Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP) Review
Posted by Derek Robbins on 12.01.2008
After a very long wait, the original Star Ocean finally hits US shores on the PSP. How does it fare though? 411's Derek Robbins brings us a review.
The Sony PSP is a system that is rich in ports. To be quite honest, most of my favorite games on the console were released for a different console first. Square Enix looked to continue this trend as they have recently released the remake to the original Star Ocean – a title that has never been officially released outside of Japan – on the PSP. This game is a bit different than the usual remake because, well, a lot of people in America haven’t got the chance to play the game or experience the story. How does this game measure up to the other RPGs on the console? Well, let’s find out.
Gameplay and Story
Usually when you play a Japanese RPG, you’re expecting something of the turn-based affair. Most of the biggest hits in the genre make use of this system. Star Ocean; however, does not. In Star Ocean you control one of three characters – the AI controls the other two, you can issue general tactics to them though – and you’re free to move about the battlefield as you please. You control every slash and bit of magic you fling. So, compared to your typical RPG…you’re actually quite in control.
That doesn’t mean it’s good though. While I enjoy that I have the ability to run around the terrain as I please, I often found that battles took little to no strategy. Frequently, I found myself mashing on the X-button while occasionally pressing L or R (for quick spells) to cast magic. I’m not going to say that you can just mindlessly mash through the whole game – I mean, there are times that you need to think about what you do, as with most games – but for the most part that button was getting a lot of work from me. If you’ve played Star Ocean 3, it’s a lot like that – just in sprite form. If you haven’t played a Star Ocean before, you can even compare it to Tales of Symphonia. It’s more free-form than TOS (that’s horizontal only), but it’s essentially the same thing.
There’s also another issue with the way the whole thing plays out. While you are a reasonably intelligent individual and can control your character decently, the AI really can’t. If you don’t mess with the tactics at all, your allies will literally throw away most all of their MP. You can edit your tactics, of course…but I found that unless I explicitly told the AI to not use any skills, they over-used them. This is a problem because I found myself constantly using healing items on my partners when I would have preferred to save them for later. Of course, it’s hard to complain about this. It’d be impossible for you to control all-three characters given how the game plays…so it does what it can. I just wish my AI played a little closer to how I play. This was a problem with Star Ocean 3 as well, so hopefully they’ll have this fixed by the time the remake of Star Ocean 2 hits.
The gameplay doesn’t rest solely in the combat though. There are some customization elements available to make your characters feel unique. How you do this is by purchasing skills from the store and allocating these skills to your characters as they level up. These skills can range from things that help you in combat – such as making healing items more effective or giving you better speed – or also the ability to have skills out of combat. This allows for a character who is simply for use in creating items. These skills are usually used for alchemy or cooking, both of which have a practical use to your journey. I like this because it feels like, even though you can only have three characters fighting at a time…your entire team has the ability to contribute. It’s good.
The gameplay in Star Ocean is simply average. It’s just an average battle system with above-average mechanics. If this game only had a battle system that was a little more focused, I feel the mechanics would have combined with the system to make one hell of a memorable experience. The problem is that it doesn’t and the whole thing just comes up as one mind-numbingly mediocre experience. I hear that Star Ocean 2 is one of the finest Role-Playing games of all time, so I hope the battle system is improved upon in that game because if not…I’ll probably be let down.
Given how this plays though, I’m surprised it wasn’t released in the United States before this point. For a role-playing game it’s very accessible and if you’re new to the genre I’d almost certainly recommend it to you. It has some more in depth stuff, but if you have a friend that you really want to play more “hardcore” RPGs with, you may want to start them off with something like this.
To couple with the relatively simplistic gameplay you have a relatively simplistic story. While it’s not a bad story by any stretch of the imagination, it’s all relatively predictable and by-the-books. I found myself interested in what happened because there are some intriguing moments, but to say that this is an over-whelming story would be an all-out lie. So if you’re looking for a crazy plot-twist filled mess similar to Metal Gear Solid you’ll be disappointed.
The story, in short, is essentially about three youths – Roddick, Mille, and Dorne – trying to find a way to heal their homeworld of a mysterious ailment. Turns out the disease is actually a result of a biological weapon that was set off. So, in order to cure the home world (known as Roak), the heroes – now aided by space adventurers Ronyx and Ilia – go back to the past to try to find a cure considering the disease comes from a monster that has long since died.
That’s a pretty simplistic summary. No spoilers there. It doesn’t get much more complicated than that though. For some, considering the futuristic nature of parts of the beginning, this may be kind of a shame. If you want a straight-forward story though, you really won’t be let-down.
Sound
I thought that the music in the game was pretty good, and held my attention throughout. While I do say it’s good, nothing was really that great. There wasn’t a single track that grabbed my attention and had me hooked. Games with really sensational soundtracks always have that one song. FF VII had One-Winged Angel, Chrono Trigger’s Main Theme is one of the more iconic pieces out there, and there just wasn’t a song like that in this game. Heart is an alright theme song, but it didn’t exactly blow me out of the water. That’s fine though, the soundtrack doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It’s serviceable and that is all that matters.
Seeing as this was a remake though, there were a few changes and one of the biggest changes occurred in the form of voice work. That’s right, the original Star Ocean now has vocal work to accompany the characters. I have to be honest, I’ve read some complaints about the voice work and I find them totally un-founded. I find that most every character has a good-to-great voice. My favorite two vocal performances come from Roddick (Yuri Lowenthal – Simon from Gurren Laggan and Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto) and Ilia (Julie Maddalena – Dita Liebely from Vandread and Sakuya Kumashiro from Tenchi in Tokyo). Both voice actors really make their characters feel life-like and in the end, I felt myself most closely attached to those characters.
Even though those are the two I like most, I still felt that most of the cast really performed well. It’s not the world’s greatest bit of voice acting, but I think Square chose a good vocal unit for the localization. I have no complaints whatsoever.
Graphics
Star Ocean was a game for the Super Nintendo and you can really tell that through the character sprites. I think they look quite charming and really take me back to the past, but at the same time…if they’re going with the whole remake feel, perhaps they could have updated the character sprites a little bit? Don’t get me wrong, I think the game both looks just fine, but at the same time…would a 3D-remake have been that hard to do? After all, Final Fantasy IV had a similar remake on the DS. This is from the same company, so I didn’t figure it’d be TOO hard for them to pull it off.
The backgrounds look pretty nice. They’re pre-rendered and look a little beyond the SNES technology. That said, I really can’t tell if this is a new feature or not. I never played the SNES version of the game. If you held me at gunpoint though, I’d say the backgrounds and battlefields probably couldn’t be held up on the SNES in the same way it’s held up on the PSP but I could be wrong.
The cutscenes are anime-style cutscenes. They are well-drawn and a pleasure to watch. So as far as that is concerned, I am pretty pleased. These are a good addition and I love it when remakes decide to throw in cutscenes. It actually makes it feel like a new experience, even if it’s not totally a new one. It gives the player the incentive to play the game, so they can see something new, something they haven’t seen before. So for that, Square, big props to you.
Lasting Appeal
Here’s the thing. I think this game is pretty fun for an initial playthrough, but I really couldn’t see myself playing through the game again. Neither the gameplay nor the story were compelling enough for me to re-visit the game. This is pretty much a game you’ll play once, appreciate, and never play again. It’s a nice game to play on the road during elongated road trips or bus waits, but I don’t see this one being a title that sucks up your time.
Fun Factor
The game, while essentially being a masher at times, is a pretty enjoyable experience that I think can be fun as long as you don’t take it too seriously. If you go in expecting a world-shattering RPG you will be let-down. From everything I read, the sequel to this game is about a thousand times better…so if you come into Star Ocean 1 expecting Star Ocean 2, you will not have as much fun.
If you come in expecting a decent RPG that you can enjoy by taking it at face-value, you’ll probably enjoy it. There’s not a whole lot of thinking, there’s no: “Whoa, whoa, did I miss something here?” with the plot…it’s just a nice experience that I would mostly recommend to those who are trying to get into the genre. It’s not the greatest RPG out there, but it’s a serviceable one.
The 411
If you’re a fan of Role Playing games or you desperately want your friend to start enjoying the genre, this game is definitely for you. It’s a pretty simplistic and easy-to-pick up JRPG. The combat doesn’t get too deep for those un-familiar with the genre and the story is pretty easy to comprehend. As a portable game, it works fantastically. You can play it for short bursts and not lose out on the story. It’s a good game for those less hardcore.
If you are really deep into the genre though, I’d recommend sitting this title out. It may be a good game, but you’ve played better games with similar play styles. The battling system isn’t nearly complex enough to hold your attention and the story isn’t by any means revolutionary. If you’re a die-hard Star Ocean or Tales of series fan, maybe you should consider this but otherwise? Wait it out. This has got to be one of the few RPGs I’ve felt would be better played by someone who doesn’t like the genre. That’s just how I see it though.
Graphics
7.0
It's pretty much what you could expect from a SNES title, but the cutscenes are pretty nice at least.
Gameplay
7.0
Fairly simplistic gameplay. While it gets harder at certain parts, for the most part you can just mash your way through the game.
Sound
8.0
Good - not great - soundtrack with some pretty impressive vocal work.
Lasting Appeal
5.0
You probably won't play it multiple times unless you really enjoy the game.
Fun Factor
7.5
It's pretty fun. Certainly more accessible to people not familiar with the genre. I don't think that it'd blow your world open, but as far as portable RPGs go this one is really fun.
