page_title: SaGa: Scarlet Grace
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: SaGa: Scarlet Grace / Development
caption_attribution_description: English: Akitoshi Kawazu at the Final Fantasy XII UK Launch
context_page_description: SaGa: Scarlet Grace is a role-playing video game co-developed by Square Enix and Studio Reel. The twelfth entry in the SaGa series, the game was published by Square Enix in 2016 for the PlayStation Vita. An expanded port subtitled Ambitions was released in 2018 in Japan and in 2019 worldwide for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Android and iOS. The story follows four protagonists pursuing separate missions across the splintered remains of a dissolved Empire; central to the plot is the Firebringer, a rebellious deity defeated during the Empire's height. Gameplay focuses on the protagonists exploring the nonlinear world, taking part in turn-based battles where skill growth depends on chosen actions.
  The game was the series' first original console title since 2002's Unlimited Saga, with development beginning in 2013 to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary. Returning staff included series creator Akitoshi Kawazu as co-designer and scenario writer, artist Tomomi Kobayashi, and composer Kenji Ito. The team designed several aspects of the game based on player feedback from Unlimited SaGa, and incorporated features from both SaGa Frontier and the Romancing SaGa games.
context_section_description: The SaGa series had been dormant since the releases of 2002's Unlimited Saga and the remake of Romancing SaGa in 2005, both for the PlayStation 2 (PS2). Series creator and executive producer Akitoshi Kawazu's commitment to other projects within Square Enix, including the Crystal Chronicles series, prevented him from pursuing further SaGa projects. Kawazu had created a concept for Scarlet Grace some time before, but no-one in the company was willing to develop the game with him. At the same time, Square Enix staff member Yoshimitsu Inagaki noted the surge of casual mobile titles and felt challenged about what kind of game he should make next. With this in mind and following the completion of another project, Inagaki decided to revive the SaGa series, which he had worked on during production of the PS2 games. Inagaki approached Kawazu, and the two agreed to create a new SaGa game. The game was co-developed by Square Enix Business Division 3—the division then in charge of the SaGa series—and Studio Reel. The game's director was Studio Reel's Masahiro Kataoka, a former Square Enix employee who worked on the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series. The producer was Square Enix's Masashi Ichikawa, a self-professed fan of the SaGa series. Production began mid-2013, with Kawazu describing development as "turbulent". It was built using the Unity engine.
  Scarlet Grace was first announced in December 2014 under the title "SaGa 2015" as part of the series' 25th anniversary celebrations. Its official title was revealed at the Sony press conference at the 2015 Tokyo Game Show. Instead of releasing a game demo, Square Enix restricted the game's public pre-release appearances to trade shows. The game was released in Japan on December 15, 2016, as both a standard edition and as a limited edition, which included a soundtrack album and artbook. Unlike many PlayStation Vita titles, Scarlet Grace did not support PlayStation TV as Kawazu decided to focus on optimizing performance for Vita alone. Sony and Square Enix collaborated on special edition Vita consoles themed after Scarlet Grace.
caption: Series creator Akitoshi Kawazu (pictured 2007) acted as game designer and scenario writer for SaGa: Scarlet Grace.
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