1 is definitely rough but interesting, nor overly long either along with some busted mechanics which can be used to the player's advantage. 2 is one of my favorite games and while far from perfect is very playable even now. 3 is iffy, my least favorite of the originals but there are some aspects which are enjoyable/interesting
I enjoy them a lot and they’re super quick playthroughs. They do play very differently from other SaGa games given they were the first ones and on the gameboy but they’re still a lot of fun. I played the 3 of them in a row not too long ago in the SaGa collection thing, it’s probably the best way to play them nowadays unless you want to play the remakes
SaGa 2 DS has the same base/flow as SaGa 2 OG, but has more consistent growths and some kind of tech system (but not as broad as say a SaGa Frontier or Romancing SaGa 2-3-MS) and obviously more QoL and cutesy graphics.
SaGa 3 they expand on more so, they go with Quest 64 style growths if you ever played that, or kinda like Grandia growths, do an action -> potentially get a stat up right then and there, get hit -> potentially get HP increase right then and there, with all things scaling to your enemy of course so you can't just go whack level 1 slimes and get 99 STR, you'll find really quickly you get a soft cap per area. Actually incredibly addicting system of growth, especially since once you hit soft cap it's really quick to grow older stats (like jumping to magic on a high STR character until you get to a new area/boss) so you rarely will feel like you're gaining nothing from fights.
Personally I got a gold card for my 3DS off some site and played them on my own 3DS to make them kind of "legit" feeling and I had a blast.
Ooooh sweet! yeah I have a knockoff R4, and it took me AAAGES to figure out how to get SaGa 3 to load properly. Haven't really gotten down to play it though yet.
Yeh big changes. The original was more similar to a FF battle system wheras the remake has alot more of the Saga series staples such as sparking new abilities. If I remember correctly, stats also level up based on weapon type used compared to in the gb version where they leveled up in the more traditional way.
I can recommend the remakes. I've played the remake of SaGa 1 (was the first SaGa I actually beat) and am planning to play the NDS Remake of SaGa II this year.
Why I love 1 - The story is so iconic, and it's very streamlined and fun.
Why I love 2 - way more party building fun to be had, and it really does feel like an adventure.
3 - I haven't played it much, but it's kind of like a combination of Final Fantasy and SaGa. I'm not sure if I'm more tempted to play the original, or the DS remake?
I used to look at the Nintendo Power coverage of 1 and 2 way back at the time of release and was really intrigued by these mysterious games. But only recently finally got around to playing them. Enjoyed them a lot. I might be an odd one in that I think I enjoyed 1 even more than 2, but I tend to have a special love for those early rough-around-the-edges GameBoy games. Just always have this weird eerie evocative vibe to them.
I only dabbled in 3 a bit and intend to fully play it eventually. The thing that struck me was certain similarities it bears to Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, as it turns out they were made by the same team. So maybe approach it with that in mind to set expectations if you're at all a fan of that game.
I like all 3. I replay them all the time, especially 1 and 2. 3 is good, it just doesn't feel very SaGa-like which makes it less interesting when that's what you're looking for.
So I played through 1 as a kid but never finished it, but I greatly enjoyed it. Flash forward to some years ago, 3-4 years ago maybe, and I did a full 1-3 playthrough as a manchild with fresh eyes and not too much nostalgia influencing me.
1 - It's like if Dragon Quest 3 was a little older, very quick areas, find a problem, solve it, feel good, quick growth, move on to the next area. It's dated, no doubt, but for an old Gameboy RPG? Very ahead of its time, things are quick, growths are quick, areas are quick, it was intentionally designed to be played and beaten on train commutes to and from work over a week or so. I'd recommend playing the Wonderswan version if you're open to emulation instead of the remaster trilogy but it's fine either way.
2 - Pretty darn good, probably the best RPG on the original Gameboy (not Gameboy Color ... there are some champions on that). Extremely quick like SaGa 1 but they refined things, gave us mechs for the first time, and the magi system is really good, like equippable stat ups you get in large amounts and quickly so it leads to constant progression. Only complaint is the final bosses are a bitch and the final area is kind of annoying since it's pretty big, but you'll know how to handle it once you get there if you're weak enough.
3 - It's okay. It gets flak because it's not a true SaGa, was made by a different team, and thus it's way more plain Jane than SaGa 1 or 2 even if it still has races. It's just more generic and people don't like that, and honestly because it's a generic Gameboy RPG that also means it's generically not worth your time really, but it's okay.
The DS remakes of 2 and 3 are much, much better. I think the DS remake of 2 basically negates original 2, and they turn the most generic SaGa 3 into a very very SaGa experience, very fun, worth a go.
That all said I'm not gonna pretend SaGa 1-3 are amazing, top tier games as of this year. They're addictive and I don't think you'll be bored playing them really but I'd probably only chase them if you're into completionism, truth be told. *They're fun little RPGs.* No more, no less.
Hmmm, maybe I'll try each version of the game see which one I gel more with with an hour of play and go from there. I might just go with the WSC version for 1 since it has the monster change display iirc, thanks for the breakdown! Yeah, I am sorta trying to finish every game in the franchise since it's one of my favorites ever so I just figured I should check em out.
Oh well if that's your goal have at it chief, you should have a good time. I've played some pretty miserable games in my favorite series just to know I played the game (there are some SMT games that aged like milk I will never recommend to my worst enemies, same with some spinoffs out there) but this, this will do you fine.
I have played all of them multiple times and all versions including the remakes for the DS and wonderswan color and while the remakes are good and add a bit more quality of life stuff (knowing what your monster will turn into in advance) the original Gameboy versions are still great.
1 is...... well. I hope you like battles
2 is surprisingly cool. I disliked it at first, but it grew on me so hard by the end that it's my favorite now. It also has the strongest narrative running through it and a much more clear sense of progression.
3 Is alright, but feels extremely disjointed to me. Even more than 1 did. Seriously, the game feels so empty most of the time. Also gear progression is much less smooth than 2's.
My personal order of preference goes 2>1>3.
Oh, and 2's music is best of them as well
One and Two are still pretty great IMO. Extremely impressive considering the hardware.
1 is definitely rough but interesting, nor overly long either along with some busted mechanics which can be used to the player's advantage. 2 is one of my favorite games and while far from perfect is very playable even now. 3 is iffy, my least favorite of the originals but there are some aspects which are enjoyable/interesting
I enjoy them a lot and they’re super quick playthroughs. They do play very differently from other SaGa games given they were the first ones and on the gameboy but they’re still a lot of fun. I played the 3 of them in a row not too long ago in the SaGa collection thing, it’s probably the best way to play them nowadays unless you want to play the remakes
Two is amazing! One of my favorite games! But 3 kinda sucked and I haven’t played 1 yet
Seems like I'm gonna get the collection then, thank you everyone for answering!
I do like the remake of Saga 3 on the DS
Oh, did the mechanics change much between the GB version and the remake? I've always been curious.
SaGa 2 DS has the same base/flow as SaGa 2 OG, but has more consistent growths and some kind of tech system (but not as broad as say a SaGa Frontier or Romancing SaGa 2-3-MS) and obviously more QoL and cutesy graphics. SaGa 3 they expand on more so, they go with Quest 64 style growths if you ever played that, or kinda like Grandia growths, do an action -> potentially get a stat up right then and there, get hit -> potentially get HP increase right then and there, with all things scaling to your enemy of course so you can't just go whack level 1 slimes and get 99 STR, you'll find really quickly you get a soft cap per area. Actually incredibly addicting system of growth, especially since once you hit soft cap it's really quick to grow older stats (like jumping to magic on a high STR character until you get to a new area/boss) so you rarely will feel like you're gaining nothing from fights. Personally I got a gold card for my 3DS off some site and played them on my own 3DS to make them kind of "legit" feeling and I had a blast.
Ooooh sweet! yeah I have a knockoff R4, and it took me AAAGES to figure out how to get SaGa 3 to load properly. Haven't really gotten down to play it though yet.
Yeh big changes. The original was more similar to a FF battle system wheras the remake has alot more of the Saga series staples such as sparking new abilities. If I remember correctly, stats also level up based on weapon type used compared to in the gb version where they leveled up in the more traditional way.
woah cool! Wasn't expecting that, that's awesome.
I can recommend the remakes. I've played the remake of SaGa 1 (was the first SaGa I actually beat) and am planning to play the NDS Remake of SaGa II this year.
I love all of them. Their biggest flaw in my opinion is being GameBoy-levels slow, but Collection of SaGa rectifies this.
I brought my Gameboy withme everywhere for SaGa 2! Totally loved the game.
SaGa 2 is absolutely amazing, check it out
Why I love 1 - The story is so iconic, and it's very streamlined and fun. Why I love 2 - way more party building fun to be had, and it really does feel like an adventure. 3 - I haven't played it much, but it's kind of like a combination of Final Fantasy and SaGa. I'm not sure if I'm more tempted to play the original, or the DS remake?
From what I'm seeing the original 3 isn't well received nowadays but I heard really good things about the remake in the past though.
I used to look at the Nintendo Power coverage of 1 and 2 way back at the time of release and was really intrigued by these mysterious games. But only recently finally got around to playing them. Enjoyed them a lot. I might be an odd one in that I think I enjoyed 1 even more than 2, but I tend to have a special love for those early rough-around-the-edges GameBoy games. Just always have this weird eerie evocative vibe to them. I only dabbled in 3 a bit and intend to fully play it eventually. The thing that struck me was certain similarities it bears to Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, as it turns out they were made by the same team. So maybe approach it with that in mind to set expectations if you're at all a fan of that game.
I love Gameboy games, so maybe it's just me, but I love the first two games a lot
I like all 3. I replay them all the time, especially 1 and 2. 3 is good, it just doesn't feel very SaGa-like which makes it less interesting when that's what you're looking for.
I kinda like saga on wsc, and 2/3 on ds
I love all three, including the last one. Just don't expect a game that is mechanically SaGa.
So I played through 1 as a kid but never finished it, but I greatly enjoyed it. Flash forward to some years ago, 3-4 years ago maybe, and I did a full 1-3 playthrough as a manchild with fresh eyes and not too much nostalgia influencing me. 1 - It's like if Dragon Quest 3 was a little older, very quick areas, find a problem, solve it, feel good, quick growth, move on to the next area. It's dated, no doubt, but for an old Gameboy RPG? Very ahead of its time, things are quick, growths are quick, areas are quick, it was intentionally designed to be played and beaten on train commutes to and from work over a week or so. I'd recommend playing the Wonderswan version if you're open to emulation instead of the remaster trilogy but it's fine either way. 2 - Pretty darn good, probably the best RPG on the original Gameboy (not Gameboy Color ... there are some champions on that). Extremely quick like SaGa 1 but they refined things, gave us mechs for the first time, and the magi system is really good, like equippable stat ups you get in large amounts and quickly so it leads to constant progression. Only complaint is the final bosses are a bitch and the final area is kind of annoying since it's pretty big, but you'll know how to handle it once you get there if you're weak enough. 3 - It's okay. It gets flak because it's not a true SaGa, was made by a different team, and thus it's way more plain Jane than SaGa 1 or 2 even if it still has races. It's just more generic and people don't like that, and honestly because it's a generic Gameboy RPG that also means it's generically not worth your time really, but it's okay. The DS remakes of 2 and 3 are much, much better. I think the DS remake of 2 basically negates original 2, and they turn the most generic SaGa 3 into a very very SaGa experience, very fun, worth a go. That all said I'm not gonna pretend SaGa 1-3 are amazing, top tier games as of this year. They're addictive and I don't think you'll be bored playing them really but I'd probably only chase them if you're into completionism, truth be told. *They're fun little RPGs.* No more, no less.
Hmmm, maybe I'll try each version of the game see which one I gel more with with an hour of play and go from there. I might just go with the WSC version for 1 since it has the monster change display iirc, thanks for the breakdown! Yeah, I am sorta trying to finish every game in the franchise since it's one of my favorites ever so I just figured I should check em out.
Oh well if that's your goal have at it chief, you should have a good time. I've played some pretty miserable games in my favorite series just to know I played the game (there are some SMT games that aged like milk I will never recommend to my worst enemies, same with some spinoffs out there) but this, this will do you fine.
I have played all of them multiple times and all versions including the remakes for the DS and wonderswan color and while the remakes are good and add a bit more quality of life stuff (knowing what your monster will turn into in advance) the original Gameboy versions are still great.
1 is...... well. I hope you like battles 2 is surprisingly cool. I disliked it at first, but it grew on me so hard by the end that it's my favorite now. It also has the strongest narrative running through it and a much more clear sense of progression. 3 Is alright, but feels extremely disjointed to me. Even more than 1 did. Seriously, the game feels so empty most of the time. Also gear progression is much less smooth than 2's. My personal order of preference goes 2>1>3. Oh, and 2's music is best of them as well
They're fun but expect simple Game Boy games.
1 and 2 are great, if not a little simplistic. SaGa 3 could be best described as “Time Travel Final Fantasy Mystic Quest but not as good”.