There are few games that can sustain the momentum of their opening cinematic and successfully stick the landing.
I didn't have much expectation going in and found myself immediately invested and drawn-in specifically by its soundtrack and art direction. The perfectly timed sequences and scores made the experience that much more impactful and is a perfect example of visuals and sound working in tandem. Its gameplay still handles very well and addicting, keeping me engaged and invested in powering stats and learning skills - the games biggest component. However, one thing that was sorely under-explained was the crafting system that does not explain its importance well until the very end when it suddenly becomes vital to playing the game properly. I made this mistake and regretted not having learned more since it never pressed upon the player to explore this mechanic, nor a lot of the other interesting yet tedious components from crafting, alchemy, etc.
As much as I appreciate and was pleasantly surprised by Star Ocean: The Second Story for a majority of its playthrough, it was with dismay to see how it fell short across its second disc. The quality in disc 2 in some of its plotting crumbled into trope game design and villains that are 1-dimensional and uninteresting in contrast to how the main cast is overall handled. Another thing that I wish was better integrated through its runtime that felt very outweighed in the end was the theme of self-empowerment and forging one's own path. It fell into a lot of Evangelion influence that didnt' feel deserved nor as cohesively introduced as it could have been. Despite this, and despite its shortcomings overall, the soundtrack and art direction is worth applauding. It holds as arguably rivaling FF7, Grandia, Xenogears, and the like of being the best of its era.
Star Ocean: The Second Story might not be balanced and its ambitious mechanics don't quite stick the landing, it is an impressionable experience that is well-worth traversing.
I didn't have much expectation going in and found myself immediately invested and drawn-in specifically by its soundtrack and art direction. The perfectly timed sequences and scores made the experience that much more impactful and is a perfect example of visuals and sound working in tandem. Its gameplay still handles very well and addicting, keeping me engaged and invested in powering stats and learning skills - the games biggest component. However, one thing that was sorely under-explained was the crafting system that does not explain its importance well until the very end when it suddenly becomes vital to playing the game properly. I made this mistake and regretted not having learned more since it never pressed upon the player to explore this mechanic, nor a lot of the other interesting yet tedious components from crafting, alchemy, etc.
As much as I appreciate and was pleasantly surprised by Star Ocean: The Second Story for a majority of its playthrough, it was with dismay to see how it fell short across its second disc. The quality in disc 2 in some of its plotting crumbled into trope game design and villains that are 1-dimensional and uninteresting in contrast to how the main cast is overall handled. Another thing that I wish was better integrated through its runtime that felt very outweighed in the end was the theme of self-empowerment and forging one's own path. It fell into a lot of Evangelion influence that didnt' feel deserved nor as cohesively introduced as it could have been. Despite this, and despite its shortcomings overall, the soundtrack and art direction is worth applauding. It holds as arguably rivaling FF7, Grandia, Xenogears, and the like of being the best of its era.
Star Ocean: The Second Story might not be balanced and its ambitious mechanics don't quite stick the landing, it is an impressionable experience that is well-worth traversing.