RPG fans who haven’t picked up Star Ocean: The Second Story R are in luck. The beautiful reimagining of the classic 1998 role-playing game is on sale for an awesome price. The remake gives the beloved entry in the series a modern touch; it’s an adventure that deftly bridges the gap between past and future. The Second Story R has only received a couple discounts since launching last holiday, and the current $35 price matches the all-time low–which sold out quickly at this price last time. This deal is available for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PS4 versions of the game at Amazon and GameStop.
Similar to the Octopath Traveler games, Star Ocean: The Second Story R was entirely remade to be both faithful to the source material while incorporating modern elements into its design. The game makes use of 2D pixel art character sprites and places them in retro-styled 3D environments, with the final result being looking like a 4K PlayStation One game. It’s a mesmerizing effect that shouldn’t work this well but has to be seen in action.
The game also features both English and Japanese voice acting, a newly arranged soundtrack, and a high degree of replayability. Alongside several tweaks and quality-of-life changes, it strikes an ideal balance between staying faithful to the original game and giving it a welcome update for the current era.
“Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a remake that manages to not only have the retro feel of its older PS1 and PSP incarnations, but also make it feel fresh with new battle mechanics, as well as audio and visuals updates. It may not be the big break that’ll finally make the Star Ocean franchise explode in popularity, but it’s a fine Japanese RPG on its own terms,” George Yang wrote in GameSpot’s Star Ocean: The Second Story R review.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R isn’t the only Square Enix game on sale for an all-time best price. Check out all four of the great Square Enix deals below.
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth — $55 (
$70) - Final Fantasy 16 — $35 (
$50) - Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince — $40 (
$60) - Star Ocean: The Second Story R — $35 (
$50)
