Star Ocean: First Departure R

Star Ocean: First Departure R is the quintessential version of an enjoyable old-school sci-fi fantasy JRPG.

I love Star Ocean: First Departure R. It’s a must-play for JRPG fans, and gaming historians. By modern standards, it might seem fairly simple, but this is a port of a PSP port of a Super Famicom game. It holds up very well and is by far the most accessible way to play this first story. Even players who aren’t JRPG fans might really enjoy the combat. Especially if they’re into hack and slash and beat ‘em up games.

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]

Star Ocean First Departure R is a valuable title that defies time and shows that with deep enough gameplay, dated visuals can not prevent a game from being entertaining.

Overall, this particular port of Star Ocean is simultaneously the absolute best way to play the game today and a bit underwhelming at the same time. Only little has changed between First Departure and First Departure R, mainly portraits, audio choices and upscaling while the gameplay remains rather outdated. The port was literally made for more sales, but I’m still glad they brought this classic game to modern consoles and I had a bunch of fun playing it once again. Here’s hoping we see a Star Ocean: Second Story R in 2020!

Star Ocean: First Departure R gives the players a chance to revive an old classic without ruining its original core.

A classic JRPG in the good and the not so good: it has that charm that only this kind of games possess, but things like structure and narrative hasn't aged so well. In any case, if you haven't played the original (or the remake), Star Ocean: First Departure R is a great opportunity to do it.

Star Ocean First Departure R is an underwhelming port of an excellent but often forgotten Square Enix JRPG.

Star Ocean First Departure R is a satisfying old-school ARPG that's sure to scratch your nostalgia itch. Some aspects may hold a bit too much retro baggage but there's no denying just how charming and imaginative this classic RPG is.

Star Ocean: First Departure R is a beautiful retro game, but at the same time, it does almost nothing to get up to speed on the current gen, making it almost impossible to recommend to anyone unfamiliar with the series.

We therefore recommend purchasing it only for retrogaming enthusiasts and anyone who has a sincere desire to (re) discover the origins of the tri-Ace home brand.

It is the perfect mix between old and new and it's an opportunity to rediscover this masterpiece.

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.

Star Ocean: First Departure R on Nintendo Switch is a fine way to experience the origins of the Star Ocean franchise but a pretty barebones remaster.

Star Ocean: First Departure R is a quality game that any fan of RPGs should add to their library. The series might have faded, but its origins still shine brightly, even in today’s age.

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.

Star Ocean: First Departure R stays true to the original remake on PSP. and was modernised quite well despite some minor deficits. It's definitely worth playing if you're curious about Star Ocean's origins.

Star Ocean probably deserved a better treatment than the one Square gave it, because this port is lazy at best, with no QOL improvements and no new content. The game itself is still quite enjoyable, though.

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.

Star Ocean: First Departure R is the best way to experience the original entry in a historically important series that often gets overlooked. It offers moderate quality of life improvements over its PSP counterpart, and retains the portable appeal with the Switch version. There’s a solid RPG here full of unique mechanics, charm, and lots of originality, but its age is definitely starting to show.

Calling First Departure R a full remaster is a bit of a disservice. Though the new character artwork and Japanese voice track are nice additions, this is still very much the same Star Ocean game that fans played a decade ago.

Star Ocean: First Departure R is an above average game that has the potential to be great. While the story, characters, and world are fun to experience, a dull battle system, uncooperative AI, and reliance on random chance bring it down too much.

Based on the PSP version of the game, Star Ocean First Departure R is first and foremost addressed to the new players. It has some nice improvements though such as the ability to double the game's speed, new illustrations for the characters and a fully new Japanese voice acting by the original cast. However, the high price of the game, combined with the absence of the sequel, The Second Story, is questionable.

Star Ocean: First Departure R is a fine port of a mediocre RPG. It's great that the game is playable now on modern platforms outside of a PSP UMD, but the all same flaws are still present, and a couple of small opportunities to potentially smooth out the experience weren't made. Check out the game if you are curious to experience the original Star Ocean story in some form, but it doesn't stand tall against its peers.