Strategy focused RPGs are always some of my favorites. I’m not always good at them, but I enjoy them. So when I saw the announcement for Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven a few months ago, I was intrigued. A non-linear rpg with multiple characters and different formations? That doesn’t involve a standard exp system? This promises to be pretty interesting, especially since I’ve never heard of the SaGa franchise before this game. Fortunately, like Final Fantasy, the number is mostly a formality: knowledge of other entries in the series is not all required to play or enjoy this one. Which means we can jump straight in.
The demo opens with some brief background: A long time ago the land was in turmoil until seven heroes showed up out of the blue and started beating back the monsters. After their job was done, they promised to return when they were needed again and disappeared as suddenly as they came. Many years later they passed into myth until monsters began terrorizing the land again. Sure enough, the heroes did indeed return, only this time things were a little different. After starting up my save file, I’m asked to choose between a male or female character and name them. This is interesting because this character doesn’t seem to factor in at all during the demo, making me wonder if they’ll come into play later in the full release. There are no options to customize them beyond the name either, so it's a mystery for another time.
Finally the game starts and I’m controlling Emperor Leon in a cave. Deciding to deal with some monsters residing in this cave, Leon has brought his son Gerard and are on their way to meet up with the imperial retinue. Leon can jump to climb platforms, open chests and even strike enemies to start battle with an advantage. After a little exploring, I encounter the rest of the party I’ll be using for the remainder of the demo and each one fills a different role as my units take up position. Bear acts as the tank, being heavily armored and having the most hp and defense. James acts as more of a dps type character wielding a two handed greatsword and focusing on damage output. Finally, Therese serves as more of a support type, armed with a bow and healing magic. Emperor Leon himself uses a sword and can wield offensive light magic while Gerard at this stage is clearly the weakest of the bunch and can’t do much other than attack and defend. The retinue can be arranged in different formations which grant different bonuses in battle. At the start, there are only two formations available: Free For All and Imperial Cross. Free For All arranges them in a straight line and offers no benefits or downsides. Imperial Cross on the other hand, arranges my units in a cross-like formation with Bear up front, Therese on the left, James on the right and the Emperor in the middle with Gerard toward the back. In this formation, Bear being up front is more likely to get targeted by enemies but gets defensive bonuses while the Emperor and his son are less likely to be targeted. That said, formations will get broken if enemies get the jump on me, so I have to remain vigilant while looking around. It honestly makes me wonder what other formations will look like as well. Once everyones ready, the party ventures forth into the cave to deal with the monsters.
Combat is the standard turn based fare, each round turns alternate between characters and monsters in the battle. A bar at the top of the screen lets me keep an eye on turn order, knowing if an enemy is moving next or if its the next character in line. When a character is up, they can use a regular attack or an art which costs BP. Speaking of arts, over the course of gameplay characters can glimmer certain techniques if they use a particular move long enough. A lightbulb next to a character action signifies if it's likely to result in a glimmered technique. As an example, Emperor Leon can learn the technique Stun Slash if he attacks with his sword often enough. He also has Double Cut to start off as well as a magic attack in the form of Light Ball which hits all enemies. A meter at the bottom fills up as the party exploits weaknesses and once filled, can result in a powerful attack from two of the party. There’s a fair amount of nuance in combat as enemies come with different vulnerabilities. Some may be weak to swords, others to spears. Each time an enemies weakness is revealed, a box underneath them will show the damage type alongside other revealed or unrevealed weaknesses. It reminds me of Octopath Traveller in that way. Choosing the right damage types is essential to defeating enemies efficiently.
Once the cave is cleared out, the Emperor and his retinue return to Avalon and are greeted by Gerards older brother Victor. Leon however has business to attend to, so I’m left with Gerard and tasked with exploring the castle and outlying city. This provides me with the opportunity to interact with the characters in the retinue as well as a few extras. Most of them don’t have anything interesting to say though, instead just mentioning their particular combat styles as I mentioned earlier. One noteworthy interaction is with Emerald, a court mage. She gives Gerard access to a fire spell, adding an additional option for battle. The city of Avalon acts as the game's main hub, at least for now. There’s everything you need here, an inn for resting, a shop for supplies and even an armory for weapons. Stock is limited but thankfully I don’t need much at this stage. After Gerards done exploring, Leon finishes with his meeting and decides it's time to go out to another cave.
This provides me an opportunity to discuss the games visuals. I’m only playing on Switch but I can’t help but be impressed at how good the game looks. The characters look colorful and are brought to life wonderfully. I love the vibrancy and cel-shaded style. It looks good enough to pass for an anime and the animations aren’t bad. Sure its not top of the line Final Fantasy but it doesn’t need to be. What few monsters I’ve seen in this game have some neat designs as well. Inside the cave are beastmen, which are Alice In Wonderland inspired dancing rabbits. Speaking of the cave, it's quite the sight with bioluminescent mushrooms and tree roots growing everywhere, giving it an overgrown sort of look. By contrast, the main city and castle look clean and stereotypical and the npcs around help it feel alive. The final encounter of the cave is a boss rabbit that's slightly bigger than the others. It has a large clock around its neck and the game informs me that when an enemy is preparing for a major attack, a warning can be seen on the turn order bar. After dealing with the rabbit, the group leaves only to be greeted with destruction upon returning home.
Things kick into high gear as Victor lay dying at the hands of Kzinssie, one of the legendary Seven Heroes who is definitely not friendly. After grieving his son, Emperor Leon decides to take the fight to Kzinssie and get revenge for Victor. This takes the group to Sodom, a town overrun with monsters. I won’t spoil what happens next but it definitely left me wanting more. There’s a lot to enjoy about this game, even from the demo and sure to be even more in the full release. I was a little bummed I didn’t get to see the salamander person from the trailer but I’m sure they and more will be there. The original game had nereids and mole people which I’m excited to encounter in the full release of this remake. Ultimately, this is shaping up to be a really fun time for JRPG enthusiasts and save data from the demo even transfers over, which I’ve found to be a nice touch with these games. I’m very excited for the game's full release on the 24th and if you want to experience the demo for yourself, you can find it on Nintendo eShop, Steam or PlayStation depending on your preference.
Thanks for reading!
