Square Enix’s long-running SaGa series is known for having a relatively high difficulty level compared to other JRPG series. This is owed not only to its balancing, but to its complex (at times even borderline cryptic) game systems that take time to get the hang of. In a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer, SaGa series’ creator Akitoshi Kawazu talked about his views on balancing difficulty.
Asked whether establishing SaGa as a high-difficulty series was intentional, Kawazu comments that he bases his approach on educational theory, going beyond game design. “I believe that to help a person grow, you have to provide them with challenges that fall somewhere between making them give up and making them bored. That way, their achievements keep growing.”
However, Kawazu’s answer is not to aim for a game that’s right in the middle of these two extremes, as this will result in having “both players who give up on your game because it’s too hard and those who drop it because they’re bored.” While the SaGa creator is fine with people finding his games too difficult to continue playing, he feels strongly about not wanting to bore them. As such – he errs on the side of making things challenging.
“I don’t want people saying ‘This game’s too easy and boring, I’m done,’ so I play up the challenges to avoid that kind of reaction. That’s probably why so many people give up. But personally, I’d prefer someone to give up than say they’re bored. If it’s so hard they quit, that’s fine.”
Kawazu is conscious of this even when designing difficulty levels, as he is against adding “easy” difficulty settings to his games and shows dislike for them even as a gamer. “I’d never choose to play easy mode. I would feel like the developers are calling me out like ‘Oh, you picked the easy mode, huh?’ I hate that. I think normal and hard modes are enough.”
On the other hand, while Kawazu acknowledges that SaGa games tend to make players stop and go “Wait, what’s going on here?” at first, he notes that the difficulty revolves around understanding the systems and using the right formations and techniques. Thus, bosses are, in principle, designed to be beatable and fair (although the same can’t be said of random enemies, which can wipe you out in a beat).
Related Articles: Square Enix’s SaGa series won’t be getting new releases for some time, according to creator Akitoshi Kawazu
