Update [Wed 14th Sep, 2022 10:50 BST]: SaGa fans, you may have spotted something very exciting in the sizzle reel during yesterday's Nintendo Direct. Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered is launching on the Switch eShop on 1st December 2022!
Here's an official overview of the game from the eShop listing, along with some screenshots:
The original Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- included many of the SaGa series trademark elements, such as the Glimmer and Combo mechanics and was considered to be the epitome of the series when it first released.
The free scenario system that lets you create your own storyline remains at the core of the game, letting you select one of eight protagonists with completely different origins and backstories, then set off on a unique journey.
This remastered edition has evolved in all areas, featuring upgraded HD graphics and numerous enhancements to improve playability. This makes it highly recommended for both fans of the original and newcomers to the SaGa series.
■ Story
The gods created man and man created stories.
The primordial creator Marda brought forth the land of Mardias.
In ages past a mighty battle rocked this land, when Elore, the king of the gods, fought three malicious deities: Death, Saruin and Schirach.
After a long and drawn-out struggle, Death and Schirach were sealed away and rendered powerless, with the final deity Saruin also trapped through the power of the Fatestones and the noble sacrifice of the hero Mirsa.
Now 1000 years have passed since that titanic battle.
The Fatestones lie scattered across the world and the gods of evil are resurgent once more.
Eight heroes set off on their own journeys, as if guided by the hand of fate.
What tales will these adventurers weave across the vast tapestry of Mardias?
You are the only one who can decide!
▷ New Elements
In addition to a full HD graphical upgrade, various new features expand the gameplay even further.■ The sorceress Aldora can now be recruited!
The sorceress Aldora, who once traveled together with the legendary hero Mirsa, appears in her original form. Experience new events where she recounts the journeys of Mirsa first hand.■ Unique and interesting characters now made playable!
Fan-favourite Schiele finally joins your adventures and characters such as Marina, Monica and Flammar can now also be recruited.■ Enhanced bosses!
Several bosses now appear as super powerful enhanced versions! Take on these terrifying adversaries to a new arrangement of the battle music score.■ Improved playability!
Various new features have been added to make your play experience even more convenient, such as a high-speed mode, mini maps, and a “New Game +” option that lets you carry over your progress when you play through the game again.■ And even more…
・New classes to expand the breadth of gameplay.
You can check out our original story on the port's announcement from May below.
Original article [Tue 31st May, 2022 11:30 BST]: Square Enix's SaGa series is not one we expected a renaissance from in recent years. Known for their unusual levelling techniques, unique mechanics, and interesting stories that span generations, the games have had a mixed level of success in the West. But with ports of Romancing SaGa 2 and 3, and a remaster of PS1 cult classic SaGa Frontier (among many other rereleases), the series' devoted following has been rewarded in recent times.
And they're going to keep on reaping the benefits of this revival too. Today, Square Enix held an official series live stream where it revealed its next SaGa-related project — Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song, originally a PS2 exclusive and a remake of the first Romancing SaGa game, is getting a remaster later this year, and it's coming to all consoles!
The game originally launched in Japan and North America in 2005, but never saw a release in Europe, so this will be yet another SaGa title that many will be able to get their hands on for the first time. We don't know much about the remaster as of yet, but it looks to polish up the painterly PS2 visuals and retain the incredible music, composed by Kenji Ito, with Tsuyoshi Sekito and Nobuo Uematsu providing one track each.
Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remastered will launch later this year on the Switch. Are you a fan of the SaGa series? Will you be picking up the game? Let us know in the comments.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 49
A classic Square-Enix game getting remastered?
What could possibly go wrong!
Cool! They've also released Collection of SaGa: Final Fantasy Legend and SaGa: Scarlet Grace Ambitions on the Switch.
A lot of SaGa!
i love how hard square have been going in on their SaGa games.. such a strange series to champion here in the West when the FF Pixel Remasters are still unavailable on console but i love to see it regardless
The fact that the character models look superior to those found in Bravely Default 2 either speaks to the strength of the art direction of one game, or weakness in the art direction of another.
@Abeedo
I feel you are forgetting the consoles they were developed for or rather what the first BDs were for, thus the art style would have had limitations on what could be done.
The style for BD would have been done in such away (excluding the painted backgrounds) due to technical 3ds limitations, it also went hand in hand with that then being a style, thus BD2 rightfully followed it.
May not be for you but BD2 looks great to me.
@Abeedo They looked better in the 1st bravely default I don't know what the hell they were trying to do with BD2. Should have kept the story bookstyle.
@Rosona My issue is that this Ps2 game looks like the Bravely Default 2 art style, but this time actually good for a home console. I love the backgrounds, don't get me wrong, but the character models leave a lot to be desired.
Hopefully they're also planning to remaster Saga Frontier 2.
@Erigen
to be fair the SaGa series has had a pretty good track record lately when it comes to remasters.
I was wondering why SaGa 2 and 3 remakes were on Switch but not the first. I guess this remake version is the only version they want to release going forward, and that's fine with me.
No Chrono Trigger, no FF VI and instead we get one Saga game after the other. I have two friends who are die hard JRPG fans and play almost every game of the genre. When I asked them if I should get the Saga Games they both laughed and said those games are just way too weird to be any fun. Which made me watch a lets play and yes, these games are weird. I have read the creator of the Saga games is now high up in SE management. So that is probably why we get this instead of Chrono.
I was wondering whether they'd complete the Romancing subseries on Switch after oddly skipping to the second and third game. A remake's port works, too! Gonna be eyeing it in particular because I was done with the "Final Fantasy Legend" trio long ago and this should be my next stop in the franchise binge.
@HefHughner fans routinely accuse the genre of triteness and simultaneously manage to operate concepts like "too weird to be fun"? Way to carry the torch of the folks who once embellished E.T. into "worst game of all time".😄
As said above, I've already beaten three SaGas (or, if you will, two actual SaGas and a comparatively more conventional third one that was made by another team while the original one moved on to SNES entries). They are very interesting games that, following suit from the creator's previous contributions to Final Fantasy II, continued to spearhead then-unique concepts like stat grinding. Granted, personal mileage is bound to vary, but when isn't it? Chances are, there are countless people for whom Chrono Trigger doesn't do much either.
Personally, I don't know when I will ever get down to CT, but I suspect it'll just be on DS where its incarnations seem to have peaked anyway. So I'm more appreciative of Squeenix focusing on less mainstream stuff like the SaGa and Mana series (and I needn't repeat what I'm biased enough to still crave from them on Switch among the mainstream ones😏).
Nice, I didn’t play the PS2 version(played the original but it’s been so long I don’t remember anything). Will get this as I like the other SaGa games on Switch.
@Erigen The SaGa remasters turn out well, looking at Romancing 2/3 and Frontier.
Probably helps the creator is still with the company and has been since 1985, has more effort and care put into his remastered games.
why is it that niche RPGs like Saga get so much love but we can't even get classic FFs or DQs on Switch?
Oh yeah this is the really awkward looking one, I definitely remember this one from back when I took some interest in the series. I think among series fans this one is pretty well liked.
@Mando44646 Because classic RPG's like FF and DQ have been played out and are pretty readily available already. I love the fact that Square is putting love and energy into bringing over some of their more obscure, region or platform locked series to make them more accessible to a wider audience (and longtime fans like myself who long to play them again.)
Until recently, Romancing SaGa 2 & 3 were restricted to Japan and SaGa Frontier was locked away on the PS1. This year will see them release the previously Japan only Live A Live in the the west for the first time, along with saving Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song from the clutches of the PS2.
This GREAT! I'm thrilled that these seem to be selling well enough that Square sees value in continuing to polish up and release these lesser known/played franchises.
Next, I hope we get some Valkyrie Profile remasters, along with remasters/localizations of other region locked titles like Bahamut Lagoon, Treasure Hunter G, Treasure of the Rudras, and the Terranigma trilogy. Also, a remaster of SaGa Frontier 2 would be sweet!
Love the SaGa series! This one is a bit difficult though. Throws away the normal convention of grinding to increase power before taking on the final boss, and replaces it with rewarding you for making it through the game as quickly, and with as few detours as possible. Basically, places greater emphasis on exploration and discovery over the course of several playthroughs, rather than a single session. This may frustrate conventional JRPG players, HOWEVER... the soundtrack by Kenji Ito is absolutely incredible and singlehandedly makes the game deserving of a playthrough! The art style is also beautiful, keeping the journey fresh at every turn. VERY excited about this one and will be buying day 1!
@Grail_Quest
i dont think its related to them being FF games since FVII onwards have been getting quite a bit of attention on console over the past few years wheres the last time a lot of the older FFs were released outside of mobile/steam was closer to the release of Minstrel song than they were to the present day, which is why there was some confusion over the recent FF remasters being exclusive to the platforms they were already more available on.
This doesn't mean however that im not overjoyed by the amount of more obscure rpgs that we are seeing, especially considering the Romancing SaGa 2 remaster which kickstarted all this SaGa love in the west was originally mobile exclusive before 2017 where it came to other platforms.
@Grail_Quest I guess, if "readily available" means "not available on any last gen or current gen gaming platform", then sure. I suppose so.
Doing one thing doesn't mean not doing other things. I want as much of their back-library as we can get. I just don't want to have to buy a GBA cart of FF6 to play it
@Mando44646 Everyone has a phone. They're on mobile platforms. That is a current generation console, whether people like it or not.
This game is just odd even when it first released on PS2 back in the days. The art style is just creepy and weird and they completely change the whole battle mechanic of the original. They could had just give us a 2D remake of the first game just like Romancing SaGa 2 & 3 but nope they had to be lazy just port the PS2 3D remake instead which is worst. Well the good news is that by remastering this one to Switch and modern platform, there's hope for an Unlimited SaGa remastered which is similar to this. I guess at this point Square Enix is just throwing every SaGa games under the sun for modern platforms as much as they can: SaGa Frontier 2, Unlimited SaGa, and the 7th Saga may be coming sooner too.
@Mando44646 They are readily available. Final Fantasy 1-6 are on Steam right now. Final Fantasy 7-9 and Dragon Quest 1-3 are actually available on Switch. In other words, if someone wanted to, they could access and play those games legitimately right now. The same could not have been said about many of the titles I mentioned, without Squares recent focus on bringing them forward.
@Serpenterror 7th Saga is not a part of the SaGa franchise. I wouldn't mind seeing that one become available though.
@Grail_Quest I don't play games on PC. I also don't play games on my phone as its a terrible gaming experience.
I play games on Xbox, PS, and Switch.
I feel like I need to see a side-by-side to see the differences between the original for ps2 and the remaster.
Also, I agree with many here that it's worth celebrating when a lesser known series is given its due. And even that's a misnomer since the SaGa series is super popular in Japan.
@Mando44646 I'm with you on not playing games on mobile. I hate those. If someone wanted to play those games bad enough though, connecting a PS4 or Xbox (heck even Switch Pro) controller to the PC and playing via steam is perfectly viable. I played FF3 that way, with an HDMI cable connected to the TV. Felt just like playing on a console. (Although, like you, I prefer console whenever possible).
@Mando44646 If I only owned a PC, should I get upset that I can't play every game that I want and say that "Ultra Street Fighter II is not readily available" as an absolute statement?
Finally! I've been holding off on this franchise until I could play through the games in order (just something I like to do with big franchises like this) and now I'll finally be able to. As what feels like the world's only fan of Final Fantasy 2, I'm really excited for this.
@EarthboundBenjy That's actually Romancing SaGa 2 and 3.
(the RS series was basically SaGa 4-6)
SaGa 2 and 3 were Final Fantasy Legend 2 and 3, which also both got remade for the DS, however neither remake got a localization.
SaGa 1 got remade for the WonderSwan Color (and I'm thinking maybe some Java-era Japanese phone at most) but the remake was never localized for any platform.
I remember when SaGa 2 DS was first released, people were somehow upset that, it sounds like, there was a feature added where characters could become attracted to each other and maybe even homosexually. Just what I remember hearing.
SaGa 3 DS came out when Square-Enix basically didn't care about the western market anymore. Though one of the things I liked about playing the original FFL3 was that it played more like a FF game than a SaGa game and this port reportedly "fixed" that problem.
@KingMike
Ah right.
So I guess the games included in "Collection of SaGa - Final Fantasy Legend" in in the eShop are actually the first three SaGa releases, right? This series started on the GB?
And so Romancing SaGa 2 and Romancing SaGa 3 in the eShop are the remakes of the fifth and sixth SaGa games? Is that right?
How does Minstrel Song compare to Romancing SaGa 1? Is it basically the same game, or does it feel totally different?
For example FF4 on GBA feels basically the same thing as FF4 SNES with a few bonus features and revamped script, but FF4 DS feels like a complete overhaul, despite it being the same adventure overall.
...and then there's FF7 Remake which isn't actually a remake but rather just a new game entirely.
Where would Minstrel Song fit in, in these terms?
@Grail_Quest Either way Square Enix own it now so may as well just make it a part of the series. The game never got a proper sequel anyways even though Enix try to kinda make Mystic Ark to be a sequel but that never got translated.
Cool, the Switch gets a port of the Android port like the others!
Except I'll get it there instead because apk files.
@Mando44646 Another "gamer" who's too elite for their own good. Cute!
@EarthboundBenjy I haven't really played Minstrel Song other than looking over the manual, and I just remember it sounded like a more complex game than what I had played of the original RS1 on the SFC (and that was before a fan translation was made, when the game for the longest time was considered a "cursed" game that would "never" get fan translated. In reality it was just that the game coding was just far different than what fan translators were used to).
As to actual gameplay, RS1 (and probably the others) would have story events activate on rather obtuse requirements with the intent of creating a pseudo-randomized story that would change on different playthroughs. Or at least that was the idea I've heard.
As to gameplay, one major difference I've heard RS2 is where they introduced the HP/LP health system (where HP functions as expected other than being restored after battle, but LP is a secondary health where a character perma-dies if it runs out. A means to replicate the limited-but-replenishable lives of the original (GB) SaGa (1), I guess.)
SNES RS1 had a standard HP system. It also had MP but I think you were allowed to have one magical element alignment and learn spells according to it.
@LittleGhost i think the 3ds games' character models were fine (i give them a pass because of the limitations), but BD2 & this game both look bad to me, character wise. Personally, tho, I can't stand misproportioned, chibi, little person looking characters throughout the entire game. It just breaks my ability to be immersed, sadly.
@SteamEngenius people & their preferences, am i right? 🤦🏻♂️ If only we all had your preferences, we'd be saved from ourselves.
MAN that is some BUTT ugly art...wow haha.
@twztid13
This is something that for a long time I felt, I also felt it just generally with old school rpgs and their pixel art. Then something happened.
I couldn't quite tell you when or where the chibi (while I still prefer non chibi) acceptance came from, SD Gundam Crossrays may have had something to do with it, but it could have been something else, maybe even BD2.
With regards to old school the fairly recent love of metriodvanias likely helped, but the key for me was definitely first mana game that I played through on Switch (Final Fantasy Adventure) a year or so ago. I then found that view point/feeling broke.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is possible that there will be something you want to like or randomly play that breaks them feelings and then you can
@Erigen everything will go wrong
Really hoping for Unlimited SaGa. It was an absolute ar$ehole of a game, but the art, story and concept were so incredibly nice that I want to return to it.
SE is publishing games at a very quick pace. It's pretty impressive, even if many of them are middling in quality.
A remake would've been better. Those character designs are fugly.
I'm a big SaGa fan, but please do note that RS1, whether the SFC version of PS2 remake, is more or less unplayable without a walkthrough constantly open. It is incredibly obtuse. And I love most of the games in the series.
Squeenix broke the turbo button and I am not mad at them.
@Mando44646 I dunno Final Fantasy has gotten a fair amount of love on Switch with Final Fantasy VII - X-2 and XII. Can't really complain as a Final Fantasy fan myself as those are bangers. And in XII's case, that added even more quality of life changes for the Switch version. As for Dragon Quest didn't we get the Erdrick trilogy on Switch? I know it is the "remastered" SNES versions of the games and not the NES originals, but they're still a good time.
I think Square Enix is for sure a bunch of ******* for the lack of the Pixel Remasters on Switch or PS4/PS5... who knows why they've yet to do that. But, I don't think the SaGa remasters are actively keeping them (FFI-VI) from being ported or put on NSO.
@Grail_Quest Dude!!! If Square Enix ever does a 2DHD remake of Terranigma in the style of Live-A-Live I would die of happiness! Terranigma is one of the best JRPGs ever made and really, REALLY needs the North American release it deserves and not be stuck on the SNES forever on increasingly rarer and more expensive EU imports.
@Wexter that's true, though I personally didn't really enjoy FF12. I hated the combat. What I wouldn't give for a collection of FF13 games and a real port of FF15 though! Crisis Core will be great at least.
I also personally don't care about Saga or the other classic RPGs they are remastering. Don't get me wrong - I love that they are coming and being preserved for a modern audience. But I'm over here waiting for FF 1-6 and DQ Monsters games far more
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Romancing SaGa 1 has probably been my single most wanted playthrough for a couple of years now, so seeing thing this finally be a thing was already good enough. But now fast forward is confirmed, leaving me no reason to play the PS2 version. God, I'm looking forward to this.
@Erigen Ah yes, sarcasm, that'll work!
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