Amidst the barrage of turn-based role-playing games such as Dragon Quest IV and Final Fantasy V In 1992, Square Enix Romance Saga (1992) distinguished itself from others by offering unique non-linear progression systems and weaving group formations into its battle system. The fourth entry in the now massive SaGa (サガ) science fiction video game series may not be very popular, but its 1993 sequel, Romance Saga 2expanded on the strengths of its predecessor, adding the now famous inheritance mechanism. More than three decades later, a 3D version was released Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven It attempts to breathe new life into the classic title with a complete visual overhaul and highly acclaimed gameplay additions.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Serving as a complete remake of the 1993 original, it brings the characters, locations and scenes together faithfully in 3D, ensuring familiar elements continue to remain true to the original while wearing a shiny new coat of paint. Producer Shinichi Tatsukiwho spoke with Geek Culture during a preview event on the sidelines of Tokyo Game Show 2024, certainly went into this project knowing the importance of balancing new with beloved.
He explained: “(The team) knew that simply moving the game to 3D mode as it was would inadvertently create elements that would make players feel uncomfortable, and so we had to make many adjustments.”
“For example, in the cut scenes of the original release, we were having pixelated characters speak through thought bubbles, but this would draw the viewer into a modern 3D title, and feel too simplistic.” Tatsuki went on to say that the team had to fill in the gaps by providing more than just plain text, including additional character animations and full-length dialogue boxes.
Visuals are not the only thing that will be revitalized by the remake, as it also offers many gameplay additions that were introduced in previous titles in the series. Along with the iconic formation system, Glimmers also return, adding a layer of variety to combat. With this feature appearing during combat, characters can gain new weapon skills by performing certain attacks indicated by a light bulb symbol. Once glamorized (or unlocked), a character learns these skills permanently and can be used in conjunction with the associated weapon.
The game will also include a new combat feature – United Attacks. These powerful team-based skills charge up during combat, and once fired, combine two of a character's alternating attacks into one superhit, dealing massive damage. With all the different mechanics at play here, it can seem a bit overwhelming for players, especially those new to the series, and Tatsuke and the team were keenly aware of this fact, and took the necessary steps to ease players into the title, as the original was… Romance Saga 2 It served as the best-selling of the three Romance Saga titles, with 1.5 million copies sold in Japan.
“We made sure that players won't have to learn all the mechanics at once, and instead have a system that guides players step by step,” Tatsuki explains, noting that the game will start slowly and gradually build its systems by adding different mechanics.
“At the beginning of the game, you start combat encounters with only two characters (instead of the full five). We thought that giving players access to the full party from the start would be too much, and wouldn't help them better understand the mechanics and combat.
Accessibility appears to be the team's top priority when remaking the title, after noting that the original 1993 classic, while an excellent game, wasn't particularly user-friendly. The game was known for being very difficult and not providing players with information on how to overcome various obstacles. This, according to Tatsuki, was a major focus when introducing the game to the modern generation.
“When we first started developing the game, we felt that there were two different elements in terms of difficulty. One was difficult in a good way, providing difficult battles for players to overcome, and the other was difficulty, which was that the game was not friendly to players,” Tatsuki notes. The team had yet to This is finding ways to address problems, giving the example of the lack of information presented on the screen.
“In the original, each enemy had their own weaknesses, but they weren't always revealed or visible to players, and Glimmers also had the same problem. What players had to do at that time was ask their friends or go through the walkthrough. And then as we got closer to the release New, we decided to address these issues to make the game easier to understand and more user-friendly.
Following the same goal of accessibility, the game now also features difficulty choices, ranging from Casual, Normal, and Classic (Hard). As evidenced by the naming convention, the original had a default difficulty setting which was considered by many to be particularly challenging, and as such easier options were always included in the development team's cards.
“Yes, there were a lot of long-time fans who recognized the difficulty as part of the appeal of the game. So we definitely wanted to retain the challenging element of combat,” Tatsuki explains.
“However, we want to appeal to a much broader audience, and we don't want players to feel like combat is too difficult, hence we added a difficulty option for the remake.”
Amidst all its new bells and whistles, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven It still retains the unique gameplay mechanism that has stood the test of time – the inheritance system. Not only did this feature change the game when it was introduced with the original in 1993 (and is widely considered the main reason for the title's success), but it still holds up to this day as something no other game has been able to recreate.
Playing as the ruler of the Varen Empire, players will take on the role of several heroes across generations on their quest to defeat the Seven Heroes. As Tatsuki describes, “The opponents are very strong, so it would be impossible for one hero to defeat all seven. So you fight as one character, transfer your skills to your successor and repeat the process until you finally defeat them all.”
Playing as an entire generation of heroes certainly sounds interesting, and with the new growth system in the remake, which allows players to pass on knowledge and abilities to each successor through “Inheritance Magic,” it looks like the game will give players a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing each main character. .
This same freedom manifests itself throughout the story itself, with different narrative choices that may influence the course of the player's journey. In one example encountered during the preview, an option was presented that allowed the player to either tackle the goblin lair or skip it and head straight to a challenging mini-boss. Although this was a fairly insignificant decision, it sets the trend for more major decisions in the future.
It's clear from the start that a lot of passion has been put into making this new release. With this unique genetic gameplay system, plus the title has no narrative connection to the first game in the series, Romance Saga 2 It seems like the obvious choice when it comes to choosing which game in the series will receive a fresh treatment and be reintroduced to a new era of gamers.
The team could have easily gone with a simple graphical fix. However, they have gone further, not only updating the look and feel of the game but also adding features seen throughout the series and adding options to make the game attractive to more people, making Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven A title that is shaping up to be a celebration of what made the series great and the perfect starting point for newcomers to boot.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Flyers on October 24, 2024 For PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC via Steam.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race player with a penchant for perks as “losers”. Darksiders III and Dead space 3. He made it his lifelong mission to play every major release of gaming – lest his wallet die trying.
