Entry 14 - Star Ocean: The Second Story Remake Review
Hello and good Wednesday, my lovelies. I know it’s been another hot minute since I’ve posted anything, but I will say this: I’ve actually posted more this year than I have in years past! LOL I am getting better!
I don’t have anything bookish or writing related to discuss today. One of the many areas of interest that I have is in the gaming industry, even as I am extremely selective on what it is that I play. I mainly stick with the Dragon Quest and Star Ocean franchises. A few years ago, I wrote about Star Ocean: Anamnesis and how they crossed over with Valkyrie’s Profile (and a few other games) for the mobile game. I also know it’s probably quite the while since I’ve spoken about anything Star Ocean related. So let’s get into it.
SPOILER ALERT: I will be getting into some of the details of Star Ocean: The Second Story R. If you have not played, want to, but just haven’t quite found the time yet, I advise you to back away if you don’t want the ending of the game spoiled. Also, keep in mind, what’s about to come out in terms of Star Ocean: The Second Story R are my opinions. If you have played, have defeated, you may find that my opinions are not going to be for you.
For those who don’t know, Star Ocean is (currently) a science-fiction/fantasy series with six major console games, a side game available on the Japanese GameBoy, and a mobile game. The latest fresh offering is Star Ocean: The Divine Force with the option to choose who we play the game as: Raymond Lawrence or Leticia Aucerius. All six of the main games are available through the PlayStation store as digital download, and there are hard copies available for the Japanese Super Nintendo, the PS1, PS2, PS3 and Xbox360, the PS4, and the PS5 as well as the PSP. With the exception of Star Ocean: The Last Hope for the Xbox360 and Star Ocean: Blue Sphere for the Japanese GameBoy, I have hard copies of all of the games as well as the Japanese version of Anamnesis on my phone. I may have to double-check about Games 2, 5, and 6 being available for the Xbox.
The Star Ocean games follow Final Fantasy in the same vein in that the player doesn’t need to play the games in any particular order. They are connected, but you don’t need to play Game 1 in order for Game 6 to make any sense. Here’s why:
Each game has its own timeline. If one wants to get really persnickety about it and wants to play in order, the question becomes in chronological release order or in game storyline order. The Last Hope is the prequel to the rest of the series, but it’s also the fourth game in the series. Till the End of Time, while the third game in the series, is also the final game in the series.
The release order is as follows, and it does include the GameBoy and mobile games:
Star Ocean: A Space Odyssey/First Departure
Star Ocean: The Second Story/Second Evolution/The Second Story R
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
Star Ocean: Anamnesis
Star Ocean: The Divine Force
In terms of storyline, the order is as follows, and once more includes the Gameboy and mobile games:
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (S.D. 10)
Star Ocean: A Space Odyssey/First Departure (S.D. 346)
Star Ocean: Second Story/Second Evolution/Second Story R (S.D. 366)
Star Ocean: Blue Sphere (S.D. 368)
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (S.D. 537)
Star Ocean: Anamnesis (S.D. 539)
Star Ocean: The Divine Force (S.D. 583)
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (S.D. 772)
As I said, playing all of the games isn’t necessary to make sense of anything within the individual game’s storyline, and most of the games have provided the necessary background story in the form of an in-game dictionary.
Note: I have played and defeated all six of the major console games, sans the Divine Force as Leticia. I’m hoping Anamnesis and Blue Sphere get updates and remakes and released as hard copy to console. While I did get to play Anamnesis for a brief period, I didn’t get to the final battle, and I would like to.
If you aren’t aware, Star Ocean: The Second Story offers the player a chance to choose between two protagonists, Claude C. Kenny and Rena Lanford. It was the first in the series to do so, and, with those choices, comes party options. You can’t get Dias if you choose Claude, and I recently discovered I cannot recruit Leon if I play as Rena. That was a bummer to learn that, because Leon’s one of my favorite characters. I feel like an overprotective mother of him. However, I’m not impressed with the majority of the recruitable, playable characters. Maybe it’s the voice actors for some - I’m not entirely sure. I just know I’m not impressed.
Overall, the game play is fun. There are ninety-nine different endings, and I’m something of a completionist when it comes to the series. It’s just a matter of figuring out the party dynamics after playing as both Claude then Rena and beating the game as both.
However, there is one major issue that I have with the game. Well, I technically have two issues, and they’re tied to the same race we meet about midway through the game. In terms of gameplay, this isn’t a game where I’ve spent a copious amount of time on a single play-through. The game play is quite straightforward and not necessarily as challenging as Till the End of Time or even The Divine Force. Post-game for me has been finishing up what I didn’t get done in the main play-through.
I digress. Back to the issues I have with the game. It all ties to the Nedians, a race that Rena belongs to. For starters, when we first meet Nall, he tells the party that Nede has been around for billions of years, and that’s also how long they’ve been an advanced civilization compared to the human race. Not hundreds of years. Not a few thousand. Billions of years. That was something that was like . . . huh? That many years? They’ve lived on their homeworld, which they had to build after sealing away the Ten Wise Men for billions of years. I personally don’t mind the idea of encountering an advanced civilization. And, yes, it’s entirely possible that there are advanced civilizations that are a few million years ahead of the human race. We are, relatively speaking, a young species, even on our planet.
But a billion or so years just hiding in space, avoiding contact with others. In conjunction with the other games in the series, that huge of a time gap just takes me right out of the story. It’s meant to be impressive. I personally just find it off putting and a bit much.
While that’s one of the main issues I have, it’s not the most egregious one. I can overlook it, rewrite it in fanfiction, and just overall make it a bit easier for me to believe than how this game ends.
First of all, for the amount of times I’ve fought against Gabriel, I have a fan theory that the Ten Wise Men are either employees of Sphere 211 or that they’re competitors who’ve made their way into the universe. Gabriel has started the fight a few times, saying, “Prepare to be deleted.” There is a fanfic out there that posits this theory, which is where I’m adopting the notion from in addition to Gabriel’s dialogue. Gabriel and his fellow exiles are, in fact, genocidal maniacs. Anyone who wants to wipe out the entirety of the universe if they can’t rule is a genocidal maniac. The Ten Wise Men are the most basic of villains. And, yet, I prefer them over Nall and his compatriot, Dr. Mirage.
Nall is the Mayor of Energy Nede’s Centropolis. He issues the quests needed for the questing party to gain the symbology and weapons needed in order to fight against the Ten Wise Men, right? As the player, we follow the story right down to the letter for what Nall needs us to do in order to best the baddies . . .
. . . Only for him and Mirage to commit genocide on a smaller scale. Not just genocide but a massive extinction level event for everyone and every living creature on Energy Nede. I remember on Scrib someone criticizing Thor: The Dark World for committing genocide in order to save the universe. The Dark Elves were eradicated by Thor and Jane in order to keep the leader from doing what Gabriel in SO2 wants to do. It didn’t seem very heroic, and I can kind of counter that point with the Dark Elves were bent on destruction. Even without their leader, they still could have continued to spread violence and chaos across the Nine Realms. It’s still not a pretty picture, but there’s at least some form of justification behind that.
The only justification Nall and Dr. Mirage give is that Nedians have stagnated as a species, and it’s better that they just die out. If you don’t recruit Noel and Chisato in some capacity, Rena is the only Nedian to survive this extinction level event. They’re the only two who seem to know that their world is going to end with the Destruction symbol being redirected from the universe at large and into their home. They sacrifice Energy Nede to bring back Expel, and they don’t even bother to find a way to save their people and the endangered species on Energy Nede before doing so. The Nedians are from being a violent race. They’ve been living like hermits through the events of The Last Hope and First Departure.
The ending of this game didn’t age well. Mind you, while I started to play the original PS1 version, I got as far as getting to the second continent and didn’t know how this game ended until I got the remake. The ending is very new for me.
Now, I’m not going to hold it against anyone for loving this game and not having a problem with the ending. Enjoyment of an ending is subjective, after all, and there’s a huge nostalgia factor when it comes to the remake. I love that the graphics are reminiscent of days gone by. It’s just not going to take the number one spot in my heart as for which Star Ocean game I believe is the best. The ending of SO2 puts it at the bottom of my list. The other games don’t end with any form of an extinction level event.
Now, I know it could be argued that SO2 isn’t the only game in the series with planetary destruction. I believe games 5 and 6 actually manage to avoid it. However, the games in the series with the planetary destruction aren’t swapping out one race of people for another in order to survive or protect others. Games 1 and 3 have planets either under attack or destroyed at the beginning. Game 4, the Cardianon destroyed themselves, and I’ll argue the point that Edge created the time loop needed to pull Meracle from her point in the future to the Earth of the past. He didn’t actually destroy anything, and neither did Mila. I haven’t delved deeply into time travel in terms of media and reading, but, from what I have observed . . . ^_^
Ending aside (and I skip it now every time I’ve fought against Gabriel), SO2 is rather enjoyable. The ending is the sticking point due to current events in the Middle East.
And that’s this week’s entry. Have a wonder Wednesday!