MasterDias wrote:For some reason, Roger S. Huxley is the only character you can actually miss entirely. Nel, Albel, and Peppita will all join you, at least temporarily, for plot-related reasons.
Although, of the four characters you have to choose from, Roger is technically my least favorite.
Actually, I would have prefered that all of the characters join the party permanantly. This system felt less coherant than the one in Star Ocean 2.
Okay, here's the deal: You have room in your party for seven characters. FIVE are permanent and CANNOT be removed. They are: Fayt, Sophia, Cliff, Mirage, and Ardray, the grey haired guy you mentioned (sp?). The four optional characters are Roger, Nel, Albel, and Peppita.
Mirage joins...I can't remember, but I THINK it's after you go to Styx (the long arm of the...er, sorry, bad joke). I THINK. She'll join automatically, so don't worry about missing her. Ardray joins in two places. If you do the correct PAs on Disc One, he will be in the party until you leave Elicoor, and will return AFTER you finish the Shrine of Kaddan mission on Disc Two. If you didn't recruit him on Disc One, he joins BEFORE the Shrine of Kaddan mission on Disc Two. Either way, he joins automatically and cannot be missed, much like Mirage. If they're not in your party yet, it's not time.
Anyway, that means you must choose two of the other four characters to be in your party, and the other two are lost forever. One joins automatically at the beginning of Disc Two (Roger, Nel, or Albel) depending on the PAs you perform the before the War with Airyglyph (Nel is the default). Peppita can be recruited immediately after Moonbase, if you so choose. The remaining two of Roger, Albel, and Nel (whichever two did NOT join after Elicoor II) can be recruited by performing certain tasks upon your return to the planet.
Since you asked specifically about Roger, Tom, I'll tell you if you REALLY want his useless raccoon butt to be a permanent member. Upon your return to Elicoor, go to Surfiero and go to Roger's house. He'll ask to go on another adventure with you, and you can then recruit him permanently.
It takes place 400 years after the events of The Second Story. There are a few brief references to characters from the second one as, you might say, "cameo" mentions. But the stories do not tie into each other.
Which is a shame, I was hoping the mysterious beams of light at the end of Disc One were from Indalecio...sigh.
OH! Speaking of Indalecio...
WARNING: The following spoiler box contains the craptacular plot twist of SO3. Do NOT read unless you want the most interesting but worst part of the game ruined for you.
[SPOILER]Were Indalecio and the Ten Wise Men actually part of the Executioners programmed by the Eternal Sphere's higher ups? They did seem pretty adamant about destroying/deleting the universe, and I find it hard to believe the programmers wouldn't have fixed such a "bug" unless it was actually something they created themselves.
I read a Star Ocean FAQ...the PA on Energy Nede where you release Filia as Indalecio's limiter...when you fight him and he fuses with Filia, he says, "I will erase you!" I wonder if he knew?
Anyway, after the "wonderful" (HUGE sarcasm) revelation that the universe is merely a video game, I had always wondered what the Wise Men were, exactly...whether they were regular Player Characters, or NPCs from the company designed to delete the program.[/SPOILER]
I bet Robin Wind has absolutely nothing to do with the plot and just stuck him in to tick you off.
If you think it's bad now, wait until one of the later dungeons. There's a battle where you fight three previous bosses at the same time. He's one of them.
And isn't what you said pretty much true of most RPG bosses?
![Tongue :P](./images/smilies/tongue.gif)