The SaGa series is a special one. It's sometimes inscrutable gameplay mechanics may put off RPG players more used to the comforts that Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest provide, but stalwarts stand by it, beckoning the curious over to give it a taste.
At first, there are the bitter notes: character stories that are largely independent of one another, with little that congeals by its final hours. Battle ranks that seem to punish players for grinding to usurp tough encounters. When pared the sweet: the variety of stories that are told that don't always need world-ending stakes, the satisfaction of taking a more active role in how your party's composition fares against different kinds of encounters. It take some getting used to, but if last year's SaGa Scarlet Ambitions was any indication, the SaGa style can prevail and deliver.
Final Fantasy II, the precursor to the SaGa series, is often unfairly derided as "the worst one," and while there a few bumps when it comes to difficulty scaling and encounter designs, I feel the game serves as a stronger launch point for the series. Character work, light as it may be, and themes of empire, occupation, and loyalty are strung along in
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