It has come to light that Star Ocean: The Second Story will be receiving the remake treatment for the PlayStation Vita, by the original developers, tri-Ace.
The Star Ocean franchise is known for several innovations in jRPGs. It is one of the first to emphasize the game world over the characters, it has extensive real time battle systems, and it has branching storylines that match the scale of a visual novel.
Star Ocean: The Second Story was the first of its kind to appear in the West, released on PlayStation by Enix in North America in 1999 and Europe in 2000. Coming out in the same time frame as Everquest and Asheron’s Call, it received critical acclaim for its skill and relationship systems. The game boasted a potential 86 endings, guaranteeing near endless replayability.
The game already received a portable port, in the form of Star Ocean: Second Evolution. This time around, tri-Ace commissioned TOSE to recreated and expand the game, with revamped combat systems, and now 100 endings on offer. Production I.G. provided animation and artwork, and the game received new dialogue.
This time around, the game is a direct port by tri-Ace, which may mean a completely different approach from the PSP port. It may be based on the PlayStation original, or another recreation that takes advantage of the Vita’s capabilities.
Tri-Ace’s latest release was Phantasy Star Nova, coming out just last November 27 in Japan. The developer may have already learned enough about the system to make a masterful port of their famed IP, but we can only wait for more details for now.