There is no denying that Square Enix's cash cow franchises are the FINAL FANTASY and DRAGON QUEST games. While those games do bring in the big bucks, this hasn't stopped the company from giving some their other IPs some time in the sun. In 2019, Collection of Mana (the first three titles in the Mana series) was localized to audiences outside of Japan. December of 2020 saw the release of Collection of SaGa: FINAL FANTASY LEGEND, which housed the first three SaGa titles, originally released outside of Japan under the monikers of FINAL FANTASY LEGEND. Over the years Square Enix has been giving the SaGa series more recognition outside of the Land of the Rising Sun despite the niche fanbase the series has. With that in mind, Square Enix's announcement for SaGa Frontier Remastered shouldn't be too surprising and yet, I found myself in disbelief as I watched the trailer.
I played SaGa Frontier around the time it was originally released. The game had quite the appeal with seven different characters to choose from each with his/her own story. There were also no random encounters as enemies appear on the field, but like EarthBound, many enemies make a B line for you whenever they can. Fights can also be quite difficult since enemies grow in strength right along side you. Like FINAL FANTASY II, your characters don't gain levels but their stats increase depending on the actions you take in battles. Characters that swing swords around more frequently will become more proficient with blades. Defend to get better defense and so on. Your party can also learn new skills on the fly in battle, which makes experimenting essential, especially if you want to learn some of the more devastating attacks. Your HP is recovered after every battle but that doesn't mean you should pass on staying at inns. In SaGa Frontier you have LP, or Life Points. If a character's LP ever hits zero, they won't be able to take part in battles and having one less battle ready characters is something you really don't want in this game.
For 1998, SaGa Frontier had some very nice sprite based visuals and this remaster does a marvelous job of touching them up for a 2021 audience. I wish a similar level of care went into the sprites of the mobile ports of the FINAL FANTASY games. The backgrounds have also been cleaned up a bit, though some still look like they contain a bit of grain, though that could just be from some of the screens I've looked at.
SaGa Frontier was originally going to have a cast of eight playable characters but one was cut for time. This remaster brings back that cut character, Fuse, who appeared in some of the character's stories. So not only are gamers getting a remaster but the cut content of the original is now being restored along with other quality of life improvements. SaGa Frontier Remastered doesn't seem like a quick and dirty cash grab.
Judging from the trailer, the music sounds very much like the score I heard in the original game, which is just fine in all honesty. Kenji Ito's score in SaGa Frontier sounds identical to his work on all three Romancing SaGa games on the SNES, only SaGa Frontier had the power of CD quality audio backing it. This game has so many good battle themes, town and dungeon themes. Baccarat is still one of the best jazz bangers in any RPG.
Do I have some concerns? Well, after the way FINAL FANTASY Crystal Chronicles Remastered was handled, I'm hoping SaGa Frontier Remastered doesn't end up sharing a similar fate. I guess we'll have to wait until the summer to see how the game pans out. It is also worth noting that while I enjoyed SaGa Frontier, it may not appeal to everyone. Any unprepared party can be whipped out by normal enemies. You can save anywhere but it is possible to save in the wrong spot and completely doom a character run because you've come up against a fight you just can't win. This is very much an RPG for the hardcore player.
I gotta say, it is nice to see Square Enix giving some games outside of the FINAL FANTASY series remastered love, even if the results are sometimes less than stellar. If we could get some remasters of say, Einhander or Brave Fencer Musashi, I would be a very happy gamer.
All screens from Square Enix
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