Pre-orders are now open for SaGa Frontier Remastered, available digitally on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam, set to release on April 15 priced at $24.99. Those who pre-order on PlayStation Network will earn a special PS4 theme. The game will also be available for iOS and Android mobile devices.
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Square Enix has also shared quite a bit of information about new content coming to remaster, specifically about the newly added 8th character Fuse, as revealed in the original announcement. Fuse's storyline interacts with the other seven characters, and various possible routes within Fuse's storyline are available depending on unlock conditions, such as which other character storylines have been completed.
Additionally, Square Enix has shared messages from the game's development team, including SaGa boss Akitoshi Kawazu and composer Kenji Ito. We've shared everything from Square Enix down below, including many new screenshots.
First released in the West in 1998 for PlayStation®, the remastered version of SaGa Frontier—a beloved RPG classic–will finally be released on Thursday, April 15th, 2021. In this latest rendition, players can choose a protagonist of their liking and embark on a story unique to each player featuring different goals and endings for each protagonist.
Fans can expect a new evolution to the storyline with the addition of the new protagonist—Fuse. Additionally, players will be able to partake in dramatic battles by learning new techniques and the ability to access sequential special attacks. With beautifully remastered graphics, new events and features that were not implemented in the original version, fans will enjoy this classic title that has now become more accessible through modern consoles.
New Story Developments – Introducing Fuse as the Eighth Protagonist!
The scenario has been written by Akitoshi Kawazu (SaGa Series General Director) and Benny Matsuyama (game writer and fiction author). Fuse will follow the journey of the seven protagonists while the story unfolds in a manner that makes players get to the bottom of a case; they will find scenes that make them chuckle, as well as new developments that touch their hearts.
The ending to the seven character stories have evolved further from the original version and will surely make players want to follow everyone’s journey alongside Fuse. (Players can play this content by completing any of the other seven protagonists’ scenarios.)
Fuse’s storyline is further enlivened with new music from composer Kenji Ito
About the Fuse Storyline
Unlock Conditions
Completing any of the other protagonists’ storylines unlocks the episode corresponding to that protagonist, enabling players to enjoy seven different scenario routes in total, one for each of the seven other protagonists.
Due to the feature that enables players to carry-over their status after completion, players can also enjoy this content with their stats already powered-up, providing replayability.
Structure
Allows players to enjoy the “IF” scenario: “What if Fuse had intervened in the other protagonists’ episodes?” and enables players to form parties that are only possible in the Fuse storyline.
There are also routes that branch into multiple endings as a result of the actions taken within the story.
Team-up with IRPO members
Other members of the IRPO can also join a party in Fuse’s storyline. Emilia’s fiancé “Ren” finally joins the party in the remastered version.
All Protagonists Join the Party
All protagonists can potentially join a party if certain conditions are met in the Fuse storyline. In the original game, certain characters did not join a party depending on the protagonist, but one of the compelling aspects of the remastered version is that it enables players to recruit all other protagonists to a party in the Fuse storyline.
All Final Boss Battles Possible
Players can potentially battle the other protagonists’ final bosses if certain conditions are met in the Fuse storyline. (A system that enables players to once again challenge the “final boss” of a protagonist that has joined a party in the Fuse storyline.)
Players can challenge up to 6; the more players defeated, the stronger the final boss becomes in the route, unfolding into a battle that poses an even greater challenge. The final boss battle BGM from the Fuse storyline has been newly composed by Kenji Ito.
Messages from the Development Team
Akitoshi Kawazu (SaGa Series General Director):
“It looks like it’s time for Fuse’s arrival at last. Fuse’s storyline implementation ended up taking a different form than what I was expecting at the time of the original. However, being able to fight all the final bosses for the other protagonists and being able to become allies with all the other protagonists were ideas that we were able to incorporate just as I’d conceived. On top of that, we were able to have Benny’s full support on all facets of the scenario, which was not possible back then! I think that this Fuse is a more reckless, wilder, and cooler character than a Fuse depicted by me. The Fuse storyline can be enjoyed seven times. Drink in every last drop.”
Favorite scene: The scene where he has a conversation with Roufas about crab pasta. The reason why Gradius’s hideout is an Italian restaurant is because at the time, Mr. Ishii* had a favorite restaurant that was in Meguro City, Tokyo. It’s still there, in fact. *SaGa Frontier Project Chief / Current CEO of Grezzo: Mr. Koichi Ishii
Benny Matsuyama (Game Writer/Novelist):
SaGa Frontier, a title to which so many of you players have dedicated countless hours playing – with the Fuse storyline, we must have you enjoy that field even more. Keeping that in mind, I dedicated my efforts to see how engaging I could make this story that changes through the addition of Fuse. A crazy investigation diary that can only be portrayed through the medium of a game rather than a novel, with different endings that can be reached depending on routes taken and their resulting branches. I was aiming for a delightfully satisfying detective action drama. I hope you’ll play through all the characters to their fullest.
Favorite scene: The playful interactions of Fuse and Ren at the start of Emilia’s storyline. I wanted to portray the relationship with Ren, which hadn’t been depicted much at all, so I wrote in the boisterously obnoxious moves of a bossy senpai. They ended up making great use of the punching motion, and Fuse is even more annoying that I’d imagined. The effects they added here are the best!
Kenji Ito (Composer):
At the time, there had been a drastic increase in the number of tracks from the previous title (Romancing SaGa 3), and I couldn’t even move for about a week after the end of production [smiles wryly]. For Fuse, I wanted to portray a masculine sex appeal and dandyism as well as a little comicality, and I remember struggling with that quite a bit. The new tracks… and in particular, the ending track, is somewhere I’ve infused those images into the main theme, so I would be very happy if you could take a look for yourself!
Favorite scene: My personal favorite is the fight between Alkaiser and Metal Black III. “Glimmer” happens to Alkaiser, and he comes up with “Al-Phoenix X,” and when that fiery bird bursts forth onto Metal Black III, it’s really a rush [laughs]. It’s so much that I imagine this scene when I’m performing “Battle #5” live, which is the track that plays during this battle.
For the new protagonist Fuse, scenario production began with Mr. Kawazu at the center, and was based on Mr. Kawazu’s ideas from back then. The scenario was amply captivating even at the stage of having just received it from Benny, but Fuse became an even more appealing character as the director and dev staff for this title implemented it and added effects. The addition of Fuse’s story makes the original SaGa Frontier’s story itself feel deeper and more captivating, so I hope you’ll look forward to that.
Favorite scene: Orlouge is arrested by Fuse!? The unprecedented nature of him being an investigator who goes into the world of mystics, which feels extraterritorial, as well as the question of whether the concept of “arrest” even applies to “Orlouge”? What words will Orlouge offer Fuse in return? I was full of excited anticipation for what would happen next as I played. Play to find out what happens next!
Message from Naofumi Ueno (Director, SaGa Frontier Remastered):
One of the concepts of Fuse’s storyline is to reveal the secrets of SaGa Frontier’s world. There were several areas that hadn’t been discussed in much depth during the original title and had remained mysteries, and some of these are now being delved into from the unique perspective of Fuse as a member of IRPO. Additionally, there are fun little tidbits [alt: Easter eggs] incorporated here and there that those who notice them won’t be able to help but grin at. There are also stories that reach a different ending as a result of Fuse joining, so every route of the protagonists is finished to a very satisfying quality. I hope you’ll see all of them through to the end and steep yourselves more deeply in the world of SaGa Frontier!
Favorite scene: The scene where Fuse, having been sent to the Dark Labyrinth for certain reasons, encounters Red Turnip. There were characters whose appearances were not planned during the plot stage, but in the end, we were able to include everyone in one place or another. The cutscene with Red Turnip, whose role was the most difficult among them to cast, is particularly memorable for me.
