#INTERVIEW: Original SaGa Creators on Introducing Classic RPGs to a New Audience

“#INTERVIEW: Original SaGa Creators on Introducing Classic RPGs to a New Audience”

SaGa Frontier Remastered

The SaGa series first made its debut on Game Boy back in 1990 as a spinoff to Square's then still-young Final Fantasy RPGs under the title The Final Fantasy Legend. In addition to moving an impressive number of units, these games immediately set themselves apart, and with each new entry, the team behind them expanded upon their distinct level of freedom and unique challenges.

Now the SaGa games are celebrating their 30th anniversary in style with releases like Collection of SaGa — which includes the first three Game Boy games — and SaGa Frontier Remastered, which takes the original 1997 PlayStation RPG and spruces it up for a new audience. We had the opportunity to speak with series creator Akitoshi Kawazu and producers Hiroyuki Miura (Saga Frontier Remastered, COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND) and Masanori Ichikawa (Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe, SaGa series) about the lasting appeal of the series, what it was like to revisit these games so many years later, and how those new to the series can best enjoy what it has to offer.

Even when the first SaGa game made its debut in the west as The Final Fantasy Legend, it still managed to set itself apart from the main Final Fantasy series in many ways. What was the guiding philosophy behind SaGa in the beginning, and how has that evolved over the years?

Akitoshi Kawazu: After FINAL FANTASY I, we decided to try new big things with FINAL FANTASY II. Ultimately, there were some elements that proved successful, while others didn’t seem to meet the mark for me. With THE FINAL FANTASY LEGEND, I designed the games while leveraging that experience. Continuity is a very important element of game creation. But on the other hand, with switching the platform from NES to Game Boy, I also thought of making drastic changes to the game. THE FINAL FANTASY LEGEND was a game in which we aimed to create an RPG with a world lore that was never created before. And with SaGa titles that followed, I made it a constant goal to create types of RPGs that hadn’t existed in the past.

Freedom has played a major role in the feel of the SaGa games, and the open-ended nature of games like SaGa Frontier are part of what makes them special. Were there any specific inspirations behind this key design tenet?

Akitoshi Kawazu: I constantly hope that a gameplay experience is unique to each player. Video games are a form of entertainment which makes that possible. Rather than being the 1 million and first person to be moved in the same way as the 1 million people who came before you, I believe it’s better to be moved in a different way than how the other million people were (even if it ends up being in a bitter or sad way).

The SaGa series has always offered something different from game to game. How do you keep such a long-running franchise fresh, and what kind of problems do you run into most when starting development on a new entry?

Akitoshi Kawazu: I’m just being faithful to one of the basics of software development — to avoid creating anything that already exists. It’s most challenging to make the team members understand what I’m trying to create.

With the releases of Collection of SaGa and SaGa Frontier Remastered, did you have any opportunities to tweak aspects of these titles you didn't have the time or resources for the first time around? I'd love to know what it was like to revisit these classic RPGs from the perspective of the creators.

Akitoshi Kawazu: More so than the development process itself, it was interesting to see the player reactions once the games were released. Modern gamers praised the game, not out of nostalgia, but due to the game’s pacing and overall sense of freedom; we were surprised to receive more positive feedback that we anticipated.

Hiroyuki Miura: COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND was positioned as a 30th-anniversary commemorative title, so the concept was to recreate it as it was back then. As such, we kept additions limited to just useful features that would provide comfortable gameplay to even those who played the original, such as high-speed mode.

Even for SaGa Frontier Remastered, to preserve the players’ impressions of the original gameplay, including game balance, we limited the changes to mainly useful features and UI-related points. But on the other hand, we had a large volume of new additional elements.

When remastering a game, we develop it alongside the developers from back then and get to hear their stories. I think it’s great for the development staff of remastered titles to be able to experience and absorb those developers’ thoughts from back when the original was created, as well as their work process.

Now that the updated versions and collections are available, the SaGa series is being reevaluated in the west. Is there any advice you'd like to give those who are just now discovering SaGa for themselves?

Akitoshi Kawazu: The games may feel difficult on your first try, but I believe you’ll start to understand the fun of them if you try them again after a “cool-off” period. I believe the content we’ve incorporated into these games is worth the tenacity of not giving up and continuing to play. I hope you get to enjoy the gameplay.

Masanori Ichikawa: I believe that at first, you may be thrown off by how high difficulty these RPGs are, even compared to other RPGs from our company, but I’d be happy if you could freely enjoy our games.

Hiroyuki Miura: Each title in the series has innovative elements that can’t be seen in any other RPGs. Furthermore, our titles are fun to play over and over again. Even if you complete a game once, I recommend you play a second time with another character!

SaGa Frontier Remastered is currently available on PS4, Switch, Steam, iOS, and Android, and COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND is available on Switch.

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

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