Star Ocean First Departure R, a remake of the first entry into the Star Ocean series, released on Nintendo Switch last week. A re-release of a PSP port from 2008, this remake was the first chance that US players got at experiencing the beginnings of the Star Ocean series.
The story of the game has players taking the role of the young Swordsman Roddick and his companions as they travel across a sea of stars on a quest to find a cure for a deadly disease that is turning people into stone. This re-release for the Nintendo Switch (which coincided with a version for the PS4) keeps the upgrades seen in the PSP release -which included fully voiced dialogue and new 3D effects-.
For the Switch/PS4 port, players will have the option of using the PSP graphics or some new, touched up sprites drawn by famous illustrator Katsumi Enami. There's even an option for a newly recorded script, featuring the Japanese cast of the Super Famicom original. That was something the PSP version did not have.
The Star Ocean series has been a long-lasting one with eight original titles released from 1996 through 2016. Only one of these games, the Gameboy Color game Star Ocean: Blue Sphere, has never seen a U.S. release. There was also a manga series based on the second game (Star Ocean: The Second Story), along with an anime based on the same Manga. Both ended their runs before reaching a conclusion.
The Nintendo Switch has had no shortage of ports and new titles, which is a marked change from the last few Nintendo consoles. Star Ocean First Departure R is yet another in what promises to be a long line of lucrative releases to the system.
Source: Square Enix PR
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