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OP
OP
Haha, I missed that the RS2 thread had become active again. Were it not for the Retronauts thread, I'd have all three lined up as well.
As I understand it Re;Universe has been doing pretty well for itself relative to the amount of resources going into it (15 million downloads in under a year, compare and contrast with Final Fantasy Dissidia Opera Omnia, a much more ambitious title, hitting 7 million downloads worldwide after launching in Japan in early 2017)
While I have always been fascinated by the Romancing Saga series, I could never really get into it.
I tried both RS2 and RS3 back in the SNES days, and wasn't able to progress very much due to the difficulty I suppose. Knowing the enemy will scale with my level caused me to avoid most battle which kind of screw up the enjoyment for me.
Just for reference, I did beat the Saga Frontier somehow. And enjoy it somewhat... the combo system managed to keep me interested till the end.
Now since RS3 is available on the Switch now, should I have a 3rd try to get in the game, or should I go for Alliance Alive which seems more modern and less obscure in terms of gameplay?
I tried both RS2 and RS3 back in the SNES days, and wasn't able to progress very much due to the difficulty I suppose. Knowing the enemy will scale with my level caused me to avoid most battle which kind of screw up the enjoyment for me.
Just for reference, I did beat the Saga Frontier somehow. And enjoy it somewhat... the combo system managed to keep me interested till the end.
Now since RS3 is available on the Switch now, should I have a 3rd try to get in the game, or should I go for Alliance Alive which seems more modern and less obscure in terms of gameplay?
OP
OP
I guess maybe they haven't? I did a google search because I remembered them being announced (like the PS3 release of Minstrel Song) but the actual PSN pages for them don't give you the option of buying them. I've corrected the OP.
This is a great thread, thank you! I read it and learned a lot about a series I've never played! It's really impressive that this series has continued so long with some of the original people still involved.
I've been looking forward to finally giving the series a go once Scarlet Grace comes out. The fact that they cut dungeons seems pretty bold in a smart way, as I've played many RPGs where dungeon crawling is the least interesting part. It makes me happy to think the game designers maybe thought the same.
I've been looking forward to finally giving the series a go once Scarlet Grace comes out. The fact that they cut dungeons seems pretty bold in a smart way, as I've played many RPGs where dungeon crawling is the least interesting part. It makes me happy to think the game designers maybe thought the same.
Kawazu continues to woo me with his siren song of balls-out wierdness for some reason, even if he's not leading the game!
OP
OP
You did not just lump Chrono Cross with this series full of terrible mechanics that likes to constantly give the middle finger to players.
That's one fantastic OP. Great job.
As someone who enjoyed the GB games and Saga Frontier and who also makes RPGs, what would you like to see in a spiritual successor?
As someone who enjoyed the GB games and Saga Frontier and who also makes RPGs, what would you like to see in a spiritual successor?
Yeah, Chrono Cross isn't good enough to hang with a decent Saga title.
OP
OP
I mean
This is a thread celebrating said series, and I think I make it pretty clear how Cross has elements of said series present.
Really, tying into the shared concepts stuff, I'd like to see in a spiritual successor the character building, the focus on exploring/discovering the world/lore/mechanics, and the unique approaches to characters and occasionally storytelling. That's all what made things like Legend of Legacy and Alliance Alive so appealing to me, even if they are flawed as their own games.
I think one thing I used to say when people asked me how do you play a RPG that doesn't have any story is "see the second half of FF6? Imagine a game that starts when Celes wakes up in the shack".
Generally, that settles things pretty quickly.
Generally, that settles things pretty quickly.
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Lol good one
Anyways OP I don't want to be a party pooper so I'll shut up now :p
This is one of the most amazing write-ups I have ever seen. Thank you OP.
I would also like to shout out ルドラの秘宝/Rudora no Hihō/Treasure of the Rudra, (SFC, 1996) which was supervised by Kawazu.
I think this is, by far, the best example of a multi-protagonist system I've ever seen. There are three different protagonists who you can switch between and a fourth, which ties them all together at the end of the game.
While not the Glimmer system of the SaGa series, the magic system of the game is very ambitious and unique (you type in words for spells!)
While the game never received an English release, there is a full English patch out there and I highly recommend this game to SaGA fans, 16-bit era JRPG fans and fans of multi-protagonist games.
I would also like to shout out ルドラの秘宝/Rudora no Hihō/Treasure of the Rudra, (SFC, 1996) which was supervised by Kawazu.
I think this is, by far, the best example of a multi-protagonist system I've ever seen. There are three different protagonists who you can switch between and a fourth, which ties them all together at the end of the game.
While not the Glimmer system of the SaGa series, the magic system of the game is very ambitious and unique (you type in words for spells!)
While the game never received an English release, there is a full English patch out there and I highly recommend this game to SaGA fans, 16-bit era JRPG fans and fans of multi-protagonist games.
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I've always wanted to get into the SaGa series, but have struggled in the past. I remember playing SaGa Frontier 1 on PS1 but just couldn't get into it since I was younger and was expecting something more along the lines of Final Fantasy. I also remember buying a copy of Unlimited Saga and hating it quite a bit back in the day. I think it's time for me to give the SaGa series another shot as an adult with the right mindset. Though I don't think I'm going to touch Unlimited Saga again, at least not until I've played the rest of the games in the series and have a feel for things.
I just started playing Romancing Saga 2 as it's been sitting in my Switch backlog for some time. I have some starting characters getting one shotted in several battles with normal enemies. Makes me nervous since their LP is decreasing every time. If I lose some of these starting characters for good when LP hits 0, am I screwed? Or do you pick up new party members frequently throughout the game?
I just started playing Romancing Saga 2 as it's been sitting in my Switch backlog for some time. I have some starting characters getting one shotted in several battles with normal enemies. Makes me nervous since their LP is decreasing every time. If I lose some of these starting characters for good when LP hits 0, am I screwed? Or do you pick up new party members frequently throughout the game?
RS2 is based around changing regularly your characters as generations change. The only bad thing that could happen is that you don't want your character's LP to fall to 0 against a boss at the end of an annoying dungeon.
If you finish a dungeon and one of you characters only has 1 or 2 LP left, it's also a strategy to remove all their amour, put them on the front, and let them die while the other look so you can recruit someone else instead.
Unlimited Saga doesn't play like any other game of the series except some shades of Minstrel Song (and a bunch of ideas from Wild Card). Nothing can prepare you for it, in the best and worst ways!
Awesome OP.
Never properly played a Saga game but excited to start. I read up the details for each game listed, but if I value cool chatacters and a story (both grand, overarching, or episodic vignettes are fine) which of these should I go with? I have access to:
I'm a little drawn to SaGa Frontier 1 just cause of nostalgia to gaming of that era but open to give any of the others a chance.
Thanks.
Never properly played a Saga game but excited to start. I read up the details for each game listed, but if I value cool chatacters and a story (both grand, overarching, or episodic vignettes are fine) which of these should I go with? I have access to:
- SaGa Frontier
- SaGa Frontier 2
- Romancing Saga 2
- Romancing Saga 3
I'm a little drawn to SaGa Frontier 1 just cause of nostalgia to gaming of that era but open to give any of the others a chance.
Thanks.
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Saga Frontier 2 is the only one of these games that is really plot focused, but it's also not very good and it's a linear game with very little of the freedom that makes Saga games interesting.
I'd start with Saga Frontier 1. It has more plot and character moments than the Romancing Saga games if you chose the right character (ie not Blue or Lute). I would play Red, Assellus, or T260G.
RS has world building, no plot. You'd have more luck with SF2 (or Scarlet Grace).
Awesome, thanks. Does the order of how they're chosen matter??
Good to know thanks.
Not for story reasons. Assellus and T260G have you dealing a bunch of mystic and mech party members so Red is probably friendlier to start with in terms of dealing with the game's mechanics.
The game has an easy exploit with gold ingots if you ever need money.
Yeah, use the scrap trick or the gold ingot trick. Red is overall very fun to do. It's even better with a replay because you get to see main characters of other chapters hanging out. I think it's probably the most structured SaGa Frontier chapter but I could be mistaken.
Blue is my absolute favourite though. If you know you won't do everything, then Red and Blue are top of the line
edit: I think I'm an idiot and the money requirement I speak of is not part of the main storyline. It's a sidequest
Cool, will look up the exploit. Thanks again.
From a curve of understanding gameplay systems necessary to make the most out of the party members you can/will get out of them, some characters are a better first-playthrough choice than others.
Monster party members alone have such in-depth systems buried into how they work that they put a lot of other games to shame by themselves (there's an excellent resource on this here, but I'd recommend not looking at it until you've tried to understand them yourself first - discovery is a lot of the fun of this game). Mystics have a sort of hybrid mechanical style between Monsters and Humans in kind of an obtuse way, and Mecs can be kind of resource-demanding to get the most out of, since they rely the most on equipment out of any character type in the game (and conversely gain the least directly from combat, as their only combat-based growth comes from fighting enemy Mecs). Humans, on the other hand, pretty much just kinda get better at doing things by doing them, making them in practice much more straight-forward (though there are systems for how all of that really works).
To that end, I'd recommend either Blue or Red for a first scenario. Blue's kinda teaches you how the magic system works, as it's mechanically-central to his story. Red gives you a nice and diverse cast of character types so you can experience all of them a bit. I'd recommend saving Lute's for last, or at least after you have a scenario or two under your belt, so you can better understand what you need to do (sorry if that's a bit vague).
Have only played and finished The Last Remnant. Have long been interested in Romancing SaGa 2 and now also RS3 because of the SNES sprite graphics and ease of access.
If I enjoyed TLR, is there a chance I won't enjoy RS2 & 3?
TLR was very gameplay focused. Is this true for RS2 & 3 as well?
If I enjoyed TLR, is there a chance I won't enjoy RS2 & 3?
TLR was very gameplay focused. Is this true for RS2 & 3 as well?
Yeah RS2 and RS3 are very gameplay focused as well.
They even have less story than TLR, which has more traditional story structure.
Of the 2, I recommend RS2 if you're looking for more a gameplay focused experience.
Whether you'll enjoy the game or not depends on how tolerant you are of retro game, i.e. sprite graphic and missing some QoL present in newer games.
What an amazing OP, wow! Thanks for this. I've only ever played SaGa Frontier, but will be check out Scarlet Grace when it launches.
First SaGa I played is Frontier, loved it! One of the town themes is still stuck on my head. Riki's story had a lot of gimmick boss fights which were quite challenging.
Next is Frontier 2, couldn't beat the final chapters but I enjoyed it.
Then came Unlimited SaGa. Once you actually get a flow of the systems and even the roulette (it can be timed!), it will get you hooked. I completed all characters stories and actually enjoyed it!
Minstrel Song was also addicting once you get into it. Disappointed that all characters basically have the same story and final boss though.
I played Romancing SaGa 2 on the Vita, but did not really enjoy it. Maybe too old school for me...
Next is Frontier 2, couldn't beat the final chapters but I enjoyed it.
Then came Unlimited SaGa. Once you actually get a flow of the systems and even the roulette (it can be timed!), it will get you hooked. I completed all characters stories and actually enjoyed it!
Minstrel Song was also addicting once you get into it. Disappointed that all characters basically have the same story and final boss though.
I played Romancing SaGa 2 on the Vita, but did not really enjoy it. Maybe too old school for me...
OP
OP
Really, the moment I learned how the spinner worked was the moment I really began to enjoy the hell out of Unlimited SaGa back in the day.
It's a really fascinating game. It's just difficult to comprehend all the ridiculous systems. But once you get going, it's hard to stop.
It's the Dark Souls of SaGa games
My favorite thing about the series is that even after playing through a SaGa game the umpteenth time you will usually discover some new mechanic or nuance to the game you didn't realize was there.
It's one of the best games Kawazu ever made. The biggest issue was the staggering loading times on Vita, but that was improved on Switch.
However, do note that contrary to U:S (which was released on PS2 at the peak of SQEX's RPG fame, thus got into the hands of many players that were unprepared to handle its quirkiness), only the Kawazu faithful played SG (first release was on Vita, second was buried on Switch next to some big Nintendo release).
In other words, most people who played it were already convinced this was the second coming of their lord and savior even before starting the game. Which, it was! But you may have to wait for the western release on more platforms if you want more balanced impressions coming from outside the Kawazu zealot sect.
As a kid I played and loved Final Fantasy Legend 3 (I couldn't remember which one it was until I saw that screenshot with the black ship thing so thanks). Aside from that I bought the PSN version of Legend of Mana (didn't care for it), The Last Remnant (loooved it, need to buy it on Switch one day) and I've dabbled with the mobile version of RS2 but never got very far. I'm definitely interested in RS3, SG and rebuying TLR at some point in the future though.
This is a damn good OP. With the recent release of RS3 and Scarlet Graces following soon after I was looking to finally jump into the SaGa series so I'll be keeping this thread on hand for future reference.