Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
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Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven – Announcement Trailer | Coming to Switch, PS5, PS4, and Steam on October 24
- Thread starter Thick Thighs Save Lives
- Start date
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
I’ve given up on them ever making a good new Saga game, just remake the good old games instead.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
More info via Squeenix:
What is Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven?
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is an expansive new RPG that spans generations. You don’t just play as one protagonist - you follow a lineage of emperors in their ongoing battle against the Seven Heroes of ancient myth.
The game is a remake of 1993’s Romancing SaGa 2. Originally released solely in Japan for the Super Famicon, it eventually came to the West through a remastered edition in 2017. This new version is a full remake of that original game - it retains the elements that make it so acclaimed, such as the lineage system, but updates and reimagines things to make the game feel fresh and modern.
For example, the once 2D pixel art world has been fully reimagined in with 3D graphics, the battle system has been completely reworked and features such as new difficulty options have been added to make the game more fun and accessible. It’s also available with English and Japanese voiceover, and French, German and Spanish subtitles.
So, don’t worry if you never played the original - or any SaGa game at all for that matter. This is a whole new experience - a fully standalone adventure that’s specifically designed to welcome new players to this incredible series.
What’s the story of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven?
It is an age of unending war. Terrifying fiends plague the land and various nations struggle to contend with both this incursion and their own internal conflicts. The people wait in hope for the fulfillment of an ancient legend: the return of seven great heroes who once rose to save their ravaged kingdoms.
One fated day, Avalon, the capital of the Varennes Empire, sis suddenly attacked. The people are crushed underfoot and Prince Victor, the brave and noble heir to the throne, is brutally slain. The aggressor is none other than Kzinssie - one of the seven heroes of legend!
While the people weep in despair that the legends were false, Emperor Leon swears his vengeance on the Seven and their mighty powers. He uses the fabled ‘inheritance magic’ bestowewd by a seeress to pass his powers onto his surviving son, Gerard, trading his own life for a chance to strike back.
Thus begins an epoch-spanning struggle between the imperial line of Varennes and the Seven Heroes.
The characters of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
The story of the game spans many generations, with the power of the Emperor passing on to new emperors throughout the ages (more on that later in the article).
There are more than 30 different character classes in the game, covering a wide range of races and professions. Each class has its own unique characteristics, with different proficiencies for weapons and spells.
Allow us to introduce some of the characters you’ll meet in the game and their classes (where relevant).
Emperor Leon
As the incumbent emperor of the Varennes Empire, Leon strives to unite the lands and bring peace amidst the growing fiendish threat.
When the Imperial Capital of Avalon is attacked by Kzinssie, he takes the fight to the invaders, but is slain in cold blood.
Gerard
Second in line to the throne of Varennes, Gerard has a mild temperament and dislikes conflict. After the attack on the capital, he is entrusted with the throne, the secrets of inheritance magic and the future of the Empire itself by his father Leon.
As the first generation of a new imperial line, he begins the war to defeat the Seven Heroes.
Bear
Bear is a member of the Imperial Heavy Infantry unit and has sworn fealty to the Emperors of Varennes.
- Class: Imperial Heavy Infantry
He fights in the front rank of the Empire’s unique ‘Imperial Cross’ formation, where his imposing physique and thick armor let him proudly the bear the brunt of enemy fire.
James and Liza
James and Liza are both imperial soldiers with balanced combat skills.
- Class: Imperial Light Infantry
James specializes in melee combat, though he prefers to use spears and greatswords when taking to battle.
Liza can wield a wide variety of weapons but prefers swords and shortswords.
Therese and Henry
Therese is a warrior of the empire who survives off the land. She’s highly dexterous and skilled with bows and shortswords.
- Class: Imperial Ranger
Henry operates as a tracker in the wilderness. He uses his archery skills to take out foes from afar.
Hector and Andromache
Hector is a skilled mercenary who follows those he considers to be strong. He’s a close quarters fighting expert who wields axes and greatswords.
- Class: Mercenary
Andromache follows those with power. She’s a well-rounded fighter, effective at both close quarters and range thanks to her skill with sword and bow.
Aries and Emerald
These powerful mages serve the Empire.
- Class: Court Mage
Aries’ talents lie in the manipulation of potent wind and water magic, while Emerald is adept at conjuring fire and wind.
Cat and Sparrow
These thieves operate out of the undercity of the Imperial capital Avalon.
- Class: Vagabond
Cat is quick and dexterous, and highly skilled with shortswords. Sparrow is a proficient close quarters fighter who relies on speed to take down foes.
The Inheritance System
The story of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven spans many eras, with new emperors taking up the fight throughout the ages. As for who those new leaders are… that’s up to you.
The Inheritance System lets you select the next Emperor and pass down the powers of the previous generation to them.
Inheritance takes place when the current emperor is reduced to zero LP (life points), when the party is wiped out, when time moves on to the next era, or when the current ruler abdicates.
You can make one emperor abdicate and move onto the next ruler in the imperial line at a time of your choosing. However, you can’t have two emperors abdicate in a row.
You’re not stuck with a single option or bloodline when choosing the next leader. Any playable character can become an emperor and inherit the skills of their predecessor.
Battle
Next up, let’s get into the combat! When you run into an enemy in the field, you’ll trigger a battle!
Turn-based battles have evolved to a timeline system in Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, where (as the name implies) the turn order for every ally and enemy is shown on a timeline. When a character’s turn comes around, they can act immediately.
You’ll fight all kinds of dangerous foes in the game. Enemies are weak against certain weapons and spells and choosing attacks to exploit these vulnerabilities can give you a real edge in combat.
Of course, your foes will hit back. All characters have Life Points (LP), in addition to the RPG staples of HP and MP. If a character is incapacitated, their Life Points (LP) will reduce. If that value reaches zero, that character will die.
Abilities and spells
There are eight weapon types to wield in the game, and each opens up different abilities. You can fight with swords, greatswords, shortswords, spears, axes, clubs, and martial arts.
Mages can also use six magical disciplines, each with unique characteristics. You can try to master pyrology, hydrology, aerology, terrology, cosmology and umbrology.
Glimmer and Evasion
In Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, you learn new skills through in the heat of battle - a process known as ‘glimmering.’
If you use an ability with a lightbulb icon next to it, it can sometimes trigger a ‘glimmer’ and activate an entirely new technique. You’ll then be able to use this new ability whenever you like.
The icon means you’ll be able to see which skills can spark new techniques and work them into your battle strategy accordingly! It’s easier to learn new skills when facing powerful foes, so bear that in mind too!
You also have a chance to evade enemy attacks and avoid damage completely. An ability that has been evaded once can be automatically evaded in the future!
United Attacks
Whenever you use a spell or target an enemy’s weakness, the overdrive gauge will fill. Once it’s at maximum capacity, you can unleash a powerful United Attack!
Once the overdrive gauge is charged to maximum…
You can then trigger your mighty United Attack, which enhances your character’s abilities and spells!
Formations
Before a battle, you can arrange your fighters into formations to enhance them with advantageous effects and status boosts.
Different formations offer different benefits and new ones can be learned depending on the class of the character who becomes the Emperor.
The Free-Form Scenario system
Your actions have a major effect on how the story progresses. For example, the order you visit locations and the things you do there can change how the narrative plays out.
The overall story continues whatever you do, but there are countless variations over the events that take place. Here are a couple of basic examples:
The King of Cumberland asks for advice on the succession issues in his kingdom. The advice you choose will determine the kingdom’s future. Depending on your choices…
The succession crisis is solved, and Cumberland comes under the Empire’s control.
Civil war breaks out and the kingdom is destroyed.
Here’s another example.
The Canal Fortress has been occupied by a mysterious group. You need to take it, and how you do so will vary depending on the actions you take.
You can sneak in at night by boat…
…but enemy forces lie in wait inside.
Another approach is to ask a vagabond for aid.
They can find you a safer route inside.
The world
The world of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is comprised of many different regions. Your goal: unite all the lands under your banner as the Emperor of Varennes!
Each region is beset by its own problems and solving these crises allows you to win over the local forces and bring them under your influence.
You’re free to visit regions in any order you please - and as mentioned, the story can play out very differently depending on the order chosen.
City Development
You can research and build various facilities in Avalon, the capital city of the Varennes Empire. These include the Smithy and the Incantations Lab , where you can develop new weapons and spells respectively.
Difficulty options
There are three difficulty levels in Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, making it accessible for SaGa newcomers and the most experienced of fans alike.
‘Casual’ is an easier and more accessible option. It’s perfect for newcomers to the SaGa franchise or RPG genre.
‘Normal’ is for players who are familiar with RPGs.
‘Hard (classic)’ offers more of a challenge, based on the difficulty of the original Romancing SaGa 2.
Don’t worry if you’re not sure which difficulty to play - you won’t be locked into a particular one. You can change it at any time from the options menu.
Switching soundtracks
If you know anything about the SaGa franchise, you’ll know that the games have some of the best soundtracks out there. Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is no exception.
The game features a new, fully rearranged soundtrack as well as newly composed tracks for this version of the game by the original composer Kenji Ito. But if you’re feeling nostalgic for that classic 16-bit sound, you can also switch to the original score from the options menu.
We hope you enjoyed this deep dive into Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. The launches on October 24, 2024!
The game’s available to preorder today - and if you do so, you’ll get the following in-game items when the game releases:
You’ll find these items in a treasure box on the ground floor of Castle Avalon after you start the game!
- Shiyuan’s Tactical Primer - A tome with the wisdom of a brilliant military strategist. It boosts the number of Technique Points that can be acquired by 10% (until in-game year 1001).
- Cat’s Amulet - An amulet made by a renowned thief. It boosts the tax revenue that can be collected by 10% (until in-game year 1001).
We’ll have much more to share about this amazing new RPG in the future, so be sure to follow SaGa on social media for news and updates:
Shifty1897
Member
Highlight of the show for me. The best SaGa game made in full 3D. It looks so good.
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
This was lowkey the best announcement at the Direct. RS2 had such a profound impact on me. When I was writing an RPG, I borrowed heavily from it.
High hopes for this.
High hopes for this.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
The PS5 and Switch versions of the game are up for pre-order at Amazon and Best Buy. Oh and here's the box art:
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Omnipunctual Godot
Gold Member
Just to be clear (these get confusing for me), is this related to Saga Frontier 2?
DownLikeBCPowder
Member
Is this the one that looked to have a combat system similarish to Grandia II (timeline)? Looked okay if so. Never played much of the old SaGa games at all, those that made it to the States.
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Same series but different game. It went:
Saga 1-3 on Gameboy (released as Final Fantasy Legend 1-3 in the US)
Romancing Saga 1-3 on SNES
Saga Frontier 1&2 on Playstation
You’re thinking Saga Emerald Beyond. It’s already out and it’s supposed to be pretty mid. There’s a demo.
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
I tried the demo of EB. I love saga bit it did indeed seem mid
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
I watched a video of the demo and I couldn’t even bring myself to play it. It was like 30 minutes of talking, 1 battle, and a little bit of running around the ugliest world map I’ve ever seen. And I hear it doesn’t even have dungeons or towns, it’s more like a visual novel with some battles.
Jinzo Prime
Member
I never played the Saga games, but something about this remake peaks my interest. I just might have to pick this one up.
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
Jump in. The series is great. Really avantegard stuff.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
Similar boat here. I've been playing through a lot of old-school JRPGs but haven't gotten to Romancing SaGa games yet. I know of them, though, and plan to eventually play them.
So seems the best option is to pick up this remake for RS2 and that can be my first time playing this particular entry. I don't k now if having played Romancing SaGa 1 is a pre-requisite tho. I'd assume not otherwise they would've probably started with a 1 Remake. I might still play it ahead of this remake though.
Basically all the RPGs at the Direct looked good to me (among some of the other games too).
What other JRPG series would you say is closest to them style-wise?
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NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
That's sort of hard to say, because they very much blaze their own trail. Other games emulate THEM. But if I had a gun to my head, I'd say the SNES final fantasies or Final Fantasy II NES. But that's a very loose comparison.
RS2 takes place over several generations, it's somewhat non-linear. Battles are turn-based (no ATB), and characters don't have levels.
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Shadowstar39
Member
Is this what final fantasy legends became on the green and black game boy?
Also this is the 2nd game , is the first on the switch?
Also this is the 2nd game , is the first on the switch?
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
Amano didnt do the art for the original RS2.Tomomi Kobayashi did.
Solidus_T
Banned
I am just learning this. I know Amano did the first SaGa games and then picked up after taking a break, but their styles are similar.
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
post 14 explains it. The remake of Romancing Saga 1 (Minstrel Song) is on switch. They’re all unrelated story wise though.
DownLikeBCPowder
Member
DQ I-III are all coming.
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
For sure. They both got a sort of ethereal vibe.
Duchess
Member
Perhaps. But games skipping Xbox entirely is starting to become a bit of a trend.
Pallas
Member
Yeah I know but I was remembering what SquareEnix was saying about their strategy dealing with exclusives.
Kiya's Guard
Member
Romancing Salsa? I've never played this saga, but always had interest
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
They already remade Romancing Saga 1 (Minstrel Song) in 3D on PS2 and remastered it a few years ago, it’s available on Switch.
And like Final Fantasy, the stories are unrelated to each other.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
West Texas CEO
GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
I hear the story for this game is pretty intense.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
The Japan-Exclusive Collector’s Edition looks pretty dope. 
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
IAmRei
Member
There is one closest if we talking about line age, namco dragon something in psx. Saga frontier 2 is also using line age, so do dragon quest 5. I forgot much, but there are some more of games with line age system i think.
If we talking about non linear gameplay, there is one particular jrpg on GBA, ao no tengai/oriental blue. Its also have tendency with playtime quest, such as if you late to heal x npc, they will die. Also there is no game over i think, because each time you are killed with boss, the story is branching a bit. Its very interesting. I play it on emulator, i dont have knowledge to put the patch into real cart, nor i have knowledge to buy real cart :/ so obscure.
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thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
IAmRei
thanks for the suggestions! Is the Namco PS1 game one of the Tales of titles? They made a couple of 2D JRPGs on PS1, that's what my first thought was. I know of the SaGa series (those are other games I need to play sometime), Dragon Quest series too.That Ao no Tengai/Oriental Blue game sounds really interesting, I'll put that on the list of RPGs to play (I have SOOO many to actually play through it's crazy!).
IAmRei
Member
You are welcome Buddy,
That Ao no Tengai/Oriental Blue game sounds really interesting, I'll put that on the list of RPGs to play (I have SOOO many to actually play through it's crazy!).
Dragon Valor is the name. short yet had some replaybility because of lineage system which also affect the story, the next character abilities as well.
anyway, Tales Destiny and Tales Eternia (called destiny 2 although doesnt have any relation to one, and confusing even more with there is real tales of destiny 2 later on) are the best tales for me, in PSX. tales of destiny 1 also had amazing ending song, which affect my life, especially my wed back then, so personal : ))
i have lot of RPGs i need to finish as well, untranslated JRPG are still vast to explore i think, there are lot of interesting things. buried or lost in translation. that's why i'm glad there is community who backed these amazing games into new breath with their translation projects.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
Oh, don't even get me started down this rabbit hole
There's just a lot of Japanese games in general I'd love to play but they're untranslated. I've seen some people use text hookers to provide English translations to games on stream, but those only seem to be for visual novel or adventure-style games and could be engine-specific.The day stuff like Kowloon's Gate (PS1), SEGAGAGA!, or even kusoge games like Shinkai Densetsu no Meramenoid gets translated or a text hooker program is feasible for PS1/PS2/Saturn/Dreamcast etc. emulators is gonna be such a happy day. If the rumors of Sony adding native PS3 BC to PS5 actually turn out to be true, I'd hope they get more serious about global game preservation, and invest in some AI-accelerated text hooker for untranslated classic games on the PS Store or in PS+, specifically for PS1, PS2 & PSP titles.
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Kagoshima_Luke
Gold Member
The 3 Xbox players who were going to buy this day 1:
IAmRei
Member
Oh, don't even get me started down this rabbit hole
The day stuff like Kowloon's Gate (PS1), SEGAGAGA!, or even kusoge games like Shinkai Densetsu no Meramenoid gets translated or a text hooker program is feasible for PS1/PS2/Saturn/Dreamcast etc. emulators is gonna be such a happy day. If the rumors of Sony adding native PS3 BC to PS5 actually turn out to be true, I'd hope they get more serious about global game preservation, and invest in some AI-accelerated text hooker for untranslated classic games on the PS Store or in PS+, specifically for PS1, PS2 & PSP titles.
Oh, don't even get me started down this rabbit hole
The day stuff like Kowloon's Gate (PS1), SEGAGAGA!, or even kusoge games like Shinkai Densetsu no Meramenoid gets translated or a text hooker program is feasible for PS1/PS2/Saturn/Dreamcast etc. emulators is gonna be such a happy day. If the rumors of Sony adding native PS3 BC to PS5 actually turn out to be true, I'd hope they get more serious about global game preservation, and invest in some AI-accelerated text hooker for untranslated classic games on the PS Store or in PS+, specifically for PS1, PS2 & PSP titles.
I wish Segagaga will be translated or officially remastered and translated. The system is interesting enough. Could be not structural education for manager. I learnt a lot from this game review, just one detailed review, can affect and inspire me to learn management in gamedev. I cant imagine if it translated though, i will learn a lot about gamedev inside japan. And it bugs me, i think someday i will have to learn japanese. Considering i now have to travel each year to TGS as well.
I wish lot of jrpg ps3 games on ps5 though. Especially artonelico 3. And also lost odyssey in pc even via mic$ store.
Dang, i have to learn japanese.