It's the SaGa series' 20th anniversary this year. Since SaGa never really caught on in North America, you might not really care, but dammit, someone at Square Enix DOES, okay?!
Anyway, in honour of the series' 20 years, Square Enix decided it would be fantastic to make a new SaGa games for the best video game system ever! Instead, they remade SaGa 2 for DS.
Since the game's announcement back in January, things have been relatively quiet. However, Square Enix just stepped forward to break news that the remake will be getting a brand new subtitle, officially making the game called SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny. Three titles for one game?! HUGE NEWS!
But Square Enix won't be stopped there, oh no! They've also come forward with a release, uh, season. This is far better than a release date, because then it leaves a lot to players' imagination, promoting the game's release into the abstract realm, and therefore, high art.
See? You thought this story was lame, but really, it is AWESOME.
SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny will be available for Nintendo DS sometime this Fall in Japan.
As you are already aware, Square Enix is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their SaGa series this year, and has announced a DS remake of the original GameBoy title, SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (known as Final Fantasy Legend II in North America). However, beyond one piece of art and a few tiny screens, we haven't really known much about the title. How close will it be to the original? What new features will be added? Etc., etc.
And while I don't have definitive answers to all your questions, the latest issue of V Jump has given us a bit more to chew on.
First, it should be noted that the main premise of the game does not appear to have been drastically altered, as the article mentions that you will be still chasing after your father who has left to protect the 77 treasures (known as the 77 mana in the English version).
The battle system seems to have changed slightly, though it appears to remain turn-based. Apparently it will be possible to chain attacks together with your allies, and launch some sort of special attacks with them, though they don't go into much detail. Enemies will also appear on the map, eliminating random battles.
As with the original game, monsters will occasionally drop meat. If you choose to eat it, it could potentially enhance one of your abilities, depending on your race.
Again, as with the original, you will choose what race and sex your main character is, as well as those of your first 3 allies. The races are outlined below:
Human (Male/Female) Humans are typically well-rounded characters that focus on building themselves through different weapons. Depending on what weapons you focus on will change how your character advances. If the game remains the same as the original, the male human has slightly higher HP and strength, while the female human is slightly faster and magically adept.
Esper (Male/Female) Espers resemble humans, and can equip and grow with various weapons, but are more naturally gifted with magic. I believe the same differences in human genders affect espers as well.
Robot Robots' abilities are based completely on their equipment. Eqipping more powerful weapons and armor enhances your robot.
Monster Monsters are kind of the wild card in the mix. You can start off using either a mini-dragon or a demon familiar, but your monsters become more powerful as they eat the meat of other monsters and transform into completely new creatures with new abilities. If the remake is faithful to the original, they cannot use normal equipment.
Along with this new info, Square Enix has also opened the game's official site, though there isn't much there at the moment. They have also opened a special site for the SaGa 20th anniversary, where you can watch a video on the history of the games. Or, you can just watch the embedded version below. Whatever you like.
SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (working title) is set to be released sometime this year on Nintendo DS in Japan.
The SaGa series is not exactly Square Enix's most critically acclaimed series. You'll occasionally run into people who have heard of the games, or even rarely hear about someone who liked SaGa Frontier, but I think just about everyone hated Ulimited SaGa and Romancing SaGa on PS2...
Well, before all that, the first three SaGa games were on the original GameBoy. (Yeah, the green and yellow-screened brick version). Retitled to Final Fantasy Legend in North America, these first SaGa games were actually rather enjoyable (well, at least 2 and 3 were).
Understanding this, Square Enix has just announced via the newest edition of Weekly Jump, that they will be remaking SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (lit. Treasure Legend) for the Nintendo DS.
For those of you who never had the chance to play the original SaGa 2 (Final Fantasy Legend II), the game follows the main character (who can be male or female, and human, esper, robot, or monster) as s/he looks for his/her enigmatic hat-wearing father.
The game takes place in a universe with multiple worlds, all joined together by beanstalks and a mystical between-world. Various peoples and races co-exist in these various worlds, some of them friendly, many of them not.
Personally, SaGa 2 is easily my favorite SaGa game of the series, so to see it getting an upgrade is a little bit exciting. Hopefully they'll let you keep the story characters permanently in this remake.
Jump claims that there are new additions to this remake that they will reveal in coming issues. We'll keep you posted.
SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (working title) will be available for Nintendo DS sometime this year in Japan.
SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny will be available for Nintendo DS sometime this Fall in Japan.
