Star Ocean: The Second Story R Is Absolutely STUNNING... | Review/Impressions

[@GhibliNova]

Grandia 1 in this art style would be a dream come true Also, the people who made Star Ocean were people who defected from the Tales of series after development arguments during the first Tales of game, and created Tri Ace, which was then bought by Square.

[@statesminds]

Yess im glad grandia 1&2 got mild remasters at all but really wish they got more. Some of my favorite games and this artstyle so good

[@mechaotakugamer]

You beat me to it in informing Matt about tales and star ocean

[@flyingplantwhale545]

Or Lunar

[@grahfkarate1799]

Xenogears would be perfect

[@leif54]

Yes! Grandias graphics as they are now, at least the polygons is in need of an overhaul

[@invisibleBDK]

Star Ocean 2 was my first real RPG (after Pokemon Gen 1) growing up, and I've replayed it a million times. Seeing it get this treatment in 2023 really warms my heart. One of my all time favs for sure.

[@josemontanez1075]

“It’s not about money anymore, it’s about time”. Completely agree with you there.

[@kazuhirala]

Im genuinely surprised at how well its been playing. This has to be a sleeper hit that many are going to miss out on for a while

[@jojostar571]

how are load times? are you playing physical? The demo had awful post-battle loading.

[@kazuhirala]

I know exactly what you mean, it fairly smoother than the demo, So I've noticed little prolonged loading here and there. @@jojostar571

[@bayoudrummer9855]

Super instant loading and fast travel

[@thirdsupernova]

​@@jojostar571What did you play it on?

[@AZ23MJ]

I’ll just miss out until it goes on an inevitable sale

[@James-gj8rn]

I love it so far, i just hits all the right notes for me, i love the characters, i love the story, the combat is really fun and this has to be the single best use of the HD-2D art style i've seen, it looks absolutely incredible :)

[@statesminds]

Yeah i LOVE how it looks so much

[@manbearpigsereal]

This is NOT HD-2D.

[@daveonezero6258]

@@manbearpigsereal Right it is something else. It is 3d backgrounds with redone sprites. It is better.

[@TheMightyWumbo]

Imagine seeing a remastered Pokémon game like this

[@KrimsonKracker]

Thank you Matty for highlighting this PHENOMENAL remake of a nearly-forgotten classic! 😎

[@bumbayker]

The reason why Star Ocean Second Story plays similarly to older Tales of games because the creators of the Star Ocean franchise were former members of Wolf Team (Namco Tales Studio) the developers of the first Tales of game (Phantasia). Due to creative disputes they left Wolf Team after the game was completed and 3 of them formed their own game developer company tri-Ace.

[@GT-li8wg]

As someone who played this for countless hours as a teenager(the original) it's rearranged in all the right ways. It adds ton of modern improvements such as quick heal, fast travel to any important spots, and a map that highlights timed events. This allows you to enjoy the game to a greater extent, and the graphics and music are A+. This is 11/10 for me.

[@colinanthony2011]

This visual style is jus perfect to me. I’ll take a million more games like this please.

[@juststeve2579]

Same I love this art style. I think it's so beautiful and fits so well. I hope we get more games like this

[@joebilly3719]

the sprites looks super jarring against the backgrounds, would be much better if they used higher quality sprites, like Eiyuden Chronicles will do.

[@MyNameisRevenant]

​@@joebilly3719I was thinking about that too, so far its only the character sprites what hits me the wrong way. That aside, it is a good game.

[@EtherealRune]

To all the people being concerned regarding the "pre-order" weapons. The "Pangalatic Officer Longsword" doesn't break anything - It only replaces the Sinclair-blade from previous titles which you could grab as soon as you were able to enter the world-map. It's more convenience than anything and will be outdated very quickly as well. In fact, the first weapon for one of your potential companions you will find in the weapon shop of the VERY FIRST village (Salva) already boosts 160 ATK by itself. I wouldn't fuss about it too much, since the most you can do early game is auto-attacking only anyways and that way you shorten the time doing that slightly.

[@cosmosofinfinity]

The new artwork is absolutely gorgeous, and actually animating the mouths during speech always impresses me

[@ShadesMan]

9:03 - ironic, you should mention barrels and go over their details. They look good from any angle, though there's probably a 'best' angle I'm sure. Barrels are fun.

[@IncessantWake]

I didn't finish it in 1998 but alas, finally by the end of 2023 I bought this and finished it. This game is a gem!

[@erickreyes7902]

For those who havent played this game GET IT!... great story, good combat... everything is moderation in this game its a fun game... but for those who played this in the PSP like me... maybe I'll wait for a SALE...

[@midnightstrike3625]

This style is really reminding me of FFVI and VII, where Vi has the mode 7 to give the illusion of 3d and VII has the controllable camera but also has classic feeling character models.

[@anthonycampbell97]

Yesss Star Ocean 1, 2 and 3 are brilliant. 4 is a great prequel to the series too, but I understand peopels issues with it. Would still recommend it. They need to bring 1-3 to PC

[@MiamiSunrise]

Star Ocean 6 was actually pretty damn good but i think this game will be a stronger shot in the arm for Star Ocean as a franchise.

[@travisfodrie5410]

Played the original on ps1 back in the late 90s and the psp remaster. Loved both of them. The original was one of those games I used to come back to every year, back when I had time to do such things. I'll definitely be picking this up sometime because the QoL changes look amazing, as well as the art style!

[@TheMixedPlateFrequency]

I have always held a fondness for Star Ocean since my childhood because it seemed like a delightful amalgamation of Final Fantasy and Star Trek, which, in hindsight, is quite amusing. Upon playing the remake, a noteworthy observation emerged- the inclusion of voice acting in the dialogue significantly enhanced the overall storyline. Additionally, it became apparent that Claude's narrative gains substantial strength during the initial to middle segments of the game. However, as the storyline progresses on Energy Nede, there is a perceptible shift, and Rena's narrative appears to take precedence, exhibiting greater strength from that point until the conclusion.

[@dragonquestfan2002]

This was my first star ocean game and I just finished the main story after 22 hours of playtime. Absolute banger of a game, I legitimately couldn't stop playing. I'm looking forward to doing all the post-game stuff and making a ng+ file.

[@statesminds]

I love the original and the remake has been awesome. I absolutely love the way it looks. You should play Grandia remastered on switch! Some other jrpgs i love from the era. Just need Lunar 1&2 to be remastered and most of my favorite ps1 rpgs will be available.

[@ryanbourbeau3078]

I am hoping SO BAD that one day we get lunar 1 and 2 maybe in a double pack. That would be so amazing!

[@statesminds]

@@ryanbourbeau3078i have the first one on psp but sadly dont have the second for ps1. Was disappointed it wasnt on sega genesis mini 2 with english even tho was on japanese one. So emulation on a pc is only way i can play if i wanted.

[@MisterH203]

I thought lunar 2 was on ps1

[@badboy-gn8fu]

did you buy the switch version? is entire game all on the cart?

[@ryanbourbeau3078]

@@badboy-gn8fu I got the switch version it requires a 3gb download :( but runs great ptherwise

[@samuelrainville9219]

The demo was incredible. I can proudly say that it is an upgrade from the OG, from what I played so far. Good Job Gemdrops and I want to play more of this!

[@arrynroyce72]

Many of the developers on the Tales of Phantasia team worked on Star Ocean thereafter, so your comparison makes sense.

[@RenRenification]

“This game seems like squares answer to the tales of series.” OMG this made me laugh out loud. Do be this young and yet so confidant lol.

[@xSabinx1]

Isn't tales older?

[@metal_gear_jay]

I played Star Ocean- The Second Story on the playstation 1 when it was released. In fact, I still own the copy. I absolutely LOVED this game. I may need to pick it up again.

[@QueenViolet8]

Man as one who played the original on my PS1 ❤ I spent hours playing the game till the clock stopped I crafted and enjoyed publishing books and getting royalties from them I am looking forward to playing this again and seeing all the different endings!

[@manbearpigsereal]

This game isn't HD-2D, a cursory glance at octopath and triangle strategy makes it clear that it's not. It's 2.5D.

[@joebilly3719]

thank you, surprised so many people making this mistake.

[@stephenwong8053]

Starocean 3 was crazy ahead of its time (no pun intended) and honestly fits so well with modern themes of today. i cant wait for that remake to happen

[@daveonezero6258]

If it works like First Departure R the combat skills don't work much at level 1 but at level 10 they proc a lot. Godspeed, feint, counter are always going off with my 3 melee people in that game. It is a cool flexible system.

[@phantomthief9396]

Star Ocean has always been a franchise I have stayed away from. Just didn't want to dedicate the time to it but.. This game looks STUNNING and charming as hell. Mattys opinions have definitely forced me into putting this on the backlog. Between Octopath, Sea of Stars and now this.. Amazing.

[@toyotam.7100]

Love love this title... been waiting so long. 😍. Thank you Enix.

[@Atreides217]

Great review/impressions! I just started the demo and it is gorgeous.

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

This game deserves more love!

[@sophdog1678]

The original was hugely engrossing and repayable, it was my favourite of the series. It had a crazy 3 or 4 discs to play, and I loved it. Square did such a good job with the Octopath games and I expect them to do a great job with this Tri-Ace gem.

[@johntracy72]

I got Star Ocean Second Story R for Switch on Sept 10. Great game. I still have the original Playstation version from 1999.

[@soulechelon2643]

Only reason why I haven't started yet is because I have so much anxiety about who to pick first and what my initial team will be lol. Was a huge fan of the original and I'm so glad it's been remastered/remade so amazingly well.

[@milkweedreflections]

Pick Rena. If you choose Claude you can’t recruit Dias, and Dias is an absolute badass character.

[@soulechelon2643]

@@milkweedreflections I know all the characters and how to recruit them. I played the original 3+ times. Dias is good but I don't like his personality. Edgelord swordsman is eh.

[@milkweedreflections]

@@soulechelon2643 Good luck finding anyone who agrees with that, lol. Dias is a beast.

[@soulechelon2643]

@@milkweedreflectionsI don't care if anyone agrees with me dude, it's a single player JRPG, I've played it to 100% completion thrice over, and I'll play this version however I want without some rando telling me what to do. You can go away now. In fact I'll help you out the door and just not give you any more attention.

[@milkweedreflections]

@@soulechelon2643 Cool story. Now tell me how Dias is "edgy" please.

[@AnimatronicBadgerlord]

I find the story/narrative of the game to be good (I played it back on PS1 when it released, but I was young) But the setting, and the interactions of the characters are what I like more. It's one of the reason that Octopath Traveler II is one of my favorite games because it's more character based than it is about the overall story. This game has hints of that as well where you can have many different characters and seeing them react to what's going on as well as the PAs with each other to add some optional added lore is a great balance. I think the PAs are a great way to add that story because it doesn't feel forced on you and awkward as you're going through the main plot, and you can skip it on subsequent playthroughs to shorten things a bit.

[@davissmith2667]

If you thought the pre order sword was op at the start…. Don’t try the customization skill

[@mrwillham5393]

man. i cant wait for the next generation switch. having improved hardware to be able to run all these games at an actual solid fps.. the scope of the games will be grander. im excited. hope it comes before 2030, then we can get sick games like this.. but more sickerrrrrrrrr

[@Brian-ti7xm]

2d pixel sprites + 3d environments = a entire genre of beautiful art. Really think minecraft f*d up not doing this while adding basic quests for item rewards like a way to buy tamed horses and diamonds.

[@JohnRambo1947-July-6th]

I go Rena because you need her to get Dias, and I love Dias ❤

[@Art-lf7zq]

Good to see you enjoying this game. Played this multiple times on the PS1 back in the day and played the PSP remake a few years ago. Still held up. I really do miss the original PS1 voices though. Especially the "Call Bunny" voice lines. "COME 'ERE BUNNEH!" and "EY BARNIEE" are lines I still randomly think of to this day.

[@bullfrogjay4383]

I would love Capcom to release a Breath of Fire compilation in this art style. Especially 3+4.

[@johntracy72]

I renamed Claude Kenny as Josh because I worked with someone named Josh Kenny. Same with Ashton Anchors. I renamed him Rusty because I knew someone in Florida nearly 40 years ago named Rusty Anchors.

[@greencastle337]

Ps1 jrpgs are getting so much love lately ❤

[@Duckman8213]

I’m planning to ply it but I currently play Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2. Then I’m playing FF 7-9 and then Persona 3 Reload. Then FF10 and 12. Then I’ll play Star Ocean.😊 Oh and I still need to play Sea of Stars but BG3 came out around the same time and that game took over my life.

[@Fingerknee]

So2 is up there with ff7 for me. Major nostalgia

[@m4r_art]

Xenogears remake incoming? The art style totally translates!

[@joebilly3719]

This style exactly, meaning using the ultra low pixel sprites that are super jarring against detailed backgrounds? No, God no. But using proper sprites like the game Eiyuden Chonicle is going to do, then yes, would be welcome.

[@jordankelly4684]

Playing this game feels like reconnecting with a long lost childhood friend.

[@metatroncube]

"When I was becoming a big JRPG guru". What a guy!!! He's a guru! A guru of JRPGs he's never played!

[@charliestewartchukkers]

I think ff7 should have considered this style over what we got on mobile

[@Falco-Lombardi]

I'll def get this whenever it goes on sale, there's just other games i wanna finish first

[@sharadaarun6222]

The moment you compared it to trails i was like "Ok NOW I need to but this!" Thanks for the review !!😃

[@razorsharp5643]

Playing the PS1 version of this game blew me away. One of the best RPGs of ALL TIME right here. Sure, the second world is a little empty, but other than that, this is a gorgeous title. There's even been a niche community to beat Dias in the colosseum, apparently. This is one of the true underrated games, I think. People just don't know much about Star Ocean.

[@asksalottle220]

I was JUST considering biting the bullet and getting it

[@nichhenry8740]

Got the game on launch and im already 10+ hours in. They did this game justice so Id highly recommend buying

[@Valancet]

"The dlc sword breaks the game" Me less than 5 hrs into the game with Sword of Marvels: >.>

[@dainiergarcia5076]

So3 is one of my favorite games of all time I wish they remake it

[@RawPower867]

Playing the Switch version of this right now and didn't notice any chugging. I did notice a lack of anti-aliasing, but it's not that noticeable unless the screen is a few inches away from your face. Not sure if the other versions are like that, but whatever. Game is still gorgeous on Switch.

[@maxamillion2k7]

I still play the PSP Star Ocean....can't wait to play this one.

[@1SpicyMeataball]

I was skeptical. I'm a longtime fan of the og for ps1, played it back when it came out in 1998. It was my first jrpg. This remake made me fall in love with it all over again. Many quality of life improvements. Combat is smooth as butter once you gets used to the change. They fixed the bugginess of some gameplay elements, and fleshed out parts of the script. My few critiques are some of the VAs are bland. It did away with the polygons morphing before your eyes in item creation. The change to 3D lost some background elements like mood lighting and certain camera angles so it sometimes looks flat.

[@StewNWT]

and the character portraits make it way better than OP or TS

[@MTG_CMG]

I've never played this one. So I'm excited to give it a go! Glad to know it's better than expected!

[@johntracy72]

Rogue Galaxy also has that Sci fi fantasy mix.

[@dsmith8616]

If I’m not mistaken… the Voice Actor for Claude C. Kenny, is the same actor that did the voice work for Shinji Ikari, from Neon Genesis Evangelion… Spike Spencer 🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@angietrif]

Great review! It would be really helpful if your videos were a bit brighter, so we could see your awesome set up better!

[@paulklaric3318]

Xenogears remake is what we really want.

[@joebilly3719]

So long as they dont use those ultra low pixel sprites that are super jarring against detailed backgrounds and instead use proper sprites like the game Eiyuden Chonicle is going to do, then yes, would be welcome.

[@brentabel5094]

So happy people are finally getting to play a game that helped define my childhood great memories cant wait to play. Xenogears and Lunar SSSC would be awesome with similar remakes.

[@joebilly3719]

So long as they used good quality sprites for those, rather than the pixel fest that is jarring against detailed scenarios that this game uses.

[@Deathsneeze007]

Great work. Love your stuff man

[@michaelcallan5336]

I played the first "remake" back on the psp, I do like the new character art but I honestly love the ones they used for the psp version more.

[@jeffmilligan5307]

I'm totally playing this game. Till the end of time was my fav. Star ocean, Albel is the best.

[@awakenedsoul2638]

0:30 Let me correct you bub, this is HD 2.5D Remake not HD 2D.

[@mageius]

It should remind you of the Tales of games. The original devs worked on the very first Tales of game. They left after completing it because they weren't allowed to implement some skill systems and other stuff to make it more fun. In a great example of "F you I'll start my own company and make our own game and show you " that's what they did. And honestly I'd say it worked out well since Tales borrowed a decent amount later on from Star Ocean.

[@Bornagainvillain]

But Tales is the more successful series, and Star Ocean struggled in recent titles.

[@erickreyes7902]

Its hard to believe that the original devs of this game are the devs that made TALES OF series... really blows my mind... I guess thats the reason why the COMBAT is so fast paced... I realy do hope we get the same treatment for the UNRELEASED TALES game that werent released on the western areas... COME ON BANDAI!...

[@deyon100]

What’s awesome is that star ocean 2 is now on pc the mods could be awesome 😊

[@thepaper888]

First Departure R, I play all 5. So now ......

[@Nix_Abyss]

If they did this with Chrono trigger and Nintendo do this with Pokémon in the proper way they’d make so much money lol 😂 but we all know that’s a pipe dream

[@joebilly3719]

This style exactly, meaning using the ultra low pixel sprites that are super jarring against detailed backgrounds? No, God no. But using proper sprites like the game Eiyuden Chonicle is going to do, then yes, would be welcome.

[@Gainoffuntion]

Xenogears and legend of legaia next and I'll die happy

[@clayton_games]

I am of the opinion that SO2 is the only good Star Ocean (and it's amazing)

[@johntracy72]

Believe it or not, I actually met someone named Noel Chandler.

[@michaelpegasiou4531]

These are perfect switch oled games.

[@chaosdjx13]

My favorite star ocean will always be till the end of time long live albel the wicked

[@FreedomDaveX]

I’m excited to get this when it goes on sale. I really loved the game when it originally came out. I was extremely disappointed with the remake of the first game, which I bought hoping to get a similar experience to Second Story. I found myself walking back and forth with no clue where to go and getting enemy encounters every couple seconds which really slogged travel down for me. Not enough love was put into that remake. I had to unfortunately put it down for good. I’m glad to see that much more love was put into this remake.

[@_n8thagr8_63]

Better than the other game that started with Star .......

[@PistolPattt]

Yep, it was an insult to compare that to the best of the SNES era. All it did was take inspiration from several games, and implement a barebones version of it. And the amount of shilling was straight up embarrassing.

[@LP-mh6ri]

Starfart

[@eee-man9545]

Square enix has announced that they plan to switch focus into their old IP’s and partnerships instead of creating new ones and add more to the development teams and polish to bring them to the forefront, I hope they finally give Star ocean the attention it needs

[@PhoenIXPhantasies]

Am I the only one that prefers the original? I hope they have a setting to play it without the HD 2D. I can't get into that style, it reminds me of Lego. And makes it look "fake" to me.

[@joebilly3719]

This is not the HD 2D though, it does not uses the tons of filters that games by team asano uses. That out of the way, yeah, the ultra low pixel sprites that are super jarring against detailed backgrounds. Instead they should use proper sprites like the game Eiyuden Chonicle is going to do, then yes, would be welcome.

[@gotinogaden]

I am still playing the demo, but will get the full version in the upcoming months.

[@envy.of.e11even]

I went to 2 different locations to get this game

[@Scarecr0wn]

Sounds like my Deck has a work to do

[@awakenedsoul2638]

Hey bub! I like your review! Does the game still have "VOICE COLLECTION"? It is the menu that you can easily see in the start screen. If you played the game and have a save, the word voice collection is not greyed out but if you have a game save the word is white.

[@duckpwnd]

I would really like to see Square Enix give Brave Fencer Musashi a similar quality remake.

[@WdawgSmith]

Oh my god I’ve tried like 5 different times to get into this game and always quit at the same point It’s always around the 10th battle when I have taken zero damage It’s because of the crazy powerful sword ! It must be! Gonna try it again I mean I’m not even like a great video game player and I was bored to tears with how easy the combat was Granted it was early on but something didn’t feel right Otherwise I loved the visuals and the story (so far) but I could never get into the combat Thanks Matty

[@mdariff006]

of course this is a must game to play, the art style/voice acting 🤩, this is ps1 one of the best classic rpg games of all times now they make it into 2D/HD/3D pixelated, my fav types of games even though i haven’t finish it on the ps1, this i might play again almost every single day to really finish it, more classic rpg games should be remake into this pixelated

[@genehayes]

Is this a lot better than First Departure R? i played like 3 hours of it and couldnt do it

[@xenoblade6965]

The pre-order sword breaks the game ?...that made me laugh...

[@TayRich93]

I was looking for a game similar yo ghibli animation and vibe so I downloaded baldo guardian of 3 owls, now that became my favorite too then I seen a ad for this game im like yo i gotta play that🔥🔥😀

[@joshuabradford8206]

I would love to see some videos from you on the tales games.

[@AKABoondock19]

Im as into this game as I was BG3, which is mine and most other ppls GOTY. Simply amazing shit.

[@calvinmatthews1527]

Never thought you'd cover a SO game. I don't blame you for not finishing The Last Hope, it's too much for anyone. And that's coming from someone who finished the story & tried to do the postgame. Anyway, funny that you brought up how this and Octopath Traveler are different in some ways. Because this is a 2.5D game while OT is a HD-2D game. People often think the two styles are the same. Still a SE remake with this much effort poured into it that's not a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest game is like unheard of! Guess even Square is aware of the pedestal Star Ocean 2 is on.

[@thirdsupernova]

Dragon Quest 3 is get the HD-2D treatment. And that's another game that people say is one of the best in the series.

[@djdex8945]

Thanks geez. I just downloaded the content and was a bit worried about the sword (having not played the game before) I will not use it 😂

[@TayRich93]

Gives me nostalgia even tho I never played this 🔥🔥

[@artbunker]

First 2 hours ate slow.. Afterwards its a great rollercoaster ride.

[@TayRich93]

@@artbunker def gone cop this tho