by Jody - July 24, 2003

As big of a series as Final Fantasy is, it�s not Square�s only long-time running series. The Saga series has been around for quite some time as well, even though it has never been as popular as Final Fantasy. However, each of Square�s games has it�s own unique style of gameplay and originality � so you never really know what to expect when they make a game. Unlimited Saga, the newest edition of the Saga series, is not only unique, but the first of the series to show on the Playstation 2.

Monopoly anyone?

First things first, Unlimited Saga features a special Final Fantasy X-2 trailer (which I have to say was extremely horrible, but that's another story). At first, the game's opening scene is simply amazing, and with a brilliant art staff, the artwork for the opening scene is outstanding and rather extraordinary. After the scene is over, it is time for a new game (or if you want, you can watch the FFX-2 trailer).

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Saga series, it is based on a seven-character RPG that emphasizes the element of battling over anything else. This means that the story � something that Squaresoft has always been known for � takes a backrow seat to watch the weapons, standard attacks, and magic spells take place. Computer-generated movies are few and far between; after Unlimited Saga's intro has ended, don't expect to do much watching (unlike Xenosaga). Because there are seven different characters, with seven different story paths, it won't take you the usual 40 hours to complete the quest. Of course, it could take you longer than that to complete all seven quests, but that's assuming you have the will and the desire to do so. I did, but that is another story.

Starting off though can be pretty difficult. With seven different characters to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you? Each character has their own unique story � all the way from Judy to Kurt. At the beginning, I didn�t really know who to select, so I just chose according to how cool their battle theme was � therefore Ventus was chosen. Later in the game, they all soon reach and try to find their goals and find out the secrets of the Seven Wonders of the World and the mysterious Iskandar.

Improving characters, again in the spirit of paper RPGs, is restricted to the ends of these adventures. Upon successful completion of an adventure, each character gets a choice of four new skills to plug into a grid of seven slots, and a higher max HP if they fought. This can be pretty tricky also, as you are to decide what skills are right for the character that you are using. Tip: Do not try to make a godly character. Balance it out with all of the characters. Bad Example: Trying to raise Kurt to be both a great fighter and a magic user. Good Example: Allowing Kurt to be a unarmed fighter, Ventus to be a magic caster, and Laura to be a melee fighter. You�re probably going to have to play the game to understand what I am talking about. The variety and positioning of skills on a character's grid determines the growth of their stats, and the skills themselves have important effects both in and out of combat.

The adventure map is something new to the series. Basically, it is a monopoly-style board game, and enemies or tedious traps that are sometimes hard to get out of bombard the player each time a move is taken. To be blunt, the adventure map is very boring and can take a while to figure out the correct direction to travel. I had a hard time adjusting to it � and even after I beat the game with all seven characters, I don�t think I have adjusted that much. I would rather play on a real-time world map any day. Sometimes enemies appear, and when they do appear, they either attack or let the character move off to another area. As you can probably guess, most of them will attack, and yes, it is very annoying. Each area that the character advances to contains a small artwork that is located on the top left of the screen, and it really isn't that rewarding at all, though there are a few cool things about the adventure map. The characters will learn over time (if you wish them to) things that will help them on the adventure map. For instance, they can learn abilities that help the party negotiate with monsters and tell where the enemies are going to be at. Also, some abilities defuse a treasure chest's trap(s), which can be pit falls, wall traps, and a few others and this ability might actually save the characters lives. Each time a character tries to defuse or unlock something, a reel appears.

If you are able to get a grip on the basis of Unlimited Saga, you will see that it is a fairly interesting game. For you D&D fans, you�ll notice how much it resembles paper RPGS. From town to town, you can go to the INN, talk to people in town to gather information, suit up your party, switch the character you want to use, and so much more. Later on, you�re going to have to get to a certain point with another character so that you may advance with another character.

One thing about the battles is that they are either really hard or really easy. For the most part, you can just click a few settings in the menu to really kick the monster�s ass. Every now and then though you are going to have to care enough to be able to select all of the right settings to fight the monster. Yes, this means learning to defend at the right time, attack at the right time, heal at the right time, so on and so forth. When engaged in combat, you'll see a menu on the right side of the screen (sort of like a Windows tool bar) that allows you to select which characters you want to use in battle. You have a set number of attacks that you can use per battle, and you can choose to either have one character attack several times in a row (creating a combo), or disperse the attacks among several different characters. At times, this can get very strategical when you really have to concentrate on who does what. Tip: its best not to let the magic casters get hit a lot.

The choice made here is crucial since it could decide the fate of the battle. Big, single-character combos are powerful, but limit your attacks to one enemy. Breaking up the attacks is good, but leaves you open for counterattacks. This is typical among the latest RPGs, however, it is pretty cool that each character has the option to attack multiple times in a row. Aside from combo-based RPGs like Xenogears, such a feature is not common.

After selecting which attack you want to use, a large wheel appears on the screen. It continually spins, waiting for you to hit a button. The wheel doesn't seem to have much of a purpose at first, but later on, different colored slots will appear. Hit the X button just as a red icon spins by and you'll earn a new attack.

For what it's worth, they are pretty.

As previously mentioned, the visuals are quite cool, though they don't deliver the same kind of fluidity that Square's other PS2 offerings have. All of the characters (both good and evil) have a distinct cartoon look. These characters aren't 3D images with a 2D outline. Instead, Square saved the third dimension for the backgrounds and used images that were entirely two-dimensional for the characters. Looking at them on paper, it's hard to not be impressed. The detail is great, and the designs, while not as original as the stars of Final Fantasy, are pretty impressive. Once inside the game, however, it's a little disappointing to see the characters move with a slight choppiness. For the casual RPG gamer, you may think that I am talking out of nowhere. For what it�s worth, these graphics are impressive � take a look at Saga Frontier and you�ll see what I am talking about.

One of the best things about this game.

One of the things that makes Unlimited Saga so attractive is its brilliant artwork and music. Composed by Masashi Hamauzu, the Unlimited Saga soundtrack is one of the best videogame music CDs to be released this year. Some of the few tracks that caught my ear were battle themes and the town theme. It is very diverse in selection of what instruments are used; Masashi Hamauzu worked everything out to be one of his best works to date. The music definitely gives the game an extra kick, and it is highly worth playing just too even hear the music! If you�re not a fan of midi-style RPG music, you�re probably going to think it sucks.

I had some fun playing this, but I don�t know if you will.

When I play an RPG, I want my free traveling. I love to just explore the world, going from town to town at my own free will. I also love just to go around and find fun mini-games to do. None of those things are found in this game, a game that at times feels like it could last forever.

Moving from location to location is boring when all you do is press a button. I want to run free and explore each area, but I can't because they don't even really exist. It's sort of like I'm trapped in the Internet and all I can do is visit Web pages. No real interaction takes place.

The battles themselves are nothing to write home about either. I love RPGs and I know what to expect from them, but in Unlimited Saga, the turn-based action just isn't fun. Whether you're learning a new attack or buying more items, it all feels the same. The great thing about the Final Fantasy series is that everything just feels right. In Unlimited Saga, nothing does.

Even for a hardcore RPG fan, it�s pretty hard to get used to this.

Not only is the story less intriguing than the previous Saga games, but it is also displayed in a really poor manner. If two characters are speaking, you'll see them standing next to each other. Text balloons will appear over their heads, giving you some information on who the characters are, what they're doing and why they want to fight so badly. When you think of all the text boxes we've read in games like Xenogears, Parasite Eve and Final Fantasy Tactics, Unlimited Saga doesn't sound so bad. And maybe it wouldn't be if the things the characters were saying were more interesting. But finding out that Kurt's father disowns him because he wants to leave home had absolutely no emotional effect on me. That occurred at the very beginning of the game, but you know what? Sometimes the beginning has the greatest impact. If you can't intrigue and inspire gamers in the first five minutes of play, via gameplay, story segments or event a great soundtrack, then what reason will they have to return? Games aren't cheap, and aside from those who buy the game and are stuck with it, there's no reason to come back, unless you really, REALLY like the battles.

Unlimited Saga is not for everyone.

All in all, Unlimited Saga does a pretty good job of what it sets out to accomplish. If you have never played an RPG before, this will not be a good game to start out on. Even for a long time dedicated RPG player, things can get quite confusing. Personally, I don�t like the monopoly-style world map, but it�s original, so I deal with it. The storyline of this game is something great � it took me a little while to beat it. I recommend renting this game before buying, or at least playing some other RPGs to get the hang of them.