SaGa Emerald Beyond Details Diva No. 5’s Story
Immediately following the release of a demo for the game, Square Enix revealed new image and details for SaGa Emerald Beyond. The update introduces Diva No. 5’s story, one of the five available to select at the start of the game, and which players of the demo on PC are able to try out.
Diva No. 5 is a songstress mech in the industrial city of Avalon. Popular thanks to her captivating and flawless performances, both her memory and singing functions are disabled after she sings a forbidden song that she found in the Royal Museum. Her dejection leads to her deciding to abandon her humanoid body and join the National Extradimensional Exploratory Task Force.
Important characters in her story include Constantine, Diva No. 5’s former manager who takes her to join the task force; despite clear suspicions surrounding him, Diva No. 5’s lack of memory forces her to go along with him. Meanwhile, Boudica is the chief of a tribe that was destroyed by the kingdom of Avalon who also joins the task force. Other members of the task force include Wednesday, an apparent girl in a battle suit that is able to absorb fiends; Bláth, member of a short-lived plant-like species; and Imakoo, a supposed werewolf whose human form has not been seen by anyone.
In addition to the original task force members, Diva No. 5 will also find other potential allies. Guinevere is a supposed guide for lost people looking to atone. Minstrel is a troubadour mech with a peculiar personality in Avalon. Ivor is the merchant captain of a ship called the Mare Nostrum whose foster and biological fathers were both pirates. Azure is the last guardian of the Sea God’s eggs who is feared by pirates. Nana is a girl from the land of Kamala — a blossoming realm with a never-ending cycle of life — who is chosen to be the next maiden of the Epuyke, a giant flower. Finally, Kina is a member of an insect-like species called the Kikir that lives in Kamala and is in charge of summoning fiends from other worlds.
The update also provides some additional gameplay details, beginning with the mech character “species”. As opposed to other party members, mech characters do not increase in strength as a result of participating in combat. Instead, their capabilities are determined by their armaments, which can be freely equipped. Mechs can also equip relics, allowing them to use monster techs. In addition, Diva No. 5 is unique as she can change her body type as the game progresses, granting her different roles and abilities depending on her current body type.
Other details revealed include the two-handed sword weapon type. It is divided into three groups — greatsword, katanas, and polearms — all of which can use general two-handed sword techs, many of which involved increasing enmity to make foes concentrate their attacks on the wielder. Greatswords have access to slashing, piercing, and blunt techniques that can take advantage of enemy weaknesses. Katanas use numerous conditional techs including interrupts and counters, while polearms can be used to slow down enemies.
SaGa Emerald Beyond features puzzles called ritgrams. These require players to form a shape from the available pieces. Events related to them can occur as the game progresses, and players may be tasked with finding the pieces needed to complete them from elsewhere. In addition, a character named Mr. S will offer players three trials to complete during battles. Completing these trials will give players item rewards. Trials can be attempted as many times as desired, with new trials added as conditions are met.
SaGa Emerald Beyond takes place across multiple worlds connected by apparent emerald waves to a place called the Beyond, with each of the game’s protagonists passing into the Beyond before journeying to different worlds. The game has five different protagonist options, each with their own storylines and potential fates. Combat refines the timeline-based system from SaGa Scarlet Grace, including the returning Glimmer system and formations. SaGa Emerald Beyond will release worldwide for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android on April 25, 2024.
Recent Comments