Star Ocean Second Story R - Switch 2 Review
"A wonderful JRPG with deep mechanics"
In 2023, Monique reviewed Star Ocean Second Story R to glowing praise, and Square Enix has now released a Nintendo Switch 2 version with upgraded visuals and performance. While I’m afraid there isn’t too much new to say, this review will touch on the upgrade’s additions, while Monique’s Star Ocean Second Story R Switch review still maintains all of its initial points, so we encourage you to read both.
The Good
The first thing to note is that this Nintendo Switch 2 version doesn’t add more content or a mismatch of various bells and whistles. This version strictly improves the visuals and performance of Star Ocean Second Story R, updating it to 1080p visuals and a rock-solid 60 frames per second, both in docked and handheld mode. And while that may feel a little lacklustre to some on face value, considering the game’s incredible art style, this version makes it pop as it was always intended to do, and being able to so seamlessly switch between docked and handheld with absolutely no visual/performance compromise, that’s just simply fantastic.
TL;DR
- A beautiful game looks even better
- Buttery smooth 60fps
The Bad
This all being said, in typical Square Enix fashion as of late, there is no upgrade pack or save transfer option for early adopters with the original Nintendo Switch version. Star Ocean Second Story R is designed to be played multiple times with the two main protagonist pathways, so having that upgrade option could get the early adopters to upgrade and encourage them to play through it again. In addition, given its niche fanbase (it’s not exactly an entry in the Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest series), most who were genuinely interested in the game would have likely purchased it already, and those who didn’t are probably waiting for a deep discount. So re-selling it at full price with only visual and performance updates is likely going to delay that purchase and restart that waiting cycle.
TL;DR
- No upgrade path for original Switch owners
Final Score: 9/10
Despite the lack of upgrade pack from the original Nintendo Switch version to this one, it doesn’t take away the fact that Star Ocean Second Story R is a wonderful JRPG with deep mechanics. Everything Monique stated in their original review is still valid and, objectively, this is just a better version of that.
Thank you for checking out our Star Ocean Second Story R Switch review, thank you to Square Enix (via Bandai Namco AU) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:
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