SaGa Frontier Remastered

The SaGa series is not for every RPGamer. Over 23 years after its initial release, the original game can be unwieldy and has not aged particularly well. With SaGa Frontier Remastered, Square Enix has demonstrated a skilled grasp at modernizing a gaming experience while preserving the foundation and integrity of the original. The improvements to graphics, gameplay, and story arguably make SaGa Frontier Remastered the most accessible entry-point for series newcomers while offering plenty to entice returning SaGa Frontier fans as well.

SaGa Frontier is as perplexing today as it was when it was released in 1998. No part of this game is welcoming. In no way does it try to help you figure it out. In fact, more often than not, it seems to actively try to get you killed by offering you opportunities you really just should not take on. Nonetheless, you'll be hard-pressed to find many RPGs that are so enthralling from a combat and mechanical perspective, that suck you in with a myriad of questions about more than just story, and ultimately compel you to do it again and again.

SaGa Frontier Remastered is not a game for everyone. I wasn’t able to notice any of the new content in this initial playthrough, but I’m excited to play more and uncover all of the secrets. SaGa Frontier has always been known as being unfinished, but all of the restored content (which can be toggled off at the beginning of the playthrough for those wanting an original experience) and amazing quality of life improvements makes this the definitive version of this game. This is now the new bar for Square Enix remasters, one I hope they continue to meet.

SaGa Frontier Remastered is often too obtuse for its own good, but behind it all is a unique and captivating RPG that benefits greatly from quality-of-life improvements and restored content cut from its original release.

Compared to modern day videogames this acts as more of a museum piece, exemplifying when game quality was based on hours of content and less on quality. A time when players would spend hundreds of hours exploring every nook and cranny with little motivation other than “to see what happens.” The lack of direction, confusing combat system and sheer difficulty made me take the rose colored glasses off to a much harsher game. One that refuses to let you play any other way besides the rules set originally in 1989. The story is intriguing with twists and turns throughout. The animation is still top notch and famed composer Kenji Ito’s scores are still awe inspiring but it’s tough to see whether that is enough to want to fully revisit it. It hits different by today’s standards. With Saga Frontier, the developers were asking more if they could, and never asking if they should.