Star Ocean: The First Departure

"So, if it feels a bit dated, why the hell have I been staying up till 4 a.m. playing this game, then? Easy -- the ridiculously engrossing crafting minutiae sucks me in every time, whether it's cooking up a sumptuous feast, penning tomes of arcane knowledge, or composing orchestral opuses."

"For every played-out gaming convention the twelve year old story offers, there's always a new and fresh idea right around the corner to make up for it - from hidden cut scenes accessed through character driven Private Actions to an extremely deep Skill/Specialty scheme."

"With auto- or semi-auto-targeting and AI controlling all but one character, the real-time battles can be mindlessly button-mashy, but not in an altogether bad way."

"Depending on your mood, Star Ocean: First Departure brings out either the worst or the best of the old-school RPG. Generally, the latter is the case. Consider the game a must-play for long-time RPG fans and a terrific rental for everyone else. "

"An enhanced remake of the original game, First Departure will feature a number of new elements, such as brand new CG cutscenes and 3D graphics. It will also include new scenarios and characters never before seen in the title, and new animated movies. There will be a number of extra bonus features, but when we were playing the game, we weren't able to determine what they were. Then again, we only had fifteen minutes to check out the opening of the title."