Despite the name, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is less about romance about more about legacy. This Square Enix remake of a non-linear 1993 RPG features an Inheritance system where protagonists eventually take the skills of another, growing stronger with each generation. It takes multiple lifetimes to take down the big bad, which might play out differently depending on who inherits the throne.
While I didn’t get much time to get to know the characters themselves during a 30-minute demo at PAX West, the satisfying turn-based combat and signature Glimmer mechanic signal a strong showing for turn-based RPG fans.
In Romancing SaGa 2, seven heroes who saved the world were sealed away into another dimension, fated to return to save humanity again. They eventually make a return, but they are corrupted by the alternate dimension and decide to take revenge on the world that abandoned them.
The Emperor of Avalon, the capital of the Varennes Empire, has taken the responsibility of defeating the seven heroes turned villains, but they are so strong that you can’t beat them all in one lifetime. Revenge of the Seven follows three Emperors across the Varennes Empire, each of which inherit skills from the previous leader. The demo I tried focused on Gerard, the son of the recently deceased King Leon and the first-generation protagonist. The other two are up to you.
Revenge of the Seven features typical turn-based combat with type advantages thrown into the mix. Similar to Shin Megami Tensei or Persona, each enemy has a set of weaknesses that you discover as you hit them with different attacks. Revenge of the Seven encourages you to switch up your party before major battles, depending on the different kinds of strengths and weaknesses they have. For example, a multi-hit bow attack will come in handy for mobs weak to arrows. It’s also wise to add someone with a healing ability to the team, even though the default setting fully heals characters’ HP after every battle. Weapons and magic have quite a range, too. Players can hit magical weaknesses with elemental spells like fireballs or heal comrades with water and light.
Glimmer, a mechanic that unlocks new skills by chance, steals the spotlight. While selecting attacks for party members in the battle menu, some of them might have a little light bulb icon next to the name. This indicates that you can learn a new move from using that attack and possibly “Glimmer” it. Ideally, using Glimmer will grow your skill set so that characters can learn stronger attacks or attacks that could come in handy for different combat scenarios. Glimmer breaks up the repetitive nature of combat with these rewards, so characters are growing in more way than one. It’s also a thematic match for the story, as each protagonist inherits the skills their predecessor may have picked up from a Glimmer.
The demo didn’t show much of the story beyond Gerard’s rise to power and quelling of the goblin onslaught, so it’s difficult to gauge if things will play out differently in this remake. Regardless of how story is handled, the satisfying combat and freedom of choice was enough to hook me during my session. We’ll have to see if it’s enough to carry Revenge of the Seven through the generations.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven launches for PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on October 24, 2024.
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