• 1 Player

• RPG

• Vibration Function

• Analog Control

• Play Duel, Team, or Strategic Battle Modes

Most of Squaresoft's games, as of late, have focused on getting 3D graphics as clear and as detailed as possible, but "Saga Fronter 2" takes a big step back and, in doing so, makes a monstrous leap forward.

Check this - there are no polygonal graphics in "Saga Frontier 2" at all. Everything is meticulously painted, giving a very distinct feel to the entire game, as if you're watching it play out on oil paintings in front of you.

It's a look that's never been done on the Playstation before and, quite frankly, when I first heard about it, even I had my doubts if Squaresoft could pull it off - silly me, doubting the masters.

So instead of the 3D polygons of "Final Fantasy VIII," expect more of a return to those "Secret of Mana" days when everything looked lush and colorful.

Once you get past the beautiful graphics, you'll get into the meat-and-potatoes of the game, which is nearly as good as the graphics.

The idea of the original "Saga Frontier" was to give players a chance to play multiple, interlocking storylines that sounded better on paper than it was in execution. But Squaresoft's learned from it's mistakes, only presenting two main storylines this time, so as to not get the player lost in too much intrigue.

The first involves Gustave XIII, the exiled son of King Gustave XII, who was banished by his father for his inability to use magic. He and his mother move to another kingdom where they quietly live their lives until the boy starts to grow up and search for a life of adventure.

The other storyline focuses on Will, a young knight who will play an important part in the younger Gustave's life, although neither of them really know this at the start.

I don't want to give the plot away, because the storyline is often the best part of a Squaresoft game, but let it be said you won't be disappointed with it.

"Saga Frontier 2" is not a perfect game, however. It can sometimes be tough to keep track of when certain events happen and, while you can always save and know exactly what year it is, having the year accessible at the touch of a button would have been nice, especially since the game has such a heavy reliance on chronology.

The other problem is that the combat system is a little bit arcane at first. For a bit, it'll seem like things are happening by random until you start to piece things together on your own, but it still is a bit more confusing that the usual Squaresoft battle system. A few more things in the manual would have gone a long way towards easing this.

Finally, the game also tends to have long periods of plot followed by long periods of action, instead of a solid mix of the two, which means you may find yourself reading twenty minutes of dialogue before you get back to monster hunter, or doing eight hours of monster hunting before you find a plot point.

Still, I'm nitpicking at this point.

If you're finished the Final Fantasy games and are looking for a solid RPG to consume your free time, you won't go wrong with "Saga Frontier 2."

--Cliff Hicks

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:


Saga Frontier is amazing  Mar 02, 2000
SaGa frontier 2 continues the amazing SaGa series, choosing to take much of the gameplay from its super nintendo counter parts. The art is amazing (2 years in the making) and the nicest ive seen on the playstation (having chosen to bypass the prerendered backgrounds). The story is much like final fantasy tactics in that it follows the historical aspects of the story. I cannot recommend this game enough, and would like to add that if you own a pocketstation it supports that as well.

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:


Great, but tough  Mar 27, 2000
SQUARE's done it again with another beatiful and well developed RPG (beats the heck out of SG1). Graphics are great, good fight system,unique character development. Two seperate storylines make for an interesting plot. A word of warning, though...this game is TOUGH! Much harder than the FF series ever was. I really recommend you get the hint book for this one; you'll really need it to navigate the maze like areas and figure out all the combo moves. The last battle of the gustave storyline is completely impossible unless you've found the 'winning element' in the Knight storyline. Enjoy!

12 of 15 found the following review helpful:


Saga Frontier 2  Feb 29, 2000
Well, to be honest with all of you, this game is great, but not GREAT. First of all, lets talk about the good things about SF2, the graphics are extremely beautiful, I have never seen any game executed in a way like this before, also the music blends in very well with the emotional atmosphere, and the intuitive battle systems, (1 - a war simulation game type of battle, 2- your typical RPG style group battle, 3 - a one on one duel mode) Like the previous SaGa Frontier, each character will acquire new skills during a fight. Ok, now let's talk about the down side of this game, one word for the storyline,...confusing... there are times where the player will have no idea what period it is if they do not follow the game chronologically, and since you play by generations, players will have problems keeping track on who is killed, or whose son or daughter belongs to whom and so on...also the time sense is horrible, one click of a button can take you to seven years beyond, and finally the character developement isn't detailed enough... Anyway, buy this game only if you are really into Square RPGs and beautiful graphics. I personally loved this game, but it may be hard for everyone to feel the same as I did...But make sure all of you check out Vagrant Story coming out later this year!

17 of 22 found the following review helpful:


...There was no SaGa Frontier 1...  Feb 12, 2000
Now then, this game rocks! I say this because you can have three different modes of battle, standard (with party) duel (1 on 1) and strategic (like FF Tactics). If you played the first game, it NEVER EXISTED, okay? This game had beautiful, hand drawn watercolor graphics, never before seen on any platform system. 2d at its best. Also, the non-linear storyline makes this game the most valuable and replayable game worth your money! Discovering new techniques in multiple fashions is the best game. (getting the best move in the beginning is very cool.) You can change history in this game! Gustave the 13...14...15... they can die or live on as monarch, depending what decisions you make. All in all, this game outshines FF8, which was... rahter bland and not too much replay. (well, it was good, but I don't like junctioning my characters longer than the boss fight would take >.<; bleck)

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