Play it on: PS5, PS4, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK)
Current goal: Get the Orchestra Super Specialty music out of my head
Before I became a journalist, I wanted to be a literature professor. To do that, you have to read a lot of books. But even though I’ve actually read a lot of books, I can barely remember most of them.
Games are different. For me anyway. I’ve played Star Ocean: The Second Story exactly once before, on the original PlayStation. This probably happened more than 20 years ago, considering it was released in North America in 1999. But when I picked up the expanded version for Nintendo Switch, which came out last November, I was impressed by how easy it was to reread. You’ve probably heard that already looks great. And the story, while not exactly deep, is an enticing mix of space opera and fantasy that’s unusual in RPGs of this era.
Read more: Star Ocean 2 Gets the definitive remake that every classic PS1 RPG deserves
But the biggest attraction of Star Ocean: The Second Story R is his absurdly convincing special system. In each battle you earn skill points, which you can use to unlock skills such as Writing, Herbalism and Determination. (Each of these also provides an instant stat boost, allowing you to steer characters toward magic or melee builds.) Certain duos or trios of skills unlock useful specialties like cooking or crafting. These skills blossom into so-called Super Specialties in your party, granting extremely useful stat boosts and increasing your chances of crafting powerful items and equipment.
The first time I played Star Ocean 2 I found this system to be underwhelming until the end of the game because I had invested in scattershot-focused skills. (That’s a lot! It’s probably too much!) But somehow, decades later, I remembered all the tricks. The most important? You should first invest in Determination for each party member, as this will reduce the number of points you need to improve other skills. Once you do that, you can make your party so powerful so damn quickly that it feels like you’re cheating. In the right sense. –Jen Glennon
Lots of stars for everyone
Star Ocean: The Second Story R has a downloadable demo for PlayStation, Steam and Switch. With a PlayStation Plus Extra subscription you can play Star Ocean The divine power And Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. A PS Plus Premium subscription gets you there too Star Ocean First Departure R, Starry ocean until the end of timeand the remaster of Star Ocean: The Last Hope. What is the expected number of hours to play all of these games? Second thought: Don’t tell me.
