SaGa Frontier 2

SaGa Frontier 2 is a role-playing video game featuring two-dimensional character sprites on hand-drawn backgrounds. Players advance through the game by completing story-based missions and interacting with non-player characters to move the plot forward. At the start of the game, the player is given the option of assuming the role of one of two heroes, each with their own individual stories and objectives. Like previous titles in the SaGa series, the game's plot progresses in a mostly non-linear fashion, with a heavier emphasis on exploration and battling than adhering strictly to the narrative. While the player is restricted by the basic flow of the story, they are free to travel to many parts of the game world whenever they choose, and must traverse harsh dungeon environments and defeat enemies to affect their current place in the story.

Battles in SaGa Frontier 2 utilize a turn-based approach where the player must input specific commands for each character at the beginning of each combat round, with each action taking place in accordance with a character's speed rating. In any given round, player may choose to attack an enemy with an equipped weapon, as well as use magic spells to cause harm to their opponent or aid their allies. By continually attacking an enemy with weapons, characters randomly learn special weapon skills that can deal more damage, as well as combine with other party member's attack to form combo attacks. Combat scenarios are divided into three separate types, which are either selectable by the player or dictated automatically by the plot - Duel, which allows one-on-one combat; Team, where up to four characters may take part against an entire enemy group; or Strategic, which can contain a large number of characters in a strategy-like scenario.

SaGa Frontier 2 has two separate storylines: one is the history of Gustave XIII of the country of Finney, and the other concerns a character named Wil Knights. The game takes place in the land of Sandail, with the game's timeline spanning several decades.

Gustave XIII is the former prince of Thermes, the capital of Finney, and was intended to be the heir to the throne of his father, Gustave XII. The son is disinherited and exiled by his father when, at the age of 7, he fails to manifest any magical abilities, known as Anima, during a ritual known as the Firebrand Ceremony. His mother, Queen Sophie, unsuccessfully tries to prevent Gustave XIII's banishment. She and Gustave XIII are banished from the castle by Gustave XII and are forced to live in the slums of Thermes.

SaGa Frontier 2 was first announced in a September 1998 issue of Japanese The PlayStation magazine, where Square claimed the game would be taking a stylistic departure from the original SaGa Frontier released one year earlier, as well as confirming the title's release for spring 1999. A representative from the company stated that they would be abandoning the CG full-motion videos and computer-style graphics of the previous title to focus on a more traditional, hand-drawn look. The game's art style was achieved by using hand-drawn and painted artwork produced on a canvas that would be scanned and digitized to produce the game's backgrounds and character sprites. Many of the game's towns, locations, and characters draw heavily from medieval Germanic influence, with much of the story taking place within a fictional time-frame similar to the 13th century. New features not seen in the previous SaGa Frontier title include compatibility with the PlayStation's DualShock analog controller and PocketStation peripheral device for accessing additional content.

The North American version was announced at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles by Square. On February 15, 2000, the game was released in that region by Square Electronic Arts, and was made available in PAL regions the following March. A promotional movie for SaGa Frontier 2 was included on the SquareSoft 2000 Collector's CD Vol. 3, which was packaged with the initial North American release of Vagrant Story.

Upon its original PlayStation release, the game received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Eric Bratcher of NextGen said of the game, "If you thought FFVIII was unoriginal, this is the game for you. If you liked FFVIII, this is still the game for you." In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 35 out of 40. Game Informer gave the game a positive review while it was still in development.

GameSpot praised the Japanese import's art design in a time when three-dimensional computer graphics were becoming more prominent, stating "[t]he title's relaxed and flowing tones are a pleasant breeze of creativity when compared with most titles' CG, polygons, and pixel-perfect graphics. The unique presentation is SaGa Frontier 2s greatest strength, triumphantly stating: There is still a place for two-dimensional graphics." However, the website felt that the import may alienate fans of the original SaGa Frontier for taking too many liberties with gameplay and style, and that while players were still free to explore scenarios at their own pace, the story itself was more linear than the average SaGa title. SaGa Frontier 2's graphics were also praised by IGN who called the game "beautiful" with a "romantic soundtrack that is of the utmost quality.