Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is the original, Japanese-only release of the game. The Japanese Director's Cut, US and European versions are slightly different, but were released with the same name.

Fayt Leingod was a young man who one time went on vacation to the star system Hyda with his parents and his childhood friend Sophia. The planet was attacked by a mysterious fleet, though Fayt managed to escape. After being saved by a space ship, Fayt landed on a planet called Vanguard, with a much more primitive civilization than his own. From this medieval world, Fayt, Sophia, and their friends begin their interstellar quest to find out the cause of the attack on Hyda, and much more.

This is the third installment in Enix's Star Ocean science fiction role-playing series. The game utilizes the combat system that made Star Ocean games different: unlike most Japanese party RPGs, the battles are not turn-based, but real time. Players take control of the main character, Fayt, while his allies are controlled by the AI. Different AI behavior strategies can be assigned to the party members, such as being offensive or defensive.