SaGa Frontier Remastered devs share messages, talk new main character Fuse

SaGa Frontier Remastered is heading to Switch in April, but it’s more than just a simple re-release. The team has implemented improved graphics, additional features, and a new main character.

Fuse is the new character in question. Once players have fulfilled certain conditions, he can be unlocked. Fuse comes with his own scenario and even has new tracks from Kenji Ito.

To celebrate the upcoming release of SaGa Frontier Remastered, various members of the development team have shared a few messages. We have them in full below.

Akitoshi Kawazu (SaGa Series General Director)

“It looks like it’s time for Fuse’s arrival at last. Fuse’s storyline implementation ended up taking a different form than what I was expecting at the time of the original. However, being able to fight all the final bosses for the other protagonists and being able to become allies with all the other protagonists were ideas that we were able to incorporate just as I’d conceived. On top of that, we were able to have Benny’s full support on all facets of the scenario, which was not possible back then! I think that this Fuse is a more reckless, wilder, and cooler character than a Fuse depicted by me. The Fuse storyline can be enjoyed seven times. Drink in every last drop.”

Favorite scene: The scene where he has a conversation with Roufas about crab pasta. The reason why Gradius’s hideout is an Italian restaurant is because at the time, Mr. Ishii* had a favorite restaurant that was in Meguro City, Tokyo. It’s still there, in fact.

* SaGa Frontier Project Chief / Current CEO of Grezzo: Mr. Koichi Ishii

Benny Matsuyama (Game Writer/Novelist)

SaGa Frontier, a title to which so many of you players have dedicated countless hours playing – with the Fuse storyline, we must have you enjoy that field even more. Keeping that in mind, I dedicated my efforts to see how engaging I could make this story that changes through the addition of Fuse.  A crazy investigation diary that can only be portrayed through the medium of a game rather than a novel, with different endings that can be reached depending on routes taken and their resulting branches. I was aiming for a delightfully satisfying detective action drama. I hope you’ll play through all the characters to their fullest.

Favorite scene: The playful interactions of Fuse and Ren at the start of Emilia’s storyline. I wanted to portray the relationship with Ren, which hadn’t been depicted much at all, so I wrote in the boisterously obnoxious moves of a bossy senpai. They ended up making great use of the punching motion, and Hughes is even more annoying that I’d imagined. The effects they added here are the best!

Kenji Ito (Composer)

At the time, there had been a drastic increase in the number of tracks from the previous title (Romancing SaGa 3), and I couldn’t even move for about a week after the end of production [smiles wryly]. For Fuse, I wanted to portray a masculine sex appeal and dandyism as well as a little comicality, and I remember struggling with that quite a bit. The new tracks… and in particular, the ending track, is somewhere I’ve infused those images into the main theme, so I would be very happy if you could take a look for yourself!

Favorite scene: My personal favorite is the fight between Alkaiser and Metal Black III.  “Glimmer” happens to Alkaiser, and he comes up with “Al-Phoenix X,” and when that fiery bird bursts forth onto Metal Black III, it’s really a rush [laughs]. It’s so much that I imagine this scene when I’m performing “Battle #5” live, which is the track that plays during this battle.

Hiroyuki Miura (Producer, SaGa Frontier Remastered)

For the new protagonist Fuse, scenario production began with Mr. Kawazu at the center, and was based on Mr. Kawazu’s ideas from back then. The scenario was amply captivating even at the stage of having just received it from Benny, but Fuse became an even more appealing character as the director and dev staff for this title implemented it and added effects. The addition of Fuse’s story makes the original SaGa Frontier’s story itself feel deeper and more captivating, so I hope you’ll look forward to that.

Favorite scene: Orlouge is arrested by Fuse!? The unprecedented nature of him being an investigator who goes into the world of mystics, which feels extraterritorial, as well as the question of whether the concept of “arrest” even applies to “Orlouge”? What words will Orlouge offer Fuse in return? I was full of excited anticipation for what would happen next as I played.  Play to find out what happens next!

Naofumi Ueno (Director, SaGa Frontier Remastered)

One of the concepts of Fuse’s storyline is to reveal the secrets of SaGa Frontier’s world. There were several areas that hadn’t been discussed in much depth during the original title and had remained mysteries, and some of these are now being delved into from the unique perspective of Fuse as a member of IRPO. Additionally, there are fun little tidbits [alt: Easter eggs] incorporated here and there that those who notice them won’t be able to help but grin at. There are also stories that reach a different ending as a result of Fuse joining, so every route of the protagonists is finished to a very satisfying quality. I hope you’ll see all of them through to the end and steep yourselves more deeply in the world of SaGa Frontier!

Favorite scene: The scene where Fuse, having been sent to the Dark Labyrinth for certain reasons, encounters Red Turnip. There were characters whose appearances were not planned during the plot stage, but in the end, we were able to include everyone in one place or another. The cutscene with Red Turnip, whose role was the most difficult among them to cast, is particularly memorable for me.

SaGa Frontier Remastered heads to Switch on April 15.

Source: Square Enix PR