"Very cool, beautiful game."

Saga Frontier 2, one of my favorites...
Now, the first of the series might have been good, but it really got boring. That isn't the case here. I will rate each aspect an rpg has to offer below...

1. Story- The story was awesome, but that is only if you understand it. There is so much going on in the world, that you must understand every bit of it, yet there are times when the story is very simple, such as little Mini-quests. Now, the story plays a big role in a SF2 review simply because their are multiple stories. Throughout the game, you play as characters, and they may die, and from there, you play as somebody else. I like that in a game, where the main character dies early on, because it gives the game a new aspect from different games. Also, throughout the game, you change sides. You might be playing as an evil monarch who wants to rule over another land, deafeat the good army, and claim this throne. Then you play as an assassin from the good side, out to kill him. This isn't really a plot in the game, but it is similar. There are many stories, and all link together in certain ways. Basically, you play as the world in this game, and you learn about the world of Saga Frontier 2, also. I rate this a 10/10, although some events, or stories, are plain, and have nothing to do with anything, but it isn't a major thing.

2. Characters- There are well over 60 characters you can play as, and you can have a party up to four. The characters are GREAT! They resemble Medieval knights, or Kings, and warriors, pirates, and many, many, other strange, awesome, unstopable characters. Not only that, but you also can change a character's weapon, from a sword, to a bow, to a halberd, its just great. That's what I love in a game, being able to chnge weapons. I hate games in which each character is assigned to a weapon. Saga Frontier 2, and Final Fantasy Tactics (Another Great game!) are the complete opposite. Because listen, if you were in a Medieval world, with guns discovered already, would each character be assigned a special weapon, or would all choose the simple gun, to do simple things?: kill the enemy. Just think about that... Unlike Final Fantasy 7 (I'm not dissing it too much, this used to be my favorite game of all time!), how not one character has the same weapon as the other. That is unpractical. I would think if the world had heavy artillery and gattling guns, the whole party would be armed with those, because they are much handy than a sword, or a Spear, or a stupid stuffed animal a cat rides and tells it what attacks to do on an enemy with a phone (I know, its pathetic, but that's FF7). The characters are also really brave, and they are cool looking. The final boss makes Sephiroth look like one of the little Kupas from the Mario series. The only real badside is when you really like a character, then he/she dies (storywise), and you play as someone else on another role. The characters go too quick, but it can be a good thing sometimes, you get a variety of characters throughout the game, so picking favorites is throughout all of it. The characters I rate a 10/10, definately.

3. Music- Oh the music!!! This was the greatest of all factors in the game beleive it or not! The music was grade A, better than FFT! I even ended up buying the soundtrack! The music didn't annoy me once throughout the whole game, and, occasionally, when I am at school, I find myself humming the tunes, as I am right now. Its just great! I promise you, you hate the gameplay, and everything else, but you still might rate the game 10/10 too, just because of the music! I rate the music 10/10.

4. Graphics- Don't get me going on the graphics! The graphics were another great thing about the game! The backrounds were watercolored, and hand-made, and they turned out just beautiful! The characters were 2d, but they at least had ''character'' to them, rather than FFT, and Battle Hunter, where the characters aren't really shown much, (Again, I am not dissing FFT, that is one of my 3 favorite games of all time!) The characters were tall and broad, with many details, unlike FFT's where it shows them, but they are small, and don't really have much to them. Also, the Fighting Graphics are GREAT! When you enter a battle, you are asked if you wish to fight as a party, or one-on-one. If you choose one-on-one, it shows upclose, a great animation of your character, and the enemy, duke it out! Its just great! I rate the graphics a 10/10, although sometimes the backrounds can be confusing to where you are unsure where to walk next, then finally you notice a little alleyway, and try to walk through there. These kind of things got me stuck throughout the game alot.

5. Gameplay- The gameplay is fun, and rpg-like. It is very easy to move your character around, rather than Final Fantasy 8 (Damn that game!). Not only that, but the battles are well-done, and great! For more information on battles, go to the battles section. I rate the basic gameplay an 8/10, because there really isn't anything new.

6. Battles- The Battles: GREAT!!! When you enter a battle, you can choose either a party battle, where your whole party fights 1-5 enemies, or a sole battle, where you get to pick who you want to use to fight one enemy. You learn combos after battles, and it is quite fun that way. Not only that, but certain characters learn what are called ''arts'' depending on their type of element (I forget if it is their weapon element, or their element, but I know it has to do with something like that). You learn magic abilities, depending on your art, and they cause a certain effect. Another great thing, I always like in rpgs, is how you can see the enemies running at you, and they all look different, rather than Guardian's Crusade where they are all viewed the same, as little ghosts, and their appearence in battle is different though. The battles have a lot to it, and are very complex, and they can be tough. Another great thing is how at times, there may be a war, and you control your armies, against the enemies armies, in an FFT sort of way, where you move to certain locations, and when an army touches an enemy army, the 3 in each army, fight to the death. Such armies represeant certain people like generals, Kings, or friends. The army on the battlefeild is viewed as the leader of the army, or just a soldier, if the army doesn't have anything special to it. These are one of those rpgs where you can't beat a boss, and you try for at least a week, then finally, you beat him. I rate the battles a 9/10, although the bad thing, and I can't tolerate this in rpgs, is how enemies pop up everywhere, especially when you want to get out of a dungeon or something, but an rpg gamerhas to like this, or they would absolutely hate rpgs, but everyone has to admit, this is VERY annoying!

7. Overall- This game is for RPG gamers, and those who don't mind watching their favorite character die on the battlefield, because characters come and go. Some people don't like this game, and their main disagreement is how you can't play as a character for too long, because they end up going their seperate way, then you control someone else, or other various reasons, but this is a pretty cool thing because that is unlike an rpg. Not only that, but in the future, you may play as a character's Grandson, or Nephew, which I think is cool, showing more of a thing to where you are basically controlling a long period of time, and all its main events. Its really neat. I don't think many people like the idea of not having a MAIN character, but having different main characters throughout the game. I think it is cool, and unusual, but that's just my opinion. Judging by all the negative comments about this game, I reccomend you try it out for yourself before buying, because everyone is different. There are those of us that love this game, and those that hate it, so there really isn't any side to truly trust, besides what you think. Just please, try this game out.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/01, Updated 11/08/02