SaGa Series Discussion

[Jasede]

I played and beat this game as a teen on an emulator but had completely forgotten how fucking complicated it was. Kid brains are just more elastic.

 

[Swigen]

Lemme just say, I think it’s fucking great Sony made Romancing Saga 3 purchasable for the Vita on PC but not from the Vita itself. Bravo. Awesome. Super. Maximum faggotry. Your parents must be proud Sony. “Huuuuurrrrr duuuuurrrrrr I’m Sony, I made Vita but I don’t give a FUCK about it. Why everyone play ‘tendo?! Hurrrrrr durrrrrrr!”

 

[eric__s]

My body is ready, but Scarlet Grace doesn't even have a Steam page yet. I found some sick cheevos though. I didn't look too closely, I don't want to spoil anything.

 

[Hobo Elf]

SOON..

 

[Abu Antar]

It's out in Australia and Japan.

 

[Jinn]

It's out in Australia and Japan.

On PC, or just Switch and PS4?

EDIT: Also, some of the first real gameplay in English of Ambitions, for anyone who wants to take a glance. Everything is looking pretty tip-top and gorgeous.



I want this right now.

 

[Abu Antar]

It's out in Australia and Japan.

On PC, or just Switch and PS4?

EDIT: Also, some of the first real gameplay in English of Ambitions, for anyone who wants to take a glance. Everything is looking pretty tip-top and gorgeous.



I want this right now.

I think on every platform. Not 100% sure.

Edit: out in Europe on PS4 and Switch.

 

[Jinn]

It appears to be out now on Android and the Switch in the US. Will probably come out at Midnight PST on PSN.

Once again, Steam users get the shaft. We'll probably see it at 9am PST as usual. Such a stupid release system.

And I have to say, the advertising and PR for this game have been so incredibly lackluster and almost non-existent. Either Square-Enix doesn't have a marketing team covering this release, or they secretly want it to completely fail in the West. Which it almost certainly will.

 

[JDR13]

What makes this series different from Final Fantasy? I watched some footage of RS 2 out of curiosity, and it looked almost identical to the SNES era FF games.

Also, are the SaGa games connected, or is it like FF where each game is completely self-contained?

 

[Hyperion]

What makes this series different from Final Fantasy? I watched some footage of RS 2 out of curiosity, and it looked almost identical to the SNES era FF games.

Also, are the SaGa games connected, or is it like FF where each game is completely self-contained?

Self-contained. Much more challenging than other FF's except for the original, and maybe 5 with no class grinding in certain spots (Giltortoise, Notorious 4 crystal boss etc). No levels, you gain stats by taking certain actions. Tech sparking (i.e. learning new abilities by using previously learned ones), game rewards you immensely for taking on higher challenges by making it easier to learn new skills, get stat ups, etc. Gear you choose to use against enemies is very, very important because of damage types like slash / pierce / blunt. Often far less linear with lots of options and multiple ways to solve quests.

Also, beat RS3 last night just in time for Scarlet Grace today or maybe tomorrow. What a wild ride. Final boss was a bit of a cocksucker tho. I steamrolled everything up to him including the endboss of Phantom Maze, Asuras, Genryus, Zera Beetles, and the Sinistrals. I just didn't have the appropriate Ward skills mastered or even learned and Nightmare kept fucking me. Had to do the fight a few times 'till I could stomp his guts in before getting fucked by sleep + charm. Fortunately I did something like 15k / turn and he went down quick.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

What makes this series different from Final Fantasy?

They're pretty close since SaGa series creator Akitoshi Kawazu worked on the first Final Fantasy and was the project lead on FF2 (nes). His main hallmarks are a lack of character levels, instead characters increase stats and skills directly, and a higher level of challenge. The Romancing games are also pretty open and non-linear, more of a series of sidequests than the typical JRPG railroad main plot. Battles also have a high degree of randomness with luck playing a huge role.

 

[LESS T_T]

Scarlet Grace is out now on Steam:

 

[Jinn]

Well, bought the game, it's in my library as installed, but won't actually download anything and won't boot up.

Damn, Square-Enix. Damn.

 

[Abu Antar]

Bought PC version. Who said it is easy being a SaGa fan?

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Who said it is easy being a SaGa fan?

I'm still salty they nuked the steam release of The Last Remnant and never put up the HD remaster. Considering the PC release was the superior version originally, that's just a huge fuck you to everyone.

 

[Jinn]

I'm still salty they nuked the steam release of The Last Remnant and never put up the HD remaster. Considering the PC release was the superior version originally, that's just a huge fuck you to everyone.

Squaresoft - Saying a huge fuck you to PC users since 1998 and running.

 

[Reinhardt]

Never managed to finish any SaGa but still find them very charming every time. Time to try again.

 

[Jinn]

Looks like Steam is finally downloading the game. Jesus, what a botched release.

 

[Jinn]

Too bad about the lack of dual-audio for voice acting. I'll probably end up turning the voices off.

Trying to decide which character I want to start with. Balmaint is who I got the first time from the questions I answered, but from the little research I've done on the game, his story is supposed to be the ultra-hardmode of the four, so I might save him for a replay. Started as Leonard, but kind of dislike the personalities of him and his starting party at first glance. Taria might be the most interesting of the four to me, so I might try to find the questions that align with her and go with the boosts and subtractions to her stats I get from them.

EDIT: Turns out it's extremely hard to get Taria through the quiz questions, so I just went ahead an picked her with the default stats. This combat system is amazing.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Unfortunately I'm less enthused by this combat system. I bought the game for my Switch so I've had a good couple of hours time to play it before people got it on Steam. The pace of combat coupled by the BP system is just not working for me. BP feels like a restrictive mechanic that I have to wrestle with rather than a fun and engaging strategic layer added to combat. There's some queer balance in this game where enemies are very HP bloaty but they can easily down your guys with a high BP attack. I've gotten into a few encounters where I took down the enemies one-by-one and then the last enemy was using up all the BP to annihilate my party with a series of powerful OHKO attacks.
It seems like the optimal way is to try and get everyone's HP down somewhat equally so you can then create a domino effect of killing the entire enemy team in one turn with a chain of Unison attacks that can proc off of each other, but this is not very fun for me.
You also need to grind a lot of elemental gems to upgrade your gear and the grind gets amplified for me due to how sloggish each encounter feels like. Maybe it's just Taria's scenario that isn't enjoyable for me as I'm not liking how Magic works in this game either, but I felt really exhausted by the time I quit playing and don't feel a pull to go back and play some more. I'll probably try a different character tomorrow but we'll see.

 

[Jinn]

Unfortunately I'm less enthused by this combat system...
I'll probably try a different character tomorrow but we'll see.

Sorry to read, especially from such a big fan of the series. I've got a couple hours in and have been enjoying the combat, but I can see how the magic system would rub you the wrong way, particularly when it's the focus of your main character. I think I have to agree that I'm going to try a different character than Tania, as I feel I'd enjoy the magic aspect more if it wasn't focused around the character I'm most invested in. Too bad, because I actually kind of liked where the story was heading with her and the mercenary band dynamic. I'll have to come back to her for a replay in the future when I'm better acquainted with all the systems in place. Still, really enjoying the game besides this.

Hope you're able to find some enjoyment from a different angle when or if you start a new game.

 

[jungl]

Its not the past anymore. Saga level up and and combat system are nothing interesting and are boring now.

 

[Jinn]

Got a good 6 hours in today. I'm about 4 hours into Leonard's story and feeling pretty hooked so far. I feel like the Marchiam Megdasse region (second region you go to as Leonard) is a great showcase of how nice the questing and overworld exploration can be in the game. Sure, I miss dungeon and town exploration, but the more holistic approach presented with the overworld exploration is a nice change of pace, and surprisingly engaging. Leonard and the gang have even managed to grow on me. World building also seems to be a notch higher than a lot of other SaGa titles.

Even the magic system has grown on me quite a bit, and I very much so look forward to returning to the Tania playthrough someday. Four element casting would be amazing now that I'm more comfortable with the system. On that note, I'm very much so enjoying the BP and timeline system. It's a nice variation on the SaGa combat formula, and really challenges you to test your options and manipulate the battlefield.

I thought the lack of things like gold and equipment shops would be more bothersome to me, but overall the equipment progression through blacksmiths, found/received armaments and crafting element acquisition is a fun and fresh approach. Particularly when you start trying to hit every reward challenge you can in any given battle.

Anyway, just wanted to post some brief impressions since there has been little activity in the thread today. I think I can pretty confidently recommend this as a "different" SaGa experience and am having a lot of fun so far.

 

[Hobo Elf]

As for me, I requested a refund from Nintendo (apparently they do refunds if you request it within 14 days of purchase, so at the very least you are given more time to think about it than on Steam). I played a bit more on Taria this morning but I just ended up disliking it more. I was beginning to dread going into combat. Welp, that's it for me with Scarlet Grace. I'll leave you guys to it since most people seem to be enjoying it. Too bad I couldn't.

 

[Jinn]

It's a shame, but I guess it's a you really like it or you don't kind of thing.

For me, it's like the perfect mix between an AP based combat system, with Shin Megami Tensei push-turn sprinkled in. The formations provide a great amount of flexibility in BP use too. I've only felt satisfied, challenged, and wanting more after each battle.