Star Ocean The Second Story R Evaluation (PS5)

Many would argue that Star Ocean: The Second Story — initially launched for the PS1 all the best way again in 1998 — is the head of the long-running RPG collection, 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 very best model of a traditional.

On a floor stage, 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 previous and new. Characters — from occasion members to monsters — are nonetheless represented by 2D sprites, however the entire type meshes shockingly effectively.

The consumer interface has additionally been fully 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 present expertise.

However all of the graphical upgrades on this planet cannot outweigh decidedly dated gameplay. Fortunately, The Second Story’s core mechanics have principally stood the check of time. The action-based fight is maybe just a little clunky by right now’s requirements, and the dungeon design could be a contact tedious, however total, this PS1-era RPG stays a blast to play by.

Let’s go over the story earlier than we dig into particulars, although. In typical Star Ocean trend, 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 numerous scenes and occasions, however the primary narrative stays the identical, as the 2 heroes crew up nearly instantly.

Initially, Claude and Rena set off on a journey throughout Expel for various causes. Claude is solely searching for a technique to contact his ship, whereas Rena is saddled with treating her world’s present woes, which have been caused by the autumn of a wierd meteor. Naturally, these causes steadily 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 aspect tales that breathe further life into the already vibrant forged. Once you come to a brand new city or metropolis, you possibly can quickly disband your occasion and, along with your chosen protagonist, work together along with your companions. As such, the remake does a terrific job of creating every character really feel like they’re a part of the journey — and that is essential, since you do not have to recruit the vast majority of accessible occasion members.

Certainly, a very intriguing a part of The Second Story is that you may ignore — or probably miss out on — numerous major characters scattered all through the sport. Fortuitously, the remake utilises new map markers and menu icons to focus on issues like aspect 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 might result in frustration — or heavy reliance on a information — and so having this data 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 enormous injury. What’s extra, occasion members who aren’t in your frontline crew of 4 can now be summoned to the fray; they will unleash a novel transfer or buff that may make it easier to prolong combos and even flip the tide in opposition to stronger foes.

Fight remains to be chaotic, although. Typically in a great way, typically in a “I can not see what’s taking place” type of approach. Character sprites can typically get fully misplaced within the melee — a difficulty that is now compounded by the entire new visible results — and occasion member AI might be annoyingly silly now and again. It isn’t a deal-breaker since you possibly can take management of your allies at any time, however particularly in massive boss fights, it is potential to hit a brick wall as a result of your AI buddies merely refuse to maneuver away from imminent hazard zones.

On that be aware, it appears like The Second Story R suffers from noticeable problem spikes now and again. Commonplace battles are normally 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 might nearly one-shot your characters. This kind of uneven design appears like a leftover from the PS1 era, and so it’s kind of 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 skills, and spending talent factors on passive perks — all of it retains you invested in what could be a sizeable occasion roster in a while (even when unlocking and enhancing character traits nonetheless feels needlessly convoluted, not less than within the opening hours).

Conclusion

Star Ocean The Second Story R is strictly what it must be: a trustworthy remake of a traditional PS1 RPG that significantly 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 searching for an old-school journey. Though the underlying PS1-era design does nonetheless have some tough edges — significantly within the storytelling and fight stability — it is exhausting to knock such a effectively crafted revival.