Star Ocean: First Departure

Taking a franchise back to its roots is rarely a bad thing. The most recent Star Ocean games on the Playstation 2 and 3 were good, but they were more linear and lacked some of that charm gamers loved from the initial titles. You couldn't recruit a different party on your second playthrough. However, Star Ocean: First Departure brings back the love. It has adorable 2D graphics backed up by cutesy anime cutscenes; and all the other wonderful quirks that we've missed since Star Ocean made its debut on the Famicom.

The local defense force, Millie, Roddick, and Dorne.

Genre: Action, JRPG
Release Date: 27th December 2007
Platforms: PSP
Score: 7/10
Similar Titles: Grandia, Final Fantasy, Tales of Phantasia

Roddick, Millie, and Dorne are teenagers working as a local defense force for their small town, Kratus. They undertake tasks such as repelling bandits and rescuing cats from trees. When visiting the nearest village they discover a mysterious plague has begun spreading among the populace; turning everyone who comes into contact with it into stone. When no cure can be found to stop the illness, Roddick and company venture up the nearby mountain to find a rare herb as their last hope. What they don't realize, is that their journey will take them through time and space to reveal the truth because the virus and the history of their planet.

The combat is really fun.

If you weren't already aware, Star Ocean: First Departure is a replica of the original game on the Famicom. Many of the features have been enhanced to accommodate the modern era of gaming, the graphics and the engine have essentially been updated to Playstation quality. There are a few new characters and scenes, but it's mostly the same as the original. The lore from the Star Ocean universe is rich and filled with unique stories, and this game marks the beginning of it.

I really enjoyed playing First Departure, the combat is different from your typical JRPG. Instead of being turn based, you control your character on the field. Four team members can chosen for battle. You decide which party member to play as, and each character works a little differently. Symbology is the Star Ocean version of magic, which can be used for healing or damage. Not everybody can use magic, but every character learns a plethora of various skills as they level up. Skills can vary, such as a long range nuke, or an AoE knockback. 2 skills can be assigned at any one time, and the more frequently you use them the more powerful they become. I found fighting monsters and other enemies addictive, and intentionally sought out battles. However, the random battle mechanic doesn't kick in frequently; so if you want to progress through the game quickly it's entirely possible.

Roddick and company meet people from Earth.

As for the story, it covers many things. It starts out like your typical RPG, except the characters have tails. However, it quickly gets confusing and even a little overwhelming. Time and space travel, galactic wars, and even demon lords. For a very old game, it's actually original. My favorite part was being able to recruit different characters each time you play it through. On top of that, there's a relationship system in the game that changes the ending based on which allies you favor more. Another unique and very intriguing feature in Star Ocean: First Departure is the item system. Each shop has countless stuff to buy, and it can all be fused to create new weapons, or armor.

Roddick is the main character, and compared to everyone else he's a little boring. Personally, I thought the dialogue was a little lacking. But the plot itself is good. Every so often after you make a fair bit of progress you get to watch an anime cutscene, which looks good but feels like it's tacked on as an afterthought.

Out of all the games you can get on the PSP, First Departure is easily one of the best. You can easily sink 30+ hours into it, and enjoy every second. If you ever feel like revisiting the game, you can do it with a new party and experience a new ending. Star Ocean: The Second Story has also managed to port itself onto the portable as well. Certainly a title worth purchasing, especially since it's cheap.

Check out the top 5 PSP RPG titles here!

Single player JRPG recommendations- Wii titles

I really like playing consoles a year or two after they are released, so there's plenty of cheap games out for them. Usually consoles don't get the best games until they have been out for a couple of years. Half a year ago I went out and bought a dozen cheap games for the Nintendo Wii.

To be honest with you folks, I've always hated the Wii. The nunchucks and aiming at the screen seem like cheap gimmick to me. Novelties aside, I love a good RPG. Especially a Japanese one. If you are looking for a JRPG to play on the Wii, check out this list.

1- The Last Story

Yeah, I don't know why there's so much yellow and pink. Magic, obviously.

It wasn't that hard for me to decide on my favorite game on the Wii. The Last Story has an innovative combat system, loads of character customization and a lovely JRPG story. Not only that, the music score was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, the same person who created the Final Fantasy scores. If you can find it, you should buy it. It should be quite cheap by now, so you have no excuses!

2- Xenoblade Chronicles

I was really excited to play Xenoblade when I bought it.

Xenoblade Chronicles is a strange one. It feels like an offline MMORPG. There isn't much story, but it's a solid game. The side quests are very simplistic and can get a little annoying, but they are optional. This game has a hell of a lot of content to get through, which is a huge plus. The graphics are a little less than expected, but Xenoblade is definitely a fun game that you can sink hours into.

3- Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Radiant Dawn starts out pretty basic, but it gets complicated later on.

For those of you know about the Fire Emblem franchise, this one needs no explanation. It has a great blend of RPG and strategy mechanics, brought to you with a very addictive campaign. With lots of options between choosing weapons and magic, you can create your own unique army to complete the story. The graphics are horrible though, it's not very pretty. But the gameplay more than makes up for that.

4- Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

Tales of Symphonia was amazing on the gamecube, it's still good on the Wii.

The Tales series has always been very hit or miss. In my personal opinion, Dawn of the New World is a miss. It's a good game, it has all the usual mechanics you would expect as a sequel to Tales of Symphonia. The story carries on from the predecessor, and the battle system combines ideas from both Abyss and Destiny. Despite that, I just can't get behind it because it's lacking something special that I just can't put my finger on. Despite this, it still deserves the number 4 spot.

5- Monster Hunter 3 Tri

Monster Hunter has surprisingly good graphics.

Monster Hunter on the Wii received phenomenal reviews and critical acclaim. Many people might even rate it at the top of list. With countless scary and gigantic monsters to hunt and so many weapons and builds to choose from, this game is really something. It's pretty difficult to get started, with the complicated controls and overwhelming mechanics. However, it's worth the money if you can make it past the first few hours.

I hope you find a game you enjoy from this list. If you have any suggestions or ideas for games I should add, leave a comment and let us know!

Game Dev Tycoon

So I've been a little on the fence about this one. A game about making a game, seems a little too close to inception for me. However, after hearing about the publicity stunt Greenheart games pulled on torrent users, I was intrigued. For those of you that don't know, there are fake torrents floating around that will stop you progressing in the game because too many people are torrenting the games you make. I thought it was funny, but I bet there's a few people out there who aren't very impressed.

For the last couple of days whenever I dropped into a group call with my friends, all I would hear is babble about game creation and development. Eventually I caved and bought Game Dev Tycoon. After playing it for 10 minutes and realizing that in reality 3 hours had passed, I knew I hadn't wasted my cash.

Making Final Fantasy doesn't always produce amazing results.

Upon creating your company name and choosing an avatar, you are presented with your office. A garage. Succeeding in Game Dev Tycoon requires you to make as many successful games as you can in 30 years of gaming history. To create a game you need to choose the genre, topic, and platform. Then you need to decide on what aspects to focus on. For example, an RPG generally needs good dialogue and quests. Once you have finished your game it goes onto the market, where it accumulates sales and fans for your company.

It starts out pretty basic at first; make games, make money. But you will quickly become overwhelmed by the creation of new consoles and creating engines to accommodate your new mechanics. Then you have to manage your employees and train them to be useful. You can enter contracts with publishers to fund your games and publicity. The further you progress into the game the more you have to manage and watch out for, and if you make several bad games in a row it can cost you a huge amount of fans and money. Nothing is more depressing than sinking your $1 million budget into the perfect game only for it to get pathetic reviews.

Choosing the best attributes to put your time into is important.

I've had a lot of fun playing this game so far, and every single one of my friends has bought it; which is not a common occurrence in our group. I've made several different companies and most of them have failed before the 15 year mark. In fact, the furthest I got was when I made EA games and ran my company like a bastard tyrant. Anyway, it's a lot of fun and you can put quite a bit of thought into how to market your games.

Game Dev Tycoon is one of those titles you would see as an app on Facebook. However, instead of using special coins purchased by micropayments to make you buy stuff in the game, they've opted for the far more sensible and affordable price of $8. It feels like a flash game you would find for free on Kongregate or Newgrounds. It's the ideal title for your tablet or laptop. Game Dev Tycoon doesn't have intensive graphics, just addictive company management and the fun that comes with making it as your own gaming company. Should you buy it? Yes.

Max Payne 3

Rockstar have always been known for creating iconic games. I haven't played a bad game developed by Rockstar yet. Max Payne is a franchise known by every veteran gamer. When the first title in the series was released in 2001, it was an instant classic and a step forward for TPS gaming. The slow motion bullet time effect and advanced graphics were an instant hit for the market. 11 years later, we have the third edition of Max Payne, bringing back the linear third person shooter we all love so much.

Max seems to find himself narrowly avoiding more than one Hollywood special effect.

Genre: Action, Third-Person Shooter
Release Date: 15th May 2012
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Score: 8/10
Similar Titles: Uncharted, Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption

Top 5 PSP RPG titles

After owning a Playstation Portable for several months and buying dozens of games, I've finally decided on my top 5 favorite RPGs. Surprisingly, there's a huge market for roleplaying games on the PSP. I find countless new titles every time I go game shopping.

This list is by no means definitive, it is merely my favorite RPGs on the PSP. If you don't like it, just remember that. If you have any suggestions for games I should include, comment away! 

Top 5 PSP RPG titles:

1- Final Fantasy: Crisis Core

I don't like that Crisis Core is the best RPG on the PSP. Because it's a dying franchise, and it's really 'mainstream' to put a Final Fantasy at the top of the list. However, it's easily the best game on the PSP. The graphics are top notch, the combat is brilliant, and it's got hours of content. It is a healthy prequel to Final Fantasy 7, that anyone can enjoy. Even though I didn't want to put this at number 1, there's no doubt in my eyes that it deserves the spot.

2- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable

When I came across Persona 3 sitting lonely on a shelf, I bought it without a second thought. It was a brilliant game for the PSX, and it's even better on a handheld. It's got a great story, that can't be fully experienced in a single playthrough. The combat is challenging, demanding that you climb up over 200 floors of enemies in under a year. Persona 3 Portable is basically tied with Crisis Core for first place.

3- Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Birth By Sleep is the best handheld Kingdom Hearts game. It has addictive and layered combat, a brilliant plot, and 3 separate characters to play the story with. The only shortcoming this game has is that it's too short. That and the Disney part, which I'm okay with. Even if you know nothing about the Kingdom Hearts universe, this game is still worth playing.

4- Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

I hated this game at first. It was overly complicated, without much explanation. 5 hours later, I was balls deep in dungeons, recruiting new characters and perfecting them before I could toss them up to Valhalla. Although it has a patchy plot and is difficult to pick up, Valkyrie Profile is yet another game from the PSX that made a wonderful transition onto handheld.

5- Star Ocean: First Departure

I've always liked the Star Ocean games, they've been a solid RPG over the years with less appreciation than deserved in the west. First Departure brings some of that old school spice onto the PSP. The combat is a little basic, but the story and the characters are amazing. You can't recruit every character in one playthrough, and there's loads of side content to complete. I really loved grinding on this one.

If you're looking for PSP games, this list might help you. The PSP almost has more RPG titles than I can buy, but I will keep on purchasing the ones that I can. Feel free to comment if you have an opinion on your favorite PSP games!

Game of Thrones

I bet there's quite a few of you out there who didn't even know the Game of Thrones (GoT) RPG existed. Well, it does. Unfortunately, by gaming standards it doesn't hold a candle to other titanic and better developed RPGs. Fortunately, it's GoT. When a game has inherently bad mechanics but an untapped well of lore from one of the greatest book franchises in existence, it's really difficult to see how it will all turn out in the end.

Mors and his fellow watchmen at the wall.

Genre: Action, RPG
Release Date: 15th May 2012
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Score: 4/10
Similar Titles: Star Wars: KotoR, Neverwinter Nights, Risen