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[JP]

Well, that was sudden, to say the least.

Despite its ambitious approach to non-linear open-world exploration, fan-favourite RPG series Romancing SaGa has never quite achieved the same profile as fellow Square-Enix franchise Final Fantasy did in the west. Back in 1989 when the original game released, it let players freely decide how their story unfolded and how they explored the game's vibrant world.

The second entry in the series refined those elements further, and now, this self-contained story is coming to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita while keeping the look and feel of its original release – just as its director, Akitoshi Kawazu wanted. The series creator – who established his career working on both Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II – has returned to oversee this re-release. We sat down with him and producer Masanori Ichikawa ahead of the game's announcement to discuss their work.

Romancing SaGa 2 hits PS4 & PS Vita on 15/12 – read a new Q&A with director Akitoshi Kawazu (PlayStation Blog)

Romancing SaGa 2 – Announcement Trailer | PS4, PS Vita (YouTube)

 

[daxgame]

I thought this was also on Switch and Steam?

 

[JP]

Ah, it could be. The links that I've posted are actually the first that I've heard of this re-release.

 

[DGrayson]

I changed the thread title with the additional platforms.

 

[JimboJones]

Looks decent, would have been nice for FF6 to gtt the same treatment.

 

[PrinnyBomb]

Any word on a physical release?

 

[blackjon24]

finally a real bonafide jrpg classic on switch

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

Price?

 

[Labadal]

Good. I hope this does well enough for SE to bother with more games in the series.

 

[Aeon712]

Price?

This??? Haven't seen any mention of a price. 9.99 is an instant buy for me.

 

[staen]

Despite its ambitious approach to non-linear open-world exploration, fan-favourite RPG series Romancing SaGa has never quite achieved the same profile as fellow Square-Enix franchise Final Fantasy did in the west. Back in 1989 when the original game released, it let players freely decide how their story unfolded and how they explored the game’s vibrant world.

I think they mixed up the dates. They're clearly talking about Romancing SaGa 1 here, but used the release date for the first SaGa game released on the gameboy.

This??? Haven't seen any mention of a price. 9.99 is an instant buy for me.

I'd expect a bit higher. It's currently 17.99 on the app store.

Good. I hope this does well enough for SE to bother with more games in the series.

Really hope they localize SaGa Scarlet Grace.

RS2 is the only one in the trilogy I have not played yet so I'm excited for this. Didn't really want to play the mobile version.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

This??? Haven't seen any mention of a price. 9.99 is an instant buy for me.

I would gladly pay 20.

 

[Bardiche]

Excited to get this on the Switch. It would be nice to see Scarlet Grace released for the Switch as well.

 

[Sojiro]

So happy to see this released on consoles, definitely getting this for Switch.

 

[Alboreo]

So excited to pick this up for Switch! Far from my favorite SaGa title but I'll definitely take it. I wonder how much it'll cost. Hopefully no more than $20 because I'll probably wait if that's the case.

 

[Battlechili]

I'm really glad this has proper pixel art. I don't ever wanna see Square do to a game what they did to FFV/FFVI's art direction on phones and PC. *shudders*

 

[Bickle2]

This??? Haven't seen any mention of a price. 9.99 is an instant buy for me.

I’ll never understand this intense allergy to publishing prices till the last minute. They know what it’s going to be at least a month out.

 

[RPGCrazied]

$30 is a tad much for a retro title. Will get if it ever goes on sale.

 

[blackjon24]

$30 is a tad much for a retro title. Will get if it ever goes on sale.

is this confirmed? where did you get this price if its true might I was well get it on my iphone instead or vita if its cheaper

 

[RPGCrazied]

is this confirmed? where did you get this price if its true might I was well get it on my iphone instead or vita if its cheaper

Its the price in Japan, I just converted the yen to dollars.

 

[JP]

I've just remembered that this is out tomorrow.

Is anybody definitely getting this tomorrow? As much as I really want to I could without spending money on Christmas presents for myself and it's not as if I'm not trying to catch up with games I already own so I may just give it a mis for now.

For people who don't have a great deal of knowledge about the Romancing Saga/Final Fantasy Legend series I thought it was worth posting a couple of overview videos.

• What is the Romancing SaGa Series? - SNESdrunk (YouTube)
• SaGa 25th Anniversary Retrospective - ReActionExaminer (YouTube)

EDIT:
I wonder if selling this as something Final Fantasy Legend - Romancing Saga would've been a better choice in terms of getting people's attention?

 

[Northeastmonk]

I got this for iOS and I paid $19.99 for it. I would say JRPG fans will enjoy it.

You play different heroes at different times and if someone dies then they're replaced. You might lose the leader you had if you die too often in battle. They put a death counter on your characters so you'll know when they're about to be out of your party.

I had a good game going on last year and then I uninstalled it thinking I had my save backed up to the cloud and then when I went back I noticed I had forgot to enable the feature or upload the save. I do plan on going back and playing it. It wasn't like I was bored either but I bought DQV on iOS at the wrong time and started a new game.

 

[fvng]

North American release as well?

 

[FDC1]

PS versions are now available in Europe (24.99€, 19.99 with PS+)

 

[staen]

I've just remembered that this is out tomorrow.

Is anybody definitely getting this tomorrow? As much as I really want to I could without spending money on Christmas presents for myself and it's not as if I'm not trying to catch up with games I already own so I may just give it a mis for now.

Despite having a lot of interest in it, I probably won't be picking it up just yet either. Too many games to play and I rarely ever buy PC games at full price.

EDIT:
I wonder if selling this as something Final Fantasy Legend - Romancing Saga would've been a better choice in terms of getting people's attention?

I think it's better if they just keep the name as is if they plan on localizing more games in the series. They're also working on a Romancing Saga 3 remake for mobile/vita, which I suspect will also get ported+localized.

North American release as well?

Yes, this is a worldwide release.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Any impressions?

 

[kevm3]

Square's graphics during the snes era were gorgeous. They had some sort of gritty look to them which they really haven't been able to replicate in this modern era. I'll probably end up picking this up some time.

 

[JP]

£19.99 in the UK, there is a 20% discount for Plus users which makes it £15.99. That's cheaper than I was expecting and I'm very tempted to pick up with that Plus discount. Dammit!!!

$24.99 in the USA Store, the discount brings it down to $19.99.

EDIT:
I knew I'd end up buying it!!

Only had a very quick look at it and it looks absolutely beautiful on my 4K screen. The info box on PSN lists it as outputting at 720p which means it upscales cleanly to 4K.

It is CrossSave compatible with the Vita version.

When you start you get the choice between playing the original game or an "updated version with additional content". This can't be changed once you've started. There is also an option to start New Game+ if you already have a game in progress.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Meh. This should be $14.99 at most. It looks cool, but probably wait on a sale.

 

[Horsemama1956]

Was just about to buy but not for 30 fucking dollars.

 

[blackjon24]

anyone have this game? I heard the vita port has input delay

 

[jshackles]

Any impressions?

anyone have this game? I heard the vita port has input delay

I've been playing the hell out of this on the PS4, so I can't speak to the Vita input delay (if there is any) but the game is 100% legitimately awesome. This is definitely an SNES game with a fresh coat of paint - the game's systems aren't explained at all and it's up to you to figure out how to play the game. It doesn't hold your hand at all and the difficulty spikes are absolutely brutal.

In a way it's a shame the game doesn't includes some modern QoL improvements, as they could have gone a long way here - but I could see why they wouldn't want to mess with things that much to piss off fans of the original game.

If you enjoyed the SNES-era Squaresoft JRPGs, you'll enjoy this game. If you are like me and played the hell out of Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana and want something new to play along the same lines then this is the game you've been looking for.

 

[KiteGr]

Not the first?
If I remember correctly it some sort of remake/remaster on PS2.