Star Ocean: The Second Story R has a free demo out now

Star Ocean: The Second Story R, a remake of the second game in the Star Ocean franchise, has received a free demo available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Also, a brand new gameplay trailer has been released, showcasing a variety of new features, including upgraded visuals.

The trailer instantly highlights the game’s visuals, which have been upgraded to closely resemble an HD-2D adventure RPG a la Octopath Traveler. It’s made clear that players will have the choice to determine how they play: they can choose to take on all enemies that cross their path, or they can favor progression and avoid encounters. But if they’re not careful, enemies may link together, and players will have to defeat the enemies one after the other, making for a particularly difficult encounter.

Unique Spots will reward players who explore off the beaten path with EXP and items, but according to the trailer, these spots will be cleverly hidden in the game’s overworld. Speaking of the overworld, Star Ocean: The Second Story R introduces Raid Enemies, which are powerful bosses that reward equally impressive weapons and items. 

Fishing in the Star Ocean

It wouldn’t be an RPG without a fishing minigame, but this remake takes it a step further by including a Fish Encyclopedia that you can actively fill out as you proceed through the game’s story. You can also catch enemies in addition to fish, so players should be ready for anything.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R also introduces a handful of new battle mechanics. Just Counters allow players to take a step back when an enemy attacks, instantly teleporting behind them for an extra attack. Also, enemies will now have a Shield Value, which, when depleted, results in all attacks being critical hits.

From time to time, the game will introduce powerful Leader Enemies with special effects given to them that make fighting them a pain. When players break these enemies’ shields, all nearby enemies will also experience a break, allowing the party to dish out the pain when pushed up against the wall.

There’s a lot to do, according to the admittedly content-packed trailer. As for the demo, it’s live now and will carry over save data into the full game when Star Ocean: The Second Story R goes live on November 2.