![]() By adopting SO2’s massive skill and ability system, I felt that the game became much easier than the original, which is a shame since the first game was not insanely hard to begin with. The first Star Ocean is more linear than the second, and so all of this open-ended character development suited the second game more. Since there are a variety of secret characters who cannot all be obtained in one playthrough, along with randomly allotted innate talents that influence skill use, no two runs through the game will be alike, which cannot honestly be said of most RPGs. The fantastic thing is that all of this stuff is completely optional and how you utilize the skill system will change with each play through. Characters can compose music, play instruments, learn to cook, practice machinery, paint, train animals, write books, scout for enemies, customize weapons, use smithery to make armor, create accessories, publish novels, and even pickpocket every single NPC in the game. The skill system has also been amplified with new specialties, abilities, and group abilities, again taking a page from SO2. The addition of the world map, with a distinct overworld containing separate towns and dungeons, makes the game more conventional and accessible. Taken as a whole, the changes in the combat system are much more positive than negative. SO2 was the slowest game in the series, and First Departure plays like it. The original Star Ocean’s battles where extremely fast-paced for an RPG, which made the game more exciting and challenging. ![]() By changing to SO2’s system, the characters have fewer strategic options in battle when compared to the original game. First, characters can now only equip two special attacks at a time, whereas the original game allowed four with slots for distanced and ranged attacks. While I like most of these changes, I did have two gripes. Ally AI is controlled by preset tactics that can be changed mid-combat, and as always, you can make characters attack specific enemies or use desired spells. You can move characters around with the control pad, and regular attacks come in multi-hit combos with smooth animations. In battle, players can now take individual control over any character in the party, like in the later games. The developers borrowed heavily from SO2 and SO3 to make combat more flexible and fluid, as well as expand the world map and beef up the item creation and skill systems. First Departure strikes an excellent balance between revamping and maintaining the original game’s system. For the most part, SO1 is similar to the other two games. ![]() There are a couple of reviews of the original game on RPGFan, so if you want to know about the original game’s combat and skill systems, check there. First Departure is a textbook example of how a remake should be done. One of the reasons I am so glad to finally see a remake of this game is the fact that I believe it is better than any Final Fantasy game out there (a biased opinion, I know) yet Square Enix is aiming for triple digits now with the total number of Final Fantasy remakes. This is what can be done.” I played the game in college, at a time when I felt both spoiled and bored by PS2 and Xbox RPGs, thinking in the back of my mind that the game would be just another Final Fantasy rip-off. With its cutting edge skill system, excellent graphics, memorable music, variable endings, voice acting (in an SNES game!), hectic combat, secret characters, and generally sublime gameplay, Star Ocean is that rare peerless RPG that serves as a benchmark to other games in the genre proclaiming “This is what is possible. In terms of its scope and design, it blows even Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy games out of the water. Star Ocean is the greatest SNES RPG westerners never got to play. ![]() Note: This review is based on the Japanese version of the game. ![]()
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