So what makes Star Ocean so special and why am I lamenting? To be precise I believe Star Ocean the second story is truly the best JRPG of the Playstation era. Its a great game in the same way Jackie Chan's drunken master is great kung fu movie. It gushes with elements that define it's genre to the point where it becomes the goto example of how the genre functions if everything is done to 110%. I lament because I know there's a generation that won't get to experience this game like I did, if at all. I myself experienced it secondhand on the PS2 having come to know of the game late in the Playstation's life. This frustration is compounded by the fact that there is no other way to experience the forerunners to the Star Ocean franchise unless you own the original disk copies of the Playstation or PSP games. In the SNES's case the game wasn't released outside of japan so Star Ocean the first departure for the PSP is the closest you'll get to the original Star Ocean
YAR
With piracy I can dig up the SNES version and actually play it as there's a large enough fan base for the series for them to have forged a translation patch. No small feat considering the amount of text and variation within the game's story. Playstation's Star Ocean the second story is a bit trickier to finagle. Still if you're affluent in various technical arts its not impossible to play the game on a PC without issue. In both of these cases let me be clear. If I could of purchased a digital copy of either of these games (say for download via steam) I would of done so happily. To reiterate- for all legal intents and purposes the Star Ocean series only exist as physical media. They're not on steam, good old games, origin, or even Squareenix's own website. That's right, Squareenix's official online store can't even be bothered to offer a downloadable version of these classics for the PC or even the PSN.
Star Ocean Reborn
I want to play Star Ocean the first departure. In order for me to do this legally I need to purchase a PSP which I can get for about $99 bucks off amazon in new condition. I was curious what all I would be able to do with my handheld other than play games so I googled it and this is what I got . I can listen to music with a memory stick, watch movies off UMDs or my memory stick, look at pictures on the memory stick, browse the web, and use it as an impromptu flashlight. Pretty neato to be sure but I don't have that cash to be tossing around at the moment.
I also need to buy the game (Star Ocean the first departure) which amazon tells me I can get for as cheap as $7.61 brand new. I was surprised by this as I expected it to be 19.99 or so for that condition. In Star Ocean first departure they used a lot of assets from Star Ocean the second story to touch the up original Star Ocean that was released on the SNES. The re-releasing of this game is called Star Ocean the first departure- an accurate title to be sure. It received mixed reviews getting a respectable 74 on metacritic which is fairly close to it's re-release cousin Star Ocean Second Evolution which is a remake of Star Ocean the second story which was originally released on the PS1. Confused yet? Interestingly, Star Ocean the second story goes for $100+ dollars on amazon in new condition. Good thing I picked up my new copy for about 60 bucks on ebay back in 2006 or so.
If I may be so bold...
As of my writing this I haven't be able to emulate this PSP game with much success despite my technical prowess. More to the point I feel I shouldn't have to as I can purchase Final Fantasy VII from the Squareenix website, download it and play it on your PC. One would reason its not beyond their capabilities to port older games to the PC. Square has a large enough library to bring some a plethora of great games to the PC and other mobile devices. Never mind the contributions that Enix (publisher of the Star Ocean series prior to the Squareenix merger) could make. Since they have their own store they could set their price as they pleased and preserve their exceptional gaming library for a whole new generation of gamers. There is the issue of licensing and converting the games over to a playable format for cross platform interaction but the concept is far from impossible.
My question
Star Ocean the first departure was released in 2008. Why can't I buy a digital copy from your store to play on my choice of device Squareenix?
Here's a classic melody from Star Ocean the second story. So peaceful... the venerable forest.
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