COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND Brings Three Game Boy Classics to Switch
The Switch is one of the best consoles for retro classics and the library is expanding with a collection of Game Boy RPGs from Square Enix. Renamed for western audiences, the Final Fantasy Legend series games were some of the first portable Final Fantasy games where players could add monsters to their teams, many years before Pokemon defined the monster-based role-playing genre, among other ways to tailor the adventure. While the games are not the most fondly remembered RPGs of the Game Boy, I still remember enjoying them. Now, the series is being brought to the Nintendo Switch as their true names, the first titles in the acclaimed SaGa series, a series that has gotten a lot of ports in the past few years.
Officially titled COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND, this pack contains THE FINAL FANTASY LEGEND, FINAL FANTASY LEGEND II, and FINAL FANTASY LEGEND III to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the SaGa games. These releases capture the Game Boy titles and not the remakes and other ports such as the WonderSwan or Nintendo DS remakes. Much like the Collection of Mana, this release seeks to keep the games in their original forms with a few small bonuses.
One of the most interesting aspects of this release is that the games can run vertically on the Switch when playing handheld, creating a set of touch buttons to emulate the feeling of the original Game Boy. The word emulate is important to note here as this control style was one of the most common on emulators brought to mobile devices. This also means that one could comfortably play Collection of Saga with the third-party Flip Grip, one of my favorite ways to play arcade shoot-em-up games. Touch screen controls can also be used when playing horizontally.
Additionally, this collection features a character speed boost, adjustable screen magnification, retro display mode, and new commemorative music and illustrations. More on the cosmetic side, the collection also features eight in-game wallpapers to choose from. Either English or Japanese text can be used and there’s a special anniversary song that was composed for this release.
As usual, I love to see Square Enix bring their legacy titles to modern consoles. Hopefully, this collection will do as well as the Collection of Mana to enable a physical release. I also hope to see more game history added into these releases such as concept art, fact sheets, the type of thing that made the Mega Man Legacy Collection games such a treat for retro gamers. Either way, more retro collections are always a plus and they are an excellent way to continue to preserve game history.
Collection of SaGa was featured in the Nintendo Direct Mini among other Square Enix titles.
COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND releases digitally on December 15th 2020 for $19.99 USD and more information can be found on the official listing.
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