Star Ocean: First Departure

[SS42A]

http://www.eternalsphere.com/so1/index.html

This is just one of the PSP remakes of the early Star Ocean games. The other one is a remake of the Second Story, also to be released on PSP, and it is renamed Second Evolution. This will be released December 27, two days before Gundam 00 will show its 13th episode. I'm quite as interested (and intrigued) in the Japanese voice cast of First Departure (the list is based on the official website).

Character - Voice Actor (Anime Series)

Ratix Farrence - Mamoru Miyano (Gundam 00, Death Note)
Milly Kiliet - Hitomi Nabatame (Best Student Council)
Dorn Marto - Kentarou Itou (Dai-Guard)
Ronixis J. Kenny - Kenji Hamada (Gundam 00)
Iria Silvestoli - Sanae Kobayashi (Loveless, Toward the Terra)
Eris - Kana Ueda (Loveless)
Joshua Jerand - Jun Fukuyama (Loveless, FMP: Fumoffu)
Marvel Frozen - Houko Kuwashima (FMA, GSD, Nadesico)
Perisie - Yukari Tamura (Best Student Council, Dai-Guard)
Cius Warren - Hiroki Touchi (Gundam 00)
Fear Mell - Megumi Toyoguchi (FMA, GSD)

This will be the second Star Ocean game to be released while a Gundam series is in production (the other one is Star Ocean Till the End of Time, released in February 2003 while Gundam SEED was then showing).

[Phantomexe87]

I liked Star Ocean Til the End of Time, until the big 'plot twist' which, well, basically ruined the entire franchise. Anyone who's played SO3 to the end probably knows what i'm talking about. Thought M. Night Shyamalan was directing that game or something.

[Heecarl_Reez]

That plot twist in SO3..really something...

The remake sounds good,and Mamoru Miyano as the main chara again..
Still i'm waiting for the second story remake anyway..

[quasadra]

if i have a PSP. i will surely get it. since i havent play the first before.

as for SO3, i agree, it really WTF me. just unaceptable even its a fantasy.

[SS42A]

Here's the Gamespot article on the voice actors for Second Evolution:

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/staroce ... es;title;5

Claude C. Kenny - Daisuke Namikawa (Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket)
Rena Lanford - Nana Mizuki (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha)
Dias Flac - Tomokazu Sugita (Chobits)
Precis F. Neumann - Rie Kugimiya (FMA)

[bluemax151]

I'm considering getting the the special Star Ocean slim line PSP because I was and am a big fan of SO2. Not sure if I want to shell out the $300 yet.

[Saikuba]

I liked Star Ocean 1, but I thought it was odd that it started out so Star-Trek esque (well excluding the short period after you start controlling Ratix but before you meet up with Kirk... I mean Ronixis), only to settle down into fairly standard fantasy plots. Not that that was an entirely bad thing, but it would have been nicer to see the sci-fi stuff more consistently throughout the game. The skill system at least kept me interested but at this point I've forgotten most of the twists and turns of the plot.

Also does anyone know if Marvel Frozen had anything to do with the character with the same name from Dunbine? I've always wondered that.

[Shinji103]

Here's the Gamespot article on the voice actors for Second Evolution:

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/staroce ... es;title;5

Claude C. Kenny - Daisuke Namikawa (Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket)
Rena Lanford - Nana Mizuki (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha)
Dias Flac - Tomokazu Sugita (Chobits)
Precis F. Neumann - Rie Kugimiya (FMA)

WHAT?! Mayumi Izuka isn't coming back to voice Rena from the anime?! Don't get me wrong, I love Fate-chan's voice, but Mayumi Izuka fits Rena better. >.>

[Recon 5]

Why isn't the So3 plot- twist a good thing? Heavy handling aside, how can anyone dislike a show or game which says 'there is no spoon' (or something along those lines) somewhere?

[SS42A]

Also does anyone know if Marvel Frozen had anything to do with the character with the same name from Dunbine? I've always wondered that.

I think it has something to do with the developers being mecha fans themselves. I guess they like Dunbine, which is likely one reason why they named her after the Dunbine character. And it's no surprise why Houko Kuwashima is doing her voice, since she is already known for her roles on Gundam SEED/Destiny and other mecha series.

Also, if you look carefully, most of the seiyuu of the lead characters from tri-Ace's games have done voice works in Gundam and other mecha series. I've included in this list the remakes, so you'll see the pattern.

GAME - LEAD CHARACTER - JAPANESE VOICE ACTOR/ACTRESS - ROLE IN MECHA SERIES (most have more than one role, but I've highlighted the main character roles, if any)

Star Ocean SNES - Ratix Farrence - Hiro Yuuki* - Michel Ninorich, MS Gundam: The 08th MS Team

Star Ocean The Second Story - Claude C. Kenny - Yuji Ueda - Akito Tenkawa, Martian Successor Nadesico

Valkyrie Profile - Lenneth Valkyrie - Yumi Touma - Berah Ronah/Cecily Fairchild, Gundam F91

Star Ocean Till the End of Time - Fayt Leingod - Souichiro Hoshi - Kira Yamato, Gundam SEED

Radiata Stories - Ridley Silverlake** - Sanae Kobayashi - Sara Nome, Macross ZERO

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - Alicia/Valkyrie - Akiko Yajima - Relena Darlian, Gundam Wing

Star Ocean First Departure - Ratix Farrence - Mamoru Miyano - Setsuna F. Seiei, Gundam 00

Star Ocean Second Evolution - Claude C. Kenny - Daisuke Namikawa - Alfred Izuruha, Gundam 0080

- List does not include Star Ocean: Blue Sphere.
* He later voiced Claude in Star Ocean EX.
** This is more of an exception, since the lead character is voiced by one who was NOT a part of any mecha series.

With these established precedents, I'm guessing that the developers will have lead voice actors coming from any mecha series for Infinite Undiscovery and Star Ocean 4.

Here's the Gamespot article on the voice actors for Second Evolution:

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/staroce ... es;title;5

Claude C. Kenny - Daisuke Namikawa (Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket)
Rena Lanford - Nana Mizuki (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha)
Dias Flac - Tomokazu Sugita (Chobits)
Precis F. Neumann - Rie Kugimiya (FMA)

WHAT?! Mayumi Izuka isn't coming back to voice Rena from the anime?! Don't get me wrong, I love Fate-chan's voice, but Mayumi Izuka fits Rena better. >.>

Since it's a complete remake, the character designs have been drastically changed as well. Here's a screenshot which redesigned Rena in a cute way, which is why Nana Mizuki is doing Rena's voice.

http://media.psp.ign.com/media/905/9055 ... 00750.html

[Shinji103]

Here's the Gamespot article on the voice actors for Second Evolution:

http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/staroce ... es;title;5

Claude C. Kenny - Daisuke Namikawa (Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket)
Rena Lanford - Nana Mizuki (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha)
Dias Flac - Tomokazu Sugita (Chobits)
Precis F. Neumann - Rie Kugimiya (FMA)

WHAT?! Mayumi Izuka isn't coming back to voice Rena from the anime?! Don't get me wrong, I love Fate-chan's voice, but Mayumi Izuka fits Rena better. >.>

Since it's a complete remake, the character designs have been drastically changed as well. Here's a screenshot which redesigned Rena in a cute way, which is why Nana Mizuki is doing Rena's voice.

http://media.psp.ign.com/media/905/9055 ... 00750.html

Ick....her character design was far better in the anime...so was Claude's...

[Dygenguard]

As a fan of this series, I have to admit it's pretty exciting to try the remake of the first game. I heard it was a SNES cartridge that really pushed the limits of the system with full-blown video cutscenes instead of "sprite scenes" and had a pretty good success in Japan. It looks pretty promising, though it'll probably show its age unless they face-lift the gameplay, plot, or whatnot.

As for the second game, I'm not sure I'll get the remake. I still have my PSX copy and my level 1XX party in a save game in some dusty memory card somewhere. They'd really have to sell me and not just "purdy" it up.

As for SO3, I found the twist to be pretty funny and awesome. I'm getting pretty sick of the old RPG stand-bys of being used by the villian for most of the game or your long-lost father being the villian or your callow, helpless heroine being kidnapped or manipulated into helping destroy the world. For once it felt like there was so much more hanging in the balance, even if it came out in a way that sort of mocks the player's perception. Believe me, I was staggered by the revelation since it came just as you thought you were reaching the story's climax, but after taking it with a grain of salt, it wasn't so bad.

as for SO3, i agree, it really WTF me. just unaceptable even its a fantasy.

Ha! It's that kind of thinking that's killing the genre. When something ceases to evolve, it dies out. This storytelling technique shows that RPGs are taking more influence from other genres and ideas on plot development. If you ask me, it should be encouraged, not avoided in favor of "The Same Ol' Sh**" that most RPGs seem to dote on.

Anyone who still BAWWWWs at the twist needs to take a chill pill. I hope they didn't whine when they found out Samus Aran was a woman, too.

[bluemax151]

As for the second game, I'm not sure I'll get the remake. I still have my PSX copy and my level 1XX party in a save game in some dusty memory card somewhere. They'd really have to sell me and not just "purdy" it up.

Isn't the "max" level 255? Even though level 99 funny thieves can still kill you at that level

[VR7]

Star Ocean hasn't exactly been known for storylines though. There's a lot of emphasis on the combat system itself, the character designs, and of course, the medieval setting. Star Ocean 4 looks different though. I hope it stays different too.

4D space, however sloppy, was a good departure, because for all of these games you spend over 60% of the game in an undeveloped world with an overly depressed and emotional swordsman, even though you eventually get access to a spaceship and some real sci-fi stuff.

I also played SO1 and SO2. I beat the first one, got bored with the second one. My first playthrough got me to the second disc as Rena, and a few years later I only got through the first ten minutes as Claude before I got bored and stopped. I thought the first one was good too, considering I wasn't exposed to any particularly graphically intense games at the time. Second one though, I think the game's dialogue eventually bored me.

I actually don't like the look of the SO1 and 2 remakes, since they just have Star Ocean 2 era graphics for most of the game and only new good-looking illustrations to back them up.

Though, they should've gotten Mayumi Azuma to deal with the character designs. (She did the manga character designs, which were used for Star Ocean EX) I liked those over the original Star Ocean 2 designs.

On that note, she should've done the Star Ocean 3 manga too...

[SS42A]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fuJkYap-gjU

Here is a link to the new trailer. They already have the voices of Tinek Arukena and Ashlay Barnbelt, although their voice actors have yet to be added to the official website. It also features all characters as well. The theme song is Heart by lesser-known J-rock band Asunaro, which just debuted last year.

http://www.asunaro.to/

[Shinji103]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fuJkYap-gjU

Here is a link to the new trailer. They already have the voices of Tinek Arukena and Ashlay Barnbelt, although their voice actors have yet to be added to the official website. It also features all characters as well. The theme song is Heart by lesser-known J-rock band Asunaro, which just debuted last year.

http://www.asunaro.to/

What the??!! Did I see Ranma Saotome with glasses in that trailer?!

I really like the theme song, and the trailer looked really interesting. I've always wanted to play the first SO but never even got the SNES, so I think I might get a PSP just to play this one. ^^

[Haros_Pet_Kat]

I could really care less who is voicing who, since I'm confident anything is better than the English voice overs in Star Ocean 2.

ENERRRRGYYYYY ARRROOOOOOWWWWW....

As for the new "cute" style... Rena somehow became a lolicon in the anime, and that image stuck it seems. Claude looks like Claude, just with big eyes this time (so I am perfectly fine with Claude. I think they handled him well.)

If the graphics of Star Ocean 2 are going to be the Playstation 1 version, then they need to at least sharpen the in-battle scenes with some less pixelated texture and improve the sprite scaling.

Also, I loved Star Ocean 3, despite the plot twist, since I actually enjoy over the top things such as the 4th dimension. It's the gameplay that's king in Star Ocean 3, as well as is in Star Ocean 2.

[Recon 5]

What the??!! Did I see Ranma Saotome with glasses in that trailer?!

Oh yes, you did. I however, I never got far enough into the game to see the art for that particular character. Is he new?

One thing I noticed was that they didn't give Ratix a tail in the animations (I could be mistaken, though), although the others of his race clearly had them. The Ratix sprite in the original game very obviously had a tail, so it would be quite puzzling to fans if the original sprite was recycled but the animations omitted the tail.

[Dygenguard]

Forgive me for being a Slowpoke, but the new concept art style looks a lot like the style used in Tales games.

If not, what past work as the new designer worked on? Looks pretty familiar.

[Saikuba]

What the??!! Did I see Ranma Saotome with glasses in that trailer?!

Oh yes, you did. I however, I never got far enough into the game to see the art for that particular character. Is he new?

If I recall correctly he was a semi-secret character that you got by beating a bunch of arena fights. He's also a werewolf.

I think my party ended being something like Ronixis, Ratix, Ilia, Milly, Joshua, Cius, Marvel and Tinek so those are the ones that I recognize.

One thing I noticed was that they didn't give Ratix a tail in the animations (I could be mistaken, though), although the others of his race clearly had them. The Ratix sprite in the original game very obviously had a tail, so it would be quite puzzling to fans if the original sprite was recycled but the animations omitted the tail.

I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell that this new character design is Ratix if they hadn't told me. The armor I suppose is similar but somehow looks different and his hair color has gotten a lot lighter. And it seems very odd that he does apparantly lack a tail, considering that Ilia demonstrates that her and Ronixis aren't from around there by stating that they have no tails.