[Interview] Square Enix on how Romancing SaGa 2 was remade

Nintendo Everything was recently given the opportunity to speak with Shinichi Tatsuke, the producer of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. The game just recently made it to Switch.

For those that are unaware, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a 3D remake of the game that first debuted in 1993. Tatsuke was able to speak with us on how the team approached this new version. We were only able to ask a few questions, but some interesting insight was shared nonetheless.

Here’s our full discussion: 

What was Square Enix’s vision for the remake, and how did you balance staying true to the original while updating it for modern audiences?

We aimed to keep the worldview, storyline, and SaGa-like systems, such as the Inheritance System, Glimmers, and Formations, as they are from the original, while arranging the graphics, battle system, and character growth system in a modern style. We also clarified the rules of the game by adding tutorials and included difficulty options to make it easier for players who are new to SaGa to pick up the game.

How did the team approach the art and visual design for the remake? Were there any particular inspirations or changes you were excited to implement with the changeover from 2D to 3D?

Using the original 2D pixels and Tomomi Kobayashi’s illustrations as a basis, we rearranged them to reflect a more modern style. For example, the female Court Mage is dressed in all red in the original title, but we changed her pants to a brown color for a modern look. As for the backgrounds, we completely revised them from the bottom up so they would work (and be enjoyable!) in 3D.

How did feedback from fans of the original game influence development? Were there any specific requests or suggestions that stood out to you?

There were many elements in the original that were said to be inconvenient, so we improved upon them. For example, in the original game, if you keep running away from enemies, they only get stronger and eventually, you will get stuck trying to progress. That won’t happen with Revenge of the Seven. Also, there was a lot of data that was hidden in the original game, such as enemy resistance/weaknesses, so we indicated this clearly in the remake.

Various quality-of-life improvements like fast travel can take away from the experience of exploration and discovery in large RPGs. With this particular release, fast travel saves a lot of backtracking and makes the game flow more easily. What sort of things were taken into consideration when deciding what features to add for modern players?

Our policy was to include features that are included in most modern RPGs. For example, you will be notified when new weapons can be developed, when development is complete, and such. Destinations are always displayed on screen. You can also check the details of the event you are currently proceeding with. In this way, we included features that are a given in today’s games.

Many SaGa games have launched over the past few years. Can fans expect even more support for the franchise going forward with additional titles?

While I’m unable to comment on the series’ future, for now, I hope that as many players as possible can play this game and have that lead into future efforts as a result.

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is available on Switch worldwide now. You can check out our thoughts on the game as part of a review here.