I actually have a physical UK copy of this game, I think it’s supposed to be one of the rarest ever made. It was released after the Saturn was already effectively dead. I bought it second hand I think off of eBay when that site was new and you had to post cheques in the mail. It only cost me £30 I think.
This is the earliest RPG I can think of with polygonal characters, in polygonal towns with voice acting. It’s several years before Final Fantasy X on the PS2 at least. Or I guess Shenmue on the Dreamcast.
The game is incredible, the battle system is a great mix of real time and turn based. You are moving around the points on a compass with each area being safe, under possible attack or dangerous. As your meters fill up you can then use your characters gun, the dragons laser fire, items or magic. At the end of each battle you’re ranked on your performance from close-call to excellent. The better grade you get the more experience and items you receive.
The story is very well told, I wish modern RPGs learnt from it’s restraint. It doesn’t over explain things, and leaves you to figure out things out without being cryptic. The soundtrack is excellent as well.
I got all the retro achievements for this one, the only thing that was particularly tricky was making sure I had 100% completion of the maps and items in each area.