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News Star Ocean The Second Story R (Switch /PS4+5/Steam), November 2, 2023, [Update]: Demo now available

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Star Ocean was still al little obscure even during its peak. It certainly wasn't on the level of notoriety as Final Fantasy. Probably on the same level as the Tales games.
 
I would argue Star Ocean is pretty obscure at this point, it was the best game with no line at gamescom, while the 2D Prince of Persia was right next to ot with double the game setups and you had to wait over an hour.

Waiting to play the 2 Persona games took much longer too, so it's not because it's an RPG.
 
AllEchse said:
I would argue Star Ocean is pretty obscure at this point, it was the best game with no line at gamescom, while the 2D Prince of Persia was right next to ot with double the game setups and you had to wait over an hour.

Waiting to play the 2 Persona games took much longer too, so it's not because it's an RPG.
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Did you get to try that new Prince of Persia? Really curious how it's going to turn out, trailers have me interested.
 
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Nice. We've got a preview from PAX West.



While some online have adopted the term “HD-2D” to describe Second Story R’s new art style, this is a bit of a misnomer; what we have here certainly shares some qualities and general polish with the art direction of games like Octopath Traveler II, but it really is its own thing and looks unlike any other RPG I’ve played. The pixel art of the party members in the overworld is drop-dead gorgeous, and yet their presence in a realistically textured and lit 3D space somehow also manages to feel completely natural.
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Bokuringo said:
Nice. We've got a preview from PAX West.

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Wow that’s quite the praise. I admit, I find art style really striking too. I love Octopath’s 2DHD but this is something different, a different route working it into 3D. Kudos to the devs for finding a route that’s both worthy of a remake of a classic rpg but also finding something new that looks great at the same time.
 
PixelKnight said:
Wow that’s quite the praise. I admit, I find art style really striking too. I love Octopath’s 2DHD but this is something different, a different route working it into 3D. Kudos to the devs for finding a route that’s both worthy of a remake of a classic rpg but also finding something new that looks great at the same time.
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It's certainly high praise, and I totally agree on the artstyle. There were so many ways to screw this up, but they managed to find something fitting.
Now, they need to find a name for this style to put in their trailer to catch more attention.
 
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TaFUZ1r.png
 
soundchaser said:
Who's the key artist for this? That's a gorgeous piece.
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Saw elsewhere it is Yukihiro Kajimoto. They did the art for the most recent Star Ocean too apparently.

I love their work with this SO2 remake so far. It honestly sold me immediately from the last Direct lol.
 
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Vernal said:
Could be added to the thread's title, if you can fit it in that is lol

I half expected a demo for it but mid-September feels kinda early. The game wasn't even featured in the Direct. Or maybe it was in JP?
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I try lol. And then there's this.



There’s a free @StarOcean The Second Story R demo… and yes, progress does carry over to the full game! Here’s everything you need to know about it: https://t.co/jr30z4nxIU
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Ok, that Direct sucked Mother Brain's tentacles but this saves it, for some reason !
DOWNLOADING !
 
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Good lord, this game looks gorgeous in handheld. Crisp UI and animated portraits. The environment looks amazing and I can't imagine how good this looks if I had an OLED.

This has became a day 1 purchase for me.

Soundtrack sounds already amazing.
 
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I can't believe how many things they improved. This isn't just QoL, it's QoD : Quality of Design.

They added new exits in some towns like Kross, a small bridge in Arlia to get directly to the south of the village from Rena's house instead of having to go all around the town, there's save points that can freely heal all your HP & MP, you can FAST TRAVEL EVERYWHERE à la Xenoblade : Towns, Dungeons, Worldmap, Shops etc. Compendium, Bestiary, Points of Interest, new skills, licences to learn how to craft... oh boi there's so many new things !
 
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I'm having the exact same feeling I had when I played Octopath Traveler 1 demo for the first time back in 2017 experiencing that HD 2D.

This HD 3D style is genuinely beautiful. I never played a Star Ocean game before but this really appeals to me.
 
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I just made it to outside of the village (like 45 minutes or so) but I'm really digging this. The combat is simple at the moment but I like it, having a perfect dodge move spices things up. Is the first one similar? It's on sale at the moment and I thought about playing it before this one releases on november...
 
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To have the Battle Skills moved to their very own section with their own skill points is EXCELLENT.
Also they are available from the start.

And ALSO you can now directly improve your tech & magic with your Battle Points instead of having to reuse each one between 100 to 200 times.

Take some notes, Tales of.
 
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After putting an hour into the demo, I am a believer. I want them to "demake" the Til the End of Time and The Last Hope in this style.
 
I've only managed to spend a little time with the demo so far but holy shit it's such a huge glow up for the game. The character art is gorgeous, the environments are like the PS1 pre-rendered backgrounds come to life, and from what I've played the battles feel way better. I can't wait for the full game.

The question is, Switch or PS5? I'm not too bothered by 30fps, and portability is very tempting (plus it looks amazing on the OLED screen), so I'm leaning Switch.
 
KilgoreWolfe said:
I've only managed to spend a little time with the demo so far but holy shit it's such a huge glow up for the game. The character art is gorgeous, the environments are like the PS1 pre-rendered backgrounds come to life, and from what I've played the battles feel way better. I can't wait for the full game.

The question is, Switch or PS5? I'm not too bothered by 30fps, and portability is very tempting (plus it looks amazing on the OLED screen), so I'm leaning Switch.
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this is SO true
 
I concur. The game looks unbelievably pretty.

It might be my favourite visual experience on Switch. The graphics are just so crisp. I really want more of the same on Drake.
 
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Completely agree with the thread sentiments. This has to be one of the best remaster/remake projects out of Square in recent years, I played about a half hour of the demo so far and it's just awesome <3 I like how many options there are to tailor the experience between being able to swap the voices, the ost, the display art etc, just really well done.
 
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Haven't tried the demo yet but it seems amazing. It's really beautiful looking. Is the performance good?
 
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Scrawnton said:
After putting an hour into the demo, I am a believer. I want them to "demake" the Til the End of Time and The Last Hope in this style.
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I wish they gave the same treatment to First Departure R.
KilgoreWolfe said:
I've only managed to spend a little time with the demo so far but holy shit it's such a huge glow up for the game. The character art is gorgeous, the environments are like the PS1 pre-rendered backgrounds come to life, and from what I've played the battles feel way better. I can't wait for the full game.

The question is, Switch or PS5? I'm not too bothered by 30fps, and portability is very tempting (plus it looks amazing on the OLED screen), so I'm leaning Switch.
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Portability always wins out for me when it comes to RPGs. Nowadays I can't imagine playing one on a home console; playing them on a handheld gives me a similar feeling to reading a book in that it's a very personal experience.
 
While people might say it looks great, what people might not notice is that they've even specifically gotten the color grading and texture work in town to match how it looks in the prerendered background in the PS1 version. There's a certain look to some of the shrubs and roofs of the buildings that is perfectly recreated and it's fantastic. It isn't just replacing with whatever high res stuff, they're being respectful at the same time.
 
I hope we get some information about Dragon Quest III soon, it's almost 2,5 years since its announcement now. Either they've announced it way too early or they decided to add Dragon Quest I and II as well.
Who am I kidding, SqEn would never bundle HD-2D remakes of all three games together.
 
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Amadeus said:
how's Star Ocean First Departure R? The game is 8€ on the eshop right now and Star Ocean 2 demo got me really interested.
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First Departure R didn't aged well.

Firstly, this is a port of the PSP Remake of the Super Famicom game, which removed all the gorgeous pixel art exploration scenes with a hideous 3D world map where your character walks very slowly and the random battles are numerous.

There is a TON of backtracking to do and there's no fast travel. You can use a boat but it is only for set destinations and you HAVE to travel on foot to various towns just to use a boat to get somewhere else, even at the ending.

Speaking of it, the game warns you about a point of no return... after a previous one that is not mentionned and makes it impossible to go back.
 
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PSA for those wanting Star Ocean Second Story R physically on the Switch.

Seems Square Enix pulled a fast one as it is confirmed to require a download. 4.1GB. It was never on the cover prior to this week as far as I know:

F9VDt7bXwAAD4yn


Source: Reddit

Sigh preorder cancelled.
 
Damn, that coverart is beautiful!

Which reminds me: I have this in my backlog. Wanna play the first one before rhis one
 
Jahranimo said:
PSA for those wanting Star Ocean Second Story R physically on the Switch.

Seems Square Enix pulled a fast one as it is confirmed to require a download. 4.1GB. It was never on the cover prior to this week as far as I know:

F9VDt7bXwAAD4yn


Source: Reddit

Sigh preorder cancelled.
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annoying to hear but, still so excited to buy this (physical.)

this'll be my first star ocean game and i am really looking forward to it. played the demo for like 45-ish minutes but stopped playing bc i could tell i already liked it. just want to delve in, no holds barred.
 
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