PSone - Star Ocean: The Second Story

Format
PSone
Developer
Tri-Ace
Genre
RPG

Star Ocean: The Second Story

By Eric
27th Jul 04

This sequel to the SNES original will not disappoint the people who actually got to play the first. Yup...both of them. Even if you didn't get to play the first one, The Second Story is still enjoyable. Unlike many RPG sequences, this one picks up where the first game left off. Not to worry, it'll bring you up to speed on what you missed.

A number of enhancements were made to accommodate this game in the 32-bit era. The graphics and voiceovers, unfortunately, are not up to par with other playstation RPGs. They're better than the first game, sure, but haven't advanced enough to impress me. The plot isn't quite as original as the plot from the first game, either.

It sounds bad, doesn't it? Well, the sequel also manages to fix a lot of problems from the first game, particularly in battle. No longer will your main character stand there like an idiot when you switch to another character. He'll fight for his life until you retake control over him. There are also more characters to recruit. The overall character design is far more creative than before, as well. Even better is the fact that crosshair motion is gone. Rather than moving manually by clicking on a section of the field, you simply have to hold down square and use the d-pad to move your character yourself. It's MUCH more user-friendly this way, and this one little improvement actually makes the game much more fun to play.

To add to replay value, there's the option to play through the point of view of both the male and female lead. You have to choose which one you want as your main character from the beginning. Most of the game remains the same, but whenever the storyline separates them, you play through your chosen character's scenario. If you want to see everything that happens, you'll have to play as both characters. Plus, there are some allies you can only recruit with a certain main character.

The game's difficulty seems to have been pumped up, too. No matter who you are, this game WILL kick your ass up and down the street at some point. However, this isn't due to a cheap AI. If you lose, it's because you screwed up somewhere. For those who crave punishment, there are even two versions of the final boss: the normal one and a "full-power" version that has over 1,000,000 HP and absolutely obscene stats!

The ability to learn skills and other similar features have been retained. In fact, just about every feature from the first game has been kept in this one. This is a good thing, however, as the first game was a blast to play, and The Second Story expands on what was already fun.

The game does have its flaws, sure, but the philosophy behind it seems to be that the presentation isn't the most important thing, it's whether or not the game is actually fun to play. And believe me, it is fun to play.

Score: 8.75/10

-- Eric 27th Jul 04

PSone Star Ocean: The Second Story Images