It might not appeal to everyone out there who owns a PSP. But RPG lovers will get the most out of it.
There has been a Star Ocean game for the PS2 called Star Ocean: Till the End of Time which was released back around 2004 and also my favourite in the series. Square Enix did a remake on First Departure which was the first game on the Super Famicom, and Second Story which was released for the PS1 but this is a remake and changed the title name to Second Evolution.
With this being a remake and of course changed the title name, it still has the same story so you won't get confused if this game is new to the series or it's a remake. Before you start a new game you'll have the option to play through as Claude or Rena. But the main plot in general is that it takes place 20 years after the first Star Ocean game where Ronyx from the first Star Ocean game is now an Admiral of the Pangalactic Federation, and his son Claude who is the protagonist for the game. Claude ends up not listening to his father half the time and wonders off, he ends up on an underdeveloped planet. This is where you'll encounter Rena who is also the protagonist for the game too, Rena doesn't know much about her past but later on in the story you get to find out more about her.
Throughout the story you're mainly trying to save the universe from ultimate disaster, like I said whoever you choose either Claude or Rena they both have the same but different story during the game.
Gameplay: With most RPG/Anime related games being all released on the Nintendo DS, the Star Ocean does have a lot to offer to its RPG fans. If you are new to the series you'll easily get into its gameplay not a problem, half the time you will be exploring towns and dungeons; and the other half will be random battles and boss fights. During battles you'll have up to four charcters in your party team; you can switch back and forth to each charcters by using the Circle button. Pressing X will be your basic attack or spell whichever character you use, the L and R shoulder buttons are used to pull off Special Arts or spells; but you can switch and select which Arts and Spells you want to use for each character during Camp Menu.
During Camp Menu you'll be able to change equipment and armour, but also changing your tactics, leader and formation if you want them to attack from the front or from the back. Or change what commands you want your other members want to do like Attack all you got or keeping healing others who are low on HP. When you are encountering random battles you can learn new skills and purchase new skills in shops in various towns and villages. During each battle you'll gain EXP for Levelling up and gaining more HP and MP, but there's also SP which is Skill Points which can be used to learn and upgrade skills.
Apart from fighting in battles, you'll also be able to learn other skills which can be used to cook new food which can be used to heal HP and MP. You'll also be able to create other items too if you have the right materials which you'll be able to pick up in various dungeons.
Graphics and Sound: If you were one of those owners who owned the original copy on the PS1, you will probably notice a few changes and also they have changed the opening before starting or loading a new game. With this being a remake for the PSP it does have the same graphics and visuals which were used in Star Ocean: First Departure which was released a few months before Second Evolution was released later during 2008 and 2009. Most of the Anime cutscenes are really good to watch out; yes there was an Anime series for Second Story/Second Evolution but not sure if this was on TV/DVD outside of Japan.
Gameplay visuals and graphics haven't really changed much but some of the environments are pretty stunning to look at in towns and dungeons. But however during random battles if you have any charcters in your party team pulling off spells you won't be able to skip them; some of them are pretty stunning to look at but a few can feel a little repetitive to look at.
Before the game title menu comes up you'll notice that the game now has an opening song, which is "START" which was performed by Scandal. Apart from reading text-dialog throughout the story and game, this game does have a good line up on voice acting. You have got actors on most of the charcters in Second Evolution like Spike Spencer, Claudia Lenz, Richard Epcar and Kyle Herbert.
Overall: As an RPG fan this is a great remake/port of the original game for those who didn't get the chance to play it back on the PS1. But however with this game giving you the option who you want to play as either Claude or Rena, playing through the game second time may feel little repetitive beating the game first time round could take you around 30-60 hours.
There are side-quests but they can feel a little boring and dull so you are better off blasting your way through the main story, however playing the game first time round you will get a lot out of this game if you are into RPG games in general but it is easily enjoyable.