Deeply devoted fans of the role-playing game genre and proud owners of Sony’s handheld certainly love the fact that the PSP is now home to some truly memorable and amazing RPG titles. It’s also great to see newly reworked RPG classics make an appearance whether you’ve been dying to play the first Final Fantasy game or the revamped version of the first Valkyrie Profile. Now Star Ocean fans will have something to cheer about with the first US release of Star Ocean: First Departure for the PSP.

North American gamers’ first introduction to the Star Ocean series was with a sequel to First Departure called The Second Story for the original PlayStation but after playing the excellent sequel fans have been waiting for a chance to play the first game. The wait is finally over and what we have here is a game that has been wonderfully translated and given a fresh coat of paint to make it even prettier than the original.

The gameplay and story, of course, remain intact and it’s an interesting one despite a major problem I will get into in a moment. The story revolves around a planet named Roak where a mysterious illness is turning the planet’s cat-tailed residents to stone. In the town of Kratus are three young warriors that set out to find a cure for the illness only to run into Captain Ronyx and his second-in-command Illia who are two humans from a planet far more advanced than Roak. As unusual as these two humans are to them, Roddick, Millie and Dorne are transported aboard a Terran Federation ship on a mission to save the planet and its people.

You follow Roddick through most of the game and it becomes clear that this young man is thrust into the role of savior of his people. Of course, the cure for the illness can only be obtained by traveling back in time and this is where the adventure really takes off. Part of what drives the story is the fact that a few of the cut scenes are actually handled anime-style and you’ll meet other allies along the way that will come to your aid and join your party. There are towns to visit and dungeons to explore as you move along on the world map.

First Departure is a very traditional role-playing game with all the usual elements of an old-school and Square Enix didn’t change very much in terms of how the game progresses or even extend the game’s short length. The changes made to the game are cosmetic with a slight change to the game’s fun combat. Battles that occur in the game are more action-packed than most classic RPGs and you have full control over the central character Roddick while the AI handles the other characters unless you select them during skirmishes. You’re allowed the freedom to move and attack so you can unleash normal and special attacks without having to wait for your enemy to make a move first.

Each character also brings something different to each battle or situation. Millie, for example, has the ability to heal party members who are injured during battle while Roddick is able to perform some heavy attacks. You can also customize items to make them more powerful and you can always learn new specialties and skills on your own or through Skill Guilds. You can even hone your combat skills in an arena setting later in the game that offers one-on-one fights.

The only real problem with the game was that the story doesn’t leave more than enough room to come to know and love the characters. We are revealed some background on each character but not enough that we appreciate them. Why does Ilia follow Captain Ronyx even in situations she knows aren’t very wise or safe? We know of the love triangle that forms in the game but why does Millie like Roddick so much? It’s hard to really get into the story if the characters seem like cardboard cutouts. Still, there’s a lot to like about this game and the many interesting events that develop in the course of your quest. Even the PSP controls fit the game nicely.

Graphically speaking, this remake looks downright gorgeous and does take advantage of the PSP’s graphical capabilities. While retaining some of the classic’s overall look, the characters look detailed and the original backgrounds have been removed and replaced by sharp and colorful backgrounds. As an anime fan, I was glad to have seen the game be given the anime treatment as far as the cut scenes are concerned. There really should have been more anime-styled cut scenes but what is here is excellent.

The game’s sound isn’t as impressive as the game’s visuals but there’s nothing here that’s altogether bad. The soundtrack, for instance, isn’t very bad at all but it just isn’t as wonderfully epic as other RPGs such as Final Fantasy. Then again, the game makes up for it with a great voice cast that does a good job with the dialogue. Anime voice actor Yuri Lowenthal really does a great job voicing Roddick and Julie Maddalena is great as Ilia. The rest of the game’s sound is decent enough.

Star Ocean: First Departure doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel but rather it brings back a stellar classic RPG that fits right at home on the PSP. If anything, its old-school charm still makes for a delightful game that might be a bit on the short side but still has all the things fans of the genre can’t help but like from start to finish. If you missed out on this game, this is a great chance to experience this reworked classic. Here’s hoping we get a PSP version of its sequel, The Second Story.

Gameplay: 8.0
The game still retains the classic controls and gameplay of the original, which might be good news for fans of the original. Combat in the game is rather fun so you won’t mind getting into battles in this one and the story isn’t bad at all … although it doesn’t quite give you a chance to warm up to all the characters. 

Graphics: 8.0
The newly revamped visuals give the classic some new life and the anime cut scenes are so good you’ll wish there were more of them throughout the game. Strangely enough, the visual effects are still as good as it was back when the game was first released.

Sound: 7.5
The soundtrack is only Ok compared to other RPG scores so don’t expect an epic soundtrack. There are minimal sound effects as well so the star of the show is the voice acting that contains some stellar to so-so performances from most of the cast.

Difficulty: Medium
You’ll encounter some tough foes later in the game but by then you’ll get a sense of how combat works and just how to take advantage of each character’s fighting ability. This was one of the first role-playing games I’ve played that didn’t get my party killed very often.

Concept: 8.0
First Departure isn’t a very lengthy adventure but it does make up for it with its charming universe and decent story that is just interesting enough to keep you in its world. It’s good to see the game released on our side of the pond and on the PSP no less.

Overall: 8.0
It’s great to see games that were originally released only in Japan make it here even if it did take a long time. Star Ocean: First Departure for the PSP is a classic role-playing game favorite and seeing it with a new splash of fresh paint makes this a great version to own even if you managed to play the game so long ago. For the majority of RPG fans that didn’t, however, playing this old-school classic is highly recommended.