How are those SaGa games?

So I recently came to the conclusion that my not playing two very important RPG series tied to FF is a huge faux pas. And so now I am in the middle of my playthrough of the Mana series (still at Sword of Mana, I'll be able to play all but Children, Heroes and Friends, though I still might get he DS titles).

Anyway, after I'm done with Mana, I want to get into SaGa. I know I'll miss out on just one game (that's Romancing SaGa 2, 1 was rereleased in English on the PS2, while 3 got a fan translation). I know the games are very non-linear and the story is not as pronounced, but... I'm actually looking forward to that! ;) So, are the games any fun? Will the lack of Romancing SaGa 2 ruin my overall Romancing SaGa experience? Got any tips on how to play the games (especially FF Legend 1, since I'll be playing it first, so I guess I might feel lost at the beginning)?

Its a very experimental series. The Legend Series is closer to the NES era FFs where there is no real protagonist and your just a nameless party but then again its a party that can be turned into robots and monsters. :D

The PSX era Saga games are more story focused but I'm sad to say my experience is little. I kind of missed them for some reason. The Saga Frontier is basically you choosing one of several main characters and finishing there stories, its basically a game with half a dozen smaller games packed in it. Saga Frontier 2 is a generational story letting you see the history of a family. Of all the Saga games, this one seems to have the best reputation. The PS2 one is infamous for being one of the worst games Squenix has ever released.

You know, we never did get any of those DS remakes...

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

Its a very experimental series. The Legend Series is closer to the NES era FFs where there is no real protagonist and your just a nameless party but then again its a party that can be turned into robots and monsters. :D

The PSX era Saga games are more story focused but I'm sad to say my experience is little. I kind of missed them for some reason. The Saga Frontier is basically you choosing one of several main characters and finishing there stories, its basically a game with half a dozen smaller games packed in it. Saga Frontier 2 is a generational story letting you see the history of a family. Of all the Saga games, this one seems to have the best reputation. The PS2 one is infamous for being one of the worst games Squenix has ever released.

You know, we never did get any of those DS remakes...

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Yah, I know, I was talking about the DS Mana games before. But still, it's a pity we didn't get the FF legend remakes. The graphics are kind of off-putting for me now, while the DS remakes look gorgeous. Still, I'll probably just get used to the graphics.
People claiming Unlimited SaGa is the worst game ever Just makes me want to play it more! :D I mean, what's so bad about it? At least the graphics are pretty.

Incredibly linear, plot is not so great, and all combat is controlled by what I've heard is a slot reel meaning you have absolutely no control over combat. :D

Despite that, I want to play it as well.

From what I hear, if you don't know what you're doing in the game, you're screwed. If you do, however, it's awesome... Hmm... That sounds vaguely like the criticism BoF: DQ faced, and that's another controversial game which I loved... Hope this is a good sign :)

I really liked the SaGa Frontier series on the Playstation a lot. SaGa Frontier II is one of my favorite stories in a video game.

I don't think you're thinking of the right Saga unless you live outside of America. I owned Romancing Saga for PS2 in English for 2 years before having to sell 50 games for $100 (total) to chip in for a trip to Canada. MASSIVE EDIT--- Sorry. Wrong game. There was a Romancing Saga 2? I've never heard of it.

I've played SaGa Frontier, Unlimited SaGa, and Romancing SaGa. I like the former and the latter but not the Unltd. I think I was just angry about being stuck in the dungeons. There is no backward. Only forward. So if you neglected to buy something and took a dangerous route somewhere, you were dead meat. I hated that. I also didn't really like the random attack system with the giant wheel of attacks. It was just too bulky and weird.
I've never played SaGa 2, instead I picked up the game case and looked at the back and saw that it was some kind of army tactics game or something. I'm not a fan of FFT although I do own it. I've never gotten past the opening scene more than once because it takes forever. The first time, I forgot to save and died immediately in my first battle. I tried to stomach the opening scene one more time, but no, I'd rather be mugged.
I've never played any of the Manas although I've played Chrono, VS, and even a bit of Threads of Fate, though I rented it, didn't get far, lost my save data, and haven't been able to find a copy since.
I... aM... raMbling...

The FF Legend series were the first RPGs I ever played. They're great. I was so happy when I learned of the DS remakes but we never got them. :(

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Originally Posted by Mercen-X

I don't think you're thinking of the right Saga unless you live outside of America. I owned Romancing Saga for PS2 in English for 2 years before having to sell 50 games for $100 (total) to chip in for a trip to Canada. MASSIVE EDIT--- Sorry. Wrong game. There was a Romancing Saga 2? I've never heard of it.

I've played SaGa Frontier, Unlimited SaGa, and Romancing SaGa. I like the former and the latter but not the Unltd. I think I was just angry about being stuck in the dungeons. There is no backward. Only forward. So if you neglected to buy something and took a dangerous route somewhere, you were dead meat. I hated that. I also didn't really like the random attack system with the giant wheel of attacks. It was just too bulky and weird.
I've never played SaGa 2, instead I picked up the game case and looked at the back and saw that it was some kind of army tactics game or something. I'm not a fan of FFT although I do own it. I've never gotten past the opening scene more than once because it takes forever. The first time, I forgot to save and died immediately in my first battle. I tried to stomach the opening scene one more time, but no, I'd rather be mugged.
I've never played any of the Manas although I've played Chrono, VS, and even a bit of Threads of Fate, though I rented it, didn't get far, lost my save data, and haven't been able to find a copy since.
I... aM... raMbling...

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Romancing SaGa is a trilogy. Parts 2 and 3 were released on the SNES, but never made it to the west. The PS2 Romancing SaGa is a remake of the first SNES game.

The Wikipedia article for SaGa (series) has a good breakdown of the entire series and its history in Japan and North America.

It very much depends on what type of gamer you are.

Playing FF Legend. Just beat the second world. It's pretty awesome. Spells are broken, though. One of my mutants got 99 Mana before leaving the first world :D

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Originally Posted by Roogle

I really liked the SaGa Frontier series on the Playstation a lot. SaGa Frontier II is one of my favorite stories in a video game.

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Roogle, for as much as I hate you (which is not at all, really), you always surprise me with your taste in games.
We had a lengthy conversation about Valkyrie Profile in chat two or so years ago...

In Saga Frontier I remember how stoked I was when I finally got all seven characters in the saved data complete thing. The whole 'directors room' or whatever it was, I think one of the most underwhelming experiences I've ever had in a video game. Lol. The game has a certain magical mystical feel to it that remains in place throughout the game. The characters are just plain cool, and for me anyways, are some of the more memorable characters in my rpg career. T260G's story was probably my favorite... Blue comes close. They're all interesting, and again, just plain cool.

The second games throws you in a MUCH MORE linear story, HOWEVER, it vastly expands upon the already cool characters of the first game giving you a BADASS cast. (There is a particular assassin character I found irresistible and interesting.) The whole 'play generation to generation' gameplay was very unique. A hidden gem of the old squaresoft hits. I could never take out the last boss, no matter how much I would grind. :-O

Romancing Saga 3 feels in many ways as a precursor to Saga Frontier. Boston the Lobster was def. one of my favorite characters in the game. He's a smurfing lobster! Cool wide open story, kick ass abilities, and, again, unforgettable cast make this another great game. Didn't play much of one or two... I remember that one of them was incredibly hard...

If you want to get technical, the Final Fantasy Legend games were originally of the saga.bloodline. Final Fantasy Legends 3 was great. It felt like it focused more of the monster character gimmick familiar to the series, as half your party can change into monsters making for interesting battles.


Wow. The saga games are awesome, and under rated. I think everyone should give them a shot...

saga frontier and saga frontier 2 were awesome!!! Ive only played those and unlimited saga of the series, and I quit unlimited saga 5 sec in b/c the gameplay sucked wet dog turd. My friend told me romancing saga for ps2 felt just as bad as unlimited saga so I didnt bother with it and havent messed with the series since.

Awesome, I kind of want to check out these games, too.

FF Legends III was one of my favourite FF games. I really liked the mutant robot thing.

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Originally Posted by erikramza

In Saga Frontier I remember how stoked I was when I finally got all seven characters in the saved data complete thing. The whole 'directors room' or whatever it was, I think one of the most underwhelming experiences I've ever had in a video game. Lol. The game has a certain magical mystical feel to it that remains in place throughout the game. The characters are just plain cool, and for me anyways, are some of the more memorable characters in my rpg career. T260G's story was probably my favorite... Blue comes close. They're all interesting, and again, just plain cool.

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The Cutting Room Floor for SaGa Frontier has a lot of information about what type of content might have been cut out from the final. In particular, there are numerous scenes in the Asellus quest that appear to have been coded to some extent without actually being present in the game. The article explains some of the useless places like the Bio Research Lab in Shrike.

You might enjoy this type of article if you like seeing what might have been. There is a book called Essence of SaGa Frontier or something similar that details what was planned for completing all of the quests: all of the heroes team up to defeat a larger evil that was controlling a majority of the events in the game.