The Ruins on the world map
The Hoffman Ruins are a vast underground dungeon in Star Ocean: The Second Story and its remake Star Ocean: The Second Story R.
Location[]
The ruins are seated on an island in the north-east area of the world map, east to the Lacuer Continent. They are surrounded by a thick and lush forest.
Appearance[]
On the world map[]
The Hoffman Ruins appear as a dark grey step pyramid with a domed temple atop and surrounded by four high towers with domed tops. The dome of the main temple is golden, the domes of the towers are dark red.
In situ[]
The Ruins as seen from its front yrad
The ruins comprise of an walled enclosure leading to a ruined front yard with massive, collapsed stone pillars. There, the player can enter a small side area at the left, where he can encounter strong enemies for battle practice. An enormous stair case at the right of the front yard leads to the temple on top with an entrance to the subterranean dungeon. The entrance to the temple itself is unaccessable due a collapsed doorway. Inside the antechamber a massive door with two knobs blocks the way. Behind it lies an elevator leading down to the initial dungeon.
The main dungeon is a vast underground mine arranged like a maze. Rail tracks are scattered throughout and at several spots dynamite deposits can be triggered. Some of them open hidden rooms and/or passages, others are mere traps. No matter the case, the character party will actually lose lifepoints when using the dynamite, so the player should check the HP status of the party after each detonation. Losing all HP leads to a game over. During random battles, mine chaises will frequently roll through the battle ground and they can and will hurt anyone (friend and foe alike) who stands in their way. After following the correct path the player will reach the main area which comprises of a dome-shaped cave. There, a huge pile of magic ore is waiting at the northern end, but it's guarded by a boss enemy.
Story[]
Not much is known about the history of the Hoffman Ruins, except for being ancient. It is not even revealed who exactly built it. All that is handed down is that it was once used as a temple, laboratory and mining area. Its initial inhabitation ceased after strong and aggressive monsters appeared hundreds of years ago. Ever since, barely anyone dares to travel to the island.
When Claude wins the Lacuer Tournament, he, Rena and their friends are granted an audience with the King of Lacuer. The king asks the party to participate in the war against the monster army of Eluria that has arrived at the sea borders north of Lacuer. The kingdom of Lacuer has asked young genius scientist Leon D.S. Gehste to create a superweapon called the Lacuer Hope, a huge cannon that can fire a destructive ball of energy. Unfortunately, the cannon requires a certain energy ore to function properly. Besaid ore can only be obtained from the mines underneath Hoffman Ruins.
Since the kingdom of Lacuer has already sent all it's army to the battle front, the king asks Claude's party to guide Leon to the ruins. This causes bickering between the party members due to Leon's bratty and ungrateful behaviour. Tensions are fed by the king's comment that he wants to test Claude's worthiness after the kingdom obviously struggles to recruit war volunteers that are reliable and skilled. Nonetheless, in the end Leon agrees to take along Claude's party and the team sets sail to Hoffman Island.
At the ruins, the party encounters a little obstacle: a massive door with two buttons. When Leon figures out that both buttons must be pressed at the same time, he grudgingly asks Claude for help. When successfully making their way to the main cave where the magic ore is stacked, Rena suddenly notices her pendant glowing when in close proximity to the ore. However, the party is granted no time to figure out this phenomenon: When Leon tries to pick up some fine ore samples, he is ambushed by a pair of Halfynx. After defeating the monsters, Leon begrudgingly admits that he wouldn't have made the trip without Claude and his friends. The party returns to Lacuer Castle to deliver the energy ore to the king. The king thanks the party for their hard work, while Leon is scolded for his attitude before the king.
Boss[]
→ see main article Halfynx
The local boss enemy is called Halfynx (or Harfainx) and consists of a twin pair of floating goat-men. They are strong and fast and formidable spell-casters. Oddly enough, they tend to focus hard on Rena if she participates in the battle. This may be due to her pendant, which seems to respond to the energy ore.