Star Ocean: Second Evolution

Theft, underage sex and almost endless slaughter appear to be the mainstay of the classic JRPG and Star Ocean is no different in that respect. The first two hours will see you coyly trying to insinuate yourself into your fellow protagonist’s pants, and wandering around villages stealing wholesale from the general populous. Shortly after that you’ll spend a good deal of time wading through forest animals and local mercenaries. It’s all a bit dark when you think about it. Thusly, many of the initial criticisms of Star Ocean’s original PS2 localization was that it didn’t make any changes for the western audience. That issue has yet to be resolved with the PSP version.

While it’s a classic JRPG of the most obvious order, and you’ll judge it on the merits of the genre before you consider the quality of the game, it’s a genuinely enjoyable romp, as long as you don’t mind generic narrative. Mystery girl with mystery pendant, floppy-haired lead guy, string of the standard support characters, unexplained space/time travel, terrifying evil threatening the planet, etc… pretty much every cliché you can think of is in there. It works well enough to keep you going though. Our only real trouble with this port is the painful pace at which the cutscenes play out. For a console with limited battery life, it really is agonizing to watch your handheld’s life flicker and die as you reach the interesting bit. But then that’s just life, isn’t it?