Star Ocean: The Second Story R (NSW)

If you played the original for PS1 then you should play this! Brings back so many memories, and the game itself has been wonderfully enhanced. Game play is same as the original for the most part. Enhanced graphics, clearer images, and all sorts of surprises. Play it, it's worth owning a gem from the past.

Yes, not being clear about the fact that the 3GB DL (the warning is missing from the pics on amazon) is *mostly* language packs was annoying - I can't tell you how angry I was when I opened my package and saw that warning staring back at me, but yes, the entire game IS on the cart. There's a rumor that without the patch there is a game breaking bug that *CAN* halt your progress, but I can't for the life of me find any info where that occurs in the game without the patch. However, beyond the above (which was beyond annoying) I honestly cannot imagine playing the PS1 original or the PSP version again. There are just way too many positive, quality of life changes here to ignore. You can chain enemy encounters together to get money and experience multipliers, meaning it's easier to level up and the game respects your time more this time around. Everyone in the party (even the characters not in your current party) gets experience, so you don't leave half your characters in the dust. The combination of the original sprites (love those new idle character animations by the way) and 3D backgrounds works better than you would expect; giving us something new and old to enjoy. Even the improvements that somewhat limbo under the bar don't really intrude on the experience. There are a few hitches to the Switch version however. The Switch doesn't handle the world map (which has seen a MASSIVE improvement) the greatest, with constant pop-in of trees while the actual land masses and towns DON'T pop in. There's some pop-in in some dungeons as well, but it's much more minimal. Obviously, the pop in does not occur in the PlayStation versions, but this isn't very surprising given how old the Switch is. The Switch version runs at 30fps while the PS versions are running at 60. The PS versions look smoother because of that (but they also look odd to me because of this as well), but I honestly thought they looked a little blurry, and thought the Switch version looked a little crisper, but that may be because I'm playing on a Switch Lite. There doesn't seem to be any performance issues in towns and combat (which, yes, the combat it the more important thing here!) so if you only have a Switch you're gonna lose a little performance, but nowhere near enough to KO this version into oblivion. The voice acting is taken from the previous PSP version, which is good and bad. I get why they didn't redo the VA but there are a few parts where the characters all act like brats and their personalities/voices get on my nerves. There are also some NPCs that have some odd annunciation (sounding angrier/more annoyed than you'd expect) but it's decent enough. Thankfully, we're long past the original translation from the PS1 original which was pretty terrible but par the course for that time. I'd say 95 times out of 100 the various changes make the game better and I can only name a few points where I thought the original game (outside VA and translation) did a better job. I think the last dungeon of the first half was better on the original. Magic casters have been completely reworked and are more viable attack option than in the original. The game's still unbalanced and it's just as broken as the OG but is just broken in a new way now, but it's still fun. But regardless, along with the remaster of SaGa Frontier and the Pixel Remasters, it appears if Square-Enix has successfully thought this one back for all of us to enjoy again. I'd say that's around 40 points!

Amazing remake. This is an awesome game and I loved playing through back in PSP. This version on switch runs and looks fantastic!

good game

Great game. Not much more to say really. Enjoyed playing it.

The game is great as I’ve played the original and the PSP remaster. My only gripe is the required download since this game should fit on a larger cartridge. I would have bought the digital version since the cartridge is only part of the game, but I went by the product photo which does not have the famous blue “required download” label. Game-wise, character development and story are excellent.

Certainly! Here's a product review style write-up for Star Ocean: The Second Story R: --- ### Review: "Reliving Nostalgic Adventures in Star Ocean" Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a wonderful remake that breathes new life into a classic game from the Star Ocean series. The addition of character portraits and voice acting enhances the storytelling, evoking deep nostalgic memories of the original game. It's been a joy to experience these familiar characters and their journeys with updated visuals and immersive voiceovers. Recently, a substantial software update expanded the game even further, adding more character portraits, cutscenes, and additional content. This update has significantly enhanced the overall value of the game, making it a worthwhile investment for both newcomers and longtime fans alike. I gifted this to my partner for their birthday, and we've been thoroughly enjoying reliving the adventures of Star Ocean together. If you're looking to revisit a beloved RPG with modern improvements, Star Ocean: The Second Story R delivers a nostalgic and enriching gaming experience.

Great Game!

Ótimo remake. Pelo valor certo vale cada centavo.

Me llegó dos días antes de la fecha de entrega, muy bien servicio de paquetería, llegó en excelentes condiciones mi pedido

As expected

Remake a good game

Jogo extremamente divertido!