Line #27 VideoGame/SaGaRPG


1	[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saga_logo.jpg]]
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4	''[=SaGa=]'' is an {{RPG}} series created by Creator/SquareEnix. In North America, the first three games were released as part of the [[RunningGag saga-makingly popular]] ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series [[DolledUpInstallment under the name]] ''Final Fantasy Legend''. (Similarly, the first ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' game was released as ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure''). Its noted for having unique stat progressions systems in contrast to other [=RPGs=]. The series is created and headed by Akitoshi Kawazu, who previously worked on ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' and its stat progression system.
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6	It has nothing to do with the comic book ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}''.
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8	Character sheet for the franchise [[Characters/SaGaRPG here.]]
9	----
10	!! The series consists of:
11	[[index]]
12	* ''VideoGame/TheFinalFantasyLegend'' / ''Makai Toshi [=SaGa=]'' (1989, Platform/GameBoy) -- Has a 2002 Platform/WonderSwan Color remake.
13	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendII'' / ''[=SaGa=] 2: Hihou Densetsu'' (1990, Platform/GameBoy) -- Has a 2009 Platform/NintendoDS remake, ''Goddess of Destiny.''
14	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendIII'' / ''[=SaGa=] 3: Jikuu no Hasha'' (1991, Platform/GameBoy) -- Has a 2011 Platform/NintendoDS remake, ''Shadow or Light.''
15	* ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa'' (1992, [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]]) -- Has a 2005 Platform/PlayStation2 remake, ''Romancing [=SaGa=]: Minstrel Song'', which was later upgraded and ported to platforms belonging to MediaNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames..
16	* ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa2'' (1993, [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]]) -- Has a 2016 EnhancedRemake for iOS/Android and later to platforms belonging to MediaNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames.
17	* ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa3'' (1995, [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]]) -- Has a 2019 EnhancedRemake for iOS/Android and platforms belonging to MediaNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames.
18	* ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'' (1997, Platform/PlayStation) -- Has a 2021 remaster for iOS/Android, Platform/NintendoSwitch, Platform/PlayStation4 and PC.
19	* ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier2'' (1999, Platform/PlayStation)
20	* ''VideoGame/UnlimitedSaga'' (2002, Platform/PlayStation2) -- The only game in the series without a capital G.
21	* ''[=Emperors SaGa=]'' (2012, GREE) -- Japan only, also launced on Mobage and [=NTT DoCoMo=] in 2013, shut down in 2017
22	* ''[=Imperial SaGa=]'' (2015, Web browser) -- Japan only, shut down in 2019
23	* ''VideoGame/SaGaScarletGrace'' (2016, Platform/PlayStationVita) -- Received an internationally released EnhancedRemake in 2019, with the subtitle ''Ambitions''
24	* ''[[VideoGame/RomacingSaGaReUniverse Romancing SaGa Re;Universe]]'' (2018, iOS/Android) -- A mobile gacha game released internationally on June 2020.
25	* ''[=Imperial SaGa Eclipse=]'' (2019, Web browser) -- Japan only
26	[[/index]]
27	* ''Collection of [=SaGa=]: Final Fantasy Legend'' (2020, Platform/NintendoSwitch, PC via Platform/{{Steam}}) -- A CompilationRerelease of the first three ''[=SaGa=]'' games.
28	[[index]]
29	* ''VideoGame/SaGaEmeraldBeyond'' (2024, Platform/NintendoSwitch, Platform/PlayStation5, Platform/PlayStation4, PC via Platform/{{Steam}}, iOS/Android)
30	[[/index]]
31	----
32	!! Tropes featured:
33	* BreakableWeapons: Weapon durability factors into several of the ''[=SaGa=]'' games, starting from the very first two Game Boy installments (which also tracked ''shield and spellbook'' durability). It vanished from the ''Romancing'' trilogy and ''Frontier'' but returned with ''Frontier 2'', where the story actually justified it by tying mana use to weapons crafted from earthen elements like wood or stone. Remakes of the third Game Boy game and the first ''Romancing'' brought back weapon durability to enforce stronger ties to the franchise as a whole.
34	* DolledUpInstallment: The first three games on the Game Boy were titled ''Final Fantasy Legend'' in North America. Aside from sharing the same developer, they are InNameOnly and completely divorced from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'' in nearly all aspects. The closest thing ''[=SaGa=]'' has to ''Final Fantasy'' is that its [[StatGrinding stat progression system]] is an advanced form of the one found in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII''.
35	* HitPoints: ''[=SaGa=]'' has a unique health system that comes with two separate stats: the Health Points, a regular health for characters, and the "Life Points", ''[=SaGa=]''[='s=] unique health stat that decreases whenever a character's Health Point reaches zero in a battle or takes hit with zero Health Point. While the Health Points are restored after each battle, the Life Points are not, and characters without [=LPs=] can no longer participate in battles (or worse, result in {{Permadeath}}). The ways to recover the Life Points vary between games (from sleeping somewhere to rare healing items), but they're always more limited than the Health Points and managing the [=LPs=] of your party is a big factor in what makes the ''[=SaGa=]'' games difficult.
36	* LevelScaling: Enemies rank up along with the characters. This, however, doesn't apply to bosses.
37	* MutagenicFood: Depending on the game, both monster meat and robot components can either turn your character into a monster/robot OR be a simple way for monsters and robots to get new abilities.
38	* NintendoHard: The series is infamous for featuring a steep difficulty curve where even the most basic enemies pose a remarkable threat and can/will cause a TotalPartyKill to any unprepared gamer.
39	* NonStandardSkillLearning: Generally the player can spark learning new skills (randomly, of course) by spamming abilities lower on the skill tree.
40	* RecurringRiff: "Heartful Tears" (sometimes translated as "Wipe Your Tears Away") is a recurring song used in most of the earlier installments in the series and their remakes, either as a prelude or for particularly sad moment. Some versions: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIrasWFZpLU Makai Toshi SaGa, GB version]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPzkUCZB468&t=879s WSC remake]]), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avqYTQjfvYo Makai Toshi SaGa 2]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYX5c1xld5M DS remake]]), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QRwymQlPBk Romancing SaGa]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY9xR0WwZjs Minstrel Song]]), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfUD4EAGsKg&t=112s Romancing SaGa 2]]
41	* ThematicSeries: Like ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'', each game is a standalone title that only shares similar gameplay systems, and sometimes those gameplay systems can change a lot, like ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier2'' and ''VideoGame/UnlimitedSaga''.
42	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Strongly averted; monsters (including blatantly non-humanoid ones like slimes, tigers, and scorpions) are just another sentient race and you'll find almost as many of them hanging around town peacefully as you will humans and mutants[=/=]espers. They can even be party members.

Context VideoGame / SaGaRPG