How to Beat Gabriel in Star Ocean: Second Evolution

Star Ocean: The Second Story on the original Playstation is one of the hardest role-playing games on the market. The PSP remake, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, managed to tweak the difficulty towards an easier challenge. Even so, the last boss in the game can quickly decimate even the most experienced role-playing players. Here are some tips to help you beat the extremely challenging Gabriel in Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the PSP.

Party
Two melee fighters are absolutely required for you to stand a chance against Gabriel. This is because the last boss in Star Ocean: Second Evolution can easily glide around the battlefield and pick off your party with magic spells. The two melee fighters should be able to constantly stun him and minimize his powerful attacks. A spell caster is also important in case Gabriel breaks loose from the melee attackers. Finally, your party will need a healer to recover from the powerful attacks of the last boss in Star Ocean: Second Evolution.

Level
What level your party is doesn't really matter as long as you have the appropriate equipment and skill set. If you keep dying fighting against Gabriel, however, it is a good idea to level up. To make the process faster, make sure to master the determination, effort and resilience skills to unlock the train specialty. Mastering herbology will also unlock the survival specialty. Having train and survival for all party members will unlock the enlightenment super specialty. If you used these methods to build you EXP and SP early on, you should be well prepared for the last boss in Star Ocean: Second Evolution.

Equipment
Perhaps the biggest key to beating Gabriel is the bunny shoes, which allows your melee fighters to run around the battlefield with amazing speed. Without this special equipment, you will have a hard time catching up to the last boss of Star Ocean: Second Evolution. Acquiring bunny shoes is no easy task however. The easiest way to get one is to have Claude master the pickpocketing skill, equip either the thief's or magician's glove, and steal from the man in the bunny costume at Fun City. To acquire a second one, you can bet on bunny races until you win. Once you have two bunny shoes, equip them to your melee fighter to vastly improve your chances in the many tough battles of Star Ocean: Second Evolution.

Strategy
Since Gabriel is the last boss in Star Ocean: Second Evolution, you should go all out. Have your melee attackers use their special arts while the spell caster constantly calling for attack spells. Try to keep him in the "stun" state as much as possible so that he won't be able to call upon his deadly spells. Keep your health full at all times and don't just rely on the healer as he or she can quickly get overwhelmed. Instead, take the extra precaution and use items when necessary.

As long as you keep him stun, you should be able to beat Gabriel. Congratulations on finishing Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the PSP!