Xbox 360
Star Ocean may not be a big name in gaming, but the series holds a special place for fans of Japanese role-playing games. Made by Square Enix, the minds behind the seminal Final Fantasy series, Star Ocean: First Departure is a remake of the original SNES game that started the series back in 1996.
First Departure's heritage as an updated SNES role-playing game (RPG) is pretty obvious in this new version, with a story about as daft and charming as you would expect: the inhabitants of a distant planet are threatened by a disease that turns them to stone; to find a cure for the mysterious affliction, the characters must journey back in time to face an ancient monster. The title and box art suggest that this plot will lead you on an epic, science fiction space opera. In the end, it's more like a generic medieval/fantasy quest with a couple of extras from Star Trek.
The gameplay is fairly simple and linear, and closely follows the basic RPG template. You wander from town to town fighting random battles for experience and gold, occasionally stopping to shop for weapons, battle opponents in an arena, or check into an inn that heals you as you sleep.
However, First Departure departs from the genre when it comes to combat. Instead of the usual turn-based setup where all the combatants line up at either side of the screen to take turns hitting each other, First Departure combat is in real-time. You control the leader of your party, and can set battle tactics for the group, as well as switch between the players during battle. Unfortunately, fights still usually end up as button-mashing brawls, with very little emphasis on tactics.
It's clear that the developer has updated both audio and graphics for this remake. The visuals are an interesting mix of old and new: over-land travel uses a 3D map of PlayStation 1 quality, while the town and dungeon sections are depicted by some truly lovely static backgrounds. On top of both of these scenes are your characters, still in 2D as they must have been in the original. This was an excellent choice as the characters, while sometimes tiny on the PSP screen, really manage to capture the spirit of those classic games—a feat that few similar updates have managed. Unfortunately, the new soundtrack is less successful. The audio makes passable background music, but you cartainly won't miss it if forget your headphones.
Ultimately, what we have here is a faithful adaption of a classic RPG. The game includes an equal mix of authentic limitations brought from the original, as well as well-conceived updates for the PSP. Both lightweight and playable, this is a piece of gaming history to relax with between more taxing games.