I wish I had played the original Romancing Saga 2 before its remake.

In recent years, I have interacted with numerous remastered video games, but I have seldom done so without having played the original version first. My impressions of such projects are typically influenced by their predecessors. Experiences like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Resident Evil 4, and Silent Hill 2 are intriguing precisely because they capture the conversation between the past and the present. However, I decided to approach the remake of Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven as an opportunity to explore something new. This remake from Square Enix revitalizes the 1993 classic for SNES by translating its pixelated world into a vibrant 3D environment, contrasting with the HD-2D treatment applied in Dragon Quest 3. In fact, it is a more ambitious project than many similar ones, as it completely reconfigures the original rather than simply updating its aesthetics.

When I decided to try the remake, I did so almost impulsively after receiving a review code. The Saga series represents one of my gaps in the RPG genre, and this remake seemed aimed at people like me. By modernizing aspects of the game, it becomes more accessible, presenting gameplay that resembles what one would expect from a 2024 release. The idea is to make it easier for new players to enter, who may then be interested in other titles in the series while being taught about its roots. Given my background, I consider myself an ideal candidate for that experience.

Romancing Saga 2 is a classic fantasy RPG with a solid premise. The narrative revolves around seven heroes who once vowed to protect the kingdom and mysteriously disappear, only to return a thousand years later as corrupt villains. Thus, the king of Avalon, along with his loyal subjects, embarks on a quest to find these heroes, adding a goal-oriented component. While the initial dungeons may not be as exciting as the premise suggests, the particularities of the game quickly reveal themselves. After the unexpected death of the king, my character inherits his powers and assumes the leadership of Avalon. Here, death is real; each member of my group has limited hit points. If their health reaches zero, they lose a point, and upon reaching zero, they die permanently, forcing me to recruit new members. This high tension ensures that every decision during battles is crucial.

The combat system, while based on a somewhat conventional turn-based approach, is quite deep and filled with mechanics. Each character has multiple equipment slots, allowing me to experiment with different setups. Additionally, there is a movement learning system where characters can improvise attacks or defenses during the fight. There is also a formation system that grants benefits to the group alignment. After a few hours, I felt immersed as I tried various combinations in my team. Almost three decades after its release, Romancing Saga 2 remains a challenging and captivating RPG that demands meaningful decisions.

However, despite recognizing these strengths, I nearly abandoned the remake before really digging into it. Revenge of the Seven presents itself unattractively from the start, beginning with an annoying voice acting that tries to bring the SNES-style dialogues to life, something that wasn't meant to be interpreted this way. The initial visuals are disappointing, with a flat aesthetic reminiscent of certain mobile games. The transition to 3D seems promising, but comes with poorly executed design choices. While I can attack enemies by approaching them, its implementation is clumsy, complicating this surprise attack style of play.

Furthermore, the formation system present in the original version is lost in this adaptation. While in the 1993 version the player has an overhead view, allowing for visibility of how the group and enemies align, the remake changes this perspective, complicating my understanding of the system. Over time, I became increasingly disappointed, feeling that there was something right about the original game that I was missing. This feeling became clearer when I discovered that my girlfriend had started playing Romancing Saga 3, and when I looked in, I was struck by the visual richness of the original game compared to the remake, which displayed its nuances better. Meanwhile, the gameplay was more evident in a 2D format, where combat felt more strategic.

Since that experience, I have questioned why publishers believe that I want remakes like this. There is a trend in the industry to think that players need their old favorites modernized, but this perception is misguided. In attempting to update Romancing Saga 2 to align with current expectations, the remake loses sight of the essence that made it a cult classic. I don’t need a game that smooths over its pixel art in search of cleaner lines and brighter colors; a simple improvement in gameplay or an adaptation of the classic to platforms like Nintendo Switch Online would suffice.

However, if I want to play the original version, finding it is a challenge. When searching on Steam, I found a page for the original game, but with mixed reviews, especially for being a poor port of its mobile version. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way to access a clean, localized version of the original, which poses a barrier for those seeking a context that enriches the experience with the remake. For those who are not fans of the saga, Revenge of the Seven may not be the best way to delve into Romancing Saga 2; rather, it seems like a supplement that should be read after experiencing the original.