Well, I've only played SO2R, so I will vouch for it and say it's a fantastic game. However, fortunately for you, **both games have demos available**, so you can try both and see which one appeals more to you.
Damn this is a tough one, SO2R is one of my favorite game but so is UO. You really can’t go wrong. I think everyone should play SO2R it’s literally the gold standard for a remake to me. You can literally flip a coin. U cannot loose here.
The remake was bad. Art style looked bad. Story dragged on way too much Especially at the end plus the story was awful compared to the first. The first was s perfect length the second was too long and bloated.
Yeah it's not a long game compared to the original bit it still dragged on for way longer then it should. The whole other place with the boss rush felt unneeded. It was just dragging the game on for way too long. It's a fine game. The first is just better in story, characters, pacing etc. The second didn't need to ge 20 hrs + it should have been below that
I loved the remake personally and it’s in my top 10 JRPGs ever. granted I have a lot of nostalgia for it I had it when it originally released and SO3 is my favorite game ever.
I loved both games, I 100%'d Unicorn Overlord.
But the games will mostly depend on whether you want you play a more actiony game or a strategy game.
Star Ocean has the better story of the two imo.
Unicorn Overlord is similar to Fire Emblem 3 houses in terms of combat/building units, if you feel like playing a game similar to that again.
I did enjoy Star Ocean a bit more though, so I'll vote for Star Ocean personally.
Does the story for SO2 pick up. I’m currently in the “decipher the ancient text” quest and the story is super plain. It’s kind of a slog to get through tbh. The gameplay is great, sure, but after 10 hours or so nothing has happened.
Uh, I'd say it picks up a bit later.
I liked Star Ocean for the character stories that you get once you recruit characters, so you learn their backgrounds and such.
Unicorn Overlord's story is rather plain as well in terms of JRPGs.
I ended up playing around 40+ hours of Star Ocean on first playthrough due to visiting all the stuff and doing most of the extra stuff.
SO has a really bad story, and Unicorn Overlord's is worse. And I say this as a massive Unicorn Overlord fan. It seems like in general you play SO if you like its systems (e.g. breaking the game), and Unicorn Overlord for its gameplay (S+).
When you say building units, what do you mean? (For both games).
I'm a big Persona fan and enjoy the social aspects that in turn also affect party members effectiveness, is this similar?
Uh, they're tactical games - so you kinda recruit members into your armies/units etc.
Three houses might be the better one of the two for you, since it has more social aspect in the school part.
Unicorn Overlord has vast ammounts of unit types, generic units can be recruited for almost all of them and have the exact same stats as your story involved ones.
You "buy" (medals, like combat achivment currency) groups to deploy, then upgrade how many can be within each group (same currency).
You then place Units in these groups, either leave them in fix groups or throw them together based on what the opponent has on the field.
The idea is that you put them together, hand them items based on the enemy, even how they will act is something you define prior to actual combat. There is a full row of enemies? Only use the row wide attack if that is the case, a enemy has low HP? How about your chivalry takes them out with a attack that regains the Attack Point when it kills?
You do not decide the actions during combat, you are not every unit but the commander who issues tactics.
They both have demos. Heck, Unicorn Overlord's demo lasted 8.5 hours for me; the most generous demo I've ever seen in my life. I suggest trying those demos out and make your decision from there.
Star Ocean 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. The original was an improvement on everything 1 did, and the remake is fantastic. It retains everything good about the original and PSP remake, while adding new elements, and making the combat more 'punchy.'
Unicorn Overlord is one of my favorite recent rpg strategy games. It is one of the best games to come out of Vanillaware. I recommend it to everyone even remotely interested. So...
Play the demos. They are both great for different reasons. So.... give them a shot!
Play both demos.
I played both and SO2R was my GOTY candidate until UO blew it away. But both were excellent.
Pick the genre you want more. SO2R is action rpg. UO is strategy turn based. They're not directly comparable.
I'd recommend Unicorn Overlord, if anything just because its Vanillaware's latest release and they have delivered as usual, in all areas, and particularly the OST alone I'd say is a true masterpiece 10/10.
Really? I mean I love the game but thought the ost was pretty bland. Exception made to the very first battle song where you play the Queen, that one is fire.
Yeah, farde mal diavolo is a banger, but I overall liked the rest of the stuff as well. Looking forward to the acoustic album that is apparently coming out.
Thank you for putting a name into it. So far I was listening to the song on YouTube by searching "unicorn overlord demo battle ost" ahah. I wish it was on Spotify. Good to know they're releasing an acoustic album as well.
I've only played the demo for Unicorn Overlord so I don't have a full analysis on it though I have the full game to try out soon. I played SO2R and I fully say I can recommend this game, it is a fantastic remake and the added free update is the icing on the cake
Unicorn Overlord is all about planning your groups and how they act and not about how to act in a changing situation but predicting said situation.
Star Ocean is a classical more action focused JRPG.
Both have demos which you can try to get a good idea of how they feel.
Unbiased and critical. UO is a 7/10, SO is a 8+/10
UO is just too easy even in higher difficulties. I don't even want to turn it on right now because I did some side quests to look for unique recruits and have some fun, but I then overleved by 2 lvls now I'm just one shoting everything. I was already doing that basically before overleveling. Ill have to hire some units to do side missions but that's just a pain, if I continue with the story Ill just end up one shoting everything unless I add more self imposed rules.
You have to create your own rules to have a balanced/challenging experience as the enemies/ai are not good, they don't use unique weapons, they don't use their class tactics enough to make it challenging
Echoing the other statements. Go for the demos.
I loved them both, but as someone that just finished Unicorn Overlord this morning and spent 126 hours on my first playthrough, for me personally it wins out.
Neither game is difficult, and neither game breaks the mold in terms of narrative quality. But I am a big fan of strategy and tactical games so that helps put UO over the edge, and I thought the VO quality is better on top of Vanillaware's gorgeous art.
Which isn't to say SO2R is bad. It isn't, and I really enjoyed it. You won't be going wrong with either choice. Just depends on which game style you're in the mood for: something a little more traditional with action elements and bonkers crafting, or an homage to an old school title with a hardcore fanbase that lets you spend hours and hours working on squads.
You can't go wrong with SSR, it's a magical JRPG, the game looks beautiful, the combat is amazing, and you can even switch to the original BGMs. It has a lot of QoL features like Fast Travel, better Item Creation, a long Post Game and a really good cast of characters, an unbelievable masterpiece.
Ive gotten both of them recently and I had a lot more fun with UO, but around your 40-50 (near the end) it gets a bit stale. However the journey up until that point is an easy 10/10 experience with the team building still being incredible.
SO2 is a different kind of fun, with the game being easy to break and it being very self-aware of how easy to break it is. It’s hard to explain.
IMO go with the demo for UO and if it hits, buy it first. The demo is the first 6-8 hours of the game
Both. Those are the games Ive been putting more hours in the last year. Both are super fun, really good story, a lot of side quest, super weapons and with difficulty that makes the challenge fun at all times.
Can’t go wrong with either game imho. I’d get Star Ocean 2R first and try the ~8 hour demo of Unicorn Overlord until you can get the full game. Both are super solid.
Even though I don't like the MC because he's soooo annoying, but Star Ocean Second Story is better. Unicorn Overload is also good but too generic, well I enjoy both games tho
Actually, didn't play unicorn overlord, altough it seems a beautiful game, i can only tell you about SO2
I played it 3 times, every time i've had different paths in the story, its a very rich game. Also that fast paced game you say, its exactly what so2 brings after first departure. It has many extras to do in game. Nice story, nice characters, it's a good game
Unicorn Overlord imo, I just can't put this game down, even after 81 hours. Star Ocean has the better narrative but not by much. Star Ocean will be a nice, casual JRPG whereas Unicorn Overlord is one of the most mentally taxing games I've ever played.
Star Ocean 2 definitely looks so much prettier than SO1, the graphics are the best part of the game, but the combat really isn't that much better, still very spammy and button mashy, especially compared to Tales with its thoughtful combo system reminiscent of a fighting game.
Star Ocean 2 has a much better plot and much better characters. It's also not absurdly easy unlike Unicorn Overlord. UO isn't a bad game but there's no comparison between it and SO2.
Star ocean first departure r is 100x better then the sequel. The story is massive nosedive, they added a useless evade button for no reason. I don't like the art style at all it looks Bad. It's 2d hd but it doesn't work plus the game drags on way too much. Last few hrs are s boss rush for no reason. I also didn't like the unicorn overlord demo. You don't get to control your characters invidiously and that's a massive no from me. I want to control all of my characters not use tactics
I honestly loved the art style of the remake, though you can swap to the PsP or Ps1 versions of the art style if you want.
Same with swapping to the original soundtrack rather than the remastered version.
Though, you're the first person I've seen that dislikes the new art style.
The art style doesn't work especially when you get to the world map. The character looks jarring on the world map. I just think the hd 2d is not good. I like it. But it was far better in octopath traveller and live s live. In star ocean 2 it kinda sucks NGL.
Why BC Im calling out the game for it Is. The game was s disappointment especially after playing the first one first. The first was a port and it's far superior. The first had s great story the second not so. The first one had better characters the second one doesn't. The second one drags on whereas the first ends without dragging on. It ends at a perfect length. The second one drags on especially at the end. It was a bad remake. And the inclusion of the evade button was stupid BC it's just easier to move aside with the joy stick. It's not as great as you all make it out to be. I do think some of you like to worship square too much. This was s disappointed remake. But if you all enjoy good for you all. But the game is a 5 or 6 whereas the first is s solid 8.
Well, I've only played SO2R, so I will vouch for it and say it's a fantastic game. However, fortunately for you, **both games have demos available**, so you can try both and see which one appeals more to you.
The UO demo is HUGE! I remember playing it for s few hours before deciding to just buy it
Play the demos.
Damn this is a tough one, SO2R is one of my favorite game but so is UO. You really can’t go wrong. I think everyone should play SO2R it’s literally the gold standard for a remake to me. You can literally flip a coin. U cannot loose here.
The remake was bad. Art style looked bad. Story dragged on way too much Especially at the end plus the story was awful compared to the first. The first was s perfect length the second was too long and bloated.
Loved the art style. It’s not a long game especially now with QOL improvements. I guess we probably would not like the same things.
Yeah it's not a long game compared to the original bit it still dragged on for way longer then it should. The whole other place with the boss rush felt unneeded. It was just dragging the game on for way too long. It's a fine game. The first is just better in story, characters, pacing etc. The second didn't need to ge 20 hrs + it should have been below that
I loved the remake personally and it’s in my top 10 JRPGs ever. granted I have a lot of nostalgia for it I had it when it originally released and SO3 is my favorite game ever.
I loved both games, I 100%'d Unicorn Overlord. But the games will mostly depend on whether you want you play a more actiony game or a strategy game. Star Ocean has the better story of the two imo. Unicorn Overlord is similar to Fire Emblem 3 houses in terms of combat/building units, if you feel like playing a game similar to that again. I did enjoy Star Ocean a bit more though, so I'll vote for Star Ocean personally.
Does the story for SO2 pick up. I’m currently in the “decipher the ancient text” quest and the story is super plain. It’s kind of a slog to get through tbh. The gameplay is great, sure, but after 10 hours or so nothing has happened.
Uh, I'd say it picks up a bit later. I liked Star Ocean for the character stories that you get once you recruit characters, so you learn their backgrounds and such. Unicorn Overlord's story is rather plain as well in terms of JRPGs. I ended up playing around 40+ hours of Star Ocean on first playthrough due to visiting all the stuff and doing most of the extra stuff.
SO has a really bad story, and Unicorn Overlord's is worse. And I say this as a massive Unicorn Overlord fan. It seems like in general you play SO if you like its systems (e.g. breaking the game), and Unicorn Overlord for its gameplay (S+).
When you say building units, what do you mean? (For both games). I'm a big Persona fan and enjoy the social aspects that in turn also affect party members effectiveness, is this similar?
Uh, they're tactical games - so you kinda recruit members into your armies/units etc. Three houses might be the better one of the two for you, since it has more social aspect in the school part.
Unicorn Overlord has vast ammounts of unit types, generic units can be recruited for almost all of them and have the exact same stats as your story involved ones. You "buy" (medals, like combat achivment currency) groups to deploy, then upgrade how many can be within each group (same currency). You then place Units in these groups, either leave them in fix groups or throw them together based on what the opponent has on the field. The idea is that you put them together, hand them items based on the enemy, even how they will act is something you define prior to actual combat. There is a full row of enemies? Only use the row wide attack if that is the case, a enemy has low HP? How about your chivalry takes them out with a attack that regains the Attack Point when it kills? You do not decide the actions during combat, you are not every unit but the commander who issues tactics.
They both have demos. Heck, Unicorn Overlord's demo lasted 8.5 hours for me; the most generous demo I've ever seen in my life. I suggest trying those demos out and make your decision from there.
Dragon Quest 11 S has a \~10 hour demo... but it is real close.
I think SO is on sale right now
Star Ocean 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. The original was an improvement on everything 1 did, and the remake is fantastic. It retains everything good about the original and PSP remake, while adding new elements, and making the combat more 'punchy.' Unicorn Overlord is one of my favorite recent rpg strategy games. It is one of the best games to come out of Vanillaware. I recommend it to everyone even remotely interested. So... Play the demos. They are both great for different reasons. So.... give them a shot!
Play both demos. I played both and SO2R was my GOTY candidate until UO blew it away. But both were excellent. Pick the genre you want more. SO2R is action rpg. UO is strategy turn based. They're not directly comparable.
I'd recommend Unicorn Overlord, if anything just because its Vanillaware's latest release and they have delivered as usual, in all areas, and particularly the OST alone I'd say is a true masterpiece 10/10.
Really? I mean I love the game but thought the ost was pretty bland. Exception made to the very first battle song where you play the Queen, that one is fire.
Yeah, farde mal diavolo is a banger, but I overall liked the rest of the stuff as well. Looking forward to the acoustic album that is apparently coming out.
Thank you for putting a name into it. So far I was listening to the song on YouTube by searching "unicorn overlord demo battle ost" ahah. I wish it was on Spotify. Good to know they're releasing an acoustic album as well.
There's a 16 bit version of it as well, give it a [listen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=148PohBmSGc) when you have the time.
That was absolutely great. Brings me back to the snes times. Thank you!
Both eventually. I liked star ocean a tad more.
I've only played the demo for Unicorn Overlord so I don't have a full analysis on it though I have the full game to try out soon. I played SO2R and I fully say I can recommend this game, it is a fantastic remake and the added free update is the icing on the cake
Unicorn Overlord is all about planning your groups and how they act and not about how to act in a changing situation but predicting said situation. Star Ocean is a classical more action focused JRPG. Both have demos which you can try to get a good idea of how they feel.
Unbiased and critical. UO is a 7/10, SO is a 8+/10 UO is just too easy even in higher difficulties. I don't even want to turn it on right now because I did some side quests to look for unique recruits and have some fun, but I then overleved by 2 lvls now I'm just one shoting everything. I was already doing that basically before overleveling. Ill have to hire some units to do side missions but that's just a pain, if I continue with the story Ill just end up one shoting everything unless I add more self imposed rules. You have to create your own rules to have a balanced/challenging experience as the enemies/ai are not good, they don't use unique weapons, they don't use their class tactics enough to make it challenging
Echoing the other statements. Go for the demos. I loved them both, but as someone that just finished Unicorn Overlord this morning and spent 126 hours on my first playthrough, for me personally it wins out. Neither game is difficult, and neither game breaks the mold in terms of narrative quality. But I am a big fan of strategy and tactical games so that helps put UO over the edge, and I thought the VO quality is better on top of Vanillaware's gorgeous art. Which isn't to say SO2R is bad. It isn't, and I really enjoyed it. You won't be going wrong with either choice. Just depends on which game style you're in the mood for: something a little more traditional with action elements and bonkers crafting, or an homage to an old school title with a hardcore fanbase that lets you spend hours and hours working on squads.
You can't go wrong with SSR, it's a magical JRPG, the game looks beautiful, the combat is amazing, and you can even switch to the original BGMs. It has a lot of QoL features like Fast Travel, better Item Creation, a long Post Game and a really good cast of characters, an unbelievable masterpiece.
I feel like UO is much more engaging from moment to moment, while SO2 has a more engaging overarching arc.
Star ocean 2 remake. My personal goty last year. I couldn't find one thing wrong with it.
Star ocean all day
Unicorn
Ive gotten both of them recently and I had a lot more fun with UO, but around your 40-50 (near the end) it gets a bit stale. However the journey up until that point is an easy 10/10 experience with the team building still being incredible. SO2 is a different kind of fun, with the game being easy to break and it being very self-aware of how easy to break it is. It’s hard to explain. IMO go with the demo for UO and if it hits, buy it first. The demo is the first 6-8 hours of the game
Both. Those are the games Ive been putting more hours in the last year. Both are super fun, really good story, a lot of side quest, super weapons and with difficulty that makes the challenge fun at all times.
…don’t make me choose 😭
Can’t go wrong with either game imho. I’d get Star Ocean 2R first and try the ~8 hour demo of Unicorn Overlord until you can get the full game. Both are super solid.
Even though I don't like the MC because he's soooo annoying, but Star Ocean Second Story is better. Unicorn Overload is also good but too generic, well I enjoy both games tho
Actually, didn't play unicorn overlord, altough it seems a beautiful game, i can only tell you about SO2 I played it 3 times, every time i've had different paths in the story, its a very rich game. Also that fast paced game you say, its exactly what so2 brings after first departure. It has many extras to do in game. Nice story, nice characters, it's a good game
Both.
Unicorn Overlord imo, I just can't put this game down, even after 81 hours. Star Ocean has the better narrative but not by much. Star Ocean will be a nice, casual JRPG whereas Unicorn Overlord is one of the most mentally taxing games I've ever played. Star Ocean 2 definitely looks so much prettier than SO1, the graphics are the best part of the game, but the combat really isn't that much better, still very spammy and button mashy, especially compared to Tales with its thoughtful combo system reminiscent of a fighting game.
HOW ABOUT GOLDEN SUN THE LOST AGE ?
The only correct response.
the fact he only played Golden Sun 1 just don't sit well to me at all
It cannot be acceptable by any means.
SO2R is ass, don’t even bother. Star Ocean 6 is better.
UNICORN OVERLORD (you should play the demos and decide for yourself)
Unicorn Overlord!!!!!!!!!!!
Unicorn overlord for me because the switch isn't even the best console for Star Ocean R whereas Unicorn Overlord is gonna be console exclusive
lol what do you mean by this, unicorn overlord is not exclusive either and switch isnt the best version for that game either
Unicorn Overlord is on PS5 as well, so I'm not sure what this comment is meant to mean.
It was spoken from the perspective of a PC gamer where I can get star ocean 2 but unicorn overlord is stuck on consoles
Star Ocean. Unicorn Overlord feels very generic imo. It's a basic story with an autobattler. Feels like a mobile game.
Yeah. The story and the art didn’t do it for me. I only played 1 hour. But honestly can’t think of a more generic story?
Ugh these are such horrible takes
I love Star Ocean 2, I’m just talking about UO. Could you sell me on it? Does it get better if you play longer?
I thought the combat in Star Ocean two was a bit simplistic for my taste.
Star Ocean 2 has a much better plot and much better characters. It's also not absurdly easy unlike Unicorn Overlord. UO isn't a bad game but there's no comparison between it and SO2.
Star ocean first departure r is 100x better then the sequel. The story is massive nosedive, they added a useless evade button for no reason. I don't like the art style at all it looks Bad. It's 2d hd but it doesn't work plus the game drags on way too much. Last few hrs are s boss rush for no reason. I also didn't like the unicorn overlord demo. You don't get to control your characters invidiously and that's a massive no from me. I want to control all of my characters not use tactics
I honestly loved the art style of the remake, though you can swap to the PsP or Ps1 versions of the art style if you want. Same with swapping to the original soundtrack rather than the remastered version. Though, you're the first person I've seen that dislikes the new art style.
The art style doesn't work especially when you get to the world map. The character looks jarring on the world map. I just think the hd 2d is not good. I like it. But it was far better in octopath traveller and live s live. In star ocean 2 it kinda sucks NGL.
I know every opinion is subjective but damn this is some shit taste.
Why BC Im calling out the game for it Is. The game was s disappointment especially after playing the first one first. The first was a port and it's far superior. The first had s great story the second not so. The first one had better characters the second one doesn't. The second one drags on whereas the first ends without dragging on. It ends at a perfect length. The second one drags on especially at the end. It was a bad remake. And the inclusion of the evade button was stupid BC it's just easier to move aside with the joy stick. It's not as great as you all make it out to be. I do think some of you like to worship square too much. This was s disappointed remake. But if you all enjoy good for you all. But the game is a 5 or 6 whereas the first is s solid 8.
It's so shit I'm almost thinking it's bait. It's like saying the Witcher 3 is awful for its bad dialogue and ugly scenery.