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SaGa 2 - Hihou Densetsu - Goddess Of Destiny
There is a legend that the 77 Relics make up a statue of a Goddess, and that someone who possessed them could use them to become a god. When his/her/its father disappears in his search for the Relics, a young person/mutant/robot/monster sets out on a journey to find the truth behind the Legend of the Relics.
This game is a remake of the classic Game Boy game that was released in the US as Final Fantasy Legend 2. On the scale of remakes from "small graphical changes" (Super Mario All-Stars) to "massive overhaul" (Sword of Mana), this leans much more towards the latter. While the main plot and sequence of events is basically unchanged, and most of the battle systems remain intact (to the point where some FAQs are still useful), it adds or alters a massive number of things, beyond just the look of the game.
(The first game in the series was remade some time earlier, and the changes weren't nearly as extensive. I wrote about that a few years ago.
Some of the changes made this game even more "SaGa-ish" than the original--adding in improvements (YMMV) the series saw over the last twenty years. They obviously keep the breakable weapons and randomly-increasing stats. There are hidden stats based on which equipment type you use most, which may influence special attacks. There are much better graphics overall. The humanoid characters wear crazier, more colorful mid-riff bearing costumes. There's a 3D world map with encounters visible (and avoidable) on it--and if several monsters are following you, they can link up to form much larger battles. As you play, you get a feel for how each of the map-screen enemy shapes move, and most of them are pretty avoidable, which adds an action element to the dungeon areas.
The biggest addition is the "Threads of Fate" combo system and a whole subplot to drive it, plus hidden treasures that are revealed if you use it in conjunction with sidequests. As I noted, the overall plot is unchanged, but the dialogue and characterization is greatly embellished, and many, many sidequests are added--and with sidequests you get are dependent on which Threads of Fate you've used and how your party feels about each other. They also added bonus areas, such as the "Arena of the Dead" which provides challenge boss fights; and the Muse's world, where you can give gifts to the Muses to earn more MP during battle, and in turn buy more Threads of Fate. There's a New Game Plus mode, too, so you can load down a party with the best equipment and challenge the optional megabosses.
However, you can opt to ignore all of that, and the flow of the game pretty much follows the original exactly. (If you do the sidequests, some bosses are beefed up to compensate, most notably the final boss, who gains several new forms.) If you don't go crazy over the sidequests, the game takes about as long as the original, around 15 hours depending on how much you love grinding.
There are a number of changes that make the game easier and more fun to play. The monster transformation system got a mild facelift: If you've been the monster you're about to turn into, you can preview the transformation and opt not to do it. There also seems to be a system of "inheriting" special abilities from previous forms. The menus are much more user-friendly. You can tell how an item will affect a robot's stats when you go to equip it. They added a Warehouse to store excess items in (and there are plent of those, since they added so many sidequests). Characters have to option to do nothing in battle, and you have the option to fast-forward battles.
The tradeoff to this is that there are larger dungeons with more in them. More Kawazu-style dirty tricks, including trapped chests that damage your party, trap doors that drop you back down levels of the dungeon, and monster nest rooms that seal you in until you kill everything in them. The obvious treasures in each dungeon are the same as the original, but then the "Excavate" and "Destruction" map abilities let you find additional treasures.
It's much more clear what equipping each Relic (formerly "MAGI") does. Many of them can still be equipped on characters to make them stronger, but there are also more "event" Relics that extend the functions of your minimap or give you map abilities like digging for treasure or destroying walls. From the start, event spots are marked on your mini-map, so you know where to go to advance the plot. As you collect relics, the minimap will also mark dig spots, treasures, and monsters. (Fortunately, and I spent a while very concerned about this, the benefits stay even when you lose the Relic.) The Pegasus/Angel Wings relic (which lets you teleport) is available earlier in the game, which is useful for going back and doing sidequests, though it has limited uses (like practically everything else in a SaGa game).
The fan translation is by a group called Crimson Nocturnal, and it's super-amazing. Commentary on every item and skill, no errors that I could see, and generally well-done dialogue.
Plot and worldbuilding-wise, a couple things caught my eye: This version is clearer on the nature of the worlds, as floating islands held in place by the Pillars of the Sky and the Celestial World. How Relics ended up in Ki's body remains unexplained. The hero's upset over Lyn and Father's relationship is explained somewhat better. Odin gets dialogue in Valhalla even if you've never died and met him. The Celestial Core is now slightly more than just straight lines, and Fenrir and Tianlung are ungraded to single minibosses, rather than stacks of top-tier monsters. (They can still drop the best meat.) The optional-supermonster Haniwa gets a side event talking about it. And the ending hedges whether the family goes searching for the Lost Ark or Three Imperial Treasures by not mentioning either of them.
Overall: If you enjoyed the original and have nostalgia value for it, or if you've liked the rest of the SaGa series overall, you'll like this. The remake adds to but doesn't detract from the original experience. If you hate randomized stat gains and breakable weapons, well, there's nothing I can do for you here.
This game is a remake of the classic Game Boy game that was released in the US as Final Fantasy Legend 2. On the scale of remakes from "small graphical changes" (Super Mario All-Stars) to "massive overhaul" (Sword of Mana), this leans much more towards the latter. While the main plot and sequence of events is basically unchanged, and most of the battle systems remain intact (to the point where some FAQs are still useful), it adds or alters a massive number of things, beyond just the look of the game.
(The first game in the series was remade some time earlier, and the changes weren't nearly as extensive. I wrote about that a few years ago.
Some of the changes made this game even more "SaGa-ish" than the original--adding in improvements (YMMV) the series saw over the last twenty years. They obviously keep the breakable weapons and randomly-increasing stats. There are hidden stats based on which equipment type you use most, which may influence special attacks. There are much better graphics overall. The humanoid characters wear crazier, more colorful mid-riff bearing costumes. There's a 3D world map with encounters visible (and avoidable) on it--and if several monsters are following you, they can link up to form much larger battles. As you play, you get a feel for how each of the map-screen enemy shapes move, and most of them are pretty avoidable, which adds an action element to the dungeon areas.
The biggest addition is the "Threads of Fate" combo system and a whole subplot to drive it, plus hidden treasures that are revealed if you use it in conjunction with sidequests. As I noted, the overall plot is unchanged, but the dialogue and characterization is greatly embellished, and many, many sidequests are added--and with sidequests you get are dependent on which Threads of Fate you've used and how your party feels about each other. They also added bonus areas, such as the "Arena of the Dead" which provides challenge boss fights; and the Muse's world, where you can give gifts to the Muses to earn more MP during battle, and in turn buy more Threads of Fate. There's a New Game Plus mode, too, so you can load down a party with the best equipment and challenge the optional megabosses.
However, you can opt to ignore all of that, and the flow of the game pretty much follows the original exactly. (If you do the sidequests, some bosses are beefed up to compensate, most notably the final boss, who gains several new forms.) If you don't go crazy over the sidequests, the game takes about as long as the original, around 15 hours depending on how much you love grinding.
There are a number of changes that make the game easier and more fun to play. The monster transformation system got a mild facelift: If you've been the monster you're about to turn into, you can preview the transformation and opt not to do it. There also seems to be a system of "inheriting" special abilities from previous forms. The menus are much more user-friendly. You can tell how an item will affect a robot's stats when you go to equip it. They added a Warehouse to store excess items in (and there are plent of those, since they added so many sidequests). Characters have to option to do nothing in battle, and you have the option to fast-forward battles.
The tradeoff to this is that there are larger dungeons with more in them. More Kawazu-style dirty tricks, including trapped chests that damage your party, trap doors that drop you back down levels of the dungeon, and monster nest rooms that seal you in until you kill everything in them. The obvious treasures in each dungeon are the same as the original, but then the "Excavate" and "Destruction" map abilities let you find additional treasures.
It's much more clear what equipping each Relic (formerly "MAGI") does. Many of them can still be equipped on characters to make them stronger, but there are also more "event" Relics that extend the functions of your minimap or give you map abilities like digging for treasure or destroying walls. From the start, event spots are marked on your mini-map, so you know where to go to advance the plot. As you collect relics, the minimap will also mark dig spots, treasures, and monsters. (Fortunately, and I spent a while very concerned about this, the benefits stay even when you lose the Relic.) The Pegasus/Angel Wings relic (which lets you teleport) is available earlier in the game, which is useful for going back and doing sidequests, though it has limited uses (like practically everything else in a SaGa game).
The fan translation is by a group called Crimson Nocturnal, and it's super-amazing. Commentary on every item and skill, no errors that I could see, and generally well-done dialogue.
Plot and worldbuilding-wise, a couple things caught my eye: This version is clearer on the nature of the worlds, as floating islands held in place by the Pillars of the Sky and the Celestial World. How Relics ended up in Ki's body remains unexplained. The hero's upset over Lyn and Father's relationship is explained somewhat better. Odin gets dialogue in Valhalla even if you've never died and met him. The Celestial Core is now slightly more than just straight lines, and Fenrir and Tianlung are ungraded to single minibosses, rather than stacks of top-tier monsters. (They can still drop the best meat.) The optional-supermonster Haniwa gets a side event talking about it. And the ending hedges whether the family goes searching for the Lost Ark or Three Imperial Treasures by not mentioning either of them.
Overall: If you enjoyed the original and have nostalgia value for it, or if you've liked the rest of the SaGa series overall, you'll like this. The remake adds to but doesn't detract from the original experience. If you hate randomized stat gains and breakable weapons, well, there's nothing I can do for you here.