SaGa: Emerald Beyond

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SaGa: Emerald Beyond
Developer(s)Square Enix
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)Akitoshi Kawazu
Producer(s)Masanori Ichikawa
Artist(s)Satoshi Kuramochi
Sara Takahashi
Writer(s)Akitoshi Kawazu
Composer(s)Kenji Ito
SeriesSaGa
Platform(s)Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows
ReleaseApril 25, 2024
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

SaGa: Emerald Beyond[a] is a 2024 role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix. An entry in the SaGa series, it was released for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. The story follows six protagonists as they traverse multiple worlds connected to a realm called the Beyond. The player explores these worlds completing quests and unlocking new events, with the turn-based combat focusing on timeline manipulation and skill growth dependant on in-game actions.

Beginning development in 2017 after completion of SaGa: Scarlet Grace, the development team included series creator Akitoshi Kawazu as director and lead writer, lead artist Satoshi Kuramochi, and Kenji Ito returning as composer. Kawazu's aim was to build on the mechanics of Scarlet Grace, expanding the narrative and gameplay elements.

Gameplay[edit]

Combat in SaGa: Emerald Beyond is turn-based, with turn order and character positions on the combat timeline influencing elements of battle.

SaGa: Emerald Beyond is a role-playing video game in which players take control of six protagonists, navigating a selection of seventeen worlds during their campaigns. Characters explore the worlds, with which ones visited triggering different events and influencing the path forward. Navigating worlds, players can follow different glowing lines dubbed Emerald Waves, which lead to different quests.[1][2] Worlds are navigated from a top-down perspective, with events and battles represented by cutout symbols; cutscenes play out as static conversation scenes.[3] The choice of worlds with one protagonist will impact the storyline in that world when revisited in another playthrough either as a new character or replaying as the same character.[4] There is no money in-game, with new equipment being gained through exploration, quest completion, or trading materials. A character dubbed Mr. S also grants rewards for completing in-game challenges.[3]

Combat is turn-based, with the party having access to a shared pool of points called BP for performing moves, with BP increasing with each turn or certain actions; moves are divided into attacks called Techs and spells which take time to cast. Any character not taking a move guards automatically. The party's Formation, an arrangement with different benefits and detriments, will impact BP gain. All characters are placed on a timeline, with their position influencing their fighting abilities. Adjacent characters can combine their attacks, with a high damage multiplier grant free actions; successful combos also reduce BP costs on the next turn. If a character is isolated on the timeline, they can perform a Showstopper, a chain of free attacks. Some abilities, such as move-specific counters, only activate when the right conditions are met.[3][5][4]

Similar to earlier SaGa titles, there is no traditional experience point system, with new abilities being learned through a random Glimmer system; upon being learned, the character uses that ability with no cost.[2][3] There are five different races that have different growth mechanics. Humans have access to most weapon techniques and the ability to learn unique skills. Monsters cannot have armour equipped, but can randomly learn enemy skills upon victory. Mechs have stats and abilities based on their model and attached parts. Vampires have similar growth to humans, but can also learn techniques from party members by sucking their blood. Kugutsu gain new abilities by copying attacks used on them. Ephemerals upgrade as a character class, but after reaching their highest class will die and be reborn, passing on their abilities to their new form.[4]

Synopsis[edit]

Emerald Beyond takes place across multiple worlds connected by an interdimensional space called the Beyond, through which each of the six protagonists travel on their quests. The six protagonists are Tsunanori Mido, a magically gifted young man tasked with restoring balance between worlds; Ameya Aisling, a witch-in-training who has her magic taken away and goes to gain it back; Siugnas, a vampire king seeking to reclaim his realm from a usurper; Diva No. 5, a songstress robot who loses her voice and original body after singing a forbidden song; and Bonnie Blair and Formina Franklyn, a couple of rookie police officers investigating an assassination attempt on their world's president.[1]

Development[edit]

Planning for Emerald Beyond began in 2016, following the completion of SaGa: Scarlet Grace. Production started the following year[6] Multiple SaGa veterans returned to work on the game, including series creator Akitoshi Kawazu as director and lead writer, and Masanori Ichikawa as producer.[2][6] After taking a minimalist design approach with Scarlet Grace, Kawazu wanted to build upon that foundation with more explicit story elements and refinements to the gameplay. After finalizing the game's design, full production began in 2018 after work finished on Scarlet Grace's expanded version Ambitions. Production was slowed due to both other parallel SaGa projects, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

The team's aim was to take the basic structure of Scarlet Grace, which was well received, and expand and refine it for Emerald Beyond.[7] The combat designer was Tomokazu Shibata, who had worked on Unlimited Saga (2002) and acted as battle director for Kingdom Hearts III (2019).[6] He described the combat system as having been completely redesigned despite carrying over its basic structure from Scarlet Grace while wanting to evolve the combat system rather than replicate it. They also wanted to incorporate elements from earlier SaGa titles, such as the combination attacks first featured in SaGa Frontier (1997).[7]

While Kawazu wrote the main scenario, other writers were assigned to the substories of different worlds. This was to avoid the chaotic story design problems caused during the production of SaGa Frontier, which featured a similar multiple world and protagonist approach.[6] His goal was to create a storyline that would never be the same twice for players. The character Tsunanori was inspired by Kawazu's long-standing wish to write a character with a Kansai accent.[8] The key visuals and most main characters were designed by Kuramochi, who had previously worked on SaGa projects including Scarlet Grace and mobile spin-offs. The characters were designed based on Kawazu's instructions. A notable lead character not designed by Kuramochi was Siugnas, who was instead designed by Sara Takahashi.[6]

Music[edit]

Kenji Ito, an established composer for the SaGa series, returned to score the game.[2][6] The score was arranged by Yohei Kobayashi, and produced by Square Enix's Hidenori Iwasaki.[9] he created the basic score on piano first, then chose a main instrument for each character.[7] Ito had comments on how to composed for several characters.[8][7] Ameya's music drew inspiration from the themes of earlier witch characters from the series, while Siugnas's themes were designed with his status as a dark king in mind. Diva No. 5's themes were written based on her job rather than being a robot.[8] Tsunanori's themes used jazz elements, Diva No. 5 featured techno, and the theme for Bonnie and Formina was described as having "a detective drama car chase vibe".[7] A soundtrack album is scheduled for release on May 1, 2024.[9]

Release[edit]

A new mainline SaGa title was confirmed in late 2021 during a livestream on the series, with Kawazu stating a hope that it would be revealed the following year.[10] The Emerald Beyond title was trademarked by Square Enix in October 2022.[11] The game was officially announced in September 2023, initially through a Nintendo Direct broadcast and later for wider release.[1] A demo was released on April 4 across Windows and consoles. Different versions of the demo covered the opening of different characters; the PlayStation versions focused on Tsunanori, the Switch version covered Ameya, while the Windows version followed Diva No. 5. Progress from the demo can transfer into the main game.[12]

Emerald Beyond was released on April 25, 2024 for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows.[2][13] The game was the first simultaneous worldwide release for the SaGa series. Commenting on the localization, its director Neil Broadley said that he wanted the team to "let loose" with modern or silly dialogue as the original script was far less serious and used more colloquial language than was expected from RPGs.[14] The localization was handled by 8-4, who had previously worked on Scarlet Grace.[15][16]

Reception[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Saga: Emerarudo Biyondo (Japanese: サガ エメラルド ビヨンド)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Romano, Sal (2023-09-15). "SaGa Emerald Beyond announced for PS5, PS4, Switch, PC, iOS, and Android". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e Torres, Jason (2023-09-15). "Square Enix reveals SaGa Emerald Beyond for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mobile". RPG Site. Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  3. ^ a b c d e Parsons, Izzy (2024-04-24). "SaGa Emerald Beyond Review". RPGFan. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  4. ^ a b c 『サガ エメラルド ビヨンド』本日発売！ シリーズで最も変化する物語と進化したタイムラインバトルを楽しもう！. PlayStation Blog (in Japanese). 2024-04-25. Archived from the original on 2024-04-27. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  5. ^ ［プレイレポ］「サガ エメラルド ビヨンド」綱紀編，ディーヴァ編，アメイヤ編の序盤を紹介。バトルはTL上の駆け引きと連携を組む楽しさが両立. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2024-04-01. Archived from the original on 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g 『サガ エメラルド ビヨンド』最速インタビュー。6人5組の主人公や、『サガ』シリーズにおいてもっとも変化する物語の見どころを河津秋敏氏に訊く. Famitsu (in Japanese). 2023-09-15. Archived from the original on 2023-09-15. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  7. ^ a b c d e Madnani, Mikhail (2024-04-24). "'SaGa Emerald Beyond' Interview: Akitoshi Kawazu, Kenji Ito, and Tomokazu Shibata Discuss Global Success, Combat, the Worldwide Launch, Music, and Coffee". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  8. ^ a b c ［TGS2023］「サガ エメラルド ビヨンド」では，クリアするたびに世界が変化する。新情報が続々と飛び出した「サガ」スペシャルステージをレポート. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2023-09-23. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  9. ^ a b 「SaGa Emerald Beyond Original Soundtrack」，5月1日に発売決定。スクウェア・エニックス e-STOREなどで予約受付も開始に. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2024-02-26. Archived from the original on 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  10. ^ Romano, Sal (2021-12-15). "New SaGa series package title in development: 'We hope to announce it in 2022'". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2023-06-09.
  11. ^ Romano, Sal (2022-10-20). "Square Enix trademarks Emberstoria, SaGa Emerald Beyond in Japan [Update: Europe, Australia]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  12. ^ Fuller, Alex (2024-04-03). "SaGa Emerald Beyond Demo Available Tomorrow [Updated]". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  13. ^ Romano, Sal (December 15, 2023). "SaGa Emerald Beyond launches April 25, 2024". Gematsu. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  14. ^ White, Lucas (2024-04-24). "Akitoshi Kawazu and the SaGa Emerald Beyond team discuss the latest (and weirdest) Square Enix RPG". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  15. ^ "Gameography - 2024". 8-4. Archived from the original on 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  16. ^ Lada, Jenni (2019-12-10). "8-4 Talks About SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions' Avante-garde Nature and Localization". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  17. ^ "SaGa: Scarlet Grace - Ambitions for Nintendo Switch". Metacritic. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  18. ^ "SaGa: Emerald Beyond for PlayStation 5". Metacritic. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  19. ^ Talbot, Ken (2019-12-16). "SaGa Emerald Beyond Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  20. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (2019-12-16). "SaGa: Emerald Beyond (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  21. ^ Galizio, James (2024-04-24). "SaGa Emerald Beyond Review". RPG Site. Archived from the original on 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-04-25.

External links[edit]

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