Romancing SaGa 2™

Romancing SaGa 2™
N/A
Metacritic
65
Steam
56.96
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$7.49
Release date
15 December 2017
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
65 (248 votes)

Sit upon the throne of the Varennes Empire and control several generations of rulers in a valiant battle against the Seven Heroes.

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Romancing SaGa 2™ system requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7/8/8.1/10(64bit)
  • Processor: Intel Core i3 1.6GHz
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 (onboard CPU)
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 2 GB available space
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far light
far light

Action, Adventure, Casual, Indie, RPG

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Sarge’s Requiem
Sarge’s Requiem

I dunno why this has mixed reviews its a SaGa game, they have wonky mechanics, perma death for your characters if you lose all your LP and wild wacky formations + skill combos.

It looks great, runs great on the deck.

Sounds fantastic.

It was also never released in America and now we have it. HOW GLORIOUS IS THAT.

30 fps cap does make me weep tho. Not enough to stop me from enjoying it tho!

Thyroidalrock
Thyroidalrock

Unique JRPG. Remaster of a SNES game that only came out in Japan. Combat is very "black box" and most of the fun of the game is learning to how to fight. No sitting back and holding X to grind in this game. Earthbound style encounters, where all enemies are visible in the overworld and can be dodged. Also uses a generational system. When you get a party wipe, you don't get a game over screen in Romancing Saga 2, you get to pick a new main character and keep going, building off of the stats and equipment you have acquired over your past characters. Not a wildly engrossing story, but uses more of an Elder Scrolls sort of hook, where the draw to keep playing is to become stronger to face harder challenges, and to explore the vast world. Recommend for any JRPG or Turn Based fan that is not turned off by a bit of the cryptic. If you hate researching and theorycrafting about the games you're playing, avoid.

Banang
Banang

A lot of the negative reviews are about how bad the port was a long time ago, that is not the case anymore. There are some minor issues, but not enough to detract from the game, I'll go over them.
1. No volume slider, I had to manually open my volume mixer in Windows to set the volume every time I started the game. Easily the biggest problem I had.
2. No way to enter fullscreen, easily solvable by hitting alt+enter, pretty much a non-issue.
3. To go back to the main menu (if you need to load a save), you can't use your mouse like the rest of the game, you have to select it with WASD then hit enter.

Now that that's out of the way..

This game is fantastic. This is my first Romancing Saga game and I was blown away. So much variety in the way you can do things from the classes, to the weapons/spells, to the formation and skills you can use for your party. The game can be a LITTLE obtuse at times in telling you what to do. I'd say like 80% of the time they give you a good enough direction in what to do, the other 20% I did not feel bad about glancing online. And you should definitely glance at the Steam guides to figure out what armors actually do.

So the gameplay is great. But what about the story? Going in I was told that Romancing Saga isn't very story focused, and it's mostly about the gameplay. I'm here to say I don't agree with that. This game has some outstanding scenarios in it that are super creative. The overarching story isn't bad, but it's the individual little stories in different towns that I love.

If you don't mind doing a little learning on how this game works, you'll have an awesome time.

tokio_morishima
tokio_morishima

Shocked to see all the bad reviews for this game.
It's great! Sure the UI that seems lifted straight from mobile isn't that aesthetically pleasing but every other aspect from the SFC original was ported fine to Steam.
Essentially this game is a mix between your typical linear, narrative-centered JRPG gameplay and the more nonlinear, customizable WRPG gameplay, and it pulls that mixture off beautifully. It's a game that encourages experimentation and even restarting one's entire playthrough to apply what was learned from previous playthroughs. People who aren't aware of this upon booting the game may be confused and frustrated this isn't the kind of JRPG they were expecting, but for those ready for this game's offering it will be hard to put down. I also think the game's core narrative is pretty good and interesting despite being pretty sparse.

Deleted88
Deleted88

懐かしさに浸りたい人だけ
別にSteam版だから親切設計になったわけでもなく
仲間の才能とか明確にしたっていいじゃんさ…
スマートフォン版、というより
オリジナルと変わらない仕様なのでお勧めできません

____________________

Only for Nostalgic.
Not upgrade,spcecious,
and not valuable price I thought.
Same CellarPhone Edition.

Gay as in "Happy for @#?!"
Gay as in &quo…

Romancing Saga 2 is a game designed by Akitoshi Kawazu. Like with all other SaGa games that he designs and produces, it is ideal to approach this kind of game NOT with a typical console JRPG mindset that one would expect to have when playing a game of this genre, but with instead a more TTRPG/CRPG mindset. The real drive of of the SaGa franchise is to explore it's vast, detailed world, and to let the story or "saga" build from there. It does give you a unique premise to start off with: you are an imperial lineage of emperors/empresses battling with the fabled Seven Heroes of yore who have returned to the world during a period of great strife NOT to save said world, but to conquer/destroy it. An intriguing hook for sure, but like I said earlier, the narrative is there to spur you to go out into the world on your own. The narrative doesn't drag you along linearly in a set manner; You have to explore the world in order grow the story along with your party of characters. And the world is detailed and full of all kinds of life to encourage extensive exploration, it has over a dozen of recruitable playable characters/classes, dungeons to navigate, and secret treasures to unearth. Gameplay wise, It is a turn based JRPG, with no random encounters, which is nice. What makes this different from say Dragon Quest of Final Fantasy is that it is skill-based progression, not pure level progression. Basically, the more you do a certain action, that stronger that that action gets (i.e. uses swords frequently=sword level raises up=more special sword skills/"techs" get unlocked). All of these features that Kawazu and team have brought have helped make this game and many others in the SaGa franchise feel ahead of their time. Think of it as pre-"Elder Scrolls" with turn-based menu combat. It is an acquired taste, but if you acquire it like I've had, you might find yourself savoring it more and more. It can feel a little grindy if you're not too familiar with its mechanics, especially at first; But if you let it get under your skin for even just a little bit, you'd might be surprised at how compelling it actually is. Also, I find this to be one of Square-Enix's best remasters of a classic JRPG in years. Compared to some of their other mobile and pc ports (Particularly FF PRE-pixel remastered) it's visuals alone stand above its competitors. Keeping the 16-bit characters sprites BUT having the backgrounds be HD is a lot more pleasing to the eye than just trying to HD everything with mixed results. It does justice to Tomomi Kobayashi's vibrant artwork, which really gives it and the franchise as a whole its own unique identity. Also, just having Idle animations for bosses and supre-strong enemy monsters is a nice visual cue to the player about how strong their opponent is in comparison to them. Plus, it retains Kenji ito's original soundtrack as it was composed back in 1993 instead of just giving an orchestral upgrade. It really pairs well with the updated, yet traditional visuals to give you sense of how immersive Japanese players felt when they first played this game nearly 30 years ago. All in all, a compelling game in a compelling franchise if you give yourself the chance grok on its level.

PS5 chad
PS5 chad

This is a JRPG where every random encounter matters and should be handled as if it were a boss fight due to permadeath. If that doesn't interest you, after a few more JRPGs, it will. There is no other JRPG like this game it is insane so far I love it.

Annonith
Annonith

It's really hard to describe how advanced and ahead of it's time Romancing SaGa 2 is compared to other jRPGs released around same timeframe.
While in most jRPGs you are simply an observer of unfolding story and there is little you can change about it except grind a few levels or equip certain gear to make fights easier or harder, RS2 gives massive amount of choice on how and when handle quests, quests that might change with passage of time, quests that might change on you completing or not completing certain previous quests, and an open world to explore and to tackle these quests and bosses in any order you please.
The game originality shines even today as most jRPG-like games both AAA and indie ones would rather imitate more safe examples like Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, since RS game were originally not released outside of Japan so there is probably no nostalgia bait factor associated with them, which is a real shame.
The porting job itself is ok, a lot of reviews mention crashes, which I haven't encountered, and the background graphics and UI are of ugly mobile-port quality that clash with pixel character sprites, giving this game rather jarring artstyle, but you can get used to it.
And it's worth trying to get used to it since the base game is just great. First few runs of it when you constantly discover some new route, some new quest, some new thing about a boss, are just magical. It's one of those games that I wish I could forget all about it so I can experience discovering it and playing it for the first time all over again.

p R o X y m o R o N
p R o X y m o R o N

Bad port, no options AGAIN. No fullscreen settings, can't resize the window and no controller support when I force fullscreen with Alt+Enter. Good job Square Enix, this sets a great precedent for the upcoming FFXV port.

Edit: granted, Alt+Enter, I am a silly person on occasion

Alsagoz
Alsagoz

The game itself is great but it was badly ported from the mobile version. Fortunately, they started to fix some problems here and there. It still needs more improvements over iOS/Android to justify its higher price though.

CosmicBard
CosmicBard

The original game is a classic but this port doesn't offer enough as a PC port to justify its price tag.

In addition to that, which would have been enough to justify my refund, this port crashes, has no configuration settings in the program itself or in a separate program. I had to enable some steam controller settings to get it to even recognize my controller (360 controller) and after having to do that, I was still facing strange issues with certain button presses. There's also no documentation and no support threads from staff. I don't expect these issues to get fixed anytime shortly.

It sucks to have to refund this, but it's really just a matter of it not delivering in any area. Other mobile ports of Square titles like Final Fantasy IV-VI were very playable and had a lot to offer even though they have their crititcs. This is just a lazy mess of a mobile port with very little consideration given.

Jinn
Jinn

Unfortunate port, Great game. Positive review for now.

Mimic
Mimic

Full screen works. M&KB works well. XInput controller support. The soundtrack is the original soundtrack from the game, and this is the original game with enhanced graphics and sprites. There's also bonus content.

Lunático
Lunático

EDIT: This review is in need of an update since the game has received a number of patches since release. For now please refer to more recent reviews.

The great dilemma: should you support this subpar release of one of the biggest titles the west missed out on two decades ago?
Why is it even a question when there are so many flaws here? Allow me to explain.

Sadly, it is another Squeenix hatchet job of a port, straight up from the android/IOS release with little to no improvements, but I imagine this one wont get away with reaching a "mostly positive" rating like FFV/VI.
The internal resolution is set by default in the likes of the vita screen and there are no options to change it in the menu, you will have to use Alt+Enter and F11 for proper fullscreen or stretch the window to your desired resolution, controller is limited to Ximput or Steam Controller, so you might have problems depending on your setup. Big Picture is your friend here, try it if you controller refuses to work. [UPDATE: Seems like they fixed it at the time of this edit.]
Graphics wise the improvements are not stellar: Some of the backgrounds look like they came from an RPG Maker game and the new animation in some of the bosses is jarring, but at least they kept the sprites, those burned by the steam ports of FFV/VI will find some solace here.
The translation itself is pretty dry and awkward in places, it gets the job done, but it seems they didnt revise it from the smartphone version, which is a pity.
Some users report crashes, so far I have not experienced any.

But what about the gameplay? Almost untouched from the original Super Famicom release, along with bugfixes to polish up some of the problems present in the old days, there is even some optional extra content and New Game+, which is a nice addition.
That being said, SaGa games are a tricky sell, the best way I can describe it is that these games are the furthest you can get away from classic JRPG standards while still remaining a JRPG at its core, there is nothing quite like this series out there.
There are no levels, no random battles, character growth is determined by the actions you take during combat and by the gear you have . Enemy encounters are represented by sprites roaming the maps and scale in power according to several factors, and they are not afraid of surpassing your party with several steamrollers hiding in a seemingly harmless little dog colliding with your party.
Theres also no world map, well, at least not in the traditional sense, you can fast travel anywhere on the map but you cant roam around in a big overworld like in other titles, just roll with it its SaGa.
Your Characters can gain access to special commands in the middle of battle at seemingly random times, one moment you are attacking with your meager sword and the next your little guy briefly unravels the secrets of the universe and pulls some sick moves out of his arse that then get added to your repertoire for later use. These also depend on the weapons and abilities you are using, if you want to get the best you cant be a jack of all trades.
The health system is divided in two: your normal health and Life Points, if a character is down you dont need to revive them with a special item, you just pop up a potion and they are good to go, they also go back to full health once the battle is over. the catch? every time they die they lose LP, and those are fixed with few ways to recover them, if they run out, thats it, they are gone Fire Emblem style.
There is also an inheritance system, you wont make it with your original party to the end of the game, by that point you will be controlling their descendants, how cool is that? and its a lot less linear than you might think considering its a JRPG, with tons of replayability and plenty of challenge. (and by plenty I do mean plenty)
Speaking of cool: the music is what you should expect from any great JRPG of the SNES/SFC era, the SaGa series has managed to have great music even in the Gameboy days and this is no exception, there are no rearranges or remixes here, but honestly the original music is pretty great in its original form.

If any of this sounds interesting you should know there are many systems working under the hood, part of the fun is peeling away at the layers and understanding them, if that sounds like your cup of tea or you are seeking something different, you should totally give this game a shot.
You are going to hit your head against the wall big time, its a tough journey, but you know what? you can save anywhere, BIG plus right there, not enough JRPGs do this even to this day.
Just remember: sometimes its better to let it go, after all there is always someone ready to take up the mantle, let them have their revenge.

Now for the great question, should you support this release?
If you have a console maybe get it for your PS4/Switch/Xbone/Vita, the steam version is not the end of the world, its fine as a means to play such a wonderful little piece of lost JRPG history, but it is a big, BIG wasted opportunity and should be counted as one of the biggest crimes against PC gaming since the steam release of FFVI.
Well, Im exaggerating, but lets say Im not happy with how SE treats some of its biggest classics with ports like this, somebody should slap some sense on the higher ups.
If you dont have an alternative, then by all means support this game on steam, Its still one of the greats along with Chrono Trigger and FFVI, and until recently perhaps the holy grail of classic untranslated JRPGs, and the series director, Akitoshi Kawazu, has expressed his desire to bring Romancing SaGa 3 to the west, along with Scarlet Grace, the most recent entry on the series. Lets pray to the fickle localization gods that the next port has some more effort put into it, and lets pray tenfold for the slim chance of a western release of Scarlet Grace.
EDIT: Hey, seems like there will be an english translation of the Scarlet Grace Port on Steam, here's hoping they don't mess that one up.

FAQ:
+Do you need to play anything before this game?
No, SaGa games, like FF and DQ, are mostly self contained.

+What are some good SaGa games for begginers?
People tend to recommend SaGa Frontier for the PS1 (dont start with Lute), along with the fan translation of SaGa 2 on the Nintendo DS.

+Woah, I actually really dig this, what should I play next?
Right Here on steam? check out The Last Renmant, apparently Scarlet Grace has some cameos connecting the two games.

You also have the original SaGa games localized as Final Fantasy Legend for the GB
SaGa 1 has a remake on the Wonderswan Color, a fan translated one at that, SaGa 2 and 3 got remakes on the DS, also fan translated. (please support the official releases and all that stuff)

You have the Romancing SaGa trilogy on the SNES, RS1 is fan translated but it also has a remake that came out in the west for the PS2, RS3 is also fan translated, (Spanish speakers rejoice! you also have a fan translation of RS3!).
If luck will have it, RS3 will also come to steam some time in the future.

Then you got the Frontier Games, 1 and 2 for the the PS1, both released in the west.

And Finally Unlimited SaGa for the PS2, also released in the west, its actually not a bad game as people would have you believe, if you are looking for something really out there you should totally check it out, but it does have its quirks.

+More please
Im told Legend Of Legacy and Alliance Alive for the 3DS take inspiration from SaGa games, I think they share some staff, but dont quote me on that.
And if you just want a more sandboxy JRPG but not as complicated, you can always go for Metal Max Returns, that game is amazing and there is an english patch for it. Have fun.

Caramel Maid
Caramel Maid

This is a mediocre port, but it's not a bad one. Biggest problem is the lack of proper gamepad support without screwing around with your settings in Big Picture. That said, the best way to control this game is with WASD and the mouse.

As for the game itself, Romancing SaGa 2 is an old game, but still a very unique one in its framing and execution. Many games that have multiple generations of successors tend to be either linear with few differences, like the oft-maligned Phantasy Star 3. In Romancing SaGa 2, the game (and series as a whole) makes the story take a back seat in favor of a heavy focus on gameplay. If you want an epic story with depth spanning centuries, you're not going to find it here. The core mechanic of the game is that your emperor's gains are passed on infinitely until you vanquish the Seven Heroes who are bringing chaos and death to the world. At his disposal, the Emperor has masses of wealth even from the beginning, and an infinite supply of elite warriors from all over the region ready and willing to perform this task.

RS2 differs from most RPGs in that you should consider your units and main character completely expendable. They can and will fall in battle, and will often get beaten while they're down until they are killed off for good. Don't bother getting attached to any of them, even if they do survive the whole way they will retire with each generation shift. You are not building up a party, but rather the statistics, spells, and skills available to you.

The game is entirely nonlinear, with huge amounts of the area open from the get-go, and a huge amount of sidequests that translate into loot, more available classes, and more income and territory for your empire. SaGa as a whole isn't for everyone, and games in the series tend to be very polarizing. If you want a straightforward RPG, run away very fast, because this is anything but. It is difficult, has a lot of depth, and explains very little. As a saving grace though, even if you screw up royally the game has New Game+ unlocked from the very start so even a seemingly unwinnable situation can be salvaged by starting over and retaining a large chunk of your earnings.

At the same time, I don't consider it worth buying at its current pricetag. Though this is a good remaster of an old game, it comes off as primitive in areas.

Sebek the L'Cie
Sebek the L'Cie

I'm a fan of the SaGa series, but this port is not perfect and with that in mind I will provide pros and cons for people on the fence about purchasing the game, with that said, let's go!

The Pros: The story is great, the inheritence system is interesting, let's you foster your abilities and develop your characters over time, not having to focus on the main bosses the entire time and instead strengthen yourself for the evnetual curbstomping that only the 7 Heroes can provide.

You don't have to beat the game to access new game +, you can carry over all the abilities, magic, weapons, armor, accessories and items you had in your playthrough. The newly added content also provides you with some pretty good loot, new classes and tough enemies.

The music is nothing short of masterful, the laid back town music to the intense as heck Battle with the 7 Heroes theme, every peice of music is a pleasure to listen to and I'm so glad that they stuck to the original OST and didn't opt for a more updated one.

The spritework is excellent, the moving enemies breathe some life into it, but I think the game could of gone without it, except the 7 hereos of course, they're awesome.

The Cons: The controlls are a mixed bag for me, I don't hate them, but they're nothing to write home about either. The games doens't recognize your controller untill you enable steam controller.

The menus are the exact same as in the Android version, this makes the game feel like it was rushed before giving it the polish is needed.

There isn't a way to change the display in game unless you force it full screen yourself, these kind of things should be handled the way the Final Fantasy XIII ports handled it, opening an app that lets you determine screen size for yourself.

The backgrounds aren't too impresive, they're not so bad it's destracting, but it looks like they rushed that, too. I hope the port of Romancing SaGa 3 will learn from this in some capacity.

My Rating: I give this game a 4/10, it's playable, but it doens't get a complete pass because they didn't change anything to optimize it for PC. Just buy the console version, you don't need to worry about bad controlls or screen resolution problems. I will be refunding this game effective imediately.

LBG
LBG

I gave this one a go despite the poor reviews, as it was a game I always wanted to try having played several of the other Saga games and enjoying them. And it's as a bad a port as everyone is saying. No settings at all, mobile control UI, poor controller detection. Which is a crime, because it's a good game if extremely unusual as typical jrpgs go.

The game makes you THINK there's actual characters, but in reality there's just classes. Even the main character. Like other Saga games there's potential permadeath. Unlike later games, you can't avoid it. Some enemies will attack LP directly no matter how careful you are, and you will simply run out of LP at some point. You will then recieve an heir character with similar stats and a different look. There isn't much of a plot, basically you're dungeon crawling to build up loot and stats until you're strong enough to start knocking off the Big Bads. And that's all fine, not every RPG has to have deep writing; it's fun and it's actually challenging.

The sticking point is the pricetage for such a relatively simple and old game with a shoddy port. And Square does NOT have a good reputation for supporting these mobile ports after release. This is in no way worth the current asking price on Steam when it's cheaper on other platforms for the exact same port, or can buy some excellent modern RPGs with far more depth for similar prices. If it were $10, maybe even $15, I'd say it's worth a go. As it is I will be refunding this as I cannot support this lazy effort. Hopefully Square learns their lesson when it comes the eventual port of RS3.

Agro, Died, Etc
Agro, Died, Etc

It's that RPG you always heard about but could never read, now on PC in a totally legal way.

If your looking for a dirth of content from a highly ambitious SFC/SNES series, this isn't a bad choice. The game still holds up to the test of time, over two decades later.

As quality as the game itself is, the port job itself is rather mediocre. As a delivery mechanism to get the game into your hands, it works. But don't expect any of the basic bells and whistles that you would want, the game does not give any on screen prompts for buttons, which would not be a problem if the game had any documentation as to what it's controls were. Thankfully it supports clicking of mouse buttons for accept/cancel respectively.
It's window pops in at a singular resolution which I assume would be offputting to anyone with an irregular monitor. There's no options to speak of in general. This is about as barebones as it gets.

Game = Good
Port work = Better than nothing

Dream
Dream

Port is decent, alt+enter to go full screen but you should maximize the window before in order for it to go into full resolution. Controller support works if Steam recognizes it, so try it in Big Picture if you want to connect your controller first.

Other than that, it's the same Romancing SaGa as the one on SNES, which means it doesn't play like a regular JRPG. Grinding will get you nowhere, it even makes everything worse. You have to take care of your resources and you have to be smart on how to handle enemies. Save often, take care of your Life Points because they don't come back and at 0 your character dies. Take the time to speak to everyone in order to unlock quests and useful tips. It's hard to get lost anyway. If you play this game like you would a Final Fantasy then you will have a bad time.

If you have any other platform the game is on, it's better to get it there. Otherwise it's the same game and it doesn't have the ugly aesthetics of the FF5&6 ports so it's already worth getting by that point alone.

Runie
Runie

Press F11 for fullscreen mode.

Go into Big Picture and check the boxes next to Xbox Controller, PS4 Controller, Generic Controller, and "Home opens up Steam" in the controller options (Thanks Oretachi for that!)

Now go and enjoy this fun little JRPG that we English speakers missed out on 24 years ago!

As for the game itself, the plot is not bad, and has some unique quirks, but it also seems mostly like an excuse to delve into dungeons and fight baddies. And given the SaGa series' excellent combat system, that's totally ok with me.

This game seems like it might deviate a bit from other SaGas though... there's no seven characters at the start to choose from, the world so far is just a town, a menu, and dungeons. And then, once you get through the initial portion of the game, it opens up and you can do some side-quests and, unexpectedly, a lot of X-Com style base-building. Given that I prefer traditional RPG style gameplay over a strategy game... I actually consider this kinda cool. It lets me experience some of those strategy game elements without being a full-blown strategy game.

But I am absolutely having fun with this game and recommend it if you can get over it being a barebones port without a lot of the bells and whistles that come standard on most PC games these days. The actual gameplay is great and IMHO that's what matters.

Good Night, Ryan
Good Night, Ryan

5 hours in and it's running great. No crashes and my controller (Logitech) works nicely.
This is a really interesting JRPG that's decades ahead of its time. The game is fairly light on story with a much bigger focus on gameplay. The battles are intense, even random encounters sometimes. It encourages you to manage your assets and your kingdom in order to gain power, rather than just mindless grinding, which the game punishes. If you like micromanaging characters, highly open-ended exploration, and incredibly tough boss fights, this is the JRPG for you. For what it's worth, I put around 100 hours into the phone version and bought this one without even thinking twice about it.

scratchpoint
scratchpoint

I was really looking forward to this game, but I cannot justify supporting it in its current state. This is a very lazy port made clear by the lack of UI optimization for PC (the menus still have touch screen buttons for heaven's sake). I mainly purchased this to stream on my Twitch channel, but the game crashes my OBS whenever there is an achievement notification, and this does not happen for me with any other game I have purchased via Steam. There are bare minimum options under the settings tab, no way to map buttons for a controller, etc.

The price tag is insulting for what you get, and to think $19.99 is the sale price is laughable at best. This game is worth about $5 in this state. Square really needs to step up their game and port their games properly because this is an unacceptable release that undermines what is truly a great game. Unfortunately, I had to refund it, but I would definitely purchase it in the future if fixes are applied.

moe
moe

Romancing Saga 2 is one of the better JRPGs during the SFC era in Japan. The story and lore is not the focus but rather building your characters and upgrading your castle through generations. Also, another major part of the game is unlocking jobs through scenarios/quests which there is a possibility of failing if you grind for too long or didn't meet certian conditions. However, this version has a new game plus mode where you can restart anytime. Also, you can save anytime.

The port is not as bad as those less than 2 hrs played time reviews stated. Yes, the smartphone UI is a bit annoying, you have to configure setting for the controller to work (takes less than a minute), and you have to press alt+enter for full screen, but these are only minor annoyances to me. It's an alright port. I only wish there are more save slots and an easy way to reset the game.

To me, this game is still better than 90% of the recent JRPGs.

Salami Tsunami
Salami Tsunami

One of the best JRPGs to ever be made and never released outside of Japan til now. We finally have a playable port of the game which I have been thoroughly enjoying. Though most of the complaints are controls and fullscreen, to which fullscreen can be enabled by pressing F11 in game. Also you can map your controller if you wish to play with one by mapping the keys on the keyboard to it in the steam controller settings. Other than those minor issues I highly recommend this game to any SaGa fans and RPG enthusiasts alike. I give this game a 7.5/10 and hopefully there will be full controller support patched in at a later date and I'll raise my score.

Basileus777
Basileus777

An excellent game with a port that is actually fine.

BlurredExistence
BlurredExistence

I literally don't understand what's everyone's problem with this game is! It's a port of an exceedingly old game and while it may not be flash or anything it delivers everything i want from a port for the most part:

Does it allow you to play the game in fullscreen? Yes! Not only that but i can maximise the window which has become my perfered way of playing it.

Can you change the resolution? No! But this game is so old and the graphics so simple there is ABSOLUTELY NO CALL TOO! Or are you too retarded to understand this was a 16-bit game???

Does the Mouse and Keyboard work? Yes! OMG YES IT DOES!!! And that makes it far and away better than most ports i've encountered in my time! Do you know how many so called "ports" to the PC don't even recognise the mouse?... An awful bloody lot of them, let me tell you!

Does it crash? Apparently. I've yet to encounter any, i am admittedly only 10 or so hours into the game, but if there are i can't really imagine any being so severe that you wouldn't be able to find a work around and, let's face it, what game these days is released without a few bugs and crashes? I'm just happy it ain't so broken that you can't even launch it... which is more than can be said for a certain AAA game, as many nVidia gamers will tell you.

Does it allow me to enjoy the awesomeness of this classic once more? YES!!! It damn well does!

Chris Crowe
Chris Crowe

This is an English port of a jRPG from 1993 that didn't get a worldwide release until 2016. Romancing SaGa 2 does not hold your hand. It rarely tells you where to go, instead giving you the general objective of "build up your empire and gain strength so you and your descendants can someday stand a chance against the villains". This is good.

Having the freedom to explore makes the world feel very open. Sometimes the chancellor of your castle notifies you of crises happening in various parts of the continent that you can investigate. You are free to follow his leads or go wherever you please depending on your priorities.

The sheer variety of characters means you'll have a good time customizing your party in each generation to suit your needs. Even though there is perma-death, Game Over screens are exceptionally rare (mostly occuring in the beginning and around the end). Death usually means learning from your mistakes and passing your knowledge down to others, a theme established early on. This also means that while you pick up new characters throughout the game and lose old ones, the new ones will never fall behind.

Pick this up. There's a fantastic amount of replay value due to not having a set order in which to do things, experimenting with magic combinations, and events potentially having multiple outcomes.

Tyyrlor SWF
Tyyrlor SWF

EDIT: A patch recently was put out that removes the Android mobile UI from the game, as well as listing gamepad support in-game. I use a Steam Controller, so I didn't experience much of a difference. Glad to see the devs are quick and responsive to changes. Romancing SaGa 2 is in a fine form on Steam now!

The SaGa series is one of the most experimental and intriguing RPG series out there. Romancing SaGa 2 is no exception. Nonlinearity and branching choices absolutely make this game wonderfully replayable. I would recommend jumping on the forum to find out all the secrets and mechanics going on in Romancing SaGa 2, but it wouldn't necessary for a first playthrough. Just be aware, SaGa looks and plays like a typical JRPG, but it's not.

The HD visuals look great, the sound is top notch, and the use of a controller is so comfortable in a game where enemies appear on the field.

Romancing SaGa 2 is a great entry point if you've never played a SaGa game before. Just be aware that levels and grinding play out very differently. SaGa really wants each battle to feel special, and honestly it doesn't want you to neddlessly grind. The game would rather you completing scenarios, finishing side quests, taking on difficult bosses, and if you die, your lineage inherits everything you've done, so you can go right back at it again! A one-of-a-kind series worth picking up and realy delving into. High replayability with checking out different paths and seeing new scenarios!

『HellMuT』
『HellMuT』

Despite being a straight up mobile port, it is very much worth a purchase. Especially if you are looking for a not so standard JRPG. Very open sandboxy type of game, where you aren't really told where to go and you just explore and do shit on your own. There is no standard leveling system and grinding is discouraged. It has the most satisfying skill system. There is no better feeling than sparking a new skill. Dying in this game is to be expected because of the heir system. I've only played and beaten SaGa Frontier and Minstrel Song, and this very much satisfies the SaGa itch. I only pray Romancing SaGa 3 and Scarlet SaGa gets released in the west, or a possible remake for SaGa Frontier and RS3 like RS1 received.

gaspump
gaspump

Let's get it out of the way: The port is sloppy as far as controls and interface go. The keyboard controls are nonsensical and not rebindable. I, like many, cannot get a controller to work. These are bad things. (Small edit: I've seen a lot of complaints about not being able to resize but at least for me that's never been a problem - I can fullscreen or window, and when windowed I can drag it around it the contents scale to the window)

And yet for me none a dealbreaker.

I'm a bit of a hardcore SaGa fan, so the bias is also up front. Even while RS1 and 3 got their roms hacked with English, RS2 always remained elusive. I played about half of it via a partial translation that had menus done and most skills and items. I liked it enough to go through it without really knowing what was happening. So now it's even better. Being able to finally play this in English soothes my soul in a way I wouldn't expect.

Aside from port control/interface issues, the "remaster" as it is is brilliant and I hope this side of it remains a trend. After the trainwreck sprites of FF5 and 6, they just left them alone. Which is great because everyone in your party does cool poses before and after selecting attacks (a series staple since RS1). But the background tiles, which are easy targets, were tastefully upgraded and look nice. The extra animations on "important" battle enemies is so good I almost wish it could've been done on them all.

Only other complaint is splitting hairs about the translations... Kzinssie? Really? That's actually HARDER to read than "Kujinshi".

Lastly... the more we buy this, the more likely the already confirmed RS3 Remaster lands in English. And if that gets enough love then maybe, just maybe, we'll get a Frontier remake that puts back in the half of the game that got chopped for... ugh... FF "We all grew up together but magically forgot!" 8.

Thirteen1355
Thirteen1355

The game is great, but this Steam PC port of the mobile build isn't. The mobile touch buttons are still in, unnecessarily obscuring your view. The mouse cursor stays on the screen because of the 'touch' options.
I recommend either the Switch or the PS4 version. No mobile UI buttons, no mouse cursor in your way.

Catboyjeremie
Catboyjeremie

It's been a while since I wanted to play a translated version of this game as I own an actual cartridge of the game and played from start to finish. The cost and negative reviews came off as rather off-putting for me at first but I waited so long for this and decided to get it anyway...

... And what I got is an absolutely playable version of the game and I've been having a blast right off the bat. If you only worry about whether the game is playable or not, it is easily accessible through a keyboard and mouse (the game manual tells you about the keys) and there are ways to make controllers work.

GAMEPLAY & STORY

Romancing SaGa 2 is a jRPG that, much like most SaGa games doesn't play like a standard game of the genre. You do not gain EXP from killing enemies but you (semi-)randomly get increases to your stats and expertise at using whatever weapon or spells you're using. You also get stronger by getting new attack skills which you get randomly by "sparking" when you do an attack with the weapon of your choice. Your chance to learn is higher as you fight more powerful foes. The game also has the advantage of allowing the player to escape (only through the emperor) which isn't a feature available in all SaGa games.

Speaking of foes, your enemies grows stronger as you fight more and more and yes, this can make your enemies way, way harder if you treat this game like a traditional jRPG. Personally, even when stuck with overwhelmingly powerful enemies I've been able to progress but it's a matter of patience which is an element common to the series. Escaping is not a bad move at times as it'll allow to avoid enemies with resistances to your attacks who'd make things much harder for you.

The game is also non-linear which means you can travel to various areas at your own pace (especially as you go further in the game) and you have choices that can affect the game such as enabling new classes to use, get new magic, etc.

The game is one of the hardest in the series but if you take the time to get used to the game, you'll eventually be able to handle fights you'd find difficult at first and carry on with a sense of accomplishment from learning the mechanics of the game and defeat the challenging seven heroes. The story by itself is very simplistic and so are the characters but paying attention to the dialogue bits and character actions will allow the players to notice various themes that makes some characters a little more deep than they appear.

MUSIC

The game has the exact same music you'll find in the SNES version. It is a phenomenal soundtrack with a mixture of powerful, beautiful and sometime even emotional music at times. Music during events gives a good idea of the mood and even simple dungeon themes gives a powerful atmosphere at times. The various battle themes are all fantastic and it all culminates with one of the greatest final boss themes ever. It easily ranks up there with the all-time greats among other jRPGs.

PORT

Controller issues, seemingly incoherent keyboard setup, screen size issues, etc. are common complaints but a keep look at discussions will reveal that there are ways to solve many of those problems.

Also, there's that one little thing where if you're like me and worry about the game simply working properly because you simply want to play the game. The answer to this is that the game works perfectly fine. The game responds perfectly fine with a keyboard and mouse and checking the actual game manual will show that the controls aren't even so bad and they become intuitive within a few seconds or minutes.

The game also comes with all the fun and neat addons and unlike the Final Fantasy ports, the visual changes are not a detriment to the game as they give a nice enhanced look that makes the game more lively. If you played SaGa Frontier before, you might get an idea of that sensation.

Is the game worth it's cost? I'm inclined to say yes, especially while it's on sale as the game is lenghty and if you like non-linear gameplay with challenging enemies, there's a chance you'll enjoy it despite the odds being against you at times. Romancing SaGa 2 truly is a classic and anyone willing to forgive the current faults this port has might potentially get a chance to enjoy this series since most of the games in it have a lot to give in term of fun and longevity.

pozertron
pozertron

Quality of the port aside, the game works and looks as expected.

As for how the game is, it's damn hard but they added a manual so newer players will have a much easier time than i did.
It's an open world game that will make the likes of The Elder Scrolls think twice about their formula. It literally expects nothing from you, other than to kill the main baddies. Everything else is left for the player to decide where and how to go about playing it. Every choice you make in the game has huge consequences on the future and is in no way just a matter of "just pick whatever" The important thing to note is that your combat strenght is not dependant on how huge your stats are but rather how many different moves and how properly equipped you are. Music is nice and replayability is there with the NG+.

Overall it's a decent game, but not for the faint of heart.

I can't stress this enough but you gotta read the manual that comes with the game, especially Page 30.

Slick-C
Slick-C

This is a challenging but rewarding game for those who don't mind grinding. However there is a mechanic in which the enemies grow stronger as you get stronger. Bear that in mind as you progress through the game, and have fun discovering and taking advantage of the various formations. I believe that one of the best parts of this game is that you get what you put into it. Your characters will develop around whatever weapons or magic you use to battle with, so work to their strengths and focus on whatever weapons they excell at.

Rannen
Rannen

Several enemies or combinations of enemies that you may face on a regular basis have attacks that can eliminate your entire party before you can act. This should never happen in an RPG.

Failing to learn a certain skill will force you to either restart the game or face the final boss with an all female party (which may not even be possible if you picked a male lead at the start of the game). Otherwise you're looking at a charm attack that hits every male in your group, turning the last fight into something impossible even if your group is strong and well prepared in every other way.

edit: The game contains a number of exploits one can use to win any battle. I consider these to be an additional problem rather than a solution to the above problem.

Romancing Saga 2 offers the player meaningful choices in how they progress through the game, which is a fantastic feature far ahead of its time. However on the technical side, the combat is not enjoyable thanks to problems like those mentioned above. This is enough to sink the entire game, since combat is 80% of what you will be doing.

Soulhacker
Soulhacker

If you enjoying JRPG from the SNES era, then you can't possibly want to miss out on this great classic. This turn-base JRPG take an open-world approach and give players the choice on how and where they want to progress the story and expand your empire, even with a minor base building mechanism that allow you to expand your castle\town by building more facilities. Though the story maybe considered "light" by some due to the open world freedom of choice gameplay, it still provide an interesting lore and backstory of the 7 heroes for you to explore and discover.

This game however is know to be quite difficult so new players to the Saga series may have problem getting use to the RNGness and punishing combat system. But overall it is a fun and addictive JRPG despise the old 16-bits graphics (but still beautiful with this enhanced android version), you might find yourself hooked and spending hours trying to "spark" a new technique and when you do succeeded in sparking a powerful attack the satisfactory can be beyond words. Beside technique your characters also use spells in combat, but the spells cannot be learn through "spark" system. You need to keep casting the spell to improve your global spell level (which is a hidden value) and when it reach a certain level, a new spell will be available in the magical lab (which need to be built as additional facilities for your castle\town) for your characters to learn and pick up. The variety of spells are divided into 5 schools, Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Light and each provide access to 5 different spells. (there is a hidden school of dark magic which can only accessible by making certain choice in game) and each school of magic can be further researched to acquire a new spell by mixing with another non-opposing school of magic. The game also has a party formation system that give you some tactical options in combat.

The game is actually a straight up port from the android version, so if you don't use a controller (eg xbox 360) and use only keyboard\mouse to play the game, then the controls in game can be quite frustrating and need time to adjust and familiarize. But if you has a controller then movement and control of the characters can be play very smoothly like a typical console JRPG and all the menu options can be accessed easily.

No, Erin!
No, Erin!

Now I know you're looking at those sprites and wondering if Romancing SaGa is some long-lost cousin to all those classic Final Fantasy games you know and love. Abandon this train of thought immediately. In fact, if you're in any way expecting a nuanced plot, developed characters or a linear structure, start mashing that "back" button as hard as you can. If you're impatient or easily discouraged, abandon all hope. The SaGa games hate you and they'll do everything in their power to ensure you don't enjoy them. They're hard. Really hard. Instead of leveling up, you improve individual stats based on how each character participated in the preceding fight. New skills are acquired quite literally in the heat of battle by (what seems to be) total chance, and that's not even getting into how the multiple weapon types influence what you learn. None of this is explained in-game. It feels like there are a million underlying systems at work, and all of them are actively trying to kill you.

And yet...

To the chosen few of you (masochists) that are undettered: you are in for a treat. This particular installment grants you an entire royal dynasty - complete with recruitable allies and subjects - to gradually sharpen across multiple generations into an unstoppable death squad. The objective? You've gotta kill seven resurrected heroes from antiquity that don't seem particularly heroic this time around. That's it. How you accomplish that is up to you.

Pretty ambitious for a Super Famicom game, isn't it?

While the original version launched way back in 1993, what we're presented with here is a port of the mobile remake. As with SE's other mobile ports, it's pretty shabby. You have no graphics options to chose from and have to force fullscreen if that's what you prefer to use. The mobile UI has been retained and of course looks hideous. The remake itself is actually quite nice, keeping the sprites and excellent soundtrack of the original while updating the maps in HD. Of all the mobile remakes SE has published on Steam, this is easily the least offensive to the source material from an aesthetic standpoint.

As frustrating as I sometimes find this series, I've nonetheless always appreciated how unconcerned it is with trends or accessibility. If you're one of the lucky few that can appreciate Romancing SaGa 2's many quirks, an amazing experience awaits.

Recommended to those gamers, and those gamers only.

Hobo Elf
Hobo Elf

I came into this game with an open mind and it ended up being one of the best games I've played. To really enjoy this game you have to approach it with the intention to learn to play the game by its own rules instead of trying to impose what you've learned from previous, perhaps more generic jRPGs, as this game is anything but. Reading the manual that is supplied with the game is highly recommended.

In many ways Romancing Saga 2 is the anti JRPG. It subverts expectations and does many things that you, perhaps, as a younger kid might have thought was weird in a game (I know me and my friends did). Things like why don't people give you the items for free from item shops if you're so important (they do in Saga 2 because you're the Emperor!) or why the game world waits for the players input before breathing, for example why is the player allowed to go have a nice rest in the local Inn after they've been told that a castle needs to be stormed immediately (the attack on the castle will have happened without the player if you do this!). These are only a few examples and the player can expect there to be many other cases such as these.

Also, I wish to resolve one of the big boogeymen of this game that I see get thrown a lot, which is how there's level scaling and that the player could somehow over grind themselves into a situation where they cannot win. This is simply untrue.

1) The game doesn't have level scaling. It has encounter scaling, which is quite different. That means that enemy encounters get changed into higher level enemies after a certain amount of fights, though the game does pit you against weaker enemies as well. Basically it just increases the pool of enemies that you can encounter, so you needn't worry about only fighting against hard enemies.

2) Boss stats don't have scaling based on your Encounter Rate (how many times you've fought in combat, which is what determines the encounter scaling). They all have default, flat values set in stone. So you'll never be able to grind yourself into a situation where you can't win. Some of the Seven Heroes do have different forms with different values of power that they might turn into based on your Encounter Rate, but there's a limit to this power, and most importantly their power curve isn't as high as yours is once you bring equipment to the equation. Some bosses also might power up based on choices, but they can never scale up to values that are impossible to beat as, forgive the repetition, their stat values are set in stone.

It really is important for the players to know that the Seven Heroes' power curve is much lower than the players is once you bring equipment and magic (especially fusion magic) into the equation. Having powerful armor and weapons could be the difference between a boss one shotting you and a boss becoming utterly trivial. Even though some of them could become even twice as powerful, stat wise, their final forms might be much easier than the earlier ones simply because of the powerful items and spells you'll have available to you at the time when you take them on.

Basically you don't need to worry about getting yourself into a no-win scenario due to over grinding. In fact you shouldn't avoid fighting either (which I did at first) because, as I said, bosses have their stats set in stone and not getting up to their level will just make it harder for you.

Anyway,

Pros:

-An open world to explore with several quests that can take different twists and turns based on what you do or don't do.
-A highly strategic combat system where thinking smart will lead you to victory. It'll be very hard to simply brute force your way through this game.
-Awesome combat music.
-A good feeling of accomplishment each time you manage to take down one of the Seven Heroes.

Cons:

Pretty much all the cons for this game have to do with a lack of Quality of Life stuff in some areas.

-The biggest issue is that your main equipment menu is useless for information. You can check what items your characters have equipped and what skills and spells they know, but the menu won't tell you what any of them do or what the item values are (for example if a weapon is enchanted or what an accessory does). Some of them are self explanatory, but some aren't. To know what the skills or spells do you'll just have to go into combat as the game will tell you there. To know what an item is you'll have to visit your castles' storage area and deposit / withdraw the item you wish to know more about.

-Another issue that some players might find is that when you equip armor the defensive stat you see in the equipment menu isn't universal for all attacks. The value shown in numbers is for Slash defense. There are several different hidden armor values that are presen't for all items and you'll have to consult an online guide for exact values, though the game is somewhat intuitive in that it's not really mandatory to do this. It's pretty easy for anyone to understand that items, like Helmets, will provide you with a large boost in Bludgeoning defense. It's mostly based on common sense, really.

-I found it annoying that once a character was recruited into your party they couldn't be kicked out if you wanted to swap them for someone else. Only way to get a new replacement character is to try and get the character you want out killed.

In conclusion: if you can put up with some of the odd choices of obscuring data from the player in the basic menus, which, to be honest, is more of a inconvinience, and if you are willing to put forth a total amount of 10 minutes to flip through the manual that is supplied with the game, you'll have a fun game to explore. If you're looking for a more usual jRPG that falls along the lines of, say, Final Fantasy, then this is probably not the game you're looking for.
But if you want something more unusual and a game that's more about exploring the gameplay systems as much as it is exploring the world rather than following a specific storyline with developed characters, then this might be one of the best things you'll ever play.

Skateus Daduceus
Skateus Daduceus

This game will not appeal to everyone, and for anyone looking for a finely polished Square JRPG, this may not be for you. This game is an interesting and primordial open-world JRPG experiment, and if you can appreciate this open-ended series for what it IS rather than for what it is not, this game may be for you. Admittedly, the $25 price tag is STEEP. This is a $15 game, or even a $10 game, at best. Especially since it is not optimized for Steam and is a mobile port. Though, I was delighted that they fixed some of the launch issues, and truthfully this game has never crashed or glitched on me.

With some slight legwork and knowing how controllers connect to Steam, you can 100% have gamepad support with some manual configuration. Granted this is the developer's job, but I am not adverse to getting my hands dirty and figuring this out myself (see: it is not diffficult, nor evasive) Still, this is not a $25 game in 2018. However, if you've waited for decades to play this game (only RS1 and RS3 were fan-translated for the SNES) then like me, this was a no-brainer.

This game is HARD. At times unreasonably so, at other times it is entirely unintuitive and forces you to think from an obscure design perspective, in true SaGa fashion. You will grind, and restart (save often! the save-anywhere function is a blessing and you will restart OFTEN) Perma-death is also a thing, so be ready for that as well. This game doesn't wipe your a$$ for you, this game is built for those with patience and determination, and being able to look past the unpolish upon unpolish and appreciate a game that is *INTERESTING* rather than memorable.

For the gaming masochist, and screaming bullshit at brutal, often unpredictable mechanics. Learn your exploits and have them handy. This game is tough as nails and a no-bullshit old-school experience down to its bones and marrow. You will likely find much better and more polished games on Steam and elsewhere to get your JRPG fix, but none of these are Romancing SaGa. It's gritty and doesn't want you to like it, but in a strange way it's addictive and purposeful towards a small demographic of JRPG enthusiasts.

But support it! Romancing SaGa 3 will be ported and on its way soon enough, and it's the best of these three.

[Edit] Also glad that Square used the original spritework for the characters and monsters. I have avoided the FF5 and FF6 ports like the plague because of how ugly these games look with their smoothed-out and lifeless high-res sprites. More ports like this, please! Or at least an option to use the old school sprites :)

Necro Cheesecake
Necro Cheesecake

I liked it because it reminded me of another game in the SaGa series. It doesn't really matter which one, they're all good.

Fable Fabliau
Fable Fabliau

This is a port of the mobile port of the original SNES game. It has few adjustable settings and while it supports keyboard controls, they are not recommended. I do recommend reading the instruction manual that comes with the game.

All that said, I am glad that this classic Square Enix JRPG has finally gotten an English translation and a worldwide release. As someone who is far too aquainted with the classic turn-based systems of the Final Fanasy series, it is a pleasure to experience a similar game with so many unique mechanics, including adjustable party formations, perma-death, and kingdom management.

A wonderful classic for lovers of old-school JRPGs.

Cagey Bee
Cagey Bee

The game itself is pretty damn decent.

This port is how ports should be done.

Price is a little high, but the game delivers.

Onipuck Lazurus
Onipuck Lazurus

I can't support this series hard enough, and I'd be lying if I didn't have hopes that they'll start releasing more of the SaGa games.
I started with SaGa Frontier, a PS1 game, that was fairly buggy near end game, but it was glorious storywise, the graphics were beautiful(for it's time), and the cast vast and engaging.

I really hope Squarenix gets around to rereleasing some of the games they did in the Earlier PS1 era, not just the Final Fantasy entries, but Chrono Cross, or SaGa Frontier as I mentioned earlier.

For first time players to the SaGa system, it might be a bit jarring at first, honestly I'd suggest not doing anything real plot heavy in your first run through and abuse the New Game +, so you can carry over a good deal of your weapon proficiencies, which will increase damage as well as to-hit-chance.

Frozen Esper
Frozen Esper

Final Fantasy Legend, that's where I began with the SaGa series. They updated the Steam version to this game to get rid of that awful mobile on-screen button garbage. So, I don't see any real problems in regards to the UI. The gameplay is quite fun and I can see some similarities with that of FFL. One thing I would have liked is the option to rename all of our characters like in FFL rather than being stuck with fixed names, I like playing as my own characters. However, you can easily rename the fixed character names via a hex editor by editing the resources.assets file, only one edit is needed. Anyways, I'm giving this the thumbs up because it's turning out to be a fun game and it really does bring back the FFL days to me.

Red Magicite
Red Magicite

I really wanted to like this game. It has interesting classes/abilities, a unique progression system (for characters, not the XP base).

Unfortunately, this is just too much for me.

* You have no idea the difficulty of what you're walking into, difficulty wise.
* The game seems to be based on the 'more battles = more difficulty', but this includes if you flee from battle
* The enemies exist as characters on the map, and will disappear when you slay them. If you flee, they'll remain. So it's possible to get yourself trapped endlessly.
* It's easy to accidentally miss something (alternate paths, for example) based on timing.
* The bosses can be on an exceedingly difficult level of difficulty from the enemy mobs around them.

If you like that sort of thing, more power to you, but it didn't work out for me.

numsei
numsei

start a combat: got merciless demolished
load game
start THE SAME COMBAT: wipe the floor with the enemies

this fucking game got made by a bipolar person or some equal crazy guy, grind does nothing, peharps if you insanely grind skills the game can became fun without those stupid impossible/easy bipolar random fights, i tried really hard to like this game, the story is cool but this combat system will drive you crazy

Bladewind
Bladewind

The 3 Romancing SaGa were the best of the SaGa series in my book.

In a nut shell, you play as a vassal to acquire skills and knowledge to prepare for your confrontation against the so called 7 heroes and the ultimate evil. The mechanics is a little different here in that your "main character" is meant to pass on his/her essence to the next in line until you unlock the final emperor/empress.

For those that get upset from "losing" your character... another way to look at it, you are playing an immortal character that changes the skin every so often. It was just another meat bag until you get to your final form :P

RS2 is where they gone and try something new and different, and experiment with the generation formula that you've seen in some of the other later games, such as the Record of Agarest War series, or even something like Kynseed. Keep in mind that RS2 was made back in 1993 for the Japanese Super Ninendo, with all sorts of hardware limitation. Despite all that, they still manage to make this massive and grindy sand box RPG. But what really impressed me is that they took all the learnings from this game and created Romancing SaGa 3, my all time favorite SaGa game.

In terms of the port, they did a decently good job. Keyboard game play is actually functional, but I ended up playing with a controller anyway.

Voths
Voths

An outstanding remaster of an amazing game that never made it West before now. Make no mistake, this game is difficult and sometimes frustrating. It took me about 20 hours to finally get the hang of things, and I have played SaGa Frontier, Romancing SaGa 3, and Romancing SaGa (PS2) with well over 500 hours combined in playthroughs. When I finally began cruising along through this title, this game put me in my place with the final boss. It is not for the weak.

This game comes from a time long before tutorials and hand holding and admittedly is not for everyone. But if you are a hard core JRPG fan and are looking for a serious challenge with some of the best battle systems and music around, give Romancing SaGa 2 a shot.

I highly anticipate the arrival of the remaster of 3 and any other new games in this series.

Whygee
Whygee

If you have never played JRPGs before, this is probably not where you want to start. The dialogues are a little barebone and the mechanics are foreign at first, but once you get into it, it's a really great game. You have to be smart and it's challenging, perhaps not quite fair at times, but not much of an issue since you can save anywhere, anytime.

As for the quality of the port: I have 0 complaint. Controller works like charm, no input lag,.. I am not sure what kind of options you'd want to have that are missing.

In all candor, it boils down to the price tag, and whether you want to play it bad enough you are willing to fork over $20+ on a 1993 game. It was worth it for me, may not be for you. So take full advantage of those first 2 hours to make your mind :)

Crasher TN - gB
Crasher TN - gB

Romancing Saga 2 was originally released in the SNES and i could only play a little due to the game never being translated until recently.

In this game you are the emperor of Avalon, a small country which you can expand by helping other countries and/or conquering lands that we're infested by monsters, and your Capital grows accordingly to your expansions and money you possess, getting access to more characters, features and classes. You have many areas and quests you can access in any order you want, since this game gives you almost total freedom in exploration.

The Main antagonists in this game are The Seven Heroes: Having Saved the world 700 years ago, they suddenly reappeared again but this time destroying and terrorizing everyone.

Basically Romancing Saga 2 uses a system similar to Final Fantasy 2 where your characters only increase their strength based on what you do in battle. You take damage? Your maximum HP might increase. You use a Spear? You proeficiency in Spears increase. You use Fire Magic? Your Fire Magic damage increases. In addition your characters can use many formations while fighting, giving them certain advantages in battle. This game also has the inheritance system, where when your current Emperor/Empress their sucessor replaces them and receive the powers the previous Emperors possessed.

And one last thing that defines the SaGa franchise: The Freaking fucking Hellish Difficult!
Yep, this game is WAY harder than the Final Fantasy series featuring a system where your enemies grow according to how many battles you've won, which means YOU CAN'T GRIND EXCESSIVELY! While this doesn't affect the bosses, it affects normal enemies making them in some extreme cases harder than the bosses itself. Train with Moderation.

Final Score: 8.8/10
Would definitely be wiped out in one hit again.

orionx79
orionx79

im thinking some of them didnt make it to america until later like final fantasy. because i got this thinking it was the old one i played and it wasnt.

三Akiyama
三Akiyama

Amazing game, good port, very hard.
Using a guide as support is recommended : don't use it too often to not spoil your playthrought, but don't think you'll be able to 100% it without help.

Killerchibi
Killerchibi

This game is very much an old school rpg.
main con: this series is infamous/famous for telling you absolutely nothing about any mechanics, and what little the game tells you (ex: stats on weapons) may be misleading. If you want to experience an old school hard rpg, play this without internet guides the first time around. I would also recommend this any basically any SaGa game if you are looking for a series that's very different.

Necrofear
Necrofear

old school game I use to play a long time ago.

best to get it on sale unless you are a fan of old 2D pixle RPGs

Vokkan
Vokkan

Best looking, smoothest playing, most english version of this game. Playable with no problems.

Chad "The King" ThunderCuck
Chad "The…

absolute trash. if you enjoy games that dont bother trying to explain ANY of their mechanics, while also having every single mechanic so heavily buried in RNG and obscure invisible triggers that the literal only way to understand the game at all is to read a detailed but outdated guide that uses "translated" japanese names for everything OR to spend hundreds of hours pouring through the games code, this is a game for you.

if however you enjoy some degree of clarity, a sense of direction, and actual fun, this is far from your game. dont you dare try grinding levels to trigger the completely unexplained "sparking" mechanic, lest you level the enemies in the game so high everything 1 shots every party member. better not make the wrong choice for armor/weapon production, lest you reach the end game and have literally useless gear. level ups happen at complete random, and never seem to actually DO anything. i jumped from level 1-5 in punching over the course of maybe 15 fights, and did the exact same amount of damage each time. most of the skills are redundant, being just another skill with no effect but higher attack, but they give NO indication of a skills power. even its cost isnt an indication, as all the strongest skills cost as much as the bottom tier skills to use.

music is okay. nothing to write home over. graphics are pretty bad. some parts (sprites, most enemies) look like a blown up distorted poor quality SNES sprite, while the backgrounds and SOME enemies have totally redone and good looking sprites/tiles so as to not look like a bunch of blurry pixels. this coupled with the use of some modern post processing effects/shaders causes everything to look awkwardly bad and clashing.

NG+ is worthless. you lose everything you obtained your last game save for gear and items, which get deposited in the bank. so no, you dont get to have fun going back through the game roflstomping the enemy with end game skills, and because of HOW said skills work, if you ever equip your end game, or even mid game gear, your charcters power will be so high that youll never get a single skill to spark till your up to the area where you would normally get said gear.

thats not too much of an issue though. the game is absurdly easy. until you face a boss, then you just watch all your guys get 1 shotted.

Gorhbus
Gorhbus

Romancing SaGa 2 doesn't play like your standard Super Nintendo Square JRPG. However, it's still real easy to pick up and play as well as full of mechanical depth. The game promotes trying all kinds of weapon and class combinations until you find out what sticks and more importantly what you enjoy. What the game lacks in a focused narrative it allows you to fill in with a sense of adventure similar to the board game Gloomhaven. My favorite example is of Lord Dynamite the Monk King who fell in love with a mermaid and then freed the Mole People of the Savannah from termites. If you're looking for something different and love oldschool JRPG's then this is for you. Be warned that if you look online for help or advice with these types of games that there aren't too many available resources. But I'd argue that's for the best as the game is more fun blind.

Ring & Chime
Ring & Chime

No key rebinding, but whatever.

Obamasnow
Obamasnow

This game really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really sucks. Don't buy it, it's a waste of money

ZephyrAir
ZephyrAir

TL;DR
- เกมยากแบบไม่สมเหตุสมผล

รอเกมนี้มานานมาก เพราะอยากเล่นเกมที่ระบบการพัฒนาตัวละครเลือกได้ตามใจผู้เล่น

เช่น ใช้ดาบเยอะๆตัวนั้นก็จะเก่งดาบ ในสมัยก่อนเกมที่ให้อิสระในการปั้นทีมแบบเลือกสายได้ตามใจแบบนี้หายากมาก

แต่พอเล่นจริงแล้วผิดหวังกับการที่ศัตรูธรรมดาทั่วๆไปตีเราทีเดียวตายได้เป็นปกติ และการคืนชีพทำได้จำกัดจำนวนครั้ง

อะไรวะ

Stinky Pete
Stinky Pete

THIS IS NOT A FINAL FANTASY CLONE

If you try to play it like most other JRPGs, you're gonna have a bad time. Characters revive/fully heal between battles, potions have to be equipped (1 per character per battle) and can revive someone who is down, the party leader is the only one who can order the party to flee and all characters have perma-death.

Grinding is difficult and there are no random battles. Once you beat the boss of a dungeon, it is empty. So if you have to start over with a new party (and you will have to), they will have to grind where the last party died.

It has been a lot of fun so far but you have to come at it with a completely different mindset than FF/Chrono Trigger/Etc

Taylor the Failer
Taylor the Failer

Not for everyone, but if it clicks with you it really clicks with you. If you are looking for a less than standard JRPG experience or even just a very challenging one it is certainly worth a try, but maybe try to get it on a sale.

Toad Hermit
Toad Hermit

Romancing SaGa 2 is not afraid to mercilessly rip apart and destroy your party, and I love it. The game is a constant challenge, but (mostly) never an unfair one. Pay close attention to why you died. Often a new formation, different set of armor, or abusing the right techniques will win you the fight. Even full party wipes can be beneficial, for this is a chance to gain a new emperor, build a new team, and learn new formations. Lots of room for experimentation and high replay value.

Snuffny
Snuffny

This port got updated A LOT since its rather problematic release and is definately playable now, as most of the issues got fixed since then. The only critique that I have is that there are still no settings, which shouldnt be too much of a problem tho (fullscreen can be achieved by pressing alt + enter). The game runs flawlessly for me and the controls, including playing with a controller, work perfectly as well.

In the improbable case you have issues with the sound (to be more precise, no sound at all) the solutions are
1. wear headphones
2. change your sound system to stereo (its weird but it worked for me)

So overall: The port is decent now, recommended if you like challenging 1993 games :p

Chiramu
Chiramu

I really like this SaGa game ^^. I know it has "mixed" reviews, but I want to try and help anyone that is on the fence about this one after reading the negative reviews.

When you load up the game the window is very tiny, there is no resolution change in the settings, but all you need to do is just drag the window larger and the game remembers that aspect ration every time. It's the same with Romancing SaGa 3 and SaGa Scarlet Grace, the game remembers whatever aspect ratio you last used the window

tucoalugapupapiadabidsa
tucoalugapupap…

before we begin, I would like to thank the lord jesus christ for my life, and all the gifts which I've been given in it, including the ability to make this review. your name be glorified, my savior, even in something as small as this. amen.

I love this game, I used to play it since i was nine and I just turned 10. the saga series is older than me. And i loved the cut scenes though for some reason i think that the sfc version gets more cut scenes well bye i am bored from writing im gonna find something intersting.

michaelgardner737
michaelgardner737

An awesome game that is, IMHO, not meant for first time RPG players...but if you like a challenge then by all means, enjoy.

jakmedli
jakmedli

Really not a fan of this one. Very light on story and very heavy on grinding. Doesn't actually explain mechanics ahead of time. Strange controls and very clearly a half-hearted port from some other system. Only check this one out if you are a collector of JRPGs or you want to grind xp in a game and watch a movie at the same time.

KobaBeach
KobaBeach

i beat the snes version before buying this and it was one of my fave games but i also played it without understanding most of the text lol. thanks game faqs

Merlandese
Merlandese

Really great SaGa game, but you have to like SaGa games. You always do. You can't go playing SaGas if you want normal, if you want the standard JRPG experience. You play SaGa to confuse and upset you, and it does that well. Also, it's very surprising how much this game is basically a Roguelite considering how old it is.

M'igo Kazan
M'igo Kazan

I've done most optional content and completed all the sidequests, but the final boss.. might be a hard skip. It has almost 4x more HP'n the 2nd highest HP boss in his *boosted hard mode form, in a game where every boss battle is already tight 'cause of just how limited yer MP is, and it has a ridiculous moveset that absolutely requires a few very specific high level fusion spells.. that are missable 'cause of the whole "need to advance a generation in order to research new fusion spells", I'm in the final generation, and I can't advance time anymore

Heck, you can barely even grind at this point, 'cause the NPC who sells life potions stops selling 'em, and this game has a permadeath system where once one of yer character goes down, it starts losing life points and once that reaches zero, boom gotta recruit a new grunt and grind their spells up from scratch, like oldschool DnD. Besides, grinding doesn't really do anything anyway since again, characters only get stronger as generations passes, and the only stat that you can level up is HP, and yer spells.. which holy shit you'd need to pretty much use 'em almost exclusively for the entire game in order to unlock the ones you actually need.. if you knew about 'em a few generations in advance so you'd actually have the time to research 'em

It's just one of those clunky old games where you get to the end on yer first playthrough, find out yer fucked, and are forced to do an entirely new playthrough, which.. conveniently there's a NG+ feature unlocked from the getgo and highlighted on the main menu, where you can just reset at any time and keep everything, like they knew

But I cba, 'cause the game.. isn't even too great in the first place. The generational thing is neat at first, but the whole never really getting any stronger, starting over from mostly zero each time, and having to know everything in advance 'cause so many crucial things are so easily missable just.. sucks

But gee, Romancing SaGa isn't doing so great so far. 1 was already clunky and mostly tiresome, but it at least had some charm and was fun enough, mostly 'cause you could actually build up a stable party throughout the entire game and the things you found from exploring were neat, but 2 is just.. quite a step backwards. A helluva lot less content, a really limiting design, no point to exploring at all, and it's just.. ironically very painfully linear, despite being advertised as being "much more open-world than the previous game". Considering how many folks say 2 is the best one in the trilogy, I don't have much hope for 3

TL;DR : can't beat Romancing SaGa 2's final boss 'cause of bad game design, and cba to do a new playthrough 'cause the game just ain't too great, moving on to hopefully better Romancing SaGa 3 after a break

Mustachious
Mustachious

One of the most challenging and exciting JRPG experiences I've ever had. Interesting and addictive gameplay systems, brutal difficulty that will make you think and plan, and charming world to explore. Not heavy on story.

kruckster
kruckster

FULL DISCLOSURE: I love SaGa games, flaws and all, and this is maybe my 2nd or 3rd favorite entry. I include a few tips to hopefully improve your experience for those who have not played this or other SaGa games at the end.

Yes, there is some difficulty in this game that can be chalked up to SNES-era game design. In particular, there are a bunch of game systems that are not explained in-game, because all that stuff would have been explained in a physical manual that always came with these kinds of games. That said, if you enjoy a good challenge and can get used to all the usual SaGa quirks, this is an all-time great for a number of reasons:

--Kenji Ito's soundtrack shreds, as per usual
--Once you understand how SaGa games generally work (more on this below), the difficulty curve can be super enjoyable
--A number of innovative game systems that, frankly, I haven't seen too many other places since
--Although the writing is definitely a relic sometimes, I like the "develop your kingdom and fight the baddies over generations" schtick, culminating on one of my favorite sequences in a game during the final chapter
--The HD graphics are good, even if they look a bit odd combined with the still very pixelated heroes

For those who have not played much/any SaGa before, here are some things that might help you have a better time and not get wrecked by the difficulty curve:

--First and foremost: Know that you out-power your opponents through finding gear much more than any stat gains/tech learning you will get naturally. Use that pseudo-open world to your advantage and explore for new gear in chests and shops!

--Related: Try not to grind if possible! Grinding in SaGa means that you will start seeing tougher monsters earlier than you might like due to how encounters work, and there will be plenty of time to manage that progression later.

--Figure out who is best with what weapons (they often tell you this when you put them in your party), and try to shape your party to learn a wide variety of weapon skills (which are saved when moving to a new generation).

--Don't be afraid to start over if you think you botched things, especially if you think you botched Gerard's sequence. Once you understand how the empire-management and combat mechanics work, redoing the earlier parts will be much easier than you think!

--Finally, SaGa 2 specific tip for the final boss: If you do not choose the female emperor at the beginning (but really, even if you do), do not save the female villain of the Seven Heroes for the end, and make sure to learn to evade her Temptation attack during the fight. The final boss will still be very difficult, but doing this will save you from having to deal with the cheapest OHKO it can potentially do from the start of the fight.

freikugeln
freikugeln

Highly recommended for jrpg fans that grew bored of cookie cutter stories, gameplay systems and the usual braindead battles.

If you haven't played another Saga game it's recommended to read a bit about how skill sparking and class types and affinities affect them.

Vic Boss
Vic Boss

An obtuse game with rules that are vague and hard to understand, systems designed to annoy and punish you for not playing correctly, definitely one of the most difficult turn based games i have played, recommended for people wanting a challenge and a decent narrative spanning over generations

TLDR: truly the romancing saga 2 of video games

sabeerareeb™
sabeerareeb™

A really good JRPG
Its quite obtuse and requires a lot of time to properly learn the systems
The story is okay nothing special but the journey is what matters in this game
If needed use the new game+ helps a lot
It has a lot of missable content so does have a lot of replayability as well
Overall if you like opended games and/or Jrpgs you'll probably like this

Darth Raven
Darth Raven

a bit too punishing for my taste. I get the idea that you are expected to die a lot here, but this game is simply horribly unbalanced. Your whole party can get 1 shot killed by a boss and that's it.

IndoorsyNinja
IndoorsyNinja

A good shake-up of the Saga formula. Don't hoard your consumables; you're meant to go all out if you run into a dangerous monster. Play with a FAQ and stagger your saves and you'll be fine. And remember to have fun!