Game:

Riglord Saga 2 (1996)

Duration: 10:24

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Original Air Date: April 05th, 2008 (Expanded today! Originally an opening, now expanded with a HQ intro, introduction, and gameplay!)

Riglord Saga 2 is the sequel to Riglord Saga...hmm? You don't know what Riglord Saga is? Of course you do...At least you may know unknowingly. Riglord Saga was released in North America under the names of Mystaria: Realms of Lore and Blazing Heroes. However, the sequel to Mystaria/BH was never released in North America...which is a shame because it is by and large one of the best (if not, the best) SRPGs released for the Sega Saturn, even despite how old it is.

The RS games were developed by Micro Cabin, a company that has some pretty interesting roots and has dabbled in various semi-popular games and concepts...though they are a largely obscure and under-appreciated company. Remember Guardian War for the 3DO back in 1994? What??? You DON'T!? Actually, I'm not surprised. Even one of their most popular games, "Xak", was only really known by hardcore importers and a small, but faithful Japanese audience. However, anyone who knows about Xak might tell you that they felt it was an "Ys Killer". I'm not sure if I feel the same, but Xak: The Art of Visual Stage (The Super Famicom game) was certainly better than most of the SFC Ys games that I've played.

The fascinating thing about RS and Micro Cabin's mid nineties SRPGs in general is that they were, in many accounts, way ahead of their time. RS2 was made in 1996 and is still one of the deepest SRPGs that I've ever played; the terrain is a factor, movement is a factor; multiple branches that change dialogue and story, and more. The RS games borrow from the Guardian War engine in several ways, but each game does have fundamental differences...I could explain some at another time.

RS2 is even more "3D" than RS and easily the most advanced, despite having less characters than RS. This is good in several ways; it allowed them to focus more on the story and dialogue (which RS2 dwarfs RS at) with a smaller and more concentrated cast. Mieu for example (the heroine) is a dragoon who uses sword skills, support magic (terrain alteration, etc.), and dragon abilities. The game also has a fair deal more techniques, despite less characters...part of this comes thanks to the "NEW" combination skills. Whereas skills that you couldn't get normally in the original RS were stolen, there are certain skills in this game that you must infuse with magic in order to learn the secret. This isn't actually entirely "NEW" by Micro Cabin's standards though. Guardian War also had combination attacks, though they don't exactly function the same...those were TRUE combination attacks that required two people.

RS2's combination system is more of a "watch and learn" affair where you can combine various melee attacks and/or skills, and then combine them with a spell from any spells you currently know. As you might expect, in several cases, there is more than one way to learn and execute certain skills. Mieu and Nazuna both use support magic, but let's say that Nazuna, being weaker than Mieu, has a higher support magic level than Mieu, who focuses on sword techniques. Nazuna can use more advanced support magic...however, Mieu doesn't need to learn the advanced skills to use the skills in combination attacks. For example, Nazuna has learned Move Slow and Mieu nor Kamui have it. However, so long as someone has learned it, it can be used in an attempt to learn a new skill (Kamui can combine Move Slow to learn a new skill).

There's a lot more to say, but I'll leave it at that. The special effects are a little better than RS...framerate is about the same in most cases, although it can speed up in rare instances (seen in the game sample). Music is still good...though more of an acquired taste unlike RS and GW. It has a decidely more Oriental style and the game deals with various clans (such as Iga ninjas and other clans)...expect to hear a lot of music with feudal Japan overtones.

The story deals with Mieu, Princess of Dragoon Castle, and her friend, Rasty. Together, they get chased out of their kingdom and find companions to help them fight the dark empire that ran them out of their home and seek to control the world.

Enjoy.

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