A brief insight into the development of a beloved RPG.
In an era of remakes, remasters, and conversations about the importance of game preservation it’s always a welcome sight when a dormant series is revived or an older game gets brought forward to a wider audience in a more accessible way. So when Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven released earlier this year, it gave fans the chance to dive into one of the the RPG genres best and created a perfect entry point for newcomers to the SaGa series. Pass The Controller recently had the chance to talk to Producer Shinichi Tatsuke and ask a few questions regarding the development of the remake.
Brenden Groom: What was one of the most rewarding experiences for you during your time developing the remake of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven?
Shinichi Tatsuke: We don’t get to see the user response during development, so I suppose I felt rewarded when listening to the feedback from players after our demo and product released. A lot of the feedback I saw aligned with our goals for this game: to update an already great product and make it more accessible and welcoming for today’s players. So, I feel proud of the team’s work and that we were to achieve our goal for the project.
BG: Were there challenges in balancing and maintaining the integrity of the original game while also introducing new aspects and quality of life changes that made sense?
Shinichi Tatsuke: From the start of development, we decided generally on which elements needed updating and which could stay roughly the same as in the original game, so we didn’t really encounter very many challenging decisions later on. For example, we decided to keep elements like the world, story, Glimmer, and Formation mechanics that were unique to SaGa, and change other elements like the battle system, character growth system, graphics, and UI functionality. We balanced the game based on this direction.
BG: What is one of the newest additions/changes to the remake of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven that you are most proud of implementing?
Shinichi Tatsuke: I’m most proud that we could include the past episode of the Seven Heroes. In the original game, we knew the Heroes were sworn nemeses that had to be defeated, but who they were and why they were seeking retribution against humanity was unclear and had to be assumed. In the remake, these points are made clear.
BG: Now that the Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven remake is done, is there another entry in the SaGa series you’d love to tackle next?
Shinichi Tatsuke: I cannot comment about our upcoming plans, but I hope people will continue to look forward to the future of SaGa games.
Although the future of the SaGa series may be a secret for now, there’s never been a better time to jump into the franchise with Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven and the SaGa Emerald Beyond both having been released this year. For an extended conversation about Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, we sat down with friend of the show Lucas White to chat all things SaGa which you can watch or listen to here.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Steam.
For all things Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven and RPG related, be sure to keep it locked to Pass The Controller. For a deeper dive on all things gaming and nerd culture, listen to the Pass The Controller Podcast with new episodes weekly on your favorite podcast platform. Want to continue the conversation with us and our community? Join our official Discord server.
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