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Study Star Ocean History To Prepare for Star Ocean PSP

This month, Star Ocean: First Departure comes to the PSP, a remake of the classic RPG that never got localized for North American gamers. Check out the timeline of the series to see how we came from our humble origins to the release of Star Ocean PSP.

1996: Enix releases Star Ocean on the Super Famicom – Japan's version of the Super Nintendo. The game, a science fiction/space opera themed role-playing game, was the first title by the fledgling tri-Ace development company (and they, as the JRPG hardcore probably know already, are kind of a big deal. The game sold nearly a quarter million copies in Japan, but never saw a domestic release – a modest success, but nowhere near the massive numbers that a Chrono Trigger moved at the time.

1999: Star Ocean: The Second Story was the first installment of the series to hit the PlayStation, and tri-Ace's precursor to the super-in-demand Valkyrie Profile (for a more available remake of that classic, check out Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for the PSP). The game sold more than triple what the first title did in Japan, and 370,000 elsewhere – successful numbers for a JRPG in the American market.

2004: Almost six years passed between the second and third main games in the Star Ocean series, Star Ocean: Till The End of Time. The virtual reality tale was actually more popular in the North American market than it was in Japan, selling an impressive 630,000 copies – nearly 100,000 more than it managed to sell in Japan (not counting the sales of 2004's Japan-only Director's Cut).

2007: Star Ocean PSP is announced by Square-Enix, a remake of the first game in the now-classic series and the first time that the game has been commercially available in the United States. Star Ocean PSP is released in Japan in December 2007 and accompanied a Star Ocean-branded PSP in a limited edition package.

2009: Star Ocean: The Last Hope is due for the Xbox 360 in early 2009, a prequel to the series that occurs several hundred years before Star Ocean in 2097 AD. The game is exclusive to the Xbox, part of Square-Enix's licensing deal with Microsoft. Following on the heels of Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Hope may be just that in regard to buyers' faith in tri-Ace as a critical darling. 2009 also heralds a second Star Ocean PSP title, a remake of Star Ocean: The Second Story due in January.

Star Ocean PSP is built on an overhaul of the original game engine, featuring beautiful prerendered backgrounds and 3D battle fields. The Star Ocean PSP remake also features voice acting, a new theme song and animated cutscenes by Production I.G. Star Ocean PSP is due on U.S. shelves on October 21, 2008, but you can skip the lines and order your copy at GameQuestDirect.com