Star Ocean: The Second Story R (2023)

Played on PS4, approximately 35 hours. Picked Claude and then the rest of my party was: Rena, Celine, Bowman, Leon, Opera, Ernest, Chisato.

I was super disappointed in many aspects of First Departure R when it came out. There was so much backtracking, horribly high encounter rate that made it miserable to do so, etc. I did the bare minimum and didn't bother with PAs or other sidequests because it was such a chore to traverse the world map.

This remake made so many improvements from the previous entry's remake--monsters on the field, fast travel, etc. This is the first version of this entry in the series that I've played, so I don't know how much was new to the remake offhand, but getting through this game was so much nicer.

Overall, I had a great time. I enjoyed the characters, the combat, and the vibrant landscapes and backgrounds. The water in this game looks fantastic, and while I still prefer more realistic character models to the pixel ones, the juxtaposition with the detailed backgrounds was interesting. Leveling up my skills and crafting items and such was fun. There are some RNG aspects to it, but it's a solid enough system. I didn't really utilize pickpocket, but I did have some fantastic luck with a goodie box when I was around level 30, and landed the Sword of Marvels for Claude, which comes up short only to his ultimate.

The story was pretty good up to the halfway point, where it just switches gears, introduces all these bad guys, and then that barely develops anywhere (unless you read data in the library/university). It never felt high stakes because they were dropped on us, major events happened, we're given all this lore at a halfway point, and then we just kind of handle it. The motivations of the Wise Men were barely addressed and none of them had much screen time at all, so they were just kind of there. So that fell flat for me.

I'm planning to do my Rena playthrough eventually, just not right now.

While I like almost everything about this game, I think what stands out most is the setting and world building. Sci-Fi can be a rare setting for a JRPG, and a blend of fantasy and Sci-Fi even more rare. Yet this remake delivers, providing added flavor with the new highly detailed portraits for major characters. I felt like these gave a lot of personality but also really helped make this setting feel real.

The other stand out is the skill system that allows you to improve non-combat abilities for each party member to aid your journey in a number of ways. This system is fun to mess with, and gives the player a way to break the game balance in a way that still feels fun and earned.

The music is also very serviceable, with the added touch of allowing you to swap between a new arrangement or original music at any time.

I greatly enjoyed the characters and main story and fun side events, especially with how your choice of protagonist gives you their specific perspective and backstory as events unfold. One small issue would be how some dialogue doesn't make much sense or is just worded confusingly. An example being NPC dialogue clearly describing game mechanics that were changed for this remake, but there are other instances that probably made more sense in a previous version of the game. There are also a number of occasions where character dialogue falls into a couple tired tropes, such as putting off important or complex conversations because 'there just isn't time right now', or repeating character names back and forth dramatically as a substitute for any more meaningful kind of reaction.

My only other issue with the game is the combat, which normally would be a potential deal breaker, but the rest of the game is so enjoyable that it's quite easy to look past. The action combat system where you control one party member and have settings and a pause menu to select spells or items isn't bad, it's just lacking in dynamic shifts and the kind of satisfaction I have grown used to in turn based systems. 90% of the game combat flies by quickly, mostly with your party sweeping the enemy in a matter of moments, and occasionally you'll get wiped out in seconds instead. But a few tweaks to the party later and then it'll be no problem. With momentum being everything, I felt like I was missing the challenge and tension of drawn out battles with a lot of decision making.

Battles are also so chaotic with everyone attacking all at once that it's hard to tell what's even happening or even see the enemy through all the special effects and numbers on screen sometimes. It also doesn't help that besides a handful of settings you can't give your party members more nuanced commands or tactics based on the situation. There is a harder difficulty option but that just seemed to make bosses into huge HP sponges that just made battles feel tedious instead of more engaging.

All in all, this was a fun and unique experience with a lot of charm that is easy to recommend. The lack of great experiences in combat, and missed opportunities to dig deeper into the plot or characters being my only real hang-ups.