|
Gustave Born (1220) The man who would change an era is born. 1220 Gustave is born A prince is born in the Finney Kingdom, Thermes, between Gustave XII and Sophie. When you start up Saga Frontier 2 without any game saves, it does something a little special.   It's normal up until this point. But instead of cutting to the title screen...  ...you're thrown right into it.  (Field of Battle I)    It's really the perfect opening to this game, because it lets you know exactly what you're in for. Sure, you see the battle system, but more than that...     ...the game gets you used to its way of doing things. Saga Frontier 2 is not a game that concerns itself with explanations. You can probably figure out more or less what's going on, but you won't ever know everything.    Saga Frontier 2 is a game about history, and history isn't about individual stories. It's about arcs, progressions, changes over time. That means a lot of little details get washed out, because in the greater scheme of things they don't really matter.   (After the the front and rear female soldiers attack, the camera revolves once, the screen fades and returns, and then the three helmeted soldiers at the front attack their corresponding opponent.) That lack of explanation extends to the mechanics. There are no tutorials anywhere on anything. (By the way, the attack the helmeted soldiers use here? There are no Tone Anima spears, not even dummied-out ones, so there's no usable Tone Spear attack.)   (Two more female soldiers attack their corresponding opponents.) Despite that, though, it's not a very difficult game. It's more than easy enough to bumble through, even if you don't really understand what you're doing.   (110 damage. For reference, outside of cutscene land, these soldiers should have about 120 HP.)   The game will eventually show its teeth... But only at the very end, and we're a long, long ways off from that.    I'm Einander, your host, and I know entirely too much about Saga Frontier 2. I hope you'll muddle through it all with me.    Was it a boy or a girl? He is a very healthy heir, Your Majesty! Good work, Sophie!!     (Your Majesty)   (A slow pan up a long street.)   (Silence; the music stops. Blackness. The sound of running feet. And then the abrupt, loud opening of a door--he's obviously in a hurry.)     (He walks around, picking up his son.)      (The Outside World)  Chronicle: 1220 Gustave is born A prince is born in the Finney Kingdom, Thermes, between Gustave XII and Sophie. Next (Gustave): Gustave Exiled (Gustave) Next (chronological): Gustave Exiled (Gustave) Einander fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Jan 29, 2015 |
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 00:59
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 10:45 |
|
|
Let's Play SaGa Frontier 2!  (Before the game) SaGa Frontier 2 is the eighth game in Square's SaGa series, released in 1999 for the Playstation. Ever since the fourth game, the first Romancing SaGa, the SaGa series has been known for three things: its open-ended gameplay, where the player is given a basic objective and otherwise largely left to wander; its "sparking" system for attacks and stats, where using techniques allows you to learn more of the same type, and your stats individually increase as you use them; and its status as the red-headed stepchild of Square's RPG series stable. SaGa Frontier 2 was not my first RPG--that was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, courtesy of an older family friend with incredibly good taste. It is, however, the first game I fell in love with. It is because of SaGa Frontier 2 that I love games with strange gameplay systems, and that I love games with unconventional visual styles, and that I love games with stories that are smarter than they seem. Without SaGa Frontier 2, I probably wouldn't have loved Rondo of Swords or Demon King Chronicle enough to LP them. That's not to say it doesn't have its flaws. The game is caught somewhere between typical SaGa and conventional RPG, not as free as a normal RPG but not nearly as open-ended as a typical SaGa, an approach that can frustrate both sides. The game is absurdly easy (with the exception of a piece or two of optional content) until the final scenarios of each half of the game, at which point it becomes incredibly difficult. (If you want to see if a person has beaten the game, say 'Battle of South Moundtop' and watch for a reaction.) The obscure and unexplained mechanics mean that you will miss tbe vast majority of the game's unlockable scenarios the first time around. And if you're less tolerant of mystery and unanswered questions than me, then the historical perspective of the game, more interested in arcs than individuals, can be frustrating. But I love it all the same, and I'd like to show you why. Spoiler policy and general format information: 1) No story spoilers. None at all, not even in spoiler tags. If it hasn't happened yet, don't bring it up. No exceptions, except: 1a) The game includes an event timeline. At the start of the game, this timeline is prefilled with (most of) the events of Gustave's half of the story, which make up the public history of the game. This event timeline will be printed in spoiler tags at the start of the first game update after this post. You're welcome to talk about events in that timeline, but use spoiler tags--not everyone's interested in reading ahead, and that timeline is not shy about telling you when and where and how people die. This is the only time there should be spoiler tags in non-update posts. I won't talk about Chronicle content in main story posts, so you can skip it without confusion in updates. 1b) Talking about mechanics we haven't seen yet is fine after the Wil's Departure update, except where it impacts rule 1. I'd rather you didn't say "character X has a really cool design, it's a shame they can't fight" or the like. 2) Updates will be one scenario apiece. (One update might get split into two, and one scenario has two variants and will therefore have two updates.) I'll be blowing through the first set of Gustave updates two at a time, because actual gameplay starts on update six. After Gustave 15 Years Old, updates will generally come two or three days after the last one, depending on whether it's a Gustave (story-heavy) or Knights (gameplay-heavy) update. 3) In the update posts: Normal text represents in-game text. If it's narration, I'll append "Narrator:" before it. Italics represent my comments. (Italics in parentheses are usually stage directions--"character walks off-screen," for instance.-) The italics at the top of updates are the map text for the scenario. (See The World Map and the Original and Current Chronicles for an explanation.) The spoiler tags in the very top of the updates are the Chronicle text, which is added (if not present at start of game) after completing the scenario. I'll also repost it at the end. 4) There are Tindeck music links with each update. I highly advise listening to each song at least once. There's a lot of music in this game, and outside of the battle themes, not much of it repeats. If I put "listen to this" on every track I love, I'd be highlighting 90% of the soundtrack. Seriously, give it a listen! Then buy the soundtrack off Amazon. It's three discs and totally worth it. (Nothing like putting a soundtrack CD in your car and having a victory theme come up right as you pull into the driveway.) 4a) The parentheses after are a quick general-idea translation, since all the track names are German. I'm not a native speaker myself and I'm rusty as heck, so if you know the language then feel free to correct me. If the translation is bold, then it's a new song. 5) If you think I'm not explaining something clearly, or if you have questions, say so in the thread and I'll clarify... But if it's a question about how the game works, then you should probably wait until after the Wil's Departure update, which will be the second gameplay-heavy update and the big Mechanics Talk of the game. If you have a question that requires you to break the spoiler policy, PM me (and say you PMed me in the thread--I never check the front page). Updates: --: The World Map and The Original and Current Chronicles (General) 1220: Gustave Born (Gustave) 1227: Gustave Exiled (Gustave) 1227: Departure From Homeland (Gustave) 1232: Gustave 12 Years Old (Gustave) 1233: Gustave & the Blacksmith (Gustave) 1235: Gustave 15 Years Old (Gustave) 1235: Wil's Departure (Knights) {Part 2} 1236: Desert Megalith (Knights) 1236: Reunion (Gustave) [Secret History] 1238: Infiltrate! Alexei Gang (Knights) [False] Infiltrate! Alexei Gang (Knights) [True] 1239: Showdown! Alexei (Knights) 1239: Mother's Sickbed (Gustave) Interlude 1: Vogelang (Gustave) 1240: Conquest of Wide (Gustave) 1242: Gustave and the Pirates (Gustave) [Secret History] 1244: At the Mines (Knights) 1245: Father's Sudden Death (Gustave) 1246: Beyond Grand Valley (Knights) 1247: Tycoon Wil (Knights) Interlude 2: Weissland and Laubholz (Knights) 1247: Landing (Gustave) 1248: Battle of Buckethill (Gustave) 1248: Gustave's Reunion (Gustave) 1249: Construction of Hahn Nova (Gustave) 1251: At the Mines (Knights) [Secret History] 1250-1255: The Firebrand Tragedy (Gustave) 1256: Anima Faith Fiasco (Knights + Gustave) 1257: Wil vs. Egg (Knights) 1260: Johan the Assassin (Gustave) [Secret History] 1264: The General's Memories (Gustave) [Secret History] 1269: The Southern Fort (Gustave) 1269: Gustave's Successor (Gustave) 1271: Hahn Nova in Flames (Gustave) 1275: Into the Forest (Knights) 1276: To the Monster Nest (Knights) 1277: Life Tree Island (Knights) 1280: To the Fossil Caves (Knights) 1285: To Cast a Rainbow (Knights) 1290: Return of the Egg (Knights) 1290: Misty's Plot (Knights) 1291: Deadly Battle with the Egg (Knights) 1288: Death of Cantal (Gustave) 1292: Kelvin's Last Battle (Gustave) 1300: Fake Gustave Arrives (Gustave) 1301: Edelritter (Gustave) 1305: Peace Conference (Gustave) 1305: Ginny's Departure (Knights) 1305: Ginny's Adventure (Knights) 1305: Insect Megalith (Knights) 1305: Pursuing the Egg (Knights) 1305: Battle of Hahn Nova (Knights) 1305: To Gustave's Stronghold (Knights) 1305: The Battle of South Moundtop (Knights) 1305: The Battle of South Moundtop (Gustave, Part 1) The Battle of South Moundtop (Gustave, Part 2) 1306: Into the Northern Continent (Knights) 1306: The Last Megalith (Knights) Fanart and Misc:  (Vilkacis)  (FeyerbrandX) Einander fucked around with this message at 01:27 on May 29, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 00:59
|
|
|
--: The World Map and Original and Current Chronicles: (The Outside World) If you choose New Game on a memory card with SF2 save data, you are instead brought to the World Map. Between each scenario, you are given several scenarios to choose from.  At the beginning, your only options are the first stories of each story branch, "Gustave Born" (Gustave) and "Wil's Departure" (Knights). This playthrough will be done in chronological order, switching between storylines as required. Let's look at the world map real quick. Clockwise from top right:    It's not described for some reason, but the Grand Teille is mostly forests, mountains, and old ruins.     There's one more region, but it's not revealed until you have a scenario there. Additionally, you'll notice the Chronicle option at the bottom left. Each scenario you complete adds an entry to the Chronicle, and it also contains some particularly important background information. Most of Gustave's scenarios are prefilled, since that's the "known history" of the world. Below, I'll post the original version of the Chronicle, spoiler-tagging once it gets to the point where they start to reveal Gustave's entries. Below that, I'll post the updated Chronicle as scenarios are completed and new entries unlock, also spoiler-tagged. Entries not present in the original Chronicle are in bold. Common and background:  XX,XXX years ago Birth of Mankind on Southern Continent The birth of mankind occurs on the Southern Continent, before it becomes a desert. -2000 Spell Arts are discovered in Weissland Spell Arts are discovered in Weissland. A vast migration occurs, due to a population explosion. -400 Hahn expansion begins Mankind quickly expands their power with the help of Quells. 0 The Empire is established The accumulation of Quells gives birth to a giant empire. 374 Rebellion of Nika This small rebellion sparks the beginning of the downfall of the Empire.  400 Migration to Southern Continent begins People of the Eastern Continent migrate to the S. Continent. Spell Arts expand to the S. Continent. 456 Fall of the Empire The third assault on Hahn completely destroys the Empire. 800 "Tool" invented in Southern Continent The system of producing Tools begins in Vogelang. 1000 "Tool" introduced to Eastern Continent The use of Spell Arts with Tools flourishes in the Eastern Continent.  1087 Gustave VIII, Marquis of Berth, takes over Finney Island The Finney Kingdom is born. 1218 Gustave XII and the Marquise of Nohl, Sophie weds (sic) The Finney Kingdom gains control of the Nohl Territory. 1220 Gustave is born A prince is born in the Finney Kingdom, Thermes, between Gustave XII and Sophie. 1220 William Knights is born Three days after the birth of Gustave, Henry and Catherine have a child. 1221 Kelvin is born Thomas, Count of Jade, has a son. 1222 Philippe is born The second child between Gustave XII and Sophie is born. (next page, but last non-spoiler) 1227 Marie is born The third child between Gustave XII and Sophie is born. Original Chronicle:  1227 Gustave is banished Gustave is banished from the castle after failing the Firebrand Ceremony. 1227 Gustave is exiled Gustave and Sophie take refuge in Gruegel with the help of Cielmer. 1227~32 Gustave in Gruegel Gustave lives through a rough childhood in Gruegel. 1233 Gustave relocates to Jade Gustave begins forging a steel sword after moving to Jade. 1235 Gustave uses a steel sword in battle Gustave joins up with Kelvin to rescue Flynn from the thugs.  1239 Sophie passes away Sophie, Gustave's mother, dies of illness at the age 39. (sic) 1240 Gustave takes Wide Gustave successfully captures Wide behind the back of Nebelstern. Gustave makes Wide his stronghold.  1243 Finney Kingdom unites Merchmin Gustave XII removes the Marquis of Otto and completes his unification. 1245 Marie marries Cantal, Marquis of Otto. The Finney Kingdom gains half of the Otto territory through this marriage. 1245 Gustave XII dies Gustave XII dies during his southern campaign. There are rumors of an assassination.  1247 Gustave lands on the Eastern Continent Vying for position as the heir, the two Gustaves begin their battle. 1248 Battle of Buckethill Gustave XIV loses to Gustave's steel army. 1248 Gustave enters Thermes Castle He returns home after 20 years... as its ruler. 1249 Construction of Hahn Nova begins Construction begins in the land of the ancient empire as a base to conquer the world. 1250 Philippe fails the Firebrand Ceremony Philippe, who aimed to be the king, fails at the ceremony.  1255 Philippe II is assassinated He is assasinated immediately after the ceremony. He is 7. Shocked, Philippe transforms into a dragon. This is my favorite Chronicle entry. It's just so matter-of-fact about it. 1256 Gustave assaults the Anima Followers Gustave announces the intent to eradicate the Anima Followers, Philippe's murderers.  1269 Gustave dies Gustave, the hero of his generation, dies at 49. 1270 Cantal, the Marquis of Otto, gains control of the Merchmin territory Cantal gains popularity in Merchmin through tactful manipulation. 1271 Hahn Nova is destroyed by fire Kelvin retreats from Hahn Nova because of pressure from Cantal. The city becomes a sea of flames.  1288 Cantal dies The man known as the Mephistophelian hero finally dies. 1289 Edmund, Duke of Laubholz, intervenes in the Heir War The daughter of Cantal, Nicolette, convinces Edmund to begin military intervention. 1289 King Sho of Na summons Kelvin King Sho, doubting Kelvin's intentions, summons him.  1290 Battle of Salisbury Kelvin defeats Edmund's army. 1292 Kelvin dies Kelvin, Count of Jade, is 71.  1300 First appearance of Fake Gustave Among all the imposters, the most famous fake Gustave appears. 1303 King Sho of Na dies - Peace conference begins King Sho is 74. The peace conference begins.  1305 Battle of Hahn Nova Fake Gustave's army defeats the Jade army and the Count of Jade, Charles, dies in the process. 1305 Battle of South Moundtop David, Count of Jade, commands the united armies of the feudal lords and defeats fake (sic) Gustave. 1305 Hahn Nova Treaty The very first worldwide peace treaty. (and one more blank page) Current Chronicle: (continued from spoiler tags before Original Chronicle) 1227 Gustave is banished Gustave is banished from the castle after failing the Firebrand Ceremony. 1227 Gustave is exiled Gustave and Sophie take refuge in Gruegel with the help of Cielmer. 1227~32 Gustave in Gruegel Gustave lives through a rough childhood in Gruegel. 1233 Gustave relocates to Jade Gustave begins forging a steel sword after moving to Jade. 1235 Gustave uses a steel sword in battle Gustave joins up with Kelvin to rescue Flynn from the thugs. (Next page starts here, but contains Original Chronicle spoilers; image once the page is done) 1235 Wil journeys to the Ruins of Hahn Wil discovers a Quell in the Ruins of Hahn on his first journey as a digger. 1236 Wil journeys to the Desert Megalith Wil decides to solve the mystery of the Desert Megalith but is unsuccessful. 1236 Gustave encounters Leslie once again They see each other for the first time in 4 years. 1238 Wil infiltrates Alexei's Gang Wil infiltrates the gang of Alexei, possessor of the Egg. 1239 Wil - Showdown with Alexei Wil defeats Alexei in the granite quarry. However, Aunt Nina does not survive. 1239 Sophie passes away Sophie, Gustave's mother, dies of illness at the age 39. (sic) 1240 Gustave takes Wide Gustave successfully captures Wide behind the back of Nebelstern. Gustave makes Wide his stronghold. 1243 Finney Kingdom unites Merchmin Gustave XII removes the Marquis of Otto and completes his unification. 1244 Wil undertakes a mining job Prospecting in the Svendorf Mine ends with the appearance of monsters. 1245 Marie marries Cantal, Marquis of Otto. The Finney Kingdom gains half of the Otto territory through this marriage. 1245 Gustave XII dies Gustave XII dies suddenly during his southern campaign. There are rumors of an assassination. 1246 Wil journeys beyond Grand Valley On his way to Weissland, Wil journeys south and passes through the canyons of Grand Valley. 1247 Wil journeys to the glacier Megalith Wil is referred to as Tycoon Wil, after successfully exploring the glacier Megalith. 1247 Gustave lands on the Eastern Continent Vying for position as the heir, the two Gustaves begin their battle. 1248 Battle of Buckethill Gustave XIV loses to Gustave's steel army. 1248 Gustave enters Thermes Castle He returns home after 20 years... as its ruler. 1249 Construction of Hahn Nova begins Construction begins in the land of the new empire as a base to conquer the world. 1250 Philippe fails the Firebrand Ceremony Philippe, who aimed to be the king, fails the ceremony. 1251 Svendorf Mine collapses The mine collapses, possibly due to excessive mining. Wil barely escapes with his life. 1255 Richard Knights is born Tycoon Wil's son is born. 1255 Philippe II is assassinated He is assassinated immediately after the ceremony. Shocked, Philippe transforms into a dragon. 1256 Gustave assaults the Anima Followers Gustave announces the intent to eradicate the Anima Followers, Philippe's murderers. 1256 Wil heads for the hidden base of the Anima Followers Wil looks for the Anima Faith, possessors of the Egg, but gets caught up in Gustave's assault on the Faith. 1257 Wil duels with the Egg Wil duels the Egg on the pirate ship and sinks the Egg to the bottom of the sea. 1260 Gustave encounters Johan The assassin, Johanne, encounters Gustave and becomes Johan, his bodyguard. 1264 Nebelstern dies Gustave loses one of his greatest allies. 1269 Gustave dies Gustave, the hero of his generation, dies at 49. 1270 Cantal, the Marquis of Otto, gains control of the Merchmin territory Cantal gains popularity in Merchmin through tactful manipulation. 1271 Hahn Nova is destroyed by fire Kelvin retreats from Hahn Nova because of pressure from Cantal. The city becomes a sea of flames. 1275 Eleanor explores the tower in the forest Eleanor discovers the tower in the forest. 1276 Eleanor goes to the lair of monsters Eleanor defeats the gargoyle in the lair of monsters. 1277 Rich - Encounter with the Egg Rich encounters a girl with the Egg after visiting the island of the tree of life. 1280 Rich journeys to the dungeon of fossils Rich tries to strike it rich on the Northern Continent. 1285 Rich journeys to the Water Tower Rich paints the sky with a rainbow. 1288 Cantal dies The man known as the Mephistopholean hero finally dies. 1288 Edmund, Duke of Laubholz, intervenes in the Heir War The daughter of Cantal, Nicolette, convinces Edmund to begin military intervention. 1289 King Sho of Na summons Kelvin King Sho, doubting his intentions, summons him. 1290 Battle of Salisbury Kelvin defeats Edmund's army. 1290 Rich encounters the Egg once again The young girl who possessed the egg has grown up. 1290 Rich battles the Egg in the dungeon of fossils Rich stops the Egg's plan and shows his power. 1291 Virginia Knights is born Richard Knights' daughter is born. 1291 Rich battles the Egg for the last time Rich takes his own life when the Egg almost possesses him. 1292 Kelvin dies Kelvin, Count of Jade, is 71. 1300 First appearance of Fake Gustave Among all the imposters, the most famous fake Gustave appears. 1301 Sargon, the first Edelritter Fake Gustave's loyal and powerful vassals, the Edelritter, are born. 1303 King Sho of Na dies - Peace Conference begins King Sho is 74. The peace conference begins. 1305 Ginny runs way [sic] Ginny, the granddaughter of Tycoon Wil, goes on her own adventure. 1305 Ginny's first adventure The adventure in the Northern Continent. 1305 Ginny journeys to the insect Megalith The adventure at the giant insect Megalith. OR 1305 Ginny journeys to the insect Megalith Ginny discovers traces of her father at the insect Megalith. 1305 Ginny goes to Thermes Ginny obtains information about the fake Gustave in Thermes. 1305 Battle of Hahn Nova Fake Gustave's army defeats the Jade army and the Count of Jade, Charles, dies in the process. 1305 Ginny infiltrates fake Gustave's military camp It is discovered that the mystery behind the fake Gustave is the Egg. 1305 Battle of South Moundtop David, Count of Jade, commands the united armies of the feudal lords and defeats fake Gustave. 1305 Hahn Nova Treaty The very first worldwide peace treaty. 1305 Ginny goes after the Egg Ginny chases the Egg to the star Megalith. Einander fucked around with this message at 23:52 on May 25, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 00:59
|
|
|
Awesome. I'm not sure how this LP will work but I'm excited to see. Gustav is easily one of my favorite video game character.
Shwqa fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Nov 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 01:15
|
|
|
I feel like a lot of aspects of this game make it difficult to like. But god drat do I like it. I'm glad it's finally getting an LP.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 01:15
|
|
|
Every time I've played this game, I've gotten hooked by the Gustave storyline, played until I had to do a Wil quest to continue, did one of his, then quit. Really excited to see what I missed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 01:32
|
|
|
I've never actually played any of the SaGa games, so this is going to be a first for me. The visual style is interesting, so hopefully I'll be able to follow along and see what I missed out on.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 02:08
|
|
|
Einander posted:If you want to see if a person has beaten the game, say 'Battle of South Moundtop' and watch for a reaction. I think I knew it was coming, so it was limited to a minor eye twitch and a slight sneer rather than a complete fit. I must have only looked at the chronicle near the very, very beginning of a given playthrough, since I seriously don't remember any of the synopses. I just remember it going through the pre-history and Gustave XII's reign.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 02:20
|
|
|
Unreal_One posted:Every time I've played this game, I've gotten hooked by the Gustave storyline, played until I had to do a Wil quest to continue, did one of his, then quit. Really excited to see what I missed. That's how all my attempts went.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 02:25
|
|
|
Roobanguy posted:That's how all my attempts went. Yup same here.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 02:29
|
|
|
My own attempts went all the way to what I presume was the last dungeon of the game, where I apparently didn't level up enough things, or I was missing something, or just wasn't prepared for just how hard the SaGa-style last dungeon was. It kicked my rear end, so I stopped playing. It's been years since I played this game, admittedly with some help, and I'm eager to see it's storyline again. This game did a lot of things in an interesting way -- and others not, none of them being things I can talk about without spoiling the game.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 02:32
|
|
|
I rented this game when I was a teenager, before my family had a reliable internet connection. Without much explanation of game mechanics, and without GameFAQS or other sites to explain them to me, I didn't get into it, even though I owned and enjoyed the first Saga Frontier. I never rented it again, so my memories have mostly faded. However, since then, I've gained an enjoyment for such games (owned and beaten Rondo of Swords), as well as your LPs of them (Demon King Chronicle was so good I gave it a run-through myself), so I'm looking forward to this one a lot. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 02:48
|
|
|
Oh, man. I've been waiting for this LP for so long.  I would do it myself except I'm notoriously bad at actually making LPs and also this game is incredibly draining, even if - especially if you have a guide right next to you.Rest assured, even though the game is more linear and story-based than your normal SaGa game, it's still coded like one of Kawazu's brainchildren. Which is to say, you'll find out things about the game engine that are just utterly baffling and only make sense as part of the arcane glue that holds the game engine together. (Monster tables, looking at you.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:06
|
|
|
Good old South Moundtop.  I never actually finished the game, last dungeon kicked my rear end too. That, and realizing I missed some awesome Quells because sidequests hate you.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:10
|
|
|
Are you planning on doing any animated gifs or anything? The game is much prettier than SaGa Frontier 1 (hand painted cels, if I remember the promotional bullets right, and at least one additional frame of character battle animations), and that fire spell in the intro I'd think is well worth a shot when you get to use in in battle.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:11
|
|
|
*clicks first music link in the oopening* "The file you're looking for either never existed or has been deleted." Welp. Same goes for the third link. For more music chat, prelude is basically the one-to-one translation of Vorspiel. Granted, it's French, but it's found rather widespread use in English language.  I know nothing about any SaGa game, except for having played The Last Remnant about half-way through. The sparking and esoteric game mechanics sure sound familiar from that game.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:14
|
|
|
God, I'd forgotten how gorgeous this game looks compared to its predecessor. The whole visual aesthetic is like something out of a story book. I ended up quitting during one of the Knight scenarios. Not so much because I wasn't enjoying the gameplay, but rather... well, I'll expound on it when we get to it. People who came here from the Saga Frontier 1 LP know what I'm referring to. Hell, I'm half-tempted to go grab my copy and fire it up in my PS3 now.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:15
|
|
|
I got up to what I assume was the final boss of the Knights storyline and never beat it. The Battle of South Moundtop doesn't sound familiar to me as a name, but I had a lot of trouble with the later battles so maybe it was one of those? Or something even worse I never saw?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:34
|
|
|
Ah yes. The old shame. One of the two games that once upon a time, I as a stupid teenager wrote a review of on GameFAQs. It was about as charitable (and well written) as one would expect. SaGa Frontier 1 was my first SaGa game, I imagine most comprehend the reaction upon hitting this game. Since then I have played Romancing SaGa 3, participated in a fan-translation for RS2, and even dabbled with some Unlimited SaGa. This one however remains the specter that haunts me as even though I comprehend what's going on in the game more these days, circumstances always arise to keep me from playing it. South Moundtop it seems shall forever be my pathetic last-stand with this game and I am eager to see what comes after.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:41
|
|
|
HenryEx posted:*clicks first music link in the oopening* Argh, dammit, knew that'd happen at one point... Had it written up then changed the links. Changed them in my buffer, but not everywhere, it seems. I'll doublecheck the next updates before they go up, I guess. Yeah, I'll think on "Prelude" instead. FeyerbrandX posted:Are you planning on doing any animated gifs or anything? The game is much prettier than SaGa Frontier 1 (hand painted cels, if I remember the promotional bullets right, and at least one additional frame of character battle animations), and that fire spell in the intro I'd think is well worth a shot when you get to use in in battle. If I gif something in this game, I will gif everything and the thread will make computers explode. There is a ton of little incidental animations and nice little touches. I'm pointing a lot of them out as I go, but those who haven't played the game should, it's gorgeous.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 03:54
|
|
|
Can I go into this LP without knowing anything about the first Saga Frontier (I swear I'll start reading that LP when I have time!)?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 05:20
|
|
|
Mraagvpeine posted:Can I go into this LP without knowing anything about the first Saga Frontier (I swear I'll start reading that LP when I have time!)? Saga Frontier 1 and 2 are completely unrelated to each other. SaGa does not care for your rules and logic.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 05:22
|
|
|
SaGa games are even less connected than Final Fantasy games. They don't even have Cids or other callbacks. The only things in common I can think of are some of the low to mid level techs you learn and comboing.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 05:25
|
|
|
I wanted to like this game. I really did. Everything except the mechanics was just so good. But I could only take so much random flailing with the battle system before I got fed up. Even though the game isn't hard until the very end there's no satisfaction to be derived from just picking random options until you win. Or not.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 06:05
|
|
|
FeyerbrandX posted:SaGa games are even less connected than Final Fantasy games. They don't even have Cids or other callbacks. There's also the various races in FFL1-3 and SaGa Frontier, but SGF2 is more like the Romancing games in that it's all humans, all the time. (Which is unfortunate, because Romancing 3 had some interesting non-human party members that nonetheless worked exactly like humans  )
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 06:05
|
|
|
mycot posted:Saga Frontier 1 and 2 are completely unrelated to each other. SaGa does not care for your rules and logic. This is just conjecture, but I came to the conclusion the naming/sequeling of SaGa entries was mostly just to denote what systems the games were on. SaGa 1-3 are the Gameboy games, the Romancing SaGas are the SNES series, and Frontier was in the name of the PSX era games, with Unlimited SaGa being the only (and last) entry of the series/PS2. Not counting remakes, of course.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 06:08
|
|
|
TKMobile posted:This is just conjecture, but I came to the conclusion the naming/sequeling of SaGa entries was mostly just to denote what systems the games were on. SaGa 1-3 are the Gameboy games, the Romancing SaGas are the SNES series, and Frontier was in the name of the PSX era games, with Unlimited SaGa being the only (and last) entry of the series/PS2. Not counting remakes, of course. You can add The Last Remnant to that list about last-gen's machines, particularly the PC version.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 08:38
|
|
|
I have so been looking forward to this. Wil Knights 4 LYFE
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 13:01
|
|
|
So hype for this, this game is really underrated even for an underrated series.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 14:34
|
|
|
Unreal_One posted:Every time I've played this game, I've gotten hooked by the Gustave storyline, played until I had to do a Wil quest to continue, did one of his, then quit. Really excited to see what I missed. Basically my experience with the game too. It wasn't even that I didn't like Wil, I think I just wanted to run through one character first before going to the other. I can also remember trying to give the chronological storyline a try once, but gamefaqs didn't have a fleshed out guide yet and I got really discouraged when I messed up the order and missed some quests. I'm going to pull out the copy and see if I can play along here.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 17:38
|
|
|
I always wanted to play this as a kid but never got a chance. I know nothing about this game so this'll be fun.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 17:46
|
|
|
Jumping the gun a bit, has anyone done an Unlimited Saga LP? Now there's a game which is obtuse even by Saga standards.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 21:55
|
|
|
Rangpur posted:Jumping the gun a bit, has anyone done an Unlimited Saga LP? Now there's a game which is obtuse even by Saga standards. It's come up a couple times in various LPs. I think one of the problems is that the few people that like the game / would be willing to LP it, feel they don't understand it well enough to LP it very well, iirc. It's ridiculously arcane.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 22:06
|
|
|
That world map looks like it would be right at home in a Fire Emblem game, all it needs is a pop-up portrait of the ruler along with the info text, most of them looking quite friendly and one being blatantly evil. Some of the graphics look like they could be very nice, but the blur is making my eyes water. Is it really supposed to look like that...? Einander posted:(If you want to see if a person has beaten the game, say 'Battle of South Moundtop' and watch for a reaction.) Is it worse than "Roof of Riovanes Castle"?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 23:21
|
|
|
vilkacis posted:Is it worse than "Roof of Riovanes Castle"? As someone who's done both, yes it's so much worse. At least with Riovanes you can prepare. South Moundtop is banging your head against a brick wall until either it or you cracks. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2014 23:34
|
|
|
I am looking forward to this LP. I don’t remember much about the game, but I do remember the brick wall of an end boss.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 00:09
|
|
|
vilkacis posted:That world map looks like it would be right at home in a Fire Emblem game, all it needs is a pop-up portrait of the ruler along with the info text, most of them looking quite friendly and one being blatantly evil. Absolutely. Riovanes is likely a quick and merciful. If the RNG hates you in Tactics, you'll know it early, or it'll happen too fast to do anything about it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 00:23
|
|
|
Out of interest, how complete is the playthrough likely to be? I remember stumbling across stuff I'd never found before or since across my (repeatedly abortive) playthroughs.Raitzeno posted:It's come up a couple times in various LPs. I think one of the problems is that the few people that like the game / would be willing to LP it, feel they don't understand it well enough to LP it very well, iirc. It's ridiculously arcane. I've wanted to understand how to play Unlimited for so long, but it's one of those games you really have someone in the room with you telling you how to play. I'd still love to see some madman take it on though (assuming they're prepared to spend the first 20 updates doing hour long videos on how to understand even the basic concepts). How can a game that pretty be so friggin' obtuse as to make no sense?!
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 00:42
|
|
|
Does the timeline really start populated like that? Anyways, I only ever beat the final boss once after a lot of lucky breaks and restarting from Scenario 1. I have tried to repeat a few times since and get slaughtered. I actually really like the brutality, great sense of satisfaction when you beat it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 00:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 10:45 |
|
|
vilkacis posted:That world map looks like it would be right at home in a Fire Emblem game, all it needs is a pop-up portrait of the ruler along with the info text, most of them looking quite friendly and one being blatantly evil. The game is a bit blurry in general, I'm afraid. I could apply sharpening filters, but the game really does look like that... It's a lot more noticeable when things are still or when you're in dialogue, though, which is probably why the game has so much incidental animation. In some ways, Roof of Riovanes is a surprisingly apt comparison, but South Moundtop is worse. Kaboom Dragoon posted:Out of interest, how complete is the playthrough likely to be? I remember stumbling across stuff I'd never found before or since across my (repeatedly abortive) playthroughs. I know just about everything that's known about the gameplay, and I plan to be thorough in covering both the mechanics and the story. All scenarios (and multiple versions of a few), all characters, all sidequests (though there aren't many), and I have plans for at least two run-throughs of both South Moundtop and The Final Battle. Crazyweasel posted:Does the timeline really start populated like that? It does! I checked off of a fresh no-save file. Not all of Gustave's scenarios are on that list, and the ones that aren't are deliberately excluded--they're all locked scenarios, and they all have the same unlock condition.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2014 02:48
|
|