Star Ocean: Second Evolution
Game Info:
| Platform: | PSP |
| Developer: | TOSE |
| Publisher: | Square-Enix |
| Players: | 1 |
| Format: | 1 UMD |
| Gallery: |
Editor review
Not quite the perfect remake
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It's appropriate to say that the PlayStation era was responsible for some of the best JRPGs to date. While Star Ocean: The Second Story isn't universally accepted as one of the era's classics, it's still held as one of the better games to make it to American store shelves. I have nothing but fond memories spending my summer vacation exploring the worlds of Expel and Nede, so when news of a remake hit, I was ecstatic. After warming up with the excellent remake of the first Star Ocean game, I had high hopes for the sequel. It doesn't quite deliver the same complete package like its predecessor, but it's still a worthwhile purchase for those who didn't have the pleasure of experiencing the PSX dynasty firsthand or those just looking to take a nostalgic trip through the stars. The story is simple and formulaic, even for its time. You have the choice of playing as either the Earthling Claude or the Expelian Rena, but aside from a few different sequences and party member choices, the story remains the same albeit seen through another perspective. The game begins with Claude getting whisked away to a far off planet while tinkering with a strange device during an exploration mission. He lands on the planet Expel, just in time to save an unwitting Rena from an impending beat down courtesy of a gorilla-like beast. The bewildered locals are quick to jump to conclusions and label him as the hero of legend come down to smite all of the evil in the world. Unfortunately for him, he isn't the only foreign object to hit the planet Expel in the last few days; the Sorcery Globe as it has come to be known, is wreaking all sorts of havoc on the world. Claude is not compelled to fill the role of hero, but with no ideas on how to contact Earth, he agrees to investigate the Sorcery Globe with the hope of finding a solution to his predicament with the added benefit of aiding the people of Expel. The gameplay we all know and fell in love with in the 1990s remains mostly the same with a few interesting changes. Welch Vineyard once again makes a return as a secret character in the game and the developers have given many of the characters three-hit combos for their normal attacks. The new combos are nice, but it seems like the AI forgot to read the memo because it hardly ever uses them in battle, which pretty much defeats their purpose. Numerous changes were made to the translation as well, some simply for continuity with tri-Ace's other games and some were corrections to obvious errors in what now seems like a slipshod job with the original PSX version. Unfortunately, they also dumbed down parts of the translation, with the biggest offender being the unnecessary renaming of Ashton's dragons to Creepy and Weepy instead of their original Japanese names. Combat is real time and is what makes the game so addictive. Though the random encounters can get seriously frustrating, the frantic combat action helps to at least make the experience more dynamic and exciting, especially with boss fights. Once you've dispatched enough monsters, you'll gain levels as well as skill points. The skill system may take some getting used to, but it will become your best friend sooner than you think. Skills will allow you to do a variety of things, from crafting powerful items to boosting your stats to astronomical levels which will come in handy later in the game. The main game itself is not very long, but there are various extracurricular activities you can participate in. The toughest being the Maze of Tribulations, a secret dungeon filled with exceptionally powerful enemies as well as the best equipment in the game. It's completely optional, but it's tough to say you've beaten the game until you've conquered the Maze. It's the type of challenge that was sorely missed in First Departure and it's difficult to imagine a Star Ocean game without it. One of the game's key selling points back in the day was its sheer number of possible endings, now increased by a few more with the addition of Welch. Characters will pair up with whomever they have the most Romance Points with at the end of the game. Unlike with First Departure, Private Actions have an effect over which ending you'll receive in the end. Of course there are also other factors, such as how often you use a particular character during battle or reading a book that a character has written. The graphics, sadly, haven't changed much at all. The graphics engine was an upgrade for First Departure, but for this game it's simply the same one from nine years ago. The 3D aspects, though a little dated, are more than acceptable, it's the 2D that has suffered the transition to the PSP. Most of the original pre-rendered backgrounds are reused and simply stretched to accommodate the widescreen resolution and it shows, bad. The old CG FMVs are recycled as well and they look downright nasty; they weren't high quality to begin with and to scale them on such a high-res screen really doesn't help. Thankfully, they did re-do all of the character art and provided a few anime sequences. What I don't understand is why they didn't just replace all of the FMVs with all original cutscenes like what we saw with First Departure? Mixing in archaic material just hurts the overall quality of the game. Fans and detractors alike will admit that the original PlayStation version had reprehensible voice acting. It wasn't just the talent that was suspect, the recording quality was bottom of the barrel too. The voice over work in Second Evolution is much improved in all aspects and the mute button once again goes unused. My only qualm is the direction they went with certain characters; Claude sounded much wussier than I originally imagined though perhaps that's just a testament to how well the voice actor conveyed that idea. Of all of the things they added to this remake, the new voices easily make the most impact as it gives the game a much needed touch of modernization. Though Second Evolution fails to eclipse its remade prequel, it's still an enjoyable game in its own right. It's still that addictive and challenging game that I remember so fondly. If you missed it the first time around, this is easily the best version of the game to play. Despite its spotty presentation, there's no reason to miss it again. | |||||||||
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