During the recent Nintendo Direct livestream, Square Enix were in attendance to reveal SaGa Emerald Beyond, the first new non-smartphone instalment in the RPG franchise since 2016’s SaGa: Scarlet Grace for the PlayStation Vita (and later other platforms). This all-new adventure boasts music from series composer Kenji Ito and illustrator Satoshi Kuramochi, and aims to bring “together the core combat and free-form scenario elements of the beloved RPG franchise to deliver the ultimate SaGa experience to fans and newcomers alike”.
SaGa Emerald Beyond boasts a cast of heroes from different worlds, with five distinct and dramatic stories to experience. Players will select any of the six protagonists to begin their story with, and guided by mysterious emerald waves, will explore 17 different worlds featuring a diverse cast of races, including monsters, mechs and vampires, forging their own individual stories. SaGa Emerald Beyond also sets out to expand upon the free-form scenario system characteristic for the franchise, aiming to offer the player “the greatest amount of freedom to shape their own story to date, with each tale branching outwards based on their choices and actions”.
The six main characters that players can choose from include:
- Tsunanori Mido – A man who can manipulate kugutsu, or animated puppets, which protect the barrier around his home, Miyako City. When the city is plagued by all kinds of supernatural phenomena, Tsunanori embarks on a journey to other worlds to find four elemental spirits in order to restore order to the spiritual realm.
- Ameya – A witch-in-training who visits Miyako City and lives in secret as a schoolgirl as a part of her graduation exam. After Ameya is attacked by an unknown man, she loses practically all of her magical power and must find a way to regain what was lost and pass her final exam.
- Siugnas – An immortal vampire who rules over Yomi, a world shrouded in darkness, as the Dismal King. However, after being betrayed and driven from his throne, Siugnas finds himself in Brighthome—the gathering place of dead warriors—and must set out on a journey to recover his powers alongside the other warriors in his squadron.
- Diva No.5 – A songstress mech designed to sing and dance from the world of Avalon. After singing a forbidden song, however, Diva’s memory and singing functionality are sealed away, causing her to lose her livelihood and music itself. In her despair, Diva discards her “human” body and, going with the flow, accepts an invitation from a secret society, leaving Avalon behind.
- Bonnie and Formina – Two new recruits and partners on the Capitol City police force who are investigating an assassination attempt on the President. With a key person of interest’s claim that the president is a traitor and a mysterious triangle piece as their only clues, they set off on a journey through other worlds to uncover the hidden truth behind the incident.
SaGa Emerald Beyond is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, iOS and Android platforms – and is expected to launch digitally sometime in 2024.
