SaGa Frontier Review: The Final Frontier

By RockLobster

Around the same time that an epic role-playing game was released on Sony’s first Playstation video gaming console, Final Fantasy VII, another game of the same genre was released. This one, called SaGa Frontier, was released by the same company, but it did not fare as well. However, its unpopularity does not mean it is a bad game at all, even if it is very noticeably unfinished. Parts like doors that cannot be opened, ladders that lead to nowhere, characters that are obviously meant to play a bigger role, and scenarios where barely anything happens story-wise lead the player to the assumption that it could have been a much better game had the development team either put in more effort or had more time to finish. Regardless, the game itself is very fun—if the player is prepared to learn how this game works.

The game is separated into 7 stories each with a main character, which include a robot trying to find out about his past; a monkey monster attempting to gather seven rings in hand in order to save his homeworld; a supermodel finding the truth behind her lover’s murder; a previously dead woman saved by the vampire lord that ran her over; a hobo/bard; a schizophrenic wizard tasked with learning every magic and killing his twin brother; and a kamen rider out to seek vengeance for his family. Along the way, the player meets a huge cast of party members full of diverse characters like a drunken samurai, a man turned into a robot, a mermaid, a vampire time wizard, a phoenix, and an Akuma from the Street Fighter series lool-alike. The huge amount of party members that one can pick to make the best team, or just to make the coolest looking team, is great.

Another of the game’s strengths is how the game allows the player to approach battles. Each character belongs to a race, which defines their abilities but not necessarily their roles: Humans, Mechs, Mystics, and Monsters. Some of the races are definitely more beginner friendly, but each has a unique way to build them. Mechs are my particular favorite because they basically run on the power of money: their stats are affected by their equipment rather than on battle participation. Furthermore, there are not set levels, but depending on what weapon is used in the fight, human characters will level up stats like more physical stats if using melee weapons or stats for spellcasters if they use magic. Mystics develop in a similar way, but they only grow in a select few stats like HP and JP (Magic Points).

Learning abilities works very uniquely in this game. One of my favorite parts of the game is when a light bulb appears over a character’s head. This is known as “sparking” a technique, and its official name is “glimmer”. In this event, the character learns a new technique and uses it for free on that turn. Spellcasters and gun users don’t “glimmer”, but they do learn their spells and techniques after a fight ends. Monster and Mech races work a little bit differently as they absorb enemies after battle and end up learning skills that way. Techniques and spells are also able to be used in combination attacks that trigger when the right techs and spells are used after one another. It’s really neat seeing the whole party start shining before a five-attack combo.

Final Thoughts

SaGa Frontier, although very fun, is difficult to get into. I had to return to it later after reading up on the game’s mechanics and where to find party members. The game does not hold the player’s hand at all, especially on the more open world scenarios. The linear ones are a little bit better, but I was constantly reminded that the game’s combat is made for a full team of 5. This gets very obvious when the player is stuck using only two characters. Another downside is that some characters are only available in one or two scenarios, but they do add something unique to the scenarios they are in. Money and equipment is also an issue in the game unless the player learns about certain tricks and exploits, which can rub people the wrong way. Some characters are less useful than others due to hidden stat growth rates and skill tables that affect their likelihood to “spark” a technique, as well. The graphical style is also weird, but not necessarily bad. It mixes pseudo three dimensional enemy models with sprite-based characters. The environments are varied, from a futuristic, cyberpunk city, a small village that runs on collecting scraps, to a land of breweries and even Hell. They look very detailed for a PS1 game, but sometimes the colors are a bit too dark to see entrances and exits. The music is well done but suffers from the digital instrumentation used. I love that there are different battle themes, mostly reserved for bosses though. SaGa Frontier has a great amount of replayability because of all the different ways one can form their party and develop the characters’ abilities. This is one game that deserves to be played and not overshadowed by other, more popular ones. I give this game a “play it” out of “right now”.

Developer: Squaresoft

Year of Release: 1997

Country of Origin: Japan

Platforms: PS1