 119 -- "Looks strong." (begin battle) 120 -- "I won't lose." (begin battle) 121 -- "Be careful." (begin battle) 122 -- "The back?!?" (beign battle) 123 -- "Careful!" (begin battle) 124 -- "When did they...!" (begin battle) 125 -- "Piece of cake." (end battle) 126 -- "It's over!" (end battle) 127 -- "Weaker than I thought." (end battle) 128 -- "Oh good." (end battle) 129 -- "Are you okay?" (end battle) 130 -- "It's finally over." (end battle) 131 -- "Anybody hurt?" (end battle) 132 -- "That was close." (end battle) 133 -- "Phew!" (end battle) 134 -- "It's hopeless!" (run) 135 -- "Let's run!" (run) 136 -- "Oh..." (near death) 137 -- "No..." (near death) 138 -- "I won't lose..." (near death) 139 -- "Not here..." (near-death) 140 -- "No, I don't want to die..." (near death) 141 -- "Help..." (near death) 142 -- "Mother..." (death) 143 -- "My body..." (death) 144 -- "Ugh..." (death) 145 -- "No!" (death) 146 -- "I can't see..." (death) 147 -- "No!" (ally death) 148 -- "You've done it..." (ally death) 149 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 150 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 151 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 152 -- "Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 153 -- "Gyoro! Ururun!" (if Ashton dies) 154 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 155 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 156 -- "Thanks." (aided) 157 -- "Sorry." (aided) 158 -- "You saved me." (aided) 159 -- "I'm sorry." (aided) 160 -- "Thanks for saving me." (aided) 161 -- "I'm so sorry." (aided) 162 -- "I'm not going to lose." (taunt) 163 -- "Come get me." (taunt) 164 -- "Come over here." (taunt) 165 -- "Now's your chance to run away." (taunt) 166 -- "Oh fog!" (Deep Mist) 167 -- "Deep Mist!" 168 -- "Be crushed!" (Press) 169 -- "Press!" 170 -- "Hit it!" (Gravity Press) 171 -- "Gravity Press!" 172 -- "Don't move!" (Energy Net) 173 -- "Energy Mat!" (Energy Net) 174 -- "Anti!" 175 -- "Oh Light!" (Heal) 176 -- "Heal!" 177 -- "Cure Light!" 178 -- "Please!" (Fairy Heal) 179 -- "Fairy Heal!" 180 -- "Oh Healing Light!" (Cure All) 181 -- "Cure All!" 182 -- "Heal everyone!" (Fairy Heal) 183 -- "Fairy Heal!" (Fairy Light) 184 -- "Oh healing power..." (Raise Dead) 185 -- "Bestow Mercy!" (Raise Dead) 186 -- "Raise!" (Raise Dead) 187 -- "Antidote!" 188 -- "Disappear you impure people!" (Dispel) 189 -- "Dispel!" 190 -- "Haste!" 191 -- "Oh time!" (Haste or Delay) 192 -- "Delay!" 193 -- "Power up!" (Growth) 194 -- "Growth!" 195 -- "Oh shield of light!" (Protection) 196 -- "Protection!" 197 -- "Lend me your strength!" (Angel Feather) 198 -- "Angel Feather!" 199 -- "Silence!" 200 -- "Oh light!" (Ray) 201 -- "Ray!" 202 -- "Oh holy cross!" (Light Cross) 203 -- "Light Cross!" 204 -- "Star Flare!" Summary: Unless I'm trying to be masochistic, I always have Rena in my party. Always. In my opinion she is the best character in the game; Claude may be a great fighter but you can always replace him with, say, Ashton, who is almost as good. On the other hand you can't replace Rena. (Those of you who want to use Noel in place of Rena can try and die.) CELINE JULES The best attack magician. Leon may have a better spell (Extinction), but when you look at the overall repertoire you'll realize Celine has some much better spells. You don't have to have her in your party, but why wouldn't you? For some reason I always find Celine good at Alchemy. I also invest in Motormouth. Celine also almost always comes with the Sense of Design talent so she'll be good at Art. Like Rena, Celine needs lots of Intelligence so put some points into those skills that raise that stat. You should almost never use Celine to fight. The range is pretty bad, and the recovery time for her attack is long, so you'll probably get hit. Even if you're out of MP, it's usually best just to sit tight and let the fighters take care of everything. Umm... Baby Rabbit Risotto, Baby Rabbit Risotto, Violin, Violin. Need I say anything else? (Talk about expensive tastes, by the way!) My nitpicky voice commentary: Celine's voice is pretty good for her attitude: "I deserve this!" :) Still, for some reason I expected her to have some kind of fake British accent, or at least a high-society type of accent, like when she says in the Arena, if Claude loses (not a voice sample) "Oh Claude darling, that's TOO BAD". In fact, just the regular use of the word "darling" seems to hint at that kind of accent. Still, I like the voice samples in general. SPELLS Firebolt MP: 2 Fires a small fireball at a single enemy. Not a definite-hit spell. I say, why bother? Pretty useless to me. Fire-elemental. Wind Blade MP: 2 Like Firebolt, only sends a small column of air at an enemy. Will hit flying enemies. Again, not a definite-hit spell, so why bother? Air- elemental. Thunderbolt MP: 4 This is slightly better. When it is cast, a small cloud appears over the target and a bolt of lightning hits the enemy. If the enemy moves (or is hit) after the cloud forms, the spell will miss... however it hits a lot more often than either Firebolt or Wind Blade. Good if you want to disrupt a spell caster since it is so fast. Thunder-elemental. Ray MP: 10 Level: 9 Just like Rena's spell. You can combine the two for extra damage. However, this spell quickly becomes obsolete in Celine's repertoire. It is still the first spell you will probably get that hits all enemies. Light-elemental. Energy Arrow MP: 17 Level: 12 Fires many purplish/pinkish bolts at one enemy. Definite hit, and also hits for about 500 points of damage. Absolutely priceless when you first get it, as it will be the most damaging thing you can do for awhile. Vacuum-elemental. Forget MP: 10 Level: 15 Causes multiple enemies to forget their spells. I don't see much of a difference between this spell and Rena's Silence. I don't use it that much either, since it never seems to work when you need it to. Thunder-elemental. Starlight MP: 10 Level: 17 Once you get this spell its pretty pointless to ever cast Ray again, since this spell is more powerful and costs the same amount of MP. Attacks everything on the screen for a couple hundred points of damage. Star-elemental. Reflection MP: 8 Level: 19 Despite its name, the spell seems to do nothing to other attack spells. Rather, it simply seems to raise defense. Good for fighters, but the AI seems to cast this spell on itself a lot. Mind Absorber MP: 1 Level: 22 Steals an enemy's MP and gives it to you. Not as useful as it sounds; many enemies don't have MP in the first place, and the spell misses a lot anyway. In the later stages of the game your Stamina should be so high that you should be regenerating more MP than you are using anyway. Vacuum-elemental. Neutral MP: 17 Level: 27 Cancels the effects of an enemy spell. Will NOT cure petrification, paralyzation, or poison. For this reason I found this spell to be useless. Not once in the entire game did an enemy cast anything like Delay on me. I ended up casting this spell only once (so I could add it to the Voice Collection). Bless MP: 18 Level: 28 A white light improves the character's accuracy. I suppose it would be good if an enemy tended to block your attacks too much. I didn't use it that often, though, because I tend to keep Celine in attacking magic mode. This spell will let you hit those enemies with shields from the front, which you normally wouldn't be able to do. Thunderstorm MP: 28 Level: 31 Lightning hits all enemies on the screen. Does okay damage, especially to those enemies weak against Thunder. MP cost is fairly high though. The first multiple-attack spell you get in awhile. Thunder-elemental. Eruption MP: 30 Level: 34 Causes fire to pour over all the enemies. Pretty much the same damage potential as Thunderstorm. Casting times start getting hideously long unless you've been investing in Motormouth. Fire-elemental. Curse MP: 20 Level: 39 Negates the effects of any spell a single enemy has cast. Sort of like a mass version of Neutral. I didn't find this spell to be of any use either. Lunar Light MP: 38 Level: 43 Now this is more like it. Beams of moonlight create an explosion that causes several thousand points of damage! The earlier in the game you can get this spell, the better. If you have it going into the Tower of Eluria it becomes a snap. Watch the MP consumption, though. Light-elemental. Southern Cross MP: 42 Level: 49 Much like Lunar Light. Five stars crash onto the battlefield. If an enemy is weak against Star magic use this one; otherwise use Lunar Light since they are about equally effective and this one costs more MP. Later on the animation shows more stars... I counted eight once. Star-elemental. Thundercloud MP: 40 Level: 55 An even more powerful version of Thunderstorm. By the time you get this spell your magic stat should be so high that if an enemy is weak against Thunder this spell will do 9999 damage. Less expensive than Southern Cross, too. Thunder-elemental. Anti MP: 40 Level: 59 Like Rena's spell. See above for comments. Explode MP: 54 Level: 66 A mass fire spell. This spell takes WAY too long to animate; I eventually turned it off because I was sick of watching it happen. Also expensive and only about as effective as some previous spells. Fire-elemental. Angel Feather MP: 30 Level: 76 Like Rena's spell. See above. Meteor Swarm MP: 82 Summons many meteors to crash into the enemy. Pretty much a guaranteed 9999 points of damage to everyone. However, the MP cost is so high, and other spells might be just as damaging (depending on weaknesses), that I rarely use this spell. Also takes forever! Star-elemental. VOICE SAMPLES (205-326) voiced by Kana Koinuma 205-214 -- attack 215-224 -- injured 225 -- "I deserve this!" (level up) 226 -- "I did it!" (level up) 227 -- "I'm so happy." (level up) 228 -- "I'm getting something." (level up) 229 -- "This is no big deal." (level up) 230 -- "They're nothing." (begin battle) 231 -- "Oh, here's the enemy." (begin battle) 232 -- "We can win this." (begin battle) 233 -- "Here's the enemy." (begin battle) 234 -- "I have no choice!" (begin battle) 235 -- "Looks like I must fight." (begin battle) 236 -- "They look pretty tough." (begin battle) 237 -- "Concentrate!" (begin battle) 238 -- "This might be a good fight!" (begin battle) 239 -- "What!" (begin battle) 240 -- "When did you..." (begin battle) 241 -- "Behind me?!?" (begin battle) 242 -- "You're too easy." (end battle) 243 -- "You're too weak." (end battle) 244 -- "They were weak." (end battle) 245 -- "I guess that's it." (end battle) 246 -- "I'm glad we're okay." (end battle) 247 -- "Oh, is it already finished?" (end battle) 248 -- "Thank god!" (end battle) 249 -- "It was just okay." (end battle) 250 -- "That was close!" (end battle) 251 -- "Let's run!" (run) 252 -- "It's useless beyond this point." (run) 253 -- "Ouch..." (near death) 254 -- "This isn't good..." (near death) 255 -- "Not here..." (near death) 256 -- "You've done it..." (near death) 257 -- "You're responsible for this!" (near death) 258 -- "Oh no!" (death) 259 -- "Uh..." (death) (No, not like Master P ;)) 260 -- "I can't move!" (death) 261 -- "That better not leave a mark..." (death) 262 -- "Get ready for this!" (ally death) 263 -- "What have you done?" (ally death) 264 -- "I can't forgive you!" (ally death) 265 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 266 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 267 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 268 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 269 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 270 -- "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 271 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 272 -- "Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 273 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 274 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 275 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 276 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 277 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 278 -- "No!" (ally death) 279 -- "Thank you!" (aided) 280 -- "You saved me." (aided) 281 -- "I'm so sorry." (aided) 282 -- "So sorry." (aided) 283 -- "I'm sorry." (aided) 284 -- "Thanks for saving me." (aided) 285 -- "You think you can win?" (taunt) 286 -- "What in the world are you doing?" (taunt) 287 -- "You can't win over us." (taunt) 288 -- "Don't you think you should run away?" (taunt) 289 -- "Firebolt!" 290 -- "Oh flame!" (Eruption) 291 -- "Eruption!" 292 -- "Burn to death!" (Explode) 293 -- "Explode!" 294 -- "Wind Blade!" 295 -- "Thunderbolt!" 296 -- "Bolt Down!" (Thunderstorm) 297 -- "Thunderstorm!" 298 -- "Oh power of protection!" (Reflection) 299 -- "Reflection!" 300 -- "Oh come storm!" (Thundercloud) 301 -- "Thundercloud!" 302 -- "Oh thunder run!" (Forget) 303 -- "Forget!" 304 -- "Oh light!" (Starlight) 305 -- "Starlight!" 306 -- "Oh come shooting stars!" (Meteor Swarm) 307 -- "Meteor Swarm!" 308 -- "Southern Cross!" 309 -- "Go!" (Ray) 310 -- "Ray!" 311 -- "Oh moonlight!" (Lunar Light) 312 -- "Lunar Light!" 313 -- "Disappear!" (Anti) 314 -- "Anti!" 315 -- "Gather together darkness!" (Energy Arrow) 316 -- "Energy Arrow!" 317 -- "Excuse me..." (Mind Absorber) 318 -- "Mind Absorber!" 319 -- "I'll leave it up to you." (Angel Feather) 320 -- "Angel Feather!" 321 -- "I'm so sorry." (Curse) 322 -- "Curse!" 323 -- "Oh the goddess of luck!" (Bless) 324 -- "Bless!" 325 -- "Disappear!" (Neutral) 326 -- "Neutral!" Summary: In the earlier parts of the game Celine is invaluable. She should be in your party at all times. Later her usefulness pans out because fighters start doing more damage in less time... Still, you should always recruit her. Always. ASHTON ANCHORS The unlucky swordsman with two dragons stuck to his back. Despite his rather silly appearance, he is the second-best fighter in the game. Yes, better than Dias, in my opinion. (Does Dias have anything like Sword Dance? Didn't think so. ;)) His worst stat is his Luck (always 18 w/o modification), which I guess affects hit and dodge rates. So pump that one up with accessories. His higher weapons also boost Luck. His attack is pretty good. Range and recovery time are better than average, but doesn't match Claude's. Like Claude, pump up Ashton's combat skills. I didn't find him to be too useful in any Specialties, but maybe that's because everytime I recruit him he only had one Talent. (And I was too lazy to reload). Feed him the good ol' Hamburger. He's also quite good with the Piano, they say. My nitpicky commentary on voice: Sometimes he sounds good, other times not. He sounds rather strained sometimes (I diiid iiit!). On the other hand it's just cool hearing him say "Piercing Swords" or "Sword Dance". He's a tossup... KILLER MOVES Twin Stab MP: 4 Proficiency: 100 Ashton uses both of his swords to stab the enemy. Each attack only does about as much damage as a regular attack. Plus, the second attack comes out kind of slow, so Ashton is vulnerable. Only okay for a Killer Move. Cross Slash MP: 8 Proficiency: 100 Another two-hit move. This time he uses a downward slash and then sails forward in a weird flying-type move. Like Twin Stab, the second part takes way too long to execute, and the recovery from the sailing part is horrid. Even if he hits, he'll continue pushing up against the enemy where they can easily whack him back. Leaf Slash MP: 19 At long range, Ashton creates a whirlwind of leaves around an enemy and then pops up in the center, hitting them. Excellent if you want to get to an enemy (say a spellcaster) as quickly as possible. The execution is a bit long but this time it didn't bother me as much. Northern Cross MP: 9 Level: 18 Proficiency: 200 Ashton creates flying shards of ice. Again, way too slow to be really effective. I ended up using this Killer Move once. And only once. Water-elemental. Piercing Swords MP: 12 Level: 22 Proficiency: 130 Ashton's first really good Killer Move. He throws swords in a straight line ahead of him. Long range, and plus the move is fairly quick, for once. This is a good move to invest in (higher proficiency means more swords!) Hurricane Slash MP: 16 Level: 45 Proficiency: 200 Ashton hits the enemy with his swords and then creates a hurricane that can lift the enemy into the air. Another good move for its multi-hit capability. Note the huge gap in levels between this and Piercing Swords, though... Dead Triangle MP: 19 Level: 53 Proficiency: 200 Ashton surrounds the enemy by splitting into three. I could never get this Killer Move to work, the enemies always moved out of the way! Ashton's biggest weakness has to be the fact that some of his Killer Moves are sooooo slow. Dragon Breath MP: 28 Level: 64 Proficiency: 140 Gyoro and Ururun grow huge but only one of them breathes fire/ice on an enemy. Kind of risky if the enemy happens to have fire or ice protection, since you don't know in advance which one is going to be used. Once you reach top proficiency both dragons will attack at once. Fire or Water-elemental. Sword Dance MP: 32 Level: 70 Proficiency: 400 Ashton's complement to Claude's Mirror Slice, he moves his swords around quickly. Unlike Claude's Mirror Slice, he doesn't move forward during the execution, so turning off Strong Blow is a must if you want this move to be truly effective. Still, try sandwiching an enemy between Claude and Ashton and pulling off all the Mirror Slices and Sword Dances you can. Even the bosses don't last long after that... Tri-Ace MP: 45 Proficiency: 140 Creates a huge blade that sweeps over the battlefield. Actually hits every enemy. Kind of useless, because if you're strong enough to get this Killer Move from the Cave of Trials, you don't need this anyway. Still, interesting for the novelty. VOICE SAMPLES (607-696) voiced by David Babich 607-616 -- attack 617-626 -- injured 627 -- "Okay." (level up) 628 -- "I did it!" (level up) 629 -- "Oh good." (level up) 630 -- "I'm so happy!" (level up) 631 -- "I'm a bit embarrassed." (level up) 632 -- "I will win." (begin battle) 633 -- "Let's fight!" (begin battle) 634 -- "Here I go!" (begin battle) 635 -- "Ready Gyoro?" (begin battle) 636 -- "Ready Ururun?" (begin battle) 637 -- "Ready you two?" (begin battle) 638 -- "This is cruel." (begin battle) 639 -- "This is tough!" (begin battle) 640 -- "I must try harder or else." (begin battle) 641 -- "No way." (begin battle) 642 -- "Why?!?" (begin battle) 643 -- "What?!?" (begin battle) 644 -- "You're too easy." (end battle) 645 -- "We did it!" (end battle) 646 -- "It's over!" (end battle) 647 -- "That was close." (end battle) 648 -- "Got you." (end battle) 649 -- "That was a good workout." (end battle) 650 -- "I won!" (end battle) 651 -- "Whew!" (end battle) 652 -- "Whew, that surprised me." (end battle) 653 -- "Let's get out of here." (run) 654 -- "Geez, that was close." (run) 655 -- "You do the rest." (near death) 656 -- "I can still move..." (near death) 657 -- "Ow!" (near death) 658 -- "Follow up for me..." (near death) 659 -- "Uh oh... what shall I do?" (near death) 660 -- "Oh no!" (death) 661 -- "You're kidding me..." (death) 662 -- "Aaah!" (death) 663 -- "Sorry... everyone..." (death) 664 -- "(roars)" (ally death) 665 -- "You'll pay for that!" (ally death) 666 -- "I've had it!" (ally death) 667 -- "Crawd!" (if Claude dies) 668 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 669 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 670 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 671 -- "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 672 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 673 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 674 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 675 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 676 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 677 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 678 -- "I'm sorry." (aided) 679 -- "Thank you." (aided) 680 -- "You saved me." (aided) 681 -- "Thanks for saving me." (aided) 682 -- "Sorry for the trouble." (aided) 683 -- "I'm so sorry." (aided) 684 -- "Why don't you go home?" (taunt) 685 -- "I'm stronger than you think." (taunt) 686 -- "If you wanna run, you better do it now." (taunt) 687 -- "I'm not on your side!" (taunt) 688 -- "Sword Dance!" 689 -- "Cross Slash!" 690 -- "Twin Stab!" 691 -- "Northern Cross!" 692 -- "Piercing Swords!" 693 -- "Leaf Slash!" 694 -- "Dead Triangle!" 695 -- "Hurricane Slash!" 696 -- "Dragon Breath!" 697 -- "Oh the all-mighty Tria..." (tri-Ace) 698 -- "Over through all the enemies!" (tri-Ace) Summary: Ashton in the end is a tossup. He may be the second-best fighter in the game, but... getting him means you can't recruit Opera, or less importantly, Ernest. With the exception of Sword Dance, I found Opera's Killer Moves to be more effective than Ashton's. Still, it's a matter of personal preference. PRECIS NEWMAN An extremely hyper teenager, Precis is a master of machinery. Everything about her is unconventional. Her weapon is a giant robotic hand that is controlled by a device that looks suspiciously like a Dual Shock Playstation controller... the other thing that weirded me out is that before I looked at it closely, I could have sworn that her picture on the Status screen was giving me the finger (or rather, the robot hand was.) The one skill Precis definitely positively needs is Machinery. Sure, it gets expensive in terms of SP. But how else are you going to create those nifty weapons, and more importantly, those Killer Moves? Other than that, the usual combat skills will help, blah blah blah. Precis attack has good range, but there seems to be a slight pause while she winds up the huge hand, during which time she is vulnerable. Recovery time, too, is only okay. Precis has the ability, like Opera, to hit flying enemies without jumping, but only if she is far away. Unlike Opera, if she is standing directly below she'll jump. Feed her those chocolate crepes. She'll like the harmonica, too. My nitpicky commentary on voice: Precis's voice has to be her worst characteristic. I'm not kidding. She supposed to be, what, 16? So why does she sound half that age? The most annoying: "Here's Mr. Enemy!" Heck, I'm 17, and half the people in my grade are still 16, and none of them sound like that. Without helium, that is. KILLER MOVES Rocket Punch MP: 4 Proficiency: 120 Precis fires a huge robotic hand at the enemy. Will hit flying enemies too. This move is pretty cheap, fast, and overall good. It achieves top proficiency quickly too. Fairly effective. Hop Step MP: 5 Proficiency: 140 Precis leaps into the air and hits the enemy with a hammer. Another fairly quick move, although if Precis is standing too close to the enemy she'll get hit on the way up. Also easy to level. Mole MP: 7 Level: 17 Proficiency: 100 Precis turns Bobot into a drill device, climbs in, and burrows up under the enemy. A good move for the fact that while she is underground she is immune to normal attacks (and magic too? I don't know, I can never time it right). Again, easy to level up. Ally-Oop! MP: 8 Level: 25 Proficiency: 220 Precis throws one and later two Bobots at the enemy. Okay damage, but by this point you should be expecting more out of Precis's Killer Moves... Parabola Beam MP: 12 Level: 38 Proficiency: 240 Precis pulls out what looks like a satellite dish from her backpack and fires a beam from it. (Sounds like Parabora Beam...) If the enemy is close enough, they will get hit multiple times. However, it takes a while for her to get the dish out so be careful. Bang-Bang Attack MP: 15 Level: 49 Proficiency: 510 Precis hits the enemy with hammers. As the level of this move gets higher, more hits are given. Other than the general silliness of this move, it is actually quite useful if 1) you level it up enough and 2) you can stand hearing "Bang-bang attack!" over and over again. Bloody Mary MP: 32 Level: 57 Proficiency: 360 Precis turns Bobot into a giant tank-like thing, climbs in, and runs into the enemy with drills. While she is in Bobot she is immune to attacks from the front, but not magic or projectile attacks. Once you level this all the way you can hit as many as seven times! You could end up doing more damage than Mirror Slice! Probably Precis's best Killer Move, except it takes kind of long to execute. Mujin Super Beam MP: 24 Proficiency: 120 Bobot fires a large laser. For those of you who are wondering, Mujin was the name of Bobot in the Japanese version of the game. Makes you wonder why they didn't change it... Pretty good move, cheap, easy to level, but you'll have to make this Killer Move via Machinery. Seems to only hit once. Light-elemental. Barrier MP: 28 Proficiency: 200 Precis throws Bobot like a grenade at the enemy. Can actually hit a group of enemies within a certain radius. As the level gets higher, the radius gets larger. Pretty good move too. Again, you must create it with Machinery. Once you level all the way up you can hit as many as four times. Light-elemental. Holo-holograph MP: 20 Proficiency: 130 This Killer Move can only be gained by a certain Private Action and only if Ashton is in your party and knows Sword Dance. Despite its origin, this Move isn't quite as effective as Sword Dance. It does hit multiple times, but it takes a long time before it actually starts executing, and doesn't hit as many times. Still, this is one of Precis's better Killer Moves. Higher proficiency doesn't seem to increase the number of hits; rather, each hit does more damage. VOICE SAMPLES (512-605, 606?) voiced by Kana Koinuma 512-521 -- attack 522-532 -- injured 533 -- "Lucky!" (level up) 534 -- "Okay!" (level up) 535 -- "I'm good!" (level up) 536 -- "Okay okay!" (level up) 537 -- "Isn't that great!" (level up) 538 -- "There's Mr. Enemy!" (begin battle) 539 -- "I won't lose!" (begin battle) 540 -- "Don't bother me!" (begin battle) 541 -- "Go!" (begin battle) 542 -- "I'm coming!" (begin battle) 543 -- "Let's fight!" (begin battle) 544 -- "Oh please." (begin battle) 545 -- "Oh no, what shall I do?" (begin battle) 546 -- "Wow! He looks strong." (begin battle) 547 -- "Whoa!" (begin battle) 548 -- "(barks)" (begin battle) 549 -- "Whaaaat?" (begin battle) 550 -- "Whee whee!" (end battle) 551 -- "Yeah!" (end battle) 552 -- "Leave it to me!" (end battle) 553 -- "See?" (end battle) 554 -- "I'm not going to lose." (end battle) 555 -- "I win!" (end battle) 556 -- "Good job!" (end battle) 557 -- "Whew, I'm tired!" (end battle) 558 -- "Okay, it's over!" (end battle) 559 -- "Retreat! Retreat!" (run) 560 -- "Home, home, I'm going home!" (run) 561 -- "Ouch!" (near death) 562 -- "I won't lose..." (near death) 563 -- "Wow, very red..." (near death) 564 -- "I'm dizzy..." (near death) 565 -- "Oh, help me..." (near death) 566 -- "No way!" (death) 567 -- "What!? No way..." (death) 568 -- "I'm getting sleepy..." (death) 569 -- "It's getting dark!" (death) 570 -- "Oh no!" (ally death) 571 -- "Grrr..." (ally death) 572 -- "That's terrible!" (ally death) 573 -- "I'm not forgiving you!" (ally death) 574 -- "How could you do this?" (ally death) 575 -- "Wake up Claude!" (if Claude dies) 576 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 577 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 578 -- "Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 579 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 580 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 581 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 582 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 583 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 584 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 585 -- "Sorry!" (aided) 586 -- "Thanks!" (aided) 587 -- "Ooh, that hurt..." (aided) 588 -- "Thank you." (aided) 589 -- "Thanks a lot." (aided) 590 -- "You saved me." (aided) 591 -- "Catch me if you can." (taunt) 592 -- "Hmm, I'm tired of this." (taunt) 593 -- "I'm going to win no matter what!" (taunt) 594 -- "Here I come here I come here I come!" (taunt) 595 -- "Ei!" (Alley-oop!) 596 -- "Ya!" (Alley-oop!) 597 -- "Bang-bang attack!" 598 -- "Hop!" (Hopstep) 599 -- "Step!" (Hopstep) 600 -- "Mole!" 601 -- "Holo-holograph!" 602 -- "Rocket Punch!" 603 -- "Barrier!" 604 -- "Parabola Beam!" 605 -- "Bloody Mary!" 606 -- "Mujin SU-per Beam!" :) Summary: Despite all her flaws, take Precis into your party. Why? Because she's a heck of a lot better than Bowman, who is your other option for recruitment. She's not that horribly effective, but she is better than some others that you can recruit. Let's put it as she's an average fighter, and can help out your party with Machinery. OPERA VECTRA Opera, an alien, has come to Expel to search for her boyfriend Ernest. Incidentally, I find the scene where Claude goes up to her and says "I know you're not from this planet" and she gets surprised to be one of the silliest scenes in the game. She has three eyes for crying out loud! Why the heck is she surprised? Regardless, she's a pretty useful character. Earlier in the game, she gets powerful weapons earlier than the other characters. At one point in my game she was doing twice as much damage as Claude! Like Precis, you should invest in Machinery, since she can create her own Killer Moves as well. Combat skills, blah blah again. Her attack is fairly fast. Actually, very fast, considering she's swinging around that huge energy gun (I'd love to have one of those :)) The recovery is also pretty fast, meaning if you have a slow-moving enemy you can just go up to it and press X to thwack it to death. Opera is also undoubtedly the best character to hit flying enemies. Why? She doesn't have to jump, so she can hit the enemies more times in a given time period than the other characters (except maybe Leon). Give her Apple Cider and the Piano. My nitpicky commentary on voice: I only have one thing to nitpick about. Her voice sounds nice and all, but if she is hit she'll let out this horrific yell that frankly scared me the first time that I heard it. Almost like two different people... but maybe that's just an alien thing. KILLER MOVES Flame Launcher MP: 7 Proficiency: 200 At long range, Opera fires a fireball which explodes near the enemy. Not that great since if the enemy is fast enough they'll move and you'll miss, thanks to the execution time. This move is MUCH more useful at short range, where it becomes a multiple-hit technique, each hit of which is almost as powerful as a regular attack. The range is small until you get it powered up at 200 uses, where it becomes a lot bigger. Try using this at the Field of Power. You'll be happy. Fire-elemental. Photon Prison MP: 10 Proficiency: 270 Freezes an enemy for a short period of time. At lower proficiency the freezing time is so small as to be virtually useless. Also, it doesn't work that well on bosses, where it would be the most useful. I usually ignore this move. Alpha on One MP: 23 Level: 24 Proficiency: 440 Now this is a good move. Opera fires three (then later four, then later five...) balls of energy from her gun which actually home in on the enemy and thwack him for as much damage as a regular attack. There are only two problems. One, Opera has to be a specific distance away; if you initiate this move from far away, she'll spend time running around to get to the right distance. Also, the MP cost is so very high. Still, the homing properties alone make this move very worthwhile. Tired of those mages that can turn invisibile and intangible? Just use this move. The balls will home in and stay on the mage so the minute he rematerializes he gets thwacked three or more times. Spread Ray MP: 16 Level: 34 Proficiency: 540 Opera jumps into the air and fires her gun a couple of times at the enemy. Actually, the firing seemed pretty haphazard to me, as she doesn't always hit the enemy. I found Alpha on One to be much more useful. Still, this move is okay in a pinch. Cold Wind MP: 25 Level: 41 Proficiency: 300 Opera fires a huge beam of ice at the enemy, with multi-hit possibility. A fairly good move, especially if the enemy is weak against water. Sort of like Flame Launcher only better range. Water-elemental. Gravity Shell MP: 20 Level: 54 Opera fires something into the air which proceeds to shoot little bolts of energy at the enemy. Fairly cheap as Opera's moves go in terms of MP. However, this move will not improve as you perform it more. Lightning Blade MP: 20 Level: 69 Proficiency: 200 At long range, sort of like Cold Wind, only with Lightning. It seems that she has to fire it upwards first though. (I wonder if the upward can hit flying enemies?) At short range it creates a wave of lightning around her. Again, more useful at long range. Fairly good but seems to hit less times than Cold Wind. Lightning-elemental. Laser Bit MP: 8 Proficiency: 300 Opera splits a laser beam into pieces with a prism. Can hit multiple enemies at once, so that's good. Also, costs very little MP relative to her other moves, so that's good also. The range is depressingly small, though. I expected more out of this move. You'll have to buy lots and lots of Material Kits so she can create this move... Healing Star MP: 9 Opera fires a beam into the air which heals all your allies. Like Claude's Energy Sword, this move is too easy to disrupt if you're stuck in the middle of a group of enemies. On the other hand it's a great alternative to having Rena or Noel cast Cure All, and will heal everybody, unlike Claude and Bowman's moves. Can you afford to give up one of your two Killer Move slots for this though? Hyper Launcher MP: 34 Proficiency: 500 Great move. Fires an immensely powerful beam that hits enemies for multiple hits. Kind of expensive in the MP department though, and again, you'll have to hope that Opera will create it through Machinery. I have so many bombs and support items through Machinery "failures" it's not even funny... Probably Opera's best move. VOICE SAMPLES (822-912) voiced by Marie Shell 822-831 -- attack 832-841 -- injured 842 -- "Oh my." (level up) 843 -- "Hee hee hee." (level up) 844 -- "I did it." (level up) 845 -- "Leave it up to me." (level up) 846 -- "That was easy." (level up) 847 -- "Is this it?" (begin battle) 848 -- "Easy target." (begin battle) 849 -- "I will make you fall." (begin battle) 850 -- "You're in my way." (begin battle) 851 -- "Guess it's time for hunting." (begin battle) 852 -- "I will turn you into a beehive (?)" (begin battle) 853 -- "I will win." (begin battle) 854 -- "It's going to be tough." (begin battle) 855 -- "I'm coming." (begin battle) 856 -- "It's the enemy." (begin battle) 857 -- "Behind you!" (begin battle) 858 -- "This close?" (begin battle) 859 -- "That was it?" (end battle) 860 -- "They're worthless." (end battle) 861 -- "Is that it?" (end battle) 862 -- "Goodbye." (end battle) 863 -- "Good night." (end battle) 864 -- "Don't take me lightly." (end battle) 865 -- "Whew!" (end battle) 866 -- "Don't make fun of me." (end battle) 867 -- "They were better than I thought." (end battle) 868 -- "I'll fall back." (run) 869 -- "Let's retreat." (run) 870 -- "Oh no!" (near death) 871 -- "I still can move..." (near death) 872 -- "Did I screw up..." (near death) 873 -- "Follow up for me." (near death) 874 -- "What are we going to do..." (near death) 875 -- "Ernest!" (death) 876 -- "Oh..." (death) 877 -- "Is this it..." (death) 878 -- "I won't lose... I don't want to..." (death) 879 -- "I won't forgive you." (ally death) 880 -- "You're all condemned to death!" (ally death) 881 -- "Are you ready for this?" (ally death) 882 -- "Crawd!" (if Claude dies) 883 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 884 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 885 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 886 -- "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 887 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 888 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 889 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 890 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 891 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 892 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 893 -- "Thanks." (aided) 894 -- "Thanks for your help." (aided) 895 -- "I'm sorry." (aided) 896 -- "You saved me." (aided) 897 -- "Thank you." (aided) 898 -- "So sorry." (aided) 899 -- "Hey little boy, why don't you go home." (taunt) 900 -- "Let me enjoy this a bit more." (taunt) 901 -- "It's useless to try further." (taunt) 902 -- "You'll die, wanna bet?" (taunt) 903 -- "Lightning Blade!" 904 -- "Fol!" (Alpha on One) 905 -- "Healing Star!" 906 -- "Cold Wind!" 907 -- "Photon Prison!" 908 -- "Spread Ray!" 909 -- "Flame Launcher!" 910 -- "Laser Bit!" 911 -- "Gravity Shell!" 912 -- "Hyper Launcher!" Summary: Well, towards the end of the game her weapons become disappointingly weak. Towards the beginning she's great, though, and as stated before I find her Killer Moves more effective than Ashton's. Again, your choice as to whether you want Opera or Ashton... BOWMAN JEAN A pharmacist from the town of Linga, who for some reason wants to go out and fight instead of staying home with his wife. I got the feeling that he doesn't like his wife very much... Bowman has some interesting moves but most aren't terribly useful. He really has no clear strengths specialty-wise so I make him my chief Compounding specialist just because he's supposedly a pharmacist. Combat skills, as always, will help. As far as his normal attack goes, it has to be one of the worst in the game. The range is horrible. Bowman has the worst range of any fighter, and even some spellcasters (Rena, Leon) have better range than he does. Recovery time is okay, that is, if you manage to avoid being hit from standing so close to the enemies. Therefore, you should just hope that Bowman doesn't run out of MP and keep throwing out Killer Moves, since he's so fast at most of those. Feed him Daikon Miso Soup (a Japanese dish... can't stand the stuff myself :)) and have him play the harmonica. My nitpicky commentary on voice: Eh, okay. Certainly better than Precis. His "I'm okay... I'm okay" at the beginning of battles is funny, but some of his other lines are horrible. Also doesn't seem to fit his picture on the Status screen. KILLER MOVES Spirit Attack MP: 4 Proficiency: 200 Bowman fires a wave of energy at the enemy. It's not any more powerful than a regular attack, but at least it's got range. When I'm playing Bowman I just fire this move repeatedly since he can do it so fast. Poison Pills MP: 5 Proficiency: 250 Bowman throws pills that release poison gas towards the enemy. Okay damage, and sometimes poisons them. Not terribly effective though. Fairly fast. I'll stick to Spirit Attack or maybe Firebird Attack. Pillory MP: 6 Proficiency: 380 Like a cheap version of Head Splitter. Bowman either jumps or dives into his own shadow and lands on the enemy spinning to do damage. I found this move useless as all but the slowest enemies will move out of the way before you can actually land on them. Firebird Attack MP: 10 Proficiency: 400 Bowman creates fireballs and throws them at the enemy for fairly respectable damage. Early in the game I stick this and Spirit Attack on Bowman for their range component. Fire-elemental. Secret Medicine MP: 8 Level: 28 Just as useless as Energy Sword, for the same reasons as Energy Sword. See above. Death Siege MP: 13 Level: 35 Proficiency: 100 Bowman splits into multiple images (first two, then later four) and charges at the enemy, attacking from all sides. Kind of long execution time so again the enemy might just move out of the way. Pretty effective though, if you have the patience to build it up. Bowman is invincible to regular attacks while split. Whirlwind Fist MP: 15 Level: 43 Proficiency: 400 A very useful move... Bowman creates a whirlwind which hits the enemy up ridiculously high into the air for multiple hits. If you're really good you can hit the enemy with another Killer Move (not this one, it takes too long) as they're coming down for really good damage. Be careful using this move on the balloon type enemies, though... more than once they got stuck high up in the air and I couldn't hit them without magic or Opera's Alpha on One. Burst Fist MP: 28 Level: 51 Proficiency: 200 At long range Bowman fires an energy field at the enemy. At close range he envelops himself in the field and charges the enemy. Again, much more useful at long range, both because of the range and the enemy can't counter when the move finishes. Explosion Pills MP: 20 Level: 66 Proficiency: 200 Bowman fires what is basically a grenade at the enemy. The flames shoot high enough to hit flying enemies too. Okay move, but lacks any large multi-hit capability until you really power it up. Sakura Attack MP: 36 Level: 74 Proficiency: 250 Bowman's tribute to Sword Dance and Mirror Slice, he executes a lot of martial arts moves in sequence for multiple hits. His weapons aren't as powerful as Claude's or Ashton's, though, so this move isn't as powerful. Also, since this "carries" the enemy away during the execution it's hard to get others to gang up on the enemy. Still, probably Bowman's best move. VOICE SAMPLES (327-419) voiced by Micael G. Davis 327-336 -- attack 337-346 -- injured 347 -- "Yes!" (level up) 348 -- "We did it!" (level up) 349 -- "Leave it to me." (level up) 350 -- "I'm delighted." (level up) 351 -- "Looks like I'll be popular with the ladies again." (level up) 352 -- "Here they are." (begin battle) 353 -- "Don't get hurt!" (begin battle) 354 -- "I'm okay... I'm okay..." (begin battle) 355 -- "Well, let's do it!" (begin battle) 356 -- "Be careful!" (begin battle) 357 -- "Let's take it easy." (begin battle) 358 -- "Here it comes." (begin battle) 359 -- "Here I go." (begin battle) 360 -- "Do it with spirit!" (begin battle) 361 -- "Hey. HEY!" (begin battle) 362 -- "Here comes the enemy." (begin battle) 363 -- "Well, it's useless to be popular with the enemy." (begin battle) 364 -- "We did it!" (end battle) 365 -- "Piece of cake." (end battle) 366 -- "That was easy." (end battle) 367 -- "Go to heaven." (end battle) 368 -- "Rest in peace." (end battle) 369 -- "That was a good workout!" (end battle) 370 -- "Well, shall we go?" (end battle) 371 -- "That was close." (end battle) 372 -- "Have to be careful." (end battle) 373 -- "That was very close." (end battle) 374 -- "Go straight to heaven." (end battle) 375 -- "Escape!" (run) 376 -- "Let's get out of here!" (run) 377 -- "Not yet..." (near death) 378 -- "Damn it..." (near death) 379 -- "Oh no..." (near death) 380 -- "Don't take me lightly!" (near death) 381 -- "I'm bleeding badly." (near death) 382 -- "Take care of the rest..." (death) 383 -- "Ggghai!" (death) 384 -- "Sorry Nineh..." (death) 385 -- "Sorry everyone..." (death) 387 -- "Hey you!" (ally death) 388 -- "Hey, hey!" (ally death) 389 -- "Yoooouuu!" (ally death) 390 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 391 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 392 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 393 -- "Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 394 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 395 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 396 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 397 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 398 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 399 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 400 -- "Thanks." (aided) 401 -- "Sorry." (aided) 402 -- "You saved me." (aided) 403 -- "My apology." (aided) 404 -- "So sorry." (aided) 405 -- "You covered me." (aided) 406 -- "Go home!" (taunt) 407 -- "Hey, what's up?" (taunt) 408 -- "Hey, what's going on here!" (taunt) 409 -- "I don't have time for this!" (taunt) 410 -- "Poison Pills!" 411 -- "Spirit Attack!" 412 -- "Explosion Pills!" 413 -- "Secret Medicine!" 414 -- "Pillory!" 415 -- "Sakura Attack!" 416 -- "Burst Fist!" 417 -- "Firebird Attack!" 418 -- "Die!" (Death Siege) 419 -- "Whirlwind Fist!" Summary: Again, I think Bowman sucks. His moves aren't that useful, his range is awful, and he really has nothing special to add to your team. Just another fighter, as it is. I would take Precis over him any day. Of course, if you get tired of Precis' voice... and the interaction between him and his wife is pretty funny. ERNEST RAVIEDE Opera's boyfriend, also stranded on the Planet Expel. His main method of fighting is whips. He is apparently a famous archaeologist back on Tetragenes. Too bad he isn't as useful as he sounds... His attack certainly has the largest range, but also a horrible recovery time. I'd rather get closer to the enemy with Opera and smack them three times in the time it takes Ernest to attack once. He also reminds me too much of Bart from Xenogears, not exactly my favorite character either... hey, between the two of them they have four eyes! Skills, as usual, Combat skills. Feed him Hassaku Tea (I have no idea what that is; apparently alcoholic) and have him play the Cembalo. My nitpicky commentary on voice: The first thought that struck my mind upon hearing his voice was... William Shatner. His voice has the same, overacting, emoting quality as Shatner's. Deep, yet very slow. His "Engulf... everything!" is particularily guilty. Still, it didn't annoy me, just struck me as strange. KILLER MOVES Dimension Whip MP: 5 Proficiency: 240 Ernest creates a rip in the fabric of space-time and hits the enemy from behind. What I don't get is why he has to run up to the enemy first. If you can manipulate space like that, why not just stand still and fire from there? Higher proficiency means more whips, but not all that useful. Spiral Whip MP: 7 Ernest twirls his whip around creating a small whirlwind. He spends an inordinate amount of time making the whirlwind so I don't find this move that useful. At longer range the whirlwind fires out, so I guess that's okay. Arc Attack MP: 7 Level: 32 Proficiency: 200 Ernest hooks his whip on seemingly nothing and kicks the enemy Tarzan or Indiana Jones style. More often than not, he'll get hit before he hits the enemy. Useless, in my opinion. Thousand Whips MP: 10 Level: 41 Proficiency: 120 Ernest whips his whip (what else?) multiple times to hit for, you guessed it, multiple hits. Not quite a thousand though. His first truly useful move. Cloud Dust MP: 18 Level: 49 Proficiency: 100 Possibly the most pointless move in the game. Ernest kicks up dust and increases his dodge ability. I've heard the dust can also cause damage but I've never gotten this to work, probably because every time I initiated this move at close range he got hit out of it. Useless. Broken Heart MP: 17 Level: 58 Proficiency: 200 Ernest throws his whip into the ground and shoots it up under the enemy. The range of the move makes it fairly useful, although he has to be far away from any enemies or he'll get disrupted for sure. Thunder Whip MP: 22 Level: 65 Proficiency: 200 Ernest somehow charges his whip with electricity and hits the enemy. At higher levels this move become multi-hitting. Fairly useful, I guess, but it'll be awhile before you can use it. Thunder-elemental. Sonic Whip MP: 25 Level: 73 Proficiency: 100 Ernest creates a shock wave which hits the enemy for a lot of damage, although it's not the much compared to other characters' Killer Moves. One of Ernest's better moves though. Vacuum-elemental? VOICE SAMPLES (913-1000) voiced by Phillip Mayall 913-922 -- attack 923-932 -- injured 933 -- "Yes." (level up) 934 -- "Of course." (level up) 935 -- "Pleasure." (level up) 936 -- "Not bad." (level up) 937 -- "Well, things happen." (level up) 938 -- "Oh my, isn't this?" (begin battle) 939 -- "Well, let's take it easy." (begin battle) 940 -- "Okay, let's do it." (begin battle) 941 -- "Let's do it." (begin battle) 942 -- "Let's begin." (begin battle) 943 -- "Well, let's go." (begin battle) 944 -- "Let's go." (begin battle) 945 -- "Be careful." (begin battle) 946 -- "This guy is tough." (begin battle) 947 -- "Man!" (begin battle) 948 -- "What?!?" (begin battle) 949 -- "When did you?" (begin battle) 950 -- "The fight is over." (end battle) 951 -- "This is the end." (end battle) 952 -- "That was a good workout." (end battle) 953 -- "This is a strange place." (end battle) 954 -- "This is an interesting place." (end battle) 955 -- "That's a queer guy." (end battle) 956 -- "It isn't good here." (end battle) 957 -- "Too much damage." (end battle) 958 -- "Better be careful." (end battle) 959 -- "Let's run." (run) 960 -- "Everyone pull out." (run) 961 -- "So sorry." (near death) 962 -- "What shall we do?" (near death) 963 -- "The wound is pretty deep..." (near death) 964 -- "I screwed up." (near death) 965 -- "Looks like I can still move..." (near death) 966 -- "You do the rest..." (near death) 967 -- "Damn it!" (death) 968 -- "Augh!" (death) 969 -- "Opera, sorry... " (death) 970 -- "Hey you!" (ally death) 971 -- "I'm going to kill you." (ally death) 972 -- "You made me really angry." (ally death) 973 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 974 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 975 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 976 -- "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 977 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 978 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 979 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 980 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 981 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 982 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 983 -- "I'm saved." (aided) 984 -- "Sorry." (aided) 985 -- "Thanks for your help." (aided) 986 -- "I'm so sorry." (aided) 987 -- "I owe you one." (aided) 988 -- "I feel much better." (aided) 989 -- "You primitive creature." (taunt) 990 -- "What a barbarous place." (taunt) 991 -- "Hmm, that's an interesting move." (taunt) 992 -- "I don't feel like losing to somebody like this." (taunt) 993 -- "Dimension Whip!" 994 -- "Arc Attack!" 995 -- "Cloud Dust!" 996 -- "Broken Heart!" 997 -- "Thousand Whip!" 998 -- "Engulf... Everything!" (Spiral Whip) 999 -- "Sonic Whip!" 1000 -- "Thunder Whip!" Summary: I think Ernest and Noel tie for the worst character in the game. You must go to such lengths to get him, and by the time you do, he'll be at least ten levels lower than your other characters. His moves are rather pointless. If you recruit Opera don't feel compelled to take him too because that means you'll have to choose between the last three party members. LEON GEESTE A child genius with all the arrogance of one (reminds me of myself ;)), Leon and Celine battle it out for best attack magician. His spells are water or darkness based for the most part, and his later spells are very useful. At first he is overshadowed by Celine since he doesn't have any good all-enemy spells, but later he comes into his own. Skills, of course, Motormouth. Leon is supposedly good at Item Creation, and he usually comes with lots and lots of Talents. Note, you can only recruit Leon if you're playing Claude's scenario. His attack, believe it or not, is quite useful. It probably has the best range for spellcasters, and looks cool. Come on, I'd like to see you summon monsters out of your books to attack your enemies. Like Opera, he doesn't need to jump to hit flying enemies... I find he can hit those bunny-type enemies more effectively than most fighters. Leon likes carrot juice and the violin. My nitpicky commentary on voice: I love Leon's voice, just so full of childish arrogance. My favorite has to be "Word of Death!", just because it's funny to hear his voice try to be threatening. His end battle quotes are pretty good too.. "Ha ha!" "Thanks to me!". Great. SPELLS Ice Needle MP: 2 Fires a shard of ice at an enemy. Like firebolt and its ilk, not a guaranteed hit, so not all that useful. Even when you first recruit him Leon has more useful spells. Water-elemental. Wounds MP: 4 Leon summons a demon from the target's shadow to attack it. Strangely, it seems to miss a lot, or get blocked, and the damage isn't all that great. I'll stick to Black Saber thank you. Dark-elemental. Shadow Bolt MP: 7 Calls into being a flurry of black electrical-type bolts to damage a single enemy. Again, I find Black Saber to be more useful. Dark- elemental. Acid Rain MP: 7 Lowers the defense of all enemies. Too bad it doesn't do any damage... Only an okay spell. Water-elemental. Deep Mist MP: 11 Like Rena's spell. See above. Black Saber MP: 14 Weren't you always annoyed at those ladies that appeared with the wolves and kept casting this spell at you while the wolves pounded away? Why not try it yourself :)? Good spell since it's guaranteed- hit and can actually hit multiple enemies if you're lucky enough. Dark-elemental. Deep Freeze MP: 15 Shards of ice assault the enemy. Unlike Ice Needle, guaranteed to hit. Try this out on those annoying Salamanders. Pretty good spell. Water-elemental. Word of Death MP: 18 My favorite spell to hear :). Too bad it almost never works. Will supposedly kill an enemy instantly, provided they don't resist and are not a boss. Protection MP: 18 Level: 32 Like Rena's spell. See above. Starlight MP: 10 Level: 34 Like Celine's spell. See above. Delay MP: 18 Level: 36 Like Rena's spell. See above (hey, this is getting easier and easier!) Shadow Flare MP: 32 Level: 39 Creates large explosions of, I guess, shadow. Leon's first really high-powered spell. Hits all enemies for several thousand if your magic is good. Dark-elemental. Haste MP: 20 Level: 42 Like Rena's spell. See above. Growth MP: 22 Level: 50 Like Rena's spell. See above. Noah MP: 35 Level: 54 The most powerful water magic. A large flood sweeps away everything for moderate to heavy damage, depending on your magic stat. Another useful spell in Leon's repertoire. Water-elemental. Gremlin Lair MP: 26 Level: 60 Summons a Gremlin, which throws a whole bunch of energy sickles around the screen and then bites each enemy a couple of times for more damage. In other words, a multi-hit spell. Enemies closer to Leon get hit for more damage, since the energy sickles emnate from near him. Void- elemental. Daemon's Gate MP: 37 Level: 66 Summons a Daemon who blasts all the enemies on the screen for 5 to 6000 damage. Fairly powerful spell. Probably Leon's best conventional spell. Void-elemental. Dark Circle MP: 65 Level: 78 Sucks in enemies with less than 1/4 max HP, killing them instantly. The downside of course is that the enemies already have to be weak in order for this spell to work. I usually find it easier to just hit them until they die, so I don't find much use for this spell. Extinction MP: 90 The most powerful attack spell in the game. The spell engulfs the field and damages all enemies immensely, hitting up against the 9999 barrier if Leon's magic stat is good... Void-elemental. VOICE SAMPLES (700-821) voiced by Grant Wachspress 700-709 -- attack 710-719 -- injured 720 -- "Ha ha!" (level up) 721 -- "I did it!" (level up) 722 -- "Trust me!" (level up) 723 -- "Leave it to me." (level up) 724 -- "It's a matter of course." (level up) 725 -- "I can handle it myself." (begin battle) 726 -- "Let's get it over with quickly." (begin battle) 727 -- "I don't need to be involved, right?" (begin battle) 728 -- "Oh practice." (begin battle) 729 -- "It's a monster!" (begin battle) 730 -- "Well, let's do it." (begin battle) 731 -- "Uh, are we really going to do this?" (begin battle) 732 -- "L-leave it up to me." (begin battle) 733 -- "I-I'm not scared." (begin battle) 734 -- "What?!?" (begin battle) 735 -- "Whoa!" (begin battle) 736 -- "What are you doing?" (begin battle) 737 -- "The law of the jungle." (end battle) 738 -- "Well, it's a natural result." (end battle) 739 -- "Thanks to me!" (end battle) 740 -- "Might is right." (end battle) 741 -- "I can join the Imperial Troops." (end battle) 742 -- "Knowledge is power!" (end battle) 743 -- "They're really savages." (end battle) 744 -- "Use your head." (end battle) 745 -- "No ultimate road to learning." (end battle) 746 -- "Rome wasn't built in a day." (end battle) 747 -- "We won, right?" (end battle) 748 -- "Help!" (run) 749 -- "Let's go home!" (run) 750 -- "No more!" (near death) 751 -- "Help!" (near death) 752 -- "Waaah!" (near death) 753 -- "Ow, it hurts." (near death) 754 -- "No, I don't want to die..." (near death) 755 -- "Why me..." (death) 756 -- "Uhh...." (death) 757 -- "Mommy!" (death) 758 -- "Am I going to die?" (death) 759 -- "I'm scared, someone help me." (death) 760 -- "I hate you!" (ally death) 761 -- "Argh!" (ally death) 762 -- "Give me back my sister!" (Rena death?) 763 - "Give me back my brother!" (Claude death?) 764 - "Auntie!" (female death?) 765 - "Uncle!" (male death) 766 - "Brother Claude!" (if Claude dies) 767 - "Sister Rena!" (if Rena dies) 768 - "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 769 - "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 770 - "Sister Precis!" (if Precis dies) 771 - "Brother Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 772 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 773 - "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 774 - "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 775 - "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 776 - "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 777 -- "Tender light..." (aided?) 778 -- "That's awesome strength." (aided) 779 -- "I thought I was going to die." (aided) 780 -- "Thank you." (aided) 781 -- "You saved me." (aided) 782 -- "The pain is going away." (aided) 783 -- "Why don't you prepare and come back?" (taunt) 784 -- "Do you really think you can beat me?" (taunt) 785 -- "Don't you know? You can't win just because you're big." (taunt) 786 -- "My principle is not to waste time." (taunt) 787 -- "Firebolt!" (???) 788 -- "Ice Needle!" 789 -- "Good Night!" (Deep Freeze) 790 -- "Deep Freeze!" 791 -- "Oh burning rain!" (Acid Rain) 792 -- "Acid Rain!" 793 -- "Be washed away!" (Noah) 794 -- "Noah!" 795 -- "Oh starlight!" (Starlight) 796 -- "Starlight!" 797 -- "Ray!" (???) 798 -- "Wounds!" 799 -- "Oh Blade of Darkness!" (Black Saber) 800 -- "Black Saber!" 801 -- "Oh black air!" (Shadow Bolt) 802 -- "Shadow Bolt!" 803 -- "Oh Flame of Darkness!" (Shadow Flare) 804 -- "Shadow Flare!" 805 -- "Oh deep mist!" (Deep mist) 806 -- "Deep Mist!" 807 -- "Get them!" (Gremlin Lair) 808 -- "Gremlin Lair!" 809 -- "Oh monsters of the mysterious world, answer me!" (Daemon's Gate) 810 -- "Daemon's Gate!" 811 -- "Everyone disappear!" (Extinction) 812 -- "Extinction!" 813 -- "Swallow them!" (Dark Circle) 814 -- "Dark Circle!" 815 -- "Word of Death!" 816 -- "Haste!" 817 -- "Delay!" 818 -- "Get bigger!" (Growth) 819 -- "Growth!" 820 -- "Protection shield!" (Protection) 821 -- "Protection!" Summary: Leon is one of the better characters. Early on Celine completely overshadows him because her spells are more effective sooner. Later, however, it becomes a matter of personal preference as to whether you want to use Leon or Celine (or both!). If you're playing as Claude, by all means recruit him. DIAS FLAC Dias is a swordsman from Rena's village of Arlia. He left the village to wander the world shortly after a tragic occurence. A tidbit from Dias Flac (the person, not the character), his fighting style of unsheathing and resheathing swords is similar to the Japanese style of iai-jutsu. (Citan from Xenogears has this same style, too, where its a bit more obvious.) A master swordsman, his fighting skills are supposedly unmatched. At least, that's what the game says. A lot of people put him in a tie with Ashton for second-best fighter, but I say Ashton wins hands down. Dias's main problem is his lack of multi-hit killer moves. Still, earlier in the game, he is almost the Orlandu of SO2. You can only recruit Dias in Rena's scenario. Dias's attack is quick and recovery time fairly good. Again, pump up his combat skills. Dias's weakness lies in Item Creation. He rarely starts out with any good Talents, and strikes me as a "brawn-no-brains" type of guy. Feed him Chicken Skewers and have him play the Cembalo. If he can at all. My nitpicky commentary on voice: I was surprised the first time I heard him... his voice is so deep compared to Claude's, it's scary. His voice has just the right touch of arrogance associated with Dias, so I guess it's okay. KILLER MOVES Air Slash MP: 4 Sort of like Claude's, but with a difference. The wave is much darker and moves much faster. However, this move does not gain as you use it more and more. You can fire this move repeatedly ridiculously fast. Chaos Sword MP: 5 Proficiency: 120 At short range, creates an energy field which Dias throws at the enemy. At longer range, it becomes a wave. Okay move, doesn't do that great damage (only about the same as a normal attack) and doesn't have range on its side like Air Slash does. However, does gain proficiency. It can hit twice at higher levels. Cross Wave MP: 8 Proficiency: 120 Pretty much similar to Twin Slash, with the same caveats. Dias's gets his right from the start, though, so it's just slightly more useful than Claude's technique. Crescent Wave MP: 10 Proficiency: 130 Creates a wave of energy shaped like a crescent that spreads out in front of Dias. Can hit airborne enemies. This technique saved my life when I fought the Synard, cause Dias didn't have to jump straight into the Synard's breath to perform this. Gale Stab MP: 10 Level: 40 Proficiency: 130 Dias runs up to the enemy, then charges forward impaling them. Respectable damage, but he does spend a lot of time running up to get to the proper distance from the enemy. On the whole, not that useful. Crescent Moon Flash MP: 13 Level: 48 Proficiency: 100 Sort of like a more powerful Crescent Wave. Also, doesn't cost that much more MP, and is rather easy to level up. Doesn't go up as much, though, so it tends to miss flying enemies. Execution time is a bit longer however. Hawk Scream Blast MP: 16 Level: 56 Proficiency: 100 Dias creates a phoenix from his sword which travels along the ground to hit the enemy. It travels pretty fast so the enemy has little chance to dodge. It can hit more than once if you're close enough. Full Moon Slash MP: 25 Level: 63 Proficiency: 100 Dias holds his sword above his head and does something which somehow damages the enemy. Fairly useless as the technique is pulled off way too slow. Apparently higher proficiency means a faster execution time though. Illusion MP: 21 Level: 70 Proficiency: 420 The closest thing to a multi-hit technique Dias has. Hits a max of four times, and that's once you get it powered up. Still, probably Dias's best move. Use it in the same vein as Mirror Slice or Sword Dance. Firebird Shock Wave MP: 30 Level: 78 Proficiency: 200 Dias jumps in the air and transforms into a firebird, swooping down to burn the enemy. Will hit more than once provided you're not too close and you don't hit the enemy away from you. I think Dias is invincible in firebird form, but I'm not sure, as he's not in it very long. VOICE SAMPLES (420-511) voiced by Erik Bergman 420-429 -- attack 430-439 -- injured 440 -- "Whew!" (level up) 441 -- "Hmph." (level up) 442 -- "It's absurd." (level up) 443 -- "Things like this happen." (level up) 444 -- "I'm getting something." (level up) 445 -- "Piece of junk." (begin battle) 446 -- "You're in the way." (begin battle) 447 -- "Ten seconds." (begin battle) 448 -- "Oh, the enemy." (begin battle) 449 -- "I'll get rid of them in a minute." (begin battle) 450 -- "Don't get in my way." (begin battle) 451 -- "Looks like I can use my maximum force." (begin battle) 452 -- "Everyone stay back." (begin battle) 453 -- "They seem tough." (begin battle) 454 -- "Behind?" (begin battle) 455 -- "Hmm, they're good." (begin battle) 456 -- "They surprised me." (begin battle) 457 -- "That's all?" (end battle) 458 -- "Waste of time." (end battle) 459 -- "That was a waste of time." (end battle) 460 -- "Hmph." (end battle) 461 -- "Let's get going!" (end battle) 462 -- "That was okay." (end battle) 463 -- "It took longer than I thought." (end battle) 464 -- "Well, it must be this much, otherwise it's not worth it." (end battle) 465 -- "I didn't think it would make me serioud." (end battle) 466 -- "Let's move on." (run) 467 -- "This is a strategic escape." (run) 468 -- "Oh... my eyes are hazy." (near death) 469 -- "I will not die like this." (near death) 470 -- "Gah... Is this it?" (near death) 471 -- "No way... me?" (near death) 472 -- "I cannot die." (near death) 473 -- "What!" (death) 474 -- "This is ridiculous." (death) 475 -- "Cecille... mother..." (death) 476 -- "Uhh....." (death) 477 -- "Hey, you." (ally death) 478 -- "You are dead." (ally death) 479 -- "Don't think you can go back alive!" (ally death) 480 -- "You fool!" (ally death) 481 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 482 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 483 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 484 -- "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 485 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 486 -- "Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 487 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 488 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 489 -- "Leon!" (??? not possible) 490 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 491 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 492 -- "You saved me." (aided) 493 -- "Sorry." (aided) 494 -- "I appreciate it." (aided) 495 -- "Sorry." (aided) 496 -- "So sorry." (aided) 497 -- "Thanks for your help." (aided) 498 -- "You greenhorn." (taunt) 499 -- "Go away. You can't beat me." (taunt) 500 -- "What are you, scared of me?" (taunt) 501 -- "If you don't want to die, beat it." (taunt) 502 -- "Air Slash!" 503 -- "Crescent Wave!" 504 -- "Firebird Shock Wave!" 505 -- "Illusion!" 506 -- "Chaos Sword!" 507 -- "Cross Wave!" 508 -- "Full Moon Slash!" 509 -- "Hawk Scream Blast!" 510 -- "Crescent Moon Flash!" 511 -- "Gale Stab!" Summary: Dias is an okay character. While not as good as Claude or Ashton he does make an effective fighter, at least more so than Bowman or Ernest. You can only recruit him in Rena's scenario, but you might as well (I'd rather take Leon). NOEL CHANDLER The keeper of the Preserve on Energy Nede, Noel is a rather pacifistic nature-loving kind of guy. Even his appearance is slightly different from other Nedians, and one Private Action even discusses his ancestry. Noel is a combination attack and healing magician. The only problem is, he's not really good at either of them. Rena's spells heal for a lot more and Celine's and Leon's spells hit for more. It's as simple as that. Still, if you want to see all the spells in the game you'll have to recruit him, as he has some unique spells. As usual, level up in Motormouth. Noel equips knuckles like Rena. However, his attack is a bit slower to hit and recover. His range also really sucks. Sometimes he can be standing right next to an enemy and still not hit them! Basically he is not a good fighter, and should be used as support magic-wise. Noel almost always comes with the Love of Animals talent, so he would do well in Familiar. Too bad that's about it. Feed him the Big Tuna and have him play the Illusive Shamisen. My nitpicky commentary on voice: Noel is softspoken, which certainly carries in his voice. He also manages to sound very pacifistic and everything: "So their deaths were not in vain", etc. Okay, but kind of a wimpy attitude for a guy who wants to go beat up the Ten Wise Men. SPELLS Mind Absorber MP: 1 Like Celine's spell. See above. Wind Blade MP: 2 Like Celine's spell. See above. Heal MP: 3 Like Rena's spell. See above. Grave MP: 4 Causes sharp rocks to jut up under one target to hurt them for so-so damage. By the time you can recruit Noel the damage is so pitiful you'll say, "Why did he even bother"? Earth-elemental, will not hit flying enemies. Tetanus Wind MP: 10 Creates small blades which slice a single enemy. Again, the damage is pretty pitiful for this point in the game. Dark-, not Air- elemental. Sonic Saber MP: 11 Much like Leon's Dark Saber. In fact, I see no difference between the two other than the fact that this is Air-elemental. Cure Light MP: 11 Like Rena's spell. See above. Earth Grave MP: 16 Like a mass version of Grave. Hits all enemies, so a bit worthwhile to disrupt enemy spellcasters. Still, it's not too terribly powerful. Earth-elemental. Energy Arrow MP: 17 Like Celine's spell. See above. Magnum Tornado MP: 18 Creates a whirlwind centered around an enemy which can hit a certain radius around that enemy for a couple hundred points of damage. Again, not that worthwhile. Earth Grave is probably better, except against flying enemies. Air-elemental. Cure All MP: 18 Level: 41 Like Rena's spell. See above. Silence MP: 14 Level: 41 Like Rena's spell. See above. Neutral MP: 17 Level: 45 Like Celine's spell. See above. Blood Sucker MP: 12 Level: 49 Like Mind Absorber, only steals HP. The success rate of this spell is much higher than Mind Absorber. The HP stolen is rather low, though, somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 HP if you're lucky. Vacuum- elemental. Foehn MP: 25 Level: 52 Pronounced "Fane". Noel's first truly worthwhile spell, hits all enemies for about 1000 points of damage. This is Noel's first spell that is guaranteed to hit everybody. Air-elemental. Fairy Heal MP: 30 Level: 55 Like Rena's spell. See above. Dispel MP: 24 Level: 60 Like Rena's spell. See above. Curse MP: 20 Level: 66 Like Celine's spell. See above. Bless MP: 18 Level: 72 Like Celine's spell. See above. Fairy Light MP: 40 Level: 77 Like Rena's spell. See above. Earthquake MP: 65 Level: 82 Summons a giant earth golem who pounds the ground to hit all non-flying enemies for a lot of damage. Noel's only truly good spell; too bad it's his last one and it takes so much MP. The AI for this spell is really stupid; more than once it tried to cast it on flying creatures. Earth-elemental. VOICE SAMPLES (1001-1125) voiced by Jimmy Freeman 1001-1010 -- attack 1011-1020 -- injured 1021 -- "Gee whiz." (level up) 1022 -- "I don't know if I should rejoice." (level up) 1023 -- "So their death was not in vain." (level up) 1024 -- "Let's rejoice for now." (level up) 1025 -- "It probably is a joyful thing." (level up) 1026 -- "Shouldn't we run away?" (begin battle) 1027 -- "You don't have to fight if you don't want to." (begin battle) 1028 -- "Ahh, shouldn't we go?" (begin battle) 1029 -- "Okay, let's fight." (begin battle) 1030 -- "I guess I must fight." (begin battle) 1031 -- "Can't we run away somehow?" (begin battle) 1032 -- "This is sad." (begin battle) 1033 -- "Looks like fighting is the only way out." (begin battle) 1034 -- "Looks like it wouldn't let us get away." (begin battle) 1035 -- "What shall we do." (begin battle) 1036 -- "Oh, behind?!?" (begin battle) 1037 -- "Oh, it's a trap!" (begin battle) 1038 -- "Sorry." (end battle) 1039 -- "Did that hurt?" (end battle) 1040 -- "It's over." (end battle) 1041 -- "Whoo!" (end battle) 1042 -- "Sleep peacefully." (end battle) 1043 -- "I won't make your death in vain." (end battle) 1044 -- "Fight to live." (end battle) 1045 -- "I guess this is a struggle for existence." (end battle) 1046 -- "You lost in the struggle for existence." (end battle) 1047 -- "Oh good." (run) 1048 -- "I guess that's what I had to do." (run) 1049 -- "Gah!" (near death) 1050 -- "I cannot die yet." (near death) 1051 -- "Darn it, what can I do?" (near death) 1052 -- "I'm soaked in blood." (near death) 1053 -- "This wound is bad." (near death) 1054 -- "Good night..." (death) 1055 -- "Wah!..." (death) 1056 -- "Sorry, everyone..." (death) 1057 -- "Let me rest a little bit..." (death) 1058 -- "Something's warm..." (death) 1059 -- "Fwaaa!" (ally death) 1060 -- "I can't forgive you." (ally death) 1061 -- "I'm really angry!" (ally death) 1062 -- "Crawd!" (if Claude dies) 1063 -- "Crawd!" (if Claude dies) 1064 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 1065 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 1066 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 1067 -- "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 1068 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 1069 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 1070 -- "Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 1071 -- "Gyoro! Ururun!" (if Ashton dies) 1072 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 1073 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 1074 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 1075 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 1076 -- "Chisato!" (if Chisato dies) 1077 -- "Really sorry." (aided) 1078 -- "Thanks a lot for saving me." (aided) 1079 -- "Thank you very much." (aided) 1080 -- "That is a mysterious power." (aided) 1081 -- "I'm so sorry." (aided) 1082 -- "Thank you." (aided) 1083 -- "It's too bad you have to fight me." (taunt) 1084 -- "I don't like fighting you know." (taunt) 1085 -- "Why don't you run? You may lose your life." (taunt) 1086 -- "Why don't we become friends? I guess not." (taunt) 1087 -- "Ice Needle!" (???) 1088 -- "Wind Blade!" 1089 -- "Oh blade of atmosphere!" (Sonic Saber) 1090 -- "Sonic Saber!" 1091 -- "Oh burning air!" (Foehn) 1092 -- "Foehn!" 1093 -- "Oh vortex of atmosphere." (Magnum Tornado) 1094 -- "Magnum Tornado!" 1095 -- "Oh wicked air!" (Tetanus Wind) 1096 -- "Tetanus Wind!" 1097 -- "Thunderbolt!" (???) 1098 -- "Grave!" 1099 -- "Oh Tusk of earth!" (Earth Grave) 1100 -- "Earth Grave!" 1101 -- "Oh great earth!" (Earthquake) 1102 -- "Earthquake!" 1103 -- "Wounds!" (???) 1104 -- "Tear apart!" (Energy Arrow) 1105 -- "Energy Arrow!" 1106 -- "Mind if I borrow that?" (Blood Sucker) 1107 -- "Blood Sucker!" 1108 -- "Sorry." (Mind Absorber) 1109 -- "Mind Absorber!" 1110 -- "Heal!" 1111 -- "Oh Healing light." (Cure Light) 1112 -- "Cure Light!" 1113 -- "Fairy Heal!" 1114 -- "Oh great light!" (Cure All) 1115 -- "Cure All!" 1116 -- "Fairy Light!" 1117 -- "Antidote!" (???) 1118 -- "Dispel!" 1119 -- "Silence!" 1120 -- "Oh forgotten gods of ancient time..." (Curse) 1121 -- "Curse!" 1122 -- "Oh great God." (Bless) 1123 -- "Bless!" 1124 -- "Oh wind of Salvation." (Neutral) 1125 -- "Neutral!" Summary: Not a very useful character. As you can see many of his spells overlap Rena and Celine, who are better at them anyway. If it came down to a choice between him and Chisato (because you recruited Ernest and only have one slot left) I'd choose Chisato. Actually, I'd take Noel and Chisato both over Ernest but that's a different story... CHISATO MADISON The hotshot reporter for the Nede Chronicle who follows the party around. Also a blackbelt in Shingu style Jujitsu, made even more impressive because she's an expert in a martial art not from Nede... but oh well. Chisato doesn't have that many powerful weapons. In fact, none of her weapons have over 1000 attack power. Her biggest strength, then, is the fact that she has more multi-hit Killer Moves than any other person. Use them liberally. Use them well. Of course, the regular combat skills apply. Chisato also starts out with the Writing Talent, so invest in Authoring if you want, and she also starts out Level 4 in Copying, which is good since Copying takes so many SP. Her attack is okay, kind of slow, but with good range. Have her play the organ. For some reason she doesn't have a favorite food, although my guess would be eggs if you've seen a certain Private Action... My nitpicky commentary on voice: It's okay, if a bit off. She can't seem to decide whether she writes standard news ("And this is how the monster ceased to exist"), sports ("I wonder who the MVP is?"), or is in fact a movie director ("Okay, cut, end it there"). Still, she's "in- character" so I like that. KILLER MOVES Twister MP: 5 Proficiency: 240 Chisato somehow turns her body into a buzzsaw like attacking mode and hits the enemy multiple times. Okay if you manage to pull it off, since you can be hit out of it. Burning Cards MP: 7 Proficiency: 200 Throws burning business cards at the enemy for multiple hits. As the level increases so does the number of cards. Okay damage, but not that worthwhile unless you really invest. Whirlwind MP: 12 Proficiency: 200 A combination of martial arts moves. As the proficiency increases so does the number of moves. If you're good you can "juggle" the enemy since the hits sends to toss the enemy slightly into the air. One of Chisato's better moves. 10,000 Volts MP: 15 Level: 44 Proficiency: 200 Fires an electrical field, which gets larger and wider with more proficiency. Doesn't hit that many times, but is helpful to keep yourself from getting swarmed by the enemy. If you can pull it off in time, that is... Flame Thrower MP: 16 Level: 53 Proficiency: 200 Whoo! This is like a supercharged version of Opera's Flame Launcher. Expect to hit a heck of a lot of times and to kill any enemy weak against fire. Each hit does the same damage as a normal attack! Fire-elemental. Rising Dragon MP: 13 Level: 62 Proficiency: 200 Like Whirlwind, only more powerful. Again, more moves as the level increases. At the end, if you're high enough in proficiency, you'll knock the enemy into the air and hit them more times. Another great move. Tear Gas MP: 25 Level: 68 Summons a truly ominous looking thing that fires gas at the enemy. Who cares, it hits a heck of a lot of times. If you can get the enemy up against the wall, we're talking at least ten hits! Even though it sounds strange, turn off Strong Blow because that affects even the gas. Preparation MP: 16 Level: 76 Proficiency: 240 Chisato calls up some missiles to hit the enemy. It takes forever for the missiles to come, though, and you may very well kill everything before the missiles come. I find Tear Gas more useful than this move. VOICE SAMPLES (1126-1219) voiced by Jessica K. Heidt 1126-1135 -- attack 1136-1145 -- injured 1146 -- "I'm so happy!" (level up) 1147 -- "Leave it up to me!" (level up) 1148 -- "I guess that's it." (level up) 1149 -- "Not yet!" (level up) 1150 -- "Oh my, what shall I do?" (level up) 1151 -- "Oh my!" (level up) 1152 -- "Well, let's fight!" (begin battle) 1153 -- "We'll manage." (begin battle) 1154 -- "Let's fight!" (begin battle) 1155 -- "I'm coming." (begin battle) 1156 -- "Let's be careful." (begin battle) 1157 -- "Oh no!" (begin battle) 1158 -- "Are you ready?" (begin battle) 1159 -- "Why is this monster..." (begin battle) 1160 -- "What?!?" (begin battle) 1161 -- "Behind?!?" (begin battle) 1162 -- "No, why?!? " (begin battle) 1163 -- "We did it!" (end battle) 1164 -- "I wonder who the MVP is?" (end battle) 1165 -- "Okay, cut, end it there." (end battle) 1166 -- "We did it!" (end battle) 1167 -- "Good job!" (end battle) 1168 -- "And this is how the monsters ceased to exist." (end battle) 1169 -- "Oh goody." (end battle) 1170 -- "I will not complain." (end battle) 1171 -- "That was tough." (end battle) 1172 -- "Let's withdraw." (run) 1173 -- "Let's fall back for now." (run) 1174 -- "S.O.S.!" (near death) 1175 -- "Oh no!" (near death) 1176 -- "What shall we do?" (near death) 1177 -- "Can you go still?" (near death) 1178 -- "The bleeding won't stop!" (near death) 1179 -- "I'm sorry everyone..." (death) 1180 -- "I can't go down yet..." (death) 1181 -- "I still have things to tell you..." (death) 1182 -- "What have you done!" (ally death) 1183 -- "I won't forgive you!" (ally death) 1184 -- "You've made me really angry!" (ally death) 1185 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 1186 -- "Claude!" (if Claude dies) 1187 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 1188 -- "Rena!" (if Rena dies) 1189 -- "Celine!" (if Celine dies) 1190 -- "Bowman!" (if Bowman dies) 1191 -- "Precis!" (if Precis dies) 1192 -- "Ashton!" (if Ashton dies) 1193 -- "Opera!" (if Opera dies) 1194 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 1195 -- "Ernest!" (if Ernest dies) 1196 -- "Dias!" (if Dias dies) 1197 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 1198 -- "Leon!" (if Leon dies) 1199 -- "Noel!" (if Noel dies) 1200 -- "You saved me." (aided) 1201 -- "Thank you." (aided) 1202 -- "I'm sorry." (aided) 1203 -- "Sorry." (aided) 1204 -- "Thanks for saving me." (aided) 1205 -- "I'm so sorry." (aided) 1206 -- "What's this?" (taunt) 1207 -- "Oh why don't you just go away." (taunt) 1208 -- "No matter how hard you try it's useless." (taunt) 1209 -- "Sorry, I'm not interested in you." (taunt) 1210 -- "Flamethrower!" 1211 -- "Tear Gas!" 1212 -- "Ten Thousand Volts!" 1213 -- "Twister!" 1214 -- "Special Attack! Whirlwind!" 1215 -- "Burning Cards!" 1216 -- "Special Attack! Rising Dragon!" 1217 -- "Defense force, do you read me?" (Preparation) 1218 -- "Uh, 3-A? One missile please." (Preparation) 1219 -- "One missile please!" (Preparation) Summary: Even though she is not that powerful, Chisato has some of the most useful Killer Moves in the game. I would recruit her over Noel and even Dias, if it came down to it. Still, you do get her kind of late in the game... MISCELLANEOUS TIPS AND TRICKS Easy Money You have to have gotten to Energy Nede so you can buy the Lezard Flask. Having an Erlenmeyer Flask (Machinery) helps too. Now, buy as many Iron as you can. Have somebody convert them via alchemy to Sage's Stone. Sell and repeat. Even with a dismal success rate you'll still be making at least 300,000 fol everytime! Add in Orchestra to create more stones and Identify All! to shift the prices in your favor and you'll be making a heck of a lot more... >From Setzer X: You know that skill Playfulness? Well, that "gift from heaven" takes the form of Fol! That's right, level up in Playfulness and you'll always get money. Too bad it's a one-time thing. It's pretty random how much money you get, but sum it all up and you'll end up about 100,000 Fol richer by getting to level 10... Also, why not try your hand in publishing? Sell a book to the Publisher in Lacour. Then, waaaay later in Virtual Expel, collect your royalties from the Publishing Office (okay, so a bit unrealistic, but who cares?) Depending on the time it took you in between the two, you could get somewhere around 5 million Fol! (You might have to also sell a book to the Energy Nede publishers just to get the ball rolling...) While you're at it, try your hand at customize. Take either a Crest Rod, Ruby Rod, or Silver Rod. Customize with Celine and a cheap metal. You should end up with a Rod of Snakes, which is not only a good weapon for Celine but also sells for about 300,000 Fol! Here's another money-maker... for this you'll have to have recruited Ashton. Get/buy/reproduce Scythers. Use Alchemy to make Damascuses... customize Scyther + Damascus to make Melufas... they sell for almost 2 million Fol!!!!!!!! Thanks to G Nocide for this one. Those Stupid Bunnies... Finding those bunnies hard to hit? As soon as you jump to attack them they come back down, right? Well, you can use Leon, but his attack is kinda weak. Better solution: play Opera as your lead character. Let a bunny jump on top of your head. This won't hurt you. As soon as it takes off again, press X like crazy! You should be able to hit the bunny at least six times before it lands again and has a chance to counterattack. Rinse and repeat. Where to put those SP? First skill, Perseverance. Costs 80 SP to level all the way up, and you've just saved yourself a lot of SP in the long run. Next skill, I think, should be Danger Sense. Sure, call me crazy, but if Perseverance is Level 10 you can Level 10 in Danger Sense for slightly more than 30 SP. The big bonus is that you've just gained 30 points in Stamina. That's like equipping a Might Chain! After that, it's pretty much your choice. Machinery skills for Precis and Opera, Combat for Claude, etc. etc. Gotta love those herbs... Definitely the most useful Compounding combination is Aceras + Aceras. Look at what you can get: Fairy Mist (all Killer Moves and Spells cost 0 MP for a short time!), Smelling Salts (resurrect both HP and MP!), Skanda Compress (everybody runs really fast!), and Ressurection Bottles (okay o the last one isn't that good). If you only knew the power... This first part you probably already know. Orchestra, Orchestra, just do everything in your power to get Orchestra. You can't perform it till Disk 2, but it's worth it. Orchestra doubled my Item Creation success rate in Reproduction and Blacksmith. The second part is less well-known. Even though you may use Orchestra, don't neglect the Violin 2 song! Hail the Goddess, that's what its called. This is just conjecture, from my own playing experience, but it seems to me that while Orchestra improves general success rate, Violin 2 improves the chance that you'll make a rarer item, i.e., Opera and Precis's Killer Moves, the Treasure Box in Art, etc. I spent 240 Machinery Kits to try and get Hyper Launcher for Opera, playing Orchestra. Then I changed to Violin 2 and made both Hyper Launcher and Laser Bit and a Magic Box (which is also very rare, though not that useful) within the next 8 tries! Maybe I just got lucky. Deona Lindholm also informs me that Orchestra also allows your characters to use skills without the proper Talents and also allows those Talents to be opened up at a better rate. Free Stuff, the Easy Way courtesy of Setzer X: You know how Mischief, Trickster, and Fortune give you items while you're walking? Here's an even easier way than wandering all over the place. You must know the Super Specialty Come On Bunny!. Summon the bunny with one of these items equipped. Walk over to a mountain or the top of a building -- anywhere you can't get off. Now, with a turbo controller, set the X button to on. You'll continuosly try to dismount but you can't, since you're on mountains. But each attempt counts as a step! Go away, make a sandwich, come back in half an hour. You'll have a whole bunch o' goodies to play with! Statistics... Undoubtedly the most important Stat for anyone is Stamina. Think about it. Having a high Stamina is the difference between getting to the top of Fienal completely healthy or getting to the top of Fienal with no items left. If your Stamina (and fighting skill) is good enough you'll take no net damage and still have the same amount of MP left. The next most important stat, in my opinion, is Guts. With guts, you can 1)double your attack strength 2)double your defensive strength or 3)resist dying. Well, you only have 1 HP, but it's better than nothing. After that... well, it's not really a Stat, but CRT (critical) is important for fighters. That stat gives you the chance you'll dizzy an opponent with a blow. Absolutely essential. From there, STR for fighters and INT/MAG for spellcasters. How to make the first disc the easiest ever... Okay, you need to have gone through at least the Lacour Tournament. Make sure you have the Sharp Edge. With Claude, get as high a level in Customize as you can. You should be at least level 8 for this to work. Now, focus on the skill Radar. The 'gift from heaven' takes the form of a random item. Save your game; level up in Radar. You want to try to get 2 Mithrils. If you don't, reload and try again. Now, Customize the Sharp Edge with a Mithril and the resulting Minus Sword with a Mithril. You've just created the Eternal Sphere. No, you don't need to have the Magical Rasp! With it you should be well-nigh invincible until well into the second disc. Thanks to James Sigountos for this trick. How to hit those flying creatures... Don't you hate those flying monsters? Flying bosses give me SO much more trouble then walking ones. Here's a couple of tips: As stated above, Opera is the best character to attack flying creatures with. After her is Precis provided you're far away enough. Third has got to be Chisato. Unlike most characters, Chisato attacks "on the way up", so to speak. Whereas Claude and company need to jump first, THEN attack on the way down, with Chisato you can stand directly under the enemy and keep pressing X. Ashton seems to attack on the way up, except he can't be directly under the enemy, but he can still be closer than Claude or Dias to hit. After that spellcasters are the best options. Battle formation! Okay, so the title is a bit misleading. It's not exactly about battle formation, but rather my favorite Battle Compositions. Party #1 I call my "Guerilla Warfare" party. It consists of Opera, Chisato, Precis OR Bowman, and Rena. (Of course you should have Rena!) Give everyone Bunny Shoes. Now, set it so that Opera's Killer Move is Alpha on One, Chisato's are Preparation and Burning Cards, Precis's is Barrier, and Bowman's is Explosion Pills. This party is the range party... everyone can attack without getting close to the enemy. It's fun watching Precis/Bowman lob grenades into the middle of the enemy and run away! Party #2 is my Multi-Hit Bonanza Party. Ashton, Claude, Chisato, and Rena. Bunny Shoes, again, are essential. Of course, make Ashton's move Sword Dance, Claude's Mirror Slice, and Chisato's Rising Dragon. Actually, you could replace Chisato with Dias and Illusion or Bowman with Sakura Attack, but I find this the most effective. You should be pulling off multiple hits every time. Party #3 is my Long Range Multiple Hit Party. It's composed of Opera, Precis, Chisato, and Rena. Precis' Killer Move should be Bloody Mary. Opera should have Hyper Launcher, and Chisato should have Tear Gas. You don't have to get as close to pull off multiple hits this time. Finally, Party #4 is my anti-spellcaster party. It has one area- attack fighter equipped with Bunny Shoes (I have Claude with Ripper Blast or Precis with Barrier) and Leon, Celine, and Rena, who is set to Aid Friends! With the one fighter I occupy the enemy while Leon, Celine, and Rena cast attack spells to disrupt the enemy magicians. You have to be a patient person to put up with this party, though... Endings Galore Need I say, spoilers in this section? Oh well. There are three special endings in Star Ocean 2. The first two you can only get if you play as Rena. First up is Celine's special ending. Once the Port of Clik is destroyed go back to Cross. Perform three Private Actions in a row. The first two take place in West Cross while the third happens in the alley in East Cross. I won't spoil the content for you but during the first one choose to help the man and in the third one drag Celine off to the Church. Second is Ashton. After you get him, but before going to Lacour (and preferably after you've finished his own exorcism quest as this makes it a bit easier) go to Herlie and perform three Private Actions. All three take place in Eleanor's House; between the second and third you'll need to make a sidetrip to Lasguss Mountain. Oh, and when they say the herb is on the summit, it's not really on the summit. Last one is Opera's. You can get this from either Claude or Rena's scenario. Simply recruit Opera, but not Ernest. You'll get a special (not all that special in my opinion) ending featuring Opera. Invinicibility!!!!!! Okay, first method which most people know is Lunatic Ring + Peep Non = invincibility. There are two problems with this method: one, the Lunatic Ring will eventually break, and two, you need to use up two accessory slots for this combo. The second is Bloody Armor. Bloody Armor will make you invincible but it will suck away your HP like there's no tomorrow. There is a way to get around this, though... have a party with Claude, Ashton, Bowman, Dias, Opera, or Ernest, AND Noel. Why these people? They can equip the Bloody Armor. Anyway, have 'em all equipped. Now go into battle and make Noel your leader. Keep casting Fairy Light!!!!! It helps if Noel 1. Has Motormouth and 2. has a Fairy Ring equipped. I suggest a Fairy Ring and Luna Tablet for Noel. This should keep your party virtually invinicible unless Noel runs out of MP or gets paralyzed or silenced. Equip Atlas Rings on all your fighters and enemies'll die really quickly. Thanks to G Nocide for this trick. Dream Peace Annyoed by those Dream Shades in the Cavern of Trials? Here's a neat trick courtesy of G Nocide. You'll have to be controlling a spell- caster. Immediately after Dream Peace begins, pull up the Circle menu. The action will freeze but "time" will continue to run! As soon as the "Forbidden" sign disappears from your Heraldry icon, cancel the Circle commands and keep on fighting! Algols This one courtesy of Deona Lindholm. Equip an Algol shield on Precis or Chisato and go into a boss battle controlling them. Let the boss hit you a couple of times (not enough to kill you, of course!!) If you're lucky, the boss will be insta-killed!! SPELL REACTIONS There are two types of reactions, called "Absorb" and... um... I think it was "Cancel", but I'm not sure cause I've only seen it once. Anyway, if two spells are cast at the same time (and I mean at the EXACT same time, the game is very unforgiving) you will get a reaction. If the two spells are opposite elements, they will cancel and neither will have any effect. If they are not opposite elements, they will "Absorb" each other and reinforce each other. They do not have to be the exact same element; Light and Star spells will "Absorb", for instance. Also, if one spell affects all enemies while the other only affects a group or one, the lesser spell might be cancelled entirely. Finally, if, for instance, the enemy casts Light Cross while you cast Star Flare, it seems you will not get injured at all. Perhaps because Star Flare is a stronger spell than Light Cross? Who knows. MISCELLANEOUS FLUFF The top ten signs that you've been playing too much Star Ocean 2... 10. You think having glasses will make the prices cheaper in stores... 9. You have a compulsion to yell "Word of Death!" to anybody that annoys you... (or 'Recieve the Wind of Destruction!') 8. You get a tattoo and then become angry when you still can't cast Firebolt... 7. You buy a kaleidoscope and are disappointed when it won't shoot out energy bolts... 6. You're convinced having a good knife and a beret are all it takes to make wonderful food... 5. You write to the government demanding more research in Phase Gun technology... 4. When you botch your art project you hit yourself for not listening to an Orchestra while you were making it... 3. You say "darling" after every sentence you use... 2. You think horse racing is infinitely inferior to Bunny Races... 1. You actually fill out a "hold mail" form just like the ads. MISCELLANEOUS VOICE SAMPLES VESPER (1220-1231) 1220 -- "I will destroy all those in my way." (begin battle) 1221 -- "Guess I'll teach the ignorant people a lesson!" (Begin battle) 1222 -- "Gah!" (death?) 1223 -- "I miscalculated. I can't believe I lost." (death) 1224 -- "No way, I can't believe I miscalculated!" (death) 1225 -- "Die!" 1226 -- "Bastard!" (Tractor Beam) 1227 -- "You bug!" 1228 -- "Gwa!" (injured?" 1229 -- "You'll be sorry for this!" (Decus death?) 1230 -- "You can't run away!" 1231 -- "Shut up and die!" 1232 -- "Burst!" (Mind Blast?) 1233 -- "Mind Blast!" 1234 -- "Well, let's have it." (Mind Absorber?) 1235 -- "Mind Absorber!" 1236 -- "I will make the best out of it." (Blood Sucker?) 1237 -- "Blood sucker!" DECUS (1238-1255) 1238 -- "Turn into ashes!" (begin battle) 1239 -- "I will burn you to the bone!" (begin battle) 1240 -- "Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuugghh!" (death) 1241 -- "Damn it hurts!" (death) 1242 -- "I will warm you up to your bones!" (Spicule) 1243 -- "Aren't you guys cold? Heh heh..." (Spicule) 1244 -- "Don't you think I'm very strong?" (Spicule) 1245 -- "Burn to ashes!" (Spicule?) 1246 -- "Spicule!" 1247 -- "Oh it's so hot I'm going to die!" (Explode?) 1248 -- "Explode!" 1249 -- "Here's a substitute for a greeting!" (Eruption?) 1250 -- "Eruption!" 1251 -- "Hey, it's hot!" (Spicule) 1252 -- "Burn to death!" 1253 -- "Ow, it's hot! Oh...hohoho!" (Spicule) 1254 -- "Burn!" 1255 -- "Ow!" (injured?) CYRIL (1256-1278) voiced by Brian Vouglas 1256 -- "I just hope you don't break down too soon." (begin battle) 1257 -- "Well I guess I'll buy a one-way ticket to Hell with your lives!" (begin battle) 1258 -- "Auugh~!" (death) 1259 -- "No, I can't be losing!" (death) 1260 -- "No, this can't be happening, not to me!" (death) 1261 -- "What's wrong? Aren't you coming to get me?" (Wind of Dest.) 1262 -- "I wish you'd let me enjoy it some more." (WOD) 1263 -- "Try a little harder before you die." (WOD) 1264 -- "Get serious! Is that the best you can do? 1265 -- "You're in the way." 1266 -- "You piece of junk!" 1267 -- "Insignificant fools!" 1268 -- "Scum!" 1269 -- "Die!" (Word of Death?) 1270 -- "Ugh!" (injured?) 1271 -- "Oh strangely shaped one, destroy the enemy!" (Daemon's Gate) 1272 -- "Daemon's Gate!" 1273 -- "Open the gate to the Realm of the Dead with my life!" (DG) 1274 -- "Break Apart!" 1275 -- "Ba ha ha!" 1276 -- "Know thyself!" 1277 -- "Receive the Wind of Destruction!" 1278 -- "Stay right there!" INDALECIO (does not appear in voice collection) voiced by Erik Bergman "I'm coming." (begin battle/Time of Truth (Filia)) "I'm erasing you." (begin battle/Time of Truth (Filia)) "Are you telling me that you deny the downfall? Your fate will never change" (Time of Truth) "Why? I was made by mankind. Why shouldn't I?????" (Time of Truth) "Swallow all the wicked people!" (Earthquake) "This is fun." (Divine Comedy) "Can you take this?" (Divine Comedy) "Now is the time of doom." (Divine Comedy) "Now everything will end." (Explode) "Oh the peaceful light." (Angel Feather) "That's useless." (Curse) "Star Flare!" "Yes, thank you for stopping me. No need to put the light out yet." (death(Filia)) "Is it true that humans will destroy me? Then what is the significance of my existence?" (death(Filia)) And that's all for now. More revisions to come soon. CREDITS Enix and tri-Ace for bringing us one of the best RPGs this year. Setzer X for various tips and tricks Jonathan Hensley for an alternate use for Head Splitter Dan GC for several corrections on Dias's Killer Moves and MUCH help on the voice collection Stting 77 for input on Firebird Shock Wave James Sigountos for many voices and the Eternal Sphere trick MorbdLord for many voices rt for Indalecio's voice samples Preston Maxey for many corrections on Rena's samples Dias Flac for assorted voice samples, Dias tidbit, and ending info Matt LeVan for the Press insta-kill technique Brett for some Claude quotes G Nocide for many quotes, especially Bowman and Noel, and the Bloody Armor trick, Dream Peace trick, and another money-maker YelseyKing for alternate spell quotes and the Peep Non correction John Liu for finishing up the quotes Deona Lindholm for several quote corrections and the Algol trick. Copyright 1999, 2000 by Edward Chang. Not for sale or resale. You may distribute this document freely as long as nothing is changed and I am credited. All names created by Tri-Ace.