Hello and welcome to The Starlight Megaphone’s playthrough of Romancing SaGa 3, a JRPG released for the Super Famicom in Japan on 11 November 1995; and later remastered for a world-wide modern-console release on 11 November 2019.
At its launch, the game received solid praise and experienced considerable success for the time. Building upon the earlier release of Romancing SaGa 2, the new game was the last to appear on the Super Famicom, and represented the end of the ‘Romancing’ branch of the SaGa series, incorporating the ‘world building’ features of that subseries. However, in many ways, Romancing SaGa 3 anticipated later developments which would define the ‘Frontier’ branch of the series such as non-linear gameplay and individual character story arcs.
A large cast of characters became one of the hallmarks of the series, and Romancing SaGa 3 pushes the series forward in that regard, with its almost bewildering array of characters–primary and secondary, heroes and villains. The game begins with the player’s selection from one of eight main characters (Julian, Thomas, Mikhail, Harid, Sarah, Ellen, Monica, and Katharina), but this modest selection is supplemented by over twenty playable characters, and an even larger number of support characters, villains, major bosses, and ancillary figures.
Since its original release in Japan, Romancing SaGa has remained the sort of game known only to the devoted group of gamers willing either to learn Japanese in order to play it, or to play it with the assistance of incomplete fan-translation patches. Even The Starlight Megaphone’s resident SaGa fan, Caspius, has not played through much of the game. However, with the 2019 remaster now available, gamers around the world will at last be able to experience a fully-localised, official version of the last of the three Romancing SaGa games.
Apart from the game itself, the soundtrack has been highly praised for years, including by those who have not played the game. Some of the musical compositions push the limits of the Super Nintendo chipset, and–even taken out of their game setting–prove memorable and engaging. The battle music for the SaGa series has always been a high point, and Romancing SaGa 3 is no exception, with a list of tracks guaranteed to put a smile on the face of 16-bit JRPG fans.
With the game being largely unknown to our readers and staff alike, The Starlight Megaphone is especially interested in your engagement with the game in particular and the series in general. Have you played a SaGa game (Final Fantasy Legend I/II/III, Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song, Romancing SaGa 2, SaGa Frontier I/II, or Unlimited SaGa) in the past, or is this your first experience with the franchise? Does this game interest you further in the SaGa franchise; or, how does it compare to other games in the series?
Use the comment thread below to discuss your approach to the game, challenges you have faced, secrets you have uncovered, and what characters you are using in your playthrough. Do you feel that the SaGa series is still relevant given its origins on the Game Boy and its often disappointing performances outside of Japan? Do you find the non-linear gameplay liberating, or directionless? Would you support further remasters from the series, or would you prefer for an entirely new, modern game in the franchise? Tell us all about it and join in our discussion below! We will select some of the best comments, each week, for our podcast discussion.
The aim in this playthrough is to complete the entirety of the game in three weeks:
– Week 1: Complete the RPG Shrine quests appropriate for HP 150-250.
– Week 2: Complete the RPG Shrine quests appropriate for HP 250-500.
– Week 3: Complete the RPG Shrine quests appropriate for HP 500-750.
– Week 4: Complete remaining quests and the game!
Please join in, even if you are behind on the playthrough. Anyone and everyone is invited to participate, regardless of speed of play or familiarity with the series (use GameFAQs or RPG Shrine if you need a helping hand). Comment and tell your friends!
Without further adieu, it is our pleasure to invite you to join The Starlight Megaphone’s staff members and readers as we jump into the SaGa series for the first time in An Autumn SaGa!
The Starlight Megaphone! 
My first venture into SaGa was Romancing SaGa 2. I had no idea what was waiting for me. It took me 99 glorious hours to complete the game and I loved every second. Now my second favorite game of all time. After that I have also played and completed Final Fantasy Legend (SaGa) and SaGa Frontier. I am collecting the series. I have the first three Japanese cartridges and Unlimited SaGa. Bought Romancing SaGa 2 on three devices and did the same with Romancing SaGa 3 now. I can’t wait to see all of Romancing SaGa 3!!
Beginning my first playthrough with Sarah. And now I’m off to play!
It turned out that it really WAS Romancing SaGa 3!
What a coincidence with this release and all!
@Winter: TOTALLY coincidental, I assure you. The simultaneous and anticipated release of Romancing SaGa 3, part of a series of which I am a well-known fan, has NOTHING to do with the democratic way in which this game was chosen for our playthrough!
(I’ll be starting my file on Friday, because I am going to use my coins from Pokemon Shield as credit towards the purchase of RS3 on the e-shop.)
Nothing at all!
Good plan!! So far it’s exellent! Went to a treasure cave. Got all treasure. Went to another town and now I’m roaming around picking up people and getting a couple of spells!
My first experience with the series was playing Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song. It sounded real interesting in concept with an open world where various event quests happen all over the map based upon how far the time has advanced and a final boss fight when time runs out. In practice though I barely ran into any quests and didn’t want to be glued to a guide or play the game over and over in order to know where and when to play the content.
I have played about 10 hours of Romancing SaGa 3 before using the fan-patch. I remember I was playing as Monika because she seemed likable and in terms of game-play is the biggest blank slate in the game. This time I will be playing as Ellen.
Nice! I’m playing as Sarah ^^
Played about 6 hours so far. Disa hours that is. I’m probably just 1,5 hours of actual progress if that xD
Finished my first quest after the initial introduction. Loving it so far!
I think I pretty much have to play as Julian, don’t I?
Correct!
10,5 hours played. I think I’m looking at a New Game Plus now. I got sealed in a cave and stupidly saved over the wrong save and here I am it’s me or the rat and apparently it’s me too every time xD
Downloading this now! I’ve never had any experience with the SAGA series. I have a feeling that might be something to do with the fact that I stay in the UK and I don’t think we got any of the games here really until recently. Imitanis or someone might know more about that if I’m correct or not.
But really looking forward to trying out the game and experiencing the series as a newcomer. The art looks beautiful!
The first SaGa game I ever played and (and only one finished) was FF Legend II. I also had III and played a little of I. Later, I got SaGa Frontier when it came out, and didn’t love it because it was more obtuse than other games, but I’ve tried it now it again over the years. I just started the playthrough too, as Katarina.
I’ve been wandering around talking to people and opening up places on the map mainly. Although recently I thought I was stuck in a repeating desert that I saved in and might have to new game+ (I wasn’t stuck). My party right now is Ellen, Khalid, the bard, and the blacksmith lady. I only really need to find a mage. Maybe I could let the pink haired girl that forces her way into your party be a temporary mage although she kinda sucks at everything from what I remember.
One of the only things I remember from my previous partial play-through is that rat dungeon, the boss was really hard.
Man this game doesn’t hold back. Like a lot of 90s RPGs it doesn’t really explain things and for a newcomer to the series it looks quite obscure. I am not really following what’s going on in the gameplay systems in battles or these skirmish battles. I got my first game over in one of those after about half an hour. I picked Khalid ad my main as he seems an interesting character. No idea what it meant but I went with sign of the warrior and great sword. I think I’ll need to read up on some of the mechanics however. Also what is the easiest way to get my details saved so I don’t need to type them every time I comment? I tried WordPress but the login expired twice while writing and posting my comment on chrome on an iPad, and the WordPress connection just spins and doesn’t load on chrome on my android phone. I think I’ve signed in with gravatar but not sure
Berserk: I believe logging in with gravatar does it, although I’m not certain. I think some browsers can also save field entries, but I have that feature disabled in Firefox. Your icon is showing up!
SaGa games are systematically complex and become increasingly so the later the release. Without an FAQ, most gamers will struggle, I think, because the systems are so esoteric.
I know PAL regions got Unlimited Saga (literally the worst one).
I feel like we may have also got one of the GameBoy titles, but I’m not entirely sure.
The game is kind of reminding me of the Suikoden games with random characters everywhere to recruit and random mini-games and game-play shifts. I’ve ran into stuff like a blacksmith recruiting quest, military skirmish simulators and a business acquisition and consolidation simulator. I also found the first big boss but the enemies in the rooms leading up to the fight have enemies that one shot my characters so it’s going to be a while until I can actually fight the boss.
I think it’s pretty cool that a bunch of enemies in the game are basically alternate versions of enemies that appeared in FFVI.
The game looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous.
Characters missing attacks due to a lack of dexterity drove me mad during the first few hours. It has become a bit better now that I have learned more attacks, though it is definitely still an issue.
Does anyone know what the weight of equipment does?
I’m guessing if a character is weighed down with too much equipment then it causes them to take action later in the turn, but the game never actually tells you this (or anything for that matter). I’d like to know whether I can have all my characters act first by unequipping shields…
I read up some stuff in FAQs and noticed about weight. “A hidden stat on all weapons and armor that decreases speed, as well as being involved in the accuracy formula for most skills and the damage formula for certain skills.”
I’ve gone back to the first area and spending a bit of time grinding to get used to the battles before I proceed. Still only about a half hour or so of game time but will do more over the next few days
I can’t wait to start playing on Friday–I’ll be putting a lot of time in this weekend, and I hope that I’ll have a great deal to say on the podcast.
One thing I’m loving about the comments is the pervading sense of confusion. WELCOME TO THE SAGA FRANCHISE, FRIENDS.
I put maybe an hour into the game before today, but I’ve got a few on the clock now and I’m enjoying the game. My first experience with the SaGa franchise was on PSOne. I can’t recall the game I played (Frontier 2 possibly?), but I remember disliking it enough to return it to the store (back when they let you get away with that).
I knew nothing about Romancing SaGa before starting 3. I chose Thomas and am currently in the Archfiends palace. I like the freedom the game gives you, though it feels like I’m being rushed through story beats to get to the next area. I expect the game needs multiple replays to experience every character.
I own the PS2 RS1 remake, played about half the game and lost it during a spring cleaning. I’m sure its around the house somewhere. I found Unlimtied SaGa though…..ugh.
One thing I’ve noticed though, the game systems didn’t change much from RS1 to RS3.
@TacticsJack: Exactly. The SaGa sub-series tend to be very similar. SF 1/2 are systemically similar, as are RS1-2-3, and even the first three SaGa games are relatively of a piece (although SaGa 3 starts to get a little out there).
Don’t forget–at the end of this playthrough, SaGa: Scarlet Grace Ambitions is out!
About 20 hours put in now and absolutely adoring this game!!!! 99 % likely to be my Game pf the Year. Ended up Ng+ and have now done all the low hp quests again. One site that’s helping me if you struggle with quests: rpg shrines have a walkthrough divided in sections for how high your hp is. Definitely recommended if you feel need for some help.
I’m having a hard time putting this down every day. Just one more battle and another .. and another :D
Received my copy of PKMN Shield today, claimed my 60 coins (eshop value 60¢) and then picked up Romancing SaGa 3!
I’ve only played about half an hour with Katarina, grinded a little and fought the boss and died. Fortunately, it saves anywhere and now I’m just grinding more and I’ll try again. I do love the look and feel of it – very Final Fantasy VI & Chrono Trigger-y – and what can be better than that? But also very Octopath Traveler-looking as well. Mechanics are far closer to SaGa Frontier than SaGa/FF Legend.
@Winter: I’m using RPG Shrines a little bit too, as I have for other games. Fantastic site!
It’s great! I have had a lot of help from the quest guide since it suggest the hp needed for each quest.
It’s definitely more Frontier than Legend.
I’m currently playing Romancing SaGa, Romancing SaGa 2 and Romancing SaGa 3. A true Autumn SaGa :D
One thing I find interesting is that enemy mobs seem to be truly random. In most JRPGs there tend to be 5-20 configurations of pre-determined enemies that you can encounter as a mob, and then RNG is used to determine which of these you will randomly encounter – but RS3 seems to be 100% random!
In the same area you can encounter 1 extremely weak enemy and trounce them, or you can encounter a mob comprised of 6 of the areas strongest enemies, and it will just wreck you to pieces!
Also, there seems to be areas and quests which are level gated off from the player, but once you are a high enough level to tackle them they seem to scale up as you level. Bosses probably don’t tho.
The lovely randomness of SaGa :D
Waypoints have been updated, and a direct link to RPG Shrines has been added!
Started this evening, playing as Khalid!
Yay that’s great, enjoy!!
Any tips for the real early game? I’m a bit behind schedule and basically just finished the intro with Khalid. Now I’ve only got a few initial party members I’m really struggling in battle. Also really struggling with the map and where to find particular quests and how to unlock areas on the map
@Berserk: locations appear on the map when somebody in the game tells you where they are, or after you have been there one time. In this game, you really need to talk to the people in town – every person if possible – because they will tell you about quests and tell you where cities and other locations are, and that is the only way to get to most of them.
Depending on your starting character, you can get most of the other starting characters in your party. Use the links to the shrine and FAQ websites in the post above, because that will really cut down on a lot of the time you spend wandering around trying to find people.
Generally, my advice is to try to recruit all of the other main characters after you get out of the introduction. That will give you a good “starting party”, but there are other characters in the world who may be better or worse to suit your taste. As I mentioned above, all of that information is located on the shrine page linked in the post. So are the quests, and their appropriate levels – that is, how much HP you should have before trying to complete them.
Getting to Pidonia is particularly helpful because from the port there you can sail to about 10 different places. It is very important that you do this. You have to pay to sail to each place, but once you have been there you can travel there for free via the map.
@SN: I think that Siliconnoob asked about Shields? They don’t have any effect if you are using a two-handed weapon, so don’t bother equipping them in that case. However, there are skills associated with wearing them, and some of them are very good.
I reached our first way point this evening, and would have done so a bit sooner, except that I started over again and chose Mikahil instead of Jhalid. :)
My party is Mikhail (Epees), Julian (Swords), Ellen (Axes), Thomas (Spears), Sarah (Bows), and now Robin in reserve (also Epees).
Oh, another piece of advice: big sure that you use multiple safe files. Have one save before you enter a dungeon, and another Save whilst you are in that dungeon. That way, if you get stuck in a dungeon, you don’t have to restart the game.
Entered Muse’s dream today.
Tip: the enemies drop an item that allows for resting just like you would on an inn that restores everything which makes it a good place to grind!
Welcome to WEEK 2!
This week’s goal is to complete all of the quests associated with the 250-500hp range (see the RPG Shrine link in the post above).
@Winter: I spent a good few hours in the dream doing just that, although unintentionally. Took a while to work out that maze without a guide!
Phew yes it’s a strange place!
I don’t think the game ever tells you this but if you have a 6 person party and stick your main character in the back you can enter a commander mode where your main character is commanding the other 5 party members to enact strategies and I think multi-techs. I heard there is some way to trigger it without a full party but I couldn’t figure out how. I personally haven’t been using it too much because my main is (axe) Ellen who is the main damage dealer for me and commander mode removes the main from the party.
As LC11 says! In addition, this is the only way to use multi-techs, which are like the double and triple techs in Chrono trigger.
Yes that’s true. If your starter char is Sarah you should use that mode a lot. I have been told to at least use it until ny chars regen 60 hp every round. You’re forced to use it in her last battle.
So I have played a ton more. I’m in treasure caves now. Doing what I do best, using ten x times the time I should use xD Doubt I will finish in time even though I play so much of it.
Has this guide been mentioned?
https://romancing-saga-3.blogspot.com/2019/08/rs3-welcome.html?m=1
If not, it’s incredible!! Just noticed how much it had. I was using the maps, but it has a ton of information!
That guide does have a ton of interesting info, good find Winter! Although if the guide is accurate I’m going to not be able to recruit any new characters because there is apparently a recruitment limit and I’ve surpassed that limit for most the cast.
I reached the goal for the week, I’m finding the game a lot more fun now that I’m not avoiding fights for fear of enemies scaling and becoming too strong like how some previous Saga games have worked. After the Archfiend I got rid of the bard because I was finding them kind of useless. I picked up Sharl though and he is really strong, he learned a spear ability really quickly that does massive damage to every enemy.
The scaling of enemies in video games is a fucking SCOURGE and any developer who does that should be drummed right out of the industry.
35 hours and nowhere near the week goal. No one is surprised lol. Spent most of yesterday doing partymanagement. I’m ready to head on though. I think Desert is next if I’m not mistaken.
I’m a bit behind. 8 hours in and not quite at the first week waypoint. Algernon the Rat messed me up. I can’t keep up with his AoE damage across my team. I’m gradually getting to understand the battle system but certain things like Martial Skills and how to actually learn magic from scratch confuses me… Robin started off with some magic but are there any ways to learn any with other characters?
I’ve started to notice enemies levelling up as i do as well. You’re right Caspius… this game is looking to join with FFVIII ‘s category of stupidly unintuitive labyrinthine gameplay mechanics. I suppose it is kind of fun when you start to understand it. And it is quite rewarding to be treading fresh ground with this game. It is like back in the day before gamefaqs.
My progress is painfully slow…At this rate I’ll enjoy what I do put into the game but doubt I’ll get anywhere near finishing the game. How much grinding do you find you need to do for each waypoint ie week 1?
I didn’t have to do much grinding for the week one way point.
The trick with the rat question is to make sure you have done the necessary things so that you have the rat poison item: then, at the start of every round, look for which rat is not taking any damage. That is the one you need to attack that term. It changes every round, so keep your eye out for the zero. The walk-through has more details. It’s not designed for you to keep up with the damage, so you really need to go all out and attack and bring him down before the damage kills your party.
So I found the Rat boss quite simple in the end. And I’ve finished the week 1 waypoint. But I have a feeling I’ve clicked the wrong dialogue option with that Red Mage guy Wood. I started with Khalid as my main character and think I’m “greedlocked” now. Another lovely hidden stat that appears quite crucial to even being able to accept quests…
If I start a NG+ and import this file what will carry over?
@Berserk: I’m afraid I don’t know what NG+ actually does, but I believe all character progression carries over, although everything else is reset (e.g. you start from the very beginning, all greed/triggers reset, but when someone joins your party they will have all the skills/stats they have now).
Items carries over too I think and weapons. I didn’t follow closely to see when I did.
40 hours played and not a single of those big bosses beat. No surprise there lol. That’s how you spend 99 hours beating Romancing SaGa 2 xD
Still having a blast! Getting close at least to sealing that first gate. And by close I probably mean 15-20 hours lol.
Hey!! I met the week one goal first week! Just not week two goal lol
I found out that current money, SP, skill levels, all mastered techniques, every item including weapons/armor in storage all carry over to NG+
It was actually quite worthwhile giving up my 8hrs of play time to start over. My progress catching up in NG+ has been quick, and I’ve finished the week 1 waypoint after just a few hours. I’ll try and make up as much time as possible now.
My team so far is Mikhail (main) focusing on Spears and Solar, Julian with 1h swords and heavy armour, Minstrel with Bow and I think Solar magic, Ellen focusing on Axes and Water mostly and Khalid with swords. It’s been great having some really strong characters taking some benefits from my previous playthrough but I may try add some others into the party if they become available. So far I’m mainly focusing on combat with weapons, I’ve not really put much time into Martial arts or Magic, but I’m gradually understanding it more
I’m still about halfway through week 2, though my party HP is mostly 500+.
Have you closed a gate yet Imitanis?
Berserk: That’s great progress! It’s definitely worthwhile starting over if you’re stuck etc. That’s a nice thing with these remakes I think. Makes it accessible.
So each char has a thing they are good at and it’s not necessarily the weapon they start with. I have learned Ellen is actually great with fists so in no time she was higher than she was with the axe. Picked up Herman now which is good with Axe apparently.
This morning I’m finishing up the dolphin statue quest. I think I’m getting close to that first Gate now!
@Winter: No gates yet, though I began the dolphin statue quest too.
So I have pretty much almost played Romancing SaGa since midday. Couldn’t put it down. I’m looking for a Sea Palace now I think to close the first gate. It’s supposed to be down in this grotto. I think at least. Lol I have passed the 50 hour mark and not closed my first gate. Imitanis what is your time? How slow am I lol
The timer on my file is around 21 hours and I’ve closed the water gate and have two of the other gates accessible. Of course that’s the recorded time and not the actual time spent since there are a few of times I exited back to the menu after dungeon diving, finding a boss too hard and not wanting to backtrack.
How are fists? I avoided them because I assumed the added attack of an equipped weapon would surpass just bare fists.
One thing I discovered which made boss battles a lot easier for me is that the Genbu stance auto-heals your party after each turn. I was having trouble with the waterfall dragon on lobster island until i figured that out. Afterwards I easily beat it and the gate boss afterwards.
I did a fair amount of grinding in the Muse’s Dream quest and I’m now progressing on to the last quest in the 250-350HP set. Question do you need an actual average HP in that window to unlock some of the quests? is it an actual requirement?
I found I was locked out of the same quest on this playthrough again. I think my problem this time isn’t Greed (from choosing Khalid) but maybe saying to Wood that I would pass on his quest. I must have talked to him and declined his quest. This game is anything but forgiving and I was paranoid at an earlier post introduction point of the game that if I accepted he would immediately whisk me off to some end game nightmare difficulty hell dungeon Now all he says is “Hey!”. Did anyone else have problems unlocking the Ice Lake quest?
I have the genbu stance now ^^ There are onw more thing that someone teached me that helped immensely. SaGa games usually have a way to get money, break it etc built into it almost as if it was meant to be. Who knows, it probably was. You can diplicate the royal rings and that will make you regen hp every turn. Please anyone let me know if you want to know the trick. I can share what was shared to me.
I’m not sure exactly what triggers quests yet or not.
Entered Undersea Palace. I think the Gate is here.
@Winter: Post it in the comments!
Will do then. Also finally closed my first Gate :D
So first you need a Royal Ring. It’s a couple of steps, just google because I don’t remember :/
The tip I got:
Ok, so I’m going to tell you how to duplicate the Royal Ring (which also gives per turn healing).
1st – have a party of 6 people who can all be kicked out. And be in the town you get Robin in. The shop on the lower level is the place you’ll want to be.
Equip the Royal ring on someone, go to the pub, kick them out.
Go to the shop and buy the Tiny Ring (I think that’s the name) – It’s not, it’s something else, fine ring? Anyways cost 10 only.
It turns into a Royal Ring in your inventory.
Repeat the equip-kick out process with another character.
Do this for each character.
Go recruit all of those characters again. they will have all of their same items equipped. Including the Royal Rings you put on them.
(Your main can’t be kicked)
Imagine banking in real life worked like in Romancing SaGa 3.
Would you like to withdraw funds? Y/N
Love some of these mechanics. How difficult would it have been to add your available balance for this remaster…
With the help of the Royal Ring trick Winter posted and the really good weapons from the Maximus quest I was able to beat the Earth abyss boss. So I have managed to stay on the planned pace for the week.
I am still buried in end-of-term work, but I hope to emerge from it this week in order to catch up to where I should be in a play through. Keep the good advice coming! (I hear that Imitanis is stuck.)
I’m sort of stuck, needing to grind a lot now. There are 3 plants in the Desert area that are a huge jump from the normal enemies I’ve been fighting. Any tips for sparking inspiration to learn new techs? There are some quite detailed guides but I’ve not found any early game areas to grind up. Muse ‘s Dream was good though
The final week begins on Monday… who else is hopelessly behind!? :D
I’m on pace and still feel like there is no way I’ll finish. From what I have seen the end game is a huge boss rush and I’m barely winning against one big boss at a time. Anyway I just beat the fire gate without the optional sacrifice, so just the wind gate and the end game boss rush to go.
I’ve finished up week 2 and done a bit of week 3. Game clock is currently at 23:22 (sorry Winter, missed your message asking for it). Putting Pokemon on the backburner until I’ve finished up RS3.
Hopelessly behind, that’s me!! Didn’t get any in when we travelled to Italy this long weekend, but home now so hope to resume tomorrow! Managed to take down my first gate before I left so that leaves quite a bit of the game considering I already have 50 hours xD
Glad the ring tip helped!!
The ring tip really helped me. So thanks for that Winter.
I beat the 4 gate bosses at around 550-580 HP so I feel I need to grind a bit before starting the end game sequence. The best place I’ve found to grind, if you are powerful enough, is the vampires castle dungeon. There is a free inn right there, plus a mid-boss type enemy guarding two chests that respawns and is close to the start. Every time I beat it it gives me 4-6 stat-ups.
I’m REALLY behind. WAH!
Also: SaGa Scarlet Grace Ambitions came out today (it is -sort of- along the lines of Unlimited SaGa, in a very basic sense, if you have played that). I’ll be waiting to pick it up because there’s a good chance that a physical version will be announced later this month for release in early 2020, and I prefer to have my games on cartridges if I can, since they will last far longer even than discs.
I just discovered this. The new to this version Phantom Maze dungeon you can unlock by talking to the woman that gives you the ultimate magic spells has some really nice rewards. Stuff like rings that half the costs of skills and spells in addition to giving +5 to strength and magic. Although I think the sections of the dungeon are locked behind how many gated you have closed.
I’ve been working my way through the business game (pretty good for a minigame), but I need to buy businesses in Sinon to complete it. ‘Shinon’ is only available in a ROM hack of the SNES version, but has anyone found how to access it in the remake?
EDIT: Nevermind, it’s in Loanne.
I’m fairly far behind, halfway through the 350-500HP quests, not getting an awful lot of time to play, but enjoying it ramping up in pace a lot. I just managed some long set of quests from the desert , through to the Archfiend Armour fight in the Eastern City. The pacing and unbalanced battles are still keeping me on my toes. Some enemies hit like trucks
I beat the game after tons of grinding in the bonus dungeon going from around 600 hp to 920. The final fire boss was super easy like the fire gate boss The earth boss was the hardest because it had an attack that would do more than 1000 damage to one character and so I had to constantly revive people. Honestly it seems like the game purposely tries to kill any character that is trying to revive another just to screw you over.
The first time I fought the final boss I forgot that every-time a character leaves your party it resets your stance so I ended up losing because of my lack of a stance. Although, it gives you a special ending if you lose which was kind of cool. Also, it is super annoying that the game forces the boy into your party and then removes them right before the final battle so you can’t benefit from support levels, which is a thing I learned about 2 days ago. Lastly, I really liked the music pieces for the final boss of the game and the final boss of the bonus dungeon.
I’m glad that the play-through convinced me to stick with the game, not to say that I wouldn’t have otherwise but It would have been a slow go. Something I would have played for a few hours every once in a while until a year or two later I finally beat it. It was real fun to do it with other people also and share obscure things we discovered or read about.
LC11, that’s incredible. And thanks for the helpful pointers re. the final boss. Congratulations, matey!!
That’s great LC11, congratulations!! :D SaGa definitely benefits from community! How long did your playthrough take in the end?
I have made great progress the last couple of days. Really zoning in on this game now and having a blast! Loving it more and more, it is everything I hoped it to be. I have written down all the last quests and I’m supposed to have 12 left. Hp between 600 and 700.
I’m at 18hrs 16 mins and HP of my party around 530-620 and I’m at Moses trying to sort out the Mage quarrel. I meant to press yes on the screen where they ask you about the Dolphin shrine quest but it is too sensitive I find in menus and slipped up twice and pressed No. Well most forgiving RPGs would give you a chance and give you one of those options that are non consequential. Oh you don’t mean that right? kind of thing, nope not SaGa games, it locks you out of that quest which seems to be required for the plot. Hoping I can get around it by talking to the Mahzoz mages and finishing their quest first.
Just a heads up! Very careful with what you select in that dialogue.
Yeah, one of the problems I’ve had with this game is accidentally skipping dialogue by not being careful with button presses. I’ll be extra careful when I come to that point!
Or I meant the other way , No is what you should respond. Apologies. A guide will keep you right as well
@Berserk: Do you mean after discovering the control room you answered ‘yes’ if the picture was correct? I had trouble with that myself. I could still go and find the dolphin statue, but I couldn’t work out how to trigger people to tell me where it was. Luckily I’d found it whilst exploring earlier in the game, so I picked it up and carried on as normal. I think I missed a character because of it though.
Thanks for the congratulations! My clock was at 36:20 when I beat the game. Honestly, it became a lot easier after I beat the Maximus quest and got a bunch of super powerful weapons. So I would recommend doing that quest as soon as someone is able to. One last thing I just discovered is this:
https://saga.fandom.com/wiki/Romancing_SaGa_THE_STAGE:_Ro%C4%81nu_ga_Moeru_Hi
There was a stage play based on this game.
@Imitanis ~ I clicked yes by mistake. I think the correct option was “no” which was slightly confusing. I did notice the statue in the picture but clicked past the right option. I found I was still able to progress but had to take a time out and do the Mage faction quest in Mahzoz. I am curious what happens if you select the wrong option and somehow mess up the Mage quest. I’m liking the game as it goes into the second half but it’s frustrating playing through so dependent on a guide.
Can anyone help with this? I followed the guide on RPG shrine and got to Forneus and am close to sealing the Water Gate.
1.) Was this the first gate you guys sealed? I have 507-640 HP across my party at the moment right before the boss. On losing to him it puts me back to the Vanguard and a message comes up saying his power is at its zenith and I shouldn’t fight him at this point. (I.e. no game over screen )
2.) Where should I be for grinding? Any particularly good areas?
3.) Can Herman be my 6th member in reserve in the battle against Forneus?
@Berserk: I follow the guide which recommended Forneus first. I lost to him a few imes, but reloaded my save and did some grinding outside his chamber (I had spare barrier stones).
I believe Herman can be in reserve as long as he is with you when you kill Forneus. I realised too late that I should have him with me for the battle, so I’m stuck with him after the Maximus quest. I should kill him off.
Nice thanks, I just beat him after changing my formation and putting Herman in reserve. Man there are some tiresome mechanics in this game. Enjoyable though! Progress again!
Earth Abyss Gate sealed! Did some crazy things today like switching out a character after 65 hours lol. Oh well. Second gate closed at 70 hour point. I’m running this as long as the second game I think lol.
And with that, our four week playthrough is at an end. Feel free to continue to post updates, and let us know in the podcast thread if you are continuing!
Aw that went to fast :( Well will still be chiming in progress ^^ Have really enjoyed this playthrough, thanks! :D