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The story
SaGa Emerald Beyond has dropped to just ¥980 on Amazon, sparking discussion on 5ch’s hardware/industry (Geha) board. While some praised composer Ito Ken’s music and the battle system, persistent criticism of the dungeon-less, visual-novel-style presentation and the lack of a skip function fueled a broader debate over the series’ direction.
What people said
Hurry!
Add shipping and it's over ¥1000
Still too expensive
Still too expensive
Never do another SaGa Scarlet Grace-style game again
This is the kind of ¥500-ish game you buy just to enjoy Ito Ken's music
Re: #6
The battle-prep track is stupidly cool
The battle-prep track is stupidly cool
When it turned into that board-game-style thing on PS2
I remember thinking, 'yep, this series is done'
Guess once something dies, it really doesn't come back
I remember thinking, 'yep, this series is done'
Guess once something dies, it really doesn't come back
I checked and it's ¥1700!
Liar!
Liar!
It's sad that 'well, the music and battles are good' has basically become the standard line for defending a bad game
Checked my Steam playtime and it was 497 hours
But honestly this game IS 'just battles and music,' it's basically the textbook example
It's a visual novel, replaying is mandatory, and there isn't even a skip button
It's a visual novel, replaying is mandatory, and there isn't even a skip button
Even the battles aren't as great as people say, it's just the fanboys hyping it up
I do think the Timeline and Dokudanjou (solo-showcase) systems are decently fun
Re: #14
Yeah, honestly it's just 'decently fun'
It feels rough around the edges — good ideas, but needs more polish
Also, since this is a replay-heavy game, let us skip the long-winded explanatory text and dialogue choices too
Yeah, honestly it's just 'decently fun'
It feels rough around the edges — good ideas, but needs more polish
Also, since this is a replay-heavy game, let us skip the long-winded explanatory text and dialogue choices too
I'll buy it once it's a coin (¥500) on mobile
I picked up Romancing SaGa back when it got dirt cheap
It's just too expensive, seriously
I picked up Romancing SaGa back when it got dirt cheap
It's just too expensive, seriously
It's not like they even shipped that many copies, and it's already in the bargain bin
Really shows how unpopular the SaGa Scarlet Grace direction is
Stop making games like this, Kawazu
Really shows how unpopular the SaGa Scarlet Grace direction is
Stop making games like this, Kawazu
Wish the Steam version would go that cheap too~
The core game system itself is genuinely great, but they stripped away so much else
that usability was basically destroyed
The battles are fun but they demand way too much effort
that usability was basically destroyed
The battles are fun but they demand way too much effort
The battles and music alone are top-tier while everything else is a mess, which is exactly why you can replay it endlessly
There's stuttering every single time at the start of a battle turn and on the results screen
It's probably a programming-level issue
Kawazu supposedly came from a top science program, yet he has no problem shipping something with a technical flaw like this
Does he have no pride?
It's probably a programming-level issue
Kawazu supposedly came from a top science program, yet he has no problem shipping something with a technical flaw like this
Does he have no pride?
Re: #21
Wasn't he a Tokyo Tech dropout though?
Wasn't he a Tokyo Tech dropout though?
Re: #21
That's not really Kawazu's job anyway
That's not really Kawazu's job anyway
I love the characters, music, and world, and I've put in over 200 hours, but yeah, I can tell it's got one foot in shovelware territory lol
The stripped-down, no-fat game design is nice in principle
but then the load times are so long that it
really wrecked the pacing, which was a shame
SaGa Scarlet Grace was great on that front though
but then the load times are so long that it
really wrecked the pacing, which was a shame
SaGa Scarlet Grace was great on that front though
Re: #31
Scarlet Grace of Ambitions was fine, but the original Vita release had all sorts of problems
Scarlet Grace of Ambitions was fine, but the original Vita release had all sorts of problems
Even with the Romancing SaGa remake, the fanboys desperately pushed the 'sexy' angle to promote it, but it still didn't sell at all
Re: #41
Well, the SaGa series itself is a game only fanboys buy in the first place, so fanboys hyping it up to each other is pointless…
Well, the SaGa series itself is a game only fanboys buy in the first place, so fanboys hyping it up to each other is pointless…
Apparently SaGa Emerald was ¥670 at Bic Camera
Re: #48
I wanted that…
I wanted that…
Re: #48
Wait, really?
Is that the PS5 version, not the PS4 version they did the big clearance sale on?!
Wait, really?
Is that the PS5 version, not the PS4 version they did the big clearance sale on?!
Re: #48
At that price I'd actually want it
At that price I'd actually want it
Because Kawazu's fanboys coddle him and never call garbage 'garbage,' we get stuff like this two times in a row
Re: #51
If Revenge of the Seven (the Romancing SaGa 2 remake) had come out right after Minstrel Song, things would've turned out completely differently
If Revenge of the Seven (the Romancing SaGa 2 remake) had come out right after Minstrel Song, things would've turned out completely differently
Re: #51
Honestly it's the same dynamic as FFXIV's 'Warriors of Light' fans do for producer Yoshida-P
Honestly it's the same dynamic as FFXIV's 'Warriors of Light' fans do for producer Yoshida-P
Honestly, the people who obsessively hate on a series as niche as SaGa are the ones I don't get
Players buy it knowing full well it's a twisted, quirky kind of game, right?
Maybe it just bugs them that people are enjoying something they personally dislike
Players buy it knowing full well it's a twisted, quirky kind of game, right?
Maybe it just bugs them that people are enjoying something they personally dislike
Re: #55
People criticize it because it used to be good and now it's garbage
It's become a totally different game from the Romancing SaGa days
No dungeons, just visual-novel scenes — that's not an RPG anymore, that's an adventure game
At least Unlimited SaGa still had dungeons and still felt like an RPG
People criticize it because it used to be good and now it's garbage
It's become a totally different game from the Romancing SaGa days
No dungeons, just visual-novel scenes — that's not an RPG anymore, that's an adventure game
At least Unlimited SaGa still had dungeons and still felt like an RPG
'Flavorless gum' is honestly the perfect way to describe it
Apparently even Unlimited SaGa is a 'god-tier game' once you understand how to play it
Kawazu games are awful about forcing 'if you want to enjoy it, learn how to play it first' on you
Kawazu games are awful about forcing 'if you want to enjoy it, learn how to play it first' on you
The irony is that the very elements Kawazu considers 'unnecessary'
are exactly what has propped up the JRPG genre all along
are exactly what has propped up the JRPG genre all along
Re: #96
That said, if SaGa had the same systems as every other JRPG, it wouldn't have survived this long in the first place
The outer trappings matter, but only because there's a solid core underneath
Make the trappings rich while neglecting the system, and you end up with an FF-style button-mashing game (a jab at flashy, style-over-substance combat), and the brand dies
That said, if SaGa had the same systems as every other JRPG, it wouldn't have survived this long in the first place
The outer trappings matter, but only because there's a solid core underneath
Make the trappings rich while neglecting the system, and you end up with an FF-style button-mashing game (a jab at flashy, style-over-substance combat), and the brand dies
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “SaGa Emerald Beyond Hits a Washed-Up ¥980 Bargain Price on Amazon!!!!!!!”.
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