Why Star Ocean: The Second Story is the BEST JRPG on PS1 | Cannot be Tamed
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 чер 2024
- Today I'm reviewing one of my favourite PS1 games. Star Ocean The Second Story is an amazing JRPG with a real-time action combat system, great interactions between characters and the most amazing crafting and skill system. Here's why it's so great. And some things about it that are not so great.
00:00 Intro
00:49 Story intro and character choice
03:48 Travelling the world**
05:01 Companions and character
08:15 Combat
14:13 Skills and crafting
18:13 Very vague spoilers
19:42 Music
20:57 Conclusion
#StarOcean #JRPG #PlayStation
Star Ocean Second Story was played on a PS2 with a Framemeister and recorded on a Hauppauge HD PVR Rocket. All music comes from the game soundtrack.
Intro artwork, logo and banner by: @theMagdalenRose
"Cantina Blues" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b... - Ігри
This game was everything to me as a kid. Between this, parasite eve, and legend of legaia, I just never became happier with being a gamer. Such good memories.
I love Parasite Eve too
Parasite Eve 1and 2... Both were awesome... 1 was better though as far as gameplay... PE2 I think had a better story and graphics...
I also loved legend of dragoon
Amazing times. Btw. Star Ocean The Second Story R freaking rocks. Play eeeeet!
Legend of Legaia was such a gem! That battle system was so cool for its time! Combos and absorbing certain enemies to summon.
So good! ❤
This game was my life as an 8-year-old. I was homeschooled, so very sheltered. It taught me vocabulary, definitions, life, and the beginning of romance. This is by far the best jrpg of all time, and will always be very dear in my heart. I still have my save file from 1999, backed up on my PS3 and my PC for emulation via EPSXE.
Thank you for such a good review. It makes me smile knowing other people got to experience this wonderful game, and that it lives on through these video essays.
I 100% feel that. I was homeschooled from 5th grade and on and Star Ocean Second Story and Final Fantasy Tactics were treasures.
To me, this game is a lot about the atmosphere - it has an amazing hypnotic feel that is actually really addictive. Anyone who has ever heard tracks like "Pure A Stream" and "Field Of Expel" will immediately understand exactly what I mean.
Exactly! Star Ocean TSS is in my opinion the greatest JRPG of all time for this reason, with games like Final Fantasy 4 and Chrono Trigger following up behind it :). I really wish we could get back to making high pixel art, per-rendered background JRPGs, especially one's with smooth real time combat! The real time combat in this game is by far my favorite in the entire genre.
The most important, overlooked factor in a great video game is the WORLD and the atmosphere it elicits; the world is by far the most important, most interesting character in every video game, and a lot of games miss this concept imo.
First time I experienced the field of expel and it's theme set the tone and atmosphere for me. Everyone has Final Fantasy - - well, I have Star Ocean. It made a huge impact during my childhood.
Yeah, the first time I heard the world map theme on Expel I was immediately like "oh WOW";
it was almost too much to take in, and I had to catch my breath before I moved on, lol.
You had me at Star Ocean. A series that doesn’t get much love or mention these days.
I bought another R for switch.
Not played it yet.
I feel like Tri-Ace crammed as much of their ideas as possible in one game (which surprisingly turned out well).
Not even other Tri-Ace games feel this huge.
SO till the end of time says hi.
@@raulrojas9253 It's ambitious, but I think SO2 is still the better game.
SO2 is the benchmark which I use to judge other RPG's.
Yeah, the producer and team were incredible in an age where if you released a broken game it was broken forever.
@@ComeOnBunnyThat's a pretty high bar, I know how you feel though.
Ah man, this was the second JRPG I picked up after FFVII, so many good memories. There’s a lot of fantastic games today but the leap in game play from year to year seemed so much more drastic back then.
Finally someone else acknowledges how good Star Ocean is on the PS1 🙌 I remember trying it back in the day after playing Xenogears and thinking it was too complex. A few years later I gave it a second try and I got so caught up in that world. Great video 😃
It's one of the highest rated RPG's of it's generation. Other than the cut scenes, I don't recall any negative on this game. Even the cutscene critique is fair beause, come the fuck on. you have an unskipable 30 minute text scroll followed by a fifteen minute one by taking 2 steps over. I'm not exaggerating either. Love the series because of it's absolutely insane depth, but the earlier games had issues with that.
**Special items spoiler alert**
So2 can become a bit OCD as every game i start saving for the bandits gloves and the seltzer or else u miss pickpocketing the best items. But then i went deeper down the rabbit hole and found there is some special glitch for the treasure chest u steal in Mars. Trying to get all the special things in the game kind of frustrates the experience. Ontop of that if u dont know how to get Opera and Ernest. So it gets a bit OCD frustrating if u want to get certain things and miss them u have to make many save slots along the way.
I scr3wed up on another thing in my current playthrough. you can steal/get skill books and your character below skill lvl 5 u can use to write skillbooks for the rest of the party. i made the mistake of getting some characters skills over lvl 5 like with biology its very sp costly even with perseverance lvl 10. so its better to give these books u steal/find to the writer of the skill. so u can maximize SP usage 😅🤯😵
I'm pretty sure A LOT of people acknowledge Star Ocean being good on the PS1.....
second try for star ocean the second story there's a bit of irony there I think lol
Ahhh man, I love Star Ocean! I still remember playing this game for the first time as a kid... the music had this unique and wild quality that seemed unlike any I'd heard, and completely swept me away! Oddly enough, the exact same thing happened with Valkyrie Profile, which I later found out had the same composer and can hear the similarity now... but seemed unique at the time. Can't say it's my favorite on PS1 - that distinction would go to Xenogears - but SO2 is incredible and would buy in a heartbeat if it came to Steam. And would like to see the series continued properly after the somewhat disappointing SO5.
Another though... from my vague memories it feels like I only dabbled in crafting, so sounds like I missed a lot. Hope I can dive in again some day!
I remember renting this from a video store back in the day. So happy I got to play this as a kid. Thank you for covering this game, Pam. Hopefully, you'll bring more eyes to this wonderful classic.
I have so many fond memories of this game because I remember being a huge Final Fantasy fan as a kid, and the first time I ever met another kid my age that loved RPG's like I did showed me this among other lesser known titles at the time. Think I'm gonna get an emulator running and see how well this game holds up these days.
Me to brother. I was a huge Final fantasy fan and dragon warrior too. All I knew was turn based rpgs until my brother and I bought Star Ocean. It was different in all the good ways. How instead of everybody taking a turn, your party just split up and did there thing. Alot more realistic for its time.
the psp version is really nice
It hold up amazing, i beat this game back in like 2014 and fucking loved it. MY FAVORITE GAME EVER.... and i still have beat the ps1 version many times over the PSP remake...
@@Kingslay3r Yea they nerfed Ashton to mutch but the quality of life changes are huge. Makes going back to the ps1 version difficult. I liked the voice acting as well.
Rena's theme music - from the second disc where she learns the truth about her past! That music is so beautiful and sad, it fits so well. I think everyone would tear up at that moment with that music
It's lovely
These videos and playlists are the only thing keeping me sane out here. Keep 'em coming.
My absolute favorite JRPG on the Playstation! So glad to see you cover this! The music in this game is something I always just listen to in the background and would love for a vinyl release.
I do appreciate how the story is never overwhelming and at any point you can always do a private action and see those characters in the town.
My least favorite move in the game is Celine using Ray in the early game. That voice line and the accompanying sound effects are burned into my brain!
My least favourite thing is Rena trying to cast offensive spells.
@@Cannotbetamed1 I couldn’t agree more! Her whole job is healing and when she tries they are never as good as any of the others!
Rena! Stop using Tractor Beam on the flying enemies. 😡
@@Cannotbetamed1 for sure! Now I need to replay this game just so I can tell at Rena! 🤣🤣
Nice to know I'm not the only one who adores Star Ocean 2. PS1 best JRPG system easily for me.
I'm so glad I'm not the only person who puts Star Ocean the second story so high. It's tied with Grandia as my favorite ps1 jrpg.
Claude: "Tear into PIECES!"
This still rings in my head sometimes after more than 20 years
Haha, mine too.
When starting out in Star Ocean 2, the _Very First Thing_ you will always want to do, as soon as you have access to your menu, is check to see if the main character has the Dexterity talent. If they do not, _Start Over!_ Trust me on this! Picking Pockets yields many of the most powerful items in the game, most of which cannot be obtained by any other means! And, without Dex, you don't have a hope in hell of succeeding at it. You can, technically, unlock it later. But, it's the hardest talent to unlock, and you may be well-past some of those unique pick-pocketing opportunities by the time you do. Claud has a pretty high likelihood of starting the game with the Dexterity talent. Rena, not so much. But it is _Mandatory!_
And grab a SO2 Pick-pocketing guide online. That will be a _Huge_ help to you too! _GL!!!_
It should also be noted that in the PSP version of the game, the "Dexterity" Talent was renamed to "Nimble Fingers".
Disagree. It doesn't matter that much
@@Kougeru yep, skills replace everything you could get anyway
Also the speed boots at mini games later
Perfect timing! I just found my old save files and starting playing again. Looks like I left off right before the field of power but I'm still remembering how to fight and craft, so much fun! :D
I remember buying this game off the shelf from Montgomery Wards when they were going out of business, sometime in the late 90's...wanted something after FF7, and this absolutely filled that void. Awesome art style, amazing music, ultra deep battle system and storyline.. one of the best on PS1 for sure.
I got mine from my local "Fred Meyer's " in around 1999 :)
Random pawn shop for me lol
@@TheLucidChiba Ditto! Good times!
Found your channel while getting excited for the remake. Great video!
great video!! i found your channel after seeing some star ocean screenshots and searching for videos; i have no prior experience with the game or series. i think your review is well-rounded and thorough, and appreciate that you didn't skimp out on covering things you dislike even though you think it's the best. i did find myself wishing there were some cuts to relevant footage at different times, especially when you were talking about the music and different tracks you like; it would have been very nice to hear some samples. other than that small desire for some atmospheric breathing room between voiceovers i loved this and will definitely subscribe and check out other videos, i've never been a JRPG fan but i'm interested in what you have to say about suikoden!
Welcome to the channel!
I remember playing this game years and years ago, i would spam that move where claude make those rocks come out of the ground, spam it over and over and that got me through the game. The more you use it, the more rocks come out, at some point there were enough rocks to cover the entire battlefield and hits everyone.
i didn't cover the whole screen but it was one of the best moves, if you followed it up with MIRROR SLICE while the enemy was recovering from TEAR INTO PIECES
I adored this game when it came out, I was a teenager and I remember spending so much time trying to win the coliseum/tournament part. Talk about overwhelming though, this is a lot of JRPG.
Right? I'll never forget the moment I hit level 100. ABOVE 99? ARE YOU KIDDING?
Thanks to you, I tried this game out about a month and a half ago. This game is an absolute masterpiece, and I enjoyed every moment of it. When I played through the first hour of the game, I was instantly hooked. The settings, the characters, the story, the music, it was so captivating. I couldn't stop thinking about this game, when I didn't play it and when I had any free time, I played the game the first chance I got. The final part of the game was really tough, and I thought I would throw the controller out of frustration. But when I beat the boss, it was total bliss. I never played such a JRPG game, where I was totally invested in the game. The last time I did, was back at fall of 2002, just a month before I finished college. That game was Final Fantasy 7, and it became my absolute favorite game, on the PS1. Star Ocean: Second Story is my second favorite, coming close to dethrone Final Fantasy 7 as my most favorite JRPG game. So when I heard about the remake, I was so stoked. When I played the demo, I immediately fell in love with it. As much as I have a big heart for the PS1 version, I felt this remake made this version superior to the original. When this remake comes out on day one, I will be going for the purchase button as fast as possible. But the question is now, Which version to get? I am thinking of the Switch version, but I am not sure yet.
The twinkling lights, and lamp; make it easier to view wearing reading glasses. Reminds me of your Loom review... and Star Tropics. And thanks for the legend in the description Pam, those chapter URLS serve us a great deal of patience.
Don't know if I'd have the patience to make hyper-references like that. Well, live & learn
Great video. The remake of Star Ocean 2 comes out this week. Excited to play that.
Love the video, very well done and I totally agree with all the points you made. Big Star Ocean fan. The first and second game really wants you to plan out which party you want by the end. Japan was really big on strategy guides and companion guides which help in this regard. This really was simplified by the PS2 game and on thankfully.
Awesome video.
Love your word salad deep dives.
Your choice words being the lettuce
The actual first hand experience being the tomatoes.
Aswell the genuine effort and presentation of game clips being the crutons.
Last but not least, the soft easing tone of voice projects engaging excitement with (forget what time it is) interest being the dressing.
Thanks for the entertainment
Great video covering a great game, what was also pretty impressive, was the fact that your eye shadow matched the Star Ocean box art ... cool :)
Thanks 😊
Thank you for this! I have been catching up with this game lately - I played it to death when I was younger and I got as far as the super secret endgame dungeon before burning out a bit. I went back and beat it without the secret stuff and enjoyed the hell out of it. I really liked the fact that you could lock yourself out of multiple characters being in your party based on the paths you chose. Again, thanks for the video. It brings back really happy memories.
Glad you liked it
Agreed. The exploit involving stealing a chest from an npc in Mars Town is legendary.
Yep save outside and steal chest save game and reroll until you pull that marvel sword
@@tylerjensen7894 Preach.
Thanks for yet another amazing vid Pam!!! I played Star Ocean First Departure R on the PSP. I'm gonna have to get this one and the rest that have been released. Another game you might check is the Tales series as they have alot of aspects that Star Ocean has like the party interaction
I wouldn’t recommend any of the later Star Ocean games
The battle style was awesome and I like having special moves at the press of a button, very overwhelming as a kid with all the crafting and different characters to find, or not find
Been watching a stream of SO2 and it took two streams for me to get hooked. Soundtrack, story, characters. This is the best SO of all time. Great review
One of my absolute favorite games that I've ever played. I've played both as Claude and Rena and I have to say that I prefer Rena's campaign. Hers' is just a more emotional story that ties into the lore of both worlds (and by extension to the main antagonists) you explore and there's a part of Rena's theme that plays in so many magical places like the Shingo Forest.
I know Claude has his own story that ties into his worries about facing the future, becoming an adult, his insecurities about living up to his father's legendary image and his desire to forge a new path and make a name for himself without the shadow of his father hanging over him or people expecting him to be just like his father and always comparing the two, but with the musical cues it seems to me that even the game itself is saying "This is Rena's story".
I also love all the myriad things you can do in this game from the crafting to the PAs, diving into the deep lore of both Expel and Nede and just the way you get to interact with your party. You don't usually see stuff like this in games unless it's part of the story moving forward.
I played this game when I was a teenager and it remains one of the deepest RPGs i've ever played that actually had me feeling for the characters and connecting with them. It's special to me, i feel like I really crossed the world of Expel with these people, had adventures with them, got to know them. This was the game that showed me just how deep and how good a game can be.
Heck I got a PSX emulator just for the sole purpose of playing my original PS1 copy on my computer. Playing my other PS1 games was just a bonus but playing SO2 was why I did it.
I also prefer Rena’s path. The story overall does seem more personal to her.
I love your comment and that there are people who also love Star Ocean and do not forget about the game. I am always in a fight with final fantasy fans, because every time I compare it with SO, FF just sucks. The fights, the private actions, music, all the possible endings and possible party members, that you can take an impact of who falls in love with eah other, just everything is so detailled and touching, like the story of Dias and Rena, the story of Rena and her true parents, the music themes and so on. Trying to get those damn bunny shoes in the party town (don't know the english name of the town)
It is so sad that this kind or rpgs aren't made anymore
I dunno guys, it's just got a lot less sci-fi in it.
How does nobody mention the best 2 words in the language: Dias Flac. Me sad 😔
@@jcaseyjones2829 It gets more sci-fi on Disk 2. Since Rena technically is from a race of Sci-fi beings.
I'm on a slight binge of your content and man I feel like I've really been missing out on this gem. Hope you someday review Legend Of Legaia!
I love how you do your make up to match the games you review. The colours you used for this were just mesmerising. I can't see as well with a small phone screen but if you didn't have glitter then that would have been a missed opportunity.
Also, this game looks like something I would have killed hours on. I love earlier generation JRPGs. Sadly in my country we got screwed when it came to the good games like these untill the ps2 came out. And even then they were usually censored. That's why my collection of rare obscure ps1 games were all pirated.
Man this makes me want to go back and play this game. I played it SO many times as a kid and it leaves such a warm place in my heart. It's such a shame that no other Star Ocean has held a candle to how ambitious this game was. As an aside, I have also had so many lines from this game stuck in my head forever. Some favorites:
"10 seconds."
"That's somewhere around 80 points."
"Tear into pieces!"
"Fairy heal!"
I hope you enjoy those getting stuck in your head, haha. Great video, as always!!! I love how much time and dedication you put into them without ruining the game for those who want to experience it for the first time. :)
"GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!"
"I HATE YOU!"
"this is a strategic escape"
"I'm going to kill you"
"My eyes are hazy"
"RENAAAA"
I use that "strategic escape" line still to this day as well as "I'm going to kill you"...
Never played this game when I was a kid, now I feel like trying it out as I keep hearing great comments about it. Excellent video Pam!!
Thank you! Hope you give it a try
Do it :D
@@MattCayen Will do my friend 😊👍
You poor soul.
Do. It. Seriously if you enjoy JRPG's, romance mechanics, action-like battles, A FREAKING OVERWORLD (I miss those) and multiple "endings" (back to that romance mechanic) then play this game. You will not regret it I promise you.
I love the way you made your eyeshadow match the space theme
Thanks!
Ok so literally just found this channel and you’ve covered every one of my favorite games each video I’ve watched so far I literally SQUEEEE’D when I saw this one title! I loved it on my PSP.
I got started in RPGs with Final Fantasy, but Star Ocean the Second Story was what really cemented my love for the genre. Really awesome to see this game get some attention. Just hearing the old sound effects sent me down nostalgia lane
Is anyone hear because of the announcement of StarOcean: The Second Story R? I'm super excited. This was a major rpg of my youth.
Awesome video, Pam! Great characters, music, and story. An absolute favorite of mine.
Thanks!
I love this game. ❤️ so glad you did this video. Remember trying to get the bunny shoes at the races, lol. Played it many times on the PlayStation. Bought the soundtrack as well. Would love this in the Switch! This and Final Fantasy 8 are my top RPGs of all time.
Best RPG ever*
This was such a quality immersive deep dive into what makes this game special. You integrated the music so well and covered a lot of the unique intangibles this timeless game provided.
p.s I replayed this game in college and my roommates would hear me spam the Ripper Blast move where he yells "Tear into Pieces!".. but the audio was so muffled my roomies thought Claude was yelling "GAAARRRRY BUSEY." And of course, I was endlessly trolled with "GARY BUSEY" every time I played the game.
lol
Lady’s man😅
This is the most in depth review I have watched. Amazing job. Nobody ever covers the crafting, cooking master or bunny races, the unsung parts of the game.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
This game inspired me growing up. I'm glad I found your video.
As always love your coverage of games I grew up with... And your opinion either way as with Suikoden 2... Good to hear from you again
This is one of my favorite games of all time. Funny story, I had intended to purchase Lunar: Silver Star Story, but could only remember the "Star" in the name. Ended up buying this game and did not regret it. While I love the PSP remake, I dislike that they removed the revolving 3D items in the menus and how they physically morphed during crafting and I really disliked the removal of the virtual tour of both planets during the end credits, but at least they kept that epic end theme tune.
Ha, that is funny. At least getting the wrong game worked out. I don’t really care for the new character art during dialogue in the remake. Rena looks like she’s 9 years old.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Aw, that's another change I didn't like! But the remake does have a lot of excellent improvements (like giving Dias private actions!), so you take the good with the bad. They did censor some of the religious imagery in the remake (the cute angel sprites that come down when Rena uses her revive spell are covered in fog) and they removed the graphic scene of the murder of Dias's family, so it's an even balance of loss versus gain.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Not that funny.
Here’s funny.
A Canadian walked into a bar, “got any poutine”, they said. Ay?
The barman said “we haven’t got any poutine buddy”, ay?
“Well, ay. Thanks buddy”. Ay.
Barman said “thanks friend, ay”.
Just completed fractured but whole. I have no idea why those guys have a problem with Canada. Don’t even know if you say ay.
Comment for the algorithm Pam.
;-)
It’s eh :p
@@Cannotbetamed1 Well, I’ll take your word for it.
If I asked a Canadian in real life I’d probably get beaten up.
I put Xenogears, FF7, and Breath of Fire 3 above this game, but it is an amazing game. I definitely spent soooo many hours on crafting. My first playthrough, I missed interacting with Ashton entirely. I usually play as Rena because I really like Deis as a party member.
It's always nice to see you matching the makeup with the game
Cool, I like it when the eye makeup matches something in the backround.
This era if JRPG's and RPG's will never be topped! Wish someone would put out something new in this style!
I played this as a kid after my first action rpg, Tales of Destiny 2/Eternia. I picked this up just because of how similar it was and I wasn't disappointed. I've held onto my PS1 copy for nearly 20 years and revisit every now and then.
Great video! Absolutely love this game! Played it when it first came out and still find myself coming back to it on psp
Deffinitely another channel I have to subscribe to. I love classic jrpg video game reviews.
Absolutely love so2 and still have a copy of it to this day. I can replay it over and over and never get bored of it.
It was the first game that got me into rpgs. Borrowed it as a kid and fell in love.
Awesome game, I remember I bought it only for the name (I was very into heavy metal, sounded like one of those cheesy titles for iron maiden lol) and boy am I glad I did, it turned out into one of my favorite series of games, countless hours of gaming, so much replay value, glad to see it gets coverage
I bought this when it was new, and have yet to finish it. At that time, I was still buying most RPGs that came out since I was so into them on SNES, but was kind of in denial about the fact that I wasn't as into them anymore. It's still on a shelf with dozens of others that I still have yet to play through... Shadow Madness, Legend of Legaia, Suikoden I & II, Jade Cocoon, Thousand Arms, Tales of Destiny, Persona 1 & 2, Wild Arms 1 & 2, Grandia, and so many more... the only ones I actually did finish from the time were Xenogears, Valkyrie Profile, and Final Fantasy VII. I like to think that when I get toward retirement and struggle to do the arcade style stuff I gravitated back to over RPGs, I'll enjoy making my way through these and have some nice adventures.
An excellent review, Really makes me want to play it now! I am going to listen to the soundtrack too. Your purple eye shadow is awesome too!
Thank you!
oh man - loved this one when I was in high school. it felt so customizable compared to other RPG's of the time - between all the different outcomes & endings, and with the skills you would choose to develop. was pretty popular in the small midwestern US town i grew up in among the RPG fans. I tried playing the PS2 sequel but I wasn't crazy about it - but I'll always have a soft spot for this one, and the especially the "iron chef" minigame in the middle of the quest
Yeah, I tried 3 and 4 as well, but they didn't hook me. I should probably try the 1st at some point (maybe the remake), but it's possible that SO2 is truly the champ of the series.
@@bowmanencore i beat all of them and SO2 is the best by far the best. Its in a league of its own.
The remake of the 1st game is pretty good though, its built in the exact same engine as SO2. But its a much shorter game with just an ok story. The highlight is really just getting to play in SO2's battle engine with different characters.
3 started good but its too disconnected from the rest of the games narratively and they tried way too hard with the plot twist. The switch to 3D also came to a heavy cost in term of gameplay depth.
4 builds on everything 3 did and improved it... except on characterisation which is where the game falls flat. Most party member are just bland and the few that stands out do so for all the wrong reasons.
SO5 : fuck this.
This video seems very relevant since Second Story R just got announced.
Thank you so much darlin for uploading this and giving such an astounding interview giving such a magnum opus masterpiece of a game as this rare and very underrated gem
So glad to see someone talking about this game. It was possibly my favorite PS1 game. I went back and played it again a couple of years ago and it absolutely held up.
In terms of soundtracks of jrpgs on the PS1, this one is second only to Chrono Cross. I wish they'd port this to modern consoles. I haven't played it in little over 20 years. Also wish they'd port Chrono Cross. And both Lunar games. Great review!
god lunar i feel old
@@hellsing2137 Same. I was a senior in high school when I played the PS1 version and now it's older than I was then.
Thank you! I really wish more ps1 JRPGs would be playable on modern systems too.
I have Star Ocean Second Story and both Lunar games sitting on my shelf unplayed. Guess I should probably get to those at some point.
@@Cannotbetamed1 ua-cam.com/video/QEes2DC_cw4/v-deo.html
Cult of the Lamb is soooooo cuuuute devolver is killing it!
One of the greatest games I’ve ever played. This and FF9 were my Introduction to JRPG as a kid. I always loved the idea and story behind the ten wise men too.
Great episode Pam! I'm really familiar with the soundtrack for this one, but don't recall playing much of it growing up. Agree with Arlia Village being an awesome town-theme. Got an orchestral version in my regular playlist. Also cool to see how the crafting/combat works. You've totally sold me on it :)
Thanks so much!
My second favorite oldie rpg! Then you mentioned my favorite game of all time with the suikoden series(Suikoden 2)! Great video
I love this game so much !! I don't have a single favorite JRPG, but this is 1 of my top 5. ^-^
The 2nd disc being more dungeon-heavy is actually a brilliant design choice since the customisation options significantly open up by this point in the game. By the time you get to North City, most, if not all item creation options become accessible, giving your party a large boost in power.
While true, there are some unique and interesting customized weapons that are useless late game but really hard to make early game, and unless you are playing the Universe difficulty (which itself is hard to unlock), the planning and patience required to make them early game aren't worth the payoff. Same with Call Bunny super specialty. Useless by they time you are likely to unlock it
Star Ocean 2 is such a beautiful game and I am a huge sucker for the pre-rendered backgrounds, particularly when they change to show different perspectives, like the close up-fly on the wall view in the Mayor's house in Arlia. I'm glad you love the crafting system, and the cooking contest.
Yes, the background are so beautiful, and the different perspectives we get on them is very cool.
Very good review! Star Ocean 2 was also my favorite PS1 jrpg. I played it so much back in the day and your reminisces brought me back to my own experiences with this master piece of a game.
It was such a great game, I have a lot of memories form my first gameplay, I didn't have a memory card but even so play for almost 2 hours. The music was great too, it is very hearth warming. i played the PSP remake too but they change the art style for a new one and it looks kinda weird.
This was always my favourite game growing up. My older sister and I loved this game! So many awesome memories. Played through it quite a few times.
All the sound effects and music in your video were so inspiring, this game really was so amazing to me. It seemed so huge, expansive and rich. I also loved the private actions and little inter-party relations. This was my first JRPG and it blew me away. I found it really raised my expectations though. After playing this I eventually played Final Fantasy 7, and I found it to suck in comparison lol.
It's true, it does raise expectations. The systems are so interesting and deep and the action combat makes basic turn-based seem really dull.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Word, it definitely did for me. I enjoyed ff7, and the other ff games, but I soon learned that Star Ocean was the exception w/r/t JRPG's. It's nice to see it get some attention! Stellar video!
Can't wait to hear your take on Second Story R!
Great video!! Im hyped for the upcoming 2022 star ocean game coming out on PS5!
This is one of my favorite RPG games! Even today it has a great story and I like the many changes in this game. Like the action turned based battle system.
I love this game! Memorable characters, great music, artstyle. My main gripes are the awful random powerspikes and the fact that mages are completely worthless and a waste of time. The casting times just take forever. Other than that I have to say that it's incredible, it just evokes massive nostalgic goosebumps for me, I constantly come back to it. Happy to hear that it still has a following. Thanks for this great review!
No problem, glad you liked it
Magic is OP af what are you talking about lol the only downside is waiting for the animation to play out
Magic does seem to lose out to physical attacks as soon as you're able to make weapons with sprinkles of stardust 😂. With that said, early to mid-game, magic is pretty OP. Get Lunar Light and Southern Cross for Celine early and you're gonna just melt through early game enemies like nothing. The magic buffs are always useful as well.
@@sharebear421 There's literally no reason to choose a mage over a fighter, except for the early game. From mid-late game they just make way more damage plus they also stun-lock enemies which is essential against many of the harder bosses.
I just love this game so much. I actually ended up with Opera in my party the first time I played and I didn’t have a guide. The music even more than 20 years after is still in my head and pop up from time to time just like FF7 music. And the graphics are just so beautiful. Love the 2D pre rendered graphics for the backgrounds which also remind me of FF7. The crafting was also very interesting for the time as I had never experienced such a system before at the time. I levelled to 255 the max level and got super powerful to beat the colosseum at the end of the game. However unlike FF7 I can’t bring myself to replay the game again and again. I’ve tried but I’ve never had the same feeling as back in 1999 and usually get tired after a few hours.
This game had a devious feature with its multiple endings and with its end boss. I accidentally unlocked the hardest version of Ignacio after only playing through a few times.
That's some accident, as you actually have to do a lot to achieve it
@@Knightphall You have to do so much right that I honestly don't believe anyone unlocked it on accident.
This game looks amazing, I was busy playing FF7-9 at the time, I've played a handful of PS1 JRPGs and miss that era so much...
star ocean is more better than ff7
@@pekonarukami9984 That's debatable, but I'll have to agree with you on that statement.
I am currently playing this game again on PS1.
My stepdad introduced it to me and it was his favorite game ever.
He died 3 weeks ago and I wanted to play it again for him.
He used to get so excited when I’d help him craft some Mithril to make the best armor and weapons. He loved the cooking competition as well. Thanks for this video. 🙂
I'm so sorry to hear about your stepdad. I hope you get a chance to play it again and relive some of those good memories of him.
Man, I’m mesmerized by the dynamic camera during combat. Gives the game such a cool look. Great review as always
Thanks!
Love this game so much! One of the few JRPGs that make us feel like we really live inside the world. Dias Flac and Chisato Madison are really cool.
Dias, oh yeah.
I always loved Dias as a teenager. It’s been a while since I did a play through with him.
Air slash, air slash, air slash. Dias was so overpowered, it was great.
Until you get to cave of trials and find out he sucks in there Claude 100% maxed ripper blast ftw or maxed mirror slice against mobs that don't block all the time
It's also the best Star Ocean when it comes to party variety, with only First Departure coming in second in that department. You have so many choices for team builds that multiple playthroughs are a fact of life with the game, something later entries in the series have lost sight of by cutting the options down to the point that all the cast members now join by plot. End of Time still had ally choices, just very few of them, but Last Hope basically took it away completely (having the choice of swapping Faize out for Arumat on subsequent runs doesn't count as it's just silly). And I don't think I need to mention what Integrity and Faithlessness did. Sadly, Divine Force is going to be repeating this yet again since the entire playable cast was shown in the recent trailer traveling with the two protagonists.
The Second Story also struck the right amount of balance mixing science fiction and fantasy themes without overdoing it. In addition, Claude, Rena, and all their allies were a lot more memorable for their distinct personalities and quirks than most of the later characters in the series. Ashton is a guy with two dragons fused to his back and he has an amusing barrel fetish you can't help but chuckle at. Precis fights with a Playstation controller and has hilarious Killer Moves. Chisato is what Lois Lane wants to be when hunting for great news stories and she can call her planet's defense force for a missile drop anytime she wants. I love this cast so much. Even characters with more grounded backstories like Dias are likable.
Awesome video! SO2 has always been my favorite JRPG. I remember renting this game at Blockbuster when it first came out and my little mind was blown. Thank you for making this!
Rena, Claude, Dias, and Ashton. Dream team for the win!
Thanks!
Was my favorite game for most of my life. The limitations of heraldry and all that feels like different ways to challenge and approach the game.
The optimal party is Opera with Healing Star at 999 proficiency (4995 HP heal for all) and a full party of killer moves users, but it's also possible to beat the whole game with any character with a healing skill solo!
Guess you got to make an second video of this with the remake coming this year xD
The recent remake announcement for Nintendo Switch brought me here.
I still remember that time when I played this game for the firsr time and saw the first village in the game (Arlia?) - it was so colorful and beautiful that I felt like I was playing a point-and-click adventure PC game. And the BGM, wow - it was so relaxing! Honestly, I like the presentation of SO 2nd Story better than FF8 and yes, FF9! FF9 is a close 2nd to this!
I hope that the current and upcoming RPGs will have this kind of "feel" again.
Great Job on this Review! :) Keep up the good work with your reviews!
Thanks!
@@Cannotbetamed1 Your Welcome!
Oh man, SO2 is one of my faves. I remember printing out the walk-through back when we only had a computer in my parents room. I hate that it is nigh impossible to play through legal means. Have you played the psp version? Its not bad, but they added a character that, at least for me, got automatically added to my party, taking up a space I was saving for someone else.
No, I've never played a PSP at all.
I've found some really good RPGs on game boy advance lately. Never heard of this game. Looks awesome good graphics.
Mario and Luigi Super star saga, plus Zelda Minish cap.
A bit obvious ones but, may as well suggest them just in case.
never played this one, always been curious about it. niceeee
love the channel, keep up the good work!
Thank you!
You're like my video game soul mate. I was just talking a few days ago with some people about JRPGs. I had mentioned this is my favorite JRPG of all time.
Honestly it's the most important RPG of all time imo. It really made the real time action strategy, item creation and the multiple endings feature a staple in the rpg genre. All of the characters were perfect and the game really highlighted what a rpg should and can be. It will forever be my favorite rpg of all time next to final fantasy 12, rogue Galaxy etc.
Watching this before the new one comes out or the remaster
This game looks amazing. Thank you for reviewing this game Pam! It's a shame I never got the opportunity as a kid to play it. Hopefully one day I can add it to my collection :)
its the very best!
Thanks for this! I’d never heard of this game and was thinking “not for me” until you started talking about the battle mechanics which do look interesting. I’ll check this out!
Hope you like it
I have so many fond memories of the game. Never beat it though
Me too. Haven't played it since the PS1 era. I'm curious to hear Pam's thoughts on the game.
I've finished it a few times, but I've started it many more times.
I remember getting to this place that seemed like the final boss, u go up and up these stairs and you can't beat the boss cuz you have to fuse your weapons with some magic ore or something, I don't think I ever beat that boss