''Unlimited Saga'' is a 2002
role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
developed and published by
Square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
(rebranded as
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
in 2003) for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
as the ninth game in the ''
SaGa
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
'' series. It was released in 2002 in Japan and 2003 in North America and Europe; its European version was published by
Atari Europe
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive#Infogrames subsidiary, Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. (1993–present), Atari, Inc. It ...
. The story follows seven characters as they explore mysteries connected to the Seven Wonders, artifacts left by an ancient civilization said to be capable of triggering a golden age. Battles carry over the skill-based levelling systems and nonlinear structure of earlier ''SaGa'' titles, with an exploration structure similar to a
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
.
Production at Square's Product Development Division 2 lasted two years, involving a staff of fifty people. Several staff members returned from earlier entries including series creator
Akitoshi Kawazu
is a Japanese game designer, director, producer and writer. After joining Square (video game company), Square (later Square Enix) in 1985, he went on to become a central developer for the first two ''Final Fantasy'' titles, then acted as creato ...
as producer and director, designer Kyouji Koizumi, and composer
Masashi Hamauzu
is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
. The characters were designed by newcomer
Yusuke Naora
(born January 9, 1971) is a Japanese video game art director and character designer who worked for Square Enix (formerly Square). A former member of Toaplan,Translationby Gamengai. by Gaijin Punch. ). Naora served as the art director for several ' ...
, with veteran artist
Tomomi Kobayashi
is a Japanese illustrator. She is best known for her character design and illustration work in the '' SaGa'' series of video games by Square Enix. Kobayashi has been termed an "iconic" artist for Japanese role-playing games, and has had multipl ...
contributing promotional art. Kawazu wanted to get back to the basics of game design and evoke the style of the earliest ''SaGa'' games, placing focus on the battle system and having several elements mimic
tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
s. The graphics were designed in partnership with
Adobe Systems
Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware
and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the crea ...
to create a combination of 3D models and 2D artwork.
''Unlimited Saga'' was first announced in 2002, and was supplemented with several guidebooks that detailed its systems and explored the game world's lore. It was a commercial success in Japan, selling over half a million units in that region; it sold a further 130,000 in the West. It saw a polarized response between Japan, where it was met with praise, and the West. In English reviews, the music was met with general praise, while its graphics and unorthodox gameplay saw mixed to negative reactions. Feedback from the title influenced the production of both ''
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song'' and ''
SaGa: Scarlet Grace''.
Gameplay
''Unlimited Saga'' is a
role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
where players take on the role of seven different protagonists, playing through the narratives in a
nonlinear
In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...
style.
Gameplay is split between two modes; town exploration that includes story sections and interacting with facilities, and exploring environments while encountering enemies and environmental hazards.
Town facilities are represented with icons on an illustrated background, with selecting an icon opening the facility and potentially triggering a story section delivered in a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
style. During the game, players will explore towns which can be used to gather information and purchase goods to aid them on their journey before exploring outside environments and dungeons.
Specific services in towns include the Blacksmith, which sells and forges weapons and accessories. A scenario-specific Carrier's Guild has a ranking system, raised by performing delivery missions. The party can either save at a town, or perform a quick save while exploring. Upon exiting town, the party is either transported to the area of a quest, or can select previously explored areas on a
world map
A world map is a map of most or all of the surface of Earth. World maps, because of their scale, must deal with the problem of map projection, projection. Maps rendered in two dimensions by necessity distort the display of the three-dimensiona ...
.
Dungeon and environmental exploration plays out in a style similar to a
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
; the player character is represented as a static sprite on a map that is revealed as the player explores, with unexplored areas being named with a series of question marks. Each move or action being equivalent to a
turn.
While exploring, an illustration in the top right hand corner of the screen shows the environment the party is in.
The goal of missions in these areas is to reach a goal, either a story event, another town, or some other location within the map. The amount of turns taken by the player is recorded.
Some missions have turn limits, with the player being returned to a town if they reach that limit. Moving into a new part of the map can trigger an event such as a battle or trap, or hold an item the party can search for and retrieve. While unlocking chests or avoiding traps, the player triggers the Reel, an options wheel that spins until the player halts it, triggering an action.
Enemies shift position with each turn, and some spaces have hiding areas allowing the party to avoid battle if they choose.
When a battle is triggered, the party is unable to flee, either having to defeat the enemy or be defeated in battle. During battles, a player party of up to five on-screen characters fight enemies in a themed arena. The player is given five turns per round, with actions selected for up to that many characters per turn.
Characters have two types of health: Health Points (HP), which is used for skills and special abilities, and Life Points (LP), which is their underlying health and is lowered if their HP bar drops to zero.
If the scenario protagonist runs out of LP, the game ends and must be restarted from the last save. Both HP and LP are fully recovered when the party reaches a town, and can be recovered to varying degrees outside battle by resting for a turn.
While HP level can rise, each character's LP level is set from the game's beginning. As in exploration, the Reel system plays a part, with the player's chosen icon on the Reel impacting the type and power of a character's move. The player can choose to have five individual actions, or "Hold" the action so they are chained together to create combination attacks.
Combination attacks can be triggered by a single character using multiple skills or attacks in one turn, or multiple characters chaining their attacks together. An attack chain can be broken by enemies if their attack phase comes in the middle of the party's turn.
While characters do not earn
experience point
An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
s in battle, completing missions can increase a character's maximum HP, weapons have unique abilities, and skills are unlocked by equipping different types of items to a character's growth tree at the end of a mission. New weapon techniques can also be learned during battle at random.
Weapons have a limited durability, and after a set number of uses will break and become unusable.
Durability can be raised by using certain items, or reworking the weapon at the Blacksmith. Magical abilities called Arts are learned by characters with tablet items. If an Art is used in battle, players will be invited to invest points into raising the power of that Art, unlocking an Art's use with a weapon. Withdrawing points from the Art will cause the character to lose their higher abilities. Some character types can use spirits called Familiars, which are element-themed spirits equipped to characters who can perform specific skills.
Synopsis
''Unlimited Saga'' takes place in an unnamed fantasy world. Scattered across the world are the Seven Wonders, giant structures from a time called the "Golden Age" linked to an ancient battle against chaotic forces. Key to the world's backstory is Iskander, a warrior king who conquered half the known world and founded a capital bearing his name near one of the Seven Wonders. In the game's backstory, the Seven Wonders were created as research devices by the Arcanians, a race created as the original humanity by the world's Creator. Their experiments in the Seven Wonders were with Chaos, a dangerous energy force. Chaos's influence prompted the Creator to destroy the Arcanian's civilization, banishing Chaos and causing the Creator to vanish.
In the present, the Seven Wonders are attributed the power to bestow a new Golden Age.
The storylines follow seven different characters—Laura, Judy, Ventus, Ruby, Mythe, Kurt and Armic—who each face a person using the power of the Seven Wonders.
Laura is a former pirate who after the death of her husband finds new meaning protecting a wandering prince. Judy is a young witch-in-training who goes on a quest to save her grandfather after he is trapped in a mirror by an old rival. Ventus is a courier looking for the man who killed his brother years before. Ruby is the powerless sister of a fortune teller who ends up caught in her affairs. Mythe is a lady's man who becomes smitten with the picture of a mysterious woman. Kurt is a former noble knight who defies his family to find adventure and discover the truth behind a curse gauntlet he wears. Armic is a laid-back, slow-witted member of the Chapa people sent to find the items necessary for a rain-making ritual as his people are suffering from a prolonged drought.
In Ruby's scenario, the party includes the now-immortal Iskander, who became an omnipotent being through learning the Creator's secrets from Arcanian survivors.
A key event in the game is the Festival, a celebration in memory of Iskander and his immediate successors Lord Dixon and his wife Regina. All the characters come together and can interact during this period. Each scenario reveals the antagonists to have been tempted, directly manipulated by, or be intent on using the manifested Chaos, which the chosen protagonist defeats and banishes once again.
Development
''Unlimited Saga'' was developed by
Square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
, which handled development for multiple role-playing series including ''
SaGa
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
'' and ''
Final Fantasy
is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
''.
Development lasted two years, and involved a staff of around fifty people from Square's Product Development Division 2.
Many of the staff were veterans of the ''SaGa'' series. Series creator
Akitoshi Kawazu
is a Japanese game designer, director, producer and writer. After joining Square (video game company), Square (later Square Enix) in 1985, he went on to become a central developer for the first two ''Final Fantasy'' titles, then acted as creato ...
produced and directed, Kyouji Koizumi returned as battle designer from the ''Romancing SaGa'' games, and recurring staff member Jyunichi Shinomiya acted as lead writer.
As with other games in the series, Kawazu chose a non-traditional way of designing the game. He stated, "As far as ''Unlimited Saga'' is concerned, we said let's tackle the basics of game design once again. We didn't try to emphasize the realistic details, but rather symbolize, and cut out the parts we didn't need. We thought, let's dare to do a 'not express' thing and we calmly
tuck
Tuck may refer to:
People
* Tuck (surname), including a list of people
* Tuck (nickname), a list of people
* Tuck (footballer), Portuguese football player and coach João Carlos Novo de Araújo Gonçalves (born 1969)
* Hillary Tuck (born 1978), A ...
to that route."
Despite the non-traditional approach, the team built on their previous game development structures when creating ''Unlimited Saga''.
During its early production, it was planned for an unnamed
handheld console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
. When production of that console was cancelled, production was moved to the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
.
''Unlimited Saga'' saw the series' debut on that platform.
The game's art director was
Yusuke Naora
(born January 9, 1971) is a Japanese video game art director and character designer who worked for Square Enix (formerly Square). A former member of Toaplan,Translationby Gamengai. by Gaijin Punch. ). Naora served as the art director for several ' ...
, who had just finished work on ''
Final Fantasy X
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square as the tenth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Originally released in 2001 for PlayStation 2, the game was re-released as ''Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster'' for PlayStat ...
''. After completing his work there, Naora was considering leaving Square and going overseas to study art to keep up with other artists coming into the industry, but was unable to for unspecified reasons. At this point, Kawazu invited Naora onto the production team. Naora accepted, as he "wanted to try new things" within the ''SaGa'' series.
The character designs were created by Naora, with additional character and monster artwork by Yuichi Shiota and Toshiaki Matsumoto.
Naora was originally only assigned as background designer, but Kawazu wanted a "challenging" design for the characters, so requested Naora to design them.
Regular series artist
Tomomi Kobayashi
is a Japanese illustrator. She is best known for her character design and illustration work in the '' SaGa'' series of video games by Square Enix. Kobayashi has been termed an "iconic" artist for Japanese role-playing games, and has had multipl ...
created character art for the game based on Naora's design. While working from another artist's work, Kobayashi put her own spin on the designs, creating the illustrations around the primary color of each character.
The visual theme for the cast was "flowers", with each character being given a key colour based on a flower.
For the graphics, Square partnered with
Adobe Systems
Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware
and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the crea ...
to create "Sketch Motion" during battles. Using programs such as
Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
and
After Effects
Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application developed by Adobe Inc., and used in the post-production process of film making, video games and television production. Among other things, After Eff ...
, hand-drawn 2D designs were combined with 3D models to create a unique hybrid look.
The style of the opening movie, which featured the lead characters depicted using cel-shaded graphics like a "moving watercolor", was suggested by Naora.
The CGI opening, a first for the ''SaGa'' series, was animated by Square's dedicated studio
Visual Works
(formerly Visual Works and Image Arts), is a Japan-based CGI animation studio dedicated towards creating video game cut scenes and full-length feature films for Square Enix. Square Enix Image Studio Division was founded as Visual Works as the C ...
.
The animation lead was Takeshi Nozue, who would later work on several notable Visual Works projects including ''
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children''.
The use of Adobe tools managed to cut down on production time for the visuals and opening, as the layers and effect filters made previously labour-intensive aspects of animation easy.
When designing ''Unlimited Saga'', Kawazu wanted to go back to the mechanical roots of the early portable titles, deciding to create a game that focused almost entirely on its battle system. The "Reel" system was based on rolling a dice in a
tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
.
The board game-like gameplay and progression was intended by Kawazu as an evolution of his work on ''Wild Card'', a role-playing game for the
WonderSwan
The (ワンダースワン) is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory and Bandai, and was the last piece of hardware Yokoi developed before his death in 1997. Released i ...
. The decision made ''Unlimited Saga'' stand out from the rest of the ''SaGa'' franchise, which were traditional role-playing games.
While there were internal worries about the gameplay's unconventional tone and abstruse nature, Kawazu used his seniority within Square to produce the project.
The basic narrative structure of seven major threats facing the world was created by Kawazu early in production, with the finer details being included later. Iskandar was to have been an eighth main character, confronting all the threats and joining the narrative together, but Kawazu scrapped the eighth narrative and incorporated existing concepts into Ruby's narrative.
Kawazu thought up Ventus's narrative after seeing the narrative and gameplay concepts for ''
The Bouncer''.
Music
The music was composed by
Masashi Hamauzu
is a Japanese composer, pianist, and lyricist. Hamauzu, who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010, was best known during that time for his work on the ''Final Fantasy'' and ''SaGa'' video game series. Born into a musical family in German ...
, while
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
programming was done by
Ryo Yamazaki
''Front Mission'' is a series of tactical role-playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square (video game company), Square). The music of the series includes the soundtracks to the main series, composed of ''Front Mission (video game), F ...
. The two previously collaborated on the soundtrack for ''
SaGa Frontier 2
is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation. It is the eighth original game in their ''SaGa'' series. Initially released in Japan in April 1999, an English version was made available in North America in January 2000 by ...
'' after the departure of previous series composer
Kenji Ito
, also known by the nickname , is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the ''Mana'' and ''SaGa'' series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged m ...
. Because the game uses
streaming audio
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
, it was possible for the sound team to use real acoustic instrument sounds in place of a synthesizer.
Three pieces, including "March in C", were written for full
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
. Live recording of
ensembles of tracks such as "Feel Uneasy About the Wonders" and "Battle Theme IV" pitted solo instruments against one another to create what Hamauzu considered a
Latin sound. The ending vocal piece "Soaring Wings" was written specifically for singer Mio Kashiwabara.
''Unlimited Saga'' features five-channel
surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...
support from
Dolby
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...
's
Pro Logic II
Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround.
Dolby Stereo (also known as ''Dolby MP'' or ''Dolby SVA'') was developed by Dolby in 1976 f ...
.
The
game's soundtrack consists of 58 songs spanning two discs. It was released on January 22, 2003.
Due to fan demand, the album went through two reprints.
Release
''Unlimited SaGa'' was announced by Square in July 2002.
The game was one of five selected to form part of a promotional lottery campaign by
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, where two random players of each title would go on journeys to areas of the world similar to settings in the games. For ''Unlimited Saga'', the reward would have been a trip to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
due to the shared presence of ancient city ruins.
Due to tensions between the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
at the time and the consequent risks of a terrorist attack, the campaign was cancelled.
It was a prominent and popular addition to the 2002
Tokyo Game Show
, commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...
.
The game released in Japan on December 19, 2002, by Square.
It launched in a standard edition and a Limited Edition with unique artwork, which included a special booklet about the game's world and a soundtrack CD.
Shortly after the game's release, Square finalized its merger with
Enix
was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games.
The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . Th ...
to become
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
.
''Unlimited SaGa'' was Square Enix's first release in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, published on June 19, 2003, by the local branch of
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
. The game was fully localized with native text and voice acting.
The ending theme "Soaring Wings" was also localized under the name "Nalgae", performed by Yonshin Pak.
The new song was supervised by Hamauzu and Yamazaki. Hamauzu did not have Pak imitate or emulate the original song, but worked with her to adapt it into Korean, changing its tone and allowing her to sing at a comfortable pitch. Recording for "Nalgae" took place in April 2003.
A number of books were published by
DigiCube
DigiCube Co., Ltd. (株式会社デジキューブ; ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dejikyūbu'') was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of Digi ...
. ''Unlimited Saga Material Collection: Lead to the Destiny'', an artbook containing illustrations from Kobayashi, was released on December 12 prior to the game's release.
''Unlimited Saga: The First Guide Book for Beginners'' released parallel to the game, covering the opening of each scenario.
''Unlimited Saga: Visual Arts Collection'' released on February 14, 2003, containing reproduced in-game artwork and designs.
A full guidebook containing gameplay tips and staff interviews, ''Unlimited: Saga - Book of Disassembly'', was released by Studio BentStuff on March 28. It was a highly extensive book, and included additional backstory and a novella written by Benny Matsumaya. Its comprehensiveness was due to fan feedback in Japan about the abstruse elements of the game and its world.
A set of postcards and posters was released by Square via DigiCube's distribution service.
''Unlimited Saga'' was originally connected to the setting of the anime series ''
Final Fantasy: Unlimited'', but these plans were shelved during production.
Kawazu later said that many of the similarities were coincidental due to his work on both projects.
A Western release was announced in February 2003.
The game was among those shown by Square Enix at the 2003
Electronic Entertainment Expo
E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...
, alongside a number of other titles including ''
Final Fantasy XI
also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Squaresoft and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the ''Final Fantasy ...
'', ''
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
''Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles'' is a series of video games within the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise developed by Square Enix. Beginning in 2003 with the game for the GameCube, the series has predominantly been released on Nintendo gaming hardw ...
'', and ''
Drakengard
''Drakengard'', known in Japan as is a series of action role-playing video games created by Yoko Taro. The eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 on the PlayStation 2, and has since been followed by a sequel, a prequel and se ...
''.
In North America, the game was published on June 17, 2003.
To promote ''Unlimited Saga'' in North America, Square Enix held the "Hall of Valor" contest beginning on the game's release date and ending on July 27. It consisted of three challenges where players would have to send in answers to difficult questions related to the game. Prizes included products by electronics manufacturer
Denon
is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...
.
The European version was released on October 31, 2003, by
Atari Europe
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive#Infogrames subsidiary, Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. (1993–present), Atari, Inc. It ...
.
''Unlimited Saga Collector's Edition'' was released in Europe and included a bonus
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
titled ''
Eternal Calm Final Fantasy X-2: Prologue''.
The English dub was recorded by
A.D. Vision
A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gree ...
. Actress
Tiffany Grant
Tiffany Lynn Grant (born October 11, 1968) is an American voice actress and script writer who is known for her English-dubbing work for ADV Films on such anime films and television series as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', in which she voiced the cha ...
, who voiced one of the protagonists, said it was unusual for video games to be voiced in the
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
area where A.D. Vision was based, and it only happened because Square Enix hired A.D. Vision for the dubbing.
The dub was directed by Kawazu and
Kyle C. Jones.
Reception
''Unlimited Saga'' entered the Japanese sales charts at number 3 behind ''
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
and are 2002 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. They are the first installments in the third generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series, also kn ...
'', selling 196,471 copies, and ended the year with over 270,000 copies sold in Japan.
By the end of Square Enix's fiscal year in May 2003, the game had sold 560,000 copies in Japan. This made it the second best-selling title from their 2002 library behind ''
Final Fantasy X-2
is a 2003 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation 2. Unlike most ''Final Fantasy'' games, which use self-contained stories and characters, ''X-2'' continues the story of ''Fin ...
''.
For selling over half a million copies, Sony Computer Entertainment awarded the game a Gold Award during the 9th Annual PlayStation Awards on June 29, 2003.
In the West, the game sold a further 100,000 units in North America, and 30,000 in Europe.
The game has seen a polarised response in Japan and the West; while Japanese press gave it high scores and praise, many Western critics gave it middling to low scores compared to earlier ''SaGa'' titles.
Review aggregate website ''
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
'' showed a negative reaction from Western reviewers.
The battle system saw opinions ranging from mixed at its implementation,
to frustrated with its complex nature.
Several critics noted the game's experimental nature.
The graphics also met with a mixed response due to their implementation,
though several lauded their quality.
By contrast, the soundtrack and visuals met with general acclaim.
''Famitsu'' lauded the title for its new mechanics, which challenged the role-playing player base, and awarded it the publication's Silver Award.
''
1Up.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
'' felt the game was too unforgiving for beginners due to a lack of in-game tutorials and steep learning curve.
''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' was very negative, with the three reviewers all faulting the gameplay, with one citing it as unfair for players.
''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' disliked both its non-linear structure and control scheme, which made exploration harder for the reviewer.
Brad Shoemaker of ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' summed up the game as "the flawed sum of its disparate parts", citing a lack of cohesion and polish in its gameplay and presentation, and finding the story lacking.
Christian Nutt of ''
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
'' was extremely negative about the game, calling it one of the worst RPGs he had played in many years, faulting almost every element of the title.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Jeremy Dunham said that the title was not for everybody due to its gameplay experimentation.
Martin Kitts of ''
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK
''PlayStation Official Magazine – UK'', generally abbreviated as ''OPM'', was a magazine based in the United Kingdom that covered PlayStation news created in 2006. Although the first issue was distributed in three-month intervals, from Issue 2 ...
'' was more forgiving of the game as he felt it was aimed at an audience who enjoyed a challenging experience, but still felt it was too abstruse and difficult for casual gamers, saying it would have worked better on the original
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
.
Nich Maragos, writing for ''
GMR'', felt that the game had promise, but was undermined by poor execution on several of its mechanics and concepts.
Prior to its release, ''Unlimited Saga'' was recognized by the
Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association
Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) is a Japanese organization that was established in 1996 to "promote the computer entertainment industry ..with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of Japanese industry as well as to th ...
in its Game Awards Future category at the organization's annual event.
RPGamer called ''Unlimited Saga'' the "biggest letdown" of 2003 in their annual RPGamer Awards.
''
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' called it the 25th Worst Game Of All Time.
In 2012, ''1Up.com'' would include ''Unlimited Saga'' on its list of "Underwhelming RPGs with Overwhelming Soundtracks", with writer Bob Mackey calling it "a shame" that the music was likely neglected due to the game's divisive mechanics.
In a 2015 article on the ''SaGa'' series for ''
USGamer
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...
'', Jeremy Parish cited ''Unlimited Saga'' as the game where Kawazu took his board game influences and unconventional style to an extreme.
Legacy
Speaking about the game's mixed reaction in the West, Kawazu attributed it to expectations for a more traditional role-playing experience.
The mixed reactions and internal wishes from staff would also lead to Kawazu developing ''Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song'', a remake of ''
Romancing SaGa
''Romancing SaGa'' is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the fourth entry in the ''SaGa'' series. It was subsequently released for the WonderSwan Color in 2001 and mobile phones in 2009. ...
'' for the PS2, with Naora returning to redesign the cast for the remake.
Due to Kawazu's commitments to other projects within the company including the ''
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
''Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles'' is a series of video games within the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise developed by Square Enix. Beginning in 2003 with the game for the GameCube, the series has predominantly been released on Nintendo gaming hardw ...
'' subseries, ''Unlimited Saga'' was the last original ''SaGa'' title for twelve years.
That next title, ''
SaGa: Scarlet Grace'', was partially built by Kawazu using feedback from ''Unlimited Saga''.
Following the remastered release of ''
SaGa Frontier
is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEA) in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the ...
'', Kawazu stated that a remaster of ''Unlimited Saga'' was being considered.
Notes
References
*
External links
Official North American websiteOfficial SquareEnix Japan info page
{{Authority control
2002 video games
Atari games
Digital tabletop role-playing games
Japanese role-playing video games
PlayStation 2 games
PlayStation 2-only games
SaGa
Video games developed in Japan
Video games featuring female protagonists
Video games scored by Masashi Hamauzu