How do you think Romancing SaGa matches up with other games in the SaGa series? What sticks out about it to you? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through UA-cam membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
Definitely interesting concepts from FF, I personally like this series and have. It really was slept on compared to the attention FF got as well as DQ and it's series. Unique systems and style too bad we didn't get that version. FF 6 gets so much attention that I actually liked 4 it was a great start on SNES. I actually wouldn't mind Square taking the Saga series and giving it the HD-2D treatment. I didn't care for the 3d look, it needs to stay 2D.
I'm rocking your Barbarian build from Diablo 4 and subbed thats why this popped into my feed lol. Then i seen it on PSN for 15$ so i bought it. Having a blast playing it and yes its tough.Ty for all the content you create. I'm old school also a sucker for all these oldies.FFVI Terra's Theme so many from that game are just so good.
Still a bit grumpy over this, the SNES SaGa was supposed to have a European release only for the game to be cancelled 4 weeks before release. My first pre-order ever as well.
Glad to see you going over this. My first exposure to the series was Saga III (Final Fantasy Legend III) on the Gameboy which I thought was spectacular. Then years later, on the PlayStation, I played Saga Frontier which I come back to every few years.
Ah, it's here. Nice review mate. All I could remember from playing this was getting lost and don't know where to go. And yes, I can agree, the monsters are no pushover.
Sounds like this game is right up my alley! Has a lot of unique alterations to the classic formula to add things I like and removes some of the things I dislike about typical JRPGSs.
I had a chance to buy Romancing Saga on ps2, but I bought Persona 3 fes instead. By the time I could get another game it was gone and I couldn't find it anywhere. I was really happy to see it ported to PS4 so I could finally get it. I have it downloaded, but my rpg backlog is huge and I just don't have much time to game anymore. It means even more to me now knowing how scarce turn based RPGs used to be not that long ago. So I get to finally play it, and support my favorite game genre at the same time.
So true! It looks a lot like Final Fantasy V - in fact it may be based on the same graphical "engine" that game used, because they look so similar at times and came out around the same time.
Still need to hit up the Saga remasters on Steam... but the GB games were confusing AF when I first played em. It has a lot of interesting things when people talk about the games... but the series hasn't been as gripping as I'd like.
@@Xygor Valid. A friend of mine adores the series, but ehh... like I said, it didn't grip me as such. Still want to give it another go though. BTW, you might want to check False Skies. ^_^
Think of this game as a serious strategy game without tiles(both versions of the 1st game). And you will love this game. I mean enemies get stronger as you progress thru the events(literally it's a system they implemented, no joke 🤣). The more events the stronger the enemies can be. I remember running into the early wolf type enemies again (same name) thinking no sweat. Nope they were hitting 300 damage instead of 20-25. 😂
I've played 2 saga games. First I think was minstrel song (it was on PS2, I chose a girl from some tribe, wandered around for 2 hours having no idea what I was supposed to do, running from encounters cause I wasn't strong enough to fight anything and survive, only to find out you are *supposed* to die and then be rescued), which I didn't like at all because of that opening bit for my character. Second was RomancingSaGa 2 on steam, which... Have you ever seen a game do tons of things you love, but with tons of things you hate, which takes away the enjoyment you might have? Cause that was how I felt about that game. Heal after every fight, getting stat-ups or skills is rng, you get punished for grinding (it won't tell you this though), encounters are brutally tough (if you get unlucky and they focus 1 character, that character is almost guaranteed dead in 1 round from full health), and it has character permadeath (a thing I detest in jrpgs), which was especially bad since RNG could see characters die and you couldn't grind your way to reasonable safety. I could definitely see someone would absolutely love it, but... Definitely not for me.
Played FF Legend 2/3 on the gameboy and had no idea they were related to the other Saga games I'd discover years later through emulation and eventually getting Saga Frontier on the ps1... but not a single one captured me the same way many of the other rpgs around the same time did, although I did enjoy the gameboy games.
I just really need them to give me a remaster of SaGa Frontier 2. It is criminally underrated and has the most cohesive story in my mind. Minus SaGa 3 I suppose but it was designed by a different team.
@@Xygor i just completed rs3 last year. i liked that one. I got the minstral song remastered for xmas but yet to play that one. Will be cutting down on my backlog first before getting RS2. I remembered the gameboy FF Legends series is supposed to be part of the saga series. finished all 3 of those in the 90s, but felt that only FF Legends 3 was really good
Haha, I feel like a total anomaly. I've played a handful of titles from the Dragon Quest series and Romancing Saga 2 & 3, but I have never played a single Final Fantasy game... I was born in 1986 I really have no excuse, lol. I have been looking at the pixel remasters for FF but the price it a bit too steep at the moment.
@@Xygor No I haven't played any of the SaGa games, but they've always looks interesting despite me never jumping on board. I think your critique of the remastered visual style of the characters is bang on though, too weirdly cartoony. I always loke hearing your thoughts Xygor, I think you're doing a great job 👍
I think I tried one of these back in the Super Nintendo era, but immediately put it down because I hated the tone and the look. Wasn't really a fan of the multiple scenario thing either, but I should have pushed past that. So considering the first was released after Final Fantasy 4, it looks like a huge downgrade in quality for the graphics of the battle backdrops, the world map and the characters, but it looks like they put that effort back into the monster battle graphics, which actually look even better than Final Fantasy 4. As good or better than five and six. How's the progression, May I ask? Is it like six where you can just easily kill the enemy in whatever way you want and you never run out of anything or care about dying?
Hoping for RS2 remake (I mean a TRUE modern remake) but SquareEnix is more like a political activist movement than a game company now so yeah... I have no hope lol I have played RS2, RS3, Saga Frontier 1 & 2, and Minstrel Song Remake. Played a bit of Re:Universe mobile game but dropped it. Never try Scarlet Grace or Unlimited Saga (may try Scarlet Grace but never feel the urge lol) Romancing Saga is one of the founder games of current "Octopath like" games. Multiple protagonists are one of my favorite things in story telling because you can understand the lore from so many angles (therefore FF6 being my top 5 SNES games lol), and if each character has special gimmick/minigame, like Mikhail's warfare minigame in RS3, then multi-protagonist will truly be the best experience (for me at least). So to say none of the Snes RS games reach their full potential in my opinion except maybe RS2. Minstrel Song (or RS1 ?) has much repeated gameplay and the protagonists are just another team member for fighting plus a little personal story. I have problem starting a second playthrough because it is pretty much the same process. Romancing Saga 3 (RS3) is the same problem. Protagonist arcs are not differentiated enough so 95% gameplay is the same. Romancing Saga 2 is my favorite game out of the SNES era. The theme of inheritance is very strong and game mechanics are designed around this theme. It is its own thing while still retaining the nonlinear playstyle and signature combats. Yeah, I wish RS2 gets a modern Remake lol Now Saga Frontier 1 & 2 are different beasts and each deserve its recognition. SF1 is more like RS1 and RS3 but this time characters have their own mechanics so I argue replay values increase a bit. SF2 is like RS2, an epic tale spanned over generations to achieve one single wish. The combat in RS2 adds something new called a duel and there is army warfare minigame in it. However SF2's biggest shining point is story and characters. Needless to say I complete both SF1 and SF2 with no regrets lol
Thank you for this. Great info, especially re the music. And I agree with you re old-school sprites being infinitely preferable to that cartoony superdeformed nonsense! Any improvement patches for Romancing Saga you know of, please? Maybe something that rebalances those difficult early battle swarms? Anyway, thanks again!
@@Xygor Maybe in time you will be able to replay it, but with your fairytale-voice commentary. There is so much context you could comment on around the events of the game, its design, mechanics, music, art, acting (where applicable), reading the text lines, the best gameplay practices, cuts, hacks, tricks for either in-depth exploration or speed run that can not fit into a review you have made.
Yes it is! Though the remake version of 2 is really great. Retains the original look, but gives it some great ease of life features and a remastered soundtrack. It's definitely worth checking out.
I prefer the original Romancing SaGa than Minstrel Song one. Not a fan of chibi style in MS, and new characters design also kind of lame comparing to the original one.
For me, this was the best Romancing Saga game. I played the Japanese version far so many times. It’s a crime that this never gets a classic remake. I honestly don’t like the way Minstrel Song looks… never play it. Never will.
Saga's not for me. I prefer Wasteland, Shadowrun, and Uncharted Waters 2 when it comes to old school open world RPGs. Betrayal at Krondor is good too, but there are portions that aren't open.
How do you think Romancing SaGa matches up with other games in the SaGa series? What sticks out about it to you?
Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through UA-cam membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
Definitely interesting concepts from FF, I personally like this series and have. It really was slept on compared to the attention FF got as well as DQ and it's series. Unique systems and style too bad we didn't get that version. FF 6 gets so much attention that I actually liked 4 it was a great start on SNES. I actually wouldn't mind Square taking the Saga series and giving it the HD-2D treatment. I didn't care for the 3d look, it needs to stay 2D.
I'm rocking your Barbarian build from Diablo 4 and subbed thats why this popped into my feed lol. Then i seen it on PSN for 15$ so i bought it. Having a blast playing it and yes its tough.Ty for all the content you create. I'm old school also a sucker for all these oldies.FFVI Terra's Theme so many from that game are just so good.
Still a bit grumpy over this, the SNES SaGa was supposed to have a European release only for the game to be cancelled 4 weeks before release.
My first pre-order ever as well.
Yes, so disappointing! I think a lot of people would have liked this one, even though it was frustrating at times.
Glad to see you going over this. My first exposure to the series was Saga III (Final Fantasy Legend III) on the Gameboy which I thought was spectacular. Then years later, on the PlayStation, I played Saga Frontier which I come back to every few years.
Right on! I love the SaGa series, but it isn't for everyone. I'll cover SaGa Frontier soon!
Romancing Saga Is Final Fantasy's evil twin brother
I guess so!
Makes sense these games are pretty cruel lol
Ah, it's here. Nice review mate. All I could remember from playing this was getting lost and don't know where to go. And yes, I can agree, the monsters are no pushover.
Glad you liked it! Too many swarms a lot of times!
Sounds like this game is right up my alley! Has a lot of unique alterations to the classic formula to add things I like and removes some of the things I dislike about typical JRPGSs.
I had a chance to buy Romancing Saga on ps2, but I bought Persona 3 fes instead. By the time I could get another game it was gone and I couldn't find it anywhere. I was really happy to see it ported to PS4 so I could finally get it. I have it downloaded, but my rpg backlog is huge and I just don't have much time to game anymore. It means even more to me now knowing how scarce turn based RPGs used to be not that long ago. So I get to finally play it, and support my favorite game genre at the same time.
Hey at least Persona 3 is a really great game too, there was no bad option there between your 2 choices.
Yeah the classic graphics are way better. They have a "bizarro" Final Fantasy feel to them which is great.
So true! It looks a lot like Final Fantasy V - in fact it may be based on the same graphical "engine" that game used, because they look so similar at times and came out around the same time.
Never knew of the SNES game, I'll have to try it out, thanks for the video
Definitely try it out!
Kind of bummed that the original has never been remastered like 2 and 3.
Agreed!!
Still need to hit up the Saga remasters on Steam... but the GB games were confusing AF when I first played em. It has a lot of interesting things when people talk about the games... but the series hasn't been as gripping as I'd like.
The Game Boy ones weren't the greatest, but I think this series is pretty good!
@@Xygor Valid. A friend of mine adores the series, but ehh... like I said, it didn't grip me as such. Still want to give it another go though. BTW, you might want to check False Skies. ^_^
Think of this game as a serious strategy game without tiles(both versions of the 1st game). And you will love this game. I mean enemies get stronger as you progress thru the events(literally it's a system they implemented, no joke 🤣). The more events the stronger the enemies can be. I remember running into the early wolf type enemies again (same name) thinking no sweat. Nope they were hitting 300 damage instead of 20-25. 😂
True, good point!
they don't get stronger "through events" but by the amount of battles you fight, even if you run from battles.
I've played 2 saga games. First I think was minstrel song (it was on PS2, I chose a girl from some tribe, wandered around for 2 hours having no idea what I was supposed to do, running from encounters cause I wasn't strong enough to fight anything and survive, only to find out you are *supposed* to die and then be rescued), which I didn't like at all because of that opening bit for my character. Second was RomancingSaGa 2 on steam, which... Have you ever seen a game do tons of things you love, but with tons of things you hate, which takes away the enjoyment you might have? Cause that was how I felt about that game. Heal after every fight, getting stat-ups or skills is rng, you get punished for grinding (it won't tell you this though), encounters are brutally tough (if you get unlucky and they focus 1 character, that character is almost guaranteed dead in 1 round from full health), and it has character permadeath (a thing I detest in jrpgs), which was especially bad since RNG could see characters die and you couldn't grind your way to reasonable safety. I could definitely see someone would absolutely love it, but... Definitely not for me.
I appreciate your thoughts on it though!
I've never understood the attraction to Chibi style art. Just give me straight chunky pixels.
Same!
Played FF Legend 2/3 on the gameboy and had no idea they were related to the other Saga games I'd discover years later through emulation and eventually getting Saga Frontier on the ps1... but not a single one captured me the same way many of the other rpgs around the same time did, although I did enjoy the gameboy games.
Yeah, western marketing and all! I will cover SaGa Frontier soon!
Great work
Thank you! Cheers!
I just really need them to give me a remaster of SaGa Frontier 2. It is criminally underrated and has the most cohesive story in my mind. Minus SaGa 3 I suppose but it was designed by a different team.
Maybe someday!
I still cant believe i completed this back in the 90s without any guides and in japanese.
Nice! Do you like the other ones too?
@@Xygor i just completed rs3 last year. i liked that one. I got the minstral song remastered for xmas but yet to play that one. Will be cutting down on my backlog first before getting RS2.
I remembered the gameboy FF Legends series is supposed to be part of the saga series. finished all 3 of those in the 90s, but felt that only FF Legends 3 was really good
Same here … and many jrpgs in Japanese too
@@GH-wv3hy great!
I thought 3 was really fun. My only criticism is the lack of character development or them having much personality. Otherwise, solid 8/10 game
That's a fair critique, it's so much more narrative driven than character driven.
Good video, good review. That said, I still see the SaGa franchise as a series for contrarians and weirdos who like opaque, clunky game design.
Fair enough!
Haha, I feel like a total anomaly. I've played a handful of titles from the Dragon Quest series and Romancing Saga 2 & 3, but I have never played a single Final Fantasy game... I was born in 1986 I really have no excuse, lol. I have been looking at the pixel remasters for FF but the price it a bit too steep at the moment.
Good video 👍
Glad you enjoyed it! Did you play this one? What did you think?
@@Xygor No I haven't played any of the SaGa games, but they've always looks interesting despite me never jumping on board. I think your critique of the remastered visual style of the characters is bang on though, too weirdly cartoony. I always loke hearing your thoughts Xygor, I think you're doing a great job 👍
@@chrisramsteck5866 thanks, glad you like it!
I think I tried one of these back in the Super Nintendo era, but immediately put it down because I hated the tone and the look. Wasn't really a fan of the multiple scenario thing either, but I should have pushed past that.
So considering the first was released after Final Fantasy 4, it looks like a huge downgrade in quality for the graphics of the battle backdrops, the world map and the characters, but it looks like they put that effort back into the monster battle graphics, which actually look even better than Final Fantasy 4. As good or better than five and six.
How's the progression, May I ask? Is it like six where you can just easily kill the enemy in whatever way you want and you never run out of anything or care about dying?
Hoping for RS2 remake (I mean a TRUE modern remake) but SquareEnix is more like a political activist movement than a game company now so yeah... I have no hope lol
I have played RS2, RS3, Saga Frontier 1 & 2, and Minstrel Song Remake. Played a bit of Re:Universe mobile game but dropped it. Never try Scarlet Grace or Unlimited Saga (may try Scarlet Grace but never feel the urge lol)
Romancing Saga is one of the founder games of current "Octopath like" games. Multiple protagonists are one of my favorite things in story telling because you can understand the lore from so many angles (therefore FF6 being my top 5 SNES games lol), and if each character has special gimmick/minigame, like Mikhail's warfare minigame in RS3, then multi-protagonist will truly be the best experience (for me at least).
So to say none of the Snes RS games reach their full potential in my opinion except maybe RS2. Minstrel Song (or RS1 ?) has much repeated gameplay and the protagonists are just another team member for fighting plus a little personal story. I have problem starting a second playthrough because it is pretty much the same process. Romancing Saga 3 (RS3) is the same problem. Protagonist arcs are not differentiated enough so 95% gameplay is the same.
Romancing Saga 2 is my favorite game out of the SNES era. The theme of inheritance is very strong and game mechanics are designed around this theme. It is its own thing while still retaining the nonlinear playstyle and signature combats. Yeah, I wish RS2 gets a modern Remake lol
Now Saga Frontier 1 & 2 are different beasts and each deserve its recognition. SF1 is more like RS1 and RS3 but this time characters have their own mechanics so I argue replay values increase a bit. SF2 is like RS2, an epic tale spanned over generations to achieve one single wish. The combat in RS2 adds something new called a duel and there is army warfare minigame in it. However SF2's biggest shining point is story and characters. Needless to say I complete both SF1 and SF2 with no regrets lol
Thanks for all these thoughts! I agree that the Octopath Traveler games are very similar to the Romancing SaGa games in terms of story.
Thank you for this. Great info, especially re the music. And I agree with you re old-school sprites being infinitely preferable to that cartoony superdeformed nonsense!
Any improvement patches for Romancing Saga you know of, please? Maybe something that rebalances those difficult early battle swarms?
Anyway, thanks again!
Glad you enjoyed it! I don’t know of improvement patches other than the translation.
What game your intro music comes from?
Magus' Theme from Chrono Trigger.
@@Xygor Ah, this is why it is familiar. Do you have a full playthrough of it with commentary?
@@StrangerHappened not with commentary, but I have one from way back in 2007!
@@Xygor Maybe in time you will be able to replay it, but with your fairytale-voice commentary. There is so much context you could comment on around the events of the game, its design, mechanics, music, art, acting (where applicable), reading the text lines, the best gameplay practices, cuts, hacks, tricks for either in-depth exploration or speed run that can not fit into a review you have made.
I prefer an ExP system.
Fair enough!
A shame the original SNES version of Romancing Saga 2 remains untranslated.
Yes it is! Though the remake version of 2 is really great. Retains the original look, but gives it some great ease of life features and a remastered soundtrack. It's definitely worth checking out.
I prefer the original Romancing SaGa than Minstrel Song one.
Not a fan of chibi style in MS, and new characters design also kind of lame comparing to the original one.
Me too!
For me, this was the best Romancing Saga game. I played the Japanese version far so many times. It’s a crime that this never gets a classic remake.
I honestly don’t like the way Minstrel Song looks… never play it. Never will.
Saga's not for me.
I prefer Wasteland, Shadowrun, and Uncharted Waters 2 when it comes to old school open world RPGs.
Betrayal at Krondor is good too, but there are portions that aren't open.
Fair enough!
This game enemy encounter is the fucking worst. I wonder if Shin Megami Tensei has worse but both are shit.
I can understand your point, it's relentless at times!