Star Ocean Part I: The Original

Finally, I'm feeling confident enough to start my first series, beginning with Star Ocean. This is mainly because I want to cover Star Ocean: The Second Story soon, as it began my love for the RPG genre, and honestly, video games in general. To get to that game, though, I need to cover the original first. Before getting started, I want to preface this article: It was very difficult to find any primary sources on the first Star Ocean. This is due to a combination of the game being 23 years old and being only released in Japan. I am semi-fluent in Japanese, so I took to the internet to see if I could find any articles in Japanese...and yeah. I didn't have much luck. So the mass majority of this article will be about the re-release and the upcoming re-re-release. Per the usual, let's go over some of the basics.

Basics Star Ocean was published by Enix and developed by tri-Ace. It was released on July 19 1996, exclusively for Japan, on the Super Famicom (SNES). It was due to be released state side but was canceled due to Enix closing its American division, as well as several other factors. Shame that such a thing cost many of us a chance to play one of the best RPGs of all time... at least until the re-release.

The re-release was published by Square Enix and developed by Tose co. It was released on October 21 2008 for the PSP in the US and Canada. Now, let's delve a little deeper into the development.

Development The game was originally developed by tri-Ace. In case you were wondering, the team is named that because the 3 founders were called the "three aces" when they worked on Telenet for Namco. The founders names are Yoshiharu Gotanda, Masaki Norimoto, and Joe Asanuma (who left in 1998).The company has since been financed by Enix and did not change with the merger. They have developed many famous RPGs: Star Ocean series, Xenoblade, Resonance of Fate, Valkyrie Profile games, and Lightning Returns, to name a few. As stated previously, the re-release was developed by Tose. They have been busy bees since 1982, helping to develop 228 games as of this posting. They started off porting games from the arcade to the NES, developing original titles here and there. Once the Game Boy was released, they began making and porting titles to it as well. It has been the same story with the DS and 3DS.

As for specifics on development for the original game and the PSP, all I could find was an interview from 1996. It was with main programmer and writer Yoshiharu Gotanda (one of the three founders of tri-Ace) and game designer Masaki Norimoto (another founder). Before forming their own studio, they developed Tales of Phantasia for Namco. While the game turned out to be a classic in its own right and began the Tales series, it wasn't exactly what they had envisioned. After leaving and forming tri-Ace, they took some of the basic concepts from Phantasia and expanded on them, thus creating Star Ocean. They offered the player more choices for the story, battle, and item management. They also created a larger story. The battle systems are very similar, being one of the few real comparisons between the two. These similarities may be why both series rank really high for me.

Previews

Star Ocean was previewed in the July 1996 issue of Nintendo Power. The tagline is "fresh ideas and new technology take Star Ocean where no RPG has gone before!" To compare the two right out the gate, they mention the developers having worked on Tales of Phantasia previously. The biggest selling point, however, was that it pushed the Super Famicom to its limits. One way the developers were doing this was by adding ten OVA voice actors to create battle voices. What the characters would say at the start and end of battle would change depending on the enemy your are fighting and their strength. Nintendo Power states that "...you may even hear two characters talking at the same time!", which was unheard of (ahem) at the time. Additionally, they mention the emotion points you build up with each character in your party. These affect the endings the player can get at the end of the game.

At the conclusion of the preview, the author theorizes games like Star Ocean were beginning to blur the line between "games, movies, and other forms of entertainment." They felt that the game was as close to a playable movie as they could get at the time. Sadly, this is the only English (or Japanese for that matter) preview I could find on the original game. I do, however, have a butt load of previews for the PSP version. These will be covered from earliest to most recent. The first preview I could find for Star Ocean: First Departure, the PSP re-release of the game, was by GameSpot. It reports that the game will have new characters and voice acting outside of battles. This information came from the Square Enix Party of 2007, which I'll admit, is my kind of party. In September of the same year, Siliconer went more in depth about the changes to the battle system. Tose was revamping the system, making the battles flow more effectively, as well as being more action oriented. September 2007 was also the month of the Tokyo Game Show. GameSpot played the game at the event, although they failed to bring a translator, so they weren't sure what was going on storyline-wise. They do note that the game looked great for a PSP title and that the battle system was a ton of fun.

IGN also got a hands on experience with the game at TGS. They only had 15 minutes to play the game, making it difficult to tell what exactly was new to the remake. Still, like GameSpot, they enjoyed the battle and crafting system. About a month later, Square Enix announced that there would be a limited release PSP bundle. It would come with a Star Ocean themed PSP-2000, a themed carrying pouch, and a copy of First Departure. The price was set at 24,800 yen, a little less than $250 at the time. In my personal opinion, I think it is one of the nicest limited edition PSPs. Even though I already have four (read: more than enough) PSPs, it's going on my wish list for sure! A little over a month until its US release, in September of 2008, IGN got their hands on the game for a second time. Overall, they found it to be a fun, engaging experience. They enthusiastically say the animated scenes were "impressive" and the story "classic." The battle system reminded them of Star Ocean: The Second Story and they found the 3D battlefields/2D characters to be "charming."

Their only real complaint was the lack of a Japanese voice option, as they found the American voice acting stilted and awkward. Which I can attest to, although some of the voices are fine.

Reviews Since I couldn't find any contemporary reviews for the Super Famicom version of the game, I will be going over reviews for First Departure. If anyone has a link to some Japanese reviews, I would love to read them! Once again, I will be breaking down the reviews into the following categories: sound, graphics, and gameplay/story. Sound Two websites, Worth Playing and PlayStation Illustrated, found the voice acting not only good, but great. Worth Playing called it "surprisingly superb", even if it can get pretty silly at times. To the reviewer, that only added to the JRPG vibe. PlayStation Illustrated agreed and said that it improved the game overall, as well as effectively telling the story. All the other reviewers, however, found the voice acting passable at best. GamesRadar, however, was not amused and found the voice acting to be "mostly horrible." Personal opinion (again): Whether you will like the dubbed voice acting in any game is wholly dependent on whether you can tolerate English dubs in anime or Japanese movies.

The music, much like the voice acting, was considered by most reviewers to be passable. Square Enix Music Online does a full breakdown of the music and its composition. Their opinion is similar to Engadget's take on the music; it's mainly forgettable. Even so, they liked the music and felt that it fit into the Star Ocean series well. They described it as "fairly solid", although still "...the weakest in the series." They gave the music an 8/10 overall. It is quite the (somewhat technical) read, so if you are interested, as always, the link can be found in the sources.

Graphics All of the reviewers found the graphics to, at least, be decent and a much needed update to Star Ocean. Worth Playing gushed over the visuals, saying they "virtually pop" off the tiny PSP screen. Cheat Code Central felt similarly, stating that the graphics were "immediately impressive." Both felt that the slight update kept the game feeling fresh, while still looking retro.

It's worth noting, as GameSpot did, that the "impressive" graphics were created by anime powerhouse, Production I.G. They loved the cutscenes so much, as did the Engadget reviewer, they wished there had been more of them. Additionally, GameSpot liked the character sprites and pre-rendered backgrounds, but found the 3D world to be "bland."

Gaming Nexus and RPGFan found the graphics to be fairly average, though still a nice update nonetheless. Gaming Nexus stated that the game does look better than it did on the Super Famicom, but it doesn't look "significantly" better. The go further, saying "...you can easily tell where tri-Ace went in and updated it." Poor Tose can't get the recognition they deserve, but I digress. RPGFan also reflected this overall sentiment, noting that they couldn't find anything "bad" about the graphics, but that the world map isn't much to look at. Gameplay/Story Feelings on the gameplay were overall pretty positive, although most felt the story hadn't aged well. Worth Playing thought that the story was well told and the gameplay strategic. While RPGFan found the story to be aged, the gameplay still retained "...a fun factor." PlayStation Illustrated noted that although the story feels stale now, it was still ground breaking for its time.

Of the gameplay and story, GameSpy is of the opinion: "The thing about updating an old-school RPG for a new generation of gamers is that you can't stray too far from the formula that made the original a success to begin with. What this means for First Departure is that the game follows just about every convention of the JRPG genre." That having been said, the place Star Ocean stands out "...is in its battle system." Overall, after replaying it, the reviewer understood why it still holds a special place in RPG fans hearts.

For GameSpot, two things really held up the game for them: the battles and the crafting system. Sadly, the reviewer felt there wasn't much else to the game. Even the battle system grows "wearisome" as it is fairly "barebones" by 2008 standards. Overall, they gave First Departure a 6 out of 10, stating "there are simply too many better RPGs on the market."

Gaming Nexus disliked the gameplay and story more than GameSpot. They state that they wanted to like First Departure, but they "found the story too boring to stay interested" and they "didn't care much for the main characters." Of the battle system, they weren't fans of the button mashing that often shows up later in the game. They also couldn't understand how they kept getting lost, despite the game's world being relatively small. Despite all the cons outweighing the pros, they game the game a 7.5 out of 10. Weird.

Retrospectives According to Nintendo Life, there was a translation patch released in 2009, allowing English speaking RPG fans to finally play the original Star Ocean. They called the game one of the best looking SNES games ever created and describe the soundtrack as great. They elaborate that "there's honestly not a bad musical track in the entire game" and that there is a ton of variety. The combat system, though, is where "...Star Ocean gets really interesting." It was certainly unique and comprehensive for its time. Overall they gave the game a 9 out of 10, feeling "it's easy to understand why so many diehard RPG fans have held this game is [sic] such high regard for so many years." Racket Boy covers Star Ocean in their article: "Games That Pushed the Limits of the SNES." It was one of two games that used the S-DD1 chip "to aid in compression of almost all sprite graphics and map data" which made the game special for its time. The game also used the "flexible voice driver" from Tales of Phantasia to "overcome the 64kb limit of the SPC700 chip..." Star Ocean even had surround sound!

In another article they wrote on the best RPGs for the SNES, it is lauded for having a great sci-fi storyline and fantastic battle system. Hardcore Gaming 101 Retrospective

This article, as always, can be found in the sources below. It goes over a ton of history and little details. I'll cover some of the highlights here:

First, the article covers some details on Telenet, the development team the members of tri-Ace worked for when making Tale Phantasia, which the later became Tales of Phantasia. They did not appreciate the design constraints place on them by Namco, so they left to form their own team.

They were, obviously, inspired by Star Trek, taking "a number of elements from the classic series." For example, the opening scenes were ripped straight from Star Trek IV. The Star Ocean series isn't just sci-fi though. The majority of the main story takes place on planets, adding fantasy elements. If you love sci-fi and fantasy, I would personally recommend the series.

Tales of Phantasia influenced two key areas of Star Ocean. The first was presentation. Tales pushed the Super Famicom/SNES to its limits as well and was using the largest size ROM at the time, allowing for vocals. Star Ocean used the same size ROM, along with having a compression chip that stored more graphics. After decompression, it was "...easily the largest 16-bit cartridge game ever made."

The second aspect they lifted from Tales was its real-time action based battle system. It is fairly simple and straightforward, and allows for some strategy in tougher battles.

Despite these similarities, Star Ocean stands out on its own. For example, the skill system was unique. The player gains skill points for each character, by leveling up and from certain character events. These points are then used to level up specific skills. Certain skills have uses outside of battle, as well. This amount of customization was "...unprecedented in any other 16-bit console RPG."

Star Ocean also introduced Private Actions, which you trigger outside of towns. The party will then split up inside the town. Here you can see character specific events. These "...are a great way to expand the personality of the cast." This idea was actually borrowed by the Tales series and renamed "skits."

All that aside, they do note the game is a little messy from a "structural standpoint." Even so, "Star Ocean is remembered in Japan as one of the last great RPGs on the Super Famicom", having been released two years after the PlayStation launch. Speaking of Japan, the game was never localized for several reasons. Mainly the late release, the cost of the chips, and because Enix of America had been shut down by this time.

As for the re-release, it was actually modeled off of the second game and its re-release for the PSP, Second Evolution. The author, pessimistically, says that patterning the game after Second Story (the original title for Second Evolution), removed "much of what made the original so unique." Now, this would usually be where I end things and move onto my conclusion. I can't do that this time however, because we have some recent news! Re-re-release While researching, I came across some exciting news for Star Ocean fans. Star Ocean is getting another re-release/update. It will be called Star Ocean: First Departure R and will be remastered for the Switch and PlayStation 4. Square Enix has created a page with the artwork and a message: "Incoming Transmission." Sadly, there isn't much more info at this time. Even so, I'm feeling pretty jazzed about it. Hopefully The Second Story/Second Evolution, gets a similar treatment. Especially because the PSP and PS copies are getting pretty expensive. Fingers crossed! Conclusion Star Ocean was ground breaking for its time. Not just for the story, but for pushing the Super Famicom to its limits visually. Luckily for modern players, there are now multiple ways to play this game. From my personal opinion, this game is still worth picking up and playing, despite its age.

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Development - http://shmuplations.com/starocean/ Previews (in order of date) - Nintendo Power #86 (on PC) - https://www.gamespot.com/articles/voice-actors-surf-psp-star-oceans/1100-6170683/ (MAY 2007) - http://www.square-enix.com/na/company/press/2007/0514_3/ (MAY 07) - https://www.siliconera.com/2007/09/05/tidbits-on-star-ocean’s-psp-remakes/ (SEP 07) - https://www.gamespot.com/articles/tgs-07-star-ocean-first-departure-hands-on/1100-6179632/ (SEP 2007) - https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/09/21/tgs-2007-star-ocean-first-departure (SEPT 07) - https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/10/05/original-star-ocean-psp-announced (OCT 07) - https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/11/02/first-look-star-ocean-limited-edition-psp (11 07) - https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/07/17/e3-2008-star-ocean-first-departure-trailer-impressions (NOV 2007) - https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-ocean-first-departure-hands-on/1100-6197829/ (PSP) (SEP 2008) - https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/20/star-ocean-first-departure-hands-on (SEP 2008) Reviews - https://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/star-ocean/mobyrank (SNES) - https://www.mobygames.com/game/psp/star-ocean-first-departure/mobyrank (PSP) - https://worthplaying.com/article/2008/11/11/reviews/56510/ - http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Star_Ocean_First_Departure/index2.html - http://www.psillustrated.com/psillustrated/soft_rev.php/4322/star-ocean-first-departure-psp.html - https://www.rpgsite.net/review/2832-star-ocean-first-departure-review - http://uk.psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/star-ocean-first-departure-/920992p1.html - https://cheatcc.com/psp/rev/staroceanfirstdeparturereview.html - https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/17/star-ocean-first-departure-review - https://www.gamesradar.com/star-ocean-first-departure-review/ - https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/star-ocean-first-departure-review/1900-6200515/ - https://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/Star-Ocean-First-Departure/Item2092.aspx - https://www.engadget.com/2008/10/20/psp-fanboy-review-star-ocean-first-departure/ - https://www.siliconera.com/2008/10/29/starting-the-superb-star-ocean-first-departure/ - https://www.squareenixmusic.com/reviews/don/staroceanpsp.shtml Modern reception

- http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/04/star_ocean_retro

- http://www.racketboy.com/retro/super-nintendo-snes-games-that-pushed-the-limits-graphics-soun

- http://www.racketboy.com/retro/the-best-super-nintendo-snes-rpgs

- http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/star-ocean/ (compare and contrast) re-re-release - https://starocean.square-enix-games.com/en-us/home/ - https://www.polygon.com/nintendo-switch/2019/5/25/18639733/star-ocean-first-departure-r-release-dates-ps4-nintendo-switch - https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-05-25-square-enix-announces-ps4-and-nintendo-switch-remake-of-the-psp-remake-of-the-original-star-ocean - https://gematsu.com/2019/05/star-ocean-first-departure-r-announced-for-ps4-switch - https://comicbook.com/gaming/2019/05/25/star-ocean-first-departure-r-ps4-nintendo-switch/