Despite what GS says, you will want to play this one twice.
User Rating: 8.8 | Star Ocean: The Second Story PS
Once again, I give no details about the story in my reivews. Please check the main GameSpot review for story details if you want. Gameplay and Story: At the beginning of this game you can choose to be the girl Rena, or the guy Claud. There are also many different endings to this game (about a 100 or so). The ending you get depends on who you are playing as, and a thing called Private Actions. Private Actions happen when you go up to a town and press the square button. You will have story encounters that you would not have had otherwise, and it helps you learn about your fellow party memebers. And these private actions and the way you answer quistions will also decide your ending. The story is really amazing. It doesn't take long for it to take off. Although at some points it slows a bit, but that's nothing to worry about because it doesn't happen that often. The story will offer a good amount of shocks (good ones though). Also through Private Actions, you can gain secrect characters. Another thing you can do is make weapons, food, books, etc. out of items. This is really fun. In fact it's one of the greater parts of the gameplay (leveling up the skills to make items) It takes a little time, but is well worth the effort.
Graphics and Sound: The grahics are very old school, but it works so well with this game. Also there are a fewCG cut scenes. But when I say a few, I mean a few. So don't expect anything Final Fantasy like, because these cutscenes are far and few apart. Almost all scenes will take place in real time. The music on the other hand is amazingly wonderful. Although since you have hours of gameplay ahead of you, it might get a bit old sometimes. But the story will get your mind off that. Overall: If your a old school RPG fan, then you have to by this game. In fact if your a RPG fan at all, you should have this in your collection. It's a wonderful game that you really have to play to understand what I'm talking about.
