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TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Romancing SaGa 2’

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The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us picking out the single game out of the week’s releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.

These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.

Without further ado…

 

Romancing SaGa 2

It was a big week of great new iOS games, but there’s only one game that released this week that’s been 30+ years in the making. Well, for us English speakers, that is. It’s Square Enix’s new remastered port of Romancing SaGa 2 ($4.99). Originally released for the Super Famicom in Japan way back in 1993, Romancing SaGa 2 is part of the greater SaGa series created by Akitoshi Kawazu, who is probably most well-known as one of the main designers behind the first two Final Fantasy games. As such, Romancing SaGa 2 may appear to be just a close relative of the Final Fantasy series, but in actuality they are very different beasts.

First off, Romancing SaGa 2 is a much more open and non-linear game. This also makes it quite a bit more difficult as there’s not simply one way to progress if you get stuck, and this is a game that certainly doesn’t go out of its way to hold the hand of new players. It’s very possible you’ll have no idea what is going on for some time, but as with many of the best things in life, it’s an incredibly rewarding experience if you can just stick with it through the learning periods and get a handle on things.

Another really neat element in Romancing SaGa 2, and another thing that separates it from its Final Fantasy cousins, is that the characters are not designed to be permanent fixtures. Rather than building a party of several characters and adventuring through a short period of time in their lives, you’ll actually be playing through many generations of characters in Romancing SaGa 2. So don’t go getting too attached to anyone now, ya hear? This isn’t the type of game where there’s a single set story that you play through and experience and then you’re done, rather it’s so open-ended that it encourages playing and replaying in different ways in order to have different experiences. There are dozens of unique stories that can be told in Romancing SaGa 2 depending on how you play, which I think is really cool.

If you’re a diehard Final Fantasy fan looking for your next fix, it’s important to know that Romancing SaGa 2 isn’t simply “Final Fantasy in a different universe." However, I think if you’re a fan of RPGs in general and are looking for tons of adventure, and if you’re willing to stick through the initial learning curve (head to our forums for some guidance), Romancing SaGa 2 should reward you handsomely. Being kind of a niche series outside of Japan and especially the fact that this one has gone 30 years without being localized, it’s nothing short of a miracle that we’re able to carry Romancing SaGa 2 around in our pockets today.

  • ROMANCING SAGA 2

    Romancing SaGa 2, originally released only in Japan in 1993, has been completely remastered and now receives its first e…
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    $4.99
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