Star Ocean Second Story R manages to make a game I’ve played many times feel fresh once again and it reminded me of my first time playing this as a kid. Star Ocean: The Second Story is one of my favorite RPGs from the PS1 generation, which also places it pretty high on my all-time list of favorite RPGS. I originally planned to sample this a little bit to see what changes the remake made and write the review. I’m very familiar with this game, so I even joked that I won’t have to fully beat this game to review it because of that. What I did not expect was that I would be grabbed by this game yet again, and before I knew it I was 30+ hours deep in the final dungeon.
Star Ocean The Second Story R
Developer: Square Enix
Price: $49.99
Platform: PS4, PS5, PC & Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with Nintendo Switch code for review
Star Ocean The Second Story was a Playstation 1 Action RPG and the first entry in the series we got stateside. The series is well known for its sci-fi elements, its action-based battle systems, and the Item Creation system. It was originally developed by Tri-ace and published by Enix. Many people (myself included) consider this entry to be the high point of the whole series, something to aim for in terms of quality for future entries.
Star Ocean The Second Story R definitely falls into the “Remake” territory rather than remaster, MANY things have been changed up. One of the most obvious changes is the introduction of HD-2D style sprites, and the backgrounds and world all being remade in 3D. Personally, I think the new visual style works REALLY well 95% of the time. There are a few moments where I think it felt off, but redoing all of the environments also let them change up the design of the view areas for the better so in the end, I can’t complain about the 5%. In the end, it is most certainly a net positive overall I would say.
Another major change is the combat changes, which actually led me to one of my few possible issues with the game. They have really added to the system and addressed some criticisms that the series has improved on since this entry. Instead of single attacks, all your melee characters have a 3-hit combo to use instead and you can actively parry enemy attacks as well. It leads to combat feeling a lot quicker and more rewarding, everything just feels MUCH more responsive. The only real issue from that is that the game’s normal difficulty level (It has 3 to choose from) feels like it is balanced to the original game, not so much the current one. I’m familiar with the game and the systems, but generally, there are some pretty tough roadblocks on the journey to the end and I basically steamrolled the game and didn’t have much of a reason to interact with things like parrying. I’d recommend people revisiting this game to maybe opt for the hard difficulty on your run through the game.
Tri-Ace games from this generation are a bit infamous for how they obscure some of the gameplay systems a bit, and I am glad to say every single thing surrounding the signature Item Creation system in this remake is MUCH better now. Skills are more clearly labeled, as well as what skills go into each Item Creation type. You gradually build the results so you can see what you can, and can not make. It was a very welcome change that I feel I didn’t hear much about when the game was being talked about pre-release so it was a very pleasant surprise.
There are new arrangements for the game’s music too which are for the most part very good, even coming from a BIG fan of the original OST for the title. Fast Travel capabilities mixed with clearly labeling when events are happening in the world are two more nice touches that really just contribute towards making this a MUCH more accessible title than the original release. You won’t have to deep dive into wikis with this one, most everything you could need is clear and concise in the game itself.
I have to also shout out how much I LOVE the new art. I am not a big fan of the new art the game got on its PSP port so I am very happy to let everyone know the new art is just plain beautiful. ESPECIALLY the art for the big enemy antagonist group shows how menacing they should feel, in a way I don’t think their sprites ever really conveyed visually in the past.
The Final Word
They really did do a great job with this one, creating something fans of the game can fall back in love with, as well as creating what might be the best jumping-off point for new fans of the series. As I said earlier, I had NO intentions of going in as deep with this game as I did before I started writing, but here I am already wanting to go back to do some end/post-game things just because it was so enjoyable. This is a worthy entry into any RPG fans’ collection, and it does the original release great justice.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
