Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Gamescom Hands-On Preview – A Masterful Revival

The SaGa series is far from being the most popular JRPG series ever, but it has managed, over the years, to garner a cult following thanks to its unique features that set it apart from the vast majority of JRPGs, such as unique progression mechanics, and open-ended scenarios closer to traditional role-playing games developed in the West. Despite the lack of widespread recognition and success, the series has continued, and Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven could be the breakthrough the series by Akitoshi Kawazu has been seeking since its inception in 1989, thanks to some choice improvements to the formula.

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is the remake of the second entry in the Romancing subseries series originally released back in 1993 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Developed by Xeen Inc., the same studio behind Trials of Mana, the game shares a lot of its visual identity with the remake of the third entry in the Mana series, with a distinct anime feel that breathes new life into the game's world. As such, the game clicked almost instantly with me when I tried it during Gamescom 2024, being a long-time fan of the series who kinda drifted away from it when the franchise started experimenting with different types of visual styles with games such as Unlimited SaGa.

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The Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Gamescom demo, while short, definitely rekindled my interest in the franchise. Controlling Prince Gerard, the second in line to the throne of Varennes, I defended the city of Avalon from a monster invasion together with other companions and moved the first step towards an epic confrontation between the Imperial line of Varennes and the Seven Heroes of ancient myth. With the gorgeous 3D recreation of all of the original game's characters and location and full voice acting for all characters, this epic confrontation will only become even more epic.

The pleasing