First things first:
Months ago, I voiced my concerns here about a certain mural in Lacuer City depicting a hot woman in sexy armor.
I can now confirm that the mural DOES still exist in in the game, armor unaltered...but for some reason, the woman was chibified. Not sure what to think here, but if anything, it fits the rest of the characters' art styles outside of their portraits. I find this acceptable.
Secondly, on another win, I showed a scene from the PSP version where Claude ogles some in-game fanart, and that it would be woke to remove this scene.
I can now confirm that this scene is UNALTERED!
It's likely because the English voice files are exactly the same as the PSP version--they're even the same audio recordings, not new ones with the same cast. But the fact remains! And if you hate dubs, there's not one, but TWO Japanese audio tracks--one from the PSP version, the other completely new, made just for this remake...though the voice of Bowman, Keiji Fujiwara, died of cancer in 2020 and obviously had to be replaced on the new track. His lines remain on the Second Evolution audio track, however.
I'm having an absolute blast with this remake so far. So many tiny little details left in, additions that truly add to the game, modern conveniences like fast travel, no more random encounters...this game comes across like an absolute labor of love, and I always respect those.
It's almost criminal that I'm not hearing more about this game aside from niche circles--and that goes all the way back to the remake's announcement on that Nintendo Direct. I felt like I was the only one excited for it...since the PS1 original, warts and all, is one of my favorite video games of all time.
Maybe it helps that it wasn't developed by Square Enix themselves, but by Gemdrops, who I've never heard of before. What do we know about them?
TL;DR: I wholeheartedly endorse this remake. It supersedes the original in every way. You all need to play it...though it would help if you played Star Ocean: First Departure R first, it's not completely necessary.
Yes, I'm gushing. What of it? There's enough negativity in the world.
Things that make you go "hmmmmm".
Probably more signs that Japan is getting wise to the "localizers" messing with their things, and deciding they are having none of it. So they are going to be far more picky about getting English VA's and as we have already seen will have AI perform the translations (with an English speaker on the Japanese side to make sure it comes out without errors).
It might seem like a non-event, but I think Ada Wong’s terrible voice acting in the RE4 remake, along with its subsequent repair via AI powered mod, was an inflection point.
Heh heh, "inflection"
That's good news all round, I'm hoping this and the recent AI translation over localisers means Japan now keeps everything production wise in house out of the hands of the California establishment.
I really enjoyed my time with it as well, though it certainly highlights the stark difference between what I thought was hard as a kid and what actually is, because I fucking rolled through it like it was nothing. And that's purely off messing with the systems on my own, not even reading up the optimal meta ways to break the game.
I was also genuinely shocked at how many elements weren't just not censored, but even left in at all. Which highlights how big of a cultural shift there has been because in reality they were all pretty milquetoast things like "the female party members discuss one of the guy's hotness" or "someone is open about their intentions to charm you."
Also, I think every "crafting" game needs to play it to see what an actual crafting system should look like. Because I genuinely felt like I was building a party of skilled people instead of a bunch of fighters with no other talents and could craft things that would obviously be doable with the crafting ability they were using for only combat items.
I get the feeling that this is just poking fun at how things have changed.
The original mural sticks out because it’s more detailed compared to the sprites and everything around it. The new one sticks out because it’s less detailed.
That’s great to hear. Star Ocean Second Story was probably the third or so JRPG I ever played. Loved it on the PS1, loved the PSP remaster, will probably get this one as well.
Was first departure the ps2/ Dreamcast one originally?
No. It's a port of the PSP remake of the Super Famicom game that was supposed to come Stateside but never did. And an excellent port it is.
One optional character, T'Nique, is even voiced by Vic Mignogna--and yes, his performance remains in First Departure R.
Second Story R, by contrast, is not a port, but a full-blown remake.
I need to play the first one
What's the skinny on this franchise? Recommended play order? Remake or no remake? Best games?
I only know Star Ocean as a meme for bad voice acting, but I don't care about that because I usually go straight to the JP audio, in whatever way I can. Currently emulating Xenoblade Chronicles 1 JP version because I couldn't handle the dub (it's a good time, but massively padded). Always open to a good unknown JRPG in any case.
Edit: I just realised I emulated the first few seconds of First Departure R on Ryuujinx (switch) then didn't continue because I'm scared of Ryuujinx. Is that the one to start from and what's to expect?
Second Story is basically the only one anyone is ever recommended to play, and probably the only "unironically good" one of the franchise.
People will say Till the End of Time is okay because they played it as kids and have nostalgia to cover the terrible elements.
No one has anything good to say about any of the other entries, other than every game after 3 has at least one super hot party member that no other JRPG would dare to try anymore.
Aside from...THAT plot twist, what were the "terrible elements" of Till The End Of Time?
I loved that game. As a game, anyway.
Nah, it's just THAT plot point. It's so terrible, it leaves you wondering "why are they even making more games afterward?" Though the ones that came after were even worse.
Its been like 20 years since I played it, but the characters are unlikable for most of the opening, the entire crafting system was horrifically awful, and the graphics/color palette are painful to look at for long periods of time. I also remembering something about the combat being busted, but again its been 20 years.
The twist is letting the game off too easy, because it just boils it down to "you just don't like it because its too smart for you!" when there is plenty more than that dragging it down.
Most of which wouldn't have been out of place for a PS2 JRPG, but when you choose to be a sequel to a game you need to at least break even with what it did a whole console generation ago if you can't improve on it.
3 was a masterpiece compared to 4
I've been told 4/5 were actually painful to play and overall garbage, with 6 reaching the level of mediocre to passable. So that's a low bar.
The second story is generally a great entry, with just about all the others being a bit mixed. I like til the end of time, but the story can definitely drag on. After that one, the releases kinda wandered consoles and I lost track of them
*POTENTIAL SPOILERS
Is this the one were the big the reveal was that they were inside an simulation / galactic mmo?
Because even as a kid when I played it, i thought it was retarded.
That's 3
But everything else Square-Enix makes IS woke, and I refuse to give them any money.
Also you should check and see if the game fails the Woman Test. Does the game ever refer to any female character as a woman or female? Do you see any suspicious examples of attractive women being referred to as "strong" or "proud" instead of "pretty"?