Unlimited Saga

"Good ideas, flawed execution, and not for the better"

Unlimited Saga is a nifty concept, beautifully drawn character graphics, interesting battle system, and unlimited possibility that sadly not well executed in terms of gameplay and story. It has gotten worse review than Enter the Matrix (which is one of the worse game, but at least somewhat playable to a point before the nasty bugs started to show up).

Graphics: 8
This game has a very beautiful watercolor sketch drawing, which is a step above the previous Saga Frontiers games from PS. There are so much possibilities that can make this game outstanding, which you do get a glimpse of it in the sparse cinema (motion), instead the creator choose the lazy approach and make everything falls flat.

Music: 8
Good music, and it works for the game, if only the rest of the gameplay can hold a candle to the music and graphics.

Control/Gameplay:3
This game needs a 2 hour lengthy tutorial, there is no if and but, a well thought, well explained tutorial on the booklet and the game is SERIOUSLY needed.

There are tons of great ideas for this game though each one is marred by gazillion of other bad ideas which makes you wonder if the creator is simply stupid or there were too many cooks in the kitchen which resulting a total mess in the gameplay dept.

Movement: The whole game is too simplistic and too rigid not to mention too confusing. Everything is executed like a board game, which is OK is that is the movement in the world map and not the entire game. They should have refined the slightly better direction of Saga Frontier 2 instead of going backwards. The whole things got stale and boring really quickly. Each time you move, a monster or trap may pops up and you have to avoid it using the wheel system (which become frustrating since basically the whole game revolves on this wheel). You dont get items automatically but have to manually get them, the key word is manually!! Everything in this game is a manual thing, which become tedious. As if the creator is trying to recreate the experience of playing a flat boring board game in PS2.

Battle: You use the wheel to spin your attack and combo, you can fight till your LP is depleted. I have to say Saga Frontier 2 has a more interesting battle system and items management than this one. Again, if only they learn and be humble and refine what is already working and make it better. Combo is very difficult to pull and the battle is becoming a game of chance. No strategy is needed, or if there is one, they never bother to explain it to you.

Towns: This is where they fail miserably. The way the town is laid out is similar to Legend of Mana for PS, very pretty, but if in the latter game you get to explore the town, in Unlimited Saga you only get to scroll through menus and more menus. Boring indeed.

Fun Factor: 2
Yes, the game is fun in the first two hours, then everything will become very tedious since there is nothing that will make your eyes pop or your jaw drop. Not to mention there are tons of menus, and you better hope you can second guess everything right since there is very little explanation.

Replay Value: 5
If this game is done the right way, I would give a 10 for replay. As it is now, you will need to be very patience to even finish one story let alone trying to play all seven stories. Overall they have great ideas with the story, characters from one story intertwine with the others.

Final Score: 5
If you have extra time and patience, go buy the game. Just be aware that this is the most basic RPG with not a lot of fun or emotion that will immerse you within the story. I know that you dont need CG graphics like Final Fantasy X to make a good game, just look at the Lunar series. Unlimited Saga feels almost as a combo effort between Saga Frontier 2 and Legend of Mana, with upgraded graphics but stripped away from all the things that make the previous two games fun and playable. A total mess, it is still playable from start to finish (and way better than Enter the Matrix). Rent it or buy it used so that you can return the game if you dont find this suitable for your taste.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/03