Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch
Within Square Enix’s extensive catalog of Japanese role-playing games, the Star Ocean series has always been among the more obscure offerings. The series, which is equal parts science fiction and fantasy, combines elements of sword and sorcery with hard science fiction tropes, such as a meta-narrative that takes place from the beginning of the universe until the far future. Characters could come from pointy-eared spellcasting space elves or Starfleet-style galactic federations, and they could be just as adept with a sword as a blaster.
This specific chapter, which debuted on PS1 25 years ago, happily taps into both threads. It tells the tale of Claude C. Kenny, a youthful space cadet who, after carelessly prodding an alien gadget, finds himself transferred to an unidentified planet across the galaxy. Or maybe it’s the tale of Rena, a young woman with a shadowy background who was reared in a world where space travel didn’t exist and who had the extraordinary power to utilize magic for healing. In actuality, it’s the narrative of both; at the start of the game, you have the option to choose between Claude and Rena, and your choice will affect several important plot points, the way the story unfolds, and the companions you can later on add to your party.
The graphic style of the remake, which is the second iteration of the game after a PSP update in 2009, is what stands out the most. It keeps the original’s 2D sprites but places them in intricate 3D surroundings. It all looks amazing, channeling the vibe of JRPGs from the era of the original edition and pleasing the eyes on a contemporary TV screen, along with some amazing dynamic lighting effects. It’s a significant advancement over even the stunning HD-2D aesthetic popularized by titles like Octopath Traveler and Live-A-Live, and it establishes a new benchmark for playing old games again.
However, the remastering strategy used here by producer Gemdrop, who replaced original studio tri-Ace, does the game’s earlier releases justice in every way. With so many options that pay homage to its past, Second Story R is a work of art in and of itself. You can select between character portraits from earlier iterations and brand-new, exquisitely detailed ones. You can also customize individual character voice-overs, allowing you to mix and match actors to suit your preferences. The music, which is already a stunning composition by renowned composer Motoi Sakuraba, gives the option to listen to newly arranged recordings or the original sounds. Overall, this is a lesson in how to go about recreating the classics; developers, take note!
But if Super Mario RPG is a JRPG for beginners, Star Ocean 2 is a more difficult version of the same genre. Real-time attacks are a major component of its battle, with one party member being actively controlled and the others following pre-assigned orders, such as assigning Rena to concentrate on healing. If you’d prefer to employ a certain skill directly, you can also shift the actively controlled character at any time, issue direct orders, and use objects from a menu system. It takes skill to know when and how to make these shifts, though, since you lose a bonus gauge that may increase your fighting effectiveness if you’re interrupted in the middle of an action. In addition, there are numerous battle forms that may be learned and used to alter the party members’ default positions and fighting abilities.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fighting; character development and skill acquisition have even more intricate systems to learn. There are dozens of skills to be acquired; some are utilized in combat and may be improved by using conflict Points (BP) won after a conflict; others are used in more peaceful moments to cook, make goods, customize weapons, and do various other tasks, all of which can be upgraded by using Special Points (SP), a different resource.
It is, by any measure, incredibly complex in several areas, especially when you consider that seemingly unrelated skills affect the standard JRPG character progression measures, such as attack, defense, intelligence, and so forth. By raising his Aesthetic Design stat, for example, Claude’s attack, hit rate, chance of avoiding enemy attacks, and spell-casting power all increase (really, really).
However, that intricacy gives rise to creative methods to customize the Star Ocean universe to your preferences. By investing in scouting, you may control the rate at which adversaries appear. If you boost it, more foes will spawn and you’ll be able to fight them in consecutive chain battles that grant increasing amounts of experience to help you level up more quickly. Alternatively, if you put a lot of SP into writing, you can write books that let you unlock abilities sooner. Is your primary weapon failing to strike the optimal point of lethality? You can combine it with other elements to create a more potent form by using the Customization skill. Lacking the necessary materials to accomplish that? First, attempt alchemy by transforming common iron into rare orichalcum. You’ll get more enjoyment out of the game the more you experiment with _The Second Story R’s_many intricate mechanics; fortunately, new tutorials and an easily available database help you wrap your brain around them all.
To be more current or appealing to a wider audience, Gemdrops could have simplified things even more, but doing so would have taken away from the game’s compelling elements. This is both a celebration of the Star Ocean series’ early releases, with all of their exaggerated complexity, and the definitive version of what many consider to be the best entry in the series. This is a case study in how to modernize a classic without completely reimagining everything that made it unique in the first place, for those who are interested in maintaining the heritage of gaming. Although the sometimes-daunting richness of its systems may turn off more casual players (you can spend a lot of time in menus crafting things and weapons or modifying talents), this is a deep delight for those who want something a little bit richer and more involved from the genre. For aficionados of JRPGs, Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a priceless find.