SaGa Frontier, or "Diary of the Impulse Buyer"

[Rez09]

Yeah, it's too bad development got rushed along like it did near the end, as you can really feel how incomplete the game is in some areas. There's an incomplete school of magic, Fuse's removed chapter you mentioned, tons of deleted story scenes and areas, ect. Considering how good the game is even with those elements missing, one would have to wonder just how much better it would have been if the developers had been able to fully complete it. It's rather sad people like Virgil aren't really explored in the game, with only Riki having any notable interaction with him, which is pretty nuts considering he's one of the most powerful characters in that universe.

Also, For a fun read.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Jun 08 2007 10-16-20PM.jpg

[Jowy]

the help line would say not to play as Lute until you're 6/7 deep!

[Jowy]

double yet relevant post:

Emelia
T260G
Asellus
Red
Riki
Blue
Lute

This is the order to play through to minimize difficulty and have some awareness as to how the game transpires. Riki is proof that monsters have always been the most difficult characters in SaGa games to master. Blue's an asshole. Lute's story involves around accidentally walking into the final dungeon.

Don't smurf around in Baccarat with Emelia...get out as soon as possible. You probably can't kill the boss with her, Annie, and Liza. Nor will that get you the good ending if you do. Emilia's also got the best story aside from her inability to function with mecs. Roufas, Zozma, Annie, and Liza?! smurf me, Diva's gonna die in eight turns (you suck if it takes longer!)

TURBO EDIT:

Emelia will pick up LifeSprinkler and RosarioImpale faster than Annie. I'm not saying to take the LaserKnife away from her in Despair, but grab a weapon ASAP. Focus Annie on learning katana skills alongside her easily acquired swordskill.

I DIDN'T GET THE GIFT FOR TIME MAGIC LIKE AN INTELLIGENT PERSON UNLESS I AM BLUE EDIT:

let kylin die. time magic sucks aside from Overdrive which only Blue can use. space magic is even worse. Give your A+ squad the gifts for Light and Runic. Dark magic has one decent spell and Arcane is only relevant if you wanna drain all of your JP to do as much damage as a DSC and/or LifeSprinkler in one turn (Tower; gifted). Only the mystics can magic their relatively useless school of magic, Blue/Rouge can only be gifted in Realm, and Zozma is the only bad-ass motha-smurfa to have the gift of EVIL MAGIC!

regardless, just train two people for LifeSprinkler, one for Dream Super Combo, and the other two to do what the smurf ever. Keep heals on hand.

[Pete for President]

This game sounds intriguing.

[Rez09]

double yet relevant post:

Emelia
T260G
Asellus
Red
Riki
Blue
Lute

This is the order to play through to minimize difficulty and have some awareness as to how the game transpires. Riki is proof that monsters have always been the most difficult characters in SaGa games to master. Blue's an asshole. Lute's story involves around accidentally walking into the final dungeon.

Personally, I'd start with Blue over Emelia, as his story will run the player through all of the main quests that repeat with other characters and the bonuses he gets for completing his mission make for the smoothest end game of the main cast. Lute last though, 100% agree on that one. Stupid Captain Hamilton. >_<

Don't smurf around in Baccarat with Emelia...get out as soon as possible. You probably can't kill the boss with her, Annie, and Liza. Nor will that get you the good ending if you do. Emilia's also got the best story aside from her inability to function with mecs. Roufas, Zozma, Annie, and Liza?! smurf me, Diva's gonna die in eight turns (you suck if it takes longer!)

Man, Emelia was the character I started with when I got the game and I was stuck in Baccarat for soooo long. X_X I knew there was something to avoid with her, but I forgot what it was, so that is REALLY good advice.

. . . time magic sucks aside from Overdrive which only Blue can use. . .

I dunno, I've always found time magic completely busted. Time Leap works on every enemy in the game, including bosses, and rarely misses, meaning nothing ever gets a turn if the caster is faster than it, and Time Twister stacks with Shadow Servant, as I recall, allowing people to attack four times a turn, which is pretty insane, especially if they are Soul Rune, Awakening, Tower, or (assuming no servant) DSC or Light Sword.

EDIT: Pete, this game is all kinds of awesome and you should try it.

[Jowy]

This game sounds intriguing.

I think you'd like it. If you're gonna emulate it, be sure to use memory card slot 2. (ePSXe and psX will freeze if your save file is in slot 1). Start with Emelia to learn the basics, and then take the training wheels off and pick anyone but Lute.

Blue's story is the least enjoyable and best recommended after learning the gameplay mechanics. That and he's an asshole.

Never bothered with Tower or most arcane magic...it seems like a waste of JP; I'd rather use Runic magic to buff all of my stats and proceed to steamroll with LifeSprinkler / RosarioImpale / DSC.