Game Revolution writes: "With a name like "Star Ocean", there are endless possibilities (hence the name, I guess) as to how this game might turn out, especially since its parent company Square-Enix is capable of releasing some stellar, Grade-A titles - Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, and new IPs like Kingdom Hearts and The World Ends With You.
Then there's Star Ocean, a proud member of the Square-Enix "B Squad".
Star Ocean: First Departure is a remake of the original Star Ocean game from 1996 that never managed to make it to the States. And even with this being a "remake", it's obvious what time period it's from as the whole package feels like an early PS1/late SNES-era RPG. The character models look like they were ripped straight from the SNES (complete with basic animation), forgetful music drips through the tinny speakers, bland environments are to be explored (though instead of "Mode 7" or static maps 16-bit maps, they're in beautiful jaggy polygons!), and the "edgy" characters are just as annoying... only this time, you can actually hear them speak. How nice!..."
+ Well-drawn backdrops
- . . .that make the overwrold look crappy
+ Deep leveling system
- . . .but every character levels up the same traits
+/- Classic but old
- Characters feel generic and predictable
+/- First time in the States
Star Ocean is one of those series that did, and still does, things that others don’t. Think of it as a JRPG for fans of series like Star Trek. The casts regularly involve people from more advanced civilizations getting involved with those who are still growing, even though there are various measures in place to allegedly stop that sort of interference. As a result, people get energy weapons, cyborgs, magic and people who can turn into cats. It is a lot to take in.
Let's see here. There was another classic JRPG series that started this SCI Fi. It was Phantasy Star by Sega. Before Star Ocean, there was Phantasy Star 1-4 on Sega consoles
a beginners guide to star ocean....after playing the 3rd game
you've been told that the universe (SO lore) is just a ------------------- and close the book
Yeah, that plot twist didn't work for me. I wish SO3 isn't canon, but it is. Anyway, SE can just sweep SO3 under the rug perhaps by soft rebooting the franchise.
The first two were so great, among the top RPGs on 16 and 32-bit era. I wonder why it went downhill after that...
Play the PS1 game and then the PS2 game and then the rest probably aren't worth your time unless you're a superfan of the series. I think that's all you need to know.
The Enix era began on the NES and ended as we know it in 2003 on the PS2, but in 18 years' time, this publiser released some of the best games ever.
Alex S. from Link-Cable writes: "Video game remakes are a special thing, as typically no one sets out to remake a game that was poorly received when it was originally launched but instead it’s usually only the best of the best that get the remake treatment. Games that reviewed well, were a hit with fans and (maybe most importantly) sold well are often chosen for remakes (why do you think there are so many Final Fantasy and Zelda remakes?) so it stands to reason that most remakes – are typically quite good (check out our list of the best remakes ever)… typically. So today we’re dragging these games out of the gutter to remember why they earned the title of worst remakes of all time, whether it’s because they turned a perfectly good experience sour or are just bad games in their own right."
