Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven (2024)

Still loving this game but the part I'm on currently has been the first real stumbling block. No real story spoilers but some minor gameplay spoilers if you really want to avoid that kind of thing

So, for the Rocbouquet quest, you are required to have a woman as the emperor in order to start it. Unfortunately for me I had a male emperor at the time I found the town where that quest begins, but okay no biggie I just wait until the next generation and pick a female emperor.

Once the quest officially gets started you have to find the tower where Rocbouquet is, which I had some difficulty in doing but that's normal enough. But then you have to go through not one, not two, but THREE separate dungeons with FOUR mini bosses just to get to Rocbouquet's fight. I would expect that for a final boss but for a mid-game boss? Then, as a part of her fight mechanic, if you have any male members in your party at all, she will be able to charm them and turn them against your party multiple times throughout the fight.

This is a major break to the normally very fun gameplay loop. Because now I have to choose between going back and picking an all female retinue (and go through the entire final dungeon again), or toughing it out with my current retinue to beat her.

This isn't my first rodeo with the SaGa series so I'm used to some difficulty spikes, but for those spikes to come at the cost of the gameplay loop itself is kind of infuriating. I do think I can still beat her with my current team so I'll try to do that but man if this isn't the most annoying part of this game so far.

Also that whole charm mechanic does not age well. If I were female I'd be hella charmed by Rocbouquet.

I've played this for about an hour or two. Feels like Tales of Symphonia, it has that Pokemon gameboy RPG feel. It's obviously not as big budget as Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Rebirth. But damn, do I love this game.

My current favorite games of the year are Astro Bot and Unicorn Overlord. Romancing SaGa 2 might just join that list. I'm currently in love with the feel and aesthetic. It's like the perfect type of 90s RPG, with a AA budget style remake - and I'm all for it.

Combat and gameplay feel great. Characters look wild and interesting (fashion overload). But I'm curious about the "playing through generations" mechanic and how this game will unfold.

Bit surprise and I'm postponing Metaphor AND Dragon's Dogma 2 for this. Don't ignore this game!