Techraptor checked out the tactics RPG Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions:

Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions Review

Praise Kaga

Some might be surprised to learn that the mind behind Nintendo's popular Fire Emblem games, Shouzou Kaga, hasn't had a hand in making the series for years. Kaga left the series developer, Intelligent Systems, after the release of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 in 1999, two decades ago as of this writing. He went on to create Tear Ring Saga, a strategy RPG so similar to Fire Emblem, that Nintendo took him to court. After some time away, Kaga is back with Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions, a Japan-exclusive freeware title from 2016. With a new translation by Dangen Entertainment, more people than ever before can experience this adventure by one of the genre's pioneers.

Studio Vestaria Project is the developer behind Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions. Project is an apt name, since this SRPG feels like a passion project by Kaga and the rest of the developers. While Vestaria Saga is incredibly low-budget (it runs on SRPG Studio, which is very similar to RPG Maker) it's evident that there is a lot of love and care put into crafting this game. Artist Mayumi Hirota, know for her work on Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, created the character portraits for an authentic and retro feel. Character art has a weathered and retro look, like they're from an old manga or 1990s anime. Character designs are quite varied too, assuring that every unit you recruit to your party feels like a unique individual.

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Final Thoughts
The story of Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions is conveyed through an excellent translation. I did not find any errors despite the 2016 release being in Japanese only. Dangen Entertainment had a serious undertaking, as this game contains what feels like a novel's length of dialogue. Story-wise though, it is relatively generic. A continent is embroiled in war, and your young hero needs to save it. The plot is very political in nature, with a lot of the key characters prattling back and forth. Character-wise, I can't say any of them were particularly memorable either - not even the main character, Zade, who was just an uninteresting noble.

Vestaria Saga does boil down to being a game held back by its bare bones, clunky engine, and ugly graphics. While the maps are mostly interesting puzzles with a lot of strategy involved, combat isn't as exciting as Fire Emblem or even the recent Wargroove. If you can look past those flaws, though, you have a game passionately made by industry veterans with cleverly-made maps, awesome portrait art, an absolutely awesome retro soundtrack, and a lot of love and care thrown in.

Review Summary
Puzzling maps and plenty of retro throwbacks to Fire Emblem games of yore make for an exicting SRPG. Unfortunately, the archaic, clunky engine and extremely large maps make gameplay a slog sometimes.

Score: 7/10

Pros

• Mayumi Hirota's Character Art
• Great Throwback Soundtrack
• Interesting Map Objectives
• Quality Translation

Cons

• SRPG Studio
• Some Maps Are Too Large
• Relatively Uninteresting Combat Mechanics

Vladlust TV checked out the tactical RPG Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions:

A Fire Emblem Spin Off! - Vestaria Saga Review!

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The strategy RPG Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions has been released on Steam:

Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions

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Story
Vestaria Saga tells the story of international conflict between a powerful empire and a small coastal kingdom. When an imperial ship is set ablaze near the port of Meleda, it sparks a cascade of events that thrusts young warrior Zadrian into a war for the future of his kingdom. On the run from a vicious imperial force and short on allies, Zade and his small band of knights must make difficult decisions to ensure that Meleda's princess, and the very future of its lineage, remain intact.

However, not everything is as it seems, and forces in the dark corners of the continent conspire. The stage is set, and the pieces have begun to move.

Gameplay
Vestaria Saga is a strategy RPG where positioning, movement, and even weaponry, are paramount to success. Move your heavily armed units around a classically styled grid-based map and engage pirates, rebels, monsters, imperial soldiers, and anyone else that stands in your way.

Features

• An enthralling campaign of espionage, international intrigue, and war written by veterans of the genre
• Varying story paths and endings based on your choices and who survives to the end
• Over 20 unique characters to recruit with a wide variety of classes, weapons, and skills
• Intricate maps filled with a variety of enemies and strategic puzzles to overcome
• Two finely tuned difficulty modes to accommodate both strategy veterans and newcomers
• The ability to save every 5 turns so that you can quickly undo any mistakes you've made during a battle
• A full English script translated from the original Japanese by a veteran translator
• The first chapter in a new strategy RPG series that builds upon Japanese SRPG traditions

 

Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions is releasing December 27th.

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Story

Vestaria Saga tells the story of international conflict between a powerful empire and a small coastal kingdom. When an imperial ship is set ablaze near the port of Meleda, it sparks a cascade of events that thrusts young warrior Zadrian into a war for the future of his kingdom. On the run from a vicious imperial force and short on allies, Zade and his small band of knights must make difficult decisions to ensure that Meleda's princess, and the very future of its lineage, remain intact.

However, not everything is as it seems, and forces in the dark corners of the continent conspire. The stage is set, and the pieces have begun to move.

Gameplay

Vestaria Saga is a strategy RPG where positioning, movement, and even weaponry, are paramount to success. Move your heavily armed units around a classically styled grid-based map and engage pirates, rebels, monsters, imperial soldiers, and anyone else that stands in your way.

Features

• An enthralling campaign of espionage, international intrigue, and war written by veterans of the genre
• Varying story paths and endings based on your choices and who survives to the end
• Over 20 unique characters to recruit with a wide variety of classes, weapons, and skills
• Intricate maps filled with a variety of enemies and strategic puzzles to overcome
• Two finely tuned difficulty modes to accommodate both strategy veterans and newcomers
• The ability to save every 5 turns so that you can quickly undo any mistakes you've made during a battle
• A full English script translated from the original Japanese by a veteran translator
• The first chapter in a new strategy RPG series that builds upon Japanese SRPG traditions

Vestaria Saga is a strategy RPG due 2019 with a demo available on Steam.

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Story

Vestaria Saga tells the story of international conflict between a powerful empire, and a small coastal kingdom. When an imperial ship is set ablaze near the port of Meleda, it sparks a cascade of events that thrusts young warrior Zadrian into a war for the soul and future of his kingdom. On the run from a vicious imperial force and short on allies, Zade and his small band of knights must make difficult decisions to ensure that Meleda's princess, and the very future of its lineage, remain intact.

However, not everything is as it seems, and forces in the dark corners of the continent conspire. The stage is set, and the pieces have begun to move.

Gameplay

Vestaria Saga is a classically styled Strategy RPG, where positioning, movement, and even weaponry, are paramount to success. Move your heavily armed units around a classic styled grid-based map and engage pirates, rebels, monsters, imperial soldiers, and anyone else that stands in your way.

Features

• An enthralling campaign of espionage, international intrigue, and war written by veterans of the genre.
• Classically Styled Strategy RPG gameplay on a grid-based map.
• Two finely tuned difficulty modes to accommodate both strategy veterans and newcomers.
• A full English script translated from the original Japanese by the best in the business.
• Full support for both USB controllers and keyboard & mouse.