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Many would argue that Star Ocean: The Second Story — initially launched for the PS1 all the way in which again in 1998 — is the head of the long-running RPG collection, and we would 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 devoted remake, is the very best model of a traditional.
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visuals with 3D environments and all-new lighting results, and the result’s a genuinely fairly journey that blends outdated and new.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 get together members to monsters — are nonetheless represented by way of 2D sprites, however the entire fashion meshes shockingly properly.
The person 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 get together menu and through conversations are immaculate, including welcome element to the core solid. It is an ideal instance of how a remake can efficiently reframe an current expertise.
However all of the graphical upgrades on the earth cannot outweigh decidedly dated gameplay. Fortunately, The Second Story’s core mechanics have principally stood the take a look at of time. The action-based fight is probably just a little clunky by in the present day’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 trend, the plot facilities round a younger space-faring hero who finally ends up stranded on an underdeveloped planet. You’ll be able to really decide 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 principle narrative stays the identical, as the 2 heroes staff up virtually instantly.
Initially, Claude and Rena set off on a journey throughout Expel for various causes. Claude is just searching for a method 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 regularly entwine, with the story itself hitting some predictable, old-school JRPG beats — however it’s the non-public character growth that retains issues fascinating.
To be extra particular, this remake options elective, character-driven aspect tales that breathe extra life into the already vibrant solid. While you come to a brand new city or metropolis, you possibly can quickly disband your get together and, together with your chosen protagonist, work together together 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 vital, since you do not have to recruit nearly all of out there get together members.
Certainly, a very intriguing a part of The Second Story is you could ignore — or probably miss out on — various fundamental characters scattered all through the sport. Luckily, the remake utilises new map markers and menu icons to focus on issues like aspect quests, factors of curiosity, and get together 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 right.
And the updates do not cease there. The battle system — a bit button-mashy and fundamental within the authentic — 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, get together members who aren’t in your frontline staff of 4 can now be summoned to the fray; they will unleash a singular transfer or buff that may show you how to lengthen 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 occurring” form of approach. Character sprites can typically get utterly misplaced within the melee — a difficulty that is now compounded by all the new visible results — and get together member AI could be annoyingly silly every now and then. It is not a deal-breaker since you possibly can take management of your allies at any time, however particularly in massive 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 observe, it appears like The Second Story R suffers from noticeable issue spikes now and again. 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 virtually one-shot your characters. This form of uneven design appears like a leftover from the PS1 technology, 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 ability factors on passive perks — all of it retains you invested in what is usually a sizeable get together roster afterward (even when unlocking and enhancing character traits nonetheless feels needlessly convoluted, no less than within the opening hours).
Conclusion
Star Ocean The Second Story R is precisely what it must be: a devoted remake of a traditional PS1 RPG that tremendously enhances the expertise for each new and returning gamers. A beautiful 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 — notably within the storytelling and fight steadiness — it is laborious to knock such a properly crafted revival.
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