New Leak Reveals Remake of Fan-Favorite PS1 RPG

A new leak out of Square Enix -- maker of games and series like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, NieR Automata, Chrono Cross/Trigger, Dues Ex, Tomb Raider, and many other classics -- has revealed that an RPG from the PS1-era is being revived. More specifically, a banner and logo found, and now deleted, on the Square Enix support website has revealed that Star Ocean: The Second Story R is in the works, which sounds like a remake of PS1 exclusive Star Ocean: The Second Story.

Star Ocean: The Second Story is an RPG that debuted on the original PlayStation, PS1, on July 30, 1998, but only in Japan. Those in North America had to wait until 1999, until May 31, to play the RPG. And those in Europe had to wait even longer or, more specifically, until April 12, 2000. The second game in the series, and the first released outside of Japan, it was released to an 80 on Metacritic, and is widely considered a bit of a cult-classic among nostalgic PlayStation fans who grew up playing PS1 games all day.

This initial release was followed up by an enhanced remaster in 2008/2009 for the PSP. That said, where the original game was developed by tri-Ace, the PSP remaster was released by TOSE. Square Enix served as the publisher for both releases, and to this day, controls the IP and releases games for it. 

This wasn't the end of the game though. In 2015, another re-release was dropped, under the name Star Ocean: Second Evolution, and via PS4 and PlayStation Vita. A couple months, its releases were concluded with a Second Evolution coming to Japan, or so we thought. This new leak suggests the game is not being simply re-released or even remastered, but remade, presumably for PS5, at the very least, and likely other consoles as well. 

"In an endless sea of stars, at the edge of the universe, a single fateful encounter is about to take place," reads an official blurb about the game. "The Gods have hurled a deadly meteorite into an unsuspecting planet, unleashing powerful mysterious and sudden chaos. Now, two people from different worlds will collide into a journey so deep, they might never make it back."

At the moment of publishing, Square Enix has not commented on this leak in any capacity. We don't anticipate this to change anytime soon for a variety of reasons, but if the Final Fantasy publisher does break its silence we will be sure to update the story accordingly. In the meantime, an official announcement could be imminent, or at least that's what this leak may indicate. So, be prepared for some official news on the horizon, possibly.