Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is actually a very impressive remake, when considering it exists off the back of a 30+ year old game. I had never played the original, but I'd watched longplays of it because I was interested in how faithful this game was, and it is truly a testament to Xeen that they made it align so closely. Upfront, it's important to note that this game isn't really for everyone. Story-wise, it has some rougher/unrefined edges that don't really hold up to today's standards, but is good enough to move the game along. There's also some more opaque mechanics that are explained better in the remake than they were in the original, but could still leave players confused about what exactly is occurring in some scenarios. Also, the game is toughest in the early sections, getting easier as the player's options start to open up. What RS2 is absolutely fantastic for though, is its non-linear, open-ended approach to taking on the game. While the tutorial section is railroaded, once you're given more and more access to the wider world, it's very much up to you how you want to progress through the game. It shares similarities with Octopath in that regard, and gives the game a great deal of replayability (further compounded by the fact that there are mutually exclusive choices over the course of the game, which affects rewards and overall approaches to how certain sections of the game are dealt with). If you're in the mood for a JRPG with a focus on exploring and playing around with character loadouts, this one is fantastic. If you're looking for one focused heavily on story and character-building, you'll want to pass on it.

I haven't 100%'d the game, and I'm probably gonna do a couple more playthroughs, but I figured I'd give my initial thoughts after finishing it for the first time. I haven't played the original, so I don't know how true it is to the source material, but I still think it's pretty good. The good first: I love a good turn-based RPG, but I think the formations really add a fresh take on the typical formula. It can have additional effects, allow certain units to attack first before others, and protect squishier units from all attacks. Turns aren't solely dependent on some arbitrary speed stat, which adds another layer of strategy, and you can switch it up at any time, allowing you to experiment in each area. I also love the inheritance mechanic, something I've never seen before, but I think was implemented really well, allowing for lots of versatility in the protagonist and meaning that dying in combat isn't the end. Mechanics aside, I like the character designs. Obviously, they can't all be winners, but a lot of them look pretty unique to their region, and I like that some original races were used as well. The different regions differ enough so that they don't feel just copy-paste'd, and the overall game looks nice enough. The "bad": Of course, having such a diverse cast of characters means there's plenty of overlap, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't neglect a few units. Same thing with a lot of the enemies. It's not nearly as bad as a game like Dragon Quest 11, some of the enemies do have slight design differences between iterations, but some are literally just recolors with a different name. Like I said, they can't all be winners, but a little more variety would've been nice. However, I think the biggest issue I had was the ending. The final location before the final boss is a multiple layer dungeon literally exploding with enemies that weren't necessarily difficult, just tedious, making it a real slog to get through. Overall, I think it's a solid game with lots of interesting mechanics. The story is alright, the combat feels good, and the gameplay is enough to keep me engaged.

Unique and ambitious remake of a classic game! I expect no less from the developer of Trials of Mana. Pro: 1. Colorful and wide range of classes with interesting backgrounds and playstyles. Mixing different combinations of combat group is fun. 2. Hot female characters as usual. Cat, Mermaid, Iris, Ninja... Even normal soldiers are well modeled. 3. Expanded on the great overall game feel from Trails of Mana. The game world is much bigger too. 4. Though childish, the story of emperor is well told, including partnerships and trade-offs among various parties and races. I can imagine this serves as a inspiration for some kids' interest in real world geography and history. Con: 1. Too many obscure mechanisms that can ruin a playthrough without player's notice. 2. Training and farming grinds too much, waste too much time. 3. Auto equip feature is broken, need to manually equip characters constantly which is a huge chore. The cons are overall bearable, but could be improved nonetheless. Hate to make this comparison, but this game is like Star Rail to Genshin Impact.