Throwback Thursday: It’s a Twofer!

This week’s Throwback is going to be two classic games. Mainly because I missed last week’s Throwback. Both of these games are considered classics (at least to me). This first game is a game not many of my circle have played before but have played other games in the series. That game is Star Ocean: The Second Story. 

Star Ocean is an expansive RPG found on the PS1. It was one of those two disc game sets. When I say expansive, I mean it. This game takes place 20 years after the original (which I know none of you have played). It tells the story of Claude C. Kenny, who is the son of a character from the original game and Rena Langford, a young girl living on the planet of Expel. The first thing that sets this game apart is that you get to choose between one of the main characters. Their fates are intertwined but playing as one or the other allows you to experience the game through their eyes. Most people usually play with Claude first (because they are used to the male lead of course). But aside from that, whomever you choose to play as, the game becomes a world expanding adventure.

The characters you have to decide to be in your party may be in part based on who you chose to start the game with. For instance, if you start the game with Rena, you will be able to have a character named Dias (strongest character in the game besides Claude and Ashton) in your party but you can’t get him if you chose Claude in the beginning. Most of the characters are choices but you have to be careful. If you choose to have Ashton in your party, then you can’t recruit Ernest and Opera later in the game and vice versa. The last thing I will say about this game is the item creation. You basically have free range to create almost anything you want in the game. Weapons, food, items, armor, the choice is yours. It takes some doing but the strongest weapon in the game is the Eternal Sphere (took me hours to get this right). There are two stronger but those weapons are near the end of the game. Overall, this game is a time commitment but it pays off in the end. It makes you pay attention to all of your actions, leveling up and character stats. This is one of those games that has multiple endings and there is no real “perfect” ending. If you happen to find a copy of this game, keep it, play it (when you have the time).

Burnout 3: Takedown

This game is literally about destruction. There is no real plot or storyline. Your goal is to cause as much destruction as you can within a certain time limit. That’s it. No other fluff or enhancements. You try to go as fast as you can and destroy whoever and whatever is in your way. I used to play this game in high school and thought this was the most mindless game ever but I couldn’t put it down. It was something about driving a virtual machine 120mph into oncoming traffic and eventually causing a 30 car pile up in the middle of a highway. If you really want to let off some steam for hours, find this game. It’s perfect for that. I promise.

That’s it for this week’s Throwback Thursday. I’ll do better. Continue to look out for our gaming stream posts. I will be highlighting not only my gaming/anime/podcast stream but The Squad Next Door gaming channel. Be sure to check out this new and upcoming podcast by one of my friends from college, https://soundcloud.com/thebacchanal . Until next time, Nerd Out!

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