Star Ocean The Second Story R Review: I’d give it about… a 9 out of 10!

I have to start out this review with a confession, dear reader. You see, I’ve grown up playing RPGs pretty much my entire life. But… I’ve never actually played a Star Ocean game before. I couldn’t even tell you why that is. It didn’t happen on purpose. I know, I know, it’s terrible. Fortunately, I finally got to correct this problem with the release of Star Ocean The Second Story R—an enhanced (and drop-dead gorgeous) remake of the original Star Ocean The Second Story. And now that I’ve been given the chance to play the game from start to finish, I’ve finally become aware of just how much JRPG greatness I’ve been missing out on.

The Real Story is the Friends We Made Along the Way

Eh, you’re close enough.

Given that we’re dealing with the second remake of a game that first came out for the PS1, I’m sure that there are plenty of you out there who already know what’s going on with Star Ocean The Second Story R’s story—and that’s good because it’s kinda hard to summarize depending on how deeply you want to dig into things. At a glance, the game follows the journey of Claude C. Kenny—an Ensign (an officer of the lowest rank) for the Pangalactic Federation who finds himself teleported to the underdeveloped planet “Expel”—and Rena Lanford—an Expel native with mysterious healing powers—as they seek out a way to stop the “Sorcery Globe”—an unidentified object responsible for wreaking havoc across all of Expel. In essence, it’s a standard “good vs evil” fantasy story, albeit one with some very cool sci-fi twists involved. That’s not nearly everything this game has going on, though.

Star Ocean The Second Story R doesn’t allow the player to change any of its major story beats. What it does allow you to change, however, is literally almost everything else about its narrative. Not surprisingly, that begins with the protagonist’s point of view. Rather than placing either Claude or Rena in total narrative command, The Second Story R is the first of many Star Ocean games that allows you to select between two protagonists. Again, this doesn’t change the story per se, but it does allow players to obtain an entirely unique perspective on each of the game’s events—essentially making two playthroughs necessary if you want all of the juicy details (which you do, trust me).

Finally, there’s the issue of party members—or, rather, which party members to choose. The Second Story R has a whopping ten potential party members (12 if you include Claude and Rena)—all of whom affect certain parts of the story. Unlike with most JRPGs, however, your party makeup is entirely up to you—while there are a few exceptions here and there, you’re ultimately left up to your own devices when it comes to deciding who will (or won’t) be joining you on your journey. This fact helps to ensure that the massive amount of party dialogue will always feel fresh with each new play—so long as you’re mindful of the 8-person party size limit!

Onto Strange New Lands

It’s always hard refusing a new party member… but doing so has its advantages in this game!

Star Ocean The Second Story R’s gameplay smoothly flows across its many locations, having players venture to new towns, explore dangerous dungeons, and, of course, get lost (probably on purpose) while wandering around the impressively sized world map(s). The gameplay loop does feel a tad on the basic side overall—but that makes sense given the fact that it’s technically been around for almost two-and-a-half decades. Old-school setup or not, though, the game plays incredibly well, and I have to say that I found its mid-to-late-90s feel to be charming more so than anything negative.

This game isn’t without its surprises, however. As I’ve already explained, The Second Story R quite literally gives you more potential allies than you’re actually able to recruit in a single playthrough, and the way that it does this via its P.A. (Personal Action) System is surprisingly complex, technically speaking, and a heck of a lot to mess around with. Even now, I can’t name many games where saying “no” to a potential party member was rewarding. The fact that The Second Story was bucking the trend all the way back then is not only incredibly impressive—but it still works very well even after all of this time!

Refining, and Robbing, and Rabbits, Oh My!

Claude, what are you—Claude, no, you can’t fish there. That’s theft.

Adding even more complexity (and making it more fun in the process) is the game’s I.C. (Item Creation) System. Casting aside normal concepts like skill trees, I.C. presents to players a veritable laundry list of D&D-esque skills—such as Piety, Courage, and understanding of Biology. While these skills don’t do too much on their own aside from raising your stats, learning complementary skills allows players to perform a monumental number of different tasks—either individually or with the entirety of your party—to a level so extreme that you can easily break the game if you’re keen to do so.

The Second Story R’s I.C. System is, no lie, some of the most fun that I’ve ever had with an in-game skill system. At the risk of repeating myself, the sheer multitude of tasks that you can perform is absolutely amazing and, quite frankly, more impressive than many modern-day skill trees. Whether you want to craft new accessories, go fishing (an R-exclusive), easily accrue EXP, steal from NPCs, or summon a giant rabbit capable of scaling entire mountains in mere seconds, this entirely optional mechanic can literally let you do almost anything—and it’s no stretch to say that it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the game.

A Cacophony of Clashing

I couldn’t tell you everything that was going on in this picture, and I was the one who took it.

Combat in Star Ocean The Second Story R is just as fun as it is chaotic—which is, to say, a lot. Playing out similarly to PS1 JRPGs like Tales of Destiny, fights take place in real-time, with the player controlling one of four active party members as you dish out as much damage to your opponents as possible. By today’s standards, combat does feel fairly limited. Games with in-depth, real-time combat that weren’t straight-up hack-and-slash titles weren’t exactly commonplace back then, and, admittedly, that fact is on display within this game’s many brawls.

Complex combos are nonexistent, with the player instead needing to rely on stringing together a few basic attacks and ending it with a special (or two specials, if you’ve gotten far enough). Outside of the combat-based passives that you can unlock—of which there are many—your defenses are relegated to a dodge that can be used to, if done correctly, dash behind your enemy to maintain your advantage over them. Unfortunately, these perfect dodges can be hard to pull off with a full party, as the sheer amount of chaos covering the battlefield can oftentimes end up covering the enemy entirely—a definite oversight on Tri-Ace’s part. Still, credit where it’s due—it was definitely innovative for the time, and, even in its simplicity, it’s still very enjoyable.

Would Ya Look at That View

From start to finish, this game’s a real visual treat.

Last, but not least, let’s take a look at what the “R” part of “Star Ocean The Second Story R” is all about. Just what exactly makes this game different from the original? Or, more importantly, just what exactly makes this remake different from the PSP one? Well, as it turns out, a lot. A lot of changes are major quality-of-life improvements, like the addition of databases for enemies and items or the fact that you can now see character relationships. Other changes include the addition of brand-new mechanics—such as secondary bonus effects for weapons known as “Factors.” Normally, when it comes to changes like this, I love getting into the nitty-gritty. Comparing and contrasting differing approaches to the same game is always enjoyable for me, and, had I jumped into the series when it first came out, I’d have a heyday looking at all three versions of this game. As a Star Ocean newbie, however, it sadly isn’t something that I can do. Instead, I’m going to focus on a single new thing—the graphical overhaul.

I’ll be frank—I’ve never really been “into” graphical quality. I always appreciate games that look nice, but it’s hardly one of the first things that draws me to a game. That wasn’t the case with Star Ocean The Second Story R, however. There’s something about the mixing of 2D sprites into 3D worlds that’s always fascinated me. It’s one of my favorite aesthetic approaches in video games, and if done correctly, it’s absolutely mesmerizing. And, boy, was it ever done correctly in this game. The sheer amount of detail within the game’s three-dimensional landscape melds perfectly with the lovingly crafted sprites, with features like dynamic lighting making things all the more visually appealing. I don’t remember the last time that a game’s graphics pulled me in as quickly as The Second Story R’s, but I’m very glad that they did.

A Resplendent Remake

Star Ocean The Second Story R was my first-ever foray into the Star Ocean series—much like the original Second Story was for Western PlayStation players. And, just as those back in the late 90s fell in love with the series through the original, so too have I become enamored with it through this remake. Star Ocean The Second Story R is a true treat for both series veterans and newcomers alike, going far beyond the scope of traditional remakes and bringing The Second Story to a brand-new, and completely wonderful, level. Now that Star Ocean and I have been properly introduced, I plan on going through the rest of the series in my spare time—if those games are even half as enjoyable as this one was, I’ll be more than satisfied.

Final Verdict: 4.5/5

Available on: PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch, PC; Publisher: Square Enix; Developer: Tri-Ace; Players: 1; Released: November 2, 2023; ESRB: T for Teen; MSRP: $49.99

Full disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher.