Star Ocean First Departure R Reviews
This re-release might serve as the best opportunity for many prospective players to dip their toes in and discover a classic JRPG that in the current day, is still deserving of your time.
It is an unusual situation where a remake is influenced by its sequel.
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
Review in Persian | Read full review
Star Ocean: First Departure R does its job of bringing First Departure to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, but fails to do much beyond that.
The story is no slouch either with a great set up premise and some interesting turn of events. It might not blow anyone away today the same way it did then but this is still one worth enjoying for its 25 to 30 hour duration. Overall, Star Ocean First Departure is an excellent remade classic RPG preserved and now available to more players than ever before. It might not be a revelation in RPG gaming by today’s standards but it’s a great look back on an RPG from long ago. Switch players have yet another great RPG to check out they shouldn’t miss. I was completely smitten during my time and had the biggest JRPG smile on my face when playing.
In a year already stacked with a number of quality Switch RPG releases, Star Ocean: First Departure R has been a pleasant, budget-friendly surprise.
Star Ocean: First Departure R on Nintendo Switch is a fine way to experience the origins of the Star Ocean franchise but a pretty barebones remaster.
Exploring the ocean of stars is never better than with this version of the game. There are some noticeable flaws that bring down the score, especially with modern gaming, but being able to experience the first game that started the Star Ocean series is fantastic, plus the game is just fun to play.
The series might have faded, but its origins still shine brightly, even in today’s age.
Ultimately, Star Ocean: First Departure R is merely upscaling an already flawed game that fans of the series will enjoy, being able to play on modern hardware, but is otherwise a frustrating experience.
Star Ocean First Departure R is a well-deserved and long awaited remaster of one of the most timeless and classic JRPGs ever, delivering good quality of life enhancements for the player without affecting an experience that already was fantastic by itself.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Star Ocean probably deserved a better treatment than the one Square gave it, because this port is lazy at best, with no QOL improvements and no new content. The game itself is still quite enjoyable, though.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Star Ocean: First Departure R is a beautiful retro game, but at the same time, it does almost nothing to get up to speed on the current gen, making it almost impossible to recommend to anyone unkown to the series.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Star Ocean: First Departure R gives the players a chance to revive an old classic without ruining its originale core.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I love Star Ocean: First Departure R. It’s a must-play for JRPG fans, and gaming historians.
Star Ocean: First Departure R attempts to stick closer to its origins and doesn't deviate much from it. The new additions are slim but it is still one of the better Star Ocean games.
Square Enix has been on a bender with its classic library in the later half of this year. The Mana collection came a few months ago, and there have been two SaGa titles re-released in just the last month as well. Star Ocean has always been the forgotten brother of the Square Enix catalogue, but it deserves better, and now that you're able to play four of the five in the series on your PlayStation 4, there really is no excuse if you haven't dipped into them already
Based on the PSP version of the game, Star Ocean First Departure R is first and foremost adressed to the new players. It has some nice improvements though such as the ability to double the game's speed, new illustrations for the characters and a fully new japanese voice acting by the original cast. However, the high price of the game, combined with the absence of the sequel, The Second Story, is questionable.
Review in French | Read full review
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.