Not fun so far

[welly321]

This game is very disappointing so far. The battle system and character development are the only decent bits. The rest of the game is just terrible... Interaction with NPCs, exploring (if you can even call it that), story, quests, world map(regions are basically just linked together with a fricken menu)...it’s all so bad and reminiscent of a really low budget game. Why does this game seem to have so many fans?

[Paladin]

Originally posted by welly321:

This game is very disappointing so far. The battle system and character development are the only decent bits. The rest of the game is just terrible... Interaction with NPCs, exploring (if you can even call it that), story, quests, world map(regions are basically just linked together with a fricken menu)...it’s all so bad and reminiscent of a really low budget game. Why does this game seem to have so many fans?

Ever heard of "different strokes for different folks"?

[Citronvand]

Originally posted by welly321:

Why does this game seem to have so many fans?

I can only speak for myself but I find the majority of jrpgs these days to be mindnumingly easy with simple mechanics, usually the only challenge comes from optional bosses. SaGa breaks that mold and isn't afraid for having complex mechanics or tough bosses whether they be optional or mandatory. Just check out the insane mechanics guide: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/198537-saga-frontier/faqs/58412

[Nicholai]

Originally posted by welly321:

This game is very disappointing so far. The battle system and character development are the only decent bits. The rest of the game is just terrible... Interaction with NPCs, exploring (if you can even call it that), story, quests, world map(regions are basically just linked together with a fricken menu)...it’s all so bad and reminiscent of a really low budget game. Why does this game seem to have so many fans?

I personally enjoy it for the character building, obtaining equipment, fighting stronger enemies and optimizing my party. The game focuses more on those attributes than anything else which is what I enjoy most. Far too many of these newer games are mind numbingly boring with stupidly large world maps that have absolutely nothing going on in it other than to spend 10 minutes traipsing across it to get to a town where no interaction is involved, and again you spend 10 minutes running around what is 5 houses with only one of those being actually worth anything in the context of your visit there. Add in little customization and development of characters as everyone is set on one singular path with this formula in almost every single new age RPG and you get a welcome change with this game.

[MilkBeard]

Amazing soundtrack: check
Interesting graphics: check
Varied gameplay systems that provide depth, replayability, and player choice: check
Quirky, interesting world, scenarios, and mechanics you continually learn about as you play, and put the pieces together: check


the game is a cult classic. Doesn't mean it's for you. But it's one of my favorite games.

[Paladin]

Originally posted by MilkBeard:

Amazing soundtrack: check
Interesting graphics: check
Varied gameplay systems that provide depth, replayability, and player choice: check
Quirky, interesting world, scenarios, and mechanics you continually learn about as you play, and put the pieces together: check


the game is a cult classic. Doesn't mean it's for you. But it's one of my favorite games.

To be fair, it sold more than 1 million copies in Japan. It's only a cult classic internationally. On it's hometown it is a bona fide classic.

[Lioness 西施]

Atmosphere, brevity, and how deep the mechanics are.

A lot of the charm of the game is in how it shows you things with no explanation.

Red's story has a really good example of this. There's a small dungeon in Shingrow that's pointless. It exists just to show you how depraved BlackX is.

There's so much subtlety underpinning what these characters say that it becomes really thought-provoking too.

There's even a plot guide on GameFAQs based on The Essence of SaGa Frontier, a book released in Japan alongside the game.

The game's RPG systems are difficult to control, and that makes them a lot of fun to learn.

So, on top of having this deceptively fleshed out world, there's a challenging, interesting set of RPG mechanics here.

[Yew Nough]

...I'm guessing you picked Red first? His story was all over the place.

How fun the game is heavily relies on who you start with. You may want to either plow through or restart with another character (preferably Asellus).

[MilkBeard]

Originally posted by Cipher:

Originally posted by MilkBeard:

Amazing soundtrack: check
Interesting graphics: check
Varied gameplay systems that provide depth, replayability, and player choice: check
Quirky, interesting world, scenarios, and mechanics you continually learn about as you play, and put the pieces together: check


the game is a cult classic. Doesn't mean it's for you. But it's one of my favorite games.

To be fair, it sold more than 1 million copies in Japan. It's only a cult classic internationally. On it's hometown it is a bona fide classic.

True, the series is more well known in Japan and people know what to expect from a game in the series. Unfortunately we've always had this problem of misunderstanding the series from gamers and media in the West.

I hope it changes now that we're getting all of them rereleased here.

[welly321]

Originally posted by Yew Nough:

...I'm guessing you picked Red first? His story was all over the place.

How fun the game is heavily relies on who you start with. You may want to either plow through or restart with another character (preferably Asellus).

Yes I did start with Red. Maybe I will give it another chance with asellus. I do really enjoy the skill system and combat.

[Horthas]

Going all mechs with T260g or all monsters with Riki I also find fun (if a bit sadistic for the latter).

[RadicalMooseLamb]

This is a childhood favorite of mine and I also made the mistake of going Red first. I always really loved red as a kid. But as an adult his story isn't as engaging and it's too linear.

The one thing i don't remember so much from my childhood that is my one issue with the game is you can tell that SaGa (since it came from a random battle system before this) was not equipped to handle or understand monsters on overworld type of encounter system.

Far to many encounters are forced on you with very little to no chance to evade them. There is no way to reduce encounters or repel enemies either. So far Romancing SaGa 3 has brought back the best memories for me. I hope after i plow through Red I can appreciate other parts of Frontier again more.

[NewMoonShadow]

Originally posted by RadicalMooseLamb:

This is a childhood favorite of mine and I also made the mistake of going Red first. I always really loved red as a kid. But as an adult his story isn't as engaging and it's too linear.

The one thing i don't remember so much from my childhood that is my one issue with the game is you can tell that SaGa (since it came from a random battle system before this) was not equipped to handle or understand monsters on overworld type of encounter system.

Far to many encounters are forced on you with very little to no chance to evade them. There is no way to reduce encounters or repel enemies either. So far Romancing SaGa 3 has brought back the best memories for me. I hope after i plow through Red I can appreciate other parts of Frontier again more.

Aside from boss monsters, pressing the L Button to "Flee" before selecting your combat team has a 100% success rate, so if you run into something you don't want to fight, you can just run.

[Lioness 西施]

I don't think the problem is Red-specific.

The game can be obtuse, and there's a lot to learn. Just have to ask for help when you need it.

It all feels super unrewarding and slow at first, but the more you learn, the more momentum you gain, and eventually every scenario moves at a breakneck pace -- and the rewards keep coming.

If it feels like the game is getting frustrating, learn something new about it, and use that information to progress the story or create stronger characters. The Essence of SaGa website is really great for the latter.

[RadicalMooseLamb]

Originally posted by NewMoonShadow:

Originally posted by RadicalMooseLamb:

This is a childhood favorite of mine and I also made the mistake of going Red first. I always really loved red as a kid. But as an adult his story isn't as engaging and it's too linear.

The one thing i don't remember so much from my childhood that is my one issue with the game is you can tell that SaGa (since it came from a random battle system before this) was not equipped to handle or understand monsters on overworld type of encounter system.

Far to many encounters are forced on you with very little to no chance to evade them. There is no way to reduce encounters or repel enemies either. So far Romancing SaGa 3 has brought back the best memories for me. I hope after i plow through Red I can appreciate other parts of Frontier again more.

Aside from boss monsters, pressing the L Button to "Flee" before selecting your combat team has a 100% success rate, so if you run into something you don't want to fight, you can just run.

Ya I haven't used that feature at all yet though because I haven't seen any info if running increases encounter rate. That could spiral and be disasterous so fast. In romancing saga running was catastrophic.

[LethalLegendK]

Originally posted by welly321:

This game is very disappointing so far. The battle system and character development are the only decent bits. The rest of the game is just terrible... Interaction with NPCs, exploring (if you can even call it that), story, quests, world map(regions are basically just linked together with a fricken menu)...it’s all so bad and reminiscent of a really low budget game. Why does this game seem to have so many fans?

It was open world JRPG before "open-world" was even a thing.