STAR OCEAN: FIRST DEPARTURE R

Time waits for no catgirl

While this might be a JRPG with a sci-fi twist, fantasy-heads needn’t worry. The planet Roak, where we meet our heroes, is full of fantasy elements: swords, magic, and an abundance of tailed inhabitants. 1 Then a mysterious plague sweeps the land, and two members of the Earth Federation beam down to break their version of Star Trek’s prime directive and spirit the heroes away. The plague has been engineered by Earth’s enemies, and the only antidote lies 300 years in Roak’s past.

Not only are some characters optional, picking some can lock you out of others.

You need to revisit towns to unearth their stories through ‘private actions’. To see everyone’s stories you need to play through multiple times, but it does give you the sense of walking a path of your own choosing.

This first entry in the Star Ocean series originally released in 1996,2 and it shows – the core structure is fairly simple as you travel to new areas to advance the plot, and the real-time combat (think Tales Of) is uncomplicated enemy-whacking with special moves tied to o and u. The flat 16-bit sprites have been remastered and placed onto low-poly 3D maps. You have the option to use the PSP version’s character portraits or brand-new ones, and a choice of three dubs (two Japanese, one English). As well as the visual overhaul, the battles have been tweaked. They’re a fair balance, though grinding a little is necessary (it is a ’90s JRPG, after all). The attention to detail and the way the original atmosphere has been maintained is wonderful, and something Final Fantasy remasters should take note of.

FOOTNOTES1 While almost human-looking, races resemble various animals – including catgirls. 2 This is the first Western home console release, a remaster of the 2008 PSP remake.