Star Ocean: First Departure

"The adventure that started it all"

Star Ocean: First Departure is one RPG for the PSP that you should not miss. The game is finally available in America, and it definitely was worth the wait.

Plot: 8/10
The plot starts out with Roddick, Dorne, and Millie patrolling the city of Kratus, acting as the towns' defense force. They are of the Fellpool race, a human-like species with tails. While patrolling the city, bandits raid the city, but the group drives them off. Later on, Millie's father is told of a disease in a town across the river infected by a disease that is turning people to stone. Millie's father, a healer, goes to try to tend the disease. Upon receiving bad news, the group heads for the town to investigate this strange disease. A chance encounter while looking for a cure at the top of a mountain leads them on the adventure of a lifetime. Like Star Ocean 2 and 3, you meet many characters along your journey and pick your own party members from a dozen or so great characters.

Graphics: 8/10
The sprites for the characters are great, and pretty detailed. The towns and dungeons you visit all vary greatly, from a temple in the middle of the desert to a pirate hideout along the coast. Battle animations are beautiful and the frame-rate is flawless. The world map has some flaws, where sometimes parts of it don't load right away and appear as a blank area of nothingness behind a jaggy landscape.

Gameplay: 10/10
In a word, flawless. A very simple control scheme is used where you have 1 button for standard attacking, move with the d-pad or analog, and the triggers which you can set various killer moves to. You should have no problems mastering the controls in the first 10 minutes of the game. The battles play out in real time. Tales of and Star Ocean vets should have no problem learning the battle system.

Sound: 8/10
The voice acting is great. Yuri Lowenthal and Dick Smallberries Jr. as Roddick and Dorne are absolutely fantastic. The music in some areas is somewhat dull, but other tunes, such as the one that plays in the town of Astral, make up for that. Despite some rather boring music here and there, there is nothing that is flat-out awful.

Overall: 8/10
Star Ocean: First Departure is a buy for any action rpg fan. With a fantastic story, great cast, superb gameplay, and incredible skill and item creation system, you will certainly get your moneys worth, especially at the $30 price point.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/13/09

Game Release: Star Ocean: First Departure (US, 10/21/08)