Unlimited Saga

"Not Like Any Other RPG I've Played"

When I first heard about this game a while back, I had a feeling it was going to be decent, but how decent, I had no idea. I saw the game in action for the first time on July 2nd 2003; while I was at Gamestop at my local mall, and I knew I had to get it just to check it out because the controllers on their PS2 unit were a bit messed up. It looked so different from the Final Fantasy type of game, that I knew only an oddball such as myself could actually grow to appreciate this game. Anywho, it's time for me to get to the meat and potatoes of this game.

Graphics: 10/10

Wow! Is it me, or does everything look gorgeous in their own way? Definitely a complete 180 from Final Fantasy X's uber-realistic way of exploring, this game has a quirkiness that it all it's own. Instead of computer designed worlds, everything is hand-drawn, and I mean everything! Even the battle system seems to use a unique method of combining cel-shading with hand-drawn imagery, and the results are gorgeous. Definitely one of the best looking PS2 games out to date right now I think, besides FFX, and Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits which I just reviewed not too long ago. It is obvious that Square and Enix put alot of effort into making sure this game was a different experience on all fronts, and boy did they ever deliver.

Gameplay: 8/10

OK, here is where most people have a huge problem getting into the game. I'll be honest, it was not too easy for me at first, but once I figured out how to navigate the mazes, and the battle commands, it was pretty much all peaches and cream. You see, the Right Analog Stick navigates you in all directions when it comes to a maze, and by that, I mean as in you select the room you want to go to on the simply designed map, and you go to that room. Don't expect anything special though, as I said the mazes are just drawings of rooms and stuff like that. However, what is special is that they somehow bring back nostalgic memories for me because they remind me of the times that I used to play Dungeons & Dragons with my mom, her boyfriend and my brother. Everything is pretty much pen and paper once you get the hang of it.

The story flows in the form of ''Adventures'' that are found at an ''Inn''; that you go on, they can take you anywhere, from a desert, to a colliseum, and many more places. The unnecessary ''Side Quests'' that you go on are limited in the amount of ''Turns'' or spaces you can move on the screen. So you have to complete them within the allotted time otherwise you are sent back to the ''Town'' and you have to start all over again.

Battles occur on maze spaces at times as well, and how the battle system works is quite quirky. Different from your usual Final Fantasy, you can equip two weapons per character, and have them learn the techniques allotted to those weapons, or you can do the punch, kick and throw of ''Melee'' combat as well. You select for up to five turns for your characters, and you can use any one character as many times as you like. But there is more, you can ''Hold'' a combo by hitting the Circle button, and if all goes well, you can unleash up to five hits with devestating results in one turn. However, if it goes wrong, the enemy will counterattack taking any Hit Points and ''Life Points'' away.

What are ''Life Points''? The answer to that is simple. They're the amount of hits you can take after your Hit Points go down to Zero before you truly die. The amount of Life Points your character is damaged by is in red. Unfortunately, you can't restore Hit Points while in battle, which is the only major downside to this system. In order to do so, you need to press either the Right or Left Analog stick in and select ''Yes'' to take a rest turn which will restore valuable Hit Points. However, be careful, because sometimes monsters will show up, and you might either have to fight, or move out of the ''area'' that you're in while in the maze.

I forgot to mention that every button on the PS2 is used, and that includes the D-Pad. While in the Dungeons the D-Pad is used to select from the following options ''Skill'' where you can go to further examine rooms, treasure chests, and use your characters' abilities to do whatever you need to do. ''Item'' where you can examine items, and learn more about what they do for you. ''Equipment'' where you can change weapons and armor, ''Status'' where you can check on the status of your character. And ''Quit'' where you can create a ''Quick Save'' if you want to start a new game, and continue where you left off with that character later on. The X button is the one that functions as the Action Button, Circle and Triangle usually Cancel, and Square just shows where you're at, and pans out for a smaller view of the map.

Sound: 10/10

My God, the soundtrack is brilliant! The synthesizer sounds so close to real, that I can barely tell the difference. This is clearly the game's pride and joy, and my what a treat it is to the ears, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference had it not been for the fact that they listed a ''Composer and Synthesizer'' in the credits page of the instruction manual. The voice overs are OK, not grade A or anything like that, but they get their job done. And everything seems to sound quite good. The sound effects for battle are alright, nothing special though. But the music is the best part of this game hands down. Excellent work from Squaresoft and the composer Yoshutaka Fujita (it's really spelled with an ''I'' instead of a ''U'' in Yoshutaka, but they made me change it). If I got it wrong though, please tell me who it is, and I'll correct it.

Overall: 9/10

I'd have to say it is certainly an enjoyable experience to me, while not perfect, and does have some things that leave much to be desired, what is there is done quite well, and most certainly deserves merit for not being an RPG-by-numbers unlike most. This, I am certain, will be the sleeper hit of the year. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to try a totally different kind of RPG than what you're used to.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/04/03, Updated 07/04/03