<s>
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
:	I-Application
Till	I-Application
the	I-Application
End	I-Application
of	I-Application
Time	I-Application
is	O
an	O
action	B-Application
role-playing	I-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
the	O
third	O
main	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
tri-Ace	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Square	O
Enix	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Till	O
the	O
End	O
of	O
Time	O
takes	O
place	O
four	O
hundred	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Second	I-Application
Story	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
having	O
many	O
similarities	O
to	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
:	I-Application
Till	I-Application
the	I-Application
End	I-Application
of	I-Application
Time	I-Application
includes	O
many	O
elements	O
that	O
make	O
it	O
unique	O
among	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
role-playing	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
menu-driven	O
combat	O
,	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
3	I-Application
offers	O
real-time	O
interactive	O
combat	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
.hack	B-Protocol
and	O
Tales	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
battle	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
directly	O
controls	O
one	O
character	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
other	O
two	O
characters	O
are	O
controlled	O
by	O
AI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
choose	O
the	O
tactics	O
used	O
by	O
AI	B-Application
characters	O
or	O
switch	O
which	O
character	O
they	O
are	O
directly	O
controlling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enemy	O
attacks	O
can	O
target	O
either	O
a	O
player	O
's	O
hit	O
points	O
(	O
HP	O
)	O
or	O
mental	B-Application
points	I-Application
(	O
MP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
will	O
also	O
lose	O
HP	O
from	O
using	O
special	O
attacks	O
or	O
lose	O
MP	O
from	O
using	O
symbology	O
or	O
runeology	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
functionally	O
equivalent	O
to	O
magic	B-Application
in	I-Application
other	I-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
universe	O
of	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
is	O
science	O
fiction	O
in	O
nature	O
,	O
although	O
like	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
plot	O
is	O
set	O
on	O
an	O
"	O
underdeveloped	O
planet.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
despite	O
this	O
science	O
fiction	O
atmosphere	O
,	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
magic	O
exists	O
in	O
the	O
universe	O
:	O
symbology	O
,	O
also	O
translated	O
as	O
heraldry	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
version	O
and	O
in	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Second	I-Application
Story	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standard	O
symbology	O
involves	O
tattooing	O
crests	O
and	O
runes	O
onto	O
one	O
's	O
flesh	O
to	O
draw	O
out	O
apparently	O
latent	O
power	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
spells	B-Application
,	O
and	O
numerous	O
underdeveloped	O
planets	O
make	O
extensive	O
use	O
of	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
:	I-Application
Till	I-Application
the	I-Application
End	I-Application
of	I-Application
Time	I-Application
begins	O
on	O
the	O
planet	O
Hyda	O
IV	O
where	O
a	O
young	O
man	O
,	O
Fayt	B-Application
Leingod	I-Application
,	O
and	O
his	O
childhood	O
friend	O
,	O
Sophia	O
Esteed	O
,	O
are	O
on	O
vacation	O
with	O
Fayt	O
's	O
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
scientists	O
agreed	O
to	O
use	O
their	O
own	O
offspring	O
;	O
the	O
subjects	O
were	O
Fayt	B-Application
Leingod	I-Application
,	O
Sophia	O
Esteed	O
,	O
and	O
Maria	O
Traydor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
4D	O
beings	O
,	O
their	O
universe	O
is	O
actually	O
not	O
real	O
in	O
relation	O
to	O
4D	O
space	O
;	O
rather	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
computer	O
simulation	O
developed	O
by	O
Luther	B-Application
Lansfeld	I-Application
,	O
the	O
owner	O
of	O
the	O
Sphere	B-Application
Company	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dubbed	O
the	O
"	O
Eternal	O
Sphere	O
"	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
real-world	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
game	I-Application
for	O
the	O
inhabitants	O
of	O
4D	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
Blair	B-Application
Lansfeld	I-Application
,	O
programmer	O
and	O
sister	O
to	O
Luther	O
,	O
the	O
party	O
manages	O
to	O
find	O
Luther	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
influences	O
of	O
the	O
design	O
changes	O
from	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Second	I-Application
Story	I-Application
to	O
Till	O
the	O
End	O
of	O
Time	O
was	O
Star	B-Operating_System
Trek	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Transitioning	O
to	O
a	O
completely	O
3D	O
environment	O
from	O
a	O
2D/3D	O
mix	O
was	O
a	O
lengthy	O
process	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
only	O
possible	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
increased	O
power	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Parts	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
were	O
alleged	O
to	O
be	O
buggy	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
refused	O
to	O
work	O
at	O
all	O
in	O
older	O
SCPH-10000	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2s	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enix	O
blamed	O
Sony	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
had	O
coded	O
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
3	I-Application
with	O
features	O
from	O
updated	O
libraries	O
that	O
were	O
apparently	O
not	O
backward-compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Star	B-Application
Ocean	I-Application
3	I-Application
was	O
the	O
96th-best	O
seller	O
among	O
console	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
PS2/GameCube/Xbox	O
generation	O
as	O
of	O
July	O
2006	O
;	O
it	O
had	O
estimated	O
U.S.	O
sales	O
of	O
630,000	O
copies	O
,	O
with	O
revenues	O
of	O
$23	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
placed	O
Till	O
the	O
End	O
of	O
Time	O
at	O
number	O
58	O
on	O
their	O
"	O
Top	O
100	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
Games	O
"	O
list	O
.	O
</s>
