Square Enix brings us the high definition conversion of Star Ocean First Departure, remake of the first title of the series originally appeared on PSP.
Star Ocean has been the saga of action RPG cutting and space opera setting that has gained importance over the years as a saga of interest to both the Japanese public and later in the West accumulating a total of five canonical deliveries and a game for mobile phones It is curious that the origins of this series have much to do with another franchise that has a similar style: the Tales of de Bandai Namco franchise. Part of the team that formed the so-called Wolf Team that developed the first game of that series, Tales of Phantasia, decided to leave after finishing the title, and with a series of disagreements with the company, which eventually led to the creation of the study that today known as tri-Ace.
The first installment would appear originally in Japan in 1996 for the Super Nintendo, being of the games that would take the technical capabilities of the console to the limit making use of a data compression chip, including voices for fighting and also surround sound. Unfortunately, this version would be unpublished in the West, unlike the second installment that came to appear in Europe for PSX, and it would only be possible to play it later with the launch, in 2008, of the PSP remake, which would include among other novelties a graphic section mixing 2D sprites with pre-rendered scenarios, world map zones and 3D combat, character redesigns, dialogues for sequences and also secondary characters, remastered soundtrack and animated sequences made by the animation studio Production IG, known for its work in works like Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire or contributing his work in sequences for other games such as Xenogears or Persona 5. Today we get the remastering of this version for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, which aims to reach both fans of the series as new players the first installment of the series maintaining the essence that characterizes it with some former after additional as a novelty.
The history of the game is located on the planet Roak, more specifically in the small village of Muah. There a young swordsman named Roddick Farrence along with his companions Millie Chliette and Dorne Murtough form the defense squad against the external threats that plague her from time to time. However, the tranquility of the daily routine is altered with the appearance of a strange disease that plagues the surrounding town, whose effects cause its inhabitants to become stone statues. In their efforts to combat it, the group heads to Mount Metorx with the hope of finding a medicinal plant whose properties are said to heal this disease, finding, instead, two members of the Earth Alliance who have gone to investigate the planet , Ronyx J. Kenny and Ilia Silvestri, who assure them that they can help them find the remedy to deter the disease from progressing. Unfortunately, and after a succession of events, they discover that the origin of it resides in a creature that existed 100 years ago, so the group decides to make a time travel in order to find it.
The main novelty that this version presents is, obviously, in the technical section, adapted to high definition to show a notable visual improvement over the original PSP version, although with some moment, not very lavish, in which the sprites of the characters remain in the foreground and their quality suffers. For this version some additional aspects have been added additionally to improve the experience as a new set of designs for the characters, or rather the portraits of them for the conversations, which show reminiscences of the originals of the Super Nintendo version. Although it is an interesting addition and it serves as a tribute, the result is somewhat similar since both the kinematics and the sprites maintain the remake designs, whose designs can be chosen in turn among the configuration options. On the other hand the option of voice selector between English and Japanese has been included, highlighting in this last case the inclusion of both the dubbing of the PSP version along with a totally new version with a different cast of voices. The Anglo-Saxon dubbing, meanwhile, is the same as the western versions of that version.
The playable section of the game is maintained but in this version some adjustments have been made in the difficulty of the game and also including the option to accelerate the action by pressing the R2 button. The gameplay offers the classic style of exploring cities, dungeons and world map, controlling the main character to advance through them and chat with NPCs, or failing to visualize the different Private Actions that will be available when entering each location to know better to the characters of the group. The fighting offers, on the other hand, to face groups of enemies using two different types of attack per character, at short or long distance depending on the range, and being able to make use of the special techniques of each character, maximum of two associated with the L1 and R1 buttons.
The characters can improve their performance with the accumulated experience to level up but, in turn, also buying the skills of specialization, and their respective improvements, in the respective guilds that are in each city, which will allow to spend the points obtained with each level increase to activate and improve the effects of each of them in aspects such as Knowledge, Perception (Sense), Technical (Technical) and Combat (Combat). In turn, the option of creating objects, already known to the followers of the series, which allows, through the mixture of different materials, to create elements that will provide different types of combat advantage will also be available. Also, throughout the development of the game, characters can be recruited for the group that will affect the story in such a way that events will vary depending on the options chosen and even determine the ability to find new allies throughout the adventure and also Get different endings.
Little more can be said about the playable section. In this aspect the game offers a classic game experience in which fighting is the essential basis of the game, especially due to its high frequency through the movement through the world map and the dungeons, to improve the characters. The action-style fights are entertaining as they offer a certain point of strategy trying to exploit the weaknesses of the opponents as well as chaining combos of normal and special attacks to deal more damage. It may be a fairly traditional experience unlike other titles but in general it becomes quite enjoyable in the long run.
In the sound section highlights the soundtrack of Motoi Sakuraba, which being the same as the remake has themes that include new arrangements that provide a reinforced style compared to those of the original game, which translates into a classic style but renewed in this pulled apart. On the other hand, the inclusion of the voice selector, already mentioned above, offers the possibility to anime fans and the most purist lovers of Japanese video games to have a gaming experience more faithful to their preferences with the inclusion of two versions of the dubbing in Japanese language. And, of course, without detracting from players who prefer to play with dubbing in English.
CONCLUSION
Star Ocean First Departure R brings us back the first installment of the well-known Square Enix and tri-Ace series with an improvement in its image quality and the inclusion of voice selector in English and Japanese in addition to other extras, make this The best version to enjoy the adventures of Roddick Farrence and his companions. In general, and despite the passage of time and the existence of better titles in terms of technical quality and development, it remains one of the essential titles of the genre and a title that every fan of the JRPG genre should give an opportunity.
THE BEST
- The gameplay maintains the particular style of the saga, especially in the fighting.
- Quality soundtrack
- The inclusion of English-Japanese voice selector.
WORST
- Again, it only includes texts in English.
- Some graphic details are upgradeable at this point.
Very good
Remarkable game that we will enjoy and remember. A good purchase, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well taken care of at all levels.
