Heh heh.
I'm currently replaying through SO2 on Rena's side, because I never did finish her part. I also recruited Opera and Ernest. So far, I have encountered two Private Actions that referenced the first Star Ocean game. The first one was just amusing, the second one made me think.
The first one was in Arlia, when Claude is petting a dog. Rena talks to him for a bit and then you get to choose an option. I chose, "Did you have any pets as a kid?" Claude then proceeded to tell me how he had a dog as a kid, and that its name was "Rati." Rena says that's an interesting name and Claude says, "Well, my dad named it. He said as soon as he saw that fluffy tail, he knew he had to name it Rati."
The main character in Star Ocean is named Ratix, who was a Fellpool and had a tail...Ronixis, Claude's father, named Claude's dog after Ratix. I thought that was pretty funny.
Speaking of Fellpool, the race Star Ocean can't keep straight...
Fellpool were first introduced in Star Ocean. Ratix, Milly, and Dorn are all Fellpool, characterized by pointy elf-like ears and a long tail. There was also Perisie, who was classified as a "lesser Fellpool," who had a bushy tail and cat ears instead of pointy ears.
Now, skip to Star Ocean 2. Leon is classified as a Fellpool, even though he is on the planet Expel. However, he has the kitty ears like a Lesser Fellpool would, and no tail (that's debatable, since he wears a long white labcoat, and he might have a tail that we can't see...however, I assume he doesn't have one).
This is where it gets interesting. I did a Private Action in North City that involved Ernest and Noel talking. Noel mentions that he always felt weird because he was "different" than everyone else on Energy Nede. Ernest then says something about Noel possibly being a Fellpool, which Rena doesn't understand.
Ernest then states that Fellpool are the native race of the planet Roak. Interestingly, this PA only appears if you are playing as Rena, who cannot recruit Leon.
I looked at Noel's character profile...his status picture looks a LOT like Dorn from the original Star Ocean (the same sleepy eyes and everything). Here, look:
Not only that, but Noel's character sprite looks a LOT like Leon's (as far as ears go), and Leon is classified as a Fellpool:
Not only THAT, but hey, check it out, NOEL is LEON spelled backwards. Coincidence?
So this raises a couple of questions:
1. Is Noel a Fellpool? He certainly LOOKS like one, and the game does indeed hint that he's not a native Nedian (even though his profile says he is). Also, as I've shown, he looks a lot like Dorn and Leon, who are both classified as Fellpool.
2. If Fellpool are indeed the native race of Roak, how did Leon get to Expel? Further, if he's TRULY a Fellpool, why the lack of a tail? How did Noel get to Energy Nede, and where is HIS tail (assuming he is indeed a Fellpool)?
So many questions...