This game is the 3rd in the SaGa (Romancing SaGa/SaGa Frontier) series. Again, Square just stuck FF name on the game so it would sell, just like the first 2 FF Legends. After the comparatively good sales of FFL2, many expected the 3rd of the series to hit American shores, and it did. But was it worth the time and money on Square’s part? Or did they even put any time/money into this thing at all?
Gameplay gets an 85%. Why? Well, the game was fun, but not as fun as FFL2. Some dungeons were too long, others too big and thus confusing and hard to find your way around. There was an important feature added to this one that kept it from getting an 80%. Jumping. You could jump in this game, over one block and hitting the next. This made for some interesting dungeon layouts with new puzzles.
Graphics get an 85%. Why? The graphics are fine for a Game Boy RPG of its time. Tiles look nice, enemies are well drawn, the super-deformed characters are touched up compared to the first 2 FF Legends. That’s about all that needs to be stated there.
Story gets an 85%. Why? Let’s do some pros and cons. One pro is time travel. This adds to the story in a way that can’t be found in other RPGs of its time (unless you consider Chrono Trigger as part of its time). Another pro is the background story on characters. You know, where they’re coming from, and mysteries about certain things are revealed as the plot unfolds. Now for the cons. Again, the characters don’t really develop. You see little to no emotion, which shouldn’t really have to be hindered just because its a Game Boy game (with the exception of the length that an RPG is limited to on Game Boy). That’s really the only con. My grade is fitting, and I stand by it. 🙂
Music gets an 85%. Why? Good music. I liked it. But it wasn’t as good as FFL2. With exception to the same old opening theme song, there wasn’t a single “outstanding” song, whereas FFL2 had at least 2 other songs that I can still remember clearly. Sometimes the battle theme in FFL3 would get annoying and I’d have to turn on some other music until the battle was over. That’s not cool. However, 85% still stands.
OVERALL, I’d have to go for an 87%. WHAT?!? Making an average out of these all 85’s makes for an 85% average. However, those grades were on each thing alone. When all these things come together to make the game, I just can’t explain it, except that it makes the game more fun. Overall, the game DESERVES an 87% and that’s final. I hope this review was somewhat enlightening! 😉
