star ocean first departure r getting characters

Star ocean first departure r getting characters how to#
Star ocean first departure r getting characters psp#

These Specialties are where the depth to Star Ocean: First Departure R comes into play.

Star ocean first departure r getting characters how to#

Many skills translate into statistical gains for your character (training in how to use a knife increases that character’s strength by a significant amount) as well as Specialty abilities, gained by leveling up two or three specific skills. Each skill has at least one or two supplementary benefits. These can be spent on basic skills such as ‘Aesthetic Design’ or ‘Whistling’. Every level gained and some sidequests and story interactions will yield Skill Points that are unique to each character. The deeper systems of Star Ocean: First Departure R exist in its Skill system and being able to level up your characters in unique fashions. The combat techniques even automatically position your character and move them into place, so there isn’t even much need to try and be tactical about where you move around the battlefield if you just make the AI do all of the work and just keep attacking. Grinding enough will reduce the difficulty down to a pitiful level where you can just mash on the L1 button to attack and never break a sweat.

Incoming enemy attacks deal a surprisingly high amount of damage, so having to pause combat to cast a healing spell or choke down a couple of blueberries to heal will happen quite often. An obvious exception can be made for healers but having to watch the same early 3D and sprite animation for a party-wide healing spell gets old after the first dozen times it’s cast.Īlthough there aren’t any selectable difficulty levels (not even after finishing First Departure R for the first time), the combat strikes a very strange difficulty curve with spikes that occur throughout the campaign. I’d advise against bringing along any magic casters, as any spells they cast freeze time and force you to sit through the spell animation, breaking any flow of combat. Many fights end up resulting in spamming the same techniques over and over as these can often stunlock enemies and keep them from striking you back. Unfortunately, the combat isn’t particularly great for the first Star Ocean title. Time stops when selecting items or spells and players can freely jump between any of the four party members at any time. Each character utilizes both standard attacks as well as a pair of techniques mapped to the L1 and R1 buttons (even your AI partners are limited to only bringing two techniques to battle), with an obvious exception made for the few spellcasters in your party. It’s a real-time battle system where both friends and foes face off in a small arena.

Star ocean first departure r getting characters psp#

Star Ocean: First Departure R’s battle system is based upon its sequel, The Second Story, and the PSP remakes. Until you gain access to fast travel from any port in the world to other major cities, much of your time will be spent running around and getting into random battles. In fact, I’d say much of the time played is spent trying to remember how to run back to whatever town will advance the story.

With how few plot points exist in the story, there isn’t a lot of meat for those that want a serious JRPG to enjoy. On the bright side, First Departure R isn’t a terribly long game, so future replays to set up the ideal team won’t take all of your time.Ĭlocking in at about twenty hours (roughly a little more than thirty for myself, between some extra grinding and clearing out the postgame dungeon), Star Ocean: First Departure R is what I’d consider a weekend-length JRPG.

Many of these characters only offer up a single chance to be recruited before they’re gone forever and even those that can join you can conflict with other party members, so trying to recruit some of the more elusive characters like Erys will require some preparation. And such, the story of Star Ocean: First Departure R begins, in an underdeveloped world with two Roakians and two Earthlings to discover a cure.Īlong the journey, players will have access to nine different party members that can join Roddick’s crew, but with only four open character slots, you’re going to have to pick and choose who gets the honor of joining the party. The solution? Travel even farther back in time and steal a sample of blood before the host goes missing. Unfortunately, that source of the outbreak was captured some three hundred years ago. That much-desired vaccine requires blood from the Patient Zero of the outbreak. When an unknown mutagen attacks his planet, turning many of the residents to stone, he crosses paths with an Earthling captain that’s willing to forsake the laws governing contact with underdeveloped planets for a chance to discover a vaccine for this viral infection. Unlike the view of two different protagonists in Second Evolution, Star Ocean: First Departure R focuses on a blue haired Roakian by the name of Roddick, a citizen of an underdeveloped planet that still relies on the magic of symbology and medieval weaponry to solve its problems.