SaGa Frontier 2
Encyclopedia
is a role-playing video game
developed by Square
for the PlayStation. It is the eighth original game in their SaGa series. Initially released in Japan in April 1999, an English version was made available in North America in January 2000 by Square Electronic Arts and in the PAL region the following March by Square. Development for the title was headed by series creator Akitoshi Kawazu
, with music by Masashi Hamauzu
. The game features an art style unique to the series at the time it was released, utilizing hand-painted watercolor backdrops and characters to give the game a storybook feel. Like other SaGa games, gameplay is largely non-linear, giving the player multiple paths to follow in order to complete the game.
Set in the fictional world of Sandail, the game's plot, as well a location and character names, draw heavily from medieval Germanic
influence. The game's plot is divided into two separate stories, with the player given the option to control either Gustave XIII, an exiled would-be heir on a quest to reclaim his throne, or William Knights, a young man investigating the death of his parents, with both scenarios eventually intertwining in a larger plot involving the fate of the world. SaGa Frontier 2 was met with mostly positive reviews, with the Japanese version receiving three re-issues in June 2000, March 2002, and July 2006 respectively.
SaGa Frontier 2 is a console role-playing game featuring two-dimensional character sprites on hand-drawn backgrounds. Players advance through the game by completing story-based missions and interacting with non-player characters to move the plot forward. At the start of the game, the player is given the option of assuming the role of one of two heroes, each with their own individual stories and objectives. Like previous titles in the SaGa series, the game's plot progresses in a mostly non-linear fashion, with a heavier emphasis on exploration and battling than adhering strictly to the narrative. While the player is restricted by the basic flow of the story, they are free to travel to many parts of the game world whenever they choose, and must transverse harsh dungeon environments and defeat enemies to affect their current place in the story.
Battles in SaGa Frontier 2 utilize a turn-based
approach where the player must input specific commands for each character at the beginning of each combat round, with each action taking place in accordance with a character's speed rating. In any given round, player may choose to attack an enemy with an equipped weapon, as well as use magic spells to cause harm to their opponent or aid their allies. By continually attacking an enemy with weapons, characters randomly learn special weapon skills that can deal more damage, as well as combine with other party member's attack to form combo attacks. Combat scenarios are divided into three separate types, with are either selectable by the player or dictated automatically by the plot - Duel, which allows one-on-one combat; Team, where up to four characters may take part against an entire enemy group; or Strategic, which can contain a large number of characters in a strategy
-like scenario. Each character may equip up to two different kinds of weapons, and may become more specialized in a particular field of combat by assigning them "roles", which increase their proficiency with certain weapon and spell combinations as well as give them additional abilities. By winning battles, characters may increase their statistics based on their actions in combat, thus becoming more powerful.
Gustave XIII is the former prince of Thermes, and successor to the throne of Gustave XII. He is exiled by his father when, at the age of 7, he fails the Firebrand Ceremony due to an inability to ignite a sword through manifestation of his Anima. His mother, Queen Sophie, unsuccessfully tries to prevent Gustave XIII's banishment. She and Gustave XIII are banished from the castle by Gustave XII and are forced to live in the slums of Thermes, and are forbidden to leave for Nohl.
Master Cielmer asks Gustave XII for permission to leave the King's Employ and to depart Thermes. His request is granted. Cielmer uses this opportunity to sneak Gustav XIII and the Queen to Gruegel. Gustave will set neither foot nor sights on Thermes, Finney, or Merchmin for another 20 years. Shortly after the death of his mother and his conquering Wide, Gustave hears of the death of his father and heads to the Finney kingdom to take the throne. He gives the throne to his brother Phillipe. Gustave dies at the age of 49 in one of his forts.
The secondary playable storyline in the game is that of Wil Knights, and his journey to learn the secrets of the soul-stealing entity known as 'The Egg'. Wil's story spans three generations of his family, and is intertwined within the storyline of Gustave XIII.
claimed the game would be taking a stylistic departure from the original SaGa Frontier
released one year earlier, as well as confirming the title's release for spring 1999. A representative from the company stated that they would be abandoning the CG
full-motion videos and computer-style graphics of the previous title to focus on a more traditional, hand-drawn look. The game's art style was achieved by using hand-drawn and painted artwork produced on a canvas that would be scanned and digitized to produce the game's backgrounds and character sprites. Many of the game's towns, locations, and characters draw heavily from medieval Germanic
influence, with much of the story taking place within a fictional time-frame similar to the 13th century. New features not seen in the previous SaGa Frontier title include compatibility with the PlayStation's DualShock
analog controller and PocketStation
peripheral device for accessing additional content. Series creator Akitoshi Kawazu
served as project director, with the game's promotional character art drawn by Tomomi Kobayashi, who had previously contributed artwork for SaGa Frontier and the Romancing SaGa games.
The North American version was announced at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles by Square. In January 2000, the game was released in that region by Square Electronic Arts, and was made available in the PAL region
the following March. A promotional movie for SaGa Frontier 2 was included on the SquareSoft 2000 Collector's CD Vol. 3, which was packaged with the initial North American release of Vagrant Story
.
served as composer for most of the previous SaGa games, the music for SaGa Frontier 2 was written by series newcomer Masashi Hamauzu
, who had previously provided the soundtrack for Square's Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon two years earlier. SaGa Frontier 2s music was recorded at Sunrise Studio
in Tokyo, and on April 21, 1999, Square released the three-disc SaGa Frontier II Original Soundtrack in Japan courtesy of publisher DigiCube
. The soundtrack features German
track names to keep with the game's eastern European theme, and was popular enough to be re-issued on the Square Enix Music label in February 2006. In July 1999, an album called Piano Pieces "SF2" was released featuring piano renditions of music from the game, featuring arrangements from Hamauzu himself along with Naoko Endo, Daisuke Hara, Mikiko Saiki, Daisuke Karasuda, and Michiko Minakata.
gave the game a high 35 out of 40. Like SaGa Frontier
, the game has been re-released several times over the years, once in 2000 as part of the Square Millennium Collection, again in 2002 as part of the PSOne Books
best-seller range, and again in 2004 as a part of Square Enix's Ultimate Hits
line.
The game received mostly positive reviews upon its release in North America and the PAL region in 2000. GameSpot
praised the game's art design in a time when three-dimensional computer graphics were becoming more prominent, stating "[t]he title's relaxed and flowing tones are a pleasant breeze of creativity when compared with most titles' CG, polygons, and pixel-perfect graphics. The unique presentation is SaGa Frontier 2's greatest strength, triumphantly stating: There is still a place for two-dimensional graphics." However, the website felt that the game may alienate fans of the original SaGa Frontier
for taking too many liberties with gameplay and style, and that while players were still free to explore scenarios at their own pace, the game's story itself was more linear than the average SaGa title. SaGa Frontier 2s graphics were also praised by IGN
who called the game "beautiful" with a "romantic soundtrack that is of the utmost quality. But it isn't too memorable." IGN's biggest problem with the title was its low replay value and weak presentation, which the website felt didn't take full advantage of the PlayStation's CD format by including an opening movie or character voices, ultimately calling it a "slightly above average game". GamePro
magazine called attention to the game's "well organized" menu system and responsive control which took advantage of the PlayStation's DualShock analog control sticks, as well as "a solid story that is sure to please role-players and strategy fans alike." The game maintains a 74% average score from aggregate review website GameRankings based on 26 reviews.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
developed by Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
for the PlayStation. It is the eighth original game in their SaGa series. Initially released in Japan in April 1999, an English version was made available in North America in January 2000 by Square Electronic Arts and in the PAL region the following March by Square. Development for the title was headed by series creator Akitoshi Kawazu
Akitoshi Kawazu
is a Japanese game producer who was born in Kumamoto Prefecture. He studied ceramics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Kawazu joined Square in 1985...
, with music by Masashi Hamauzu
Masashi Hamauzu
is a Japanese video game composer who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010. He is best known for his work on the Final Fantasy and SaGa series. Born into a musical family in Germany, Hamauzu was raised in Japan...
. The game features an art style unique to the series at the time it was released, utilizing hand-painted watercolor backdrops and characters to give the game a storybook feel. Like other SaGa games, gameplay is largely non-linear, giving the player multiple paths to follow in order to complete the game.
Set in the fictional world of Sandail, the game's plot, as well a location and character names, draw heavily from medieval Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
influence. The game's plot is divided into two separate stories, with the player given the option to control either Gustave XIII, an exiled would-be heir on a quest to reclaim his throne, or William Knights, a young man investigating the death of his parents, with both scenarios eventually intertwining in a larger plot involving the fate of the world. SaGa Frontier 2 was met with mostly positive reviews, with the Japanese version receiving three re-issues in June 2000, March 2002, and July 2006 respectively.
Gameplay
Battles in SaGa Frontier 2 utilize a turn-based
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
approach where the player must input specific commands for each character at the beginning of each combat round, with each action taking place in accordance with a character's speed rating. In any given round, player may choose to attack an enemy with an equipped weapon, as well as use magic spells to cause harm to their opponent or aid their allies. By continually attacking an enemy with weapons, characters randomly learn special weapon skills that can deal more damage, as well as combine with other party member's attack to form combo attacks. Combat scenarios are divided into three separate types, with are either selectable by the player or dictated automatically by the plot - Duel, which allows one-on-one combat; Team, where up to four characters may take part against an entire enemy group; or Strategic, which can contain a large number of characters in a strategy
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
-like scenario. Each character may equip up to two different kinds of weapons, and may become more specialized in a particular field of combat by assigning them "roles", which increase their proficiency with certain weapon and spell combinations as well as give them additional abilities. By winning battles, characters may increase their statistics based on their actions in combat, thus becoming more powerful.
Plot
SaGa Frontier 2 has two separate storylines: The history of Gustave XIII of Finney (AKA Gustave the Steel), and the Knights family. The game takes place in the land of Sandail, roughly in the years 1200-1300.Gustave XIII is the former prince of Thermes, and successor to the throne of Gustave XII. He is exiled by his father when, at the age of 7, he fails the Firebrand Ceremony due to an inability to ignite a sword through manifestation of his Anima. His mother, Queen Sophie, unsuccessfully tries to prevent Gustave XIII's banishment. She and Gustave XIII are banished from the castle by Gustave XII and are forced to live in the slums of Thermes, and are forbidden to leave for Nohl.
Master Cielmer asks Gustave XII for permission to leave the King's Employ and to depart Thermes. His request is granted. Cielmer uses this opportunity to sneak Gustav XIII and the Queen to Gruegel. Gustave will set neither foot nor sights on Thermes, Finney, or Merchmin for another 20 years. Shortly after the death of his mother and his conquering Wide, Gustave hears of the death of his father and heads to the Finney kingdom to take the throne. He gives the throne to his brother Phillipe. Gustave dies at the age of 49 in one of his forts.
The secondary playable storyline in the game is that of Wil Knights, and his journey to learn the secrets of the soul-stealing entity known as 'The Egg'. Wil's story spans three generations of his family, and is intertwined within the storyline of Gustave XIII.
Development
SaGa Frontier 2 was first announced in a September 1998 issue of Japanese The PlayStation magazine, where SquareSquare Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
claimed the game would be taking a stylistic departure from the original SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier
is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the SaGa series and the first to be released on the PlayStation...
released one year earlier, as well as confirming the title's release for spring 1999. A representative from the company stated that they would be abandoning the CG
CG
CG, Cg or cg may stand for:*Airlines PNG IATA code*Categorial grammar*Constraint grammar*Carnival Games, a video game for Wii and Nintendo DS*Center of gravity*Centigram , a unit of mass in the metric system...
full-motion videos and computer-style graphics of the previous title to focus on a more traditional, hand-drawn look. The game's art style was achieved by using hand-drawn and painted artwork produced on a canvas that would be scanned and digitized to produce the game's backgrounds and character sprites. Many of the game's towns, locations, and characters draw heavily from medieval Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
influence, with much of the story taking place within a fictional time-frame similar to the 13th century. New features not seen in the previous SaGa Frontier title include compatibility with the PlayStation's DualShock
DualShock
The DualShock is a line of vibration-feedback gamepads by Sony for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The DualShock was introduced in Japan in late 1997, and launched in the North American market in May 1998...
analog controller and PocketStation
PocketStation
The is a peripheral by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation home video game console. Categorized by Sony as a miniature personal digital assistant, the device features a monochrome liquid crystal display , infrared communication capability, a real-time clock, built-in flash memory, and...
peripheral device for accessing additional content. Series creator Akitoshi Kawazu
Akitoshi Kawazu
is a Japanese game producer who was born in Kumamoto Prefecture. He studied ceramics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Kawazu joined Square in 1985...
served as project director, with the game's promotional character art drawn by Tomomi Kobayashi, who had previously contributed artwork for SaGa Frontier and the Romancing SaGa games.
The North American version was announced at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles by Square. In January 2000, the game was released in that region by Square Electronic Arts, and was made available in the PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
the following March. A promotional movie for SaGa Frontier 2 was included on the SquareSoft 2000 Collector's CD Vol. 3, which was packaged with the initial North American release of Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story
is a Japanese-developed console role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. The game was released in 2000, and has been re-released through the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles eleven years later...
.
Audio
While Kenji ItoKenji Ito
, also known by the nickname , is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the Mana and SaGa series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged music for over 15 other albums, concerts, and plays...
served as composer for most of the previous SaGa games, the music for SaGa Frontier 2 was written by series newcomer Masashi Hamauzu
Masashi Hamauzu
is a Japanese video game composer who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010. He is best known for his work on the Final Fantasy and SaGa series. Born into a musical family in Germany, Hamauzu was raised in Japan...
, who had previously provided the soundtrack for Square's Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon two years earlier. SaGa Frontier 2s music was recorded at Sunrise Studio
Sunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
in Tokyo, and on April 21, 1999, Square released the three-disc SaGa Frontier II Original Soundtrack in Japan courtesy of publisher DigiCube
DigiCube
DigiCube Co., Ltd. was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of DigiCube was to market and distribute Square products, most notably video games and related merchandise, including toys,...
. The soundtrack features German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
track names to keep with the game's eastern European theme, and was popular enough to be re-issued on the Square Enix Music label in February 2006. In July 1999, an album called Piano Pieces "SF2" was released featuring piano renditions of music from the game, featuring arrangements from Hamauzu himself along with Naoko Endo, Daisuke Hara, Mikiko Saiki, Daisuke Karasuda, and Michiko Minakata.
Reception
SaGa Frontier 2 has sold over 675,000 copies in Japan as of December 2004. FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
gave the game a high 35 out of 40. Like SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier
is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the SaGa series and the first to be released on the PlayStation...
, the game has been re-released several times over the years, once in 2000 as part of the Square Millennium Collection, again in 2002 as part of the PSOne Books
The Best range
The Best is a Sony PlayStation budget range in Japan and parts of Asia. For the PlayStation, The Best was followed by PSone Books when the PSone was released in 2000...
best-seller range, and again in 2004 as a part of Square Enix's Ultimate Hits
Ultimate Hits
The Japanese video game company Square Enix publishes budget range titles under three labels: , "Legendary Hits", and "Eternal Hits".- Ultimate Hits :...
line.
The game received mostly positive reviews upon its release in North America and the PAL region in 2000. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
praised the game's art design in a time when three-dimensional computer graphics were becoming more prominent, stating "[t]he title's relaxed and flowing tones are a pleasant breeze of creativity when compared with most titles' CG, polygons, and pixel-perfect graphics. The unique presentation is SaGa Frontier 2's greatest strength, triumphantly stating: There is still a place for two-dimensional graphics." However, the website felt that the game may alienate fans of the original SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier
is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the SaGa series and the first to be released on the PlayStation...
for taking too many liberties with gameplay and style, and that while players were still free to explore scenarios at their own pace, the game's story itself was more linear than the average SaGa title. SaGa Frontier 2s graphics were also praised by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
who called the game "beautiful" with a "romantic soundtrack that is of the utmost quality. But it isn't too memorable." IGN's biggest problem with the title was its low replay value and weak presentation, which the website felt didn't take full advantage of the PlayStation's CD format by including an opening movie or character voices, ultimately calling it a "slightly above average game". GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
magazine called attention to the game's "well organized" menu system and responsive control which took advantage of the PlayStation's DualShock analog control sticks, as well as "a solid story that is sure to please role-players and strategy fans alike." The game maintains a 74% average score from aggregate review website GameRankings based on 26 reviews.