The TL/DR: Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven is an amazing non-linear JRPG where the decisions you make change the flow of the game. It's a remake of a game that is already on Switch, but the original is super frustrating. They fixed all the original game's problems with the remake, so it's my most anticipated release! On with the really long version where I share my thoughts on the original game and the new remake:
My Experience with the original game on Switch
A while back I got Romancing Saga 2 for Switch in a Square sale. It's mostly the same as the original SNES game but widescreen, I think. The original game blew me away with how non-linear it is. But I completely agree with u/December_Flame sentiment that "It is the best game I'd never, ever recommend to any of my gaming friends." The original is both amazing and horribly frustrating at the same time.
It's crazy how non-linear the game is. I don't think I can call it open world because the overworld is just a map. And you can't just go anywhere. But you make choices that open different areas and there are often different ways to solve the same problem. I think everything leads to the same final boss and ending, but the path you take and teams you customize are so varied. You would see the same main points in every playthrough, but the order you go by and the way you handle situations may be different.
Spoiler Example: Like one night you wake up in the middle of the night. That's not normal, and you aren't told what's going on. If you explore and get on the roof, you'll find a thief called Cat. You have to make a choice to help her or not. If you help her, you get access to the thief's guild. Then another quest will be availiable because of the previous choice. If you finish the new quest, Cat will help you get into a fortress blocking your way. Now if you didn't find or help the Cat, there are two other ways in the fortress. And my understanding is that you can still get to the thieves guild some other way. It's awesome how decisions affect the flow of the game.
But it's also brutal because enemies one shot your team members in any battle. It feels out of your control and totally random. The original game seemed impossible without save scumming every battle! Grinding for levels doesn't really work because enemies grow with you. I think that if I understood the leveling system that I could have made better choices, but there's no guidance or help in the game.
Then when a character dies too many times, they're gone for good. The main character on the team is the Emperor. When the Emperor perma-dies, the game then continues with a new generation. And at some points in the game a new generation is forced on you no matter what. The Permadeath was a major blow for me when I didn't know it was coming. I now think it's a really cool game mechanic, but it was really frustrating when I lost all the work I put into my team. New characters do start at the level you're already at, and the leader does inherit some stuff from the previous leader. If you know it's coming, it's actually really cool that your game spans generations.
Eventually I just gave up. I was heavily impressed, but I wasn't willing to put the effort into it when there were so many other great RPGs on Switch.
Trying out the Demo for the Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven remake
Then I saw the announcement for the remake. Somewhere said there would be difficulty settings, so I got excited. I grabbed the demo and so far I'm really impressed.
The graphics and performance is great. I played only in handheld. There's some far away pop-in, but nothing major. The environments and characters are detailed and interesting. I wouldn't play the game just to hear the music, but it's very good and fits the atmosphere. The cutscenes are also fully voiced!
The devs put a huge amount of work in turning a 2D game into a fully fleshed out 3D game. The main castle and town is just complicated enough that I get lost. I assume I'll get used to that as you come back a lot. But I love exploring the dungeons and other areas in 3D. The path is linear enough that you don't get lost, but it's really fun looking in every nook and cranny for hidden chests or items. In the first dungeon I had to jump through the environment to find one chest, and it felt like I figured something cool out.
But most important, there are three difficulty levels with the hardest being the original difficulty. I picked the easiest. Not a single one of my characters die once, nor were the battles challenging. It would be great for casual play, but I am going to try the middle difficulty on a new save when the full game comes out. But these difficulty options completely change the game from frustrating into enjoyable!
I'm also anticipating that the devs worked hard to give you more information about the decisions you make in game. In the original, the decisions seem a bit random in that it's not obvious what your choice will do. So I'm interested to see how this is handled in the remake. There aren't really any decisions in the remake demo. More info on how the decisions are supposed to be clearer in the remake: https://www.shacknews.com/article/141456/romancing-saga-2-revenge-of-the-seven-interview
I did see that the game teaches as you play the demo. There are popups that teach you mechanics and help you understand how the game works. Even if you want a challenging game, the game should feel more fair because you'll understand how it works. The article above also mentions that they fixed the way enemies level with you so it's more fair too. I'm usually not a fan of enemies leveling with you, but I think it make sense in a non-linear game.
If you can't tell, I am so excited about Revenge of the Seven. If you like RPGs, I really suggest you try this demo!
by pickledgreatness