Many would argue that Star Ocean: The Second Story — initially launched for the PS1 all the way in which again in 1998 — is the top of the long-running RPG sequence, and we might be tempted to agree. In some methods it does really feel prefer it nails the core themes of the franchise, as sci-fi expertise clashes with medieval fantasy — and so we’re happy to report that Star Ocean The Second Story R, a trustworthy remake, is the most effective model of a basic.
On a floor degree, this revival overhauls the sport’s visuals with 3D environments and all-new lighting results, and the result’s a genuinely fairly journey that blends outdated and new. Characters — from occasion members to monsters — are nonetheless represented by way of 2D sprites, however the entire model meshes shockingly properly.
The consumer interface has additionally been utterly redone, with impressively neat menus and dialogue bubbles including an actual sense of polish. However maybe better of all, the brand new character illustrations that seem within the occasion menu and through conversations are immaculate, including welcome element to the core forged. It is an ideal instance of how a remake can efficiently reframe an current expertise.
However all of the graphical upgrades on this planet cannot outweigh decidedly dated gameplay. Fortunately, The Second Story’s core mechanics have largely stood the take a look at of time. The action-based fight is probably somewhat clunky by at present’s requirements, and the dungeon design is usually a contact tedious, however general, this PS1-era RPG stays a blast to play by way of.
Let’s go over the story earlier than we dig into particulars, although. In typical Star Ocean style, the plot facilities round a younger space-faring hero who finally ends up stranded on an underdeveloped planet. You possibly can truly choose between two playable protagonists in The Second Story: the intrepid Claude, a younger ensign of the Earth Federation, and the considerably mysterious Rena, an inhabitant of Expel, the aforementioned planet. Your alternative of lead character impacts varied scenes and occasions, however the primary narrative stays the identical, as the 2 heroes staff up nearly instantly.
Initially, Claude and Rena set off on a journey throughout Expel for various causes. Claude is just in search of a option to contact his ship, whereas Rena is saddled with treating her world’s present woes, which have been led to by the autumn of a wierd meteor. Naturally, these causes progressively entwine, with the story itself hitting some predictable, old-school JRPG beats — but it surely’s the private character growth that retains issues fascinating.
To be extra particular, this remake options optionally available, character-driven facet tales that breathe extra life into the already vibrant forged. Whenever you come to a brand new city or metropolis, you’ll be able to briefly disband your occasion and, along with your chosen protagonist, work together along with your companions. As such, the remake does a terrific job of constructing every character really feel like they’re a part of the journey — and that is essential, since you do not have to recruit nearly all of obtainable occasion members.
Certainly, a very intriguing a part of The Second Story is which you could ignore — or probably miss out on — numerous foremost characters scattered all through the sport. Thankfully, the remake utilises new map markers and menu icons to focus on issues like facet quests, factors of curiosity, and occasion interactions, which is clearly an enormous high quality of life enchancment. Again within the day, the title’s unmarked occasions and obscure directions may result in frustration — or heavy reliance on a information — and so having this info clearly represented within the remake is good.
And the updates do not cease there. The battle system — a bit button-mashy and fundamental within the unique — advantages from expanded mechanics. For starters, now you can ‘break’ an enemy’s defenses with repeated assaults, opening them as much as big injury. What’s extra, occasion members who aren’t in your frontline staff of 4 can now be summoned to the fray; they will unleash a novel transfer or buff that may assist you to prolong combos and even flip the tide towards stronger foes.
Fight remains to be chaotic, although. Typically in a great way, generally in a “I am unable to see what’s taking place” sort of approach. Character sprites can usually get utterly misplaced within the melee — a problem that is now compounded by all the new visible results — and occasion member AI might be annoyingly silly every now and then. It isn’t a deal-breaker since you’ll be able to take management of your allies at any time, however particularly in huge boss fights, it is attainable to hit a brick wall as a result of your AI buddies merely refuse to maneuver away from imminent hazard zones.
On that word, it seems like The Second Story R suffers from noticeable issue spikes every so often. Commonplace battles are often over in ten to twenty seconds or so, and so they do not actually put together you for encounters the place bosses have large well being bars and may nearly one-shot your characters. This kind of uneven design seems like a leftover from the PS1 era, and so it is a bit of a disgrace that it hasn’t been smoothed out for the remake.
That mentioned, these are pretty minor criticisms within the grand scheme of issues. The overwhelming majority of fights are good, crunchy enjoyable — and the system’s pushed additional by addictive RPG character development. Levelling up, studying new talents, and spending talent factors on passive perks — all of it retains you invested in what is usually a sizeable occasion roster afterward (even when unlocking and bettering character traits nonetheless feels needlessly convoluted, a minimum of within the opening hours).
Conclusion
Star Ocean The Second Story R is strictly what it must be: a trustworthy remake of a basic PS1 RPG that enormously enhances the expertise for each new and returning gamers. An exquisite visible overhaul mixed with quite a few high quality of life enhancements and expanded battle mechanics make this a borderline must-play for anybody who’s in search of an old-school journey. Though the underlying PS1-era design does nonetheless have some tough edges — notably within the storytelling and fight stability — it is exhausting to knock such a properly crafted revival.