Open ended gameplay! Engrishy translations! Spiky hair! Let's play SaGa Frontier!

So here's a blast from the past; SaGa Frontier! For those of you who don't remember, SaGa Frontier was released in the 90's, back when Squaresoft could do no wrong, and holds the dubious title as being Square's first ever 'failure', at least in the eyes of the West.

Now before I proceed, I do hope you guys don't mind gushing. Because holy hell, I'm going to be gushing like a motherfucker. You see, I first started playing video games when my parents bought me a bootleg Sega Genesis. I've been playing games for over 15 years, and in all that time, SaGa Frontier remains one of my top 5 favorite games of all time. So yeah, I kinda like it.

Anyway, SaGa Frontier was released hot on the heels of Final Fantasy 7. With it's non linearity, emphasis on gameplay over story, open ended leveling system and featuring seven protagonists and their individual storylines, SaGa Frontier was basically the antithesis of FF 7. Unfortunately, being so different from the game that essentially introduced JRPGs to the mainstream Western market all but doomed the title.

SaGa Frontier features several features that differentiates it from most RPGs, firstly, it has seven different protagonists and stories (which I'll cover in more detail later).

Secondly, the game has probably my favourite leveling system of any RPG; stats increase by small increments after each battle, based on what your character does. If you use a bunch of sword techniques, your strength and skill are more likely to increase, if you use lots of magic, your intelligence increases. Similarly, using lots of gun techniques makes you more likely to learn more advanced gun techniques, and so forth. It's simple, but it allows a great deal of customization over how you want to build your party.

Finally, the game featured a schizophrenic but unique setting. The world is divided into 'realms', which each feature their own distinctive character and aesthetic. Realms range from Magic Realm to Drunken Countryside Realm to Lesbian Prison Realm to Magic Vampire Realm and so forth. It's a damn headache trying to reconcile how this all makes sense, but it doesn't change the fact that each world is hella cool.

Oh, and one more thing, the artwork is fucking beautiful.

Anyway, in regard to the characters, what I'll do is make seven separate posts for each hero. If you'd like to vote on which hero's tale we'll follow, just like that hero's post. Also, feel free to vote for multiple heroes :)

EDIT:
I am ecstatic and humbled to state that SaGa Frontier has managed to inspire some wonderful fan works from some very talented people who have been following this LP. I'm adding them to this post to give them and their authors the attention they deserve:

Asellus

First up, we have the beautiful Asellus! Asellus was an ordinary human girl who was accidentally run over by Lord Orlogue, ruler of the immortal gay vampires Mystics. In order to save her life, Orlogue and his Mystics gave Asellus a blood transfusion, making her the world's first half mystic, an immortal amalgamation of two races who is accepted by neither. Asellus' story involves her coming to terms with both her immortality and her new identity, all while trying to escape Orlogue's clutches alongside several other rebellious Mystics. Asellus is also notable for being one of the first homosexual main characters in video games. It's never explicitly stated, but very strongly hinted by both her interactions with her various female party members and her rather infamous reaction to a porn mag she can find.

Pros:

• Her ability to combine the powers of both humans and Mystics makes her one of the most powerful characters in the game.
• Immortal lesbian vampire.
• Only character to have multiple endings.
• An early pioneer for lesbian video game characters.
• Can recruit many rare characters that are unavailable to most heroes.
• Her relationship with White Rose is one of the more poignant ones in the game.
• Her story has a very strong undercurrent of sexuality without ever being overbearing or tacky.

Cons:

• Whilst mostly well done, some aspects of her story and character scream 'lesbian written by and for straight men'. Refer to aforementioned porn mag.
• Her story involves quite a bit of grinding, especially in the first half.
• She has difficulty recruiting mechs characters.

Blue

A star pupil of the Magic Academy, Blue is on a quest to learn every school of magic in the world and become a master magician. There's just one problem with this plan; people cannot master opposing schools of magic. For instance, a master of Light magic cannot master Shadow magic, and so forth. Blue and his equally talented brother Rouge must therefore travel the world, learning opposing schools of magic before facing each other in a dual to the death; the winner gaining the powers of his fallen brother and becoming the first person in history to attain the gift of every school of magic.

Pros:

• Easily the most powerful mage in the game, due to the fact that he is the only one who can learn every spell in the game.
• Sorta tragic story.
• Rouge is awesome.
• Blue and Rouge are really silly names.

Cons:

• His story is largely a long sidequest of learning spells.
• Blue is a giant fucking dick.
• Terrible ending.
• Blue and Rouge are really silly names.

Emelia

A professional model, Emelia's life was turned upside down when her police officer fiance was murdered by the diabolical Joker (seriously, that's what he's called). Wrongly convicted of her fiance's death, she is transported to a maximum security prison, where she is befriended by cliche prison lesbians elite members of the secretive Gradius organization. After helping her to escape, Gradius provides her training in gunplay and sets her off on missions alongside fellow agents Annie and Liza, all while she continues her personal quest to track down Joker.

Pros:

• Episodic story, which makes the game very LP friendly.
• Charlies Angels the RPG.
• Emelia, Annie and Liza are a pretty awesome BFF trio, especially in a genre where female friendships are a relative rarity.

Cons:

• She changes into different and mostly fanservicey outfits for each mission.
• In a world with robots with lost memories, master magicians and immortal vampires, Emelia and her friends can be rather mundane.

Lute

A carefree slacker, Lute is a friendly bard who stumbles onto gets embroiled in the legacy left by his dead father. Uh, that's about it really.

Pros:

• Lute is really likeble.
• Hangs out with a giant fucking ogre who calls him aniki bro.

Cons:

• Has the shortest and most underdeveloped story in the entire game, literally consisting of a single dungeon.
• His story is literally one long grindfest to make your party strong enough to face his one and only dungeon.

Red

A walking Kamen Rider/Super Sentai/Power Rangers homage, Red was saved from the criminal organization, Black X, by the mysterious hero, Alkarl. In order to save the boy's life, Alkarl grants Red the power to transform into the mighty Alkaiser, Hero of Justice! Following the hero's code, Red seeks to track down and destroy Black X and it's four generals. As per super hero tradition, Red must keep his identity a secret and can only transform when his party members aren't looking (i.e., blinded or ko'ed).

Pros:

• HE'S A FUCKING SUPERHERO
• Alongside Asellus and Blue, Red is one of the most powerful characters in the game thanks to his ability to transform.
• His story has several cool dungeons and party members that are unique to him.
• His story is one of the better and more robust ones in the game.
• dat themesong

Cons:

• Outside of being a GODDAMN SUPER HERO, Red isn't the deepest or most interesting of characters.
• His story has a lot of cut content, including a female superhero who was presumably meant to be a party member at some point.

Riki

A young monster who is sent out on a quest to find the magical Rings of Margmel, that have the power to save his homeland from vaguely defined destruction.

Pros:

• His party members are well integrated into his story, in contrast to some other characters whose party members forget they can talk after joining the party.
• He's kinda cute.

Cons:

• His story is pretty much a giant fetch quest.
• The big twist at the end was...not great.
• Riki is a monster, which while a powerful race, are easily the most difficult race to build and are the only one's that can be permanently ruined if you don't know what you're doing. Hint: I don't know what I'm doing.

T260G

A robot that was wrecked after a catastrophic mission. T260G was found and rebuilt by the inhabitants of the town of Junk (seriously, that's what the town is called). With it's memories erased upon reactivation, it seeks out to discover and complete the mission it was constructed for.

Pros:

• Cool, techno-inspired story with slight hints of Xenogears.
• Gets many mech party members, several of whom are unique to T260G.
• Very different perspective compared to the other protaganists.

Cons:

• While mechs make powerful party members, they are rather dull given that they have a rather limited number of skills to learn and their stats are simply tied to their equipment.

YES! Thank you for lping this Snark. I borrowed a friend's copy of this about a year after it came out and feel in love with it...and then I hated it, and then I loved it again. We had a complex relationship. It's so good to see it again.

Okay, time to focus and not let nostalgia guide you to vote for everyone. *votes for everyone but Blue* There we go.

HOLY SHIT THAT ART

THOSE CHARACTERS

Snark, are you trying to get me to buy a Playstation? I need to play this game myself. NOW. OMG I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS LP SQUEEEEEEEEE

I had to restrain myself from voting for everyone even WITHOUT nostalgia goddamnit

VOTE: BLUE BECAUSE MAGIC

Urgh. Of the "Saga series" I only bought and played Unlimited Saga, and I really hated it °_° It was so unnecessarily complex, with tons and tons of menu... is Saga Frontier the same?

Oh my gawd.
Oh my gawd.
OH MY GAWD.

If this is the game I think it is, I have been looking for it for YEEEEAAAARSSS. Played it when I was little, never knew the name. OHMYFRICKINGAWD. SO excited for this LP. Used to always play as the Emelia, since I loved her story, but I didn't know how to save, so I always just started over from the beginning whenever I played. Only got about as far as a casino level (again, if this is the game I think it is).

I own Romancing Saga 2 (I think that's the one...lute-y minstrel playing his lute songs). I remember stopping my playthrough of it because it was SO open ended, I genuinely didn't know where to go. Might pick it up again now that I'm older.

Hehe, that pretty much describes most people's relationships with SaGa Frontier.

Fun fact; back in the burgeoning days of the Internet, I used to spend hours trying to find all the official artwork for this game (given how nearly every character has a at least one piece of art dedicated to them, there's a LOT).

Also, there's totally emulators and roms if you want to play this or any PS games without having to track down the cd. I'm not at home right now, but once I'm back, I could send you links to where to go, if you'd like :)

The SaGa series have always been Square's more obtuse and esoteric RPGs, and are much more experimental than Square's other franchises such as Final Fantasy. That said, Unlimited SaGa is easily the most confusing and complex of the SaGa games and plays relatively differently from SaGa Frontier. Really, the only similarity it shares with Frontier is the fact both games feature multiple protagonists with intertwining storylines.

Haha, yup! You've got the right game! Coincidently enough, the casino level was where I stopped on my Emelia playthrough as well (she and T260G are the only characters who I haven't finished the story with. Whereas I've lost count of the number of times I've finished the game with Asellus and for some strange reason, Lute).

Wow, I didnt even know Romancing SaGa 2 was out in English. Or did you play it in Japanese? Unfortunately, I can't comment much on the Romancing games given that the only one I've ever played is Romancing SaGa 3, which shares a lot of similarities with SaGa Frontier.

I just put it in, it was actually just Romancing Saga.

yeah this shit i can see why i abandoned my efforts. "THIS GUY TOLD ME TO MEET HIM IN THIS TOWN okay he is not even here what do i do now uhhhhhhhh"

Heheh, yeah, that's the SaGa brand of frustration. So aren't you lucky to have someone else suffer throughg it for you? ;)

i am typing this out very slowly because i don't wnt my drubnk to excasope the drunk thread
but yesh it is very luckt someone else wants to tackle this weird open world that is too open

"I am typing this out very slowly because I don't want my drunk to escape the drunk thread. But yes, it is very lucky someone else wants to tackle this weird open world that is too open."

Not quite sure if you were serious, but if you were, I don't think it's working, dear.

GO HOME MulMizu, YOU'RE DRUNK.

I CAN"T GO MIRE HOME THAN IAM RIHG TNOW

you asll mock me and i am struggling to even have coherent thoughts

*sees the Mary avatar used on anyone not named Ozzo*

I'm confused.

We love you, MulMizu

Sadly, I have yet to find an image of Ryutaro-Sensei and Mary Yandere together.

Oi, oi, oi! I was the first user of the palette knife wielding psychopath blonde chick, thank you! >:U

But it's good. Might be changing to a badass Yukari Yakumo picture one of these days, anyway.

Oh, and @Mul dear, I think you need to sip on a glass of water and maybe lie down. I should really be asleep right now, as I have school in about... -checks clock- seven hours and I haven't been asleep yet tonight, but eeeehhh. eue Why is BrokenForum always so much more interesting than sleeping?

I'm fine, ended up sobering up thinking about serious adult stuff. So the room is still kinda spinning, but I'm alright for the most part.

Well, results are in, and Asellus is our clear winner! Now to be very honest, I strongly suspected that she was going to win, but I must admit, I didn't think she'd do so by such a wide margin. Nonetheless, the show must go on!



The game begins with the seven main characters hanging round a nice looking pond that doesn't actually appear anywhere in the game. Anyway, there's Asellus over there, looking all chibi and cute. And she even gives us a little wink when we select her!



And so our tale begins in Rootville, the poor, human district of Facinaturu, the Mystic Realm. It's a beautiful and surreal land, forever shadowed by the towering Chateau Aiguille.

Facinaturu one of the most distinct and evocative locations in the game, but I've always felt that was because the aesthetic design and the music worked perfectly in tandem. So I do recommend that you play the Facinaturu background music for full effect:





Meet Gina, a young dressmaker's assistant living in Rootville, who is utterly facinated by the legend of the 'Prince' of Chateau Aiguille. She'll be acting as our narrator for certain key points in the story.

My name is Gina. I've been working for a master tailer for 3 years as a live in maid. At first, I hated the dark atmosphere of Rootville. But eventually, I got used to things, including the tyranny of Chateau Aiguille.

Uh, tyranny isn't a particularly great thing to get used to, dear.



There is no entertainment in this village and the attic is my only refuge from this madness. There are many precious dresses up here in the attic. Every year, we design a suit of clothes for someone in the castle. We've worked on at least 10 outfits. My co-workers say they are for a young prince in the castle. They say the prince has been asleep for years. I imagined seeing the prince and wished he'd wake up tomorrow. I wonder what fate awaits him...

As Gina attests, Facinaturu may not be the best place to live. Tyranny usually ranks pretty low on the list of desirable traits for a hometown. But maybe she's just biased? She is after all a human living in a Mystic majority realm, so maybe it's just her racial prejudices that are causing her to unfairly judge another culture. I'm sure the Mystics couldn't be that bad! In fact, let's head on over to the supposedly "tyrannical" Chateau Aiguille and take a look for ourselves!



...huh. Not uh, winning yourselves any favours there with the decor choice, guys. Seriously, have you considered getting a PR guy to work on your first impressions?

But maybe Mystics just take all their exterior design cues from the Big Book of Supervillainy! Maybe they're just nice people who like dark, ominous, spikey towers and foreboding purple skies! We can't cast judgment just because of what terrible looking house they live in, right guys?

So after doing the whole creepy pan up to reveal Chateau Aiguille, the screen fades to black. Maybe we'll cut to Asellus now and see how she fits into this whole story! Is the dashing and beautiful Prince about to wake up? Is Gina going to meet the girl of her dreams? What secrets lie behind the walls of Chateau Aiguille? All will be revealed...NOW!











JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

Oh...oh dear, I seem to have fooled myself into thinking this game was made up entirely of Yoshitaka Amano artwork. Ha--haha. Ha. Um, please excuse me while I...um...



why

You want artwork? You've got artwork!



Meet Dr. Nasukan, an amoral, back alley doctor. He's basically the game's version of Fatbird.

So it turns out all that was needed to wake the Prince was FUCKING DEMON MURDERHORSES FROM HELL. Swell, I'll keep that in mind next time my roommate oversleeps.

: What a nightmare...Where am I? My shirt is torn...a blood stain? Is this a hospital?

Yes Asellus, this purple hued hellhole is obviously a hospital.

You're awake.

Humans wake up quickly.



Looks like Ase-chan isn't alone after all; some greenhaired bishounen does the whole omniscient voice thing before fading into the room.

: Who are you? Where is this? What happened to me!?

: I am not here to answer your questions. My job is to report when you're awake.

Wait. Please don't tell me that's your only job. Because if that's the case, we really need to talk to your employer about inefficiency and over-employment.

: Report? To who, my aunt?

Ase-dear, while I appreciate the optimism, you really need to approach this from something other than the whole 'this is just a hospital with terrible bedside manners and interior decor' angle.

: You are still not aware of what really happened, huh? You're in Facinaturu. This region is ruled by Orlouge.



And he fades out just as quickly. And without even letting her finish her question! How rude!

: I gotta calm down...ok, I was on an errand for my aunt to Dr. Okonogi's house. Then, on the way back...I got ran over by a...carriage. Wait, why would there be a carriage in this day and age? Man, I must still be confused. What's wrong with me? Well, first I've got to find out where I am. Maybe I'm still dreaming!

...oh, Ase-chan.

Anyway, we can finally control Ase-chan, so let's take her out on a spin and see what Facinaturu has to offer!



...coffins. Huh. That's...not great.



Someone really needs to work on the interior decor here.





Yup, coffins and roses. Which incidentally is the name of my Guns & Roses cover band.



Welcome to the Hotel California...



Oh yay, yet another coffi-OH GOD THIS ONE HAS A PERSON IN IT



Gotta love how despite waking up in an alien and possibly hostile place, Asellus still takes the time to continue the time honored RPG protagonist tradition of pocketing anything that isn't bolted down.

So whilst exploring, Ase-chan runs into Not Akuma a mysterious Mystic.

: Who are you? Stop staring at me!

: Aggressive for a human. This should be interesting...someone's coming. I'll see you around.

And just like that, our mysterious friend disappears just as a pair of pursuers fade in. Teleporting seems to be a big thing here.



Twidledee and Twidledum hastily teleport away after Zozma, leaving us to wonder around some more.



Hey, what'dya know? A room that's entirely bereft both coffins and an overbearing aura of oppression and damnation!

I bet nothing terrible will happen here!



Hey look! Yet another guy mysteriously teleporting behind us! I bet he's friendly! Maybe he'll even tell us about all his lovely flowers!

Hi, Miste-





SON OF A BITCH

Great. We're lying in a bed of roses, bleeding out.



But hey! Someone saw the attempted murder! Maybe he'll help! We're not going to die after all!



U-um...? Help? Still bleeding out here. Anytime now buddy. Buddy...?

You know what, I'm just going to take whatever small victory I can get at this point and just appreciate the fact that he had the decency to walk away rather than just teleporting.



...I'm alive...no wound..! If this is a nightmare, please let me wake up!

Woo! Take that Squaresoft! You ain't gonna stab this chicka to death!



Showing surprising resilience, Asellus picks herself up and wonders round the castle some more. And huh, this now open gate totally doesn't look ominous at all, no siree.



Oh great. Surrounded by a group of strange men, including the MOTHERFUCKER WHO JUST STABBED ME.





P.S: If it isn't already obvious, I'm still new to this whole let's play thing. If you guys have any ideas or suggestions on how to make this a more enjoyable experience for y'all, please don't hesitate to give me some pointers. Anyway, till next time! :)

I'm already enjoying this. A lot.

We now bring this Council of Beautiful Men to order!

What is your name?

My name is Asellus. But shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking others their names?

Gotta admit, girl's got balls, especially given she just had a goddamn sword shoved through her.

Insolence!

Yeah, fuck you too, asshole.

Asellus. A lovely name. And spirited too. I like that.

Shouldn't you tell me your name?

Charm Lord.
Merciless King.
Protector of Rose.
Ruler of Darkness.
Pursuer of Beauty.
Supreme Judge.
Ruler of Facinaturu.
Lord of the Castle.
Mystic Lord, Orlouge.

Mystic? You're a Mystic? I am a human. I've no business with you. Let me go home.

That's right, Ase-chan! You don't give no crap bout no fancy title!

You saw your blood in the flower garden didn't you? It was purple. You are no longer human.

It's a lie!

You were stabbed with Ciato's sword, but where's your wound? Even before that you were dead, run over by my carriage. The only reason you're even alive is because of my blood - Mystic blood. Red human blood and blue Mystic blood have made your blood purple. Now you're a half Mystic.

It's official, Asellus is the Kenny of SaGa Frontier.

I am...why...?

Although you're half human, as a Mystic, you still have a great obligation to our kingdom. Ildon, you are in charge of the girl.

Yes, my Lord.

But Lord, perhaps Ildon isn't right for this job. Just in case...

Quiet, Ciato. Our Lord knows what he is doing. Ildon will do. He's both agile and skilled with the sword.

Woo! Go...whoever you are! You put that jackass in his place!

Ildon will be perfect to teach her the power of Mystics. But, we need someone to teach her some manners. I'll wake Princess White Rose. These two will do for the girl's education. Ildon, get her some decent clothes.

Mystic...half Mystic...blue blood...purple blood...

Accept your fate. Be grateful we are taking such good care of you even though you are only half Mystic. Let's go.

Go where?

Hello! Is anyone in there? Didn't you hear what the Lord just said? We're going to Rootville to get your dress. We placed the order long ago. Let's go!

I have to admit, I rather enjoyed his rather sudden outburst of informality. And no, you can't romance Ildon, he's totally gay.

Anyway, you heard the man! Next update, we're going clothes shopping!

Artwork time! Council of Beautiful Men! ASSEMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



From top to bottom:

Bitchface Ciato, the jackass who tried to murder us.

Rastaban, the awesome gentleman who told Bitchface to shut it.

Ildon, the guy who's taking us on a hot date clothes shopping.

Well, here we are in Rootville. We’ve got a dress to get, but first, let’s take a look around.



Whilst characters need to attain the ‘Gift’ of a certain school of magic in order to learn higher order spells (more details on that in due time), any schmuck can just buy the basic spells and pretend that she knows what she’s doing.



…huh. We might be the Mystic Prince now awoken, but capitalism obviously doesn’t give a shit.



WHY THE SHIT IS THIS PLACE RIGHT NEXT TO THE VILLAGE



Welcome, Lady Asellus.

Oh great. The Firey Abyss of Hell knows our name.

Who is it?

My name is Kurenai. I am the eternal flame that burns in Facinaturu.

He never once recognized my talent or loyalty. He won’t even let me live in the castle. I can’t stand that he chose some human girl to be his princess.

Holy crap, my brain is in love with the idea of this beefy ogre dude being jealous that Asellus got picked to be Orlouge’s pretty princess over him.