Play it on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Converts, Windows (steam surface ok)
Your current goal: Get the outstanding orchestral music out of my head
Before becoming a journalist, I wanted to be a literature professor. To do this, you have to read a large number of books. But although I have read a large number of books, I barely remember most of them.
Games are different. For me anyway. I played Star Ocean: The Second Story Exactly once before, on the original PlayStation. This was probably over 20 years ago, given that it was released in North America in 1999. But when I saw the remastered version on Nintendo Switch, which came out last November, I was amazed at how easy it was to revisit it. You’ve probably heard that already Looks great. And the story, while not exactly deep, is an engaging mix of space opera and fantasy that’s not common among RPGs of this era.
Read more: Star Ocean 2 Get the definitive version every classic PS1 RPG deserves
But the biggest draw from Star Ocean: The Second Story R It is an absurdly compelling specialization system. In each battle, you’ll earn skill points that you can use to unlock abilities like Writing, Herbology, and Persistence. (Each one also provides an instant stat boost, so you can direct characters toward magic or melee builds.) Certain duos or trios of abilities will unlock useful specializations like cooking or crafting. These skills thrive among your party, in what are known as Super Specializations, which grant very useful stat boosts and increase the odds of crafting powerful items and equipment.
First time I played Star Ocean 2 I found this system confusing until very late in the game, because I invested in skills in a scattershot way. (It’s a lot! Maybe too much!) But somehow, decades later, I remember all the tricks. The most important one? You want to invest in Resolve for each party member first, because it reduces the number of points you’ll need to upgrade any other skill. Once you do this, you can make your party so powerful and so fast, it’s almost like you’re cheating. in a good way. -Jane Glennon
Lots of stars for everyone
Star Ocean: The Second Story R Contains a downloadable demo on PlayStation, Steam, and Switch. With a PlayStation Plus Extra subscription, you can play Star Ocean Divine Power And Star Ocean: Integrity and sincerity. You’ll also get the PS Plus Premium subservice Star Ocean’s first departure, Star Ocean until the end of timeand a remaster of Star Ocean: The Last Hope. How many hours can you expect to play all of these games? Second thought, don’t tell me.
