If an RPG has a class system then chances are pretty good that there will be some sort of healer or magician in there.Final Fantasyhas the White Mage and Black Mage archetypes respectively, for example. Not many RPGs have a standard for what a Sage class is though. Sometimes they are little more than a stronger version of a Red Mage with less of an emphasis on weapon and armor training.
Sometimes they can do a lot more than deal elemental damage or heal the wounded. Let’s go through some RPG options and explain how each version of their Sage differs, if at all. They will be ranked on their overall power and style.
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, and the rest of the series, were established as PSP dungeon crawlers that crossed over characters from across theTales offranchise. Players controlled a more generic hero and there wasn’t much story involved, plus there was a class system to go through which isn’t typical for this series. For example, players could become a Bishop which isn’t exactly a Sage in name, but it is in practice. A Bishop withinTales of the World: Radiant Mythologyis a weak physical fighter but its offensive and defensive magic is second to none during the intense action combat.
Most oftheManagamesare pure action RPGs with a few twists here and there to keep combat fresh between titles. Very few of them have had class systems but the latest entry, Visions of Mana, did. Each character had an exclusive range of classes that would unlock as the game progressed in the story plus there were some tied to side quests. Julei is a little wood sprite who mostly had magic-based classes like this later evolution: Sage. Julei’s Sage class can equip umbrellas as weapons and mostly has healing spells with the only offensive attack being tied to a poison bubble. So, it’s not the most versatile Sage but it is a strong healer.
After the SNES era ofFire Emblem, the creator, Shouzou Kaga, left Intelligent Systems to create his own company, Tirnanog, to start a spiritual successor viaTear Ring Saga: Chronicles of War Hero Yutona. If someone jumped into this game and didn’t know it wasn’tFire Emblem, they would be shocked because the visuals and gameplay are that similar.
This includes the various classes in the game and how they progress. Mages can become Sages, for example, and they are good at dealing magical damage along with healing allies. Alicia is one of the named characters that can become a Sage. The game was never released in the West on PS1 but there is an English fan patch for those interested.
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeancewas the first entry in the seriesto hit the PS4. Like others before it, players acquired hero characters from the story but they could also make their own party members based on dozens of classes to gather for strategic battles. The Sage was one of the later game classes and it’s unlike any other Sage in an RPG and it was exclusive to this entry. Rather than being proficient in healing and offensive magic, these Sages instead mostly used star-based magic to pummel enemies which was weird but effective.
Triangle Strategywas a spiritual successor toFinal Fantasy Tacticsthat first hit the Switch and used Square Enix’s HD-2D style. Instead of recruiting random party members based on classes, each story character had an assigned class that could then evolve through gameplay. Narve Oparyn was the one Sage in the game and players could get him early if they made theright choices inTriangle Strategy. Narve could use area attacks based on the wind, fire, and lightning elements along with healing the party through magic, making him an invaluable party member early on.
Fire Emblemhas been going strong as a seriessince 1990 on the NES. The first inclusion of a Sage class appeared in the second game,Fire Emblem Gaiden, and has been in nearly every game since. They’re traditional as far as Sages go in RPGs without much offensive power backed by physical attacks.
Their magic proficiency has changed over time depending on specific sub-classes from being able to just use light magic to do damage and heal to being able to use all elements. Sages are more versatile in the latest entry on Switch,Fire Emblem Engage, making them a class to aim for.
Dragon Quest 3was the first game to include classes, called Vocations, that players could swap between which was tweaked in the recent remake,Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. Players could select every Vocation from the start except for one that was hidden: Sage. Players could turn any class into a Sage with a rare item or they could do it naturally with the Gadabout which is the most useless Vocation in the game. Either way, theSage is worth fighting for inDragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remakebecause it has some of the most powerful healing and offensive magic in the game and Sages exist elsewhere in the series too.
LikeDragon Quest 3,Final Fantasy 3was the first game to include swappable Jobs for the campaign. Of the many Sage variations in the series, the Sage from theFinal Fantasy 3DS remakeis the strongest. It can use the most powerful Black and White Mage spells but it can also use some Summons. The pure Summon Job still has the strongest set of Summons in the game but the Sage’s selection is still proficient. As an extra note, the DS remake in 2006 was the first time Western players could enjoy this Job system twenty-six years after its 1990 debut on NES.
