Romancing SaGa

"So who wants to go on vacation..."

Surprise, it's amazing. Romancing SaGa is the sneakiest little sleeper ever to hit the market. Little to no hype or promotion of this game. I always had my suspisions that the game was going to rule(dispite the travesty that was Unlimited SaGa), but all the lack of confidence in it from reviewers and fans(and even Square-enix) gave me slight worries about its value. The end results are in however, and this game gives me more than I ever could have asked.

I was always a fan of SaGa Frontier, which was released on Playstation in 1996, just before Final Fantasy VII. After realizing it was done by squaresoft, I bought it up right away. I loved the battle system, and I loved the touristy atmosphere, but I had two main qualms with it. I wanted more detail, and I wanted more scope. I always wished that the game was bigger, and more vast.

Well Romancing SaGa gave me all these things, and, for the first time in many years, I feel like I got my old square back. This game is living proof that squaresoft is still alive.

Now, that said, any gamer coming into a SaGa game, has to first know what to expect, so as not to be disappointed when all is not similar to every single other rpg. I've only played as Claudia so far, who lives in a haunted forest, and was raised by a bush witch. One day she meets a Prince who is in trouble, and he takes her to the capital city to meet the President, and the rest is up to you. I'm loving her quest, but it's very light on story, but that's not to say the game doesnt involve you on a story-like level.

In this game, instead of learning so much about your character's all the time, you're learning about the world that you're travelling in. You can read so many things about the history of the world in the libraries, and listen to many different stories from other travelors about ancient rumors and myths. The game educates you on how to get by in the world as opposed to handing you a sappy soap opera, which is almost the opposite of other rpg's. It's interesting to play because it's not like you're following a story, it's more like you're making your own story, so non-creative people should stay away. Nothing is handed right to you in RSaga, you need to get out there and grab it, just like in real life. SaGa games are more like a survival test, they ask the question "how well would YOU do in the real world?"

The game is more a virtual vacation than a standard rpg. The world is so massive, that it seemingly never ends. I don't know if I'll ever run out of new areas to discover. All the the locations, the towns, jungles, mountaintops, beaches, they're all stunningly beautiful. No detail is too small, no colour, is too perfect, everything comes together like a painting. You travel the world on a jet plane free of charge(lucky), and it's also funny that a boat trip across the lake on the other hand costs 75$ some of the time. Almost every town has it's own style, and some of them are just awe inspiring in their design and architecture. This game does more to make a believable variable universe than any rpg in existence. All the characters you meet, and all the stories you hear match the scenario's you see traveling the globe. You get the feeling of a living breathing planet where anything is possible(and that's a cool feeling to get from a mere video game.) You really do feel as though you've wandered into some kind of bizarre, beautiful vacation, that seems to go on forever.

The graphics in all the locations are take your breathe away beautiful. No other game is quite this pretty in an artistic sense. Everything is done in 3-D polygons, and it's structured much like Final Fantasy X in the way the camera and the engine runs. There are some blocky areas which are just not seen very much on the PS2, but it's all so beautiful that it can be forgiven. My one complaint, is that I feel this game is in desparate need of a first person camera mode(a feature lacking in most games these days).

Then there'es also the beautiful "sketch motion" animation sequences that each character has skattered throughout their quests. These are a sight to see alright if you like interesting new styles of animation. Two thumbs for visuals.

On to sound. Many reviewers and fans have complained about the voice acting. I am not bothered by it in the leaste. I actually find it either decent, or hilarious. The main characters in your crew all have good voice actors, and all the town's people sound hilarious to the point of out loud laughter. Do not mistake funny voices with bad voices. Bad voice acting makes you cringe, the bad voicing in RSaGa, makes you laugh, it's totally different. I haven't heard voice acting this good since Brave fencer Musashi.

There are eight characters you can choose from at the beginning, and each one looks interesting in their own way with their own styles. The character designs are some of the best I've ever seen. I love the way most of them look and dress with all their own little flare happening. Some complain about the midget like posture, but I like it, I think it couldn't be done any other way. I'm tempted to say that these character models are my favourite in any game.

The battle system is almost exactly like SaGa Frontier, so if you liked playing that one, you'll be a pro at this too. The battles are not random(yay) so you can avoid most battles if you're good at dodging field dogs. I do not find the battles tedious in this game which is a big plus. They are always over quickly. Battle systems are really boring to write(and to read) about, so I'm just gonna move right along now.

The music in the game is so brilliant and so well composed, that it makes the game in certain areas. It adds everything it needs to, in order to get you into it. Bad music in a game can put you to sleep, but these tunes will have you softly bangin' your head all night. All the songs are so well selected in where they're placed, flawless job by two of the industry's finest composers Keji Ito, and Tsuyoshi Sekito.

I don't really have anything bad to say about Romancing SaGa. I could have used more character and plot development, but there's so much other stuff to do, that you hardly have time for it. I like that it has a different feel than most other rpg's, it feels fresher, more relaxed. At the same time, doing well in battles is more thought intensive than any of those other rpg's out there, who go for the lazy "nothing new here" approach. It's as if this game sees what's wrong with generic rpg's and fixes all the problems. It's less of what you don't want, more of what you do. But that's just me, this is not a game for everyone, it's an artistic game that does it's own thing, and you either love it or hate it depending on your needs in a game. Hardcore rpg enthusiasts must not go without this game. I'm not calling it the best rpg to come out in a while, I'm not even calling it the best rpg on PS2(that wouldnt do it justice), I'm calling this the best rpg since Xenogears.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/05