Support NeoGAF

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Following the launch of the Gemdrops-developed remake Star Ocean The Second Story R, the game has now achieved over 2,000 user reviews on Steam. The title received over 1,000 user reviews back during its launch month, so it’s neat to see that momentum retained, especially since it’s overwhelmingly positive.

In particular, 96% of the 2,015 user reviews are positive, which is quite impressive for a Star Ocean title. Aside from the PC ports of other Star Ocean games not being especially great, the general reception of the games themselves is more mixed. Here’s hoping the series is given more opportunity to shine in the future. In the meantime, I’ll be in my corner wishing for a remake of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, my personal favorite entry.

Thanks to the Star Ocean The Second Story R director Yuichiro Kaito sharing the news regarding the positive Steam reviews. In an interview, he said that the reception to this remake has been better than expected.

At the end of last year, Kitao said that the team is aware of the fan demand for a remake of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, but no plans have been set in stone.

Star Ocean The Second Story R Has Over 2,000 Steam Reviews And 95% Are Positive

Following the launch of the Gemdrops-developed remake Star Ocean The Second Story R, the game has now achieved over 2,000 user reviews on Steam.

noisypixel.net

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Tis a wonderful game!

 

[Hudo]

What a weird timeline we live in. An Armored Core game in the charts, a Star Ocean game reviewing well and Atlus having multiple releases in one year with simultaneous western translations.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

I bought it again on PS5 yesterday. I finished the first game on Saturday... So just this one is good then?

 

[cireza]

Completed the game last week on Switch, it was fantastic. Deliciously retro, and the soundtrack was stellar.

 

[sigmaZ]

Fantastic remake. Turned a game that I loathed into a game that I love. Unfortunately I haven't been able to finish it because of so many other games, but one day I'll get there!

 

[SantaC]

It was a very good game unlike Star Ocean 6

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Wait is it Monday today? We like remakes/remasters on Mondays?

Got it.

 

[Oberstein]

Deserved. Superb remake.

The old JRPGs adapt so well to this format.

 

[phant0m]

Great game, got it on Switch myself

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

Finished it on PS5 last year, great game, superb remake

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Awesome game, might be the best remake of all time. They really understood what made the original good. They managed to fix everything that needed fixing + made some great enhancements and QoL features without fucking anything up.

My only minor gripes are that they reused the bland VA from the PSP version, and they redesigned a couple of the dungeons for the worse (e.g. Hoffman Ruins, it was so mysterious and distinctive in the original and they changed it to some generic puzzle dungeon)

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Wait is it Monday today? We like remakes/remasters on Mondays?

Got it.

This one’s original version came out before 2010, at least.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Outstanding remake that deserves every bit of praise it gets. If Square Enix is considering remaking other rpg-classics, like Chrono Trigger or Xenogears, look no further than what Gemdrop did with this game. This is the way going forward when you're doing a makeover of beloved games.

 

[drganon]

Cool news. I enjoyed the demo, just haven't gotten around to getting it yet.

 

[Shifty1897]

It was a very good game unlike Star Ocean 6

Yeah I have 6 installed on my PS5 right now and it is painful to play. I liked 5 more than this one so far.

 

[PanzerCute]

This game was stellar (shitty pun intended) so no surprise here. I think it sold quite well too.
Now do Chrono Trigger, FF Tactics and FF6 in the same vein, you cowards! :v

 

[Evil Calvin]

Really good game. Very under-represented during 2023 GOTY discussions.

 

[Soltype]

Game is awesome, but I miss the old voice acting. Hoping someone mods in the old stuff on PC.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

My only minor gripes are that they reused the bland VA from the PSP version

Dub cast you mean? Hell naw. Second I heard Spike Spencer as Claud and Megan Hollingshead as the titty mage I was HYPED. All Nu-VAs for weeaboo games are trash. 2000s/early 2010s era was the peak.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Still waiting for this to get it's first sale ...taking forever

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Dub cast you mean? Hell naw. Second I heard Spike Spencer as Claud and Megan Hollingshead as the titty mage I was HYPED. All Nu-VAs for weeaboo games are trash. 2000s/early 2010s era was the peak.

TBH the biggest problem is that the dialog just isn’t very good. It’s that typical JRPG writing where they talk in circles and take twice as long as necessary to get the point across. Combine that with bland VA + awkward pauses at the end of every line and most of the dialog scenes are pretty painful.

Ideally they could’ve done a full rewrite (which obviously would’ve been a great expense). They did give you the option to turn off the VA entirely, which is a huge improvement, but the problem is that also turns off the VA for the battles, which is a big part of the charm of SO2 IMO. If they at least let you control the event and battle VA volume independently that would’ve been awesome.


Anyway that’s a minor gripe. As an SO2 super fan I was very pleased with the treatment they gave the remake.

 

[nikos]

I keep forgetting about this game. Need to get back to it.