In the span of a week or so, I went from an apathetic “I should try that out sometime” stance on Star Ocean into a giddy little man grinning ear to ear with love because I took that plunge after all this time and was rewarded handsomely. Star Ocean Second Story is such a wonderful video game and I couldn’t be happier.
It’s been a while since I have played a game with a story that feels so vividly “golden age of JRPG”. The main plot kicks off and is so endearing and exciting, in large part due to the outstanding and incredibly lovable dual protagonists. I love the story setup, and even just in my first play session was fully on board with everything being presented, but that momentum just continues for the entire game. It paints an incredibly vibrant and detailed picture of the world of Star Ocean, yet is simultaneously paced brilliantly and always serves to grow the characters just as much. Midway through the game has a twist that brings it all together and really cemented this as an all time great for me. Such a great time.
The beginning couple hours were a bit confusing due to the wealth of mechanics tossed to you to play with, combined by battles so easy I was finishing them within seconds- not allowing me the breathing room to comprehend the aforementioned mechanics. However, once the game kicked into full gear and my learning increased alongside it- I had a blast. Combat leans a little bit into the “mashy flashy” side of things, but the depth in its systems and leveling don’t make it feel mindless. You are given an absurd amount of agency into growing your characters with different skills and abilities, and finding a way to use the many tools given to you effectively is where the game really shines. I love the battles- they’re fast, exciting, and still give lots of tactical decision making- but even more so was doing things like leveling up Rena to be an author so other characters could bypass using skill points on other skills, making characters good at pickpocketing and stealing amazing gear early, or giving everyone the option to nerf stats in exchange for experience boosts. Combine that with the character recruition (which allowed me two entirely different parties by the endgames for my two playthroughs) and I just think it's pretty damn cool that everyone can adopt their own ways to play and still be validated, challenged, and rewarded for it. I found it to be just as addictive as it was mechanically dense, and I did go out of my way to fight every superboss and reach max level.
Structurally the game is a little more linear than the rest of the mechanics might make you think, always having a destination you need to go to for progression, but it still gives plenty of agency in a way that feels liberating. I found myself wandering around the world map constantly, and finding extra hard enemies that rewarded me with extra experience and skill points was really cool- along with chests, new towns, new characters, and party dialogue. The world feels very lived in and has tons of lore and history going into its details, and the lovely characters you can recruit go a long way into making it feel as such, which is just a lot of fun. The towns often have interesting NPCs to talk to, architecture, and generally feel distinct and dense. Being a part of this universe is simply captivating, and it is tied together by the excellent soundtrack and wonderful visuals of this remaster and in the pre-rendered backgrounds of the original too.
There are a couple little nitpicks I could scrape together if I wanted to, but I see no reason to given how much I enjoyed this game. I have the platinum trophy on my Playstation- obtained simply because I was having fun and not due to a previous intention. The story is great, the world is exciting, it's incredibly fun, it's presented beautifully, and I want to go on adventures with Claude and Rena in real life. I love this game and will continue to love it for a long, long time. Great stuff here and an easy recommendation to anyone who loves PS1 era JRPGs as I do.
It’s been a while since I have played a game with a story that feels so vividly “golden age of JRPG”. The main plot kicks off and is so endearing and exciting, in large part due to the outstanding and incredibly lovable dual protagonists. I love the story setup, and even just in my first play session was fully on board with everything being presented, but that momentum just continues for the entire game. It paints an incredibly vibrant and detailed picture of the world of Star Ocean, yet is simultaneously paced brilliantly and always serves to grow the characters just as much. Midway through the game has a twist that brings it all together and really cemented this as an all time great for me. Such a great time.
The beginning couple hours were a bit confusing due to the wealth of mechanics tossed to you to play with, combined by battles so easy I was finishing them within seconds- not allowing me the breathing room to comprehend the aforementioned mechanics. However, once the game kicked into full gear and my learning increased alongside it- I had a blast. Combat leans a little bit into the “mashy flashy” side of things, but the depth in its systems and leveling don’t make it feel mindless. You are given an absurd amount of agency into growing your characters with different skills and abilities, and finding a way to use the many tools given to you effectively is where the game really shines. I love the battles- they’re fast, exciting, and still give lots of tactical decision making- but even more so was doing things like leveling up Rena to be an author so other characters could bypass using skill points on other skills, making characters good at pickpocketing and stealing amazing gear early, or giving everyone the option to nerf stats in exchange for experience boosts. Combine that with the character recruition (which allowed me two entirely different parties by the endgames for my two playthroughs) and I just think it's pretty damn cool that everyone can adopt their own ways to play and still be validated, challenged, and rewarded for it. I found it to be just as addictive as it was mechanically dense, and I did go out of my way to fight every superboss and reach max level.
Structurally the game is a little more linear than the rest of the mechanics might make you think, always having a destination you need to go to for progression, but it still gives plenty of agency in a way that feels liberating. I found myself wandering around the world map constantly, and finding extra hard enemies that rewarded me with extra experience and skill points was really cool- along with chests, new towns, new characters, and party dialogue. The world feels very lived in and has tons of lore and history going into its details, and the lovely characters you can recruit go a long way into making it feel as such, which is just a lot of fun. The towns often have interesting NPCs to talk to, architecture, and generally feel distinct and dense. Being a part of this universe is simply captivating, and it is tied together by the excellent soundtrack and wonderful visuals of this remaster and in the pre-rendered backgrounds of the original too.
There are a couple little nitpicks I could scrape together if I wanted to, but I see no reason to given how much I enjoyed this game. I have the platinum trophy on my Playstation- obtained simply because I was having fun and not due to a previous intention. The story is great, the world is exciting, it's incredibly fun, it's presented beautifully, and I want to go on adventures with Claude and Rena in real life. I love this game and will continue to love it for a long, long time. Great stuff here and an easy recommendation to anyone who loves PS1 era JRPGs as I do.