Star Ocean: First Departure is an enhanced game remake of the original Star Ocean. The first details of the game were revealed at the "Star Ocean Special Stage" during the Square Enix Party 2007, alongside those of Star Ocean: Second Evolution. Yoshinori Yamagishi, producer of the series, stated that he wants the remakes to feel as though they're completely new games. The game was released in Japan on December 27, 2007, and was released in North America and Europe on October 21, 2008 and October 24, 2008 respectively; making it the first time that the original Star Ocean was officially released outside of Japan.
The game sold 115,280 copies in Japan by end of 2007.As of November 30, 2008, the game has sold 204,996 copies in Japan.