Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a remake of the influential, Japan-only, 1993 original JRPG of the same name. Square Enix has modernised the experience, which holds its own even in a year which has proven extremely strong for the genre. With a classic design, exciting twists on well-worn systems, deep combat, and impeccable music, Romancing SaGa 2 feels like a hardcore Dragon Quest, a must-play for enthusiasts, and a great jumping-on point for interested newcomers.
Revenge of the Seven takes place in a traditional fantasy world in which the semi-mythical Seven Heroes vanquished evil in an age past, only to reappear a millennia later as corrupted tyrants themselves. You play not as a single protagonist but as the Imperial descendants of the Empire of Avalon, waging a continent-wide war against these malevolent beings over multiple generations. In a surprisingly open-ended campaign, as you defeat members of the Seven, you will liberate occupied regions, initiating new construction projects and gathering more fighters to your banner.
Playing on the Hard (Classic) difficulty (there are Easy and Normal options), Romancing SaGa 2 becomes an incredibly compelling survival game, with every party member (including the protagonist) having a limited number of Life Points (LP). When downed in battle, they lose a point and can lose more if attacked again; when it reaches zero, the character is permanently killed. Outside of an extremely limited consumable, there is no way to restore LP, making every encounter consequential and forcing players to rotate characters out regularly.
Characters increase their skills in a specific weapon category through use, and the Glimmer system allows them to learn new offensive and defensive abilities during battle, which can lead to some truly epic moments. For example, our faithful knight was on the verge of losing another LP but learned to parry just as the fateful blow fell.
Romancing SaGa 2 boasts an expansive 3D world to explore, gorgeous character models and equipment, and compelling enemy designs. You can even choose between the original and a remastered orchestral score full of earworms from the glory days of the ’90s. A remake of a classic JRPG many Western fans have missed, even three decades later, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven’s inventive mechanics make it a worthwhile experience.