Star Ocean: First Departure R Physical Release Announced

Limited Run Games is partnering with Square Enix to release physical editions for action RPG Star Ocean: First Departure R. Pre-orders for the editions will start on September 12, 2025, and end on October 26, 2025, on Limited Run Games’s online store. The physical release will be available in Standard, Steelbook, and Ultimate Editions on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

The Standard Edition, priced at $39.99, comes with a physical copy of the game and the game manual. The Steelbook Edition, which costs $79.99, includes a slipcase, a SteelBook case, and a 12″ x 16″ double-sided poster in addition to the Standard Edition content. The Ultimate Edition will be available for $199.99 and includes the SteelBook Edition as well as an acrylic battle scene cube, a soundtrack CD, a set of acrylic standees, an enamel pin, a keychain, and a certificate of authenticity.

Star Ocean: First Departure R is the remaster of the PlayStation Portable remake of the first Star Ocean game. It lets players choose between the Japanese and English voicing from the PlayStation Portable version as well as newly recorded audio from the original Super Famicom version’s voice cast. It also includes the option to select original First Departure character illustrations or new illustrations from Katsumi Enami (Star Ocean: The Last Hope), plus a new high-speed movement mode and adjusted difficulty balancing.

Developed by tri-Ace, the first Star Ocean game was originally released for Super Famicom in Japan in 1996. The game was remade by Tose for PlayStation Portable as Star Ocean: First Departure and released in Japan in December 2007, with North American and European releases following in 2008. First Departure follows Roddick, a young man living in the peaceful town of Kratus on the planet Roak before a mysterious disease causes its infected inhabitants to start to turn to stone. Adventuring with his friends Millie and Dorne to find a rumoured healing herb, the trio come across Pangalatic Federation officers Ronyx and Ilia, who appear from a pillar of light.