We haven’t had a good 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Star Ocean game in decaꦓdes. The Last Hope was cringe and bland, Integrity and Faithlessness was made on a shoestring budget with little imagination, and The Divine Force had some great ideas, but never rose above average.
A PS4 port of Till The End of Time and First Departure R were ouꦚr only saving graces, but even those didn’t offer much for anyone except hardcore fans willing to forgive their flaws. Square Enix had all but abandoned the series, or at least it wasn’t willing to provide it with the resources required to escape mediocrity. I enjoyed these games, and they’ll always possess a warm place in my heart, but it felt like ඣother Japanese RPGs had left Star Ocean behind.
Kojima Or Not, The Metal🦩 Gear Solid: M🐠aster Collection Is Made With Love
Can bloom in the💦 Master Collection even without Hideo Kojima?
Star Ocean: The Second Story R may once again be a relatively safe remake opposed to an ambitious new chapter, but it injects enough new life into this fading franchise that I quickly stood up and took notice. Our own Ryan Bamsey was similarly smitten by the revival 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:in his review, praising its updated visuals, mechanics, and storytelling which have as much, if not more, heart than the PlayStation original. Some of its characters and narrative ideas are a little clichéd over two decades later, but that can’t take away from an otherwise magical adventure. It is charming, confident, and a perfect blend of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Star Trek.
My first thought upon booting up the playable demo was how much inspiration Second Story R has taken from 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Octopath Traveller. In hindsight, this trajectory should have been obvious. HD-2D modern greats build upon classic RPGs like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Star Ocean, and now those exact games are pilfering from the riches of a modern take on the formula. Developer Gemdrops has taken the original visuals and updated all the sprites and portraits with a modern sheen, while surrounding environments are new fully featured 3D locales with saturated colours and lig💛htning bright enough that your eyes 🎐need to adjust when walking across the open world.
The arranged music and overhauled visuals are only two improvements, with changes made to the crafting and battle systems. There’s even a fishing minigame you can bust out whenever you&rsqu🎶o;re near a body of water. The Second Story R still allows you to grind hard for resources and absolutely dominate the progression system early on if you fancy taking it for a ride, but even traditionalists will find a compelling tale and a strong cast of characters waiting for them. Only a certain number can be recruited during a single playthrough too, so you’ll need to play it at least twice to see everything it has to offer. Part of me is relieved I don’t have to trudge through eight unique origin stories before the story gets going, since otherwise Second Story ♛R wastes no time kicking into gear after picking from its two main characters.
You’re either a country bumpkin on an underdeveloped planet or a space faring pretty boy destined to save the universe. No matter who you pick, the game still manages to weave a melodramatic tale of old meets new that Star Oc♐ean has always kept novel, and this is the first time in years we’ve seen a game in the series worth seeing through to the end.
I’ve not shied away from slamming Square Enix for failing to market its lesser titl💙es in the past, with games like Valkyrie Elysium, DioField Chronicle, and Paranormasig🌟ht launching with little to no fanfare. I hope it doesn’t repeat the same mistakes with Sta🧔r Ocean, because the game we have here is the shot in the arm the series needed, and hopefully the catalyst to an exciting future.
