Star Ocean: First Departure Official Strategy Guide

By Dan Birlew

Help Save Planet Roak An unknown power threatens to hurl the planet Roak into a new age of civilization. Is it the will of the gods, or simply fate? Whatever it may be, the human race continues to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0744010713
• ISBN13: 9780744010718
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Bradygames
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.4" x 10.6"

Customer Reviews

Great guide

This guide is Helpful in some ways and useless in others. I got to the Labyrinth of Trials and got stuck at the area where you select the doors with the moons. I went and got a guide from GameFAQ but the info on that section was un helpful as it is in this guide. that is when i had to do a little more research. Otherwise this guide is quite useful for statistics and as a MAP guide. well worth the money!

An Immensely Helpful Resource for your First Departure

Bradygames has had a shaky history with their strategy guides lately. Their guides for console games seem to be less detailed and missing a ton of information. On the other hand, their handheld guides have been pretty useful. Star Ocean: First Departure is no exception. It's a well done guide filled with a ton of information. If you need to master Star Ocean: First Departure, this guide will actually help you do it. The guide begins by introducing you to all the characters. The section itself is actually somewhat dry, but it gives you the information you need such as their techs and spells. It might have been better if the authors had given us a few tactics on how to use each character effectively, but since Star Ocean isn't very hard to grasp, it's something that we can let slide. After this the guide gets into the gameplay aspects of the game. Star Ocean is a surprisingly complex game, it's very nice to have all this information at your fingertips. If you've been playing JRPGs for years, however, none of these tactics are really going to be new to you. On the other hand, there are a couple of other things here that it explains which are useful to Star Ocean players. The base affections chart is very useful as is the hidden talents table. There's also a lot of good battle tactics displayed through the basics as well as a breakdown of scenario branching. After this, we get into the walkthrough. Each area shows the maps. On each map are the location of items scattered throughout each town or dungeon. There's also enemy data listed at the start of each area. The text outlined in the walkthrough is incredibly helpful for getting you through things. It gives a mini-profile of each new character as they're introduced. There are also a good deal of crystal clear screenshots with some interesting captions below them, many of which give you more interesting tips. There are also boss strategies, but they're not quite as good as the rest of the walkthrough itself. There are also a lot of different kinds of tips and tricks outlined as you go through. The guide never hesitates to let you know when it's a good idea to do some customization, level grinding or to give you forewarning of upcoming events. There should be no reason you're unprepared for any situation with this guide by your side. Of special note also, is the flowchart that also comes before each and every area. Star Ocean has a branching story with optional characters scattered throughout. The guide does a very good job of pointing when and where you can get all of them, while also letting the gamer know that you can't get all the characters. The flowchart is incredibly helpful. If there were any real problem with the walkthrough it would be that it has no overall world map. There is a new section of the world map whenever you get to a new region but if you need it you'll have to flip back to it. It's really not that big a deal, however as Star Ocean, despite t

thorough guide for a game with many plot branches

The game has many plot branches based on which characters you recruit, and the inclusion of "flowcharts" mapping plot choices, recruitable characters, and the game's "Private Actions" makes it much easier to see the long-term consequences of your decisions. The authors could have chosen a single path, filled pages with charts of weapons, and called it a day. I've certainly seen it with some of the "Tales" series guides, which completely ignore most optional material. Here the authors went the extra mile and covered not just the branching plots, but a lot of "behind the scenes" formulas used to calculate various skills and talents and the hidden "affection ratings" characters have for each other. The optional dungeon gets full coverage, too. There are a few small issues; the amount of detail can make it hard to see the "big picture" sometimes. But "too much information" is a nitpick at best! Star Ocean: First Departure is short for an RPG, but very replayable due to the different choices you can make and characters you can recruit. This guide is the best way to get the most out of your game, whether playing once or multiple times.

A good guide for a wonderful game

Back in 1999 i played my first Star Ocean game, the seconde story. It was and is an awsome game and the strategy guide by Bradygames gave me a lot of help. Now being able to play the first ever Star Ocean game is a dream comming true. Only after finishing the game for the first time i had a look in the strategy guide and as so often enjoyed reading a book made by Bradygames. It is a help for beginners and a good book also for the hardcore fans out there. I just can recommend this book to anyone in love with videogames.

Decent guide for a great game. (YAY FIRST REVIEW!!!)

Good solid guide with some flaws and drawbacks. The in-game maps are very useful, item locations are good, boss strategies, weapon and armor locations, bestiary, so it's got it all. Why did I give it three stars? The layout. I mean the guide itself is very straight-forward, but sometimes you may spend 10 minutes trying to find one page, or a specific section. The table of contents serves well, although it doesn't seem to involve everything. This guide is good, and its much better then checking GameFAQs every 10 seconds, and with this game you will need a guide for sure. If you have the game, get this guide, it's solid, and with some patience it is usable. Bradygames is a good company, much better then the idiots over at Prima. :) Anyway, this is the only guide around, so it's this or constant internet checking, and trust someone who's far in this game, you WILL need a guide. Unless you want to spend hours looking for one town or the exact location you're supposed to go. Plus it's very useful to have a character guide, helps you determine who to use. Hope this review helps!