Flashy gameplay can’t earn ‘SaGa Emerald Beyond’ a top score | Games

In the early ’90s, ‘Final Fantasy’ went portable, with three ‘The Final Fantasy Legend’ games on the good old GameBoy. Of course we didn’t know any better at the time, but these were actually the first three titles of the then brand new ‘SaGa’ series launched in Japan. And while everyone and their grandmother has heard of ‘Final Fantasy’, ‘SaGa’ has mainly built up a cult status among RPG enthusiasts.

It becomes clear from the start that ‘Emerald Beyond’ is also aiming at that segment. No standard RPG opening here in which you get to know the tormented hero, who may or may not be saddled with amnesia, but the choice between six protagonists. And the first task you get is to choose which of the stories you want to dive into.

Each character has its own storyline with unique quests. There is an overarching plot, and occasionally you even encounter the others, but the separate stories are actually more fun than what ultimately brings them together. It is therefore perfectly possible not to see this as one huge game in which you have to invest more than 100 hours, but as five smaller-scale RPGs that will each take you about 20 hours.

The presentation of ‘Emerald Beyond’ will not immediately convince the mainstream role player to embrace ‘SaGa’. You view the world largely from above, with the characters in 3D but all set elements 2D. A unique look, yes, but it also looks, for lack of a better word, a bit cheap, as if the makers suddenly no longer had the time or desire to make everything three-dimensional.

The (many) dialogues and other cutscenes also give the same vibe: seeing motionless portraits talking to each other is simply not as fascinating as animated cutscenes. Especially when the voice work varies between “highly annoying” and “clearly not interested”. An extra shame for the RPG enthusiasts the game is aimed at is that it can only be played with English voices and the original Japanese cannot be selected anywhere.

That doesn’t sound too positive, then. But while ‘Emerald Beyond’ does not have the strongest story and cannot be called an audiovisual high-flyer, the game does excel in terms of gameplay. The turn-based battles are a delight, thanks to a system that is most reminiscent of – come again – ‘Final Fantasy X’.

Both your teammates and enemies are arranged on a timeline, which always gives you a clear overview of whose turn it is and when. This way you can strategically choose your attacks or other actions or, even better, build up combos that in turn fill your ‘overdrive’ meter. This, as the name suggests, gives you an extra powerful attack.

Eventually, influencing the sequences and building up special attacks becomes second nature during battles and there is no better feeling than when you manage to take down a tough enemy with some smart strategic choices. Not only that, but it suddenly becomes clear where the graphic developers have put all their time and effort. The battles look flashy, dynamic and smoothly animated compared to the rest of the game.

The ‘SaGa’ games will always remain the smaller, more obscure brother of ‘Final Fantasy’, and this ‘Emerald Beyond’ will not change that either. The interesting story structure and the simply phenomenal combat system have to compete with outdated graphics and substandard voice work. This may not be an obstacle for those who have been following the series for a long time, but for newcomers it probably all seems a bit too niche to be persuaded.

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