Star Ocean: The Second Story is an action RPG developed by tri-Ace. Enix published it in Japan on 30 July 1998, and Sony Computer Entertainment brought it to North America in 1999 and to Europe on 12 April 2000. Masaki Norimoto and Yoshiharu Gotanda directed it, Minato Koio drew the art and Motoi Sakuraba wrote the music.
The game is known for its 86 possible endings, and Enix chose sprite-based characters to give it an anime look. It sold 1.094 million copies worldwide, 724,000 of them in Japan.
Tose's enhanced version, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, came out on PSP in Japan on 2 April 2008 and in the West in 2009. Gemdrops later made a remake, The Second Story R, released on 2 November 2023; it is treated as a separate game. The story was also adapted as a seven-volume manga by Mayumi Azuma and the 26-episode anime Star Ocean EX, which aired on TV Tokyo in 2001.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Star Ocean: The Second StoryEnglish Wikipedia gives 8 June 1999, TCRF gives 6 August 1999. | PlayStation | 1999 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| NA | Star Ocean: Second Evolution | PSP | Jan 20, 2009 | Square Enix | 1 |
| JP | スターオーシャン セカンドストーリーSutā Ōshan: Sekando Sutōrī | PlayStation | Jul 30, 1998 | Enix | 2 |
| EU | Star Ocean: The Second Story | PlayStation | Apr 12, 2000 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 3 |
| JP | スターオーシャン2 セカンド エヴォリューションSecond Evolution, enhanced version by Tose. | PSP | Apr 2, 2008 | Square Enix | 2 |
| AU | Star Ocean: Second Evolution | PSP | Feb 12, 2009 | Square Enix | 1 |
| EU | Star Ocean: Second Evolution | PSP | Feb 13, 2009 | Square Enix | 1 |
| JP | スターオーシャン2 セカンド エヴォリューションSecond Evolution port, also on PS Vita; Japan only. | PlayStation 4 | Oct 28, 2015 | Square Enix | 2 |
| JP | スターオーシャン2 セカンド エヴォリューションJapan only. | PlayStation 3 | Dec 24, 2015 | Square Enix | 2 |
Also known as: スターオーシャン セカンドストーリー JP2Sutā Ōshan: Sekando Sutōrī JP1SO2 JP2Star Ocean: Second Evolution WW1スターオーシャン2 セカンド エヴォリューション JP1
Box art by region
NA Star Ocean: The Second Story 
EU Star Ocean: The Second Story 
JP スターオーシャン セカンドストーリー
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GameplayPlayStation (EU)PSone Books (JP)
The European release lets players hold the X button to speed up the item-creation animation; the later Japanese PSone Books edition adopted this too.3
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ContentPSP
Second Evolution adds cutscenes by Production I.G, a re-recorded soundtrack, a new playable character, 13 more endings, new voice acting and the opening song Start by Scandal.1
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TextPSP
In Second Evolution the town of Milocinia is renamed Milokeenia.1
Translations
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English Official
Sony Computer Entertainment1999PlayStation · Japanese versionReleased · complete
The official English version was published in North America in 1999 and in Europe in 2000.1
Reception
The original sold 1.094 million copies worldwide (724,000 in Japan, 370,000 elsewhere) and was the 13th best-selling game of 1998 in Japan, but North American sales were too low for a Greatest Hits reissue. Famitsu gave it 33/40 and Metacritic lists 80/100; reviewers praised the gameplay, and it has a cult following.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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