I think this is one of the most underrated games on the PS, with games like Vagrant Story and FF Tactics coming in close behind (for those of you who may be newer to the scene, im not going crazy... there was an FF Tactics for the PS, and it was far better than its Game Boy Advance sibling). SaGa Frontier 2 features some of the most amazing graphics i have seen in a game... not real to life graphics, fantasy graphics. It is, after all, a fantasy RPG. The hand-painted watercolor backgrounds give the game a really nice feel, along with classic sprites. The Battle System was innovative and, for its time, pretty interactive, allowing you to slot and create combos which could then form into powerful moves. The idea of a storyline spanning across generations had many potential fans tossing this game aside... but to play through an era is really thrilling. After all, thats life... we live, we die, our kids live, they die, but in the end its all intertwined. Gustave, one main character, has a storyline which is primarily based in world politics and offers a view of the head players of society, while the "Knights Family" storyline allows you to see how the civilians are affected by the changing times. The jazzy beats were composed by a man named Masashi Hamauzu... back then, it was only his second work, but Square-Enix fans will know his name: he's one of a few composers slotted to take Uematsu's spot. In fact, Hamauzu composed the soundtrack for the new game Dirge of Cerberus.
People who say this game is "crap" or "not worth playing" dont know a good storyline. This game gripped me so intensly that I found myself wasting away in a small room for days on end playing it. You're probably thinking "oh, typical gamer", but im actually not that big of a game player, reserving my interests for RPGs. My typical play time for an RPG like this would be a month, or at least a few weeks... and I tore through it in about 5 days, I just couldn't put it down. I had to know what would happen next to the characters i had, essentially, lived with. It was like a really good interactive book.
I know many players won't have the same enthusiasm for this game that I did... I will admit here and now that many of my friends just plain dont like it, so i appologize in advance if this review leads you astray. But im a die-hard Squaresoft fan, and this is by far one of my favorites, rivaling games like Chrono Cross, Vagrant Story, and yes, even the FF series.
My advice to everyone reading this review? This game has been out for nearly a decade. Go find it in some "used" or "pre-played" bin and give it a play through. Despite my RPG fandom, it is one of only Five RPG games i have played more than once, and the only one i've played through ten times. Whenever I know im not going anywhere for a while, i pull it out and play through a few stages. At the very least, its a classic. Give it a whirl.
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