Star Ocean: The Second Story R is getting one of the beefiest post-launch updates I've ever seen for a JRPG, pushing the already-stellar remake to new heights.
Patch 1.1 for Square Enix's JRPG remake is available right now across all platforms, and you can catch the full overview trailer for the update just below. In short, Star Ocean: The Second Story R has a brand new high-tier difficulty mode, new raid enemies, new equipment, new illustrations for characters during the story, and a replay feature for viewing past scenes.
"CHAOS" is the title bestowed upon the new difficulty mode, and it's the toughest mode The Second Story R has seen yet. The fact that there's four screenshots accompanying the announcement of the mode, with protagonist Rena looking aghast at having to face four early-game enemies before being killed, should tell you all you need to know.
The "Ten Wise Men" will also appear now throughout The Second Story R as special raid enemies. These were protagonist Claud's sworn adversaries throughout the main game, and now you've got more opportunities to batter them. There's good news, though - defeating any of the group will give you a special jewel that lets you summon the bosses as allies later on.
There's also new equipment for Claud and Rena to earn in update 1.1. You can obtain these new items via raid enemies like the Ten Wise Men, or through the in-game item creation feature. Some of these have brand-new effects in battle, but Square Enix isn't letting slip what these abilities actually are.
Update 1.1 also boasts brand new illustrations for six story members throughout scenes in The Second Story R: Clyde, Regis, Eleanor, Leifath, Mariana, and Allen. The portraits are all drawn by veteran artist Yukihiro Kajimoto, who previously worked on Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness, and The Divine Force.
Finally, you can replay scenes in a new in-game menu, and you can decide whether or not to reset your character's levels when carrying over an existing save file to a new playthrough. Perhaps retaining character levels could help make the new Chaos difficulty mode more manageable.
I'd kill to see other modern JRPGs take on this emphasis of post-launch content for players to really sink their teeth into - Octopath Traveler 2 springs to mind as one such game that could've really benefitted from a big update like this well after launch. This is a massive update for the JRPG remake - The Second Story R was already regarded as "the new gold standard for any new remakes" by fans, and this is only making a good thing better.
Take a look at our new games 2024 guide for an overview of all the upcoming JRPGs we've got to look forward to.
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