Star Ocean: First Departure R in the Test

It’s the year 2019 – the Star Oceanseries is now a well-known, numerous offshoots have made their way into the West found and are enjoying a considerable fan base. But where are the beginnings of the series are actually? Appearance Star Ocean First: Departure. The game was released in 1996, but only came with the PSP Version in 2008, also at last in our realm and now we may the origins of the Star Oceanadventure for the first Time in a Quasi-HD and on the big screen experience.

Sci-Fi-Fantasy

The Story of Star Ocean: First Departure R is a Mix of Science Fiction and classic Fantasy: On a medieval-tinged planet breaks a mysterious disease, which ensures that the living people to turn into stone, and a solution of the problem seems remote. Fortunately, our brave spaceman, which is not expected to interfere actually in the events of technologically under-developed worlds are there, but what heroes would be, if you don’t need to use every opportunity to be heroic? And so, you find out relatively quickly that the cure can only be found if also the original carrier of the disease is found – the only Problem? This is several hundred years in the past …

Traditional Action

Star Ocean: First Departure R is in all respects a classic role-playing game for the latest Port with a few nice convenience features, and visually as well as technically sound improved was.

During your adventure, you hike through a not-too-detailed upper world as well as many far prettier individual Locations, the wonder spray full of Retro Flair. Fights are in the best 90s-style triggered randomly and are not based around, but Both your up to four Party colleagues, as well as the adversary can move in the combat arena, is attacked by means of a standard attack or special techniques that you can put on two shoulder buttons. One of the characters you control yourself, the Rest may be commanded via AI-Settings. The fights are fast, kinds of, however, especially as the game progresses, more and more in technology-Spammerei – after all, there is no reason to help with long-term normal attacks when you can go in hot, simply and with no technical warning, excessive techniques. The game is fun but that does not detract.

A little more complex than the battles themselves, is the Skill System in Star Ocean: First Departure R: With earned experience to get your stretching also Skill points on various Soft Skills, distribute can. The advantage of this is that you are able to improve your General attributes, such as strength, on the other, your characters will learn additional skills that may not be used outside of combat, for example, playing Music or Crafting. The entire Skill System without the use of recipes, and the like, and therefore will run in the first place after the Trial-and-Error-principle; he who invests here, however, will also be rewarded according to, among other things, with weapons, which you can Tinker with the Crafting System already far in front of your Fund, point in normal play and use.

New comrade-in-arms welcome

A Feature that nearly 20 to 25 hours long is Star Ocean: First Departure R not only in addition to interesting power, but also re-play value is missed, the possibility of new characters in your Party to recruit. Some of them you encounter during the main story automatically, others need to be found and can sometimes be added only during a certain point in the Game to your Party.

The Clou: Depending on who you recruited and who is in your group, run a variety of Events in the Story a little differently – and the end comes in several variations, therefore you can in a single run is not for all to see. And then the Private Actions short interactions between characters that are both people – as well as depending on the location and the Story additional depth give it.

Where we are with the characters: These have been overhauled for the PS4 and Switch Port, by the way, most of all: The simpler-drawn PSP-portraits, the edge of the counter to look during dialogs from the bottom of the screen, with the First Departure a new, more detailed Version, and also the language issue has been extended; so you may now between the English and the two Japanese (classic and new) language tracks to choose from. The portraits can be set in the menu, both new and classic. The only downside to the pretty new images: they don’t always fit with the seen in-game Sprites. A small drawback, but this can be by switching to the classic portraits fixed, it should bother you actually.

CONCLUSION:

Star Ocean: First Departure has me already at that time, in the year 2008, very well liked, and the new Port, the classic J-RPG are even better. In the years the title has been nevertheless noticeable that, contrary especially to the annoying increasing Random Encounters and the not-too – sophisticated combat System, the Story and the characters but quickly under her spell, and some new Features, like the built-in Turbo mode, your protagonist can run faster, control too large a Retro-frustration skillfully. Who are the origins of the Star Oceanseries never has experienced or you have in your currently beautiful Form once again a new experience, like it is in every case!

What Star Ocean: First Departure is R? The HD revised the first part of the well-known J-RPG series
Platforms: PS4, Nintendo Switch
Tested on: PS4 Version on your PS4 Per
Developer / Publisher: Square Enix
Release: 5. December 2019
Link: Official Website