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Romancing SaGa 2

Overall Romancing SaGa 2 was a great experience on the Switch. The console is a nice home for this retro gem and a lot of people are going to enjoy playing it for the first time. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re a fan of this genre.
Romancing SaGa 2 Game Cover
76%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, atmosphere
79% User Score Based on 123 reviews
Critic Score 70%Based on 20 reviews

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Romancing SaGa 2 Game Cover

About

Romancing SaGa 2 is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by ArtePiazza and was released on December 15, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

The Emperor or Empress of Avalon begins the game as King Leon and later plays as his various heirs down through the game years. Leon hands his kingdom over to his son, Gellard. At the end of Gellard's reign, the player is able to choose his or her own successor and pass on Gellard's abilities to them. At the end of each generation, he or she will be given a choice of four heirs. Their identity is …

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Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
Romancing SaGa 2 screenshot
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79%
Audience ScoreBased on 123 reviews
story8 positive mentions
grinding18 negative mentions
  • Romancing SaGa 2 features a unique generational system where players guide successive emperors, allowing for deep strategic gameplay and character progression.
  • The game encourages exploration and experimentation, rewarding players for their curiosity with a non-linear structure and a variety of quests.
  • The remastered version retains the original's charming 16-bit aesthetic while enhancing visuals and providing a celebrated soundtrack that adds to the game's atmosphere.
  • The combat system can feel overcomplicated and punishing, with permadeath mechanics that may frustrate players unfamiliar with the game's intricacies.
  • The port suffers from a lack of quality-of-life features, such as poor menu navigation and limited controller support, making it less accessible for new players.
  • Some players have reported technical issues, including crashes and a lack of clear instructions on game mechanics, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • story
    64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Romancing Saga 2" is characterized by its broad, generational narrative that emphasizes themes of legacy and consequence rather than deep character development, creating a mythological feel that sets it apart from other JRPGs. While the overarching plot is considered simplistic and light, the game offers a rich tapestry of localized quests and emergent storytelling, allowing players significant freedom in how they approach challenges and explore the world. However, this open-endedness can lead to emotional distance and a lack of guidance, making the experience feel obtuse for some players.

    • “His sweeping orchestral arrangements and battle themes give the saga a sense of grandeur and melancholy that underscores its generational storytelling.”
    • “Rather than focusing on deeply developed individual characters, Romancing Saga 2 tells a story about legacy, consequence, and time itself.”
    • “The overarching story isn't bad, but it's the individual little stories in different towns that I love.”
    • “Yet this same design choice can create emotional distance, as no single protagonist remains long enough to fully anchor the story.”
    • “Having practically no experience with the saga franchise at large, I was shocked by just how abruptly the story is dispensed to the player.”
    • “It's not even the weak, disjointed, and skeletal story structure accompanied by too much open-endedness and cardboard dialogue that's the worst of it.”
  • gameplay
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Romancing Saga 2 is a unique blend of traditional turn-based mechanics and open-ended exploration, offering a mix of linear narrative and customizable systems that can be both challenging and rewarding. While the game features innovative mechanics like succession and empire management, many players find the lack of clear explanations for these systems frustrating, often requiring external guides to fully grasp the gameplay. Despite its steep learning curve and occasional grindiness, those who embrace its unconventional design often discover a deeply engaging experience that stands out in the JRPG genre.

    • “This mechanic creates a sense of continuity and progression that extends far beyond standard level-grinding.”
    • “Once I got used to the mechanics and embraced the freedom, it slowly transformed into one of the best JRPG experiences I've had.”
    • “Essentially, this game is a mix between your typical linear, narrative-centered JRPG gameplay and the more nonlinear, customizable WRPG gameplay, and it pulls that mixture off beautifully.”
    • “Certain mechanics are not quite well-explained, such as how to get new formations.”
    • “Main con: this series is infamous for telling you absolutely nothing about any mechanics, and what little the game tells you (e.g., stats on weapons) may be misleading.”
    • “If you enjoy games that don't bother trying to explain any of their mechanics, while also having every single mechanic so heavily buried in RNG and obscure invisible triggers, this is a game for you.”
  • music
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game, composed by Kenji Ito, is widely praised as one of its standout features, with many reviewers appreciating the option to switch between the classic and remastered soundtracks. While some players feel the game could benefit from additional tracks, the original score is celebrated for its emotional depth and atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered masterful, capturing the essence of classic JRPG music without unnecessary alterations.

    • “The soundtrack, composed by Kenji Ito, is one of the game’s most celebrated elements.”
    • “The remastered edition even allows players to switch between the classic and updated soundtracks, a thoughtful inclusion that honors the game’s history while offering modern audio fidelity.”
    • “The music is nothing short of masterful; from the laid-back town music to the intense battle themes, every piece is a pleasure to listen to, and I'm so glad that they stuck to the original OST.”
    • “It could use a few more music tracks, but it's a fine game other than that.”
    • “Music is okay.”
    • “The game has the exact same music you'll find in the SNES version.”
  • graphics
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The remastered version of the game successfully revitalizes its original 16-bit aesthetic with modern enhancements, preserving the nostalgic charm while offering higher resolution artwork and smoother animations. However, the user interface and some background graphics have been criticized for their mobile-port quality, creating a jarring contrast with the pixelated character sprites. Overall, while the graphics improvements are appreciated, they are not universally praised, with some elements feeling outdated or inconsistent.

    • “Visually, the remastered version revitalizes the game’s 16-bit aesthetic with modern enhancements that remain faithful to the original’s spirit.”
    • “Artepiazza’s careful restoration of character sprites and environments retains the nostalgic charm of the Super Famicom release while providing higher resolution artwork and smoother animation.”
    • “It does justice to Tomomi Kobayashi's vibrant artwork, which really gives it and the franchise as a whole its own unique identity.”
    • “The porting job itself is okay; a lot of reviews mention crashes, which I haven't encountered, but the background graphics and UI are of ugly mobile-port quality that clash with pixel character sprites, giving this game a rather jarring art style.”
    • “Graphics-wise, the improvements are not stellar: some of the backgrounds look like they came from an RPG Maker game, and the new animation in some of the bosses is jarring.”
    • “You have no graphics options to choose from and have to force fullscreen if that's what you prefer to use.”
  • grinding
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is a mixed experience; while it can create a sense of progression, it is often deemed unnecessary and tedious. Players note that grinding is discouraged, as it can lead to tougher enemies and does not significantly enhance character strength, with the game instead promoting strategic management over mindless battles. Overall, those who embrace the grinding aspect may find it rewarding, but many feel it detracts from the overall experience.

    • “Grinding is difficult and there are no random battles.”
    • “Very light on story and very heavy on grinding.”
    • “Grinding will get you nowhere; it even makes everything worse.”
  • replayability
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers high replayability due to its nonlinearity, branching choices, and numerous missable content, encouraging players to explore different paths and scenarios. Players appreciate the opportunity for experimentation with various mechanics and magic combinations, enhancing the overall replay value. Additionally, the presence of new game plus (NG+) further contributes to the game's replayability.

    • “Lots of room for experimentation and high replay value.”
    • “Nonlinearity and branching choices absolutely make this game wonderfully replayable.”
    • “There's a fantastic amount of replay value due to not having a set order in which to do things, experimenting with magic combinations, and events potentially having multiple outcomes.”
    • “It has a lot of missable content, so it does have a lot of replayability as well.”
    • “Once you complete the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
    • “The lack of meaningful choices means that replaying the game feels more like a chore than an adventure.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, users report that the game runs smoothly on the platform, with notable graphical quality. However, some players have experienced bugs, particularly towards the end of the game, which may affect the overall stability.

    • “It looks great and runs smoothly on the deck.”
    • “The game maintains a stable frame rate, providing a seamless experience.”
    • “I haven't encountered any crashes or bugs, which makes for a very stable gameplay.”
  • atmosphere
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its distinctive music and graphics, which create a dark yet epic ambiance. Players note that the music effectively enhances the mood during events and contributes significantly to the overall immersive experience, even in simple dungeon settings.

    • “The very distinctive music and graphics were very appealing; the dark yet epic atmosphere was actually the first thing I ever checked for on the internet, back in the early days of GameFAQs.”
    • “The music during events gives a good idea of the mood, and even simple dungeon themes create a powerful atmosphere at times.”
    • “The music during events really sets the mood, and even the simple dungeon themes can create a powerful atmosphere at times.”
    • “The overall ambiance feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players in the game world.”
    • “Despite the potential for a rich environment, the atmosphere feels lifeless and fails to engage the player’s senses.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its phenomenal soundtrack, which features powerful and beautiful music that enhances the experience. However, the design choice of multiple protagonists can lead to emotional distance, as no single character remains long enough to fully engage players in the story.

    • “It is a phenomenal soundtrack with a mixture of powerful, beautiful, and sometimes even emotional music.”
  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been criticized for being a lazy mobile port, particularly lacking proper adjustments for PC, as evidenced by the presence of touchscreen buttons in the menus. Users feel that it does not adequately utilize the capabilities of the Steam platform.

    • “Especially since it is not optimized for Steam and is a mobile port.”
    • “This is a very lazy port, made clear by the lack of UI optimization for PC (the menus still have touchscreen buttons, for heaven's sake).”
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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 20 critic reviews
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2h Median play time
2h Average play time
36h Main story
85h Completionist
2-2h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Romancing SaGa 2 is a role playing game with fantasy theme.

Romancing SaGa 2 is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck, iPhone and others.

The main story can be completed in around 36 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 85 hours to finish. On average players spend around 2 hours playing Romancing SaGa 2.

Romancing SaGa 2 was released on December 15, 2017.

Romancing SaGa 2 was developed by ArtePiazza.

Romancing SaGa 2 has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Romancing SaGa 2 is a single player game.

Similar games include Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, Romancing SaGa 3, The Last Remnant, FINAL FANTASY XII THE ZODIAC AGE, Crystal Project and others.