SaGa fans rejoiced when a remake of Romancing SaGa 2 was announced on June 18, 2024. Bearing the full name of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, the game is a full 3D remodel of the original title. Many gameplay elements will be returning alongside newer ones. For many, this remake will be the first foray into this difficult and expansive title. Follow along to learn everything you should know about Romancing SaGa 2.
What We Know So Far
Beyond the initial trailers and supplemental content, there is scant information from which we can glean. However, what little material is available offers much. The trailer exhibits a glimpse into the new dimensions of the world with 360-degree camera movement. Ample attention is given to the main characters and plot. The trailer imparts a brief gander into the machinations of the legendary Seven Heroes, as well as the imperial bloodline that will wage war against them. The inheritance and generation mechanic is acknowledged. This is understandable as they are key components of the original game. Players will also deliberate on choices that shape story events and alliances while navigating an expansive world.
The game’s battle system is prominently shown, with old and new elements of combat at the forefront. Formations return as does the timeline/United Attack system seen in more recent SaGa titles. A new Overdrive gauge is depicted on the bottom and seems to be related to the United Attack system. Enemies are encountered on the overworld, and the player can strike them to set up a preemptive attack. The trailer features rearranged music by the sublime composer Kenji Ito. Ito has produced exceptional scores for most SaGa and Mana titles. But before delving deeper into the inner workings of Romancing SaGa 2, it would be remiss neglecting to discuss the importance of the SaGa series to Square Enix.
Square and the SaGa series
The SaGa series was the brainchild of Akitoshi Kawazu, a game designer for Square who had previously worked on Final Fantasy I and II as a battle designer. The SaGa franchise was formed at the behest of Masafumi Miyamoto, the President of Square at the time. His request was a result of the burgeoning success of Nintendo’s handheld GameBoy console. The iconic gray slab had picked up steam in the early 90s, especially with the fervor over Tetris. Kawazu and Koichi Ishii, a fellow designer known for his work on the Mana series, pitched the concept of an RPG to complement the popularity of the GameBoy.
RPGs were large, mechanically complex offerings relative to other games at the time. This would be a tall order for a console like the GameBoy with its limited hardware capabilities. But the ambitious project would see itself completed. This was the origin of Makai Toushi Sa·Ga on December 15, 1989. In an attempt to ride the wave of the Final Fantasy franchise’s Western popularity, the title would be localized as The Final Fantasy Legend. The gambit to create an RPG on the GameBoy worked, as The Final Fantasy Legend would become the first game published by Square to break a million units sold. This success led to further titles, including the Romancing SaGa series for the Super Famicom.
The Original Romancing SaGa 2
Romancing SaGa 2 was released for the Super Famicom on December 10, 1993. The title was highly successful, being the best-selling of its original trilogy and moving over 1.5 million units in Japan. Unfortunately, Romancing SaGa 2 was never localized for the SNES and international players remained largely unfamiliar with its existence. This was also the case for its Super Famicom brethren. Ted Woolsey, a famous localizer working for Square, attributed this to a lack of manpower as focus was being put on other titles. Kawazu would state later in an interview that the immense amount of text and intricacies of the Romancing SaGa games were reasons for the lack of official translations.
Romancing SaGa 2 heavily expanded on some of the mechanics its predecessor introduced. As with most titles in the franchise, the game features an open-world format with nonlinear progression. Like other SaGa titles, the focal point of Romancing SaGa 2 is freedom of choice and exploration. This does come at the cost of less compelling arcs for characters, as they are intended to be replaceable. Romancing SaGa 2 fully embraces this design choice, as will be touched upon later. Characters that can be recruited fall into classes, derived from original tabletop RPGs. More classes become available as the player progresses; diversity in the talents of your party becomes consequential to overcoming obstacles.
The World of Romancing SaGa 2
The world of Romancing SaGa 2 takes place in a high-fantasy setting, featuring RPG mainstays like magic and kingdoms. Avalon, the northwesternmost kingdom of the world, is where the player will begin their long and grueling journey. As the monarch of Avalon, you will travel the world and expand the kingdom’s territory. Over time, it will grow and new services will be available. Unlike most RPGs, the player cannot just walk into a shop and refit their team with new equipment. Developing weapons, armor, and spells will require funding. With more land and territories under your purview, your spending power increases. The helpful Chancellor can bestow knowledge on current happenings, setting you on the right path.
The dreaded villains of the game are the Seven Heroes. These legendary beings were once liberators of the world, now fallen to the grasp of evil. Your goal is to seek out and eliminate these fiends across the fields of time. The player will tackle different problems in various regions of the world in the search for clues about their whereabouts. It will be a hefty feat to perform as you start with little strength on your side. The fights with the Seven Heroes are notoriously difficult, perhaps some of the hardest boss fights in any RPG. To conquer them, the player must be fully attuned to Romancing SaGa 2‘s battle mechanics.
Battle and Inheritance Mechanics of Romancing SaGa 2
Romancing SaGa 2 was noteworthy for its novel gameplay mechanics and difficulty. Its battle system drew off from Final Fantasy II, where player characters would incrementally gain stats through combat choices rather than leveling up. Techniques can be learned in combat through the process of “Glimmering.” When certain conditions are met, a lightbulb flashes over the head of the combatant as they conceive of a new move to utilize. Formations are a huge strategic component for the player to scrutinize. The original game contained eighteen different formations. These different arrangements would result in certain buffs and debuffs to character stats. This could be decisive in overcoming a difficult boss battle.
As aforementioned, Romancing SaGa 2 presents a unique system in the form of inheritance. In the original game, fulfilling certain objectives or plot points will cause a hidden counter to accumulate. During the course of your quest, time passes and your characters will age. Eventually, this will spur the beginning of a new generation, resulting in a new cast of characters emerging as your heroes. These new characters will be descendants of the previous generation, inheriting some of their forebears’ stats and techniques. The game evolves into a battle across the hero’s lineage. Mistakes made by an ancestor can be rectified by their scions. It is an unconventional yet compelling narrative and it is worthwhile the remake embraces it.
Original versus Remake
Thus far, there is some evidence of divergence between Romancing SaGa 2 and this new remake. The main site for Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven states that it “re-works the battle and character growth systems and adds in numerous new features” alongside other options. The mention of retooling both the battle and character growth systems is intriguing but ambiguous. As seen in the trailer, the inheritance and generation systems are still present. This is not odd given how integral they were to the infrastructure of the original game. However, it does suggest that there are differences in how stat distribution and skill acquisition operate when a generation shift arrives. What these changes consist of remains to be seen.
With regards to battles, the trailer showcases that Formations remain a prevalent part of combat. There are also some new additions as can be seen with the addition of a battle timeline. A common feature in modern JRPGs, this timeline shows the order in which both the player and enemies will take their turns. This appears to coincide with the returning United Attack and Chain mechanic to return. As seen in recent entries like SaGa: Scarlet Grace, this system allows party members to team up and launch joint assaults on enemies, dependent on their placement in the battle timeline. All these aspects of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven generate a comfortable synthesis of old and new.
More SaGa Titles on the Horizon?
Square Enix lately has been doling out love for its previously overlooked SaGa series. Despite the franchise’s significance to the success of Square Enix, other titles from renowned series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest typically get more publicity. In spite of this, SaGa games have been receiving considerably more attention in the past number of years. A well-received remaster of SaGa Frontier was released on April 15, 2021. SaGa Frontier’s sequel will be getting the same treatment in the near future. Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, a PlayStation 2 remake of the original Romancing SaGa, received a remaster in 2022. In April of 2024, the latest title, SaGa: Emerald Beyond, was released.
It has certainly been an advantageous time to be a SaGa fan. The series is finding new ground with modern audiences too. Many of these updated versions of the older games contain quality-of-life features to ease the entry for first-time players. With all of these remakes and remasters, it seems likely the final game of the original trilogy, Romancing SaGa 3, is next on the docket. Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven remake will launch globally on October 24, 2024. It will be available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStations 4 and 5, and on PC via Steam. It is currently available for preorder.
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