-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
Romancing Saga 3 comes to the west November 11th, Scarlet Grace on December 3rd.
- Thread starter Valcrist
- Start date
I enjoyed it, but I strongly recommend using a guide for it. The event rank system isn't immediately obvious. Just don't try to do everything in one playthrough.
PS, this isn't really related to the games being discussed in particular, but I've always really liked this interview with Kawazu and Jeremy Parish: https://retronauts.com/article/670/akitoshi-kawazu-on-the-reasoning-behind-sagas-insanity
Something about "I was the one who created those dots. I put the dots in there." is deeply hilarious to me.
Something about "I was the one who created those dots. I put the dots in there." is deeply hilarious to me.
RS Minstrel Song is one of the best entry in SaGa series imo.
It also happens to be the most polished SaGa entry, but it might not be as newbie friendly due to how progression works and a lot more sub-systems (class, tech type, row effect, surge/reverse, combo, exploration skills, etc) than usual SaGa.
RS3 is more newbie friendly and is probably one of the easier SaGa game.
Rs3 is great. Just remember to try and get great equipment and spark techs (is there even a full tech sparking guide in English?) without getting your stats TOO high. Everything scales to your level, including the final dungeon mini bosses and the final boss.
Last play through I felt I was nearly good enough to win, but couldn't beat the final boss, even having beaten the four final dungeon mini bosses. So I reloaded a save, grinded, and tried again. Couldn't beat one of the mini bosses.
You can grind once you unlock the last dungeon, but the stats from grinding likely won't help that much.
Team composition and techs you have are the deciding factor against the last boss.
Regarding sparking tech, I remember some of later quests have monsters that let you spark techs more easily.
For guide, there aren't many for this game, because there was no English release and the fan translation was quite bad.
If you're just looking for tech lists, can check http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/snes/rs3/waza.shtml
Fantastic game, but very complex. It was supposed to be Kawazu's last game as a director, and he created it as a send-off of his entire career, using RS1's hollow structure to put elements from all his previous games (and a lot comes from U:S and WC).
It's not like games where you need a strategy guide to find the best items or craft the best recipies: Minstrel Song's strategy guide is the instruction manual.
Think of playing a tabletop RPG without reading the player's handbook first, without any player to fill you in.
I really wish we'd get a physical release of Scarlet Grace. Oh well. Would be nice if they made a physical compilation at some point, but probably not gonna happen either. Star Ocean remasters have also been digital only, as well as The Last Remnant. Sigh.
Just seeing this news - I've always been curious about RS3. What makes it that good?
it's a pretty game with a lot of unique quests*, so there's a tone there that you don't really see in a lot of other jrpgs
(granted: it is still an attempt at doing an open world jrpg on the snes)
*by unique quests i mean a lot of them have interesting locations and bosses associated with them even though they typically fall into a "dungeon -> boss fight" structure
Last edited:
Famitsu article outlining new features:
- New dungeon ("Labyrinth of Darkness" in Japanese, god knows what in English): Located south of Pidona, visiting it apparently gives you insight to the main character backstories (the two featured in this article:
HaridKhalid and Julien) - Romancing SaGa 2 Remaster's "Start a New Game+ anytime" feature returns, so you can restart the game at any point with enhanced levels to make it easier on you
- Updated UI and fonts to make it easier to read on phones, a Diary feature that lets you see what quests you've taken part of so far, an Auto Save feature, and a Cross Save for PS4-Vita and XBO-PC.
A bit disappointed they added the events in such an inelegant way instead of placing them on the map... I hope they'll complete the ones that weren't finished, like the smith.
Also, the monsters in the labyrinth drop weapons that used to be "one chance only if the monster didn't drop it you're screwed", which is a welcome improvement. Too bad the sphinx they're showing looks like a bad fan-edit.
ANYWAY. GIMME.
Also, the monsters in the labyrinth drop weapons that used to be "one chance only if the monster didn't drop it you're screwed", which is a welcome improvement. Too bad the sphinx they're showing looks like a bad fan-edit.
ANYWAY. GIMME.
The Trophy/Achievement list for Romancing SaGa 3 is apparently out, obviously since this is Square Enix doing a remaster/whatever of a 90s game they're all pretty basic, but they do include a lot of character name localization stuff for us to salivate over. Spoilers, of course, but I imagine if you're someone who cares about how character names/terms have been localized then you're probably familiar enough with the game:
The majority of the achievements are just "character joins party" things, and of those, the Faerie has been named Peony, the Elephant has been named Rukh, and the Snowman has been named Flurry. The Divine King is the Archlord (...). Undine is referred to as the Face of Genbu Magic, while Bai Meiniang is referred to as the Mistress of Soryu Magic.
The Four ...Sinistrals... are Alloces, Aunus, Forneus, and Buné.
The Four ...Sinistrals... are Alloces, Aunus, Forneus, and Buné.
I have to know, this is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to me, so forgive me for asking...
Is the lobster man still named Boston?
And is there a name for the New lobster man party member, or am I misremembering something I saw in an article and there isn't another lobsterman party member?
And is there a name for the New lobster man party member, or am I misremembering something I saw in an article and there isn't another lobsterman party member?
It's still Boston, and there isn't a new Lobster man party member, it was just a confusing trailer from e3. I myself thought that "A New Hero" meant they were adding a new main character option, and apparently enough Japanese fans also thought that based on that trailer because Kawazu had to address it at some point in an interview.
Ah dang, at least the king of unarmed combat keeps his amazing name! Thanks for the clarification! I'm really looking forward to playing this!
The Steam page will probably not be uploaded until the last minute.
I would expect the exact same price as RS2?
They probably know that people who are going to buy it will not even look at the price, and vice-versa.
Also, Scarlet Grace not having a Steam page is starting to make me feel anxious.
I would expect the exact same price as RS2?
They probably know that people who are going to buy it will not even look at the price, and vice-versa.
Also, Scarlet Grace not having a Steam page is starting to make me feel anxious.
Anybody every try using a magic party in RS3? I never did, so maybe I'll do that with this version.
Favorite team was Katarina (lead), Leonid, Muse, Black, Sharl, and... I forget.
Favorite team was Katarina (lead), Leonid, Muse, Black, Sharl, and... I forget.
I've tried a start with Sara as a pure mage, but I never made it far with it. I am not that good at RS3. Hopefully I'll be able to turn that around!
At least the steamdb page is still up....
The problem is that the last fights are quite long, so if you go magic only, you really need to grind a lot to avoid your casters running out of MP before the end. All these Shadow Servants end up being costly.
Hybrid magic/physical is much easier (also Thomas is the best).
I hope they'll change Leonid. The concept was fun, but in practice he was really annoying to use.
Should we warn people not to pick Sara in any circumstance for their first run?
I almost always get Ondine or Boston for water, Thomas or Baimeinyan for wind (though she comes a bit late). I hope we can recruit Volcano in this game, if not Charles for fire. For metal, I guess Demetrius or Fullbright? And then sun and moon across everyone.
The problem is that the last fights are quite long, so if you go magic only, you really need to grind a lot to avoid your casters running out of MP before the end. All these Shadow Servants end up being costly.
Hybrid magic/physical is much easier (also Thomas is the best).
I hope they'll change Leonid. The concept was fun, but in practice he was really annoying to use.
Should we warn people not to pick Sara in any circumstance for their first run?
Oh, god, yeah. Late game is... something if you do that.
I won't spoil anything for people reading this thread, but definitely would recommend doing Sara for a secondary run.
Also...
For similar reasons above, I would not suggest using focusing on Sara if you play other characters. It's fine to use her occasionally, given there are events tied with her, but I would suggest to focus on another final party member for the most part. You might be able to read in-between the lines here, but just trust me on this.
Speaking of which, for anyone who may decide to check out SaGa Frontier because of Romancing SaGa 3 coming out soon, for similar reasons...
I would make sure you not focus on Mei-ling for similar reasons. Early on it's fine, but definitely try to replace her slot as soon as you can. Again, trying not to spoiler anything, but another reason I'd recommend against it.
Grabbing both as soon as possible.
As for Scarlet Grace, is it yet known how performance varies between the platforms? I want to get it on Switch, but wouldn't mind having it on my phone if it performs just as well.
As for Scarlet Grace, is it yet known how performance varies between the platforms? I want to get it on Switch, but wouldn't mind having it on my phone if it performs just as well.
I remember doing a Sara run trying to do the whole game with the commander mode or however it was called. I think I just resorted to grind until everyone had 999HP because that mode was weird. The passive HP regeneration helped at least.
Switch version seems fine with what I played of the Japanese release. Really a huge improvement on the load times and such from the Vita release, among other QoL changes.
As for mobile performance, I'm honestly not sure on that at all.
EDIT
That at least sets you up how to handle end game, if nothing else. If I recall, doesn't the beginning also force you to do that as well?
Ah, that sounds familiar.... MAybe that was the intend.
Still. That ending. Urgh.
Still. That ending. Urgh.
RPGSite posted official character profiles, and til that Julien has "a strong sense of justice" which I've never thought much about but now that I am it's like "wow that phrase shows up a lot when describing JRPG protagonists despite it never really being an actual character trait"
To address two interrogations about high-end RS3: おやつ, a youtuber specialized in RS2, started speedrunning SFC RS3 to train for the remaster.
Interestingly, he picked Sara, and is playing with a magic-heavy team (Ondine, Boston and the 3 chinese-y characters).
He reached the last boss in 3:11.... but then the last boss is just crushing him mercilessly.
His current speedrun for remaster RS2 (without egregious bugs, but exploiting a... calculation error in Kôsoku Nabra's damage formula) is 2h18!
He has also a bunch of insane hacks for SFC RS2, which involve putting your console in a fridge and play Mario's Super Picross on it.
Interestingly, he picked Sara, and is playing with a magic-heavy team (Ondine, Boston and the 3 chinese-y characters).
He reached the last boss in 3:11.... but then the last boss is just crushing him mercilessly.
His current speedrun for remaster RS2 (without egregious bugs, but exploiting a... calculation error in Kôsoku Nabra's damage formula) is 2h18!
He has also a bunch of insane hacks for SFC RS2, which involve putting your console in a fridge and play Mario's Super Picross on it.
Yeah, watching him try to do that final boss fight and yeah, he's having serious issues. Is this his first run using Sara?
EDIT: Holy crap, that was almost a run end at 4:23 or so...
EDIT: Holy crap, that was almost a run end at 4:23 or so...
Last edited:
Certainly not, but he reached the last boss in 3h... the heroes are basically only surviving on their equipment and Galaxy. To beat the boss, he needs a specific pattern of attack.... which never comes, or only at the worst possible moment when a few angles of the Galaxy triangle are down...
I suspect that's why he picked the 3 far-east characters: they arrive with better HP on average, since they arrive so late...? I didn't catch the beginning (he'll upload it later probably).
I suspect that's why he picked the 3 far-east characters: they arrive with better HP on average, since they arrive so late...? I didn't catch the beginning (he'll upload it later probably).
Ah, gotcha. I knew he likely knew the generalized route, given how quickly he got there, but wasn't sure if it was his first time having to deal with the Commander mode stuff.
As for the final boss, what's usually the optimal set up for defeating him in these type of runs? I've not seen too much of the Romancing SaGa 3 speed run stuff, though I'm more familiar with how the SaGa Frontier community handles this stuff.
As for the final boss, what's usually the optimal set up for defeating him in these type of runs? I've not seen too much of the Romancing SaGa 3 speed run stuff, though I'm more familiar with how the SaGa Frontier community handles this stuff.
I have no clue! I've been following him on RS2 because he's explaining fairly well how he does the sub-2h30 route, but I have no clue about the RS3 one!
I guess when he transitions to the remaster, he should have a series where he explains everything better.
Though with the damage Galaxy does, I guess the deal is to have the character's HP high enough to reliably shoot Galaxies, then heal 2 rounds, then Galaxy again, without dying too much in-between? And breaking the darkness wing?
I guess when he transitions to the remaster, he should have a series where he explains everything better.
Though with the damage Galaxy does, I guess the deal is to have the character's HP high enough to reliably shoot Galaxies, then heal 2 rounds, then Galaxy again, without dying too much in-between? And breaking the darkness wing?
What about RS2? I got that a little while ago but have yet to touch it.
So i have never played these games but I have always heard that there is 0 character interaction in them but reading these character profiles they all seem to know each other? Can someone explain this Saga game to me? I almost pulled the trigger on 2 because im a sucker for Jrpgs but i never ended up doing so
So, the characters generally have some relation to each other at the start. A few end up meeting due to a "chance meeting" at the start, but a few of them, their relationship goes a bit back prior to the game starting. Most of their interactions really are during the Opening start of their campaigns, with some later stuff, especially story related matters. It's similar to Romancing SaGa 1 in this aspect (probably more so the remake, I'd argue).
Really it's more about the lore of the game, with a handful of characters having a lingering story. Katarina is one notable example of this where she has an active ongoing story through the game that is kinda broken up during your journey. It's honestly optional if you wanna finish it, but it does offer more character growth.
Only a few SaGa games really have a very, very, story focused campaign where the characters regularly interact and have their unique story and dialogue and it's largely the later games in the series. So Romancing SaGa 3 is more traditional like majority of the series here.
This one starts with a quick (1 or 2h) sequence that plays like a traditional RPG, where the 8 characters meet and then go their separate ways. It's actually interesting to play the beginning a couple of time with different characters to get the full picture (for example Katarina, Khalid, Julian?).
Then it's traditional Saga. Your starting character will only have a weak influence on the game (two have specific minigame and access to vast resources, a couple are forbidden to go to a specific city, and one has a... let's say, different final boss).
The streamer managed to beat the boss! It only took him almost as long as it took him to reach it! I guess he'll have to design a less risky route to speedrun...
Was Romancing saga 3 a good game? Could it stand with other square rpgs in the snes era? Thought about buying for switch
Personal SFC Square soft ranking
1) RS2
2) RS3
3) Rudra
4) FF6
5) FF5 or Seiken3
Is there a character in RS3 that's generally regarded as the "safest" to start with?
Last time I played the game was over a decade ago.
Last time I played the game was over a decade ago.
Most of the intracharacter dialogue happens in the intro sequences, and after that it all kind of falls off into generic interactions (ie your lead character responding to what's happening in the current quest). There is, I believe, a very small handful of character specific moments, but it's nothing big.
However, one of the additions to the HD remake/remaster/whatever we're calling this is a new dungeon that delves into the main character backstories a little more, but how extensive that is remains to be seen.
Not Sarah. Julian kind of fits the mold of Generic JRPG Protagonist, and has the longest intro. Katarina has the shortest intro if you want to just get in and play, and also I feel like her intro is the only one that really points you in a direction after it's over, whereas the rest of the characters' intros just kind of end. Khalid is probably the strongest protagonist, and also how often do you get to play a black main character in a JRPG?
Really you can't go wrong, except for Sarah, because that will involve this whole other complicated mess much later in the game.
(Although as a I recall, this HD remake/remaster/whatever includes the same "Start a New Game+ anywhere, anytime" feature that the RS2 HD remake/remaster/whatever featured)
Last edited:
Without any question, yes. Saga as a series is the best RPG series made in Japan.
I'd say Thomas is busted.
Khalid and Helen are also quite good.