Return of a classic for some. First appearence for PAL territories for others and worth the wait for JRPG fans.

User Rating: 8 | Star Ocean: First Departure PSP
By nintendofanjp | Review Date:
This JRPG was originally on the Super Nintendo Entertainmeny System (SNES) back in 1996 and the start of one of Enix's better JRPG series they've made. Basic story is Roddick (who name you can change if you want) and his friends are draged into the middle of a problem that now plagues there planet. I could give more but Wiki can give you more on the story. The graphics of the games are similar to Tales Of Eternia with the 2D character on 3D pre-rendered backgrounds and has anime style cutscenes. Music in the game is you typical JRPG style so it suits the game well and unfortunatley the voice acting in the game seems like it's done by the same dubbing company of Ghost In The Shell and Naruto... I think the dubbing company it's called Bang Zoom or something, I'm no anime nerd so don't ask me for conformation. Gameplay is... well... it's almost exactly the same as the original Tales of Phantasia but with freedom to move, not be stuck in a line and unfortunatley has an almost identical battle menu to Tales Of Phantasia.
The story is pretty good but the addition of voice actors kinda spoils the retro feel of the game but it can be forgiven. The main character voice is Yuri Lowenthal so any Naruto fans will scream 'OMG it's Sasuke's voice!' when he starts to talk. Pretty much this is a retro JRPG fan kind of game that only older gamers may prefer but it's not too difficult for newcomers to try out. I personally say that it's worth it to give your PSP a game that doesn't suck for it's library of titles, but it also proves that the PSP is only good for re-releases of classic games from PS1 and 16-bit consoles. A word of warning though to anyone who wants to buy this game in Austalia, at the moment it's very limited stock but in the first week of November the shelve will have more. This is because of Square-Enix's last minute release info and most stores will have only 1 copy, so to the people who went to New South Wales Mt Druitt EB Games to buy this game I'm sorry but I was the one who bought the only copy there. Again this game is pretty much for retro JRPG fans so if you prefer 3D JRPGs or Western RPGs like Fable then you may be disappointed.

One last thing, this is for Square-Enix Europe... STOP GIVING LAST MINUTE RELEASE INFORMATION FOR GAMES!!!! JESUS GUYS PEOPLE IN PAL REGIONS GET NEGLECTED ENOUGH BECAUSE OF YOU NOT RELEASING EVERY GAME NTSC REGIONS GET, NOW YOUR CAUSING OUR GAME RETAILERS HASSLE BECAUSE YOU KEEP DROPPING THE BALL! STOP IT!!! SERIOUSLY IF YOU DON"T WANT PEOPLE TO BUY YOUR GAMES JUST CLOSE UP SHOP!

Sorry about that this is the 3rd game this has happened with (First was Final Fantasy's anniversary games, then Odin Sphere) and This games is good.

Other Helpful Reviews for Star Ocean: First Departure

  • Rating:9

    I love it, but it has its slow points.

    By MorbidToaster | Review Date: Oct 22, 2008 | PSP

    Overall, Star Ocean is a great, solid, classic RPG. I have to say that I was surprised by the voice acting and cut scenes. I remember playing the original and going through the game struggling to read what was going on, ... Read Full Review

    8 of 8 users found the following review helpful
  • Rating:8

    A look to the past to imagine the future.

    By AzelKosMos | Review Date: Jun 23, 2009 | PSP

    Star Ocean is a series that has been going for quite a long time. Originally started in 1996, the first game was developed for the snes as Tri-Ace's first game. Having never been released outside of Japan however, few RP... Read Full Review

    10 of 13 users found the following review helpful
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