Comparison

Vay vs SaGa Emerald Beyond

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Vay

Embark on an epic quest to rescue your kidnapped fiancée and save your kingdom from destructive war machines. This cult classic RPG offers a compelling story, challenging gameplay, and numerous improvements for a modern experience.

Highlights
  • Compelling and engrossing story
  • User selectable difficulty
  • Animated cutscenes with audio
  • Auto-save feature
  • Over 100 enemies and bosses
  • Expansive areas to explore
  • Updated music
Features
Read full description

The 16-bit cult classic RPG from 1994 returns with tons of improvements! When your peaceful kingdom is attacked on your wedding day and your wife-to-be is kidnapped, it falls to you to journey across the world and stop the terrible machines of war that threaten to lay waste to it. FEATURES: User selectable difficulty makes this title great for both beginners and RPG veterans Compelling and engrossing story Nearly ten minutes of animated cutscenes with English and Japanese audio Auto-save feature allows you to play in small increments Over 100 enemies and a dozen challenging bosses Over 90 expansive areas to explore Updated music that loops seamlessly Bluetooth controller support Achievements Absolutely no microtransactions Please note that as of version 2.2, this game requires an A9 or better processor.

About

SaGa Emerald Beyond

Embark on a unique adventure across 17 distinct worlds, each with its own culture and landscape. Choose from six protagonists, each with their own story arcs, and make choices that shape the narrative and lead to multiple endings. Engage in strategic turn-based battles with a refined combat system.

Highlights
  • 17 unique worlds to explore
  • Six distinct protagonists
  • Branching narrative based on choices
  • Strategic turn-based combat
  • Glimmer system for skill acquisition
  • United Attacks for chain combos
Read full description

The latest standalone entry in the SaGa franchise, SaGa Emerald Beyond, brings together the very best elements of the beloved series to offer each player their own unique gameplay experience. Make use of glimmers and combos in battle; meet a diverse cast of races, including monsters, mechs, and vampires; and experience your very own story, created through your choices and actions. Distant Worlds Woven Together: Travel to 17 unique worlds from the Junction, either led by the hand of destiny or by a path forged by your own choices. Discover the completely different cultures and landscapes, ranging from a densely developed forest of skyscrapers and a green and luscious habitat covered in plant life to a world governed by five witches, or one ruled by vampires - just to name a few of the distinct settings. An Eclectic Cast of Protagonists: Six leading characters, all from diverse backgrounds and with vastly different goals, set out on their journey in five unique story arcs. They venture to the myriad of worlds for their very own personal reasons: One, a human on a mission to protect the barrier defending his city; another, a witch trying to regain her lost magic while maintaining her disguise as a schoolgirl; and yet another, a vampire lord out to regain his crown and reclaim the throne as the rightful king of his world. Even selecting the same protagonist for a second--or third or fourth--playthrough will lead to completely new events and stories, a completely fresh path and experience. A Story of Your Very Own Making: SaGa Emerald Beyond has the greatest number of branching plots of any game in the SaGa series. The story branches abundantly depending on your choices and actions. Every time you visit a world, the story will evolve, allowing the protagonist and player alike to discover new possibilities. As the story unfolds in this way it becomes a tale all of your own, not only affecting the path you walk but also the multiple potential endings that await each protagonist. Battles where a Single Choice Can Change Everything: SaGa Emerald Beyond further refines the highly strategic Timeline Battles the SaGa franchise has been long renowned for. With series mainstays such as the skill to spontaneously acquire abilities through the Glimmer system, tactical ally placement known as Formations, and United Attacks that enable individual skills to connect together to form devastating chain attacks, it offers the best iteration of SaGa's turn-based combat to date. The new combat system adds more drama than ever before, allowing you to support party members, interrupt enemy actions, and use United Attacks by strategically manipulating the order of ally actions. The characters that join you, the weapons you wield, your party formation, and your tactics in battle - everything is up to you!

Screenshots

Vay4 screens
SaGa Emerald Beyond4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Vay at $5.99 against SaGa Emerald Beyond's $19.99. Vay also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 29%) and rating (4.0 vs 2.9). SaGa Emerald Beyond's advantage is chart position (#196 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Vay costs $5.99 and SaGa Emerald Beyond $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Vay holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vay has 78 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Vay's written reviews are positive against 29% of SaGa Emerald Beyond's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vay ships an update every 3 weeks, SaGa Emerald Beyond every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Vay versus SaGa Emerald Beyond: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVaySaGa Emerald Beyond
Price$5.99 — better$19.99
Rating4.0 (78 ratings) — better2.9 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews73.4% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings78 — better15
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#196 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size203 MB2.6 GB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperSoMoGa, Inc.SQUARE ENIX

Customer experience

Vay

All ratings78 ratings
Positive73.1%
Neutral7.7%
Negative19.2%
Written reviews403 reviews
Positive73.4%
Neutral12.9%
Negative13.6%

SaGa Emerald Beyond

All ratings15 ratings
Positive46.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative53.3%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%

Bugs and requests

Vay

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes after using certain spells
  • Inability to access some areas due to glitches
  • Saved data loss after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add a virtual d-pad for movement
  • Improve equipment comparison at shops
  • Enhance cutscenes and animations
  • Provide more in-game hints and guidance

SaGa Emerald Beyond

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Vay

No in-app purchases

None

SaGa Emerald Beyond

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Vay free?
Vay costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SaGa Emerald Beyond free?
SaGa Emerald Beyond costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Vay or SaGa Emerald Beyond?
Vay is rated higher. Vay averages 4.0 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while SaGa Emerald Beyond averages 2.9 from 15 ratings.
Do Vay or SaGa Emerald Beyond have ads?
Neither Vay nor SaGa Emerald Beyond shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vay or SaGa Emerald Beyond?
Vay ships an update every 3 weeks, and SaGa Emerald Beyond every 4 weeks. Most recently, Vay was updated on September 26, 2026 and SaGa Emerald Beyond on September 12, 2026.

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