I’m now about three hours into SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered. I played a bit on the TV last night and more handheld this morning. Works well for both! It is such a fascinating game.
The best way I’d describe playing it is that it is like playing a JRPG for the first time. I don’t understand much, a lot is happening, and it’s quite fun learning the systems. Sort of like playing Pokémon for the first time 25 years ago or however long it has been. I have played a fair amount of JRPGs over the years and the combat is very unique… It almost feels experimental. There are just attacks I’ve never used and don’t see a use for. There’s a combo system that I haven’t even accidentally used once yet let alone intentionally use to my advantage. But seems to be an important part of combat.
Some shocking moments are when you get entered into a Duel, which uses a different combat system centered around combining 4 attacks to maximize damage with combos (different than the regular combat’s combos that I haven’t figured out yet). Then even more shocking is that there are then turn-based strategy segments ala Advance Wars!
The music is good. Weirdly, the text rendering makes no sounds unlike most RPGs. And pressing the continue button during text scenes does not have a confirmation sound. Not a problem per se, just an oddity I noticed.
The menus are exceptional. I watched some videos of the OG Frontier 2 and I think the improved menus and the increased combat speed seem like game changers. I sometimes try combat at 1x speed and it’s glacial. 2x is just right for me.
The economy of the storytelling is both refreshing and dizzying. The game is played by choosing moments in a timeline with the two main characters. They exist in the same world and I’d imagine their paths cross… The story scenes may contain just text. Others may have battles. Others still may include map exploration. But after each scene you return to the timeline. You can’t select scenes again, and your items and inventory carry over.
For example, one scene may be a city builder talking to the main character about planning the city and how he’s anxious he may be killed by the main character due to hearing how harsh he is. Then another scene is just exploring a cave. Very different than anything I’ve played, much like the combat.
The storytelling is almost impressionistic in its approach. Very unlike modern RPGs that spend so much time with the story and dialogue and want to almost be movies. This is a game about the world they’re in, the characters, and their lifespans. No time to dilly dally.
A problem with this approach to storytelling, even though I very much like it so far because it is not wasting my time, is that I barely know who is who. There are no character portraits, even though the key art is gorgeous. Some sprites you don’t even see their faces on the sprite, just the back of their heads, so I have a difficult time remembering who is who. The plot trucks ahead. What I previously said continues to be true, in 3 hours the game has told a compelling story that would normally be the entire plot of a full RPG.
Even with just text and cute pixel sprites, there have been quite touching moments in the story so far. The writing is quite good. The story scenes jump cut forward in a way that’s unusual. But it happens regularly and is effective. There’s barely even a fade between them, it’s unusual. But it works!
This game is not a revered Insert Credit Hang Out Game. It is a team led by a guy who has made a lot of JRPGs and wants to do something different. Go play DQ or FF or any other RPG if you want to explore the world and hang out and want familiar comfort food. Play me if you want something different. That’s what the game is saying for me.
For years I’ve been wondering if JRPGs just aren’t for me anymore even though I like them in theory. If I have lost the patience required. But SaGa Frontier 2 is showing me an alternative!
Also, the character art (which is rarely in the game but is used to great effect) by Tomomi Kobayashi is just gorgeous:
This is the main character (a little older) lol:
Oh yeah! Also, I ordered Unlimited Saga for PS2. Let’s go! I think that’s the only one not available on modern hardware with a remaster or remake.
