The original three Game Boy titles are back
Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend is a three-game compilation that Game Boy JRPG fans potentially bought on Nintendo Switch last December as a cool Christmas gift to themselves. Were you left out? Pretty soon, PC, iOS, and Android players will be able to relive — or, for many of us, discover — this peculiar and sometimes fussy Square series.
Next on the docket, Square Enix is bringing Collection of SaGa to iOS and Android on September 22, which will be followed up by a PC release on Steam on October 21.
We have a special message from SaGa Series Producer Ichikawa for our #SaGaRS community!
We're excited to be able to celebrate both the RS3 TC/KO Release and the arrival of Collection of SaGa series for Mobile/Steam!
Thank you all for celebrating the SaGa legacy with us! pic.twitter.com/MJ2tZfQeDz
— Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe (@reuniverse_en) August 27, 2021
“This collaboration with the Game Boy SaGa titles was received very well in Japan, and it is coming to the GL version with various tweaks, which I hope you’ll enjoy,” said producer Masanori Ichikawa. “We are able to expand the SaGa series in many ways like this, thanks to the support of everyone playing the SaGa series, so your continued encouragement is appreciated.”
As before, Collection of SaGa is made up of Game Boy titles, not remasters, and you’re getting a few niceties like a gameplay speed boost and your choice of English or Japanese text. The PC version can go up to 4K, and on mobile, you can play “single-handed.”
For reference, the Switch edition is currently $20. So this isn’t a wallet-buster.
Okay, I’ll admit it: the first game is as old as me. And I’d definitely need a guide to enjoy it. That said, an RPG with playable humans, mutants, and monsters is speaking my language.
One of the very few interesting tidbits I know about The Final Fantasy Legend is that it’s possible to cheese the final boss, a pain-in-the-ass deity, with a now-legendary chainsaw. As this old let’s play puts it, “To summarize…we climbed a tower up to heaven, got pissed off at God for being a tool, and then shoved a chainsaw into his face in response.”
I must exist far outside the bounds of SaGa‘s reach, because I haven’t heard a peep about the collection since its Switch launch. In my world (and maybe yours too), it’s still mostly overshadowed by 2019’s Collection of Mana. I’m really bad about buying these sorts of packages and never getting very far in the games. At the same time, I like to support them. Especially the niche IPs that feel more like passion projects than surefire hits.
At any rate, big or small, keep the thoughtful remasters and re-releases coming.