Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the Sony PSP is a remake of the classic Enix PSone RPG that introduced the series to American audiences. The first installment, made for the SNES, was only released in Japan and thus never made much impact outside of import shops in the US. The original US title of this second installment, localized by Sony themselves, was Star Ocean: Second Story, thought the localization was about as interesting to read as a handbook on mesothelioma.
For its time, the game was a PSone classic. Released in a summer crowded with RPGs, the second Star Ocean stood out because of its unique approach to capturing the feel of pen-and-paper RPGs on a home console game; for example, it was one of the early RPGs to ever make use of non-combat skills. Although such skills were part and parcel of pen-and-paper RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, or Shadowrun, Star Ocean: Second Story was among the first to attempt to simulate such a system and make it an essential part of the game world.
By doing this, Enix made sure the action-style RPG appealed to fans of turn-based RPGs, because despite the battle system, there was still a deep feeling of control and development of one’s character maintained throughout the game. Of course, the early implantation of this non-combat skill system was awkward; in the original game, if you tried to use your cooking skills to make a hearty beef stew, you were more likely to whip up a weak miso soup that had as much chance of poisoning you as it did restoring hit points.
In the remake for PSP, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, the weaknesses of the system have been patched up to make using them less frustrating; while you won’t be successful every time you use a non-weapon skill, you won’t fail nearly as often.
Another element that’s been polished up is the story, which is essentially the same, but offers up a lot more by way of spoken dialog and cut-scenes than did the original. The difference is like reading the Reader’s Digest version of the story, then reading the full novel; there’s just more depth and detail this time out.
From a gameplay standpoint, SO:SE plays essentially the same as Star Ocean: First Departure, which is understandable since SquareEnix borrowed much of the game engine for that remake from SO:SE. That’s essentially a good thing, though.
In SO:SE, you can play through either as female hero Rena or male hero Claude, and though their stories vary a bit, they dovetail quite nicely. One change in tone for the series is that although it is still a multi-world, science fiction epic, you don’t leave the initial homeworld quite so quickly as in First Departure, and the hokey, hackneyed Star Trek ripoff feel of the first title disappears here for a tone that’s a bit more original – though perhaps by a few inches rather than a mile.
Still, in the end, Star Ocean: Second Evolution is a very good, deep and sufficiently lengthy RPG to give your PSP a solid workout by the time you finish it; it’s a welcome addition to the PSP library and certainly appeals to any RPG enthusiast. While not quite as eye-popping as Jeanne d’Arc or as wonderfully comic and inventive as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Star Ocean: Second Evolution certainly deserves a prominent place in any PSP owner’s game library.
