Star Ocean: Second Evolution Preview

The game that hypnotized gamers to become cult-like followers of the Star Ocean series with its quirky characters and addictive battles captivated all who played has finally gotten a remake for the PSP. At the time everything was original: the battle system, private actions, and item creation system had never been seen outside Japan. Star Ocean: The Second Story was different from any other RPG of its time and would later become a huge hit. Though overshadowed by FFVIII on its release in 1999 it has gained a great deal of popularity throughout the years.

The battle system will remain relatively unchanged with a few added twists which are the same changes present in Star Ocean: First Departure. For those who don’t know Star Ocean features a real time battle engine; your character basically encounter enemies randomly and are taken to a 3D map where you run around and fight enemies. These changes include a three hit combos for normal attacks, revamped item creation, and slots for magic casters to store their spells. It looks like mages will get shafted yet again with no real advantage to using them in battle after beginning of the game; it makes no sense at all that hitting something with a sword deals the same amount of damage as massive meteors crushing everything on the map.

The battle systems visuals looks relatively unchanged.

Esthetically the entire game has seen some improvements with a redone world map, cleaned up spell animations, and improved item menu. Many of the blocky effects of its predecessor have be removed. Fully voiced dialogue and CGI scenes have been added to the game as well and should improve the overall experience of the game. I’m hoping the voice acting will see a large improvement, the acting quality will be a heavier influence on its reception than in the original as not only will characters be talking in battle but also during events, let’s cross our fingers for a good cast. I was disappointed in the new character designs which in my opinion are too cute looking and I was hoping for the similar style that First Departure had.

Rena and her new younger and cuter appearance.

Star Ocean: Second Evolution will again allow players to choose between Rena and Claude which gives the player two different perspectives of the storyline. Private actions and some events are dependant on which character the players chooses this makes the game more interesting and adds replay value. Welch returns in this remake which is frustrating and disappointing. Unlike First Departure, there was a great deal of flexibility in choosing new playable characters for Second Evolution and using a gimmick comic relief character wasn’t a good choice. For those who don’t know, Welch appears in Star Ocean 3 as the secretary for the inventor’s guild where she keeps you updated on the status of you’re an others inventions. It seems overall the storyline remains unchanged but hopefully with a better translation than the original.

It looks like Star Ocean: Second Evolution is going to be a must have title for PSP, this epic RPG should see its NA release January 9th 2009.