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.

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.