Yuichiro Kitao from Gemdrops Inc, the director and producer of the upcoming Star Ocean: The Second Story R remake, and the Star Ocean team at Square Enix talked to Famitsu about the upcoming title. Some of the topics included changes to the gameplay, difficulty adjustments, the decision to forego the modern logo in favor of one closer to the original game, and the new 3D environment and pixel art visuals of the game. [Thanks, Famitsu!]
The Star Ocean team said that one of the reasons to remake Star Ocean Second Story was due to the recent growth in interest for the series. This is thanks, in part, to the release of Star Ocean: The Divine Force. (That is the sixth numbered installment.) Another reason for this remake is because the second entry is one of the most popular ones among fans, and Square Enix received many requests for a remake or re-release.
Additionally, the logo for the game was designed to closely resemble that of the original PlayStation game, rather than the modern series logo. The Star Ocean team also confirmed that the remake will includes the same character voices from Star Ocean Second Evolution, the PSP remaster of the game, and events in the remake will be fully voiced.
When asked about the visual similarities to HD-2D games, Kitao said that a difference between Star Ocean Second Story R and HD-2D titles is that the world of the remake is recreated in 3D graphics, rather than three-dimensional pixel art.
Kitao also talked about new gameplay systems and the difficulty of Star Ocean: The Second Story R. Gameplay has been completely reworked from scratch, particularly battles, to adjust the tempo, hit feedback, skill effects, and rage, as well as frame data for moves. The intention is to make a stress-free and “easy” game for players to enjoy a modern action-RPG. Additionally, time freezing during techniques has been lowered in order to favor a speedier gameplay rhythm.
A new mechanic added to the game is having characters outside the active party be able to join in combat as “assist” type characters. To make up for this new mechanic and other new changes, the battle difficulty has been increased accordingly. Some mid-game bosses have been strengthened. So depending on playstyle some players might experience more or less of a challenge. As a way to give more options, new side-quests that offer better equipment and items have been included as well.
The three difficulty levels included in Second Story R are the same as in the original game, those being Earth, Galaxy, and Universe, and players can freely switch between all three during the game.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R will come out on November 2, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and Windows PC via Steam.
