Star Ocean: Second Evolution – Review

	Available On: PSP Format Reviewed: PSP Publisher: Square-Enix Developer: tri-Ace Players: 1 Online: 0

Re-releasing old RPGs really does seem to be the order of the day lately, especially over at Square-Enix. Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and Star Ocean have all seen handheld remakes. Just a few months ago Square-Enix released an updated version of the original Star Ocean for PSP, which was a re-telling of a SNES title that was only ever released in Japan. Now, just a few months on, Square have re-launched the next title in the series, once again for PSP. So, how does Second Evolution handle? Is it as classy as the remake of the original, or should you hold on for the upcoming Xbox 360 Star Ocean? As always, head inside to find out in our full review…

Back in October of last year, Square-Enix re-released the original Star Ocean on PSP, updated with new content, better graphics, voice acting and more. We thought it was a great game, giving it no less than four joypads (You can read the full review right here). The following title in the series, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, originally hit the PlayStation One under the name of Star Ocean: The Second Hope, and, unlike its predecessor, did actually make it to Europe. However, it took Square-Enix nearly two years after the Japanese release to do so.

Second Evolution picks up 20 years after the events of the original game. In that time, Ronyx J. Kenny, one of the characters from the original, has been promoted to admiral, and has had a child: Claude. Claude is the lead character of this story, and at the beginning of the game we learn that he has just become an Ensign in the Earth Federation, and he has received his first mission. His Father tags along to supervise, but doesn’t end up doing a decent job of it. As the pair explore a cave during their mission, they stumble upon a mysterious looking machine. Claude wanders off to examine it against his Father’s orders, and it ends up teleporting him to a totally different world.

Just like the original game, Second Departure is a game set in the distant future that actually takes place on an underdeveloped planet. There are still a few planets out there that have yet to advance to the level that humans have, and the Earth Federation are not allowed to interfere with these under the ‘Underdeveloped Planet Protection Treaty’, unless the circumstances are extremely dire. Claude re-materialises on one of these planets after being transported there unwillingly, and, starts by trying to hide his real identity to the folks on the planet of blah. Of course, it slips out pretty soon into the story as learns that the planet is under attack from a mysterious alien-like meteorite that has parked itself within the planet’s atmosphere.

The battle system once again features real-time combat. Granted, random encounters make a return, but you’ll find that it doesn’t actually bother you in Second Evolution, as the battles are so much fun. Once you trigger a battle, you are transported to a smallish arena that features a backdrop that changes depending on where you and the time of day it is. You can move around freely and attack whichever enemy you please with either long or short range attacks. You can only control one character in a battle, which can be switched whenever you like. The rest of your party is set to auto-pilot, and will either be attacking or healing.

Unlike First Departure, the graphics in Second Evolution aren’t that much of an improvement on the original, as it was, after all, a PlayStation title. However it has still been given a bit of polish along with the sound, and some new extra content has been included. Just like the last game Second Evolution looks great in the visual department, with some very nice looking, varied environments to explore in the world of Expel. Some of the character sprites can be a little ugly and under-detailed at points though. The soundtrack is alright too. Not particularly memorable, but it does the job well enough. Certainly quite emotional at points, that’s for sure.

My biggest qualm with Second Evolution is that it takes so long to get going. The first two hours are taken up developing the story, with about fifteen minutes of that being actual gameplay. Sure, it does a good job of involving you in the plot, but you did buy the game to, you know, play it. There’s also no way of skipping these segments, so you are forced to sit and watch them all. The deal is sweetened with some pretty decent voice acting, and, just like First Departure, some great animated cutscenes. They are few and far between, but the ones that have been included are great.

If you played, and liked, First Departure on the PSP, then I can guarantee that you will enjoy Second Evolution as it is just more of the same. The plot is very deep and involving, if sometimes a little too much as it takes a hell of a while to get going. The lengthy adventure and the fast, intuitive battle system more than makes up for its shortcomings though. The PSP hasn’t got many triple-A role-playing games, but this, along with First Departure, is one that can definitely be added to that short list.