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For Star Ocean 2 - Second Evolution (PSP), 44 customer reviews collected from 1 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 4.4.

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24.7.2010

I played Star Ocean: The Second Story for the PS1 way back when I was ten or so. It was my first RPG experience and will always have a special place in my heart no matter how fancy-schmancy current games are (and I love eye-candy as much as anyone). So when I heard about a port for the PSP I couldn't resist. It also gave me a chance to reevaluate this game through the eyes of a more experienced me as opposed to the nostalgic memories as a 10 year old.Storywise, the plot isn't incredibly compelling. The connections and reasons between going from place to place are pretty contrived. The real reason I chug through the story is the characters.I have met just about every character and they all have something unique and interesting to learn about(except maybe Noel, but more on that later).Heck, one's an unlucky dragon-slayer with a pair of dragons possessing him. Another's a journalist with a stun gun and mad martial arts skills. It's the interactions with the different characters you recruit that kept the game going as opposed to the "what's going on? Oh, we need to save the world" thing.gameplaywise, it's pretty good, although it obviously lacks the prettiness and strategic depth of newer Star Ocean releases. Fights are real time, you only actively control 1 character at a time and only 4 of your characters are on the field. those that you aren't actively controlling are controlled by a fairly competent AI. I never had any problems with the Ally AI.In playing through, I'm realizing just how much mashing of the X button I do. The triple hitting (a new gameplay mechanic that let's you do three regular melee hits in quick succession) makes the game seem a bit easy. It also places an even greater amount of reliance on fighters rather than mages. Fighters learn special abilities as you level up but most of them are either useless or only as good as regular attacks. Mages have offensive, support or healing spells, depending on the character. The offensive mages are useful in the early game but as mentioned previously, they will tend to get overshadowed by fighters during the mid to late game. The only mage you will consistently use is Rena (healer) because she can eventually heal or revive the whole party at once. The only other healer is Noel but by the time you get him he will be way worse than Rena and his offensive abilities are laughable compared to the offensive mages.So ,yeah, character balance is a bit of an issue. But as unbalanced as it is, I still love to fight the battles and mess around controlling the different characters and seeing what they can do. I have yet to get to the end of this version, but hopefully the fights will eventually be more difficult then the stuff I'm dealing with now.when you're not fighting, you can learn skills to do item creation( make weapons/armor, jewelry or food), summon birds that will bring you items (always handy in a dungeon), pickpocket, and a bunch of other things. You can also do Private Actions in the towns to see how the character interact and are always fun to watch.graphics are essentially the same as the PS1 which isn't really a complaint as it still looks good to me. My only complaint is the new character pop-ups that show up in the bottom corners whenever a particular character speaks. Half the fun for me when I was playing the original was that I could imagine how those sprites on the screen really looked like or what their facial expressions would be. The character pop-ups kinda stole that pleasure by using a fixed set of images per character (minor characters only get one image) to try to match the emotion of their dialogue. Sometimes the expression doesn't quite match the tone of the script, which throws me off a little. But whatever, it's really not that big a deal and probably won't bother anyone not me, but I do wish there was an option to turn off the character pop-ups.Sound is pretty much identical to the original. The original had a great soundtrack and I'm glad they kept it. The new addition to this version is the voice-acting. I think they did a pretty good job for most characters and the characters can, for the most part, convey the emotions from the script well enough for me to suspend my disbelief. While, again, I miss being able to imagine what they sounded like, the voice-acting is good enough that I don't really mind the change.Overall, fighting is unbalanced and on the easy side but still fun to play through and seeing what all your recruits can do. SKills and Private actions give you some fun distractions to tinker with. Overall plot is pretty generic. characters are a blast to follow throughout the story. graphics and sound are the same as the orginal with some new additions that I think most will enjoy. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes JRPG's with an emphasis on character development and item creation or wants a new battle system to try out. It's also not a bad way for those not familiar with JRPG's to get into the genre as I did.
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27.11.2013

So I consider myself an RPG veteran so here's my thoughts. I had previously played the game on the PS1 and loved it.Pros:Customization - There is ALOT to customize in this game. And the skill system is great. You can literally do LOTS of things with your characters. If you learn the system--you can game it to make your characters OP.The OST - The soundtrack for this game is fantastic. It fits the mood of the game perfectly. Check out the tracks Venerable Forest or Moderate. I see some other players complaining about some of the music being reused but I think thats perfectly fine. In fact, I missed some of the town themes in the later parts of the game and am glad I was able to hear them again.The Setting - The artistic visions and the overall setting is fantastic.I'm a huge sci-fi/fantasy nerd and loved it. High tech military officer transported to a technologically inferior planet? Love it.Characters - Characters are another strong point. There are plenty of characters and they have attractive stories. I also like how you can play the game from one of two perspectives, Rena or Claude. Each one has their own set of unique private actions (which are when your characters all enter a city by themselves).Minor Cons:Story - Story is good, but it does jump around some times. I felt it was rushed toward the ends as well.Grinding - There is some grinding needed at the end of the game but if you learn the game system, you can bypass it quite easily. Example: I gained 15 levels on all my characters in about 10 minutes.Button Mashing - There is some button mashing. Lots of bosses come down to whether or not you can keep them dazed (stunned).Final Verdict - It's a worthy playthrough. As I get older, I am transitioning more and more to mobile gaming--and this is a solid JRPG for that platform. JRPGs are losing popularity with the rise of the american RPGs but I still think you should give it a shot.Port Edits: The port to the PSP added beautiful anime scenes but added MANDATORY VOICE ACTING. I am upset there is no option to turn off voice acting. I really don't like hearing Claude like a little woman sometimes.I ordered this game on July 31st for $28.12. I got a total of about 25 hours out of it. So i'm pretty close to my gold standard of $1 per hour of entertainment.
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28.1.2013

I picked up Star Ocean: Second Evolution because I played the original Star Ocean: Second Story for PS1 way back in the day. It remains one of my favorite titles for the sheer flexibility of item creation, team creation, world exploration, and other things to do. The PSP counterpart has some obvious improvements. I love some of the more refined character designs, but certain depictions, like Allen's in the beginning, don't match the sprite very well, and many of the minor characters have no emotional expression which, again, in Allen's case, can interrupt the mood of the scene (such as when he is attacking Rena's mother during Rena's kidnapping arc and Rena's mother continues to smile despite screaming).The expressions definitely improve the storytelling when they are present, though! And so does the voice acting. I'm a little upset that the original game script was changed and that some of the dialogue that stuck with me all these years isn't present in this new rendition, but it's still excellent, overall. My other beef (which is less a beef and more a disappointment) is that the squishy aspect of item creation is gone! I quite liked that, it was cute! But they sort of make up for that with much better item designs. The overall challenge of the game is still present, which I love, and so I'm looking forward to finishing this game...again! For anyone who likes compelling story, chances for personal interactions with characters, variation in endings, variation in activities to participate in throughout the game, beautiful music and art, cute sprites, combat systems that put you right into the mix but also allow you to switch between characters and choose actions as well as allows you to have characters act on their own while you focus on one character, then this game is for you. It has something for everyone!
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10.8.2016

A sequel in every sense of the term (aside from plot continuity) to Star Ocean: First Departure, Second Evolution is graphically and (for the most part) systemically a copy of its original version, Second Story, making this a basic port of the PSX game. It features much better (and much more) voice acting than its original, along with a cleaned-up translation. There are a few gameplay additions taken from First Departure, but overall the sprites aren't as good since rather than be made brand-new for the PSP release they were simply cleaned-up ports of the PSX versions. The graphics were so-so when Second Story was released on PSX, and there have been no attempts (aside from anime cutscenes and expanded voice acting)to take advantage of the PSP's superior capabilities. Despite my displeased tone, none of the things noted above actually matter to my enjoyment of the game, and I like this sort of thing.
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1.2.2012

I ordered when it was 14.87 also the product qualified for free shipping but didn't go over 25 so shipping was $4.??Anyways, great game. So many outcomes and skills and omg so much to do it's crazy, I remember the game on the ps1 part of two-disc set and just never finished the game but now it's remade and JUST SO AWESOME. It was also new, not used. I'm not even to the new characters yet :O! Best of the star ocean franchise made better to be the best ultra best awesome <3

16.10.2017

Orighially had this with a PSP 2000 which I sold. I recently purchased a new Japan import PSP 3000 and this game. The game brings back memories as I never got to complete the game when I had it originally. I love the SO games as they are chock full of things to do. The graphics are not super flashy eye candy like modern games but it works, the story is also good, It's an excellent choice for any fan of the SO series.

11.5.2014

I am a major Star Ocean Fan so ive been getting every star ocean game possible and when I saw the price on this game I just had to buy it. Once it got here it was in perfect condition no scratches or anything and great seller packaging to keep it safe. Shipped fast and no problems at all with it A+++++ defiantly advise buying from this seller

15.2.2015

so far this game is great! i was always a fan of square enix in the way they tell a storry and animation. however i never was a huge fan of turnbase rpg combat.this kinda reminds me of dragon age origins for the console. not sure if you get a harder level after the game is completed once but s far it has been maybe a bit too easy.

17.5.2010

I must say that there is only one problem i have with this game. I know RPGS are gonna take a while but foring pple to play for 80-100 hrs to have a legit shot at survivng the plot, which this game will do might be a bit much. I did like the frst one and do onsider this a must have only for those dedicated RPG players

3.7.2016

Nostalgic, i played this on the ps1 and now playing the updated Port on the Psp now its basically the same game with minor tweaks but i recommend this because its much more difficult to get the classic ps1 version. Psp version has updated character graphic designs and new voice acting like i said minor tweaks

14.1.2013

This was the first star ocean that I played when it was originally on the playstation. The characters were memorable and the music was very captivating. The battle system was very unique for its time, but it was fun to actually attack and cast spells in a less turn based system.

2.9.2011

Overall the game is good, but it needs more save points., specifically right before boss fights. Mind you, I've spent 2 hours leveling up but I just died a few minutes ago against a boss that killed my entire party in ONE hit right at the beginning of the battle LOL.

18.12.2014

I played this game back on PS1 when I was growing up. I must have put over 300 hours into it. This is a fantastic remake. I love all of the cut scenes and the voice overs. Great live action combat system for those RPG lovers who are tired of the turn based battles.

19.6.2015

in lots of ways I prefer the original Second Story on the PS2 but this has the advantage of being portable and not full of weirdly translated English. Decus' lines were *way* better than Michaels but at least I get to see his pretty face.

4.4.2019

This seems to be a fairly good little RPG, when first starting out. However, it becomes fairly repetitive and boring the further you get through the quest. Graphics are ok for an obsolete system. FF Dissidia is the FAR SUPERIOR choice.

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