Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP)

Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP)

THERE is something peculiarly appealing about old school games which transcends state-of-the-art graphics, booming sounds, well-thought-out gameplay and deeply engaging storylines. It’s probably the sentimental value which pulls us back to them.

Just like the ’80s R&B and retro music or P. Ramlee movies which never bore us even after having memorised the lyrics and dialogue, these classics were so simple and without frills that there is nothing to distract us from enjoying the essence of it all.

Game developers are banking on our sentimentalities with resurrected titles such as Final Fantasy 7, Metal Slug, the Konami Collection to take us down memory lane.

Square-Enix, the same people who brought us the Final Fantasy series, has relaunched Star Ocean, a fantasy sci-fi title from over a decade ago, and has given it a new coat of paint, improved sounds and a few tweaks to its gameplay.

The best thing about this game is how it merges fantasy and space travel. It tells how a couple of kampung folks who are used to magic, fairytale and swordplay are suddenly thrust into a world of warp speed, lasers, robots and transport beams.

First Departure tells of three Fellpool youths — Roddick, Millie and Dorne — who are trying to pass the time as sentries for a small village near the woods, and suddenly discovers that a mysterious plague is turning people into stone.

So these adventure-hungry friends set out to a nearby mountain to look for herbs as a cure.

But what they found are space travellers Ronyx and Ilia, members of a Terran Alliance reconnaissance team who explained that the plague is actually a biological weapon unleashed by an alien race.

Next thing you know, the three are whisked aboard a space vessel and are discussing ways to save the people of Roak from this mysterious catastrophe.

By now, you might be thinking “Oh no, not another turn-based RPG like Final Fantasy”, but it looks like the people at Square-Enix have upgraded the battle system to real-time.

Thus, when the party enters into battle with the enemy, the view shifts over to a pseudo-3D isometric view.

The player takes control of the party leader, with free reign to run around the battlefield with the thumbstick. The player automatically targets the closest enemy, executing standard attacks and combos by hitting the X button. Special abilities, once equipped, are assigned to either the left or right shoulder buttons.

The only time the combat stops is when the player switches control from one character to another or when opening up the battle menu to do things like using items, casting spells or changing one’s allies’ battle tactics on the fly.

The game’s background environments are also very eye-catching and nicely detailed. Instead of using rendered CG cut-scenes, much like Final Fantasy remakes, Square Enix has enlisted the help of animation studio Production I.G. to create high-quality hand-drawn cel animations to advance key story points.

This is by far not the most perfect game on the PSP, but if you are a hardcore RPG fan and loves fantasy and sci-fi, Star Ocean: First Departure is a sensible choice to reminisce the good ’ol days when games were much simpler then.