Celine Jules

Celine Jules is a skilled sorceress from the village of Mars. She is first seen in Cross Castle, listening to a public audience between the King of the Kingdom of Cross, Claude, and Rena. After the audience, the party finds Celine in the middle of a dispute with a mage over a Treasure Map, which Celine wins. Celine becomes a temporary party member while the party follows the map through Cross Cave. Upon completion, Celine may be permanently admitted to the party or rejected.

Celine is the first optional character encountered by the player and new players are strongly encouraged to admit her. However, Celine is not included in speed-run strategies due to her time-consuming spells and lengthy additional cutscene dialogue. Not adding Celine is the only way to complete the side plot of the King's missing son, Chris.

Acquiring Celine
Celine is a mandatory encounter following the audience between Claude, Rena, and the King of Cross. She becomes a temporary party member while the party explores Cross Cave for Ancient Writings mentioned in a Treasure Map. After finding the treasure, and just before exiting the cave, Celine will thank Claude and Rena for their help and request to join there party for good. Accepting or rebuffing her offer will permanently include or exclude Celine from the party.

Character
Celine is a cunning witch and professional treasure hunter, cocksure of her abilities, which derive their power from a special Heraldric tattoo on her inner thigh. The short clothing she wears, as well as the strange cloth hung around a hovering ring, has drawn criticism and mockery from fans; however, the clothing is unusual even on Expel, as it is a traditional garb of female mages from her hometown of Mars. At 23, Celine is tied with Opera as the oldest female members of the group, and both are considered the most mature and experienced voices.

Aside from her love of treasure and romance, Celine likes baubles, fashion, and expensive makeup and perfume. She can often be seen at jewelry shops and fashion stores, and her passion for expensive clothing is often criticized as materialistic. Several Private Actions involve earrings, rings, and trying on clothes; and she joins the party already equipped with an assortment of jewelry. She dislikes selfish women and effeminate men, and is attracted to strong or reliable men.

History
Celine is the daughter of two village elders of Mars, Egras and Labe. She is motivated by romance and treasure hunting, with a stronger preference for the latter. For that reason, she often openly wonders if she will never find a boyfriend given that she is constantly off on adventures. At the time the party first meets Celine in the city of Cross, Celine had broken off an engagement to Bowman Jean. Bowman confesses this in in a Private Action with Rena if Celine was not permanently added to the party. It is unclear when this engagement occurred, given that Bowman is already married to another woman by the time of the events of Star Ocean 2.

Artistic Themes
Contrast against the innocent naivete of Rena, and the youthful inexperience of Precis Neumann, Celine is very experienced in love but consumed by materialistic concerns. As a result of her shortcomings, Celine is one of the more divisive personalities in the party. Her confidence in her abilities and gift of gab are often perceived as arrogance by others.

Celine's confidence in her sexuality and her past lovers are character traits of a woman that is able to control her encounters with other men. Indeed, her take-charge attitude allows her to be an equal in her relationships with men. Her lovers, on the other hand, tend to be fascinated by her sexual strength. That same strength is complimented by Rena as a sign of maturity and willpower.

Celine's opposite is Opera Vectra, who is equally strong but deeply committed to her other half, Ernest Raviede. While Celine laments that she may never find a boyfriend that will accept her first love of treasure seeking, Opera has found a man that loves travel as much as her. Opera has found what Celine longs for, yet may never find as long as she puts the gratification of her career before people.

If the player selected Rena as their main protagonist and did not admit Celine to the party in Cross Cave, a special ending is possible where Celine does find the love of her life: Chris of Cross, the same prince who went missing at the start of the game.

Strategy
See Combat strategy: Celine Jules.

Private Actions
See Private Actions: Celine Jules.

Items
See Items: Celine Jules.

Celine wields a magical rod, the only character to do so, as well as a small assortment of special weapons, such as the All-Purpose Knife.

Trivia

 * Celine's final Heraldric spell, Meteor Swarm, can only be found in the secret dungeon, the Cave of Trials.
 * Celine is one of three characters with a possible special ending, along with Ashton Anchors and Opera. In the special ending, Celine ends up romantically involved with Prince Chris of Cross.
 * Celine is one of three characters who can potentially have every possible Talent (the others being Noel Chandler and Leon D.S. Geeste).
 * In Japanese, Celine's surname (ジュレス) may be a direct attempt at the English word "jewels," referencing her love of jewelry. The English translation modified the spelling to "Jules."