Albert

Albert is one of the main protagonists of Romancing SaGa and it's remake, Minstrel Song.

He is the son of Lord Rudolf and Lady Mariah, who rule over Isthmus Keep, and brother to Diana.

Appearances

 * Albert's Scenario: Main Character
 * Other Scenarios: Playable Character, can be found with Sif in pubs around Crystal City or Altours. Early in the game he can be found in Isthmus Keep as well, but in both cases, he cannot be recruited if Diana is in the party.

Character Specific Quests

 * Monsters to the East
 * Assault on Isthmus Keep
 * An Expeditionary Force

Background and Story
During a routine monster clearing of a nearby cave with his older sister Diana, Albert notices a strange glyph on the wall, but Diana insists that they hurry back to their parents to report their success. Later that night, Saruin's minions attack his home in a surprise night raid while the people of the Isthmus are distracted celebrating Diana's recent engagement to Prince Neidhart.

Lord Rudolf commands Albert and Diana to flee the castle and report the incident to Neidhart. During their escape from Isthmus Keep, Albert and Diana are confronted by a powerful dragon on a cliff. Diana throws Albert from the cliff and faces the dragon alone to ensure Albert's safe escape.

Albert is rescued by Monica and taken to her home in Loban. After he awakens, Monica tells Albert to travel to Bruelle and take a ship to Yeoville to reach the Kingdom of Rosalia. Albert sets out, but the ship to Yeoville is wrecked in a storm at sea.

Albert washes up near Valhalland and is rescued by the people there. He is cared for by the elder Gato and meets the warrior Sif in his villa. To thank the Valhallan people for saving his life, Albert offers to assist Sif in carrying out her orders from Gato to clear monsters from nearby caves. The player has the option of not being grateful to Sif and Gato, in which Albert must finish this quest alone.

After clearing out the monsters, Gato gives Albert a map and directions and sets him on his way toward Rosalia once again. Albert travels north to the Knights Dominion. He arrives first in Eugenstadt after crossing the Shiverland. In Eugendstadt Castle, Albert meets Lord Heinrich, who is headed to Mirsaburg where Albet can find a ship to the Kingdom of Rosalia.

Albert accompanies Lord Heinrich to Mirsaburg where he sits in on a meeting of the knighthood, who are discussing a recent monster uprising at an abandoned keep within the Dominion. Albert tells the counsel of the fate of Isthmus Keep, as he was an eye witness to the disaster. After agreeing to help Lord Theodore of Mirsaburg and the squire Raphael in recapturing the abandoned keep, Albert boards a ship from Mirsaburg and arrives safely in Rosalia.

Once reaching Crystal City, Albert is granted audience with Neidhart and tells him of the fate of Isthmus Keep.

Albert eventually realizes he is fated to face Saruin in battle. He finds that the strange glyph he saw with his sister in the cavern outside Isthmus Keep was actually the gateway to Saruin. Albert eventually faces and defeats Saruin, becoming the new hero of Mardias.

After you complete Albert's game, the next character playthrough you'll start (except for Aisha's) will feature a short opening scene with Neidhart.

All of Albert's unique scenes (except for the one in The Knights Dominion) : Part 1, Part 2.

Special opening scene for Neidhart



Battle
Albert's offensive stats advance at a relatively average pace, making him best played as a jack-of-all-trades character.

His biggest flaws lie in his low defenses. His HP growth is mediocre, while his Endurance growth is weak. Good armor is a must to keep him alive.

In contrast, His Willpower is his best and fastest growing stat, making him proper against Magic-using enemies.

Albert starts off with the first Cosmology spell, Sunray, pre-learnt.

Differences between the versions

 * Albert's design is different to the original version of the game.
 * In the remake, when attacked by the dragons during the assault on Isthmus Keep, Albert is not given the choice to try and save Diana, run away, or [third option forgotten].
 * In the SNES version, he was able to encounter Diana during one quest. In the PS2 version, it is impossible for Albert to encounter Diana, though she is seen with Neidhart during the ending as well as in Bruelle, impossible to reach.

Trivia

 * Unlike other protagonists, Albert has a large amount of his own storyline. This, along with the location of the final dungeon being Isthmus Keep, does make some consider him the main character of the game; however, others think these traits are in place to make Albert the best starting character for new players.


 * If the player recruits Albert early in other characters' scenarios, then one can visit Prince Neidhart and conclude Albert's part of the scenario.


 * Albert is the only character with access to Neidhart's castle. He must always be present in the team if one wishes to enter Crystal Palace. Even with Diana, Neidhart's wife who lives in the castle, entry is impossible.


 * Albert and Diana can never be in the same party (excluding the introduction of Albert's scenario), nor can they ever encounter one another. This was, however, possible in the original SNES version, where Albert could meet Diana in Crystal Palace for a limited time. This quest was not finished and translated in the remake, but hints that it was planned, still remain: Diana is in Bruelle; the tower in there has an arrow indicating that it is a location one should be able to enter; and last, Albert still can be caught by the guards in Loban, and land in the jail where he'll hear about events related to the "Ailing Emperor" quest.


 * Albert and Gray are also the only characters able to change their outfits permanently. When playing as Albert, he'll obtain his new armor at the end of the Dragon Knight quest if Neidhart is in the party and the dragon does not die.


 * Sif and Albert seem to be very connected as they both meet in their respective scenarios early on and they can nearly always be found together in pubs; however, Albert cannot obtain the Dragon Orb in his scenario. This is quite ironic, considering that both the conclusion of the Dragon Orb quest and Mirsa's Armor are located in the Dragon Court.
 * Albert is one of the two main characters that start off with a specific skill, Cosmology, no matter which class is chosen. The other being Barbara.