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- Square Enix
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- Square Enix
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- Square Enix
Star Ocean: First Departure R
Released On: Dec 5, 2019
73
7.0
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
73
35% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
65% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
73
35% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
65% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
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.
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.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 32 User Ratings
7.0
63% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
16% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
22% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 32 User Ratings
7.0
63% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
16% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
22% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
An impeccable first entry into one of Squares longest running franchises. Wondering the world of Roak felt fantastical and extremely well crafted around ever corner. Whether it was practicing alchemy to get Orichalium/Meteorites, perfecting my customize weapons, or getting just ONE MORE level before entering an unknown area, over and over I found myself blissfully lost in the games farming loops. This wonderful gameplay loop was accompanied by a gorgeous world, well crafted enemie spirts, and truly grand story that almost always blindsided me the moments I felt I had it figured out. The only downfall SO:FDR suffers from is a lack luster villian(s) and a rushed final 3 hours of the game that never truly seemed to feel truly pertinent. I am glad that I took the time to invest in this game as I will be diving into the series full steam in the coming future. 91/100
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PlayStation 4
This game was fantastic. The graphics are beautifully new while keeping the aesthetic of the old graphics. The gameplay was smooth and tight. Learning all the mechanics of the game and what each skill did was a blast. I thought that even the story was good. Your decisions affecting plot points and who you can recruit. I really had an awesome time with this game. It was my first ever Star Ocean game.
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PlayStation 4
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 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 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.
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 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.
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PlayStation 4
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 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..
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PlayStation 4
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 give this one a go. An honest, well told, classic RPG that lots of us still long for.
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PlayStation 4
Starting 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.
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PlayStation 4
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 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
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PlayStation 4
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, Roddick learns of a mysterious disease that has broken o...
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- Nintendo Switch
- PlayStation 4
Initial Release Date: Dec 5, 2019
Developer:
- Tri-Ace
Publisher: Square Enix
Genres:
