Deeply devoted
fans of the role-playing game genre and proud owners of Sony’s handheld
certainly love the fact that the PSP is now home to some truly memorable and
amazing RPG titles. It’s also great to see newly reworked RPG classics make an
appearance whether you’ve been dying to play the first Final Fantasy game or the
revamped version of the first Valkyrie Profile. Now Star Ocean fans will have
something to cheer about with the first US release of Star Ocean: First
Departure for the PSP.
North American
gamers’ first introduction to the Star Ocean series was with a sequel to First
Departure called The Second Story for the original PlayStation but after playing
the excellent sequel fans have been waiting for a chance to play the first game.
The wait is finally over and what we have here is a game that has been
wonderfully translated and given a fresh coat of paint to make it even prettier
than the original.
The gameplay
and story, of course, remain intact and it’s an interesting one despite a major
problem I will get into in a moment. The story revolves around a planet named
Roak where a mysterious illness is turning the planet’s cat-tailed residents to
stone. In the town of Kratus are three young warriors that set out to find a
cure for the illness only to run into Captain Ronyx and his second-in-command
Illia who are two humans from a planet far more advanced than Roak. As unusual
as these two humans are to them, Roddick, Millie and Dorne are transported
aboard a Terran Federation ship on a mission to save the planet and its people.
You follow
Roddick through most of the game and it becomes clear that this young man is
thrust into the role of savior of his people. Of course, the cure for the
illness can only be obtained by traveling back in time and this is where the
adventure really takes off. Part of what drives the story is the fact that a few
of the cut scenes are actually handled anime-style and you’ll meet other allies
along the way that will come to your aid and join your party. There are towns to
visit and dungeons to explore as you move along on the world map.
First Departure
is a very traditional role-playing game with all the usual elements of an
old-school and Square Enix didn’t change very much in terms of how the game
progresses or even extend the game’s short length. The changes made to the game
are cosmetic with a slight change to the game’s fun combat. Battles that occur in
the game are more action-packed than most classic RPGs and you have full control
over the central character Roddick while the AI handles the other characters
unless you select them during skirmishes. You’re allowed the freedom to move and
attack so you can unleash normal and special attacks without having to wait for
your enemy to make a move first.
Each character
also brings something different to each battle or situation. Millie, for
example, has the ability to heal party members who are injured during battle
while Roddick is able to perform some heavy attacks. You can also customize
items to make them more powerful and you can always learn new
specialties and skills on your own or through Skill Guilds. You
can even hone your combat skills in an arena setting later in the game that
offers one-on-one fights.
The only real
problem with the game was that the story doesn’t leave more than enough room to
come to know and love the characters. We are revealed some background on each
character but not enough that we appreciate them. Why does Ilia follow Captain
Ronyx even in situations she knows aren’t very wise or safe? We know of the love
triangle that forms in the game but why does Millie like Roddick so much? It’s
hard to really get into the story if the characters seem like cardboard cutouts.
Still, there’s a lot to like about this game and the many interesting events
that develop in the course of your quest. Even the PSP controls fit the game
nicely.
Graphically
speaking, this remake looks downright gorgeous and does take advantage of the
PSP’s graphical capabilities. While retaining some of the classic’s overall
look, the characters look detailed and the original backgrounds have been
removed and replaced by sharp and colorful backgrounds. As an anime fan, I was
glad to have seen the game be given the anime treatment as far as the cut scenes
are concerned. There really should have been more anime-styled cut scenes but
what is here is excellent.
The game’s
sound isn’t as impressive as the game’s visuals but there’s nothing here that’s
altogether bad. The soundtrack, for instance, isn’t very bad at all but it just
isn’t as wonderfully epic as other RPGs such as Final Fantasy. Then again, the
game makes up for it with a great voice cast that does a good job with the
dialogue. Anime voice actor Yuri Lowenthal really does a great job voicing
Roddick and Julie Maddalena is great as Ilia. The rest of the game’s sound is
decent enough.
Star Ocean:
First Departure doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel but rather it brings back
a stellar classic RPG that fits right at home on the PSP. If anything, its
old-school charm still makes for a delightful game that might be a bit on the
short side but still has all the things fans of the genre can’t help but like
from start to finish. If you missed out on this game, this is a great chance to
experience this reworked classic. Here’s hoping we get a PSP version of its
sequel, The Second Story.
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Gameplay: 8.0
The game still
retains the classic controls and gameplay of the original, which might be good
news for fans of the original. Combat in the game is rather fun so you won’t
mind getting into battles in this one and the story isn’t bad at all … although
it doesn’t quite give you a chance to warm up to all the characters.
Graphics: 8.0
The newly revamped
visuals give the classic some new life and the anime cut scenes are so good
you’ll wish there were more of them throughout the game. Strangely enough, the
visual effects are still as good as it was back when the game was first
released.
Sound: 7.5
The soundtrack is
only Ok compared to other RPG scores so don’t expect an epic soundtrack. There
are minimal sound effects as well so the star of the show is the voice acting
that contains some stellar to so-so performances from most of the cast.
Difficulty: Medium
You’ll encounter
some tough foes later in the game but by then you’ll get a sense of how combat
works and just how to take advantage of each character’s fighting ability. This
was one of the first role-playing games I’ve played that didn’t get my party
killed very often.
Concept: 8.0
First Departure
isn’t a very lengthy adventure but it does make up for it with its charming
universe and decent story that is just interesting enough to keep you in its
world. It’s good to see the game released on our side of the pond and on the PSP
no less.
Overall: 8.0
It’s great to see
games that were originally released only in Japan make it here even if it did
take a long time. Star Ocean: First Departure for the PSP is a classic
role-playing game favorite and seeing it with a new splash of fresh paint makes
this a great version to own even if you managed to play the game so long ago.
For the majority of RPG fans that didn’t, however, playing this old-school
classic is highly recommended.
