Star Ocean The Second Story Rena Openings Compared

With Star Ocean The Second Story R, the opening segments for Rena and Claude may look different. To help compare, Square Enix shared a trailer focusing on Rena’s introduction.

Rather than a split-screen effect showing how the original PlayStation game introduction looks compared to the new one, this video involves clips shown one after another. The Star Ocean The Second Story R Rena introduction trailer begins with the 1998 peek at the continent on Expel from above, before showing the 2023 more detailed look at the map. From there, we see the mysterious object descending to the Sacred Forest just outside of Rena’s hometown of Arlia. In the 2023 version, it’s a more vague glowing orb compared to the original. It then shows the focus on Rena and her mother Westa’s home in the 1998 version. In the 2023 version of the game, there will be a more panning view of Arlia itself instead. 

It’s important to note that while this is a video comparing the first few moments of the Star Ocean The Second Story R Rena route, we never actually see her in the footage. Instead, it focuses on setting the stage before a player gets to pick up her adventure and control her as she heads into the Sacred Forest. The demo, which is immediately available worldwide, lets someone see the new introduction firsthand.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R will come to the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC on November 2, 2023. The game can also immediately be found on the PlayStation and PSP worldwide and the PS3, PS4, and Vita in Japan.