Star Ocean (video game)

Star Ocean

Developer(s) tri-Ace
TOSE (PSP)
Publisher(s) Enix
Square Enix (PSP)
Writer(s) Yoshiharu Gotanda
Composer(s) Motoi Sakuraba
Series Star Ocean
Platform(s) Super Famicom, PlayStation Portable
Release date(s) Super Famicom
  • JP July 19, 1996
PlayStation Portable
  • JP December 27, 2007
  • NA October 21, 2008[1]
  • EU October 24, 2008[2]
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution Cartridge, UMD

Star Ocean (スターオーシャン Sutā Ōshan) is a Japanese action role-playing video game and the first game in the Star Ocean series. It was the first game developed by the newly formed tri-Ace company for the Super Famicom video game console, consisting of staff that had previously left Wolf Team due to being unhappy with the development process for Tales of Phantasia with Namco in 1995. The game was ahead of its time in many respects. It required a special compression chip in its cartridge to compress and store all of the game's data due to possessing graphics that pushed the limits of the aging Super Nintendo system. Additionally, the game had voice acting for the game's intro and voice clips that played during the game's battle gameplay, a rarity for games on the system.

The game was published and released by Enix in 1996 in Japan, but was never released outside of Japan in this form, due to Enix closing its American branch shortly before the game was finished, and Nintendo's focus on supporting the then-upcoming Nintendo 64 video game console. However, the game was later remade for the PlayStation Portable under the title Star Ocean: First Departure, and finally released in English-speaking regions, twelve years later, in United States on October 21, 2008, and in Europe on October 24, 2008.

Gameplay

Star Ocean is a role-playing video game that is played from a top-down perspective. The player navigates a character throughout the game world, exploring areas and interacting with non-player characters.[3] In progressing through the game, the player is able to recruit up to eight additional characters to travel alongside the protagonist; some recruitments happen automatically, while others only happen depending on the previous actions and options taken by the player.[4] Though only 8 characters can be recruited in a playthrough, ten characters are available to be recruited, meaning that not all characters can be recruited in one playthrough of the game.[4] Most of the game occurs in towns and dungeons, and unlike many RPGs, the game lacks a world map that connects various locations, instead having the character follow paths from one place to the next.

Battle

One of battles at one of Roak's towns, Kratus

Within the game's dungeons and paths, when the player directs the character, random battles occur. Unlike games in the Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest series, the battles are not turn based, but play out in real time. However, unlike games such as The Legend of Zelda or Kingdom Hearts, the characters actions aren't directly controlled, but rather, actions are chosen, and the character does them.[3] Similarly, in battles, the character isn't directly moved around the screen, but instead an enemy or location is selected, and the character automatically moves to it.[5] The battles play out similarly to those in Tales of Phantasia, but instead of switching to a side scrolling side view as in that game, in Star Ocean, the top-down viewpoint is retained.

Up to four characters can participate in battles, but the player is only able to control one character at a time, leaving the others to be controlled by the computer's artificial intelligence.[4] The player can switch which character is being controlled in battle. All characters have a standard "attack" option, in which the character's equipped item is used to attack whichever enemy the player has locked on to.[4] Additionally, special techniques called Symbology can be used as well, which have the potential to deal more damage, but cost MP (Mental Points), of which each character has a finite amount.[4] Two types of special techniques exist: long range ones that can only be executed at a distance from the target, and short range ones, which must be used at melee range. Experience points are accumulated upon successfully completing a battle, which contributes to leveling up the characters, so they become stronger.

Customization

Special Points (abbreviated "SP" in game) are also rewarded from battles, and are used to customize the character's abilities.[6] For instance, allotting SP to the cooking ability grants or improves a given character's ability to make consumable foods out of raw materials in order to heal characters from damage taken in battles.[6] Item creation can allow for characters to be able to create weapons and equipment that are stronger than those available to be bought in stores and towns.[6]

Affection system

Star Ocean has a game mechanic called "Private Actions" that plays a role in character development. While entirely optional, they often reveal additional backstory of particular characters or have other varying affects on gameplay.[3] Upon arriving in a town, the player can opt to have all the characters in the party to temporarily split up and go their separate ways within the limitations of the town.[7] The player retains control of just Ratix, and is able to look for the other characters. Upon finding other party members, various events may happen; sometimes only small talk results, other times, larger events happen, that may even require a choice to be made by the player. Depending on the results, this can cause characters to either gain or lose "affinity" toward other characters in the party.[7]

Character's affinity towards one another can have effects on the rest of the game. In battle, if a character has a high affinity for another character who had fallen unconscious, the remaining one may have a "rage" reaction, causing increased attack power until that ally is revived. For example, if Ratix has a high affinity toward Millie, then if Millie falls in battle, Roddick will become angry, until either Millie is revived or the battle ends. Affinity also affect which character's endings you see. While the game's overarching plot always largely ends the same, various parts of the ending are changed, added, or left out, depending on characters' affinity at the end of the game.

Synopsis

Plot

The game starts off in a small town of Kratus on the under-developed planet of Roak.[7] There, a few of the local Fellpool (cat-like people) youth, Roddick, Millie, and Dorne, are part of the village's local "Defense Force", which defends the village from minor threats such thieves and robbers.[7] However, one day, a neighboring town, Coule, starts contracting a terrible disease that turns people into stone.[7] The town healer, Millie's father, contracts the disease while trying to rid it, leading the group to search Mt. Metorx for a herb that is rumored to cure any sickness.[7] Dorne contracts the disease as well, after touching an infected pigeon.[6]

When they reach the summit, they are confronted by Ronyx J. Kenny and Ilia Silvestri, two crew members of the Terran Alliance starship Calnus.[6] They inform them that the disease was sent to the planet by a foreign race called the Lezonians, whom the Earth Federation has been at war with. Roddick and Millie go with them on their spacecraft them to help find a cure. They learn that Fellpool blood could be used to process a special, invisible material which could give them a massive advantage in the war. Upon coming in contact with Lezonians, they reveal that they were being forced into war by a shadowy, powerful third party with a disgust for the Federation.

Before Dorne fully succumbs to the disease, they do tests on him to figure out a cure. They determine the only possible way to fight it would be to make a vaccine that uses the original source of the disease. While the origin of the virus is tracked back to being on Roak itself, it is from Asmodeus, the King of the Demon World, who had been killed 300 years prior to the spread of the disease. Ronyxis talks the group into using a Time Gate to go back in time 300 years to track down Asmodeus back when he was still alive.[6] While this works, Ilia trips while approaching the gate. As such, Ilia and Roddick have a delay from when they enter the time gate, and after the trip through time, they find themselves separated from Ronyx and Millie. The two groups work towards locating each other, and Asmodeus, in efforts to heal their family members and stop the war.

Characters

Roddick Farrence
He is the game's protagonist. Ratix is a young Fellpool living on the planet Roak. He was a guardian of his home town, Kratus, alongside friends Millie and Dorn. After a petrification virus plagued the nearby town of Coule and infected Dorne, he and Millie quest to find the cure for the virus. He is proficient with long swords and the Edarl Sword style. He can equip heavy armor and shields.
Millie Chliette
She is a Fellpool who lived in Kratus on the Muah continent on the planet Roak alongside Roddick and Dorne. She is proficient in healing Symbology and uses a staff as a weapon. She has strong feelings for Roddick, but is unwilling to admit it.
Ronyx J. Kenny
He is the captain of the Terran Alliance Starship Calnus, and is a Captain in the Alliance until the Roak incident, which propels him to the status of Admiral. He has symbological tattoos on his body that make him more effective in battle, and generally prefers a crossbow or phase gun in battle. He is the father of Claude C. Kenny, the protagonist of Star Ocean: The Second Story.
Ilia Silvestri
She is the head science officer on the Terran Alliance Starship Calnus. She is involved in the Roak incident which the game is based on. She is proficient in the usage of claws and martial arts, and her techniques involve the use of numerous multiple hits. Ilia also has a penchant for alcohol and can drink rather excessively.
Phia Melle
She is the head of the Astral Knights. Phia's a Highland fighter who uses throwing daggers in combat with the Hisho-ken style. She secretly worries about Cyuss, with whom she grew up with since childhood, but always hides her feelings because she is more concerned about proving herself to be a competent knight.
Ashlay Bernbeldt
He is an old Highland soldier wandering the world to find a successor in which to teach his sword skills. If recruited, he forms such a relationship with Roddick, and thus, they share many of the same techniques.
Cyuss Warren
He is the first of the Highland warriors you can recruit and is the son of Lias Warren, whom he has difficulty getting along with. His dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the land. Cyuss wields a broadsword, and is a bit archetypal when it comes to heavy-sword characters: he's powerful but slow. His techniques mirror Roddick's own (such as Shockwave Swirl, Twin Slash and the Seven Star techniques).
Mavelle Froesson
She is a wizard-like character who accompanies Ronyx and Millie to Ionis. Her weapon is an orb that she throws at the enemy. Unfortunately she cannot attack a second time until the orb comes back to her. She has little attack power and short attack range; however, her speed in Killer Move execution is unparalleled.
Ioshua Jerand
Ioshua is a gentle and handsome Featherfolk who is searching for his sister, whom he was separated from after their parents were murdered. He despises combat, but realizes it is a necessary evil to survive in the world. He can cast both healing and destructive spells, but has less of a variety in his spell selection than either Ronyx or Millie and suffers from having a low attack power.
Pericci
Pericci serves as comedic relief. She starts with low stats but gains several powerful techniques.
T'nique Arcana
T'nique is another "secret character" in the game. Being a Lycanthrope, he can transform into a werewolf in battle and has one of the greatest attack ranges and attack speeds out of all characters. T'nique aspires to travel and train to become an excellent fighter.
Erys Jerand
Erys is Ioshua's younger sister and was kidnapped when they were children. Their parents were murdered, and Erys was taken and brainwashed to be an assassin for the Crimson Shield. Somehow she managed to escape from the group and swapped her body for that of Mavelle's so she can search for her parents' killer in secret. Like all Featherfolk, she uses Symbology from a distance. Erys does not appear at all in the original Star Ocean, but is one of the two extra characters for the PlayStation Portable remake.
Welch Vineyard
Similar to Erys, Welch is only available in the game's PSP remake. She first appeared as a non-playable Character in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and again in The Last Hope, but has been retroactively added to the first two games, during which she can join the player's party. She is characterized as a young, somewhat ditzy girl who is primarily interested in meeting guys. Her dress and knowledge of the world makes her stand out as not one of any of the three races presented in the game.[8]

Development

In 1994, video game developers Wolf Team signed a deal with publisher Namco to release the game that would be Tales of Phantasia, which was later released in 1995 in Japan for the Super Nintendo.[9] However, the development cycle for this game was plagued with creative disputes between the developers and publisher, leading to much of the development team leaving to form a new company, which would become tri-Ace, which explains some of the common themes between the games, such as the similar battle systems.[3][10] The two games also stretched the power of the Super Nintendo to its limits, with a total of 48 megabits of data.[4][11] Additionally, Star Ocean was also one of two games that used a special S-DD1 chip to aid in compression of almost all graphics and map data, meaning that it effectively stored even more data than Tales of Phantasia.[11] The game also featured special technology that allowed for the compression of sound, allowing for voice clips for characters when in battles, another trait that was both very rare for a Super Nintendo game, and shared with Tales of Phantasia.[3] Different voice clips would be played depending on the scenario; if the characters were confronted by weak enemies, they may say something more confident, where as if confronted by strong enemies, they may say something more fearful or frantic.[4]

The game was released on July 19, 1996.[12] Despite appearing in North American video game magazine Nintendo Power in 1996, the Super Nintendo game was never officially released anywhere outside of Japan.[4][10] Enix America ceased to publish games in North America by the end of 1995[13] due to poor sales,[14] and Nintendo has already passed on publishing Tales of Phantasia a year prior, instead choosing to focus on the then-upcoming Nintendo 64 video game console. However, the game was unofficially translated into English by DeJap Translations, who created a patch that made the game fully playable in English via emulation.[3] The game wouldn't be officially available in English until 12 years later, when the game was remade for the PlayStation Portable as Star Ocean: First Departure in 2008.[15]

First Departure

Star Ocean: First Departure is an enhanced remake[16] of the original Star Ocean, developed by TOSE.[17][18] The first details of the game were revealed at the "Star Ocean Special Stage" during the Square Enix Party 2007, alongside those of Star Ocean: The Second Story. Yoshinori Yamagishi, producer of the series, stated that he wants the remakes to feel as though they're completely new games.[19] The game was released in Japan on December 27, 2007, and was released in North America and Europe on October 21, 2008 and October 24, 2008 respectively; making it the first time that the original Star Ocean was officially released outside of Japan.[1] The English localization was handled by Nanica, Inc., with voice-over production services provided by Epcar Entertainment, Inc. Recordings were made at the Oracle Post studios in Burbank, CA.

First Departure uses a slightly altered version of the engine used for Star Ocean: The Second Story with similar features, including prerendered backgrounds and 3D battle fields. Production I.G provided new artwork and animated cutscenes for the game. New playable characters have been added as well. There are new voice actors and extensive amounts of new, fully voiced dialogue.[20] Some music from Star Ocean: The Second Story, such as that of the bonus dungeon and riding a bunny on the world map, are played during similar scenes in the remake. It also features a theme song: "Heart" by the Japanese group Asunaro.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(SNES) 93%[21]
(PSP) 76.94%[22]
Metacritic(PSP) 74/100[23]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1UP.com(PSP) B+[24]
GameSpot(PSP) 6/10[25]
GameSpy(PSP) [26]
GameZone(PSP) 8/10[27]
IGN(PSP) 7.4/10[15]
Nintendo Life(SNES) 9/10[28]
Game Vortex(PSP) 81/100[29]
RPGFan(PSP) 9.4/10[30]
RPGamer(PSP) [6]

Star Ocean sold approximately 235,000 copies in Japan.[31] Star Ocean: First Departure sold 115,280 copies in Japan by end of 2007.[32] As of November 30, 2008, the game has sold 204,996 copies in Japan.[33][34]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "From CHRONO TRIGGER to THE LAST REMNANT: Square Enix Rolls Out an Exciting E3 2008 Lineup of New Epics and Fan Favorites" (Press release). Square Enix. 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  2. ↑ Athab, Majed (2008-10-03). "Star Ocean for Europe out October 24 | Joystiq". Pspfanboy.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Star Ocean (Super Nintendo) Review". Nintendo Life. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Nintendo Power Volume 86, Pages 60-61
  5. ↑ Rolando . January 25, 2008 . 4:52pm (2008-01-25). "Going Beyond in Star Ocean: The First Departure". Siliconera. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 "> Staff Review > Star Ocean: First Departure". RPGamer. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Jenni . October 29, 2008 . 6:35pm (2008-10-29). "Starting The Superb Star Ocean: First Departure". Siliconera. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  8. ↑ Jenni . February 16, 2009 . 3:52pm (2009-02-16). "Who Is Star Ocean's Welch Vineyard?". Siliconera. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  9. ↑ "Tales of Phantasia - Game Boy Advance Preview at IGN". Gameboy.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Top ten SNES games that North America was deprived of". Pixelitis. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Games That Pushed The Limits of the Super Nintendo (SNES) | RetroGaming with Racketboy". Racketboy.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  12. ↑ "Sales Record - tri-Ace Corporation". Tri-ace.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  13. ↑ "Enix on a Quest". Nintendo Power. Epic Center (Nintendo of America) (80): p. 58. January 1996.
  14. ↑ "Enix Corp.". Japan-U.S. Business Report. November 1, 1999. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Star Ocean: First Departure Review - PlayStation Portable Review at IGN". Psp.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  16. ↑ "Square Enix Party Press Conference Announcement". Square Enix. May 14, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Star Ocean: First Departure (2008) PSP release dates". MobyGames. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  18. ↑ Rolando (January 25, 2008). "Going Beyond in Star Ocean: The First Departure". Siliconera. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  19. ↑ Voice actors surf PSP Star Oceans - PSP News at GameSpot
  20. ↑ Hirohiko Niizumi (2007-05-12). "Voice actors surf PSP Star Oceans". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  21. ↑ "Star Ocean for SNES". GameRankings. 1996-07-19. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  22. ↑ "Star Ocean: First Departure for PSP". GameRankings. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  23. ↑ "Star Ocean: First Departure for PSP Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  24. ↑ Fitch, Andrew (2008-10-17). "Star Ocean: FD Review for PSP from". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  25. ↑ November 3, 2008 5:17PM PST (2008-10-21). "Star Ocean: First Departure Review". GameSpot.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  26. ↑ "GameSpy: Star Ocean: First Departure - Page 1". Psp.gamespy.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  27. ↑
  28. ↑ "Star Ocean (Super Nintendo) Review - Nintendo Life". Retro.nintendolife.com. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  29. ↑ "Star Ocean: First Departure On GameVortex.com". Psillustrated.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  30. ↑ "RPGFan Reviews - Star Ocean: First Departure". Rpgfan.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  31. ↑ "Sales Record". tri-Ace Corporation. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  32. ↑ Takahashi (June 18, 2008). "Famitsu Top 500 of 2007". Gemaga.com. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  33. ↑ "Sony PSP Japanese Ranking". Japan-GameCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  34. ↑ "GID 2761 - Star Ocean 1 First Departure - PSP". garaph.info. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

External links