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SAGA FRONTIER 2
SLPS 01990-1
Copyright © 1999 Square Soft
Sony Playstation, 1 Player
RPG
Compatible with DualShock controller and PocketStation
Available now in Japan
¥5,800
Where to buy
FAQ
—by Rika Takahashi
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It's really not that often when a sequel is better than the
original. It's also not often that a sequel to a mediocre (all
right, bad) game is actually a fun game to play.
If you recall in issue 3.4, you should remember the relatively
scathing review for the
first game
of the SaGa family for the PlayStation, which this reviewer was
in complete agreement with. Because of how the original FRONTIER left a bad
image, the only reason this reviewer even picked up this title
was for the SEIKEN DENSETSU: LEGEND OF MANA demo CD that was
bundled with it. But all in all, it was a good decision.
For those of you who are not familiar with the SaGa family,
this is actually the eighth game with the SaGa name on it. The
first three (MAKAITOUSHI SaGa 1/2/3) were stereotypical RPGs
for the Game Boy, released as the FINAL FANTASY LEGEND series
in the United States. The next three (ROMANCING SaGa 1/2/3,
for the Super Famicom) were what can be conceived as one of
Square's first attempts at a non-linear storyline and
characters without levels. Then came SaGa FRONTIER 1 for the
PlayStation... and now this game.
As with any other Square "series" of RPGs, this game has
nothing in common story-wise to any of the previous SaGa games.
However, it seems that they have learned after FRONTIER 1 that
too much non-linearity can be a bad thing: FRONTIER 2 has a
relatively linear plot (albeit once you finish the game, you
can be as non-linear as you please by playing the scenarios
you previously played in any order). The story spans a total
of 94 years, and is initially told from the viewpoints of two
characters: Gustav XIII and William Knights. Gustav was born
into the royal family, but his father banishes him when it is
revealed that he was born with no magical abilities. Even
after banishment, he was under much ridicule from the townsfolk
who used magic for everyday activities. On the other hand,
Will starts out as a normal Digger (archaeologists who seek
magical items called Quells) but gets involved in the search
for the Egg, a Quell which he believes is the reason (at least
partially) behind the death of his parents. Both Gustav and
Will, as well as their descendants, lead lives full of
battles—both human and monster.
If you are familiar with the ROMANCING / FRONTIER games, then
you have a general idea of the battle engine. It is basically
a turn-based console RPG, but with no "experience points to gain
levels"—rather, the game has a complex algorithm to
"randomly" raise each character's status (hit points, special
attack points, magic points), and skill levels. The more you
fight, the higher your status and skill levels will be—and
you have to have high skill levels to get the high-end special
attack for each skill! Also, what you equip with will be crucial
in what spells your characters can use—each character must
use Tools (magical items with a set # times of usage) or Quells
to draw Anima (the basic magical power unit in the game) to cast
their spells. This means that if a character cannot cast water
spells if he is not equipped with some water-attributed item.
However, to make life easier in some cases, the characters can
occasionally draw Anima out from the landscape (like water from
an ice dungeon).
What may be the biggest change in the battle engine of this
new SaGa is the fact that the enemies will not grow stronger
with each battle. In FRONTIER 2, the enemies have a solidified
set of attributes (unlike FRONTIER 1), and the type of enemies
that appear in each map are fixed (unlike the ROMANCING series).
Even though the stats don't change for the enemies, they will
get smarter as you fight them. There is a random probability
that the enemies will "learn" a type of attack when you use it
against them—and when they do, they will come back and haunt
you with it. However, unlike in the past, you can still safely
take your time to build up each character's stats or to find
more powerful magic spells, more powerful special attacks,
experiment with combinations of both, or try out different roles
(which determine what status bonuses you get during battles) and
orders of attack (free-for-all, or a rigid who-goes-before-who)
to find the best combination for you... or if you still like a
challenge, you can still opt to dash away from all the enemy
symbols on the dungeon maps. If you have a PocketStation, the
leveling up process becomes even easier as you can have it dig
up items for you infinitely, and store all your unwanted special
attack combinations!
Once in a while, you will be asked if you want to duel. In a
duel, a character goes one-on-one with an enemy unit, and each
side gets four commands per turn. Duels are good for boosting
one character's stats (given he is strong enough to last the
entire duel) or for experimenting with commands to create special
attacks which you will be able to use later in normal battle.
Also, there are four "combats" during the Gustav arc. This is
somewhat like those war strategy games—you move troops on a
grid, and if your troops meet enemy troops they enter battle.
It is of note that this game is not state-of-the-art in the
graphics department. The little sprite characters run through
cities and dungeons comprised of watercolor sketches—these
maps are hardly realistic, but they give the player the strange
sensation of walking through and interacting with a picture
book. However, the characters are still fairly detailed and full
of life as they are animated in the various conversation and
battle scenes; some of the special attacks are extremely
well-animated. As for sound, it might not be the best
soundtrack you've ever heard, but it certainly isn't the
worst, either. The background music, which mostly consists of
piano with slight accompaniment, fits well with the landscape
that the characters are travelling on at the time, while this
reviewer felt an underlying warmth in every tune.
If you are not a fan of the typical console "get experience,
gain levels" RPGs, yet don't want too much of a challenge, this
game is for you. It may take a while to get used to (the menus
to equip skills and items can get confusing at first), and a
lot more time to completely master, but the freedom you get
from the system (and the randomness that your characters might
not grow up the same way with each run-through of the game)
will definitely keep you from being bored. And if you are
hesitant about this game after playing SaGa FRONTIER 1, you
don't know what you're missing!
Oh, and if you can understand Japanese, get the
SaGa FRONTIER 2 ULTIMANIA strategy guide from
DigiCube—it is well worth the 1500 yen you spend on
it. 
Rating: 9.5/10 |
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