Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Demo Impressions: Glimmering a Remake!

In about a month, Square Enix will publish Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, a full 3D from the ground up remake of the 1993 original Romancing SaGa 2. As a long-time SaGa series fan, I was eager to get a taste of what this particular remake was about. And, thanks to a new demo that Square Enix just released, I’m beginning to like what I see.

Xeen, the same team who did the recent Trials of Mana remake, developed this title. With just a few screenshots, it’s clear the visuals and area exploration for Revenge of the Seven look and feel a good deal like Trials of Mana. However, with a traditional turn-based combat system, this game plays nothing like an action RPG. So, despite having a similar look, it’s important to put that distinction in place early on. In any case, I find this particular visual style impressive, and I love the choice to keep both the silly cartoon-y foes and the big, terrifying monsters faithfully drawn and rendered in 3D.

The Super Famicom classic provided a bare-bones storytelling approach. This remake seems to take a similar path that Minstrel Song took in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 and includes additional story and dialogue, voice acting for all cutscenes, the aforementioned jump to 3D, and a fully reworked soundtrack with recorded performances and life-like synths. As I played through the demo, I found myself nodding along to my favorite tracks, especially the normal and boss battle themes. Yet, I know there is much more, and I cannot wait to hear it all!

I noticed some fantastic quality-of-life and ease-of-use features as I explored the demo. For example, weapon and elemental weaknesses on enemies display as little icons: first as question marks, then fill in as you try them out for yourself (à la Octopath Traveler). When selecting weapons or weapon skills to use in combat, the classic “glimmer” lightbulb icon appears next to the weapons if there is some likelihood your character could learn a new skill. If the likelihood is high, that lightbulb shines bright! The game also does a decent job with early tutorials explaining the various points (HP, BP, TP, LP, etc). This is especially important, as SaGa games are criticized often for having a high barrier of entry. I don’t think anyone could make the case with Revenge of the Seven, at least not for the early game.

Sadly, this demo is a mere taste of what is to come. Without spoiling too much, I will say that the demo ends before you have the chance to switch your party from its default Imperial Cross starting team: Leon, James, Bear, Therese, and Gerard. There is so much more to come, and given how well they portrayed the wickedness of the “hero” Kzinssie, I am so excited to meet and face off against Dantarg, Noel, and the rest of them!

As a quick aside: it occurred to me as I watched the demo’s intro that Romancing SaGa 2 has a premise very similar to the comic/TV series The Boys. In both of these worlds, there is a clear “The Seven” who are marketed and believed to be all-powerful heroes who save us all when we’re in trouble. The truth is not only more sinister, it’s much more complicated.

On all fronts, Revenge of the Seven is shaping up to be something worth adding to the gaming library. Square Enix notes in the demo that the save file you use there seamlessly crosses over to the full game, so if you start playing now, you’ll be a good hour or two ahead come October 24th!