Unlimited SaGa (2002)

Developer: Square Product Development Division 2
Publisher: Atari Europe, Square Enix, Square
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Genres: Role-playing (RPG)
Rating: 2.2 of 5, 10 player ratings

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A deliberate, board-game-like RPG that rewards patience and experimentation across eight intertwining stories, but demands you surrender to its cryptic, old-fashioned systems.

non-linearcomplexunconventionalstrategicslow-pacedobtusereplayableold-school

About

"Unlimited SaGa" is a sequel to Square's famous series of non-linear RPGs. Like in the early Romancing Saga games, and in Saga Frontier, you assume the role of eight main characters (selectable at the beginning of the game). The story centers around Laura, a 30-year old widow and an ex-pirate, but you view the story and make it progress differently depending on which character you have chosen, and on the decisions you take throughout the game. Each character is represented by a different kind of flower. "Unlimited SaGa" feels and plays a lot like a classic board RPG. Everything - from disarming traps to hitting the enemy successfully in a battle - depends on the so-called REEL system. You have to stop a spinning slot machine at the right time, in order to perform an action successfully. It is similar to the classic dice system in pen-and-paper RPGs, and to the Judgment Ring system in Shadow Hearts. You can explore the world in a non-linear fashion, visit many optional areas and fight monsters at your will. Some puzzles have multiple solutions and can be solved by using a character's special skill. For example, a character with a Swim skill can cross a river and reach the next area of the game.

Screenshots

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.