Anticipated JRPG remake gets a great anime opening movie from the Azur Lane studio

Star Ocean 2's remake has a lovely anime opening movie courtesy of the studio behind the Azur Lane and Arknights animes.

Revealed earlier this week, the 'Anime Opening Movie' trailer for Star Ocean: The Second Story R is just below. The cutscene has been handcrafted by anime studio Yostar Pictures, who is no stranger to anime adaptations of games, having previously worked on the Azur Lane and Arknights anime series'.

The opening cutscene introduces us to the big players in Square Enix's remake, including people with pointy elf-like ears and even characters with weird third eyes in their foreheads. What's actually going on here, Square Enix?

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The dual protagonists of Star Ocean: The Second Story R are Claude, the blonde-haired boy, and Rena, the blue-haired girl. These two are brought together when a voyage through space to a remote planet goes wrong, leaving Claude stranded with Rena for company.

The overarching storyline of Star Ocean: The Second Story R changes depending on the choices you make as both Claude and Rena. Oh, and fair warning if you haven't played the original game: there's some light spoilers among the comments of the YouTube video for the opening cutscene.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is out later this year on November 2 for PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. It's actually the second remake of the original 1998 JRPG - Square Enix remade Star Ocean 2 already back in 2008, but it was confined to be a PSP exclusive.

Check out our new games 2023 guide for a look over all the other titles launching throughout the rest of the year.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.