

Scarlet Sa Ga's battle system fares considerably better, and it is arguably among the franchise's best. On the one hand, players are given a fair amount of freedom conversely, the campaign does not feel like much of an adventure, an issue exasperated by the forgettable characters. This approach streamlines the story mode, which comes with positives and negatives. Rather than standard exploration, players pick nodes from a map that lead them to a quest or a battle.

Like most of the franchise's output, Scarlet SaGa presents plenty of interesting ideas, although not all of them hit their mark. Starting out as Final Fantasy Legends, SaGa has a long and complicated history filled with experimental battle systems that range from inspired to needlessly convoluted. The turn-based combat is more than serviceable, and players will need to make full use of their characters' tools if they wish to survive on higher difficulties. The story is the best part of this package, and the game does not overstay its welcome either. Influenced by World War 2, Rise of the Third Power weaves a mature tale filled with intriguing characters who have well-defined pasts. RELATED: Beginner Tips For Rise Of The Third Power The story follows a handful of characters as they try to stop Arkadya before a new war breaks out. A few decades following a devastating war, the Kingdom of Arkadya has begun to rise up in search of global domination, causing fear to spread across the world that another conflict is on the horizon. Developed by Stegosoft Games, Rise of the Third Power did not attract too much attention upon release, which is a shame as this turn-based JRPG has a lot of things going for it.
