Star Ocean: The Second Story R

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a remake of an iconic jRPG, released in 1999 for the PS1. It was developed by Square Enix with assistance from Gemdrops.

Plot

The game is set in 2452, twenty years after the first game in the series. It stars two protagonists - Claude, a Human space federation officer, and Rena, a young Nedian girl.

While exploring an alien planet, Claude comes across a strange artifact that teleports him to Expel, Rena's home planet. Its community is very primitive, never having come into contact with advanced technology before. They deem Claude to be their prophecised hero, wielding the legendary Sword of Light (actually, just a standard Federation-issued plasma pistol).

Claude soon learns Expel was the side of a meteor impact, which brought forth hordes of powerful monsters. Alongside Rena and other heroes he must fulfill the prophecy and save the newly discovered world.

Mechanics

Star Ocean: The Second Story R retains the gameplay mechanics of the original game. It is an action jRPG, in which we explore the world, complete quests, develop characters and fight enemies using an arcade combat system.

Before starting the game, players must choose the protagonist between Claude and Rena, affecting the story and recruitable allies. Both participate in combat, alongside several allies. We can only directly control a single character. The rest are controlled by AI and influenced by simple commands.

In-between battles and adventures we can develop relationships with our party members through the private action system, letting us unlock various endings.

Compared to the original game from 1999, the interface and controls have been modernized.

Game modes

The game is only playable in singleplayer.

Technical aspects

As befitting a remake, Star Ocean: The Second Story R features significantly improved visuals, created from scratch. The game is 2.5D, combining 2D pixel art character sprites with 3D locations. The soundtrack was also remastered, while the character art was created anew by the series fan-favorite artist Yukihiro Kajimoto.

All story cutscenes are voiced, with players able to choose either the English or the Japanese voice tracks.