Romancing SaGa (PS2) Preview

[RainOfTerror]

Visit the vast world of Mardias in Square-Enix's Romancing SaGa. Select from one of eight playable main characters to follow through a series of amazing adventures, with the outcomes of your decision forever altering the future of Mardias. Fully customize your characters in battle with proficiencies, multi-class training, and purchasable skills and spells. Guide a party of up to five characters in battle, inviting and dismissing new warriors as you see fit. WorthPlaying (http://www.worthplaying.com) had a chance to get some hands on time with a recent build, here is a snip :

Graphically, Romancing SaGa is a beautiful game. While the poly counts are nothing to boast about, characters have expressive faces, the attack animations are beautiful, and the world itself looks fantastic. There are no traditional cut-scenes in Romancing SaGa, with story sequences instead using some paint-like shading techniques to give the impression of viewing a moving comic book. The game's score is outstanding, mostly consisting of improved arrangements of the original 16-bit songs. The musical style the score uses is very much in the vein of traditional video-game music, with sweeping faux-orchestral background music mixed with bouts of pure techno and new age. Check the entire Romancing SaGa preview (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=28130) over at WorthPlaying

[The Radical Cleric]

Hmmm...the characters, they seem familiar somehow...they remind me of something, but I can't quite put my finger on it....oh yeah! These:

http://www.bratzpack.com/

:D

[frederec]

I really did enjoy the two SaGa Frontier games, despite their flaws. But however curious I am to play this I keep getting turned off by the ugly, ugly character models. These screenshots are the least painful I've seen so far. But even still, the look of the characters alone is making me not want to play this until it gets cheap.

Reminds me of the Fable character designs, though even more deformed.

[Kelegacy]

I'm interested in this. The PS1 Saga games I own, but have never played (picked up dirt cheap years ago). I wanted to try Unlimited Saga but the awful reviews made me avoid it like the plague. Was it truly that horrible, for those of you who enjoy PS2 RPGs?

[Rakael]

HEED! PANTS! NOW!

Oh, thats right, go cry yourself ta sleep on your oversized pilla.

[fleedawg]

I'm interested in this. The PS1 Saga games I own, but have never played (picked up dirt cheap years ago). I wanted to try Unlimited Saga but the awful reviews made me avoid it like the plague. Was it truly that horrible, for those of you who enjoy PS2 RPGs?

Yes. Absolutely dreadful and virtually unplayable. I'm the type of gamer that can always find a silver lining. Sadly, the only silver lining for Unlimited Saga was the purty graphics. They don't save it from the suckage of everything else.

I'm looking forward to this one though, so hopefully it's better.

[Tricky Thumb]

Also in Unlimited Saga they had "sketch animation".

For those not in the know, Sketch Animation = crappy 2D framerates.

[AboveAvgCharles]

Hmmm...the characters, they seem familiar somehow...they remind me of something, but I can't quite put my finger on it....oh yeah! These:

http://www.bratzpack.com/

:D

Oh jesus, now I'll never be able to look at this game again without tasting bile in the back of my throat.

THANKS A TON! :eek: ;)

[Tricky Thumb]

I didn't even click that damn link, my little sister from hell used to own those twisted, deformed toys.

Their eyes... they... they're looking into meeeeee.

[Zeal]

I imported it. Actually pretty good. The American version should be interesting to play through.

[Rommel]

This is me begging you all - stop buying SaGa games. They are each worse than the last, with the last one being the worst game of the time. They skirt under this issue with different looks to match their nonconnectivity and reinventions, but this series has produced the worst games in the company's history. Steer clear.

[Kelegacy]

This is me begging you all - stop buying SaGa games. They are each worse than the last, with the last one being the worst game of the time. They skirt under this issue with different looks to match their nonconnectivity and reinventions, but this series has produced the worst games in the company's history. Steer clear.

I agree about them getting progressively worse. However, it is noteworthy to point out that the SaGa games made Square famous. Not Final Fantasy like here in the states. In Japan, SaGa put Square on the map.

[gojira]

Hmmm...the characters, they seem familiar somehow...they remind me of something, but I can't quite put my finger on it....oh yeah! These:

http://www.bratzpack.com/

:D

How the hell is it that you know about stuff like this, anyway? ;)

[nein89]

This is me begging you all - stop buying SaGa games.

I'm sorry, I can't do that. I mean, you're right of course, but I love them anyway. If it's any consolation, I'll wait until it hits $10 about a week from release.

[Achilles]

I never wondered what it would be like if Halflings made video games, but now I know. I must admit I liked the SaGa’s I played, but not enough to ever finish one. Usually it’s a story told about several characters and I inevitably get to one I don’t like and stop playing.

[dr_wily]

dear god, ive waited 10 years to play this game..
i still remember the nintendo power with a couple screens of this and FF5 sometime after FF2 (4) came out.

I waited...
and waited..
sad sad times..