Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remaster International is a remaster of the PlayStation 2 title of the same name, which itself is a remake of the 1992 Super Famicom classic. Romancing SaGa is different than role playing games like Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger because of the “Free Scenario System”, which features eight unique protagonists and encourages nonlinear exploration. There are no experience points either and stats are increased at random depending on what actions you take in battles.
I love the SaGa series. I played Final Fantasy Legend when I was a kid before I even realized that it wasn’t really a Final Fantasy title. Later, I fell deeply in love with SaGa Frontier on the PlayStation and that’s still one of my favorite RPGs of all time. I often wonder why the “Free Scenario System” didn’t help the series gain traction stateside. It feels like it always stood in the shadows behind the titans of the genre. I’m always excited for a new SaGa game, but it’s hard to feel the same about Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remaster International.
This game is hard to recommend, especially since the original is excellent. The non-linear gameplay and exploration of the original title is here, but the art style of this remake is hideous. The characters look off-putting, deformed, and bland and move in a disjointed, marionette-like quality. Comparing the main characters in this remake to the original 2D sprites reveals a striking decline in quality. There are other titles from this era that hold up well, but this one doesn’t. Even the backgrounds and buildings in different villages look bland.
It’s also strange that some of the cutscenes look like they were just copied and pasted from the original PS2 release without any upscaling. Oddly enough, some of the cutscenes do look upscaled so the ones that are blurry stand out even more. I wouldn’t have a problem with this if it wasn’t a remaster and was just a game I was playing on the PS2. But it’s almost startling and takes you out of the gameplay.
The game’s performance on my PS5 Pro feels inconsistent. While I can’t measure the framerate, it seems to experience noticeable drops. The game also has a fast forward, which is a nice addition, but it can make the gameplay appear even choppier.
The music, composed by Kenji Ito with contributions by Tsuyoshi Sekito and Nobuo Uematsu, is great. This soundtrack holds its own against the original Super Famicom title and still sounds great.
So let’s tackle what the “international” part of the title means. The game has been newly localized for French, Italian, Spanish, and German audiences. This is an effort I can always get behind because it helps get hidden gems like this title to new audiences. I’m also learning French, so I enjoy being able to practice while playing a game. I can’t vouch for the quality of the translation since my French isn’t that good, but I trust that Square Enix and Red Art games invested effort into these localizations. The voices are still limited to Japanese and English, which is a little disappointing, but the effort in the localization is still there to push this game into new markets. I recently checked the languages available in SaGa Frontier Remastered, and it only included English and Japanese. There needs to be a greater push to localize niche titles so that audiences beyond the U.S. can engage with them and help build a following. I hope this trend continues, as more titles need this international attention to build a following.
Now if the graphics haven’t deterred you, you’ll find that the core gameplay remains enjoyable. Even if it’s hard to look at, there’s still something here. The non-linear exploration and combat are still fun.
If you’re a newcomer to the SaGa franchise and this is where you want to jump into, I have a few recommendations for how to tackle it. There are eight playable characters: Albert, Aisha, Gray, Claudia, Jamil, Sif, Hawke, and Barbara. Each character has their own starting attributes and class. I recommend Albert or Claudia for newcomers, and suggest enabling the remasterd version’s additional content.. I also recommend talking to everyone you meet in the different villages and inviting other characters to join your party as you meet them. This is a game where you should just try everything and dive into every quest and opportunity you have in order to immerse yourself in this world.
Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remaster International is a game I really wanted to get behind. The original is a great game that should get a larger audience in the west, but this isn’t the original. This is the weird-looking PS2 remake. The character designs are ugly and there’s too many cutscenes that look like they just took what was on the PS2 and copied them here. But the “Free Scenario System” and core gameplay is still intact. It’s also a great effort by Square Enix and Red Art Games to push this game into new markets with a wider localization. It’s frustrating because as a reviewer and a fan of the SaGa franchise I want more people to play these games. I’m also aware that our purchases of games decide whether publishers will continue with their efforts. If this were Romancing SaGa 2 or SaGa Frontier, I’d be telling you right now to buy it, but this game is hard to recommend because it’s the worst version of a great game.
If you’re part of the newly localized audience and want to try this title for the first time, play it but don’t base your judgement of the entire series on this title. If you’re a retro gamer and are learning a new language that happens to be one that’s included here, give it a shot but wait for it to go on sale. As for anyone else who is curious about this series, I’d say start with Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven or the recent remaster of SaGa Frontier. You can get to this one eventually. This remaster has commendable aspects, but it would have benefited from focusing on the original’s charm or a more suitable title in the series.
If this were Romancing SaGa 2 or SaGa Frontier, I’d be telling you right now to buy it, but this game is hard to recommend because it’s the worst version of a great game.
Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remaster International is a remaster of the PlayStation 2 title of the same name, which itself is a remake of the 1992 Super Famicom classic. Romancing SaGa is different than role playing games like Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger because of the “Free Scenario System”, which features eight unique protagonists and encourages nonlinear exploration. There are no experience points either and stats are increased at random depending on what actions you take in battles.
I love the SaGa series. I played Final Fantasy Legend when I was a kid before I even realized that it wasn’t really a Final Fantasy title. Later, I fell deeply in love with SaGa Frontier on the PlayStation and that’s still one of my favorite RPGs of all time. I often wonder why the “Free Scenario System” didn’t help the series gain traction stateside. It feels like it always stood in the shadows behind the titans of the genre. I’m always excited for a new SaGa game, but it’s hard to feel the same about Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remaster International.
This game is hard to recommend, especially since the original is excellent. The non-linear gameplay and exploration of the original title is here, but the art style of this remake is hideous. The characters look off-putting, deformed, and bland and move in a disjointed, marionette-like quality. Comparing the main characters in this remake to the original 2D sprites reveals a striking decline in quality. There are other titles from this era that hold up well, but this one doesn’t. Even the backgrounds and buildings in different villages look bland.
It’s also strange that some of the cutscenes look like they were just copied and pasted from the original PS2 release without any upscaling. Oddly enough, some of the cutscenes do look upscaled so the ones that are blurry stand out even more. I wouldn’t have a problem with this if it wasn’t a remaster and was just a game I was playing on the PS2. But it’s almost startling and takes you out of the gameplay.
The game’s performance on my PS5 Pro feels inconsistent. While I can’t measure the framerate, it seems to experience noticeable drops. The game also has a fast forward, which is a nice addition, but it can make the gameplay appear even choppier.
The music, composed by Kenji Ito with contributions by Tsuyoshi Sekito and Nobuo Uematsu, is great. This soundtrack holds its own against the original Super Famicom title and still sounds great.
So let’s tackle what the “international” part of the title means. The game has been newly localized for French, Italian, Spanish, and German audiences. This is an effort I can always get behind because it helps get hidden gems like this title to new audiences. I’m also learning French, so I enjoy being able to practice while playing a game. I can’t vouch for the quality of the translation since my French isn’t that good, but I trust that Square Enix and Red Art games invested effort into these localizations. The voices are still limited to Japanese and English, which is a little disappointing, but the effort in the localization is still there to push this game into new markets. I recently checked the languages available in SaGa Frontier Remastered, and it only included English and Japanese. There needs to be a greater push to localize niche titles so that audiences beyond the U.S. can engage with them and help build a following. I hope this trend continues, as more titles need this international attention to build a following.
Now if the graphics haven’t deterred you, you’ll find that the core gameplay remains enjoyable. Even if it’s hard to look at, there’s still something here. The non-linear exploration and combat are still fun.
If you’re a newcomer to the SaGa franchise and this is where you want to jump into, I have a few recommendations for how to tackle it. There are eight playable characters: Albert, Aisha, Gray, Claudia, Jamil, Sif, Hawke, and Barbara. Each character has their own starting attributes and class. I recommend Albert or Claudia for newcomers, and suggest enabling the remasterd version’s additional content.. I also recommend talking to everyone you meet in the different villages and inviting other characters to join your party as you meet them. This is a game where you should just try everything and dive into every quest and opportunity you have in order to immerse yourself in this world.
Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remaster International is a game I really wanted to get behind. The original is a great game that should get a larger audience in the west, but this isn’t the original. This is the weird-looking PS2 remake. The character designs are ugly and there’s too many cutscenes that look like they just took what was on the PS2 and copied them here. But the “Free Scenario System” and core gameplay is still intact. It’s also a great effort by Square Enix and Red Art Games to push this game into new markets with a wider localization. It’s frustrating because as a reviewer and a fan of the SaGa franchise I want more people to play these games. I’m also aware that our purchases of games decide whether publishers will continue with their efforts. If this were Romancing SaGa 2 or SaGa Frontier, I’d be telling you right now to buy it, but this game is hard to recommend because it’s the worst version of a great game.
If you’re part of the newly localized audience and want to try this title for the first time, play it but don’t base your judgement of the entire series on this title. If you’re a retro gamer and are learning a new language that happens to be one that’s included here, give it a shot but wait for it to go on sale. As for anyone else who is curious about this series, I’d say start with Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven or the recent remaster of SaGa Frontier. You can get to this one eventually. This remaster has commendable aspects, but it would have benefited from focusing on the original’s charm or a more suitable title in the series.
by Kayla Merritt
