Star Ocean: The Second Story R remains faithful to the original, with its cast of additional characters like Celine, Ashton, Opera, and others to recruit along the way. Some of those party members are missable, so study up if you’ve got your heart set on someone.
Thankfully, quality-of-life features make the RPG’s new version a less frustrating ordeal in 2023. In our Second Story R character guide, I’ll break down who you can miss and what you’ll need to do to gain their favor.
Party members available to Claude and Rena
You’ve got eight slots to fill in your Star Ocean 2 roster, but there are 13 characters. With Claude and Rena situated as party staples, you’re limited to six slots to fill along the way. That means you’re not going to be able to take on everybody and will have to be selective when it comes to who your bring along. Knowing in advance who you’re interested in and understanding their criteria is essentially the only way to build the party you want.
Some characters, like Ashton and Opera, won’t join you if you’ve already invited someone else. Other party members, like Ernest, come as a pair, while Leon and Dias remain locked to specific story routes.
Celine
You’ll meet Celine rather early in the game. You bump into her in Krosse. She can then join you as a temporary party member as you explore Krosse Cave. Once you complete Krosse Cave, you will get the option to recruit her permanently. If you refuse, she will show up later (once again temporarily during the Forest of Symbols section) if you’re playing as Claude, but she’ll then depart again and be gone permanently.
Celine is a decent mage. She’s pretty handy to have early on and can hold her own later in the game, as well.
- Agree to travel with her to Krosse Cave
- Joins if you agree in Krosse Cave
Ashton
Just a heads up: Ashton cannot be recruited if you already have Opera in the party. You’ll be able to encounter him when you get to Harley. Make sure you talk to the miners near the entrance, then head to Salva Mines (or return to it). You’ll be on a side quest to find a dragon, will bump into Ashton, one thing leads to another and he winds up cursed with two dragon heads. Agree to help him and he’ll join you. Also note that having Ashton in your party means you cannot recruit Opera or Ernest.
Ashton often finds himself with the best Normal Attack of the characters. It makes him a solid swordfighter.
- Cannot be recruited with Opera
- In Harley, speak to the Traveler at the entrance to learn about the twin-headed dragon
- Return to the Salva Mines
- Take the once unavailable left path into the Deep Lair until reaching Ashton
- Agree to help him with his curse
Opera
Speaking of Opera, as we mentioned in Ashton’s entry, you cannot have both characters in your party at the same time. She’s looking for Ernest, another possible party member, and she wields a pretty rad sniper rifle. When you leave Kross Castle, you can find a PA event that features a three-eyed man. You’ll later find an Armory Contest in Laceur. Once complete, return to Hilton and you’ll find Opera at the bar. Go back to Krosse Castle and once again speak to the king. You’ll talk about the Mountain Palace, which is your next stop (in terms of finding Opera). There, you can meet Opera, and can have her join you.
Opera is a good long-range attacker, but she can also heal. However, she can’t heal quite as well as Rena.
- Cannot be recruited with Ashton
- See the Three Eyed Man cutscene upon reaching Krosse
- Triggers as Sub Event now, no longer missable Private Action
- Complete the Armory Contest in Lacuer
- Return to Hilton and enter the bar to meet Opera
- Back at Krosse Castle, speak to the King about the Mountain Palace
- Travel to the Mountain Palace south of Kurik
- Along the right-most branching path, you’ll meet Opera
- Agree to let her tag along after reaching the Strange Laboratory
- Ask her to join a final time after completing the Hoffman Ruins
Ernest
You’ll need Opera in your party to recruit Ernest, and you can’t keep Opera if you refuse him. They’re a package deal. Generally, the only thing you need to make sure of is that you interact with a crashed spacecraft in the Sacred Forest. Afterward, you just need to continue the story and you’ll meet Ernest after completing the Hoffman Ruins.
Ernest uses a whip and has a high accuracy stat. Aside from that, he’s somewhat unremarkable.
- You cannot reject Ernest and keep Opera
- See the Three Eyed Man cutscene upon reaching Krosse City
- Recruit Opera in the Mountain Palace
- Locate the ship in the Sacred Forest
- After completing the Hoffman Ruins, Ernest meets the party
- He automatically joins with Opera
Welch
Welch was added in a previous remake, Star Ocean: Second Evolution on PSP. You’ll need to have four party members in total, so, hopefully, you haven’t been too picky. Beyond Celine, Ashton, and Opera, Precis is another that you could have recruited by the time you get the opportunity to talk to Welch (Bowman would be a bit too late). You can find Welch after completing the Armory Contest in Lacuer. You then need to trigger a PA on the castle bridge, followed by another at the city entrance. If you wait too long and continue with the story, you will miss the recruitment opportunity.
Welch has a lot of elemental attacks. She’s actually a pretty solid melee character and isn’t a bad choice for a party composition.
- Complete the Armory Contest and recruit four party members
- Return to Lacuer and trigger the Private Action on the castle bridge
- Select the first or second option when prompted
- Head to the city entrance, trigger the Private Action, and Welch joins you
Bowman
It’s important to note that you can’t recruit Bowman if you choose Precis instead. The opportunity to recruit him comes up after the story arc in and around Linga. If you haven’t recruited Precis, he will ask to join after wrapping things up.
Bowman fights with his fists, which is pretty cool. However, he has a low-ish accuracy rating which makes him somewhat unreliable.
- Cannot be recruited with Precis
- Upon entering Linga, meet Precis and head to the Linguist’s house
- Visit the Pharmacy to progress the story; do not view Precis’ Private Action
- Unlock the Sacred Grounds of Linga
- Return to Linga after locating the rare herbs
- Ask him to join after he brings the party to Keith’s house
Precis
As mentioned, Precis and Bowman can’t be recruited together; you’ll need to decide (I vote Precis). You’ll bump into her when first entering Linga. You can then trigger a PA with her not long after. As long as you trigger that PA, she’ll ask you if she can join the team.
Precis is one of the best support characters in the game. In particular, she does great in terms of crowd control, as she can prevent enemies from attacking.
- Cannot be recruited with Bowman
- Upon entering Linga, watch the cutscene with Precis
- Trigger her limited Private Action by taking the first right in Linga
- Agree to let her tag along with the party
- Precis joins as you leave Linga
Noel
Noel’s one of the last characters you’ll encounter, and one of the possible dedicated healers. You’re going to encounter him whether you like it or not (during the Cave of Crimson Crystals), the only real concern is whether or not you’ve hit the max number of party members. You can technically recruit both Chisato and Noel together, it’s just likely that you’ll have so many characters already that it will be one or the other.
Noel is another support character and can back it up with magic. He’s a reasonable all-arounder, but you can outdo him with more specialized characters.
- Cannot be recruited with Chisato if you’ve reached eight party members
- Proceed to Noel’s home through the main story
- Head to the Cave of Crimson Crystals
- Noel asks to join after the last battle in the cave dungeon
- Do not accept if you have seven characters and want to recruit Chisato
Chisato
As with Noel, you meet Chisato way further into the game at a point where you’ll most likely be approaching the maximum party member count. In her case, you can find her after completing the Cave of Crimson Crystals. If you pick up her business card and return to Nede, you can trigger a sub event that will present you with the option to recruit her. Again, that’s dependant on whether or not you’ve got all eight party slots filled up. So, that’s why I mentioned earlier that foresight is somewhat important when planning your party.
Chisato is perhaps the best damage-dealer you can have on your team. She’s a community favorite with many different strong abilities.
- Cannot be recruited with Noel if you’ve reached eight party members
- Upon reaching Centropolis of Nede, view Chisato’s Sub Event
- Meet with her again in North City
- Head to the Cave of Crimson Crystals
- Pick up her business card after seeing her trip
- Complete the dungeon, return to Nede
- Trigger Chisato’s Sub Event on the third floor
- Accept her offer to join
Claude and Rena exclusive party members
Beyond the listed party members, there are also a couple that are only available dependent on who you picked as your starting character.
Dias
If you’re playing as Rena, you’ll have the chance to recruit Dias. Note that it is possible to miss him if you just ignore them. However, actually getting the chance to is unavoidable. It happens throughout the normal course of the storyline, offering their assistance after the segment at the Laceur Front Line Base.
Dias has some pretty crazy dexterity, making him a very versatile fighter.
- Only available by picking Rena
- Automatically offers to join after The Laceur Front Lines
Leon
Leon is only available if you’re playing as Claude. He technically first joins up during the story section in Hoffman. However, he’ll leave shortly after that. Don’t worry, you’ll meet him later on, at which point he’ll ask to join as a permanent addition.
If you’re really into magic users, Leon is one of the best. He’s especially good at clearing weaker enemy groups.
- Only available by picking Claude
- Automatically offers to join after Linga story quest, before Hoffman Ruins
- Ask him to stay when you arrive at the Elluria Settlement
Best party setup in Star Ocean: The Second Story R
After I’ve frequently brought up that you can only have a limited number of members in your party, you’re probably wondering who you should focus on. The truth is that you probably get by with anyone you like. Star Ocean: The Second Story R isn’t a particularly unforgiving game as far as JRPGs go. Claude and Rena, the mainstays, are great characters themselves and they cover half your frontline options.
The advice you’ll often get from the community is to use Chisato when she becomes available, as she’s a terrific DPS. Rena works as the best healer, regardless of whether you pick her as your primary or support. Claude, the other possible player character, is great all-arounder. Precis works great as a support character. So, Rena-Claude-Precis-Chisato is a decent choice. But, again, most party compositions will get you through to the end in Star Ocean: The Second Story R, so don’t sweat the details too much.
Published: Dec 3, 2024 02:53 pm