Star Ocean: The Second Story R Reviews

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is ranked in the 93rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
GAMES.CH
Top Critic
87%
Nov 12, 2023

With Star Ocean: The Second Story R, a JRPG classic is celebrating a glorious comeback. Thanks to its likeable characters and complex gameplay, this is a game that no fan of old-school JRPGs should miss out on.

Review in German | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2023

Star Ocean: The Second Story R rejuvenates the classic JRPG with modern graphics and a dual protagonist system, offering a visually appealing and immersive narrative experience. Its enhanced combat system and quality-of-life improvements cater to both series veterans and newcomers.

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9 / 10
Nov 14, 2023

Star Ocean The Second Story R left me with mixed feelings. It started with a visually impressive 3D game intro and continued with stunning 3D environments, albeit with pixelated characters and monsters, which made me wonder about the design choices. However, these visuals didn’t detract from the excellent story, engaging combat and emotional impact the game delivered.

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Nov 16, 2023

Star Ocean The Second Story R is a beautiful recreation of a wonderful RPG. It gives players plenty of options and multiple viewpoints to try the story out on. If you're looking for a classic-style RPG to play, I recommend this one!

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Nov 20, 2023

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a product of its time as both a hardcore-adjacent PS1-era JRPG and as a host to several problematic romance mechanics. Its plot is exciting yet generic and is wildly insistent about how certain characters should end up together. But beyond that, you'll find a brilliant and modular character stat-building system, glorious battles, some fabulous character portrait art, and a wonderful 32-bit-inspired world for you to explore.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 23, 2023

With Star Ocean: The Second Story R, Gemdrops has worked in the round on every aspect of the original 1998 game, giving JRPG lovers an indispensable production that everyone should play at least once.

Review in Italian | Read full review

9 / 10
Nov 27, 2023

Star Ocean The Second Story R is a fantastic remake with a gorgeous visual style. The specialty and item creation systems create a beautiful harmony with the gameplay to make this one of the most satisfying gaming experiences of the year.

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4.5 / 5.0
Nov 28, 2023

Gemdrops has created a worthy remake that is not only more accessible than the previous iterations but has made what is arguably the most definitive edition of the game to date.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2023

Star Ocean: The Second Story R stands out as one of Square Enix’s most accomplished remakes. While the original game had its shortcomings, this remake effectively addresses those issues and elevates the overall experience to new heights. Gemdrops has transformed a solid RPG into an exceptional one, establishing a new benchmark for remakes in the gaming industry.

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8 / 10.0
Dec 1, 2023

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a fantastic remake of the PS1 classic, with gorgeous HD-2D visuals and a ridiculous amount of replayability.

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Yes
Dec 1, 2023

Gemdrops revitalizes one of the best installments of the Star Ocean saga with Star Ocean: The Second Story R, a new remastering that offers a wonderful RPG experience. Square Enix should take into consideration giving more possibilities to Gemdrops because it is a studio that has the capacity to create real gems. A beautiful video game from the best era of the genre brought to the present day.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Gameblog
Scriltarl
Top Critic
8 / 10
Dec 9, 2023

Star Ocean The Second Story R is an excellent remake that strikes the perfect balance between reworking the base material and preserving a proven formula. The 2.5D graphics are a feast for the eyes, the music is mesmerizing, and is facing an effective story, but that can put off at first.

Review in French | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Dec 18, 2023

Star Ocean: The Second Story R takes a beloved classic and makes it even better with visual, audio and gameplay improvements while still keeping the spirit of the original. Some of the quality of life changes can take away the sense of discovery from the original and also make it easier to break the game. Overall, though, the changes make an already great game even better while bringing it back and remaking it for a new generation. It’s the definitive version of Star Ocean: The Second Story for sure.

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90 / 100
Dec 20, 2023

All in all, Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a great experience. If you have the slightest interest in sci-fi, fantasy, and action RPGs, you owe it to yourself to play it. This remake proves that old games can become new and better than ever.

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