SaGa Frontier Review for PlayStation

Introduction
SquareSoft has always been my favorite video game company, but I will be the first to admit that they have made some mistakes in the past. One of the biggest mistakes, in my opinion, is releasing a game called SaGa Frontier. Now, releasing it in America was not the bad idea (I was they would release every game they make here in America), but making the game to begin with was the bad idea. See, this game is simply TERRIBLE. I did not like playing this game at all, and I simply had a terrible time playing through it, mainly due to the confusing gameplay, horrible music, and terrible graphics. This stinker is definitely one to avoid at all costs.

Storyline (2/10)
First off, SquareSoft decided to break up the storyline into separate quests, and each of the characters has different storylines. The stories lack detail and some seem to ignore some elements of the story. Also some quests were more detailed than other quests. I can't give any examples due to the spoiler rule. Overall, the storyline in the game is way below average, it may seem like a good idea on paper but it translated terribly in this game. It could have been good had there been more details and maybe 2 more quests to wrap things up with a good explanation.

Graphics (2/10)
Was this a first generation Playstation game or what?  The attacks are much flashier than in FF7, but are more than just see how many times we can hit. However I have trouble seeing some areas at first so I have to give this only a score of 2. Some of the most astonishing examples of the flashy graphics come up when you preform combos using high level attacks in the game. The whole look of the game is apalling and horrible, because everything may look good, but the result is a confusing mess. I just love the effect you get when ever you get level 5 combo in this game. The areas look nice, but need more polish in some of the areas to make it easier to see with out study. Overall, the graphics in the game are disappointing, they may look okay but the result is a confusing mess of jarbled game design.

Music and Sound Effects (1/10)
AARGH! I mean, SquareSoft is the king of making quality music and sound effects. First off it has several battle themes. Now, I have usually heard great battle music from SquareSoft, but not in this game. This gets my vote for second worst battle theme of all time (only outdone by that really horrible battle theme in Breath of Fire for the SNES). There is one part I play over and over again though. I just love that tune a lot. The tune plays at Sei who is an optional boss if you want to know.

Gameplay and Control (1/10)
This is the best part. They are so many abilities to learn and how you learn them depends on what quest you play, who you use and what you use. Strategy is an important role in this game. Some spells have unique effects that I have never seen. No longer can any character grab a handy potion every other turn. You have to equip cures or a back pack.  Then there is the terrible experience system. You kind of level up certain stats automatically after battle, such as when a Human uses a spell they may gain JP. What in the hell? Is there a point to this?  Overall, this game plain old has terrible gameplay. What a shame. The Control is decent, but it takes awhile for me to get used to it since Square can't decide between X or O for confirm.

Replay Value: Way Below Average
Let's see, I just spent the last half hour bashing this terrible game. With so many ways to play and the fact you can beat most quest in 12 hours means you don't have to spend forever going through a quest again or go through every scene. I will never play this game again unless I am completely bored, I mean, I went through the whole game and hated it, so what makes me think that I am going to change my mind the second time through?

Challenge: Very Challenging
This might be the most challenging role playing game ever made for a few reasons. One, it is so horrible that you will not want to try to beat it. And two, because of the non linear gameplay refusing to give you a clue as to where to go to next. Only one of the quests can be considered of normal challenge, out of eight total ones. Overall, this is quite a challenging game for a few simple reasons.

Overall (1/10)
I really, really, really hated this awful game from SquareSoft. If you want an example of how a company can mess up, look no further than this, because my favorite video game company made a truly apalling game. Everything in this game comes together in a neat package.