Square Enix has announced that Star Ocean: First Departure for the PSP has shipped to shops across North American.

Featuring a revised game engine, improved battle system and fully voiced, all-new animated scenes displayed in 16:9 widescreen, players can now follow the exploits of humankind's journey across the stars in an adventure that has never before been released to the North American audience.

With the January 6th, 2009 release of Star Ocean: Second Evolution for the PSP system following closely behind, the first chapter in the series that has shipped over 2.8 million units worldwide is primed and ready to be reintroduced to fans across the globe.