Star Ocean: The Second Story

"A decade later, the game still amazes"

While the game isn't "perfect" according to any scientific standard, I felt compelled to rate it a 10/10.

Introduction

Star Ocean: The Second Story is a sequel to the SNES game Star Ocean. It was released between 1998 and 2000 (depending on your region). It directly spawned a manga series, a sequel on Game Boy Color and a remake on PSP.

Gameplay

Combat

You randomly get sucked into battles, which might turn some newer gamers off, but the combat system is superb.

There are three combat options to choose from (standard, semi-active or full-active) before the game begins. I suggest you choose full-active. It allows you to run around without having to press or hold square in order to move.

The fighting is much more than tapping X over and over, with each character learning special-fighting moves or spells by leveling up. Sometimes the amount and diversity of activity can dazzle your senses and remind you of a cartoon battle where you might only see fists and feet poking out of a cloud of dust.

The battlegrounds range from tiny corridors to large, grassy areas depending on what environment you were in when the battle began. This variety really adds to the game's depth, and some areas even include falling pillars, rolling rocks, standing crystal formations and so forth.

Interface

The menus in the game are well-done. Like most parts of SO2, you have many options to choose from.

Dislike the opacity of the menus? Change it. Dislike the color in the top left or top right of the menus? The bottom left or bottom right? Change it!

You can easily change text speed, battle formation, item sorting (by letter, price, attack power, etc.), spell and skills (turn off the annoying ones), and so on. It's easy to alter nearly every aspect of your experience.

The controls are simple for the game, but if you disagree…change them! The camera work is generally fine, allowing you to fully rotate it outside of battles and cities/dungeons. Inside battle, the camera will either follow the leader or pull back to watch more of the action. You decide.

Item Creation/Customization

This is a major part of the game, and many people spend hours and hours creating new items or customizing old ones.

You can cook food (some heals, some restores mana, etc.), both individually and as a team. You can write and play music (each song having a different effect), both individually and as a team. You can write books, to increase skills or to publish and make money. You can craft/customize weapons and armor, both individually and as a team. You can mix herbs together to create powerful potions…you see where I'm going here?

Don't let it overwhelm you. If you don't feel like experimenting on your own, there are large guides written just about this aspect of the game. Have fun!

Difficulty
This is a big part of what keeps me coming back.

SO2's default difficulty setting (Earth) was designed with most people in mind. There are some challenges, but with a little patience, anyone can reach the ending.

The next step up is the Galaxy difficulty. It's for people who enjoyed the game but want a little more challenge. Like Earth, this one is doable with enough patience.

The Universe difficulty mode is for hard-core gamers. It forces you to learn the minutia of SO2. There are some ways around it (cheating, bugs, etc.), but I'd say most people aren't going to have the patience or skill necessary to face the toughest challenges Universe can offer.

Story

You can sum up the plot in one sentence: men and women must band together to defeat evil. It's the story of many RPGs, but it doesn't disappoint in its execution. Even if you can't imagine enjoying another “save the universe” game, the plethora of subplots and twists can keep you entertained until the very end.

SO2 begins only after you choose between two protagonists. The story changes slightly depending on whom you choose. Besides that, you can choose to pick up a variety of characters during your journey, further altering the story. Maybe you say something to a character that offends them; maybe you decide to help a character achieve his dream; maybe you decide to recruit Character C instead of Character D, causing Character D to later die in a terrible explosion; etc.

If that isn't enough, you can interact with minor characters in a variety of ways. Each town has citizens who need or want your help with certain tasks. You aren't required to help them, but it can help shake things up if you get bored running from Point A to Point B.

To sum it up, there's a reason SO2 boasts 80 endings. While the core of the story cannot change, the details are up to you.

Graphics/Sound

SO2 graphics aren't going to pull in large crowds like Oblivion's graphics, but they won't turn you away like the blocky failures of the gaming past. Think sprite-based characters, smooth environments and excellent movie scenes.

Hooray for the sound! I love it. Surprised? The music pervades my dreams and haunts me during the day. Fine, I exaggerated a little, but I do enjoy listening to the music. There's a lot going on in the game yet enough music to fit all the scenes.

Some people hate the character voices, but (you guessed it) I love them. I think people need to lighten up. The voices can really get me laughing (recruit Precis or Ernest) or thinking, "Wow, something really stirred inside him there" (Dias has his moments...).

Play Time/Replayability

The game takes quite a lot of time to finish if you thoroughly enjoy it (easily over 100 hours) But, if you have full knowledge of everything and try to race through it on the easiest difficulty setting, you might be able to beat it in less than 20 or 30 hours. Maybe…but you probably don't have full knowledge of it, so you can expect 40-60 hours on your first time through.

Take note, the replayability for SO2 is huge. You cannot finish this game once and accurately say, “I've seen it all.” There are 80 endings, two protagonists to choose from, secrets that are only playable on a new game save after unlocking them on an old game save, and several characters that cannot be on the same team.

Also, you most likely won't find every item, craft every item, steal every item and so forth during your first game. There's more to learn even after playing the game for hundreds of hours. Enjoy!

Final Recommendation

If the game sounds interesting, buy it. It's doubtful you will find a store renting out Star Ocean: The Second Story. You might find a store selling the game, but it's easier and more efficient to search Ebay (or a similar site).

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/08/09

Game Release: Star Ocean: The Second Story (US, 05/31/99)