JRPG avid gamers within the mid-to-late Nineteen Nineties have been witnessing a renaissance for the style on the PlayStation. Final Fantasy VII had already legitimized the style for the lots with its epic story and deep turn-based gameplay, and there was no indication that JRPGs would lose momentum. With hit after hit like Suikoden II, Xenogears, Grandia, and Lunar, the primary PlayStation grew to become house to a number of the finest the style has ever produced.
Despite the abundance of JRPGs accessible within the West, many gems remained inaccessible. Star Ocean, initially launched for the Super Famicom, remained elusive to Western avid gamers till its 2008 remake, Star Ocean: First Departure, for the PSP, greater than a decade after its preliminary launch.
First Departure obtained ports to present platforms, and whereas it deviates considerably from the unique, it successfully conveys the story with a modernized method. The first Star Ocean Western avid gamers received was the sequel, and whereas that additionally received a PSP port, the current-gen conversion can be a whole overhaul. What can long-time followers and newcomers count on from this remake? Find out on this Star Ocean: The Second Story R evaluation!
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Developer: Gemdrops Inc., Square Enix, tri-Ace
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: November 2, 2023
Price: $49.99 USD
In the ultimate frontier the place stars ignite and galaxies collide, Claude C. Kenny, an area cadet with a coronary heart as wild because the nebulae, finds himself stranded on an alien planet. Expel is a medieval backwater caught within the mud of time, a world of knights in shining armor, damsels in misery, and shadowy villains lurking in each darkish nook.
Claude groups up with a motley crew of misfits every with their peculiar model of chaos to unleash upon Expel. Together, they’ll face off towards an evil group often known as The Ten Wisemen, who’ve their tentacles wrapped across the planet, their nefarious schemes threatening to exterminate life on Expel.
Rena, the only real bearer of therapeutic magic on this backward planet, stands as a beacon of hope amidst the machinations of The Ten Wisemen. With Claude and the gang, they’ll unravel the thriller of the Sorcery Globe, a tool that crash-landed, wreaking havoc on the Expel’s orbit. Trusty friends by their aspect, they’ll experience the cosmic waves of journey dodging enemy hearth and cracking clever all the way in which.
After the admittedly slow-paced starting that’s wrought with exposition, Claude and Rena are set free in an enormous and sprawling world to discover. While the situation stays linear, Star Ocean: The Second Story R is festooned with optionally available sequences and aspect tales to have interaction with. Not solely do each protagonists get their distinctive celebration members, however in addition they can purchase optionally available ones.
It is a traditional story of excellent towards evil and whereas it might appear primary, the execution is what elevates it. The forged of characters is fleshed out and will get their moments to shine. One of the standouts is Ashton, a sword mage who will get two dragons magically grafted onto his again. His neurosis by no means fails to entertain and the way in which he should be taught to deal with residing with two dragons is comicly endearing.
The humorousness and uppity sense of journey is what makes Star Ocean‘s story engrossing. The tone is strictly shonen anime and occasions give attention to constructing the characters. It isn’t deep or thought-provoking, tri-Ace was staunchly aiming to attraction to youngsters within the 90s and solely goals to entertain with comedian mischief and rousing journey.
The exploration and presentation are nonetheless very a lot rooted in PlayStation-era JRPGs; characters freely discover a big 3D world map, enter villages, and plunder dungeons. Yet the battle system was in contrast to something on PlayStation. Most of Star Ocean: The Second Story R‘s contemporaries have been turn-based, however this franchise has at all times prided itself on having action-oriented fight.
Don’t count on senseless button-mashing or anticipating to cost in together with your fists and count on to emerge victorious. This is a strategic tug-of-war, the place each transfer requires cautious calculation and crafty execution. Even spamming magic received’t work long-term since it’s simple to run dry and be left operating on fumes.
Players might want to defend their fragile backline mages from enemy onslaughts, break by way of cussed guards, execute pincer maneuvers, and devise ingenious techniques to keep away from shedding treasured allies within the warmth of battle. The sheer selection and depth of the fight system will summon avid gamers again for extra, desirous to discover the limitless potentialities that lie inside.
The fight is like an ever-expanding sea due to the nigh limitless ability and talent programs in Second Story R. The unique sport on PlayStation was already immensely deep, however this remake cleans issues up and improves the menus. Except for the fight tremendous strikes and spells, all the talents and expertise are laid out from the beginning. This makes it a lot simpler to determine the place to begin when allocating ability factors.
The coronary heart of those skills is the assorted crafting vocations and non-combat actions: issues like fishing, artwork, pick-pocketing, cooking, alchemy, and so forth. There are lots and you may get misplaced in a labyrinth of crafting insanity, a cosmic odyssey of forging and finesse.
Hours will soften away, devoured by the insatiable starvation to catch larger fish or practice animals. It verges nearly on one thing out of a CRPG. The sheer magnitude of customization, the labyrinthine community of ability timber and battle factors, opens up a universe of potentialities, guaranteeing that no two playthroughs are the identical.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R stays trustworthy to the unique’s programs and mechanics whereas introducing some significant enhancements. Randomly triggered battles have been changed by summary darkish clouds, permitting gamers to decide on when to have interaction in fight. Additionally, as soon as the celebration reaches a sure stage, enemies within the space will not aggressively pursue the group.
Other welcomed enhancements are the shortcuts for necessary actions being mapped to the d-pad. Party members spout off character-specific taste textual content whereas roaming the overworld. The relationship ranges between characters might be seen. MP values have been elevated by tenfold. Item creation exhibits a listing of attainable objects now, eliminating all of the guesswork.
The enhancements and enhancements to the gameplay are huge and showcase how deeply the builders understood the unique model. There are so many enhancements in The Second Story R, that it makes the unique sport seem like a beta construct.
Not all of the enhancements have been needed. There are a number of cases the place a number of the new options detract from the expertise. The quest markers suck out all of the thriller in Expel. This is taken additional with the Private Actions which have been bonus character-driven scenes that might typically result in a brand new celebration member or deepen a relationship.
All accessible Private Actions are at all times conveyed to the participant throughout all identified cities. This robs any sense of discovery and makes it so most gamers will find yourself having related experiences. Modern sport design dictates that no content material needs to be missable so every part have to be fed to the participant.
In the unique Star Ocean: The Second Story, gamers have been extra more likely to have distinctive playthroughs as a result of not all data was available. Second Story R is commendable for many of its enhancements, however the introduction of quest markers, Private Action flags, and making the situation of the endgame bonus dungeon extra apparent have been missteps.
Among the assorted modifications made on this remake, the graphical overhaul was certain to be probably the most noticeable. Gemdrops adopted an unconventional and shocking method that includes parts of “HD-2D,” although the unique sport utilized prerendered backgrounds.
The 2D backgrounds are actually absolutely 3D and with the ability of the most recent iteration of Unity. The environments look precisely how avid gamers would keep in mind how they seemed. The POV remains to be mounted at angles that veterans acknowledge, however Second Story R introduces a little bit of visible aptitude by having the digicam robotically transfer by way of the scenes as Claude/Rena dashes across the space.
Every location seems razor sharp and when operating on PlayStation 5, load instances are nearly nonexistent. The lighting is particularly pleasing and the utilization of depth-of-field digicam results makes the settings resemble cute dioramas.
The unique PlayStation sport employed sprites for all characters and enemies. This resolution got here at a time when many builders have been transitioning to 3D graphics, however tri-Ace was not having any of that and remained dedicated to their most well-liked method. Their danger proved to be well-founded, because the sprites in Star Ocean: The Second Story have largely withstood the take a look at of time.
Gemdrops seemingly acknowledged the attraction of tri-Ace’s sprite artwork and selected to depart them precisely the way in which they have been on this remake. The solely modifications accomplished have been the addition of lighting results utilized to the spites to make them really feel grounded within the new high-def, 3D world.
When characters are in shadows, they’ve rim-lighting with highlights; an impact that provides depth and quantity. When the characters are within the gentle, they forged real-time shadows that join them to the attractive world they inhabit. While the impact is marvelous, the sprites may have used a bit extra finesse because it isn’t like these have been the perfect sprites on PlayStation.
Added frames for extra fluidity would have been welcomed. Adding extra element like within the Live A Live remake would have additionally improved the pixel artwork. On their very own, they’re superb, however the effort and stage of element put into the environments ought to have additionally prolonged to the sprites as effectively.
Like in all Star Ocean video games, Matoi Sakuraba did the music. It’s a soundtrack that’s each acquainted and otherworldly, a sonic panorama that’ll transport you to far-off galaxies and fantastical realms. The music is sort of a wild and untamed beast, a whirlwind that defies categorization, however is totally distinct and recognizable.
Transitioning seamlessly between frenetic chaos and breathy, sighing melodies, Sakuraba’s musical model has at all times been an ideal match for fantasy epics, and The Second Story isn’t any exception. While the rearrangements are competent and serve their objective, there’s no denying that the unique tracks stay the popular alternative for a lot of. This could also be a remake, but it surely’s a PlayStation sport at its core and its soundtrack ought to mirror that legacy.
Gamers are going to get a whole lot of bang for his or her buck with Star Ocean: The Second Story R. While the principle path is just not the longest amongst JRPGs (about 30 hours), it greater than makes up for it with aspect content material, and the brand new sport plus mode. There are nearly 100 variations of the ending, so replaying can result in new revelations relying on the alternatives made.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R stands out as one in all Square Enix’s most achieved remakes. While the unique sport had its shortcomings, this remake successfully addresses these points and elevates the general expertise to new heights. Gemdrops has remodeled a stable RPG into an distinctive one, establishing a brand new benchmark for remakes within the gaming business.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R was reviewed on PlayStation 5 utilizing a code offered by Square Enix. Additional details about Niche Gamer’s evaluation/ethics coverage might be discovered right here. Star Ocean: The Second Story R is now accessible for Windows PC (by way of Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
