SaGa Frontier

Overview

SaGa Frontier is an RPG developed and published by Squaresoft for the PlayStation. It was originally released in Japan on July 11, 1997 and in North America on March 24, 1998. The game was later ported to PSN as a downloadable PlayStation Classic. It is also the first SaGa title to be released on a Sony platform.

Gameplay

SaGa Frontier is an open-ended RPG in which the player is allowed to freely explore the game world, interact with NPCs and engage in combat. Combat is turn-based. Under certain conditions, party members can perform combination attacks for extra damage. New skills and techniques are learned at random during battle through other skills in the same skill family, while magic is purchased in the game's shops. Winning battles increase individual character's statistics, often increasing based on which skills were used (ie, using physical attacks tends to increase HP and strength). Completing all characters' scenarios unlocks a boss mode and a room in which the player character can talk to the game's programmers.

Story

SaGa Frontier is set in a solar system known as "The Regions." The game features seven protagonists, each with his or her own unique storyline and quests. Players are free to travel to and explore any planet within The Regions. The player characters may cross paths with one another over the course of the game.

Characters

Players choose from seven characters at the beginning of the game. The storylines can be completed in any order, and some feature multiple endings.

Asellus

A human girl that is run over by carriage belonging to the mystic Lord Orlouge. Orlouge subsequently saves her life by giving her a blood transfusion that makes her become half-mystic; the only one of her kind. Orlouge intends for Asellus to become his heir, but she escapes with help from Princess White Rose. Asellus eventually returns to settle the matter and defeat Orlouge. Depending on how the player proceeds through Asellus's story, she will either remain a half-mystic upon Orlouge's death, return to life as a normal human, or become a full-blooded mystic.

Blue

A young mage fresh out of schooling, he travels the world, learning as much magic as he can until he is forced to confront his twin brother, Rouge, who has mastered all of the arts that oppose his own. The mage that wins this duel absorbs the other's powers, creating the only wizard in the world with access to all magic. Blue/Rouge then returns home to the Magic Kingdom, only to see it destroyed; the master magician then descends into Hell to fight the demons who attacked it.

Emelia

A former model wrongfully convicted of her fiance's murder, she teams up with fellow convicts in order to win their freedom. She then joins her new friends as a member of their secret organization, who also happens to be hunting her fiance's killer. Unraveling a conspiracy, Emelia confronts her fiance's real killer, who turns out to be her fiance possessed by a mask.

Lute

A young, slacking bard turned out of his home by his mother until he can find employment, his travels take him on the path to learning about his father's death after General Mondo betrayed him.

Red

A teenage boy whose family was killed by members of Black X, a crime syndicate. He's rescued by the superhero Alkarl and subsequently granted powers of his own. As the hero Alkaiser, Red takes the fight to Black X. After he destroys Black X, Red learns that Alkarl is in fact Hawk, a friend of his father.

Rikki

A fox-like creature called a lummox. He embarks on a quest to find magic rings that will allow him to save his homeworld, Margmel.

T260

An ancient Mec built from spare parts. It awakens in the present with no memory. Once his memory is restored, he remembers that he was part of a mission to take down Region Buster 3.

The game also has a number of "side characters" that can be picked up as additional party members. Some of these characters cannot be picked up in some scenarios depending on circumstances (eg, T260 cannot join Red, Emelia, or Asellus, but can join the other protagonists' parties)

Reception

While the game received average reviews in the United States, it was very well received, critically and commercially in Japan. As of 2008, it has sold over 1 million copies world wide making it the 15th top-selling PlayStation game of all time. Jon Dudlak from the March 1998 issue of EGM rated the game 7.0/10 praising the "artful storytelling" and "Superb character interaction".