Сага Фронтира 2: Екі Батырдың Тарихы

1999 video game

SaGa Frontier 2 (サガ フロンティア 2) is a role playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation. It is the eighth original game in their SaGa series. Initially released in Japan in April 1999, an English version was made available in North America in February 2000 by Square Electronic Arts and in PAL regions the following March by Square. Development for the title was headed by series creator Akitoshi Kawazu, with music by Masashi Hamauzu. The game features an art style unique to the series at the time it was released, utilizing hand painted watercolor backdrops and characters to give the game a storybook feel. Like other SaGa games, gameplay is largely non linear, giving the player multiple paths to follow in order to complete the game. Set in the fictional world of Sandail, the game's plot, as well as location and character names, draw heavily from medieval Germanic and Anglo Saxon influence. The game's plot is divided into two separate stories, with the player given the option to control either Gustave XIII, an exiled would be heir on a quest to reclaim his throne, or William Knights, a young man investigating the death of his parents, with both scenarios eventually intertwining in a larger plot involving the fate of the world. SaGa Frontier 2 was met with generally positive reviews, with the Japanese version receiving three re issues in June 2000, March 2002, and July 2006 respectively.

SaGa Frontier 2 is a role playing video game featuring two dimensional character sprites on hand drawn backgrounds. Players advance through the game by completing story based missions and interacting with non player characters to move the plot forward. At the start of the game, the player is given the option of assuming the role of one of two heroes, each with their own individual stories and objectives. Like previous titles in the SaGa series, the game's plot progresses in a mostly non linear fashion, with a heavier emphasis on exploration and battling than adhering strictly to the narrative. Each character may equip up to two different kinds of weapons, and may become more specialized in a particular field of combat by assigning them "roles", which increase their proficiency with certain weapon and spell combinations as well as give them additional abilities. By winning battles, characters may increase their statistics based on their actions in combat, thus becoming more powerful. A representative from the company stated that they would be abandoning the CG full motion videos and computer style graphics of the previous title to focus on a more traditional, hand drawn look. The game's art style was achieved by using hand drawn and painted artwork produced on a canvas that would be scanned and digitized to produce the game's backgrounds and character sprites. Many of the game's towns, locations, and characters draw heavily from medieval Germanic influence, with much of the story taking place within a fictional time frame similar to the 13th century. New features not seen in the previous SaGa Frontier title include compatibility with the PlayStation's DualShock analog controller and PocketStation peripheral device for accessing additional content. On February 15, 2000, the game was released in that region by Square Electronic Arts, and was made available in PAL regions the following March.

While Kenji Ito served as composer for most of the previous SaGa games, the music for SaGa Frontier 2 was written by series newcomer Masashi Hamauzu, who had previously provided the soundtrack for Square's Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon two years earlier. SaGa Frontier 2s music was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Tokyo, and on April 21, 1999, Square released the three disc SaGa Frontier II Original Soundtrack in Japan courtesy of publisher DigiCube. In July 1999, an album called Piano Pieces "SF2" was released featuring piano renditions of music from the game, featuring arrangements from Hamauzu himself along with Naoko Endo, Daisuke Hara, Mikiko Saiki, Daisuke Karasuda, and Michiko Minakata.

The game received above average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. E. Coli said in another review, "This is a promising year for Square with such releases as Front Mission 3, Legend of Mana, and Vagrant Story, just to name a few, waiting in the wings. While waiting for those titles to hit our shores, however, RPG fans will have SaGa Frontier 2 to lean on as a solid story that is sure to please role players and strategy fans alike." AllGame gave the game four and a half stars out of five, saying that it "not only improves on the original American release, but sets a new watermark for other RPGs to follow. With so many things packed into this game, you'll be playing it for a long time. Once again, Square Soft has outdone themselves and rules the roost." SaGa Frontier 2 was a bestseller in Japan. The game has sold over 675,000 units in Japan as of December 2004. Like SaGa Frontier, the game has been re released several times over the years, once in 2000 as part of the Square Millennium Collection, again in 2002 as part of the PSone Books best seller range, and again in 2004 as a part of the Square Enix Ultimate Hits line.