SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny

SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny
サガ2秘宝伝説 SaGa2: The Treasure Legend: Goddess of Destiny
Developer(s):	Square Enix
Publisher(s):	Square Enix
Artist(s):	Gen Kobayashi
Composer(s):	Kenji Ito
Platform(s):	Nintendo DS
Release date:	JP September 17, 2009
Genre:	Role-playing
Modes:	Single-player 1-4 players in the DS

SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny is a role-playing video game released in 2009 for the Nintendo DS exclusively in Japan. The game is a remake of SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu, featuring full 3D cel-shaded graphics, all new artwork by Gen Kobayashi and arranged soundtrack by Kenji Ito.

The game was entirely redone with 3D graphics and features a reworked script, which adds events and NPCs to the main quest, as well as a few name changes, such as the Opium/Bananas being now referred as Black Market Goods.

Gameplay

This game uses a similar gameplay to the original Game Boy title, with a few quality of life improvements and new additions. Random encounters were ditched entirely, with monsters being visible on the field much like in later SaGa games. If any enemy is in close proximity when the player touches another enemy the player will engage all of them in battle at once, with enemy formations surrounding the player's party.

Minimap

This game adds in a minimap which is visible on the bottom screen whenever the player is exploring a world, towns and dungeons. Initially only towns, shops and exits are visible on the minimap; by obtaining specific Relics during the game new functions are added to the minimap, displaying excavation spots, cracked walls, etc.

Some of the Relics give the player new abilities to use while exploring the map, such as excavating specific spots for treasure, destroy cracked walls and heal on special spots. These abilities can only be activated one at a time.

Threads of Fate, Party Titles and Events

After clearing the first world or reaching the Muses Garden the player gains access to the Castle of Fate, which can be reached by talking with the blue angelic slime NPC. There the player can talk with the Goddesses of Fate, which can initially trade MP points with Threads of Fate. The Threads of Fate can be used by the player during battle, allowing to link the character's actions and create combos. Using a Thread of Fate will create a specific bond between the characters and change the party's title accordingly.

Throughout the game the player will engage into various Events, side-quests which are activated when talking with specific NPCs. While some of these are activated automatically others require that the player activate a prompt during a NPC conversation; many of these require the player to have a party title different from the initial one, sometimes requiring either a positive or negative title to become available.

The Muses

The Muses are important NPC characters which the player will meet throughout the first half of the game. Each of them require the player to complete a Event, after which they'll give the player a certain amount of MP and move to the Muses Garden. Once there the Muses will begin to gauge the player's performance in battles and gift a small amount of MP after the battle is over. MP can be used to buy Threads of Fate with the Goddesses of Fate.

After a Muse has gifted the player enough MP, or if the player gifts a muse with specific items, the Muse will begin aiding the player during battles, appearing randomly to execute a move of her own.

Calliope	Favors dispatching of enemies quickly
Polynia	Favors concentrating on offensive actions
Melmene	Favors concentrating on defensive actions
Eutere	Favors taking random actions
Thalia	Favors using strategic actions
Repsira	Favors taking damage
Erato	Favors using magic spells
Lio	Favors using healing spells
Urania	Favors using combos

Arena of the Dead and Souls Dark Regions

After defeating the first major boss in the game the Arena of the Dead is unlocked, which the player can reach by talking with the dark blue imp slime NPC. There the player can fight previously defeated bosses; all weapon/ability uses and threads of fate used during these are automatically recharged after the end of the fight, with the player earning items according to the party title acquired during the fight.

After the player completes the Nasty Dungeon the imp slime will appear at the dungeon's entrance and challenge the player. Winning the fight unlocks the Souls Dark Regions, where the player can fight random formations of multiple powerful monsters in order to earn rare items.

Fan translation

The game received a complete fan-translation by Crimson Nocturnal[1]. The last version, v2.11, was released on January 23, 2011.

Gallery

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  Box art

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  Main visual

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  Male Humans

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  Female Humans

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  Male Espers

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  Female Espers

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  Mecha

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  Monster

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  Monster

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  Slime

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  Dad

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  Calliope

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  Euter

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  Kai

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  Melmene

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  Polynia

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External links

• Official development blog for the game (in Japanese).
• Official site (Archived, will not work in web browsers as flash is being discontinued, use Flash Player to open the swf file from the site.)