The little game that could've...

Square finally releases a sequel to Saga Frontier. At last, a chance to fix the glaring flaws of the first one, while retaining the outstanding battle system! At least that's what I thought.

You start the game in the year 1220 by being born, after which you are given the chance to save (I guess they figured some people would mess up shortly after being born). You are named Gustave the XIII, son of King Gustave the XII. The screen then shifts to a map and you are given the opportunity to select the next scenario. That's pretty much how the game goes. Pick a scenario, play through it, save, and pick the next one. The two main starting ones center on Gustave XIII, son of royalty, and Wil Knights, a novice "digger" who goes off in search of Quells (magical tools?) in ruins and caves, etc.

The game tries to fool you into thinking it's retained the non-linearity of SF1 with these little scenarios, but don't be fooled!!! At least half the scenarios are nothing but progressions of the story, which go on without any input or action from the player. The scenarios you do have some control over go something like this: start in town, jump to dungeon, possibly fight a boss, and then maybe you get to go back to the town. The only non-linearity comes in terms of you deciding what scenarios to play and in which order. Once you are in, prepare to follow a set pattern. Unfortunately, you are never given the choice of more then 3 or so scenarios (sometimes there may appear to be more, but they're just some towns you can return to in order to buy and sell items) at a time.

Ok, now for the standard stuff--

Graphics-85%.

This game does look pretty good. The characters are sprite based and somewhat deformed, but not a whole lot. Overall they look nice. The backgrounds, both in battle and out, are nicely done. They look like a water painting, and are somewhat cartoon-ish in appearance, but it works for this game. Animations for the characters are almost non-existent, which is the main reason why I don't rate graphics higher. It's hard to know what a character is feeling when they just stand there with no facial expressions, and with little to no body movement. Spells and special attack animations, however, are nicely done. If you like them in the first game, they're just as good, if not better here. Not too long and not too short.

Sound/Music-80%

From swords clanking on shields, to the burning sound of a fire spell, the sound effects are nicely done. The battle music is okay and adds a nice feel to combat. The rest of the music is a bit substandard and average. Nothing stands out, but neither does it bore you.

Storyline-75%

This is where the game starts to get confusing. There are many scenarios that, after you complete, you ask yourself, "What was the point of that?" Even now, as I'm just about to the end of the game, I look back and see so much that was pointless and seemed like it was only there just to extend the game. Also, since you start out as Gustave, you'd think he'd be the main character. After all, he's somewhat unique in that he's born without Anima, which is needed to use spells. Still, you only actively control him about four times throughout the entire game! Mainly, it's a generational thing evolving from the Wil Knights scenario, since the game takes place over 85 years from start to finish. Every time I started a Gustave scenario, I was hoping to go into some sort of battle and kick some butt with his steel sword, just to be let down with yet another talking sequence. Some games have been described as playing an interactive movie. This game can be described as watching a movie.

Maybe I'm being too harsh here. It's really not as bad as I'm making it seem, it just takes a lot of getting used to. I suppose the only word of advice here is, don't go into a scenario expecting much and you won't be disappointed.

Gameplay-79%

The battle system is once again the main saving grace of the game. Well, the improved graphics help too. Your characters once again gain stat bonuses after battles. However, Mechs, Monsters, and Mystics have been done away with. We're dealing' with just us humans. Also done away with are stats like strength and Intelligence. The only bonuses you get now are HP, WP (weapon points), and SP (spell points). You also occasionally raise skill levels in the arts you've been cultivating. Each character has six weapon arts and six spell arts to choose from. The six weapon areas are: martial (punches and kicks, etc.), sword, axe, staff, spear, and bow. The six spell areas are: tree, stone, flame, water, tone, and beast. Weapon abilities work the exact same way as Saga Frontier 1; if you want to learn sword arts, just use swords and sword attacks. Spells usually consist of the combination of two spell areas; for instance, the spell "Needle Shot" consists of tree and stone. Using that spell will raise your skill in those areas. You'll learn weapon attacks in the middle of a fight, but new spells come after the battle is over, same as SF 1.

In addition, you now have 3 types of battles: Normal party battles, duels, and army battles. A normal party fight is your 2-4 party members vs. 1-5 enemies. Duels are one-on-one where you sometimes have the choice of who is going to fight instead of your whole party. The advantage is it's supposed to be it's easier to learn new skills and spells. Army battles are like normal party battles with multiple parties. You maneuver your units on a field and when two units collide, they fight a 1 round battle. Whoever inflicted the most damage forces their opponent to retreat. The three types of units you can use are: infantry (armed with standard spears), archers (who can support adjacent units), and steel units (who are extremely tough). Some units have a special general in them who has access to more and better attacks.

Final thoughts:

All in all, this isn't a bad game. Of course, my opinion is that there really aren't any bad games, just bad ideas and management. If you've played Saga Frontier 1 and liked it, you'll like this game too. If you haven't played Saga 1, well, try renting this one first. Time-wise, this game should take you about 60 hours, depending on how fast you go. Overall, impression of Saga 2 is a good one, for a game that cost me about $40 US. At least, it'll serve to tide me over until games like Lunar:EB remix and Chrono Cross finally arrive!