| Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time has only been out in Japan for a few months now, but already the first wave of merchandise has hit us and much more is to follow. Star Ocean 3 was Japan's most highly anticipated video game at the time, and it's tri-Ace's most promoted work yet. I'm sure we can expect a huge deluge of products over time, such as countless manga and doujinshi, soundtracks, trading cards, strategy guides, phone cards, you name it. In a few years, I fully expect Star Ocean 3's library of merchandise to make the massive amount of items for Star Ocean: The Second Story and Valkyrie Profile look like nothing but a few trinkets, and once that happens, I will divide this page up into more organized specific sections just as I've done with Valkyrie Profile and plan to do with Star Ocean: The Second Story. Pull out those wallets, checkbooks, and credit cards 'cause you're gonna have a whole lot of shopping to do. ;P |
Japanese Date of Release: February 27, 2003 Yen Price: 7,800 |
| Personal Opinion on Product - At the time of writing this, I've only just recently beaten Star Ocean 3, and I still have a tiny bit more bonus stuff to complete. Nevertheless, Star Ocean 3 moved up the ranks of my favorite games at hyperspeed. Now it firmly holds its spot at #3, right after Star Ocean: Blue Sphere and Star Ocean: The Second Story. It's hard to believe that at one point (when I first saw screen shots from the game) I was saying: "Star Ocean 3 is coming... whether I like it or not." Every doubt I had was quickly shattered when I got to sit down with it and just play. At times I do miss the 2D graphics and old-school feel that the past games had, but that's all forgotten when I play this magnificent work of art. Believe it or not, Star Ocean 3 is the most expensive game I've ever bought. Yep, even beating out the 80 bucks Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG each cost me brand new back in 1996. I paid almost 100 dollars for the first print, clear case version of Star Ocean 3 (granted it also came with three of those promotional cell phone straps), and when you factor in how much the PS2 and memory card cost, that's roughly 375 dollars just to play Star Ocean. And believe me, every last penny was well worth it. |
Length: 208 Pages Date of Release: February 27, 2003 Yen Price: 1,143 ISBN: 4-7575-0830-1 |
Length: 544 Pages Date of Release: May 30, 2003 Yen Price: 1,524 ISBN: 4-7575-0932-4 |
2 CDs Date of Release: March 19, 2003 Yen Price: 3,300 |
Date of Release: April 9, 2003 Yen Price: 3,200 |
Date of Release: April 23, 2003 Yen Price: 2,800 |
Date of Release: May 14, 2003 Yen Price: 2,800 |
Length: 120 Pages Date of Release: May 30, 2003 Yen Price: 619 ISBN: 4-7575-0956-1 |
Length: 164 Pages Four Color Pages Eighteen Different Stories Date of Release: June 27, 2003 |
Year of Release: January 2003 Size: About A4 / 8.25 x 10.25 Inches All Color Pages Contents: History of Star Ocean Story Introduction for Star Ocean Star Ocean: The Second Story and Star Ocean: Blue Sphere Color Character Illustrations and Profiles System Introduction Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Opening Movie and Story Double-Sided Fold-Out Color Poster Special Sealed Trading Card Six Character Files With Color CG Character Art and Profiles Support Enemy and Other Characters Developer Interview and Pics Color Screen Captures Item Creation Basic Battle Rules and Details Character Battle Skills Star Ocean Web Info |
Length: 48 Pages Date of Release: February 28, 2003 Size: About A4 / 8.2 x 10.2 Inches All Color Pages Contents: Color Character Illustrations and Profiles Developer/Voice Actress/Music Staff Interviews and Pics Color Screen Captures Star Ocean World Guide History of Star Ocean Star Ocean: The Second Story and Star Ocean: Blue Sphere Color Character Illustrations and Profiles Comics and Animation Pics and Info Also Contains: A Color Mousepad A Windows CD-ROM With 10 Wallpapers and 3 Soundtrack titles: 1.The Dawn of Wisdom 2.The Desolte Smell of Earth 3.Fly Away in the Violet Sky A Special Ornamental Stand to Hold the CD-ROM |
| NOTE: The story behind this poster is that the first 100 people to enter the Star Ocean 3 shows in Tokyo and Osaka got a free copy. However, it doesn't seem too hard to come by, so hopefully there will be enough copies around for us diehard Star Ocean fans. :) |
| NOTE: This is the poster that was given out to Japanese retailers in order to promote the game in their stores. |
| NOTE: Unlike the poster, the standee was an actual part of the displays in Tokyo and Osaka, so how many of these standees exist is unknown to me. I do think that it's highly unlikely that there's just one that was shipped from Tokyo to Osaka, though. ;P The only thing that's safe to say is that if you're able to get your hands on this standee you're a lucky fan indeed. |
Circle: J-Back Length: 22 Pages Date of Release: December 29, 2002 Size: B5 / 7 x 10 Inches |
Circle: Kero Mix Length: 18 Pages Date of Release: March 29, 2003 7 x 10 Inches |
| NOTE: No, it's not an actual display case for sale. : P This is a photograph from the Osaka Show. In the display case, you can see a Sophia figurine, a Fate action figure, a Souffle alarm clock, several trading cards, the Japanese game, and several other things I can't positively indentify. It's yet to be detemined if all these products will be available to the public for purchase, but we can dream, can't we? ;) |