History Videogame / SaGaFrontier2

The second ''VideoGame/{{SaGa|RPG}}'' game released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, ''[=SaGa=] Frontier 2'' is markedly different from its predecessor. Set in the world of Sandail, the plotline is divided into two scenarios, revolving around the lives and adventures of two men:

* Johan is a former assassin and as part of his initiation into the Red Scorpion assassin group, he is given a symbol that will give him more power, but also will poison and eventually kill him if he ever betrays the group. Naturally he does by joining forces with Gustave XIII and during his last stand in ''The Southern Fort'', the poison will take 1 LP at the end of every battle till John eventually dies.

** In ''The Southern Fort'', Gustave and Johan are left alone as the titular fort is attacked by endless swarms of monsters. However, you are only able to control Johan during this time and because he's dying of being poisoned during it, you will only get about a few battles in before he dies. This is no doubt because there is no way a player controlled Gustave would lose to just monsters and his death needs to happen to kick off the rest of plot.

** Johan tells Gustave that "even in my weakened condition, I can still fight far better than you!" and Gustave agrees to leave the fight in his hands. Wait, what? Is he talking to [[RankScalesWithAsskicking the same Gustave?]] The most formidable user of Weapon Arts in the entire world? The king [[spoiler: who goes monster-hunting in the middle of a pirate-ridden ViceCity]] because he's ''bored''? Also, the fact that Gustave isn't allowed to take the field in this battle, because it's quite likely that a player-controlled Gustave would be able to wipe out an endless line of monsters single-handedly [[spoiler:and he has to die to kick off the rest of the plot]].

** To a lesser extent, the Cinderforge Sword, which is ''the'' most powerful weapon in the game that you get by defeating the BonusBoss, and the sprite is ''even larger'' than Gustave's Sword. In a similar fashion to Gustave's Sword, it too is steel, so anyone who uses it is going to take a big hit to their ability to cast magic. And Gustaf can't equip it.

* BladeOnAStick: Nebelstern, Cordelia, Kelvin, Primiera and Rich Knights. Gustaf has a good affinity with spears, but sadly [[StuckItems can't equip them]]... [[InfinityMinusOneSword Not that he needs them anyway]].

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: King Gustave XIII and General Nebelstern.

** Johan tells Gustave that "even in my weakened condition, I can still fight far better than you!" and Gustave agrees to leave the fight in his hands. Wait, what? Is he talking to [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking the same Gustave?]] The most formidable user of Weapon Arts in the entire world? The king [[spoiler: who goes monster-hunting in the middle of a pirate-ridden ViceCity]] because he's ''bored''? Also, the fact that Gustave isn't allowed to take the field in this battle, because it's quite likely that a player-controlled Gustave would be able to wipe out an endless line of monsters single-handedly [[spoiler:and he has to die to kick off the rest of the plot]].

* BagOfSpilling: Variant: Wil Knights [[spoiler: will lose half of his stats due to being an old geezer, though you can grind his stats back up]].

* InfinityMinusOneSword: Gustave's sword. Gustaf inherits Gustave's sword and Firebrand, an ''another'' InfinityMinusOneSword (though this sword is less powerful than Gustave's sword, so Firebrand is in fact utterly useless to Gustaf, except for providing Fire Anima and balancing the negative effects of having a steel weapon equiped, since Firebrand remains a very powerful Quell, the only weapon actually to provide a bonus of +2 to SP Regen, which cancels the -2 SP Regen Malus of Gustave's sword). Actually, with his two weapons slots occupied, Gustaf can't equip the InfinityPlusOneSword of the game, or any other weapons for that matter, which prevents him, an already very powerful character in his own right, to achieve a GameBreaker status.

* LamarckWasRight: Ginny inherited her grandfather's mastery of the wand and of the tree, water, rock and flame anima and her father's mastery of the sword. And she must thanks her mother for her impressive Weapon Points regeneration of 4 (by the way, [[GameBreaker her mother had a regeneration of 5]]).

* MarathonBoss: The final boss of the game, [[spoiler:The Egg]], and the whole last dungeon. The final boss doesn't have a lot of HP (~60 000), but is empowered by his henchmen, the Anima Masters, which grants him special powers (such as healing or an OHKO move that can turn everyone to stone) and extra HP (which can more than double his initial HP) if you didn't defeat them earlier in the very last dungeon. The catch? They are skippable, in a dungeon where you can't go back to fight them once they have been skipped (something a player can't possibly guess before reaching the final boss). Only 4 of them can be challenged to a fight (technically, all 6 can be fought, but at the cost of having only 2 remaining party members for the final boss, something which isn't recommended), and among them are DuelBoss, which lead to the loss of the character who stay behind, in what seems to be HeroicSacrifice. On top of that, your party grows weaker and weaker after each fight, losing ManaPoints which are difficult to resplenish if you don't have in your inventory the correct items (which are useless for 99% of the game: you may have tossed them because of inventory limits, and you ''can't'' use them during a battle) which can lead them to be forced to [[CastFromHitPoints use their own life force in order to continue on fighting]]. True, [[HeroicRROD your characters do more damage the lower ManaPoints they have]], but doing so will kill them once they run of Life Points ([=LPs=]). Now, take into account that unless you are CrazyPrepared, you probably won't do more than 2000 damages to the final boss per turn, and that this boss loves to depletes your characters of their [=LPs=]. Oh, and your main character only have 14 [=LPs=], which means that unless you looted from one of the final boss's henchmen one of the only two items of the game which prevents you from losing [=LPs=] when taking a hit, you'll hit a game over once she runs out of these (mind you, all others characters may die in battle, you won't get a game over). So, basically, you're stuck in a very long battle, where you must take down the final boss before it takes '''you''' down, and in which some party members may die permanently if they run out of LPs.

* MarathonBoss: The final boss of the game, [[spoiler:The Egg]], and the whole last dungeon. The final boss doesn't have a lot of HP (~60 000), but is empowered by his henchmen, the Anima Masters, which grants him special powers (such as healing or an OHKO move that can turn everyone to stone) and extra HP (which can more than double his initial HP) if you didn't defeat them earlier in the very last dungeon. The catch? They are skippable, in a dungeon where you can't go back to fight them once they have been skipped (something a player can't possibly guess before reaching the final boss). Only 4 of them can be challenged to a fight (technically, all 6 can be fought, but at the cost of having only 2 remaining party members for the final boss, something which isn't recommended), and among them are DuelBoss, which lead to the loss of the character who stay behind, in what seems to be HeroicSacrifice. On top of that, your party grows weaker and weaker after each fight, losing ManaPoints which are difficult to resplenish if you don't have in your inventory the correct items (which are useless for 99% of the game: you may have tossed them because of inventory limits, and you ''can't'' use them during a battle) which can lead them to be forced to [[CastFromHitPoints use their own life force in order to continue on fighting]]. True, [[HeroicRROD your characters do more damage the lower ManaPoints they have]], but doing so will kill them once they run of Life Points ([=LPs=]). Now, take into account that unless you are CrazyPrepared, you probably won't do more than 2000 damages to the final boss per turn, and that this boss loves to depletes your characters of their [=LPs=]. Oh, and your main character only have 14 [=LPs=], which means that unless you looted from one of the final boss's henchmen one of the only two items of the game which prevents you from losing [=LPs=] when taking a hit, you'll hit a game over once she runs out of these (mind you, all others characters may die in battle, you won't get a game over). [[ThatOneBoss So, basically, you're stuck in a very long battle, where you must take down the final boss before it takes '''you''' down, and in which some party members may die permanently if they run out of LPs]].

* AnyoneCanDie: Nearly everyone in the first generation die, though that may not count since many of them die of old age. Even in the later generations, though, main characters can be killed off with almost no warning.

* AnyoneCanDie: Verges on KillEmAll for the first generation, though that may not count since many of them die of old age. Even in the later generations, though, main characters can be killed off with almost no warning.

* AnAxeToGrind: Few characters can efficiently wield this weapon. Among them are Tyler (generation 1), Patrick (generation 1 and 2), Primiera and Meythia (both generation 3). On the other hand, axes are the most powerful weapon available to Wil's side of the game early on, so some players accept a lack of affinity and just use a flint axe anyway.

* MagicAIsMagicA: Anima cannot be channeled through metal, so most weapons are made of materials that can channel it, such as wood or rock. Since he can't use Anima anyway, Gustave forges a metal blade for himself, and it becomes his [[WeaponOfChoice trademark]].

* WeaponOfChoice: Gustave's {{BFS}}.

** Named units and steel soldiers in war battles. In the battle of Bucket Hill, you have no less than 3 named characters commanding an army unit each, and Gustave's army full of steel soldiers. Should you give Kelvin a spell targeting all enemies, he can destroy every single army unit by himself, as enemy units don't have much health points and will be killed by pretty much any spell with an aera of effect (if Kelvin knows the Firestorm spell, you can relax and enjoy the massacre). Even without Kelvin, you also have Gustave's army, which is all but invincible, and Nebelstern whose war unit is the only one able to move 3 spaces in one turn, and who already knows a few decent spells. The battle of Hahn Nova is easy for the same reasons, as you control 2 named characters (including Sargon, who you can equip with useful weapon arts and spells) and 2 steel soldier units (including Fake Gustave's). Despite being outnumbered, those two battles are made easy by giving you units able to crush the enemy with ease. And then you have [[DifficultySpike the Battle of South Moundtop]], in which you have no named character and no steel soldier unit, while [[ThisIsGonnaSuck the enemy's army has 4 steel soldier units]] and Sargon's, whose unit is tougher than average.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: Players
can end up so unprepared in the final dungeon that they risk not being able to defeat the final boss at all (and that's assuming they are able to defeat the Anima Lords before him), since once you begin the scenarios leading to the final dungeon, you can't go back to the world map, preventing you from accessing shops, inns, and opportunities to level up. Indeed, leveling up inside the final dungeon can be almost impossible if your characters are too weak, since some monsters can one-shot your characters with ease (even with good equipment), and others can take a long time to kill. In fact, it's highly recommended to only fight the bosses, since fighting normal monsters saps your party's strength (you need a fully healed party in order to face some bosses without too much risk), and some of their attacks can diminish your Life Points (which are different from Health Points), a resource that you can't restore in the final dungeon: using 1 Life Point restores all of your character's Health Points, but if a character reaches 0 Life Points, he will be considered dead, which means he can't be resurrected, and if your main character happens to reach 0 Life Points, it's GameOver (please note that your main character has the ''lowest'' amount of Life Points of your whole party). So, unless you have a save allowing you to go back and train your party before heading out to the final dungeon, you will have no choice but to restart the entire game.

* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler: [[TheHeroDies The death of Gustave XIII]].]]

** Roberto could easily be mistaken for an old experienced adventurer, considering his in-game sprite with grey colored hair. In fact, he is not even in his thirties, being 27 years old when he joins your party, making him only slightly older than his companion Gustaf, who is 25.

* ZergRush: [[spoiler: Gustave's death is implicitly this, with him and Johan being overwhelmed by sheer numbers]].

* MugglesDoItBetter: Steel beats magic.

* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Anima is viewed as a manifestation of the user's soul; thus, those who cannot visibly summon said energy are seen as hopelessly crippled spiritually, to the point where the very ''existence'' of their soul is questioned by the ignorant.

* ZergRush: [[spoiler: Gustave's death is implicitly this, with him and Johan being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.])

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: In both Gustave and Will's scenarios, you often end up playing a completely different party.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: Players can end up so unprepared in the final dungeon that they risk not being able to defeat the final boss at all (and that's assuming they are able to defeat the Anima Lords before him), since once you begin the scenarios leading to the final dungeon, you can't go back to the world map, preventing you from accessing shops, inns, and opportunities to level up. Indeed, leveling up inside the final dungeon can be almost impossible if your characters are too weak, since some monsters can one-shot your characters with ease (even with good equipment), and others can take a long time to kill. In fact, it's highly recommended to only fight the bosses, since fighting normal monsters saps your party's strength (you need a fully healed party in order to face some bosses without too much risk), and some of their attacks can diminish your Life Points (which are different from Health Points), a resource that you can't restore in the final dungeon: using 1 Life Point restores all of your character's Health Points, but if a character reaches 0 Life Points, he will be considered dead, which means he can't be resurrected, and if your main character happens to reach 0 Life Points, it's GameOver (please note that your main character has the ''lowest'' amount of Life Points of your whole party). So, unless you have a save allowing you to go back and train your party before heading out to the final dungeon, you will have no choice but to restart the entire game.

* NintendoHard: Partly because of the GuideDangIt nature of some elements of the game, the game itself can be very difficult and unforgiving. The last dungeon has a '''huge''' difficulty spike, and most players won't be prepared enough to fight against the final boss. This can lead to an UnwinnableByMistake situation.

* UnSorcerer: Gustave.
* UnwinnableByMistake: Players can end up so unprepared in the final dungeon that they risk not being able to defeat the final boss at all (and that's assuming they are able to defeat the Anima Lords before him), since once you begin the scenarios leading to the final dungeon, you can't go back to the world map, preventing you from accessing shops, inns, and opportunities to level up. Indeed, leveling up inside the final dungeon can be almost impossible if your characters are too weak, since some monsters can one-shot your characters with ease (even with good equipment), and others can take a long time to kill. In fact, it's highly recommended to only fight the bosses, since fighting normal monsters saps your party's strength (you need a fully healed party in order to face some bosses without too much risk), and some of their attacks can diminish your Life Points (which are different from Health Points), a resource that you can't restore in the final dungeon: using 1 Life Point restores all of your character's Health Points, but if a character reaches 0 Life Points, he will be considered dead, which means he can't be resurrected, and if your main character happens to reach 0 Life Points, it's GameOver (please note that your main character has the ''lowest'' amount of Life Points of your whole party). So, unless you have a save allowing you to go back and train your party before heading out to the final dungeon, you will have no choice but to restart the entire game.

** Characters' stat growths will level off and point regenerations will decrease as they age, reflecting them peaking physically and mentally and no longer having the stamina they may have had in their younger years. In the most extreme example, Wil Knights, who rejoins the story as an old man, suffers permanent HP and WP losses ([[BadassGrandpa which still leaves him with respectable abilities, to be fair]])