Star Ocean: First Departure R

 PlayStation 4
Star Ocean: First Departure R Image
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 24 Ratings

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  • Summary: Space Date: 346. From a power yet undiscovered, a new generation will be born. Our tale begins on the primitive planet of Roak where Roddick lives in the peaceful and uneventful town of Kratus. As a member of the village’s local “Defence Force” tasked with the protection of Kratus, RoddickSpace Date: 346. From a power yet undiscovered, a new generation will be born. Our tale begins on the primitive planet of Roak where Roddick lives in the peaceful and uneventful town of Kratus. As a member of the village’s local “Defence Force” tasked with the protection of Kratus, Roddick learns of a mysterious disease that has broken out in the neighboring town. Those infected turn to stone, but continue to live on in a petrified state. Roddick, along with his two friends Millie and Dorne, make their way to the neighboring town. Informed of a cure for the sickness, they head to Mt. Metorx where a healing herb is rumored to grow. When they reach the summit, the party encounter Ronyx and Ilia, who appear before them in a pillar of light. Thus, the story of STAR OCEAN begins... … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Digitally Downloaded
    Dec 5, 2019
    90
    People who have played other Star Ocean titles will get a kick out of some of the names and locations being crossed over from those entries. Each Star Ocean title is distinct and self contained, and there's no particular order that you need to play them through, but there's a cohesiveness across key locations and names that establishes this series, infrequent as it is, as being one in which titles are tied to one another. Even if it is a simple case of name dropping time gates and the like at times.
  2. IGN Italia
    Dec 9, 2019
    80
    Star Ocean: First Departure R gives the players a chance to revive an old classic without ruining its original core.
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jan 9, 2020
    80
    The attention to detail and the way the original atmosphere has been maintained is wonderful, and something Final Fantasy remasters should take note of. [Issue@#171, p.92]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Digital Chumps
    Dec 10, 2019
    70
    As it stands, Star Ocean First Departure R is a great RPG that needed a bit more love on the presentation side of things. It certainly deserved it.
  5. Cubed3
    Dec 30, 2019
    70
    Star Ocean: First Departure R is a remaster of a JRPG from another age that was remade from an older age. It mostly holds up and has all the '90s sensibilities and style that a many of fans of this genre have been missing for 20 years. It is too bad that the original Super Famicom Star Ocean could not be included with this for fans to enjoy and see the huge differences. It's a shame that it may become lost in time, but this remaster of the remake is still the story of Star Ocean. It was never the greatest, but it was always highly enjoyable, and did set the stage for the amazing sequel that one day may also get a conversion to current platforms. It is an unusual situation where a remake is influenced by its sequel.
  6. Vandal
    Dec 15, 2019
    70
    This adventure holds up incredibly well, considering it's a PSP game. It’s still quite enjoyable nowadays if you’re looking for an old-school RPG, even if there isn’t a lot of effort behind this version.
  7. PlayStation Universe
    Dec 4, 2019
    60
    Star Ocean First Departure R offers an easy way to play a hard-to-find classic RPG, but very few enhancements makes this a purchase strictly for Star Ocean fans. Simplistic combat and minimal options make this a hard sell for devout JRPG fans.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. l3wis1337
    Dec 5, 2019
    9
    A lot of these 'professional' reviews can be so out of touch. The game is as great as it ever was. If you're a fan of classic JRPGs then giveA lot of these 'professional' reviews can be so out of touch. The game is as great as it ever was. If you're a fan of classic JRPGs then give this one a go. An honest, well told, classic RPG that lots of us still long for.… Expand
  2. ragnawind
    Dec 16, 2019
    9
    The game has improved a lot since the PSP remake. The graphics are better and they made some QoL changes for the talent system, such asThe game has improved a lot since the PSP remake. The graphics are better and they made some QoL changes for the talent system, such as allowing all characters to now get all talents, or so it appears so far. The combat still uses the vastly improved SO2 style battle system, rather than the clunky system from the original SNES release. Some downsides, though, is that the game seems a little easier than previous games and the new character portraits don't really match the sprites anymore, since they didn't make modifed sprites to go with the new looks..… Expand
  4. DragonWriter
    May 9, 2020
    5
    Starting out the game is okay. Getting almost halfway through, everything becomes a bit boring and bland. Some things don't work; like theStarting out the game is okay. Getting almost halfway through, everything becomes a bit boring and bland. Some things don't work; like the item duplication thing. It's too much trouble when you get to that dungeon where they recommend you duplicate the weapons and armor there, but it's way too involving to bother with. I'm just going to try to beat the game and move on. I'll be honest, this has to be the 2nd worse Star Ocean game in the series. The worst one has got to be Integrity and Faithlessness and I'm not even going to go there to play that trash! It's a shame because being that the story is slightly average, the character design and animation scenes are nice. Get it while it's on sale. Having paid $30 or whatever wasn't worth it for me. PS4 has much better RPGs like the top notch Persona 5: Royal and Dragon Quest XI. I suggest checking those out instead to get your RPG fix.… Expand
  5. EvilAbdy
    Apr 28, 2020
    3
    While Star Ocean is a very engaging series this one doesn’t live up to the others. There are a lot of QOL things square could have done forWhile Star Ocean is a very engaging series this one doesn’t live up to the others. There are a lot of QOL things square could have done for this game such as save anywhere, but chose not to. The combat gets very repetitive very quickly. Especially with random battles occurring every 10 steps it feels like. Aside from that the sprites of the characters are very nice and the combat mostly is ok. Though, after a while you just find yourself mashing buttons as you spend 30 minutes crossing a continent only because of the random battle frequency. If you’re considering buying this wait for a sale. It’s a short game and you definitely shouldn’t pay full price for this. There are much better things to spend your time and money on… Expand