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Thread: Star Ocean 2 - PSX or PSP or Anime?

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    Default Star Ocean 2 - PSX or PSP or Anime?

    Is Star Ocean 2 still worth playing today?
    Is Star Ocean 2 better than Star Ocean 1?
    If someone were to play Star Ocean 2, then should one get SO2 for PS1, PSP, or watch the Star Ocean EX anime?
    What's the most economical yet official way to play SO2 in English today?
    What are some good reviews of Star Ocean 2?

    Basically, on which platform(s) should someone play / watch Star Ocean 2 if having never played it before now?

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    Absolutely still worth playing. Yes, it's better than the first. The anime was created for established fans, and it doesn't even tell the whole story. It ends roughly around the end of the first disc of the game (of two discs). In fact, the anime isn't directly based on the game but is based on the manga that was based on the game. There are quite a few points where the story diverges from the source. It's not an amazing anime either, though it's enjoyable enough for, again, established fans.

    As for the game itself, most people will say the PSP version is better, if only because it's got some extra content and doesn't have the infamous glitch that causes the game to crash once in a great while. Me, I think the original is better. The new art in the PSP version is crummy looking, the voice acting is bad in both so that's a wash (but at least the original's is comically bad), the graphics are sharper in the original when using s-video on a CRT (adjusting it for the PSP's resolution resulted in blurriness), and the difficulty balance got screwed up in the PSP version (the added three-hit combo makes spells and moves a lot less worthwhile). The localization of the PSP version is also really dumb (not that the original's was amazing either). The team decided on a whim to change practically every proper noun outside of the cast's first names. So much for continuity. But this is only an issue for people who have played both.

    There aren't many options for playing it in English. It's not on PSN in the US. So you can buy the original PS1 release or the PSP UMD. I don't know which is currently cheaper.

    I dunno about good reviews either. I'm so passionate about the game that I'm probably not going to agree exactly with anybody on it, haha.

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    SO2 is still worth playing, especially if you're into JRPGs.
    I can't compare it to SO1 since I didn't play it, not out of any sort of snootiness just that a platform that has it never came into my life. I would say its better than SO4, which I did play.
    As far as the experience I would lean towards the PS1 version; some for being the original, more for being a 'TV-sized' game to begin with.
    Economically? I would lean towards the PSP version being cheaper, but assuming we're starting from nothing, getting a PS1 or a PS2 plus a card would be easier and less hair-raising than a working PSP, and a (pessimistic) $40-60 for a CIB copy isn't that big a deal.
    RPGs: Proof that one you start done the dork path, forever will it dominate your wallet's destiny.

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