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Discussion SaGa games on the Switch; where is best to start?

big lantern ghost

big lantern ghost

cantstandya
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I was hoping some of Famiboards’ SaGa Freaks could help me out. I know literally nothing about this series, to the extent that I think it’d be really fun to break into the games without doing much research and preparing to be surprised! Which is the best — or your favourite, anyway — SaGa game, and why? If I’m not mistaken, these are the ones on Switch:

  • Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song
  • Romancing SaGa 2
  • Romancing SaGa 3
  • SaGa Frontier Remastered
  • SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions

Which of those would be best to start with? The obvious answer would be the first one released, but I don’t want to play anything too punishing or grindy. I wouldn’t recommend the first Final Fantasy to a newcomer, after all!

The whole series is on sale now, so there’s no time like the present to get on board. Help me out, Fami!
 
There’s also Collection of SaGa, which is the original GB trilogy, and the Last Remnant, which some would tell you is basically a SaGa game under a different name.
 
MSnap said:
There’s also Collection of SaGa, which is the original GB trilogy, and the Last Remnant, which some would tell you is basically a SaGa game under a different name.
Click to expand...
Dang man. That's a lotta SaGa. Does that mean every title in the series is available on Switch?! That'd make me feel even more compelled to get started with the series.
 
I know we’re missing Frontier 2, but that’s probably only a matter of time. I still need to get started on the series myself, but I keep buying them.

(I screwed up the reply and don’t know how to fix it lol.)
 
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For newcomers, I would say go for Romancing SaGa 3 or SaGa Scarlet Grace.

Scarlet Grace is the most recent and although it is still a Saga game, it is more modern in its gameplay choices and mechanics with a lot of tutorials and it has a banger of a battle system, one of the best in the genre.
Romancing Saga 3 is the best of the series for me, the easiest too compared to Romancing Saga 1 and 2, but it has so many qualities between the beautiful graphics, multiple routes and characters, the music, a better combat system than Romancing Saga 2 and I could continue.

It is interesting to know that now with the remaster of SaGa Frontier 1 they have added a HELP menu which explains a lot of hidden mechanics of the Saga series. So it's a great way to start the series too. The game has a better plot, different "universes" ( Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Modern era ). To me it's the best of the list when it comes to characters, plots and dialogues. But it required you to play all the characters' stories to experience the whole game.

Finally, the series is about freedom of choice : in the way you play, in the way you make your own story, I'd say Romancing Saga 3 is the best when it comes to that.
 
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Seconding Frontier. I got further into that than I did with Romancing 2 and 3. Still want to go back but Frontier has some characters that are very straightforward to play.
 
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Frontier is very easy to pick up and play, with some really cool settings and vibes that gives a lot of nostalgic feelings from games of that era (plus the artwork on the loading screens are incredibly good).

Scarlet Grace is a masterpiece, but very difficult, that's the one to work towards. The Last Remnant is one of the best JRPGs of its era (360/PS3), tbh.
 
Also if you bounce off the series mechanically, just remember that you can easily purchase / stream the OSTs. Ito and Hamauzu pushed out some excellent bangers with this series. And Uematsu’s contributions in the early days are good too.
 
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I can mostly give some un-recommendations. The first game (SaGa/FF Legend) was not too troublesome. But both SaGa 2 and Romancing SaGa 2 have some weird systems to deal with in how characters gain stats as well as how enemies get more powerful. Of course weird systems is kind of a SaGa thing, but doesn't make them easy to walk into.
 
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For a first time player, I would say SaGa Scaret Grace. It’s a little more streamlined, but it’s still a SaGa game through and through and I would definitely recommend that one first. Then Frontier, 2, and lastly 3. That’s a good order for being able to understand some of the more obtuse mechanics before moving on to the older, and harder games in the series.
 
I personally think SaGa Frontier would be the best place for a newcomer to start. While still "weird" for an RPG, it's recognizable enough to not be too off-putting for someone who's new to the series.

I loved SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions to death and consider it one of my favorite games (along w/ SaGa Frontier, to be honest), but I also think it's probably less accessible for newcomers than Frontier.

I feel like Romancing SaGa 2 and 3 are quite a bit more archaic than Frontier and Grace and have a hard time recommending them to most folks, period. They're beautiful and interesting, but also clunky and kind of unforgiving, based on my experiences with them.

I can't say much about the GB SaGas at the moment, sadly. It's been ages since I've played 1 or 2, and I've never played 3. I loved both SaGa 1 and 2 back in the day, but I had different tastes back then and I'm not sure I'd still love them if I replayed them now.
 
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Thanks for that. Well sounds like scarlet grace or frontier is the best place to start. 2 being generational was interesting but probably beyond my skill level. Got reinterested in the series due to hearing a track from Minstrel tale, but sounds like it’s not a place to start.

As for whether I start with frontier or grace, I guess I’ll just see which goes on sale first
 
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Huh was checking my stuff and I randomly have a copy of unlimited saga… don’t think it’s a good place to start the series these days tho from what I’ve heard(even if I did it on my series). Plus not on switch
 
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