Romancing SaGa 2 Remake (Multiple, 2024), Part 1 - The Lion and the Sun

 

This is a really, really good remake. Wow. I think it flew under the radar to an extent. I really enjoyed playing the original version of this game and it's obscure enough that I'm surprised to see it remade. This is a bit of a hidden gem in the Squaresoft library, and the original RS2 is probably the best out of all the SaGa games outside of maybe SaGa Frontier. This series is very spotty, very hit-or-miss. Looking forward to seeing if this remake surges out ahead of Frontier to become the new SaGa best-in-series.

Rather than being HD-2D, they gave this one a full 3D makeover. It's different from most 3D remakes though, with a very distinct visual style that prioritizes light effects and really nice environments over framerate. On Switch you're stuck at 30 FPS or so, but damn, the visuals in this game sure do have a lot of personality regardless. I tried the PS5 version and that's at 60 FPS, presumably Switch 2 is also pulling that off. The visuals are so distinctive and classy that I didn't even particularly mind when it was 30. Anyway, I'm not going to cover this game for real until/unless I wrap up the SaGa series, but I'm down to check out the demo now and I might as well post it rather than leaving it for later.

Final Fantasy Legend 3, Finale - Salida Del Sol

 

The SaGa Trilogy roars to an end. The last stop in Pureland is the Mountaintop of the Giants ice land in the north, which consists of a few small dungeons and one big dungeon. The small ones are generally unnecessary and won't have anything you need at this point, outside of this eastern dungeon, which contains the last upgrades for the Talon. This will let me get to Mt. Goht, home of Xagor.

Final Fantasy Legend 3, Part 6 - Masamune Okazaki

 

Today, I go after the remaining Mystic Swords, the big super-weapons of FFL3. Also I'm going to get into the origins of these weapons, since SaGa of course is going to draw on mythology.

Final Fantasy Legend 3, Part 5 - Meltwater Pulse 1A

 

Under the iron stare of Mr. S, our motley crew heroes arrive in Pureland. So far, it doesn't seem so pure. The people here have been petrified by a compelling unknown force, and vicious mummified cats are roving the lawless landscape.

Final Fantasy Legend 3, Part 4 - The First Bodhisattva

 

Today on FFL3: The Future. There isn't much left here because the Water Entity has engulfed most of the already-tiny overworld.

Final Fantasy Legend 3, Part 3 - Ashura's Last Stand

Today on FFL3: Ashura returns! Again! This guy really is the recurring bad guy for the whole trilogy. However, here it's more of a cameo appearance, like they dragged him out because they needed a recognizable face, and ended up with a bit of a hollow character. Like Cell Max from the one Dragonball movie I didn't review on here. I should get on that.

Final Fantasy Legend 3, Part 2 - Taking Shape

 

Whoa, is that a playground slide? Pretty cool to see a town in a retro RPG have something out of the ordinary like this. You can even go up and slide down it yourself. While the world design/dungeons/combat/classes in this game aren't measuring up to the previous one, the amount of detail in towns and other maps are way beyond it.

Final Fantasy Legend 3 (Game Boy, 1993)

 

SaGa 3 is upon us. This game was made by an entirely different team from the first two. While the SaGa1+2 team graduated to the SNES to make Romancing SaGa, a new and less-experienced team was brought in to do SaGa 3. That team ended up only making two games: This one and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.

Looking at the box art here, an 80 page manual is pretty intense for a Game Boy game. I wish I had it. This was the last game I ever bought/played on the original Game Boy before putting it to rest. I think I got the reprint of it because I don't remember it having an 80-page manual.

Most of what I remember about this game is squinting to try and see it on the original Game Boy, and the very weird-ass enemy groupings. I really wasn't a fan of this as a kid, so I'm expecting to like it a lot more by default just playing it on a nice screen. Finally, FFL3 gets a fair shot.

What? There was no DK post here earlier. People are drinking too much Cider.

Final Fantasy Legend 2, Finale - Apollo's Creed

 

This is it, the final segment of FFL2. With Apollo stealing almost all of the Magi, I have to find the secret 78th Magi and take on the Center of the World.

Final Fantasy Legend 2, Part 5 - Odin Sphere

 

The next world...is just this one cave. It has all of one Magi to get and then it's off to the next world. However, there's a lot more to it than that. This place is a sprawling optional dungeon that has a bunch of things crucial to beating the game.

Final Fantasy Legend 2, Part 4 - Those Damn Hatamotos

 

Next up is Edo World, my favorite world in FFL2. Closing in on the end fast here, and while this game is much longer than the first one, it's still shorter than I remember.

Final Fantasy Legend 2, Part 3 - Venus de Milo

 

Hey! Don't talk about Richie that way! Only I can talk about Richie that way!

Today on FFL2: I take on one of the New God pantheon, Venus. I already have a Venus though. Mina is right here on the team. This is going to get confusing. At least unlike Aphrodite of Melos, Mina has all of her arms.

Final Fantasy Legend 2, Part 2 - Ashura's Wrath

 

Ashura? I thought we defeated that guy in the previous game? Well, since the games aren't connected, this is just...a different Ashura. Or maybe not, who knows. Either way, Ashura is like the cock-a-roach.

Final Fantasy Legend 2 (Game Boy, 1991)

 

SaGa 2 as it is known in Japan is probably my favorite Game Boy RPG overall. This gorgeous box cover is essentially a color reverse of Final Fantasy IV's SNES box. It's simple, effective, and leaps off the shelf. I don't think I ever saw this in stores as a kid, and eventually had to emulate it circa 2000. Mostly during a move where I was staying in a motel for a week and played this alongside finishing Lufia.

I don't know if it's actually the best RPG on the Game Boy or if I've been overrating it all this time, but it's definitely one of the best SaGa games. It takes everything that made the previous game good and improves on it. Let's see if I like it less after playing it again... hopefully it doesn't show its age as much as the first one did. This is a prime candidate for "leaving the memories alone" but here we go, my second playthrough ever.

Final Fantasy Legend, Act III

 

This is it, the shocking conclusion of Final Fantasy Legend, AKA SaGa 1, as I finish remastering this and putting it in proper order.

Originally Posted April 2023

Final Fantasy Legend, Act II

After a few more generic tower floors, here's World 3 (of 4), the Sky World. It's all clouds and it's ruled by Roy Koopa Byak-ko. This was already covered, and again, remastering the posts a little bit before I continue the Legend trio.

Originally Posted April 2023

Final Fantasy Legend (Game Boy, 1989)

 

The original SaGa 1 that started it all. One of my favorite Game Boy games. Top ten for sure. It'd almost be tops for RPGs, except that the second one improves on it quite a bit. This version may not have rad Wonderswan colors, but it does make things a lot easier during the insane endgame. So it might actually be a better choice for somebody new to the series.

Revising the posts for this before I go on to FFL2.

Originally Posted December 2022

Makai Toushi SaGa - Act III

 

The climb continues with the highest reaches of the Tower of Babel. This is still a good game, but I'm feeling the age of it here in 2025. Look at how vibrant the Wonderswan Color is, though. I wish there were more things to play on this system.

Makai Toushi SaGa - Act II

 

Next up is World 3, the Sky. Most interesting world, with the best artwork. Weird thing is that there are more world levels above the sky, including a large modern city. SaGa is weird.

Makai Toushi SaGa (Wonderswan Color, 2002)

 

Someone out there may be wondering: What is Makai Toushi SaGa? It's a colorized remake of the very first SaGa game, which we in the U.S. know as Final Fantasy Legend. Like most Wonderswan Color remakes of 8-bit classic RPGs, it's different enough from the original to check out.

WSC doesn't get enough credit, and I like it more than Game Boy Advance in terms of visuals and sound. Everything is sharper and smoother and the contrast is better. Also the system was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory which is a huge pedigree. The problem is that the West didn't get this system at all, so it was nothing more than a blip on most people's radar here.

UNTIL NOW.

...no, it'll still be a blip. I'm just some guy.