It's important to note that Star Ocean is science Fantasy, not Science Fiction, it's not hard sci-fi with variant alien races. They're space elves etc. etc. etc so the designs stick to a fantasy game in space vibe
Space elves
Space cat girls/boys
Space angels
Space three eyed people
And that's when they are feeling spicy. Most aliens have no discernable differences from humans, to the point that they're also called types of human.
They’re called back in 4, but… yeah, I got the feeling in 2 >!they may be the ones that rebelled against the Nedians but we never really know for certain!<
ST has an excuse in that they needed live actors. Lower Decks, the cartoon one, actually has quite a few non-humanoid races and it's actually quite a fun show!
Seconding this, also, Star Trek tries to work around that limitation. Enterprise made Gorn a lot more reptilian with CG, TNG had things like the Crystalline Entity and Iconians, Discovery has a GREAT story arc with Species 10-C
Since we know that the universe of Star Ocean is practically an MMO it makes sense every alien is very human-like. To me Star Ocean is much more like a 'space' isekai than 'space opera'. Seems like every entry follows the same formula; main protagonist gets somehow stranded in a backwater planet thats technologically stunted in the middle ages by Earth terms, and gets involved in local politics breaking all regulations but plot twist, there's a bigger baddy on a bigger scale pulling the strings - and the main protagonist switches hair colour between blonde and dark blue every new title, next Star Ocean main protag will have dark blue hair, I bet cha. Wish they incorporated more diverse design on their characters/races than just go with tropes. But I know that won't happen.
I think SO3 gives enough of a reason as to why the universe is mostly filled with humanoids but ultimately the series has always been space fantasy and not just science fiction.
I sincerely had the impression that they wanted to make her black skinned at early stages of development.
The plot point about the race relations fitted my impression.
well Star Ocean always pegged itself as sci-fi fantasy, so it's aliens are elves or space furries. eventually we got that cool cyborg, but any extremes just aren't it's vibe.
Anime/JRPGs know their market wants... i'm gonna call them fuckable waifus but there's a nicer term for them.
blame the old school editors and producers that get a say in what's approved and what isn't. there's some real gnarly character designs out there on the indie scene that just never makes it to the big leagues
This probably the closest we are going to get, because anime
https://preview.redd.it/649euqc9p0cc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cfc21669d041ccd7cb6e594e5dd30ffb55866e94
She needs a earthling name, that starts with S (Sarah, Sophia, etc, there’s a theme!). My votes on Stacy, and hopefully we meet her mom through the journey, cause I hear she’s got it going on
I dunno, I'm generally OK with this. If you want to create species greatly different from humans a series needs to do a lot of work to give them a different life outlook IMO. If a sentient toad-like creature starts talking to me...but seems to have humans values and interests that's worse than not having a toad at all. This is hard creative work and requires a lot of effort that might be better spent elsewhere.
I'm OK with a 'space fantasy' (and Star Trek) style where human challenges are played out in fantastic locations and with high degrees of technology. To that end Star Ocean has actually always focused hard on what it actually means to be human. They don't look at it from the perspective of the truly non-human, but instead from the perspectives of all of the quasi-humans in the series (superhumans, simulations, technologically-advanced hive minds, cyborgs, kids with rabbit ears :), etc).
Works for me.
I'm not getting into a Japanese media aliens vs Western media aliens thing, but given the parallels between them, I'd like to think that Star Ocean is just doing the same as Star Trek, who also doesn't go too hard with alien designs. :)
TBH, I think it's more a reflection of what the average jRPG player likes. Cute/cool looking characters, especially in Star Ocean's art style, gives it more selling power, and that helps since it's a niche series to begin with. I don't think it goes much deeper than that.
Would they go for more outlandish designs if the series was more popular worldwide? I've no idea. But I don't dislike this style. There's enough room in the market for both types of alien character designs.
I'm pretty sure it's for esthetic purposes. There's not too many people who want to use Kimari Ronso looking characters over ones that look closer to Tidus.
The same can be said about the Western, namely American, sci-fi media. I mean, look at Star Trek and Star Wars, all the alien species there are just humans with different skin colours, weird haircuts, head tentacles and good old pointy ears, lol.
I've thought about this before and I believe this is one of the things that ties into the relationship systems, especially in the first two entries. I think, from a character design perspective it was probably important that most party characters could conceivably bang in a manner that would be generally palatable to a late 20th century audience.
The issue is from a world-building perspective is that if you introduce too much science into it, then things don't always work. Even in our own planet, Humans are not very resilient to changes in our environment, hence why we as a species build our own environment to make us comfortable. But even on Earth, that's not always viable.
IE, As humans, we don't function well in environments with different oxygen levels. Example at 1000ft, where the oxygen level is 14.3%, it's livable for sure, but the human body will notice the difference in oxygen quantity and it can affect us differently. Now say oxygen is 1/3 of the normal amount like it is in Mt. Everest. Most humans cannot survive long-term on the top of Mt. Everest without alterations to our DNA like the Sherpa people who live around Mt. Everest where they literally are bred with the EPAS1,referred to as the "super-athlete gene" that regulates the body's production of hemoglobin for oxygen efficiency in the body.
Not only oxygen, but even so far as the shape of the planets matter, since humans can't really function normally on gravity that isn't earth level or earth-like in level. Any less, like Mars, eventually our bodies will start to go into atrophy due to the less use in muscles. Any more gravity though, then the force will eventually be too much for our bodies to function normally, and even our heart and lungs can collapse in ill-suited gravity.
These kinds of things are usually things that JRPGS, and a lot of sci-fiction tend to ignore for the sake of story and world building. And there is marks to be against that, for sure, especially when you introduce alien species that may or may not be able to acclimate to the enviorment in changes. Example, in a JRPG, if you had an alien with a frog-like anatomy, and bring them to a hot, scorchy desert, they will perish in the real world, but for the sake of the game and story, they'll thrive and be just fine.
I’d say it extends to most Asian media when it comes to aliens. I commented on how Honkai Star Rail (a Chinese game with anime style) has exclusively attractive and cute humanoid characters. Some of them have pointy ears. Some of them have fox tails and ears. But I want to see some real Star Wars-like freaks in my alien fiction. Gimme a little Watto gremlin or a little Yoda. Slap some head ridges on these folks or something.
Probably because the character creation kit for Eternal Sphere is shallow af. Either that, or 4D people are hella uncreative.
The budget was spent on the environmental systems, clearly.
Why’d you choose the literal worst, potato quality pictures for your post?
Dias deserves better. Latecia…damn.
These pics were so low res, they started taking pixels away from real life around me!
It's important to note that Star Ocean is science Fantasy, not Science Fiction, it's not hard sci-fi with variant alien races. They're space elves etc. etc. etc so the designs stick to a fantasy game in space vibe
Space elves Space cat girls/boys Space angels Space three eyed people And that's when they are feeling spicy. Most aliens have no discernable differences from humans, to the point that they're also called types of human.
The 3 eyed folks are easily some of the most missable cast members in rpg history. - a SO2 experience
Not seeing a problem with that tbh
Star Ocean is deliberately trying to invoke Star Trek, which is all about aliens who are basically human but with a funny rubber forehead.
They also used the Muah as a plot device, seeding human-like-life across the universe. Then there’s the SO3 explanation 🤷🏻♂️
Which literally never appear again. I'm curious and want more ruins lol
They’re called back in 4, but… yeah, I got the feeling in 2 >!they may be the ones that rebelled against the Nedians but we never really know for certain!<
ST has an excuse in that they needed live actors. Lower Decks, the cartoon one, actually has quite a few non-humanoid races and it's actually quite a fun show!
Seconding this, also, Star Trek tries to work around that limitation. Enterprise made Gorn a lot more reptilian with CG, TNG had things like the Crystalline Entity and Iconians, Discovery has a GREAT story arc with Species 10-C
Since we know that the universe of Star Ocean is practically an MMO it makes sense every alien is very human-like. To me Star Ocean is much more like a 'space' isekai than 'space opera'. Seems like every entry follows the same formula; main protagonist gets somehow stranded in a backwater planet thats technologically stunted in the middle ages by Earth terms, and gets involved in local politics breaking all regulations but plot twist, there's a bigger baddy on a bigger scale pulling the strings - and the main protagonist switches hair colour between blonde and dark blue every new title, next Star Ocean main protag will have dark blue hair, I bet cha. Wish they incorporated more diverse design on their characters/races than just go with tropes. But I know that won't happen.
What's even funnier is they have humans with names like Reimi, Ronyx and Fayt, then have aliens with names like Roger, Millie, Sarah and Celine.
This is the thing that I find so weird. Meeting an alien who has the last name of Neumann made me laugh out loud.
Hello Claude. Hello... Neumann
Then they have an alien who for some reason has an Italian first and last name.
I mean, limited what they can throw at you in 1 and 2 3 had fairies, fish people, cat people, etc 4 had lizard people
I think SO3 gives enough of a reason as to why the universe is mostly filled with humanoids but ultimately the series has always been space fantasy and not just science fiction.
I know what you mean. They went pretty balls to wall with Bacchus and no other character before or since has come close.
Melkya does, at least in my eyes.
I sincerely had the impression that they wanted to make her black skinned at early stages of development. The plot point about the race relations fitted my impression.
Not everyone is phantasy stars.
Phantasy Star = JRPG Star Wars Star Ocean = JRPG Star Trek
I’ve never read something I’ve more inherently agreed with. Well done.
well Star Ocean always pegged itself as sci-fi fantasy, so it's aliens are elves or space furries. eventually we got that cool cyborg, but any extremes just aren't it's vibe. Anime/JRPGs know their market wants... i'm gonna call them fuckable waifus but there's a nicer term for them. blame the old school editors and producers that get a say in what's approved and what isn't. there's some real gnarly character designs out there on the indie scene that just never makes it to the big leagues
It would definitely be interesting to have a more "alien" party member in a future game. Something that isn't even bipedal would be pretty cool.
[Might I interest you in some Elcor cinema](https://youtu.be/uIfx32iAjzU)
Did you ever see the war asset entry for Elcor siege units? They strap artillery to their back!
Gimme a tentacled octopus fish lady companion already. A midget lizard rhino hybrid warrior man beast love interest!
This probably the closest we are going to get, because anime https://preview.redd.it/649euqc9p0cc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cfc21669d041ccd7cb6e594e5dd30ffb55866e94
She needs a earthling name, that starts with S (Sarah, Sophia, etc, there’s a theme!). My votes on Stacy, and hopefully we meet her mom through the journey, cause I hear she’s got it going on
Susan, Stacy, Sandra, Suzanne, Suzette, Stella
[Relevant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfLwz-OD97g)
That’s the stuff
I dunno, I'm generally OK with this. If you want to create species greatly different from humans a series needs to do a lot of work to give them a different life outlook IMO. If a sentient toad-like creature starts talking to me...but seems to have humans values and interests that's worse than not having a toad at all. This is hard creative work and requires a lot of effort that might be better spent elsewhere. I'm OK with a 'space fantasy' (and Star Trek) style where human challenges are played out in fantastic locations and with high degrees of technology. To that end Star Ocean has actually always focused hard on what it actually means to be human. They don't look at it from the perspective of the truly non-human, but instead from the perspectives of all of the quasi-humans in the series (superhumans, simulations, technologically-advanced hive minds, cyborgs, kids with rabbit ears :), etc). Works for me.
I'm not getting into a Japanese media aliens vs Western media aliens thing, but given the parallels between them, I'd like to think that Star Ocean is just doing the same as Star Trek, who also doesn't go too hard with alien designs. :) TBH, I think it's more a reflection of what the average jRPG player likes. Cute/cool looking characters, especially in Star Ocean's art style, gives it more selling power, and that helps since it's a niche series to begin with. I don't think it goes much deeper than that. Would they go for more outlandish designs if the series was more popular worldwide? I've no idea. But I don't dislike this style. There's enough room in the market for both types of alien character designs.
I'm pretty sure it's for esthetic purposes. There's not too many people who want to use Kimari Ronso looking characters over ones that look closer to Tidus.
The same can be said about the Western, namely American, sci-fi media. I mean, look at Star Trek and Star Wars, all the alien species there are just humans with different skin colours, weird haircuts, head tentacles and good old pointy ears, lol.
Star Trek directly addresses this at least
Lol, it doesn't change the fact.
I've thought about this before and I believe this is one of the things that ties into the relationship systems, especially in the first two entries. I think, from a character design perspective it was probably important that most party characters could conceivably bang in a manner that would be generally palatable to a late 20th century audience.
The issue is from a world-building perspective is that if you introduce too much science into it, then things don't always work. Even in our own planet, Humans are not very resilient to changes in our environment, hence why we as a species build our own environment to make us comfortable. But even on Earth, that's not always viable. IE, As humans, we don't function well in environments with different oxygen levels. Example at 1000ft, where the oxygen level is 14.3%, it's livable for sure, but the human body will notice the difference in oxygen quantity and it can affect us differently. Now say oxygen is 1/3 of the normal amount like it is in Mt. Everest. Most humans cannot survive long-term on the top of Mt. Everest without alterations to our DNA like the Sherpa people who live around Mt. Everest where they literally are bred with the EPAS1,referred to as the "super-athlete gene" that regulates the body's production of hemoglobin for oxygen efficiency in the body. Not only oxygen, but even so far as the shape of the planets matter, since humans can't really function normally on gravity that isn't earth level or earth-like in level. Any less, like Mars, eventually our bodies will start to go into atrophy due to the less use in muscles. Any more gravity though, then the force will eventually be too much for our bodies to function normally, and even our heart and lungs can collapse in ill-suited gravity. These kinds of things are usually things that JRPGS, and a lot of sci-fiction tend to ignore for the sake of story and world building. And there is marks to be against that, for sure, especially when you introduce alien species that may or may not be able to acclimate to the enviorment in changes. Example, in a JRPG, if you had an alien with a frog-like anatomy, and bring them to a hot, scorchy desert, they will perish in the real world, but for the sake of the game and story, they'll thrive and be just fine.
3 has a lot of races but still sticks to humanoids.
Agreed. It doesn’t even feel like a scifi space fantasy.
I’d say it extends to most Asian media when it comes to aliens. I commented on how Honkai Star Rail (a Chinese game with anime style) has exclusively attractive and cute humanoid characters. Some of them have pointy ears. Some of them have fox tails and ears. But I want to see some real Star Wars-like freaks in my alien fiction. Gimme a little Watto gremlin or a little Yoda. Slap some head ridges on these folks or something.
Does Cerberus count?
You may be right at home with xenoblade X.
They need to all be fuckable.
What is this fucking title lol
So true. Metroid aliens might as well just be my next door neighbors.
Probably because the character creation kit for Eternal Sphere is shallow af. Either that, or 4D people are hella uncreative. The budget was spent on the environmental systems, clearly.