It’s been a month since the release of Star Ocean: The Second Story R, and I’ve had quite a bit of time to play through the game, start another playthrough, and think about the game past the initial feelings after finishing it. In this post, I’ll be giving you an honest review of the game and why I think it’s worth playing it! (Also, thanks ever so much to Square Enix for giving me the review copy of the game!)
Pros of Star Ocean: The Second Story R
First, I’d like to talk about some of the game’s strongest points, the most important one being the story. As someone who’s completely new to the Star Ocean franchise, at first I didn’t know what to expect, and this game took me completely by surprise. As it’s a standalone title, I was able to fall in love with the story without feeling like I’ve been missing out on important info, and there were enough mentions of all the other Star Ocean games within it to get me interested in the franchise. The story itself was, in my opinion, nothing short of incredible. The hooks, overall plot and the final moments of the game were all very satisfying, and I can happily say that I don’t think the ending of the game was the only highlight. Instead, the entire story was a big, massive rollercoaster from the beginning until the very end, and if you like JRPGs that can provide you with this kind of experience, you’ll love this game. It’s worth mentioning that the relationships between party members are well developed – the writing is great, their interactions feel meaningful, and it feels like you’re right there with them for the journey.
Another obvious selling point of Star Ocean: The Second Story R is the graphics, which are stunning. Even though I haven’t played the original game, from what I can tell based on the OG footage, the remake has been done justice, and the game looks absolutely breathtaking. The character models are detailed, the environments are vibrant and immersive. Every zone carries its own kind of mood, sets a different atmosphere, and is definitely worth scouring through. The only thing I wish I was able to do more is explore certain cities, where I felt like the environment could’ve been expanded a little more than just the central city square. Overall, though, I’m very happy with the amount of content and the general feel of the game, mostly thanks to the art style!
If you like to play your JRPGs for the soundtrack, Star Ocean: The Second Story R is one of the games you’ll adore. Each zone comes with its own soundtrack, the music does a terrific job at setting the mood, and even the battle track is something you can vibe to while farming XP and doing dungeons.
One of the most important things about Star Ocean: The Second Story R is, of course, the combat system, and everything that goes along with it. Someone new to the franchise like myself might expect a turn-based system, but this is not the case. This game is action-RPG, which took me some time to get used to, but once I was able to get myself out of the Final Fantasy VII Original mindset and remember how Final Fantasy VII Remake felt, it was much easier to understand what the game was even asking me to do. The system itself is just enormous, with so many different skills you can develop for each party member, in order to explore your favorite playstyles – or simply develop your party members the way you’ve envisioned it. Crafting your own gear, food, potions, battle items, accessories and so much more expands the game beyond anything you can imagine if you’ve never picked this game up before. As a streamer, I can say that this playthrough has been one of my most engaging journeys of 2023, as crafting and customizing decisions really get people talking about it! I enjoyed spending hours and hours optimizing my combat system outside the battle itself, but upgrading the spells and abilities was just as fun as everything else. By the end of the playthrough, I witnessed some gorgeous final-skill animations, a smooth transition from mid- to end-game, making me feel like my progression throughout the game has actually mattered. If you’re new to the genre, I’m sure all of it will feel a bit overwhelming, but if you start exploring your options early on and learn more about them as you play, I promise you, you’ll have a great time throughout your playthrough!
As I’m starting my second playthrough of the game, I can’t stress how incredibly valuable this game is when it comes to replayability. It has a total of 99 endings, and when I finished it for the first time, I only unlocked 6. You’ll start the playthrough as one of the two protagonists, and the final story will only make complete sense once you’ve seen both of their perspectives. The first playthrough will keep you busy for 40-50 hours, but as you’re exploring other endings, switching up party members and learning more about the story, you could easily pour hundreds of hours into this title alone!
This super-biased review would not have been complete without a very loud praise for the voice acting. The vast majority of Star Ocean: The Second Story R is fully voiced, and it’s absolutely top-notch. Of course, some of the side quests are text-only, but all of the major plotlines of the game are accompanied by actual voice lines. The English voice acting is excellent, but if you prefer Japanese voice acting, there’s an option for that as well.
Cons of Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Now that we’ve covered all of the pros, let’s talk about something mildly annoying that I did come across while playing this game. One of the main sources of frustration for me was that some stuff in the game is a bit unintuitive. I had a great experience thanks to knowing what Call Bunny is, or being familiar with the fact that endgame weapons can be crafted – but all of this knowledge came from my chat, and I probably wouldn’t have been looking it all up in advance. For someone who doesn’t share their playthrough with the public eye, there’s a chance that some of these awesome bits will be missed out on. Therefore, if you care about having a fully optimized playthrough, I suggest looking at some non-spoilery guides that’ll give you all the info you need to know before starting with the game. Overall, that’s the only thing that I found frustrating, and I can’t think of any other reasons to not play this game as it really is a stellar experience.
Is Star Ocean: The Second Story R worth it at the full price?
When I take everything into consideration, if you’re wondering whether Star Ocean: The Second Story R is worth it at the full price, my answer is a resounding yes. For $49.99, you’re getting a ton of replayability and hours of great content, but you can always tackle some of the other games in your backlog that I know you have and wait for a sweet sale to grab this game at a discount.
When it comes to my overall opinion on Star Ocean: The Second Story R, that’s pretty much it. What are your thoughts on it so far, and if you have played it, would you recommend it to others? Let me know in the comments, and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more awesome guides! If you would like to join my supporters via YouTube memberships or Patreon, it would go a great deal towards continuing to make great content! Until next time!
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