If you've been looking forward to getting your hands on Star Ocean: Second Evolution for your PSP, then you're gonna have to wait just a bit more. The beefed-up PSP remake of the tri-Ace RPG, Star Ocean: The Second Story, gets delayed in North America.

It's easy to say Sony PlayStation Portable owners get enough RPG love, a statement strengthened by the recent release of Square Enix and tri-Ace's Star Ocean: Second Evolution in Japan. Us who are still waiting for a localized version need not fret, however, since there are videos to drool over. Hit that jump to see what we're talking about.

The Star Ocean series has definitely been one of the most beloved JRPG franchises in this generation of gaming. And in this Japanese TV Spot trailer video update, we see how Square Enix and Tri-Ace are showing it the love it deserves with Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the PSP. See the epic struggle between good and evil begin once more -in typical, traditional RPG fashion - in the full article.

When a game company has been building up toward the release of a highly-anticipated game, a blowout is just what players need to go gaga. All you fans of Square Enix's Star Ocean: Second Evolution and Star Ocean 4 will finally get the chance to celebrate - the company has confirmed such an event for next week.

More role-playing goodness follows after the jump.

Aside from its all-star cast of voice actors, there's a lot to keep fans on their feet in anticipation of Star Ocean: Second Evolution's release. Square Enix and Tri-Ace's remake of the cult hit that earned a decent following shows promise on the Sony PlayStation Portable, and we've got a trailer to prove it. Hit that jump to see what we're talking about!

If you're crazy about Tri-Ace's work and games like Star Ocean: First Departure are your cup of tea, you might be interested to know about a deal reported by Famitsu. In a recent post, the Japanese publication said that everyone who pre-orders Star Ocean: Second Evolution in Japan will get a bonus disc chock full of trailers showing off new projects. Details follow after the jump!

Sony PlayStation Portable fans looking for more RPG bliss will be glad to know that an old favorite is coming back with a new look. Star Ocean: First Departure has recently been confirmed to be in development and we've got a new trailer to show. It's still in Japanese so not everyone may fully appreciate it, but we thought it would still be interesting so here goes:

This anime music video shows old characters coming back, which should make it appealing to series fans. While the enhancements haven't been too evident in the latest assets released in the Internet, we're told that new voice actors, pre-rendered backgrounds and improved anime cut scenes are all planned. Gameplay tweaks haven't been announced, but we're expecting a little whistle or two in the future.

If you're wondering whether Square Enix or Tri-Ace is handling the remake of this classic RPG, that still remains to be confirmed. All we can assure you is that Star Ocean: First Departure's coming to the Sony PSP and it should be good.

To those who are praying for Star Ocean 4 to go multiplatform, here's a bit of bad news. Gaming magazine Famitsu just announced that Star Ocean 4 will be a PS3-exclusive title. Will this announcement be turned around on its head by Square Enix in the upcoming Tokyo Game Show?

While the details concerning Star Ocean 4 is a tad fuzzy at best, the screenshots in Famitsu revealed a few days ago should give gamers a clue as to what they can expect from this latest Square Enix title: spaceships, swords, and what seems to be moving statues, among others.

As for the PSP Star Ocean remakes, we just sniffed out a small but interesting detail regarding the remake of Tri-Ace's epic series: Production I.G., the anime studio behind beautifully-rendered hits such as Ghost in the Shell SAC, will be in charge of the new character designs as well as animated cutscenes, ensuring lots of eye candy in the handheld remake of earlier Star Ocean titles. It's going to help a lot in carrying out Tri-Ace's goal of making sure that the remakes feel like brand-new games.

Will Star Ocean 4 really be announced as a PS3-exclusive in the TGS? Or will Square Enix change its mind? What will be the end product of Production I.G.'s efforts on the PSP remakes? Do stay tuned as we sniff out more updates!

Probably because it's the "in" thing, remakes seem to be making such a big impact onto the new generation of handhelds nowadays. The Final Fantasy series has already made their much awaited comeback for the Nintendo DS with Final Fantasy III. Now, another old-school RPG series steps onto the PSP handheld with upgraded cinematics, voice acting and much more.

Star Ocean is set to receive a facelift when it finally upgrades itself onto the PSP platform. Scans from Famitsu have confirmed that the first two games of the Star Ocean series will have all new cinematics and redrawn character art, as well as voice overs and whole dialogues written into the new games. Star Ocean First Departure will follow the story of Ratix from the original Star Ocean released on the Super Famicom, while Star Ocean Second Evolution will be based on Star Ocean: The Second Story (PS2) with Claude as the hero.

Old players will be able to relive the adventures of Ratix and Claude in their respective Star Ocean games, while new players can acquaint themselves with the humble beginnings of this engrossing RPG series. Tri-ace, the developers, want more than creating a remake for the games. They want to make players feel like they're going through completely new games.

People will have to wait a while for the these new incarnations to hit the shelves as they are still in development and so far have a TBA release schedule slapped on them. When they do come out, however, they'll definitely be games that hardcore RPG gamers will want to look into. So until then just stay tuned for any more updates we may have on them.

 

   

Take note of the capital S in the title. (It's not a typo, this writer just felt the need to put emphasis on the plural of Star Ocean, you'll know what we mean in a bit.) Square Enix held a Pre-Conference Meeting at its HQ in Shinjuku and let's just say there was a deluge of new info about the upcoming titles.

Squeenix is definitely giving the Sony PlayStation Portable a lot of love. They're releasing three Star Ocean titles, two of which are for the PSP. Yup, you read that right. Star Ocean: First Departure is a full makeover'd version of the original Super Famicom video game (it was only released in Japan). Second up is Star Ocean: Second Evolution which is also a remake for the original PSOne Star Ocean: The Second Story. Star Ocean 4 is still under development by the original devs for the series, tri-Ace. There wasn't any info on what platforms it will be released on and an ETA.

Shinji Hashimoto announced a new Wii title under the working title Chocobo's Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu. It will be released in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Chocobo franchise. Reportedly, it will serve as a follow up of the DS Chocobo Tales and will feature familiar characters and locations. The difference would be that the title will focus on dungeon gameplay instead of a bunch of minigames. Producer Yuki Yokoyama concluded:

Finally, a word for those who enjoyed Chocobo Tales, we are including something special that should be very familiar to you to discover, and I hope you're looking forward to this title as much as I am.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers were discussed by Akitoshi Kawazu, executive producer of the series. He indicated that Ring of Fates will be coming to Nintendo's handheld and will be utilizing the DS' WiFi capabilities. Ring of Fates will be more focused on traditional action RPG gameplay with good special effects. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates will be released in August 23 in Japan - a bit later than what Square Enix had planned. A short in game footage for The Crystal Bearers for the Wii was shown featuring sky ships and other impressive elements.

Lastly, the Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System (definitely a mouthful) which is scheduled for a August 9 release. Hiroyuki Ito, producer and director for the title indicated that a secret DVD will be included. The North American version of the game will be English dubbed and will feature a 16:9 widescreen mode. According to Ito, "the Zodiac Job System now enables players to create characters that adhere more closely to classic Final Fantasy job systems, like White Mage, Red Mage and Black Mage."

Looks like we've got a lot to expect from Square Enix this year. Expect more goodies as when the party really begins. Stay tuned.