Romancing SaGa 2 Revenge of the Seven review: A quality remake of a challenging, classic RPG
Romancing SaGa 2 Revenge of the Seven is a game I didn’t think would ever see this kind of quality remake/remaster. Originally created for the Super Famicom in 1993, it would get a remaster in 2016-2017. Even that version was still a classic pixel-style game. It’s such a fascinating and sometimes incredibly confusing game. I’ve played many SaGa games, but I never did find a fan translation of this version, and somehow missed the Vita edition.
However, I am glad to see the SaGa franchise get more love - from Minstrel’s Song to this, it’s all very exciting. This game is a beautiful 3D remake, and genuinely, Romancing SaGa 2 is a style of RPG I don’t think I’ve ever played before. I’ve played non-linear games, but nothing at this title’s level.
Romancing SaGa 2 remake brings Super Famicom to modern platforms
Romancing SaGa 2 tells the story of how a group of seven heroes once defended and saved the world; however, eventually, those heroes were forgotten. A millennia later, corrupted by powerful dark magic, they return as villains, plaguing the land. The focus is on the Kingdom of Avalon, and its lineage of Emperors/Empresses.
Leon begins a campaign to defeat these corrupted heroes, and it will ultimately fall to his progeny over many generations to defeat these heroes. While I think this is a remarkably cool concept, it also feels very confusing. So, hundreds upon hundreds of years pass by in this game - are the other heroes just rampaging and scheming that whole time, as you pick them off, one by one?
I know that it’s a classic JRPG, and I shouldn’t dig too deep into those kinds of motives, but it does all tie together neatly in the end. I won’t spoil the plot twists that happen at the end with the final Emperor/Empress, but it’s worth exploring. There’s never been a better time or a better way to play Romancing SaGa 2.
The way the game works is that you begin with Leon and his son Gerard, along with a retinue of capable warriors. As time passes, the generations will as well, and new Emperors or Empresses will sit on the throne. They inherit everything you did before, so you can build the ultimate hero to fight evil.
Your allies’ traits/skills will also carry on through the generations for whatever class they were. So you can make some truly powerful characters, as time goes on. But enemies also get more powerful too - this game has a pretty steep difficulty curve, or it can, if you aren’t leveling up efficiently or upgrading your gear.
Romancing SaGa 2 brings some important, useful quality-of-life updates to the game
Romancing SaGa 2’s original release is a classic, but this remake offers so much more than the original, and none of it feels like a detriment. For example, you now have over 30 classes to take advantage of, as the generations go on.
You just have so many options, and while it can feel overwhelming for someone like me, it’s still great to have these options. It took a while to finally get a healer, for example, but when I did, they never left my party.
You also have a new Timeline Combat system. Like Final Fantasy 10, you can see several moves ahead, and see which of your party members is going next at the top of the screen - this takes the form of a timeline, so it’s easy to read.
Speaking of combat, you also have the new United Attacks. These are so powerful. You have a meter at the bottom of the screen, and as you crit/hit enemy weaknesses, this meter fills up. When it caps out, you can combine a series of attacks, which hit much harder than the normal skills do. If you have a party that regularly hits enemy weaknesses, you don’t have to be too stingy with this - I put it to use incredibly often.
Finally, there’s also a bit more story in this version of the game compared to previous entries. There are various data shrines found throughout the dungeons in the world, that give you the backstory behind the Seven Heroes, and their actions - past and present.
They are relatively easy to find too - the game will start showing you a trail of magical energy when you’re near one. I love this because context is so important to me. Learning more about those characters I’m now fighting just felt amazing. There are some genuinely interesting cutscenes to find.
Combat is solid but frustrating in Romancing SaGa 2
I don’t want to say combat is bad in Romancing SaGa 2 at all because it isn’t. However, it can be incredibly frustrating. For those who are new to this game, all characters have an LP amount - Life Points. As you get KOed, this number goes down, and when it hits 0, that character is gone forever - technically. They can likely show up a few generations down the line, as they did in the original release.
However, with as hard as enemies tend to hit in this game, I had so many fights where I’d lose several LP in a boss battle. It may be down to my poor planning, or not leveling enough, but I’m not so sure. It’s a game you have to be careful and plan ahead in, to make sure you suddenly aren’t in a boss fight lacking a character.
I’m also a big fan of the Glimmer system. As you fight, you’ll see little light bulbs next to attacks, which, as you use those skills, you learn new skills or evolve current ones. It’s a neat system, but it can also be frustrating to wait, and wait for something new.
That said, it’s still an awesome way to influence how your character grows and powers up. Overall, I like the combat experience, but you have to remember that LP is finite - even if you find the Witch that sells LP potions, they too have a finite number.
The trouble with non-linear gameplay
When I say Romancing SaGa 2 is non-linear, I mean it. There are so many different routes and ways to play the game once you’re done with the introduction. There’s no right or wrong way to play, though I imagine there is a manner of ideal routing you can set up.
There are times when this game can be incredibly vague, and there is so much hidden away. As I mentioned in the last section, there’s a Witch that can sell you some incredibly useful potions, but it’s very likely that you’ll completely miss her if you don't speak to the right NPC in the right town. People who like structure and knowing what comes next could wind up a little frustrated.
However, the only thing that really baffled me is the way generations pass on in Romancing SaGa 2. Sometimes, the generation would change, and hundreds of years would pass after defeating one of the heroes - but that’s not always the case. I had generations pass in the strangest of ways, and suddenly, I found myself putting a new party together.
This was the only thing that really, truly baffled me in this JRPG. It’s a fantastic story, and it’s well put together, and I don’t believe there’s any way to put yourself into a truly hopeless situation. It took me some getting used to, to really explore the game - non-linear gameplay combined with what is essentially a levelless system. That’s many players' dream scenarios.
Romancing SaGa 2’s soundtrack and world are both gorgeous
I’m so glad they got Kenji Ito back to compose for Romancing SaGa 2 - he was the original composer, after all. A skilled musician, he helped score some amazing music for this game. A lot of it is really memorable. It pairs nicely with the 3D world itself. I was very impressed with the graphics, too.
Going from the 16-bit pixels to a fully fleshed-out 3D world is really quite nice. The character models are terrific, and the monsters range from cute to horrifying. Though some of it did make me laugh - some of the bosses look a little ridiculous. That’s just how RPGs were back then.
This isn’t a negative, far from it. I like these little comedic moments. Great music, a solid dub, and beautiful visuals all combine to form a satisfying remake.
In conclusion
Romancing SaGa 2 is such a great game. It’s a classic, perfectly replicated and reproduced for modern audiences. It has just enough new quality of life/updates, without taking anything away from the original game. Even on Easy, you still lose LP and can permanently lose characters. I appreciate that.
This is not a game that holds your hand - it’s got a decent challenge, like many of the great RPGs of the 90s. I’m a huge fan of the SaGa franchise, and this remake is exactly what I was hoping it would be.
Many people will be playing this for the first time, like myself. You’re in for a wild, fun ride. Romancing SaGa 2 is an incredibly fun, challenging classic brought back to life again.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Nintendo Switch
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 (Code provided by Square Enix)
Release Date: October 24, 2024
Developer: ArtePiazza
Publisher: Square Enix