Romancing SaGa 2

Romancing SaGa 2[lower-alpha 1] is a role-playing video game developed by Square and released for the Super Famicom in Japan on December 10, 1993. It is the fifth title in the SaGa series.

Romancing SaGa 2
Super Famicom cover art
Developer(s)Square
ArtePiazza (remaster)
Publisher(s)Square
Square Enix (remaster)
Director(s)Akitoshi Kawazu
Designer(s)Akitoshi Kawazu
Artist(s)Tomomi Kobayashi
Writer(s)Akitoshi Kawazu
Composer(s)Kenji Ito
SeriesSaGa
Platform(s)Super Famicom, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One
ReleaseSuper Famicom
  • JP: December 10, 1993
Mobile phones
iOS, Android
  • JP: March 24, 2016
  • WW: May 26, 2016
PlayStation Vita
  • JP: March 24, 2016
  • WW: December 15, 2017
Win, NS, PS4, Xbox One
  • WW: December 15, 2017
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

In March 2010, the Super Famicom version was released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan.[1] In January 2014, the game was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan.[2] It was released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in Japan in August 2017. The Super Famicom version had never seen a western release outside of Japan, western audiences had to wait 23 years for the game to received a western release. On May 26, 2016, Romancing SaGa 2 was first released worldwide on iOS and Android smartphones. A year later on December 15, 2017, a version of this game has been released PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.

Gameplay

In Romancing SaGa 2, the player plays as the Emperor or Empress of Avalon, a castle located in the northwest corner of the game's world map. The Treasurer, in the throne room, tells the player the fund reserve in his or her castle treasury. Development of new equipment and spells, and establishment of services in Avalon will consume funds. The Treasurer also fills the Emperor with walking about funds if the player needs it. Also in the throne room is the Accountant. He tells the player how much money he or she collects per battle. When the player controls more land on the map, the amount increases. In the southeast corner of the throne room is the Chancellor. He tells the player what problems need to be solved in the world and where to solve them. Solving the problems he points out aids the player to advance to the next generation. The Fighters are the default characters that join the player early in the game. They are not the best characters, but as the player advances through the game, he or she will get other characters who specialize in areas that the Fighters are weak in. The Formation Soldiers demonstrate any battle formations the player happens to know and will collaborate with the player to make new formations. If the heir the player chooses knows a formation, it is recommended that the player consult the Formation Soldiers.

Throughout the game, the player will be able to expand the capital. They will not appear until the player cleared a generation though after accepting the offers to start the public works.

Plot

Story

The Emperor or Empress of Avalon begins the game as King Leon and later plays as his various heirs down through the game years. Leon hands his kingdom over to his son, Gerard. At the end of Gerard's reign, the player is able to choose his or her own successor and pass on Gerard's abilities to them. At the end of each generation, he or she will be given a choice of four heirs. Their identity is based on a combination of chance and anyone whom the player has assisted or allied within in a past generation.

Characters

Major characters:

  • Bard: A recurring character throughout the SaGa series, he begins the game by rekindling the tale of the Empire of Avalon and the battle of the Seven Heroes.
  • Waib: The woman who gifted the Avalon Dynasty with Inheritance magic.
  • Leon (レオン, Reon): The First Emperor of Avalon, killed by Kzinssie during a retaliation against him.
  • Victor (ヴィクトール, Vikutōru): Leon's eldest son, killed by Kzinssie during his assault on Avalon.
  • Gerard (ジェラール, Jerāru): Youngest son of Leon; becomes Emperor after defeating Kzinssie.
  • Hiraga (ヒラガ, Hiraga): A scientist who lives in Somon.
  • Coppelia (コッペリア, Kopperia): An android that resides in Somon a few generations after Kzinssie is defeated. She can only be used once in the game, so it must be chosen carefully when to recruit her.
  • King Harold (ハロルド王, Harorudo Ō): Ruler of Douglas of Cumberland.
  • George (ゲオルグ, Georugu): King Harold's eldest son; leads the Holy Order in Nerack.
  • Sofia (ソフィア, Sofia): King Harold's daughter; leads the Holy Order in Forfar.
  • Toma (トーマ, Tōma): Youngest son of King Harold.
  • Lord Ato (アト王, Ato Ō): Lord that rules Chontou Castle; forms a pact with Wagnas.
  • Sekishusai (セキシュウサイ, Sekishūsai): Retainer to Lord Ato.
  • Final Emperor/Empress (最終皇帝, Saishū Kōtei): The culmination of the Avalon Dynasty's Inheritance magic. At the start of the game he/she will be at the same bar where the bard retells the Empire's battle against the Seven Heroes.

The main villains of the game are the Seven Heroes who saved the world from a great and terrible evil, then vanished without a trace for centuries, before returning all turned into demons. The Avalon royal family fights them through successive generations, defeating them one-by-one:

  • Kzinssie (クジンシー, Kujinshī): A floating demon with a scarf covering his face, wielding a sword. Can steal life energy or souls. Defeated by Gerard, he returns in the Final Scenario with an even more grotesque appearance than when first met.
  • Wagnas (ワグナス, Wagunasu): A hero with both angelic and butterfly-like characteristics, the feminine-looking Lord Wagnas is actually male. He enslaves the Iris race to do his bidding, and resides in a floating castle above the Eastern Kingdom.
  • Dantarg (ダンターグ, Dantāgu): With features reminiscent of both elephants and sauropods as well as that of the mythical centaur, Lord Dantarg is one of the most physically powerful of the Seven Heroes. He terrorizes the migratory clans, and prefers devastating physical attacks, including Grand Slam. He is also the only hero with four different forms, depending on the time in which the character fights him.
  • Bokhohn (ボクオーン, Bokuōn): A puppeteer demon with an elderly appearance, Bokhohn is in control of the majority of the Seven Heroes' forces. Situated in the Steppes region, he owns a large landship, complete with innumerable slaves. His special technique allows him to manipulate all party members.
  • Subier (スービエ, Sūbie): A male octopus-human hybrid that controls various minions in the ocean. Defeating the narwhal known as Master of Ocean will unleash Subier's more powerful form.
  • Noel (ノエル, Noeru): A swordsman who always keeps his word. Very powerful, with a strict code of honor. If the player defeats Rocbouquet before a fight, he becomes completely unwilling to compromise, and becomes unrelenting in combat.
  • Rocbouquet (ロックブーケ, Rokkubūke): The only female of the Seven, she controls all the men in the Jungle villages. While there, she aspires to know the secret of a nearby temple. Her Temptation skill charms all male party members. She is also the sister of Lord Noel.

The Seven Heroes will become more powerful as the player level up. However, even if the player moves quickly through the game, the last hero fought will always be in his/her most powerful stage (except for Subier if the player let Master of Ocean flee); this is only if the player enters the final dungeon with one of the Heroes remaining. If the player did not kill Kzinssie Reborn at the start of the final scenario, he will always have to fought in the final dungeon instead of any of the remaining Heroes. In the final battle, the Seven Heroes merge into an extremely powerful monster that uses all of their abilities.

The names of most of the characters in the game are inspired by real-world and mythic names. The names of the Seven Heroes, in particular, are quasi anagrams of the seven major train stations on the Tokyo Yamanote Line. They are respectively: Shinjuku for Kzinssie, Shinagawa for Wagnas, Gotanda for Dantarg, (Shin-)Okubo for Bokhohn, Ebisu for Subier, Ueno for Noel, and Ikebukuro for Rocbouquet.

Development

Original

The team of the game comprised around 20 people and development lasted one year.[3] English translator Ted Woolsey noted at the time that while a release of the game overseas would have been nice, focus was needed for upcoming games such as Final Fantasy VII and Secret of Mana 2, so the game remained a Japanese exclusive.[4] In a November 2019 interview, Akitoshi Kawazu said regarding the why the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo version (that include Romancing SaGa 3) never got a western release, he stated that at that time there was concern raised about localization for the west. Kawazu stated that "the stories of the 8 protagonists were so interwoven, that there was such a variety of choices and so many stories – in short, the sheer amount of text was so massive – that it would be incredibly costly to localise and difficult to understand. This is why we decided to pass on releasing it for the NA/EU market at that time. I could see the problems that had been pointed out and felt that it would be an unusually difficult game to localise, which is why I didn’t recommend it back then." Kawazu also stated that looking back, he regretted that decision of not releasing the SNES version of Romancing Saga 2 and 3 for the western market.[5]

Remasters

The game was ported to a Japanese cellphone named i-mode in 2010, and featured improved graphics, audio, new character classes including a ninja class that is popular in Japan, and a new dungeon exploring a subplot revolving around the games untold story of the "Seven Heroes".[6][7]

Because Romancing SaGa 2 was very popular in Japan, and a remaster of the original SaGa game was already released as Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song, the title was seen by Square Enix as the natural next SaGa title to re-release with a full remake.[8] After the release was done in Japan, many western fans asked Square Enix over Twitter to release it the game, which had never been released outside of Japan, and this led to a port of the game being agreed to.[9] All the original Super Nintendo code is still present in the remake.[9] New features included new character classes, new dungeons, and a "New Game Plus" mode.[9] Other new gameplay features included auto save, Xbox Play Anywhere support, cross save between PlayStation Vita and the PlayStation 4, as well as an option to turn off the remastering content and play it just like it was originally made.[8][7] Because of the high cost of changing the graphics to 3D and fan love of the original art style, a more dramatic redesign was decided against.[9] However, as higher resolution screens are more common now than the original release, game backgrounds were redrawn to fit 2k screens.[9][7] Producer Masanori Ichikawa noted that releasing the game across so many platforms was a new challenge to Square Enix, as Xbox and Steam are not as popular in Japan but are popular worldwide.[9]

Release

A full remaster for iOS, Android and the PlayStation Vita was released on March 24, 2016 in Japan. It features remastered graphics, optimized controls and the added content and features from the mobile phone release in 2011.[10] The iOS and Android versions were released in English on May 26, 2016,[11] while the English PlayStation Vita version was still being worked on.[12] In December 2016, series creator Akitoshi Kawazu said that there were issues with the English PlayStation Vita version, requiring a few more months before it would be ready for release;[13] it was later announced for a December 15, 2017 release, alongside releases for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.[14]

Reception

Romancing SaGa 2 has sold nearly 1.5 million copies worldwide as of March 2003.[19] Famitsu gave it a score of 26 out of 40.[20]

GameRevolution reviewed this title for the Nintendo Switch, saying that the game at first appears like a very average game from the time it originally came out, but praised the system of choices that changes and guides the gameplay, as well as the unique aspect of ruling an empire and eventually being about to issue commands to followers.[21] Nintendo World Report said the game lacked interesting stories or characters, but called the gameplay system rewarding with many weapons to choose from and skill points to use.[22]

Reviewing the PlayStation 4 version, Push Square disdained the menu system taken from the previous mobile remake, and noted balance issues that made the traditional process of leveling up characters potentially hurt the player as the bosses grow stronger as you do.[23]

Reviewing the iOS version of the game, TouchArcade loved how radically different it was from what kinds of games Square Enix had released in the Apple App Store until then.[18] Despite enjoying the game, they noted the games unexplained gameplay systems and called the games balance system "atrocious".[18] They also mentioned the poor translation into English and the lack of Mifi game controller support.[18]

Several of the game music tracks were featured in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call as downloadable content.[24]

Legacy

Romancing Saga 2 expanded the non-linear gameplay of its predecessor. While in the original Romancing Saga, scenarios were changed according to dialogue choices during conversations, Romancing Saga 2 further expanded on this by having unique storylines for each character that can change depending on the player's actions, including who is chosen, what is said in conversation, what events have occurred, and who is present in the party.[25]

PCGamesN credits Romancing SaGa 2 for having laid the foundations for modern Japanese role-playing video games. The game's progressive, non-linear, open world design and subversive themes influenced modern Japanese role-playing video games such as Final Fantasy XII (which Akitoshi Kawazu worked on), Final Fantasy XV, Nier: Automata and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.[26]

Notes
  1. Romancing SaGa 2 (Japanese: ロマンシング サ・ガ2, Hepburn: Romanshingu Sa Ga Tsū)

References
  1. Spencer (2010-02-26). "Only Three Virtual Console Games For Japan Next Month". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  2. Spencer (2014-01-15). "Romancing SaGa 2 Brings The Bard Back To Wii U This Month". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2014-01-24. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  3. Aetas Inc. "「ロマサガ2」のボス，七英雄たちのアナザーエピソードが描かれる。「エンペラーズ サガ」河津秋敏氏＆市川雅統氏インタビュー". 4Gamer.net. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19.
  4. "Interview: Ted Woolsey (Super Play Magazine, Sep. 1994)". Legends of Localization. September 1, 1994. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. Life, Nintendo (2019-11-09). "Feature: SaGa Series Director On Romancing SaGa 3, The Super Famicom JRPG Heading Westwards After 24 Years". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-12-04. At the time, the concern raised about localisation was that perhaps Romancing SaGa was just a bit too complicated. Even from within Japan, it was clear that the stories of the 8 protagonists were so interwoven, that there was such a variety of choices and so many stories – in short, the sheer amount of text was so massive – that it would be incredibly costly to localise and difficult to understand. This is why we decided to pass on releasing it for the NA/EU market at that time. I could see the problems that had been pointed out and felt that it would be an unusually difficult game to localise, which is why I didn’t recommend it back then. Looking back, I think it was the wrong choice, so although it’s only in English right now, I’m really glad for the chance to expose the world to this game.
  6. Gantayat, Anoop (2010-10-21). "Romancing SaGa 2 Being Remade for Cell Phones". Andriasang. Archived from the original on 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  7. Wallace, Kimberley (December 23, 2017). "Romancing Saga Mastermind Discusses Recent Remaster And Desire To Continue Series". Game Informer. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  8. "Romancing SaGa 2 is out today!". Steam. December 15, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  9. Donaldson, Alex (December 8, 2017). "Square Enix explains why after 25 years cult classic Romancing SaGa 2 is heading West for the first time". VG247. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  10. Romano, Sal (2015-12-15). "Romancing SaGa 2 coming to PS Vita, smartphones". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2016-02-18. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  11. "Romancing SaGa 2 launches May 26 in the west - Gematsu". 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016.
  12. "Square Enix working on Romancing SaGa 2 PS Vita English release - Gematsu". 28 May 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016.
  13. "Romancing SaGa 2 PS Vita English release facing issues, needs a few more months - Gematsu". 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016.
  14. "Romancing SaGa 2 for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PS Vita, and PC launches December 15 - Gematsu". 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017.
  15. "Romancing SaGa 2 for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  16. "Romancing SaGa 2 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  17. "Romancing SaGa 2 for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  18. Musgrave, Shaun (2016-06-03). "'Romancing SaGa 2' Review – Monster Crush SaGa". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  19. "February 2, 2004-February 4, 2004" (PDF). Square-Enix.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  20. "ロマンシング サ・ガ2". Archived from the original on 2014-12-29.
  21. Perez, Cody (December 18, 2017). "Romancing SaGa 2 Review – Keeping Up With the Avalonians". Game Revolution. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  22. Rose, Bryan (December 27, 2014). "Romancing SaGa 2 (Switch eShop) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  23. Ramsey, Robert (January 7, 2018). "Romancing SaGa 2 (2017)". Push Square. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  24. Schulenberg, Thomas (2014-10-05). "Curtain Call DLC covers Final Fantasy Fables, Romancing Saga, more". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  25. IGN staff (18 February 1997). "Square, The Final Frontier". IGN. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  26. "Romancing SaGa 2 doesn't get enough credit for helping shape modern JRPGs". PCGamesN. January 29, 2018. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
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