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Glimmering (閃き,hirameki?) previously localized as Sparking or Tech Sparking, is a recurring mechanic in the SaGa series introduced in Romancing SaGa 2. It is a system that allows allies to learn and use new weapon techniques in the middle of combat. The chance of learning new techniques is often greater when battling against enemies at higher Battle Ranks, and in some cases also dependent on the character's associated weapon skill levels. In all games it appears in, the act of glimmering is represented as a light bulb shining above the character's head before using the new technique.
Since its inclusion, glimmering has become one of the most iconic features of the SaGa franchise as a whole. With the exception of SaGa 2 Hihō Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny and SaGa 3 Jikū no Hasha: Shadow or Light, every subsequent game after Romancing SaGa 2 in the series has included glimmering as a mechanic in some form. The light bulbs that appear when glimmering are a frequent iconic symbol used in the merchandise and marketing of the franchise.
Each Weapon Art attached to a weapon can have up to five different higher level Arts that can be learned. Unlike other games in the series, new Arts are not added to a character's command list. Instead, new Arts are added as reels to the base Arts' Reels that appear during a character's action.
Unlike previous entries, when a new Tech is glimmered, instead of replacing the base Tech for the turn it is learned, the new Tech is now performed after the original Tech as an extra attack.
Characters now have a hidden counter that tracks the total amount of BP used across all battles. When this counter reaches a sufficient level, a glimmer is guaranteed on the next action if the Tech used has Techs available to glimmer. Because this does not occur if the Tech in question has no possible glimmer candidates, players can exploit this by using glimmerless Techs to store BP until they have a specific Tech they want to learn, or want to guarantee an extra action during a difficult battle.
Emerald Beyond retains Scarlet Grace's mechanic of performing glimmered Techs after the base Tech is used. This now interacts with the United Attack, Overdrive and Showstopper mechanics by including the glimmered Tech as part of the combo chain, thus it is affected by the bonuses given by the Combo Rate.
Humans are able to glimmer exclusive Custom Techs from known Weapon Techs. Each standard Weapon Tech can have up to one possible Custom Tech that can be glimmered. Glimmering Custom Techs is represented with a red-tinted light bulb instead of the standard yellow.
Kugutsu are unable to glimmer, instead being able to Mimic Weapon Techs from allies and enemies in battle who share the same type of equipped weapon. Mimicking is represented with a blue-tinted light bulb instead of the standard yellow.
Glimmers work mostly the same way as they do in the original Romancing SaGa 2, with the same general probabilities, glimmer levels and tables intact. As such, glimmers are reverted back to fully replacing the originally selected Tech for the turn it is learned as opposed to the way it is handled in SaGa Scarlet Grace and SaGa Emerald Beyond. A notable difference in the remake is that Techs now have a prerequisite minimum weapon skill level required before a character is able to glimmer them.
The concept of glimmers were proposed by battle designer Kyoji Koizumi during the development of Romancing SaGa 2. Koizumi came up with the mechanic based on his experiences from playtesting the original Romancing SaGa. He found the process of learning new weapon techs to be his favorite mechanic in Romancing SaGa, and was interested in the possibility of learning techniques in the middle of battle. Koizumi believed that learning during a battle and being able to use a new technique for the first time would both be thrilling and also encourage players to try using new techniques by showing their effects immediately, instead of having players ignore techniques in their skill lists when learning them after battles. Originally, the rest of the team had a cold response to the idea, believing it was more fun to use techs rather than learn them. The glimmer mechanic would be approved only after Koizumi persistently brought the idea to Akitoshi Kawazu for about a month, to which he told Koizumi, "If you're so convinced, give it a try."
Initially, glimmering was represented as an exclamation mark over the character's head. Later on in development, new hires at Square suggested replacing the exclamation mark with the now iconic light bulb, which was eventually approved by Koizumi and the battle effects team.
During playtesting, Kawazu would suggest adding bonus modifiers to techniques when first glimmered. This would be implemented by Koizumi as an additional critical hit rate to glimmered techs. This was done to give a good first impression of new techniques, as well as increasing the feeling of a 'miracle' happening when learning a new tech.[2]
The core mechanics of glimmering appear in the FuRyu-published RPGs The Legend of Legacy and The Alliance Alive under the name Awakenings (覚醒), operating similarly to how glimmering works in the SaGa series. Both games credit game design to Kyoji Koizumi, the originator of the mechanic in Romancing SaGa 2.
Nekwa - Pescara - Anchiano - Caprese - Maelstrom - Noono Forest - Aslana's Studio - Diving Well - Cave Stuffed with Treasure - Cave Crammed with Fiends - Place with the Final Boss - Trampling Despair