PyroPlayer Magazine - PPM Adventurer's Guild

SaGa Frontier

Square * Sony CE * PLAYSTATION * Now Available

SaGa Frontier is Square's way of proving an RPG does not need to be part of a recognizable franchise in order to find a foothold in the US. This is a rather unusual adventure that deviates significantly from your typical RPG. Players will choose from seven lead characters, among them humans, robots, and monsters, each with differing storylines within one huge and complex world. These character scenarios range from a quest to master spellcasting to a journey to recover world-saving rings.

Not dissimilar from Super Famicom classic Live A Live, disparate plot threads are linked in unexpected places. Events and discoveries within the game's inter-connected regions will change depending on the chosen hero. A shopping mall area, for example, may serve no purpose in one storyline while it may prove pivotal in another's with quest items localized to such spaces. Graphically, SaGa is so-so. Its use of character sprites atop pre-rendered backgrounds, by all means a viable direction for modern RPGs, unfortunately contrasts terribly in this case. The dismal frame count in sprite animations combined with a lack of detail in combat scenes leaves one bewildered by the final product.

Battles, on the other hand, exhibit innovation and necessitate tactical thinking. Players decide which characters enter each battle, engage in combat thoughtfully (no random encounters), then select actions prior to initiating them a la AD&D. Party members have a certain amount of skill slots which must be filled to learn new abilities. Humans will learn to use powerful weapons and spells while monsters absorb the abilities of the baddies they destroy. That all said, prepare for exceedingly tough battles, particularly the boss encounters. Reserve well over 100 hours to complete it.

Printed in Issue #46, May-June 1998

Tactics Ogre

Quest Corporation * Atlas * PLAYSTATION * Now Available

Set within the world of Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre is a deep and involving strategy game originally developed for the Super Famicom. The newly released, localized PlayStation version has an uphill fight against the other major tactical RPG on store shelves: Final Fantasy Tactics. Both are fantastic choices, but here are a few aspects that differentiate this title and may even surpass FFT.

Players command a group of warriors through a series of battles with the hope of ending a savage and unruly war. This is a massive adventure with combat laid out over giant, gridded battlefields which factor in elements like terrain type and weather patterns. Carefully position your units, then patiently manage them to best outmaneuver the enemy front. You can even control up to 10 characters at once! Considering the best course of action in these chess-like arenas does tend to result in long, drawn-out combat sequences, for better or worse.

Collectable tarot cards are acquired on the battlefield after disposing of an enemy. These critical items can be used during battles to bolster your units, and alongside currency act as an incentive to eliminate foes as meticulously as possible. Tactics Ogre's strength is its battle system as well as its beautiful soundtrack and atmospheric sound effects.

As for its weakness, aside from an overall slow pace, it is the lack of a graphical update from the 16-Bit age. One can tell on first glance that this is a conversion from the SNES. That is not necessarily a negative in our eyes, as we at PPM certainly appreciate hand-drawn sprite graphics, but the difference is stark when placed next to the more refined visuals of FFT. The presentation remains strong despite this caveat, and for fans of this sub-genre of strategy games, this is a must-play.

Printed in Issue #46, May-June 1998