Reference Card: Star Ocean 2 R Secret Character Recruitment

To commemorate the announcement of Star Ocean: The Second Story R, I created a one-page reference card to remind myself of all of the party recruitment paths. The card is written in a deliberately vague way, only indicating the time, location and a clue on what to do to recruit them, as well as indicating exclusivity.

In SO2R, fewer actions are required to begin the recruitment process. Essentially, some of the Private Actions are no longer Private Actions, and trigger automatically when you walk in the area. Otherwise, recruitment steps are believed to be identical to the original PS1 game and the 1st remake on PSP.

Below the card is a written set of notes with some more clear instructions, ordered chronologically.

This article is also available on Steam.

v1.1b: Fixed some errors based on the Steam guide v1.3

Recruitment Guide as Bullet Points

Claude & Rena

After running into each other several times, the main characters will commit to travelling together after meeting Allen and leaving the starting village.

No actions are required, as both are important to the main story.

Celine

You will always run into Celine in Cross/Krosse as she appears in the main plaza on your way out.

She will join as a guest if you accept her side-quest.
Upon completion, she will ask to join permanently.

Opera & Ashton

Both of these characters require some backtracking in the world after you arrive at Herlie/Harley, and are mutually exclusive. If you recruit one, the other person’s quest will fail automatically.

The opportunity for Ashton is lost when you enter Lacour/Lacuer.
The opportunity for Opera is lost when you enter Lacuer for the second story visit.

Opera

When walking up to the castle in Krosse, a strange man will run past you.
‡ In previous versions, this was a Private Action. This now occurs automatically, regardless.
In Hilton, meet her in the pub.
Backtrack to the castle in Krosse and ask the king about her.
Follow the king’s clues to find her in the mountains.

‡ After recruiting her, you should go do a Private Action in Arlia since it is nearby.

Ashton

When entering Harley, there should be someone at the entrance talking about Ashton.
Backtrack to the Salva Mines.

Welch

This character was only added in the 1st remake, Second Evolution.

Have at least 4 people in your party (ie. recruit two people so far)
After completing the main story events of Lacour/Lacuer, re-enter the city as a Private Action and simply head towards the castle.

Welch is available early if you got any secret characters to boost your party size, since only Celine is offered at the earliest point in the main story.

Precis & Bowman

These two characters are mutually exclusive. If you recruit one, the other will simply never ask.

The opportunity for Precis is lost when you enter Lacuer for the second story visit.

Precis

After entering Linga, you will run into her in a short event.
IMMEDIATELY LEAVE TOWN and re-enter as a Private Action.
Go to Bowman’s House as Claude, or Precis’ House as Rena. She will ask to join.

Precis is available early if you skip the city and visit Linga before the main story tells you to.

Bowman

Go to Bowman’s House.
He is involved in the main quest and will eventually ask to join you permanently.

Ernest

You must have Opera in your party.

Right after recruiting Opera, you should conveniently be near Arlia.
Enter Arlia and go into the forest, to learn Opera’s history.
Continue the main story as per normal.
On the way out of Hoffman after completing the area, you will run into Ernest.

If you reject Ernest during the offer, Opera will also leave. You can prevent this by avoiding the Arlia event so he would never appear.

Leon & Dias

These two members are mutually exclusive to your starting character.

Leon is only available in Claude’s playthrough.
Dias is only available in Rena’s playthrough.

Both characters are offered during the main story.

Leon

Leon will join as a guest member for the main story in Hoffman.

After completing the Hoffman area, Leon will leave and you will go to the ‘Frontlines’.
After finishing that area and seeing the events, Leon will be in the area after that, ‘Eluria’.
Continue the story and you are given a choice to keep him with you.

Dias

Dias will join as a guest member for the main story in Marze.

After completing the Hoffman area, Dias will appear in the next main story area, the ‘Frontlines’.
Continue the story and you are given a choice to ask him to go with you.

Noel & Chisato

These characters are not mutually exclusive. However, it is very common to have a party of 7 at this point, so it is a very common misconception.

With the addition of Welch, it is also possible to have a full party, blocking both.

Noel

Noel will join as a guest member for the main story in the Red Caves.

After completing the caves, Noel will ask to join.

Chisato

When you are doing the Red Caves, Chisato will run past you and drop something.
Pick it up.
After completing the caves, go back to her office in the city and return it to her.
She will ask to join.

Extra Note: Philia

The non-party member Philia has a series of event triggers that is as convoluted as a party member. However, instead of recruiting a party member, this raises the power level of the final boss.

As a general rule, your party should be around 100 levels higher than it was when fighting the final boss normally. (You read that right, 100 levels higher, not level 100. The level cap is 255.)

Enter Clik/Kurik as a Private Action to meet her for the first time.
After saving at the final save point, backtrack to Central City.
‡ In SO2R, you may need to beat the game and reload the clear save at the final point, instead. (needs confirmation)
Enter Central City as a Private Action to meet her again.

References

As a 25-year old game, the basic notes were written by referencing guides from GameFAQs. The reference card and SO2R research is my own effort.

St.Evan Lee Yonny (1999), “How to get characters”, accessed Sunday, November 5, 2023, https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/198763-star-ocean-the-second-story/faqs/4627

Greg Boccia (2012), FAQ/Walkthrough, accessed Sunday, November 5, 2023, https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/939440-star-ocean-second-evolution/faqs/55635