{"id":22840,"date":"2023-11-06T18:38:27","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T09:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=22840"},"modified":"2023-11-06T18:38:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T09:38:28","slug":"20231106-22840","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20231106-22840\/","title":{"rendered":"Square Enix&#8217; remake of iconic JRPG Star Ocean: The Second Story showered with praise immediately upon release\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Square Enix released<strong> STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R <\/strong>on November 11 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC (Steam). The game was met with praise as soon as it released, performing outstandingly well on Steam.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Star Ocean the Second Story R - Announce Trailer | PS5 &amp; PS4 Games\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T9j7mP9Nr9g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a remake of tri-Ace&#8217;s action RPG \u201cStar Ocean: The Second Story\u201d from 1998. The remake version was developed by the Japanese studio Gemdrops, and the game\u2019s plot takes place 20 years after the events of the first Star Ocean title. Claude, a young officer of the Pangalactic Federation, investigates a mysterious dome discovered on the planet Milocinia. Enveloped in light, he is transported to an unknown planet where he meets a young girl called Rena. The player chooses one of the two protagonists, Claude or Rena, and experiences the story from their perspective.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The remake introduces unique visuals that fuse 2D pixel art and 3D graphics, and all in-game maps including towns, fields and dungeons have been revamped. The gameplay also features new elements, with the random encounter system being switched out with the symbol encounter system and new, powerful \u201cRaid Enemies\u201d being introduced. The battle system has also been upgraded, including a Perfect Counter mechanic that activates when you dodge an attack at the right timing. The Perfect Counter mechanic not only makes the enemy&#8217;s attack miss, but weakens their shield, making it possible to break them. Battle has been given a deeper dimension with these tweaks, and the game also introduces new activities such as fishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-001-747x420.jpg 747w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Second Story R has been performing exceptionally well since its release, peaking at over 6,000 concurrent players shortly after launch and receiving generous praise from media and users alike. The game has a Metascore of 86% on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/star-ocean-the-second-story-r\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Metacritic <\/a>as well as an Overwhelmingly Positive status on Steam out of 623 reviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The points most often praised are the symbol encounter system and the new battle system, which allow for fast-paced play and a wide range of battle styles. The way the remake preserves the feel of the original game while building onto it is another point brought up favorably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, the remake includes voiceovers for all scenes, including the scenes that had been unvoiced in the original, and even uses the same (Japanese) cast from the original game. The voices from the 2008 PSP remake Star Ocean 2: Second Evolution are also included, and players can choose their preferred voice for each character. Similarly, different character sprites from each version of the game are available to set and display on the in-game status sceen. These points show a great deal of attention to the fandom, which hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231104-270883-002-747x420.jpg 747w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Square Enix has been actively working on remakes and remasters of past titles, and many of them have been highly acclaimed for their faithfulness to the original, improved graphics and playability. It would seem that Star Ocean: The Second Story R is another success story for Square Enix. The remake has become a great way for fans of the series to re-experience the classic title and for those new to the series to ease into it with the modern look and feel.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/starocean2r.square-enix-games.com\/en-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R<\/a> is available for the Nintendo Switch\/PS4\/PS5 and PC (Steam).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:12px\"><br><br><br><br><em>Written by. Amber V based on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/articles\/newsjp\/20231104-270883\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">original Japanese article<\/a>\u00a0(original article\u2019s publication date: 2023-11-04 12:35 JST)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Square Enix released STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R on November 11 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC (Steam). What has made the remake such a resounding success?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":22842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-22840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Square Enix&#039; remake of iconic JRPG Star Ocean: The Second Story showered with praise immediately upon release\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Square Enix released STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R on November 11 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC (Steam). 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