No matter how many great new RPGs came out this year (no shortage of them, by the way), there will always be classics that are worth revisiting. Accessibility to the older hardware to play them and lower resolution graphics can make them trickier for modern player to get into, but thankfully many of these game are receiving various forms of remakes and remasters. Star Ocean: The Second Story R is the latest game from the late 1900’s to receive a facelift for its debut on modern hardware. Star Ocean: The Second Story is considered by many to be not only the pinnacle of Star Ocean, but also one of the great PlayStation RPGs. But with the inconsistency on how well older games hold up, is this a title that modern players can enjoy or should it have remained in our memories?
Star Ocean: The Second Story R allows the player to choose either Claude or Rena as their main character. Claude’s story begins aboard a spaceship piloted by none other than Admiral Ronyx J. Kenny. Among the crew is the admiral’s son, Claude C. Kenny. A capable crewman in his own right, there’s quiet resentment among the rest of the crew due to who his father is. The ship docks to investigate a mysterious signal on barren planet. In direct defiance of the admiral’s orders, Claude investigates the source of the signal too closely and warps to a new planet known as expel. Claude’s first encounter in this new world involves saving a young woman from an attack. She introduces herself as Rena Lanford and mistakes Claude to be the legendary Hero of Light. Claude escorts her back to her hometown where he learns about the Sorcery Globe which can turn beings into dangerous monsters. The Hero of Light will supposedly save the planet, and at the mayor’s behest, agrees to assist Rena in investigating the Sorcery Globe when his main concern is finding a way back to his world. Their goals began as separate objectives, but as things tend to happen, the journeys of the different characters end up becoming intertwined, resulting in an engaging story that makes this game still relevant a quarter century after its release.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R is one of those games where it’s almost mandatory to play it twice, once with each character. The main story is generally the same, but the choice between Claude or Rena does offer a couple different perspectives. There are also some practical differences two as there are many recruitable party members that will be met during the quest to investigate the Sorcery Globe. Not only is it impossible to recruit everyone in a single playthrough, but certain characters will only join depending on who the player chose. The social relationships between characters also matters. These can grow during Private Actions when the party splits up in town. This allows the main character the opportunity to have unique dialogue options with them that can lead to them becoming closer friends. Becoming close friends can also offer stat boosts under specific battle conditions, but the main reason to take part in the Private Action mode is to get better acquainted with one’s companions. That and to pickpocket the villagers without the disapproving judgment from your party members.
Aside from the most obvious graphic and sound overhauls, one of the most welcome quality-of-life improvements to Star Ocean: The Second Story R are quest markers. There are so many Private Action events and sub events throughout the world, many of which are only available for a limited time and are forever lost opportunities should the story advance too far. The quest markers combined with fast travel make it easy to get the most out of each playthrough without needlessly backtracking or having to rely on a guide. It can be argued that these modern of quality-of-life improvements can take some of the mystery and exploration out of the game, but personally these are considered great time savers and improve the experience overall.
Combat in Star Ocean: The Second Story R can be frenetic and fun. At times it can be too chaotic with everything going on screen, but that oddly doesn’t detract from the enjoyment too much. Up to four characters enter into combat, the player controls one while AI handles the rest. The player can pause the action to issue commands to the other players or use items, but most of the time the team can handle business just fine on their own. Different formations for the party are available, but each formation now offers different bonuses. Whenever an enemy is defeated they drop orbs which can fill a meter that can offer three different bonuses. The bonuses vary depending on the formation, so the player can choose whether they want to increase attack power or maybe experience growth is a higher priority. Battles are fought mostly the same as they were in the original but a few changes have been added. Enemies have shields over their health bars and when this is depleted they enter break status where they are stunned for a few seconds with decreased defense. If this is done to a leader enemy it can put all enemies in break system. Another new addition is the assault system, where reserve party members or heroes from previous Star Ocean games can be summoned to battle to assist.
The battle system of Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a product of its time and while it’s fun, it’s not without its issues. There are three difficulty settings in Star Ocean: The Second Story R and the default setting is pretty easy. Most of the time battles are over almost as soon as they begin, which is generally a good quality considering how often battles occur. This is until the player comes across some random battle that has a ridiculous difficulty spike, where the enemy has a massive health bar and can one or two shot each party member. The game has a forgiving battle checkpoint system, so retrying the difficulty battle with options to tweak things can help, but the game does tend to feel unbalanced. The AI can also be idiotic at times. This is never more true than when the main characters and the surviving party members just stand there doing nothing except waiting to die. Fortunately while these scenarios do happen, they’re a small fraction of the overall game time.
Skills are an important part of Star Ocean: The Second Story R. This includes making sure the player is investing points in combat-oriented skills and special attacks, but also some of what might seem more mundane on the surface. Music composition, fishing, blacksmithing, item appraisals and alchemy are a few of the various talents that players should invest points into. This can also make them seem more well-rounded individuals. Ashton might be a powerful warrior with two dragons growing out of back, but did you hear his latest composition? Or Welch and Leon might be insufferable brats but they can sure cook. Leveling up specific skills in multiple characters can lead to unlocking some useful skills that aren’t always apparent. Being able to summon a bunny is great for traveling to those hard-to-reach map locations while avoiding battles. Bodyguard can send other party members out to stop potential threats in their tracks. Train is one of the more useful skills. It can reduce the damage dealt and increase damage received, but does offer an experience boost which can take some of the grinding out of Star Ocean: The Second Story R. The skill system is an interesting aspect of the game and adds a new dimension of character building. Figuring out what skills to level in order to increase certain abilities isn’t always intuitive and does seem more convoluted that it should be.
It’s not unheard of to revisit a beloved game from one’s youth only to be disappointed. Thankfully Star Ocean: The Second Story R is not one of these cases. The gameplay does show its age as the chaotic combat can feel janky at times, but none of this does anything to diminish the gameplay’s enjoyment. Star Ocean in general has lost some of its luster in recent years due to its more recent entries, but Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a reminder of how great the series once was. The game was originally one of the highlights of the original PlayStation library and it’s just as fun now decades later. Thanks to the improvements brought in this remake, one could say this is the definitive version of the second Star Ocean game.
The contrast in the graphics of Star Ocean: The Second Story R is impossible to ignore. Like the game that pioneered the 2D-HD style Octopath Traveler, Star Ocean: The Second Story R retains the pixel graphic style of the original for characters and enemies but has transformed the environments into fully-rendered 3D works of art that would look at home in any modern platform. For the vast majority of the review playthrough, the two styles nicely fit together, blending the classic character appearance over a gorgeous modern landscape, though there were a few moments where this contrast was jarring. New portraits have also been added which do a great job of helping bring the characters to life. The music has also received a great deal of attention which sounds amazing with its new orchestration. While many could make the argument that the new arrangements are an improvement, nostalgia tends to prefer things as they always were so it’s nice they included to option to play the original soundtrack. Combining these presentation changes with the quality-of-life changes mentioned earlier makes Star Ocean: The Second Story R an example of exactly how a remake should be handled. This is another remake that completely nails adding a contemporary look to a classic game without sacrificing the original’s charm.
Closing Comments:
Star Ocean: The Second Story R is an example of how remaking a classic game should be done. From the overhauled graphics to additional quality-of-life improvements that can make the frantic battle system even more enjoyable, Star Ocean: The Second Story R takes the best game in the series and makes it even better. Gemdrops could have just increased the resolution and called it a day, but instead put in the effort to make a truly worthwhile remake of a classic. This remade version is a must play for Star Ocean veterans, but would also serve as a good entry point for RPG fans who haven’t got around to this series.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Square Enix and Gemdrops' Star Ocean: Second Story R is the remake of 1998’s The Second Story, a popular PS1 JRPG. Second Story R features real-time action combat, a lengthy story, and charming pixel graphics.
