"A deep and addicting game once you've scratched the surface"
(a squaresoft/square-enix series)
I myself would give this game a 3.5/5. It is a game with endless freedom and customization and gets very enjoyable once you understand the system. The downside is that this very own complexity and openness can be overwhelming and off-putting to new players.
Story
As someone who has completed more than one playthrough now, I'd say I regret looking at a guide and spoiled myself some major plot points - yes, there are plots! But you have to find little pieces of them through seemingly non-related sub quests and put them together. The general idea is to find the fatestones and save the world from the evil god Saruin, even though most characters just start out doing their own thing - some are treasure hunters, some want to avenge their family, some have lived a secluded life and now want to go explore the world - and acidentally stumble on a fatestone or two on their journey, then gradually realize something sinister (Saruin's awakening) is going on. As you take on quests, usually from notes and people in pubs, and progress through the game, the Minstrel will tell you tales about the history of the world. Some characters may have their own secret background that you'll only find out when you pick them as the main. Some storylines will need 2 or 3 playthroughs to play out.
Design
The world design is varied, there are snowfields, desert, mountains, numerous towns and cities, and certain characters can travel around with their horse or wagon adding some fun variety. You also have map skills, like climb, jump, pick herbs, mine, detect hidden chests, dig up treasures, you can also see monsters roaming about and decide to fight them or to dodge and run away from them, which is an art in itself. You can also trade items and cash with some monsters. However, most dungeons look too much the same, the castles are just empty hallways, if you're in a cave eventually you can't even tell where you are and which cave you're in since they all look the same. Some dungeons require specific map skills that you have no way of knowing beforehand, so you may find yourself unable to proceed because you haven't equipped "Jump" to jump pass a hole on the ground. In this case, you'll have to trek all the way back to town to equip Jump. One dungeon is especially punishing, as if you leave it, the quest is marked as failed. For some others, if you fought too many monsters on the way, you may find an empty room at the end, since the time requirement (called the "Event Rank" system) has passed, and the quest is marked as failed. This is why it is a bad idea to "grind" battles in Romancing Saga. However, 80% of the quests don't have time constraint.
Graphics
Graphics wise, some people are put off by the character model, thinking they look weird or creepy. I myself don't find it bother me at all. I enjoy the FMV style, especially the Barbara dancing cutscene. Looks like waterpainting, very colorful and artistic. Sadly, there are not a lot of those.
Music, sound
The music is amazing (except for the South Estamir theme). I especially love Gray's theme and sometimes listen to it on repeat outside of the game. Battle themes are exciting and very pleasant to listen to. For this aspect I'd give a 10/10. There is voice acting for every dialogue, sometimes they're ok but sometimes pretty hammy.
Replayability
The battle system is what makes the replayability of the game. Besides the 8 main characters, there is a wide variety of side characters you can recruit. This means that you can start every new game with a new set of party members, each with their own strength and weakness, though their weaknesses can be improved by using the right weapons or magic. For example, using a lot of martial arts will make your character more sturdy and faster, using bow and foil will improve their accuracy. Anyone can equip any weapon or magic, and each type of weapon or magic comes with their own techniques and spells. There are hundreds of techniques and 8 schools of spells with around 10 spells each, out of those you can also fuse them to make new spells. These techniques and spells can combo with each other depends on your character's skill, speed, order of attack and their row placement, to form flashy team attacks and vortexes. You can pick different classes for your characters, each with their own specialty - Castle Knight can deflect attacks for others, Rosalian Mage can fuse 3 spells together to make 1 new spell, Swordsman deals extra damage, Rosalian Officer has extra defense, Estamirian Rebel inflicts status ailments more easily, Herbalist can tell apart different herb types etc. With this complexity, coupled with the non-linearity of the game, it's possible to make no two playthroughs alike. You can have a team of purely fighters or purely mages or a combination of both, exploring dungeons in any order, even finding a way to get past super powerful bosses and gain access to tough dungeons early in the game with the right customization. With each New Game+, the number of jewels you earn from quests are multiplied, which makes upgrading classes easier.
All in all I'd say Romancing Saga is a good game, with some flaws. The learning curve is steep, the turn-based battle system can get dragged out at times, the slow running speed and little direction given during the game can turn some players away. The randomness factor in learning (called "glimmering", or "sparking") techniques and increasing stats can be fun or frustrating, though there are also tricks you can exploit in the game. If you want a unique RPG experience, try Romancing Saga.
Story
As someone who has completed more than one playthrough now, I'd say I regret looking at a guide and spoiled myself some major plot points - yes, there are plots! But you have to find little pieces of them through seemingly non-related sub quests and put them together. The general idea is to find the fatestones and save the world from the evil god Saruin, even though most characters just start out doing their own thing - some are treasure hunters, some want to avenge their family, some have lived a secluded life and now want to go explore the world - and acidentally stumble on a fatestone or two on their journey, then gradually realize something sinister (Saruin's awakening) is going on. As you take on quests, usually from notes and people in pubs, and progress through the game, the Minstrel will tell you tales about the history of the world. Some characters may have their own secret background that you'll only find out when you pick them as the main. Some storylines will need 2 or 3 playthroughs to play out.
Design
The world design is varied, there are snowfields, desert, mountains, numerous towns and cities, and certain characters can travel around with their horse or wagon adding some fun variety. You also have map skills, like climb, jump, pick herbs, mine, detect hidden chests, dig up treasures, you can also see monsters roaming about and decide to fight them or to dodge and run away from them, which is an art in itself. You can also trade items and cash with some monsters. However, most dungeons look too much the same, the castles are just empty hallways, if you're in a cave eventually you can't even tell where you are and which cave you're in since they all look the same. Some dungeons require specific map skills that you have no way of knowing beforehand, so you may find yourself unable to proceed because you haven't equipped "Jump" to jump pass a hole on the ground. In this case, you'll have to trek all the way back to town to equip Jump. One dungeon is especially punishing, as if you leave it, the quest is marked as failed. For some others, if you fought too many monsters on the way, you may find an empty room at the end, since the time requirement (called the "Event Rank" system) has passed, and the quest is marked as failed. This is why it is a bad idea to "grind" battles in Romancing Saga. However, 80% of the quests don't have time constraint.
Graphics
Graphics wise, some people are put off by the character model, thinking they look weird or creepy. I myself don't find it bother me at all. I enjoy the FMV style, especially the Barbara dancing cutscene. Looks like waterpainting, very colorful and artistic. Sadly, there are not a lot of those.
Music, sound
The music is amazing (except for the South Estamir theme). I especially love Gray's theme and sometimes listen to it on repeat outside of the game. Battle themes are exciting and very pleasant to listen to. For this aspect I'd give a 10/10. There is voice acting for every dialogue, sometimes they're ok but sometimes pretty hammy.
Replayability
The battle system is what makes the replayability of the game. Besides the 8 main characters, there is a wide variety of side characters you can recruit. This means that you can start every new game with a new set of party members, each with their own strength and weakness, though their weaknesses can be improved by using the right weapons or magic. For example, using a lot of martial arts will make your character more sturdy and faster, using bow and foil will improve their accuracy. Anyone can equip any weapon or magic, and each type of weapon or magic comes with their own techniques and spells. There are hundreds of techniques and 8 schools of spells with around 10 spells each, out of those you can also fuse them to make new spells. These techniques and spells can combo with each other depends on your character's skill, speed, order of attack and their row placement, to form flashy team attacks and vortexes. You can pick different classes for your characters, each with their own specialty - Castle Knight can deflect attacks for others, Rosalian Mage can fuse 3 spells together to make 1 new spell, Swordsman deals extra damage, Rosalian Officer has extra defense, Estamirian Rebel inflicts status ailments more easily, Herbalist can tell apart different herb types etc. With this complexity, coupled with the non-linearity of the game, it's possible to make no two playthroughs alike. You can have a team of purely fighters or purely mages or a combination of both, exploring dungeons in any order, even finding a way to get past super powerful bosses and gain access to tough dungeons early in the game with the right customization. With each New Game+, the number of jewels you earn from quests are multiplied, which makes upgrading classes easier.
All in all I'd say Romancing Saga is a good game, with some flaws. The learning curve is steep, the turn-based battle system can get dragged out at times, the slow running speed and little direction given during the game can turn some players away. The randomness factor in learning (called "glimmering", or "sparking") techniques and increasing stats can be fun or frustrating, though there are also tricks you can exploit in the game. If you want a unique RPG experience, try Romancing Saga.
Guides
How to build a Rosalian Mage with all fusion spells
How to make fusion spells with 0BP cost and with status effects
How to build an Imperial Scholar with all fusion spells
Spells needed:
Flame of Life Revive Holy Water Fold Time Freeze Time Strengthen Pull Snowstorm Tremor Phantom Warrior Enhance Spell Mind Blast Cosmic Tide Way of Focus Song of Souls (pyro, out class, Blazing Foil) Flame of Life + Self-Immolation + Summon Elemental (Fire) + Revive Hasten Time (hydro, in class) Fold Time + Snowstorm Petra Delta (terr, out class, Earth Foil or Feather Spear) Pulverise + Freeze Time + Mind Blast Tremor + Freeze Time + Enhance Spells + Mind Blast Anti-magic (dem, out class, Eule Staff) Enhance Spells + Armor Blessing + Bind to Earth + Way of Focus Galactic Rift (cosmo, in class) Cosmic Tide + Strengthen Pull Rain of Life (bew, no opposition) Way of Focus + Holy Water
Imperial Scholar - Fusion Spells with status effects: Energy Bolt + Revive Lower STR Shockwave + Mark of Awakening Lower DEX Starbeam + Earthen Grasp Lower WIL Bird of Fire + Fold Time Plant Water Blast + Summon Ele (ae) Lower DEX Tremor + Summon ele (pyro) STR Tremor + Wave of Life STR Lightning Illusion + Fold Time AGI Snow Storm + Fold Time AGI Blood Curdle + Fold Time Lower AGI Blades of Wind + Fold Time Lower AGI Cosmic Tide + Freeze Time Lower AGI Blades of Wind + Freeze Time Lower AGI Blood Curdle + Freeze Time Lower AGI Snowstorm + Freeze Time AGI Sunray + Mindblast Lower INT Starbeam + Mindblast Lower INT Cosmic Tide + Mindblast Lower INT Wave of Life + Mindblast Lower INT Hellfire + Mindblast Lower INT Bird of Fire + Mindblast Lower INT Blood Curdle + Mindblast INT
Status effect spell combos in a team of Imperial Scholars:
blood curdle → sunray → hellfire → wave of life (lower INT) blood curdle → lightning illusion → blades of wind → lightning illusion → blades of wind (lower AGI) blood curdle → blades of wind → lightning illusion → blades of wind → lightning illusion (lower AGI)
Channeling weapons:serpentbrand (hydro) phantom sword (illu) flamberge (pyro) icesword (aero) axe of king (pyro) eternity staff (dem) serpentstaff (terr) khellendros (aero) yucomb (hydro) featherspear (aero) malystrix (pyro) chalice (hydro)
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