Star Ocean: The Second Story - The 10s

 There's nothing special about being courageous in times of need

The golden era of RPGs was in full swing in 1999, at least I would say it was. The PlayStation had officially pulled away from the pack and had become a haven for the genre, the Saturn had come to be appreciated by fans for its lesser-known RPGs and the Nintendo 64....had Ogre Battle and Quest?

Of course, that also meant that some of these games started to feel a little bit formulaic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, if it ain't broke don't fix it, but it's always nice to see some level of innovation. Honestly, I think the best games tend to find a middle ground, they have just enough new stuff to feel fresh but they don't throw out mechanics that have proven to be enjoyable. As great as RPGs were in this era, I feel like 1999 to 2000 was when a lot of games started feeling similar. A lot of them were still awesome, but they just sort of felt like they were doing more of the same. I felt that way then and looking back, I still kind of feel like that now. So, I guess that's why Star Ocean: The Second Story jumped out to me when I first saw it way back when.

It's not that Star Ocean was the first was the first title to do a lot of the things that made it stood out. It wasn't the first Sci-Fi RPG, not even close. It wasn't the first RPG to have multiple protagonists, or to have an action-based battle system. But at the time, all of those things made it feel unique at to me. Remember, I didn't really have consistent internet until the early 00's, so most of my gaming news came from magazines that mostly focused on the big-name stuff. I had absolutely no idea there was a first Star Ocean game for the Super Famicom and even if I did, there was no way I would have been able to play it. So my first encounter with the game and the series as a whole was when I randomly saw it on the shelf at Funcoland. I took one look at the back of the box and new I had to have it. It just looked so much different than all of my other options and it was one of the few RPGs I had never seen before. Of course, any Final Fantasy game was readily available and you would be hard pressed to go to a store like that and not find Legend of Dragoon or even the Lunar titles. But this was the first time I had ever seen Star Ocean, funny that it felt like such a rare find then but it's a relatively affordable PS1 RPG now. At any rate, I took it home, popped it in and was immediately hooked. Even before I started the game, something about the case and the discs themselves always stood out to me, I think the artwork is so cool. But it was the familiar feeling but also extremely unique gameplay, especially the combat, that made me fall in love with this game. Before we get any further, I should mention that for the purposes of this review I played the original game, not the recent or 2008 PSP remakes. As such, I am going to stick to using the names of characters and locations from that version.

Regardless of which version you play, SO:TSS takes place in the year 2452 gives you the choice between two protagonists. The first is Claude Kenni, a newly commissioned Ensign in the Earth Federation under the command of his father Ronixis. Their squad is exploring a mysterious energy disturbance on the planet Milocinia, which leads them to some mysterious ruins. Once inside, Claude activates a mysterious machine that transports him to a completely different world. This planet, called Expel, is the home of our other protagonist, Rena Lanford. Rena is a young girl who lives in a small, remote village called Arlia, which sits just outside the Shingo Forest. Rena enjoys life in the small, underdeveloped village, but has always felt she doesn't quite fit in there. She looks different than anyone else there and, more importantly, possesses the innate ability to use Heraldic Magic, something that typically requires a lifetime of study. She also feels an almost spiritual attachment to the forest, where she likes to take frequent walks. They are typically uneventful until one day, she is attacked by a fearsome monster. However, she is quickly saved by a man brandishing a magical sword of light, slaying the monster with ease. At last, the legendary Hero of Light has arrived in Arlia! At least that's what Rena thinks. It turns out the young man in question is Claude, who simply used his federation issued phaser to dispose of the beast. He's safe, but his relief turns to horror when he realizes that a local just saw him use his weapon. That's kind of a problem, because intergalactic treaties prevent the use of advanced technology on underdeveloped planets. Rena doesn't know that though and insists Claude return with her to Arlia, as he may be able to help the people out with their latest issue. Not long before Claude arrived, a meteor, which the locals call the Sorcery Globe, fell in the nearby kingdom of El and the world hasn't been the same since. Monsters seem to be more plentiful and more vicious, just the kind of problem a Hero of Light can solve. Claude, unsure of where he is or how he got there, follows her, hoping to figure out a way to get home. All of this leads the duo on a journey where they will grow closer together, battling an entity set on destroying not only Expel, but the entire galaxy.

While I don't think the story itself is revolutionary, it is well told and it keeps you wanting to learn more. You start the game by choosing either Claude or Rena, who will serve as your primary main character. The events of the story remain the same regardless of who you choose, but you will see them through different eyes. I kind of like this, it makes the stories just different enough without feeling like you absolutely have to play through the game twice. Both of the mains are compelling characters and the way the game withholds or provides information depending on who you choose really fits well with them. Claude will talk to other off-worlders he meets in private, while Rena and the other Expellian party members can only speculate on what they are discussing. Throughout his playthrough, he will get very jealous of Rena's childhood friend Dias, for whom it appears she harbors romantic feelings. At least from Claude's perspective. When you play through the game as Rena, you learn very quickly that's not the case, which make her reactions to Claude's jealousy far more understandable. I don't think the differences warrant back-to-back playthroughs, but they do cause me to alternate mains each time I play. The differences do start to become less frequent as the game goes on, but they are still a factor. Which main you choose also impacts which characters you can recruit and when, with the aforementioned Dias being unique to Rena's game and magically inclined child Leon unique to Claude's. There are 12 total characters, with eight recruitable on each playthrough. There are some combinations that you can't have together, you need to choose between pugilistic scientist Bowman and quirky inventor Precis, but all of the characters are worth trying out. Some are certainly stronger than others and the physical attackers tend to be superior to magic users, but they are pretty balanced overall. Most of them have fairly interesting backstories as well. From Ashton, who's cursed by a pair of dragons living on his back, to Opera and Ernest, two three-eyed explorers who are most certainly not from Expel, to Chisato, a reporter shadowing your party for the perfect story, you have tons of unique personalities who are also fun to use in battle. Later versions of the game also added a 13th character, Welch, though that wasn't a factor here.

A big part of why the characters are so interesting is because SO:TSS does a better job of developing them more deeply than most games. This is largely accomplished through the private action system, another hallmark of the franchise. As with most RPGs, your party can visit and explore a variety of towns throughout the world. But in SO:TSS, you can enter towns in Private Action mode, which sees your party split up and walk around the town as individuals. This opens up a variety of unique dialogue and events that help you learn more about your comrades. It also allows you to increase (or decrease) your friendship and relationship scores, which dictate which of the game's many endings you will receive. It doesn't seem like much, but it really helps to flesh out the characters. And while I really like these, I recognize not everyone will. And that's okay, because they are completely optional. I'm honestly surprised more RPGs don't do more stuff like this, I think it gives the player more freedom while also providing an interesting way to learn more about your party. The latter is something I think SO:TSS did better than its contemporaries. All of them feel fleshed out, which is a major challenge in a game with characters you don't have to recruit.

Speaking of towns, SO:TSS might have my personal favorite selection of all time. Each of them have a personality all their own and feel real, despite not necessarily being realistic. Arlia really, truly feels like a back country hamlet while Herlie perfectly fits the vibe of a port town. Cross, Lacour and Central City are all bustling metropolises that serve as the capitals of their respective regions. Linga really feels like a studious university town while Armlock just has the vibe of a place known for making strong weapons. There's even a mini-game center called Fun City you can access later as well. The world map as a whole is very good, I do think it is a bit disjointed. Still, you can access pretty much any part of the map fairly early if you are willing to work for it. As an old school RPG, encounters here are random, which I know a lot of people don't like. I don't have a problem with it at all, especially since the encounter rate is more than reasonable here. Enemy designs are pretty cool, all though I think they recycle a bit too much, and they really fit the aesthetic of the world. I think that's the biggest thing here, everything looks and feels like it belongs in this world, with these characters under these circumstances. I think the generally excellent graphics really help with that. It's a little bit more muted than what you would see in your typical Final Fantasy game, but I kind of think that is part of its charm.

One of the things I have always liked about SO:TSS is the skill system. It's simple, yet effective and I always felt like it gives me an extra something to look towards building. Each character has a set of skills, which can be purchased at guilds throughout the world, that will help give them little bonuses. These max out at level 10 and can be upgraded with skill points earned in battle. Upgrading certain combinations of skills will yield specialty and item creation abilities, and that is where the real fun begins. You can write books to increase your abilities, play music to buff your party or learn to cook to create healing items. You can even use crafting and metalworking to make items and accessories. There are a staggering amount of items you can create with these abilities, many of which are unique and far superior to what you can purchase in stores. Even though they aren't super interactive, these are always a blast to play around with and the rewards for doing so are almost always worth it. And it doesn't stop there. Once enough party members learn a specialty skill, you will be granted an even stronger super specialty skill. Now you can use blacksmithing to make even more powerful armor or Reverse Side to forge documents. Publishing will allow you to write novels, which can be sold for a healthy sum of money while also generating royalties for your party. In addition to giving you great items, these skills make it very easy to amass hundreds of millions of Fol (the in-game currency, for the record) which I always thought was super fun. I am not a fan of crafting, but for whatever reason the system just works here. The sheer number of items you can create is staggering, it's always fun to see what you get, there's a major incentive to try for better items and it isn't super time consuming.

But the biggest selling point here, and the thing that makes SO:TSS stand out from it's contemporaries more than anything else, is the combat. I have always found it to be the perfect combination of action and turn based, where every battle feels fun and engaging but is also over relatively quickly. You control one character, though you can switch between them at will, and are free to move about the battlefield. You can target individual enemies for regular attacks or use killer moves, special attacks learned by leveling up. Each non-magic-using character can equip two and finding combinations that work well together is always fun. Pressing triangle will pause the fight and bring up your menu, where you can use items, use magic, change your AI tactics or run away. The A.I. isn't always the best here, but it's far from awful and typically does a good job of doing what you ask it to, whether that's attack all out or back away from enemies. They also had the wherewithal to give magic users different AI settings, which seems insignificant but really makes a difference. It's always fun to try and outmaneuver enemies, baiting out their attacks before sneaking around them to land a critical blow. Boss encounters are especially frenetic, as you will often have to switch back and forth between characters to adequately heal your party and deal damage. Sometimes bosses take a while to defeat, but isn't that how it should be? This combat system was a revelation at the time (the first game's is similar but remember, we didn't get that one here in 'Murica) and really made me take notice of the franchise. I rarely run from battles in any game, but this was one of the first RPGs I ever played where I actively tried to get into fights because I liked the combat so much. I have always gone back and forth between this and Legend of Legaia as my favorite RPG battle systems and after re-playing them both relatively recently, I think I am going to have to say I officially like SO:TSS's combat better (not that this should dissuade you from playing LoL, it's also a 10/10 game). Even later games in the Star Ocean franchise had things about them that just made the combat feel worse than their predecessor, though that's a different topic for a different day.

As I say every time I review a 10s game, no game is perfect and no game will ever be. SO: TSS is towards the top of my 10s, but it still has flaws. I didn't realize until later playthroughs how bad the original translation was, even for its time. It didn't lead to any major story misses, but it definitely made certain conversations feel awkward and nonsensical. That was kind of par for the course in this era, but it was noticeably pretty bad here. It's really, really difficult to get started in SO:TSS, some of the hardest dungeons in the game are the early ones. The combat is amazing, but it can lead to some frustrating deaths against mobs if you don't know what you are doing. This is true of some of the early bosses as well, you can get stuck in a loop and just get your HP drained in a second. The magic users are much, much weaker than the physical attackers, which I don't mind but I know is problematic for some people. I always prefer physical attackers in RPGs anyway, but you really should be able to play the game the way you want and most of the mages just aren't viable here. When you do use them, the relatively long animations on their stronger attacks make the normally quick battles take a long time. As an RPG veteran, I don't mind missable items and events. But I know they are problematic for a lot of people and SO:TSS is absolutely brutal with missables. There are quite a few fairly hard to find, early events that lock you out of characters or other major events if you miss them. Missing seemingly innocuous items, or selling them, could prevent you from acquiring some of the best equipment. The dungeon design is very "love it or hate it," though I find myself more on the side of the former. The dungeons are very non-linear with a lot of branching paths, which I like. But this can feel disjointed at times as well. Finally, I don't think the music here is quite on par with other RPGs of its era. It's still very good, but it just doesn't quite live up to some of the classic RPGs of the time.

Yet those issues can't spoil what is an all-time classic RPG for me. It's funny, my love of this game didn't really make the franchise must play material for me like some others. The third game 'Til the End of Time, was still fun, but it's terrible plot twists and awful new game mechanics kept it from living up to its predecessor. The newer games, while strong, just don't do it for me like the second did. Maybe it's a bit of nostalgia, but I don't know. The new remake has been pretty well received and from what I have been told, it changed very little outside of adding modern touches and cleaning up the translation. I am going to pick it up some day, I just don't have the time or money to buy and play every game, but for the purposes of this review I wanted to play the original. There's something about it that just speaks to me, it always has. But regardless of how I feel, Star Ocean: The Second Story is an amazing adventure, one of the greatest RPGs from one of the greatest eras ever for the genre. I don't know if I would quite put it in my personal top 10, but it's definitely in the top 20 and probably the top 15. If you like RPGs, either action or turn based, check this game out, whether it's the original or one of the remakes. You won't be disappointed.