SaGa Frontier 2

SaGa Frontier 2 is a deep, intelligent RPG. Though similar in method of play to SaGa Frontier, is a much more sophisticated game.

The plot of this game [made for Sony Playstation] centers around Emperor Gustav XII and his sometimes tyranical family and political dynasty...for 5 generations.

The Gustav timeline also crosses paths with the secondary storyline of Will and his multi-generational quest for vengeance against the extremely powerful soul-stealing Egg.

One has the option of starting with either the Gustav or Will storyline, which offers differing historical events depending upon which is started first.

An in-game journal helps the player keep track of the timeline.

As for the battle system, SaGa Frontier 2 is pretty much the same as it's predecessor; but with many more options and creative magic, weapon, and ability choices per character. Weapon and magic skills are called 'arts' in SF2.

Also, there are 3 battle modes: single, team, or tactical. The single mode allows one selected character to fight the villian - great for developing new physical and weapon arts.

Team mode is the standard RPG battle mode. Up to 4 characters fight a single enemy, sometimes combining their powers at random for a deadly, massive attack. Yes...the combos are back.

Tactical mode is a planned, grid-like, military type battle mode - used in the war or campaign parts of the game.

To sum up this scant review of SaGa Frontier 2 - if you liked SaGa Frontier....you'll really enjoy this one.

Compared to most linear RPGs such as Final Fantasy, Saga Frontier 2 is a breath of fresh air. While the visuals are nowhere close to the quality you would find in other SquareEnix games, the "Generation" system is fairly unique. There are two main characters, Gustave and Wil Knights. You begin the game with Gustave as a young prince, and Wil Knights as an explorer. There is a world map covered with possible "chapters" in the story advancement that you can choose at your leisure. Instead of following a set path as you would in a traditional RPG, you can choose to play either scenario at anytime and progress through the years with one character while doing the different scenario at another time. The years progress, the characters get older, and even have children of their own whom you can control. The music is not overly suffocating, but not amazing in this game. The combo system, character roles, and amount of characters is definitely a plus for this game however. It seems totally random at first but by switching up techniques and spells, you can create massive, damaging combos on your opponents. It is also welcome to see all your enemies on the screen and choose to avoid them, rather than getting forced into random battles.

A solid game but not for everybody.