Romancing SaGa

[Finch]

Whoa. Color me surprised. I really figured i'd be the only one. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[sethsez]

Well, like I said earlier, SaGa was always a few steps from genius but was held back by terrible execution. This game finally gets the execution right, and after a period of adjustment (it's still dense as hell and feels arbitrary at first, which was the main reason for my "this is pissing me off" post) I'm finding myself enthralled. I bought every previous game in the series expecting to find this, so I'm glad it finally happened.

Just out of curiousity, how would you rank the games in the series? I'm almost wondering if I should go back to some earlier ones now that this finally gave me a handle on what the hell is going on.

[MarsKitten]

I'm ejhoying this alot really. ITs hard to get into because of the game's wierd pacing. There's the starting period of the game, then there's the evil starts doing shit phase where the story becomes important then there's the end game.

Most people get stuck in the starting out I think. But I'm definitely enjoying this one. Right now I'm playing as Barbara with Raphael, Miriam, Jamil and someone else. Martial Artists mixed with 2.5 mages.

[Finch]

Yay for people finally coming around! It's too bad we don't get anything close to those Ultimania guides. There's a lot of stuff in the Frontiers, UNLIMITED, and Romancing that aren't explained otherwise.

Well, like I said earlier, SaGa was always a few steps from genius but was held back by terrible execution. This game finally gets the execution right, and after a period of adjustment (it's still dense as hell and feels arbitrary at first, which was the main reason for my "this is pissing me off" post) I'm finding myself enthralled. I bought every previous game in the series expecting to find this, so I'm glad it finally happened.

It even took me a while to get into it at first. Maybe it's just me, but RS is intimidating.

Just out of curiousity, how would you rank the games in the series? I'm almost wondering if I should go back to some earlier ones now that this finally gave me a handle on what the hell is going on.

Romancing SaGa really is the most approachable. SaGa Frontier is probably the only other one that comes close. But... here you go anyway. WITH DESCRIPTIONS!

1) Romancing SaGa PS2- Extra note- there are just a few little FRICKING BEAUTIFUL fmv's. I've only seen one. They will make you pee your pants.

2) UNLIMITED:saga- Har har, we've gone over this, but you asked. Only a half-step less enjoyable than RS for me, and that's because of the non-towns. You need an FAQ or some kind of tip sheet form someone who knows the game. The second of the FAQ's listed on Gamefaqs (joewoof's) is your best bet. You can get to the very end of Laura's quest and be completely fucked by the end boss. 50 hours=lost. That hurts.
I also just found out that the character i was playing as (Laura) had the weakest story and that the quests tie so tightly in with the others that playing others actually makes the others make sense. I really need to dig that out of storage.

3) SaGa Frontier- T260G and Aseluss' quests are freakin' beautiful. The rest of the game looks like a mess, but plays pretty well, and the other stories have interesting moments. Maybe. A major problem is that there's too much circling around single areas to level. Lute freakin' sucks because of that. There's also too much that's off limits or really doesn't seem to have a purpose. Oooh! Nice looking room with shiny thing! And nothing else. A 3D update with a good budget would be awesomeageous. Even Lute would cease to suck.

4) FFLegend 2- Not at all deep, and it has a pitiful story compared to today's stuff, but, it's still good fun to play if you like the old school.

5) FFLegend- See above. FFL2 really improved over FFL, but FFL is still a fun game. Some kids die and you get to kill God. Take that SMT!

6) FFL 3- It's been too long for me to remember anything about it, but it's not bad. A little different than the other 2 with time travel and such. The height of the monster/robot stuff. Combining parts or eating monster meat makes human characters robot or human.

7) SaGa Frontier 2- Frickin' beautiful game, but there's just too much talking, and it's mostly boring talking. The system's pretty different too. Never played it all the way through.

RS2 and 3 have been translated, but i haven't played either of them. <3's at people finding love with SaGa. It makes me all giddy.

[sethsez]

I actually enjoy the FFL games, uneven though they may be.

Here's my problem with the rest:

Unlimited Saga: For a series so focused on freedom, this restricts you in far, far, far too many ways. The battle system is fine (though I hate the spinner), but everything outside of that leaves me cold.

SaGa Frontier: So much freedom, so little to do. What's the point in letting me go everywhere if there's nothing for me to do in most of it?

SaGa Frontier II: Just... boring. Meh. Pretty though.

Romancing SaGa III (never played the first two due to lack of translations at the time): Same as Frontier, really.

This is the first one that provides the freedom the series always promised, and enough content to make it worthwhile. After really getting into it, I have to say it's a pretty damn great game, and I'm very happy that Kawazu finally proved me wrong.

I also don't see the need for a guide. The game gives you plenty of info on how things work and everything else (creating strategies, finding quests, etc) is part of the fun. Reducing the game to event ranks and getting a list of all the combos in a book seems self-defeating to me.

[Salsashark]

Hey, be honest. How horrible is the voice acting in this game?

Between you guys and this review it's starting to seem pretty tempting.

[sethsez]

The voice acting ranges from pretty good to holy shit my ears oh my god make it stop please please please. However, there really aren't any extended conversations or long cutscenes, so it's easier to ignore than most bad voice acting.

And that review was what initially convinced me to risk the $20. I have to say I agree with it 95% (though jiji thinks it's better than Dragon Quest VIII which I disagree with).

[Salsashark]

I watched a couple gameplay videos and it seemed like the main offense might be horrible voice acting during battles. I'm assuming since you are sane and like it it can't be that big of a deal.

[sethsez]

They don't really talk during battles much.

Basically, the voice acting is awful. However, it doesn't annoy me as much as, say, FFX because there's not a great deal of focus on it. If you're sensitive to forced accents, though, I'd stay far away or play with the remote nearby.

[Finch]

Unlimited Saga: For a series so focused on freedom, this restricts you in far, far, far too many ways. The battle system is fine (though I hate the spinner), but everything outside of that leaves me cold.

Some of the quests are pretty open. There isn't any real exploration, so i think i see what you mean.

This is the first one that provides the freedom the series always promised, and enough content to make it worthwhile. After really getting into it, I have to say it's a pretty damn great game, and I'm very happy that Kawazu finally proved me wrong.

Well good, so either i'm not crazy or we both are.

I also don't see the need for a guide. The game gives you plenty of info on how things work and everything else (creating strategies, finding quests, etc) is part of the fun. Reducing the game to event ranks and getting a list of all the combos in a book seems self-defeating to me.

But there is quite a bit that the player will never figure out on his or her own. I try to make it a point to never follow a walkthrough on the first playthrough. Here, that's great, that's what you're supposed to do, but the second, third, etc. time around, there are some paths and characters you'll never ever see unless you know exactly what to do.