Star Ocean: The Second Story

Star Ocean: The Second Story ranks among the most ambitious JRPGs ever released on PlayStation, thanks to its combination of a sci-fi and fantasy framework with an elaborate action combat system that plays out right on the field, rather than in separate arenas as was typical of turn-based RPGs of the time. At the start, the player chooses one of two main heroes, which affects the perspective on the story, and throughout the game can recruit a wide range of supporting characters into the party depending on their choices and on so-called Private Actions – optional scenes that take place outside the main plotline and deepen the relationships between companions.

The real-time combat system required actively controlling movement and attacks, combining characters, and using special skills, which set it markedly apart from the turn-based battles common at the time and gave the player direct control over the course of every skirmish. The game also offered an extensive crafting system that allowed players to create items and weapons and even improve characters' skills outside of combat through so-called Specialties, giving it unusual depth for its time. The graphics used detailed 2D sprites over 3D backgrounds, and the music by Motoi Sakuraba ranks among the platform's most treasured compositions, full of both epic and intimate melodies accompanying the player while traveling between planets.

At release, the game appealed mainly to players craving a non-traditional, more action-oriented take on the JRPG, and thanks to its enormous number of possible endings and story variations depending on character choices, it became a favorite target for repeated playthroughs. Today, Star Ocean: The Second Story is considered one of the peaks of the genre on PlayStation, and its influence on later titles from studio tri-Ace and on the whole action JRPG genre remains evident to this day, including later remake attempts and ports to other platforms.

Why play: For the more action-oriented take on the JRPG and the huge number of different endings based on character choices, which directly invites repeated playthroughs.