Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven PS5 Review
Summary: Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is an excellent remake of an already fantastic JRPG. Despite some drawbacks, the game sports several well-crafted features that hardcore fans will appreciate.
4
A Glorious Reign
Romancing SaGa 2 was released back in 1993 for the Super Famicom and is one of the most celebrated titles in the franchise. Over three decades later, Square Enix has chosen to release a remake of the title for modern fans through Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, which includes new features and enhancements. The game offers a great experience with only a few faults to highlight.
In Romancing Saga 2, players control multiple generations of emperors and empresses in the Avalon Empire, tasked with defeating the Seven Heroes, once great warriors who have become powerful villains. Rather than focusing on a single character’s journey, the game focuses on the rise and fall of empires over several generations and the stories between them. Each ruler inherits the legacy of the last, and while you start with Emperor Leon, his successors take over whenever they die or step down.
The prologue sees players controlling Leon and occasionally his son Gerard until Leon and Gerard’s brother fall in combat with a powerful and evil monster called Kzinssie. The prologue ends with Gerard taking the throne and inheriting Leon’s gameplay and combat elements. After Gerard takes the throne and defeats Kzinssie, he begins a quest to expand the kingdom of Avalon. The narrative then sees him and his descendants, over the course of centuries, expand the kingdom, face opposing kingdoms and enemies, and make allies along the way. The game’s narrative structure is unlike many JRPGs as players see generations come and go, leading to a unique experience, but one that isn’t without some sad moments. Characters are also likable, albeit tropey and one-dimensional.
The combat system in Romancing SaGa 2 blends traditional and modern turn-based JRPG elements. Players form a party composed of different characters, each representing various classes like Knights, Mages, and Rangers. Characters can spontaneously learn new abilities during combat, adding an element of unpredictability and reward for experimentation. This random chance to learn techniques keeps battles engaging, encouraging players to mix up their strategies and try new combinations. In order to learn powerful skills, players will need to try using each player’s skill in various ways, so constantly relying on the same powerful attack may be reliable but won’t lead to the growth of their moveset. Players can also cycle between several characters by recruiting them at the Tavern. However, if you get a new character, you have to spend time leveling them up, which can be annoying when you need specific classes, but the characters are incredibly low level compared to your current party.
Unlike many standard JRPGs, there is no leveling system in Romancing SaGa 2. Instead, characters grow through mastering techniques and improving specific stats, and as new rulers take the throne, their strength is influenced by their predecessors. Aside from that, players can gain an advantage in combat through clever strategic positioning and formations that grant buffs and allow special attacks. As players heal after every battle, the only element they’ll mostly have to worry about is Battle Points, BP, which essentially serves as both stamina and magic points that allow characters to perform advanced moves and magic. As BP can only be refilled outside combat, it is vital to conserve it. Actions like escaping some battles are instantaneous but cost BP every time, so players must pick and choose when to use it.
Regardless, the game’s in-depth system makes each battle feel meaningful, especially since characters who die in combat don’t return for the rest of the playthrough, adding weight to your decisions. Despite this, combat is still engaging, as the difficulty, specifically in Normal mode, is incredibly balanced, allowing players to learn without being overwhelmed. However, this isn’t to say that the game isn’t challenging, as some bosses will take you a few tries to get down, forcing you to use all the tools and options at your disposal. What’s worse is that due to the game’s structure, you cannot reload a save or even retry a battle because you must move on to the next emperor whenever your character dies. While the system makes sense for the game, restarting your game to reload a save each time you want to keep your current character quickly gets frustrating.
Players can fully explore several locations outside combat, including towns, forests, dungeons, and more. However, there isn’t much to explore outside occupied towns, as other locations only serve as dungeons to fight its unique set of monsters. Other than that, players can talk to NPCs, go on side quests, buy consumable items, and more. Romancing SaGa 2 also features city-building elements. While not a complicated system, the game has players build several facilities such as Smithys for building stronger weapons and armor and Incantations Labs for consumable items and potions.
In terms of visuals, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven features overhauled models, beautifully picturesque art direction, significantly more vibrant colors, lush environments, and more. The game features a large number of different attractive locations across several intricate biomes. Additionally, while similar to many modern JRPGs, the character models still sport unique character designs. Performance-wise, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven runs outstandingly well on PlayStation 5. The game runs at a stable 60 fps with incredibly fast load times.
Final Thoughts?
Overall, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is an excellent remake of an already fantastic JRPG. Despite some drawbacks, the game sports several well-crafted features that hardcore fans will appreciate.
About the Author
Abdul Saad Abdul Saad is a seasoned entertainment journalist and critic, and has been writing for five years on multiple gaming sites. When he isn't writing or playing the latest JRPG, he can be found coding games of his own or tinkering with something electrical.
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