Hope you like it!! I loved Second Story, and this one sounds even better. But definitely nothing that shines particularly bright. The feeling of a combination of Final Fantasy and Star Trek was great. I say do yourself a favor and pick this gem up. Here it is, the first real part of my next major retrospective! A well done remastering of the first Star Ocean title. Overall, Star Ocean: First Departure R is an average release of an even more average JRPG. Regardless, Star Ocean: First Departure R is an overall port of a good game. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Hope you all enjoy, as always let me know what you think down below. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It’s certainly worthwhile as lore for the second game, and it has some funny skits and some decent dialog/characters. this game has a built in Personal Action system that basically takes your response and either help you or go against your will, and what you say earlier on can effect later Personal Actions. I'm a huge fan of "Star Ocean: The Second Story", so when I heard its predecessor came out, I had to give it a try. Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2019. The first details of the game were revealed at the "Star Ocean Special Stage" during the Square Enix Party 2007, alongside those of Star Ocean: The Second Story.Yoshinori Yamagishi, producer of the series, stated that he wants the remakes to feel as though they're completely new games. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, If you liked SO2, you will enjoy this game, Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2019. With superb voice acting, phenomenal replayability, and a great translation with new hybrid 2D/3D graphics, Square Enix’s remake team did a great job. While it is certainly fun and enjoyable, it retains a number of traits associated with the best JRPGs. It's all quite basic and it works smoothly without any noteworthy hitches except the obvious one: it gets repetitive. Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2012. 3:30pm - HerrFrog Chills with RPGs, Trails of Cold Steel III Trailer Showcases New Allies, Second Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists Trailer Released, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Mercenaries Blaze: Dawn of the Twin Dragons, Final Fantasy Legend II (SaGa 2 Hihoudensetsu), Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, RPG Cast – Episode 568: “What Popcorn Is Disgaea?”, Gloria Union Remaster Announced for Japan. Star Ocean: First Departure boasts an item creation system as well as a fairly extensive skill system which can be used to boost certain attributes of … The party you control are members of the defense corps that protects the town, soon it’s attacked, and you’re able to protect the town. I feel as though for once squareenix hasn't disappointed (not too pleased with most of the latest releases) I like the voices overall Pericci I find annoying. Star Ocean: First Departure R does its job of bringing First Departure to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, but fails to do much beyond that. So pick it up you won't be disappointed. It plays much like Tales of Phantasia as one might expect. Published December 6, 2018. There's a problem loading this menu right now. Star Ocean First Departure R is the best Star Ocean game in a long time. A lot of players come into this series expecting a true science fiction story, and are often disappointed to find that the majority of their time is spent on the undeveloped “backwater” planets. It stands out in a few ways from its contemporaries, mostly in its Tales-esque battle system and character recruitment and affection minutiae. This game just encapsulates fun for me (outside of the tedious backtracking and archaic dungeon design *see hidden passeges that are required to progress*) and I remembered liking it more than the Second story PSP release. Star Ocean released on the Super Famicom in 1996 and saw a western release via a remake on the PSP in 2007. Review for Star Ocean First Departure R on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Theres just fewer useful abilities and some strange design flaws (ronyx uses a useless bow that provides no INT? I loved it, just thought it needed some polishing. I played this on a ROM some time ago when DeJap released their translation patch. You can still see all customer reviews for the product. I'm not saying that First Departure has a poorly written story, but it saves all of its noteworthy developments for the latter phases when it should have showcased them throughout its campaign. The world feels as if it might as well been just a bunch of dots for cities connected by roads. With all that said, I think the score is fair. Star Ocean First Departure R finds you in the mostly peaceful town of Kratus, as the character Roddick and his friends, Millie and Dorne, who are part of the local defense force. Really solid review! First Departure kicks off in a typical fantasy world of swords, magic, and monsters. Star Ocean: First Departure R is a classic game that reminds us of where the series started. I found it a very good game for the PSP. This game is an rpg gamers dream. Doing justice to a game long overdue for a release, Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2008. The story doesn’t do much on its own but it does a … Star Ocean: First Departure is short for an RPG, but very replayable due to the different choices you can make and characters you can recruit. 9pm - The RPGamer Experience / JCServant Plays, 12pm - Loffter Plays The remake of the original Star Ocean which came out … Square Enix seems to be churning out its fair share of quality remakes these days, and Star Ocean: First Departure on the PSP is yet another strong update on a classic. STAR OCEAN First Departure R (PlayStation 4) Review By Albert Lichi 30.12.2019 3 When the original Star Ocean came out for the Super Famicom, it was one of two titles that held the distinction of requiring the largest cartridge size Nintendo would allow. Gotta go, Pericci's meowing. It truly is nice to think what may have happened had this gotten a western release originally! However, if you are willing to accept this as a condition and enjoy the series’ environments and atmosphere, you are sure to enjoy it. It features a diverse cast of characters that will make you want to play … SO: First Departure was the first game I've ever played for the PSP and bought it when I got my PSP early in 2009. Love the choice style combat. The second, Star Ocean: The Second Story was a PlayStation gem, while the third, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time had a twist that had some swear off the series for good. The game is only one player, so don't go trying the Mlan switch, but do expect to want to play the game over again, or want to have the strategy guide. and he’s a pure offensive mage? RPGamer has been covering RPGs since 1998, with the current version of the site launched in 2018. Those of you not familiar with Tri-Ace Star Ocean series (and I am basing the following explanation on Star Ocean 1-3), they feature mostly non-serious stories in a Star Trek-like universe, where the Galactic Federation decrees that people from “developed” planets— those that created advanced technology and space travel— are required to conceal their technology if they happen to visit people that populate undeveloped planets. Star Ocean First Departure R brings the PSP game to both PS4 and Nintendo Switch with some minor adjustments. I agree with Seifer276. For the most part, the events leading up to "good stuff" consists of your checking various towns, occasionally slipping into a simple dungeon, and then repeating the process. Sure, this game does feature a more entuitive battle system than FF, but after leveling up after several encounters makes you tolerant of the enemies attacks. The … This page works best with JavaScript. MonsterVine was supplied with a PS4 code for review. Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2009. There was almost no reason to veer off the track other than for one new optional character. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, See all details for Star Ocean: First Departure - Sony PSP, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. The graphics are fine for the PSP screen resolution, and the gameplay is simple enough not to suffer from the not-so-precise L-Analog stick. The fantastic RPG studio tri-Ace's debut game is back in a remake of a remake so let's see if … Allow me to start by saying I've played all the Star Oceans and am a huge fan. Star Ocean: First Departure R is a phenomenally solid game for those looking for an old-school RPG to play that will also offer a wealth of content and replayability. Due to the wholesale change in our back-end and systems only certain content created from 2018 onwards has been carried over to our new site. However, all of our older content can still be found at archive.rpgamer.com. Didn't have a psp at release but now especially at $15 or so its a must buy. Please make sure that you are posting in the form of a question. I couldn't be happier. It’s a fun game simply because SO2 is a fun game to play. Star Ocean: First Departure R starts out as a by-the-numbers JRPG set on the planet Roak. For Star Ocean: First Departure on the PSP, GameFAQs has 11 reviews. and his normal attack is so awful you’d have to be crazy to use it…? Star Ocean: First Departure R features a truly terrifying epidemic within the confines of the planet, Roak, in place of an initial, focal antagonist. When bandits come knocking on your door, you start your first battles of … The game is both fun and challenging some dungeons being more difficult than I remember (mount metorx cave). Like Final Fantasy reading the dialogue is important. When it was first released, it was one of the best-looking 2D games out there, but since it has been remade (and remember, this is a port of the remake), they’ve added animated cutscenes and completely redone the graphics. Star Ocean: First Departure R is a fine port of a mediocre RPG. Barring the spikes that may take some initially unaware, Star Ocean: First Departure R is not too challenging, and beating the game should take less than thirty hours. This guide is the best way to get the most out of your game, whether playing once or multiple times. It stands out in a few ways from its contemporaries, mostly in its Tales … In search of anything that may cure their homeland from this malady, Roddick and friends head off into the mountains in search of a herb that is rumored to c… SO2 was the better entry to introduce in the West. I actually played this game on the PSP and remembered liking it so much that getting a chance to play it again was amazing. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Read GameSpot player reviews and contribute your own! I began playing this game on the heals of completing Chrono Trigger (DS) and Tales of Phantasia (GBA). There are a few additional dungeons that open up near the very end of the game, which house the best equipment, and offer tougher fights than the final boss. Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2009. These include a simple storyline, a fascinating combat system, and a … The storyline isn't the most original, by any means, but it's pretty good for standard RPG fare, and the characters and events have a nostalgic charm that really reminds the player of the classic 16 bit RPGs of yore. 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