Romancing SaGa 2

Romancing SaGa 2 is a role-playing video game developed by Square and released for the Super Famicom in Japan on December 10, 1993. It is the fifth title in the SaGa series.

In March 2010 the Super Famicom version was released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan. In January 2014 the game was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan. It was released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in Japan in August 2017.

Gameplay
In Romancing SaGa 2, the player plays as the Emperor or Empress of Avalon, a castle located in the northwest corner of the game's world map. The Treasurer, in the throne room, tells the player the fund reserve in his or her castle treasury. Development of new equipment and spells, and establishment of services in Avalon will consume funds. The Treasurer also fills the Emperor with walking about funds if the player needs it. Also in the throne room is the Accountant. He tells the player how much money he or she collects per battle. When the player controls more land on the map, the amount increases. In the southeast corner of the throne room is the Chancellor. He tells the player what problems need to be solved in the world and where to solve them. Solving the problems he points out aids the player to advance to the next generation. The Fighters are the default characters that join the player early in the game. They are not the best characters, but as the player advances through the game, he or she will get other characters who specialize in areas that the Fighters are weak in. The Formation Soldiers demonstrate any battle formations the player happens to know and will collaborate with the player to make new formations. If the heir the player chooses knows a formation, it is recommended that the player consult the Formation Soldiers.

Throughout the game the player will be able to expand the capital. They will not appear until the player cleared a generation though after accepting the offers to start the public works.

Story
The Emperor or Empress of Avalon begins the game as King Leon and later plays as his various heirs down through the game years. Leon hands his kingdom over to his son, Gellard. At the end of Gellard's reign, the player is able to choose his or her own successor and pass on Gellard's abilities to them. At the end of each generation, he or she will be given a choice of four heirs. Their identity is based on a combination of chance and anyone whom the player has assisted or allied within in a past generation.

Characters
Major characters:
 * Bard: A recurring character throughout the SaGa series, he begins the game by rekindling the tale of the Empire of Avalon and the battle of the Seven Heroes.
 * Waib: The woman who gifted the Avalon Dynasty with Inheritance magic.
 * Leon (レオン): The First Emperor of Avalon, killed by Kzinssie during a retaliation against him.
 * Victor (ヴィクトール): Leon's eldest son, killed by Kzinssie during his assault on Avalon.
 * Gerard (ジェラール): Youngest son of Leon; becomes Emperor after defeating Kzinssie.
 * Hiraga (ヒラガ): A scientist who lives in Somon.
 * Coppelia (コッペリア): An android that resides in Somon a few generations after Kzinssie is defeated. She can only be used once in the game, so it must be chosen carefully when to recruit her.
 * King Harold (ハロルド王): Ruler of Douglas of Cumberland.
 * George (ゲオルグ): King Harold's eldest son; leads the Holy Order in Nerack.
 * Sofia (ソフィア): King Harold's daughter; leads the Holy Order in Forfar.
 * Toma (トーマ): Youngest son of King Harold.
 * Lord Ato (アト王): Lord that rules Chontou Castle; forms a pact with Wagnas.
 * Sekishusai (セキシュウサイ): Retainer to Lord Ato.
 * Final Emperor/Empress (最終皇帝): The culmination of the Avalon Dynasty's Inheritance magic. At the start of the game he/she will be at the same bar where the bard retells the Empire's battle against the Seven Heroes.

The main villains of the game are the Seven Heroes who saved the world from a great and terrible evil, then vanished without a trace for centuries, before returning all turned into demons. Avalon royal family fights them through successive generations, defeating them one-by-one:
 * Kzinssie (クジンシー): A floating demon with a scarf covering his face, wielding a sword. Can steal life energy or souls. Defeated by Gerard, he returns in the Final Scenario with an even more grotesque appearance than when first met.
 * Wagnas (ワグナス): A hero with both angelic and butterfly-like characteristics, the feminine-looking Lord Wagnas is actually male. He enslaves the Iris race to do his bidding, and resides in a floating castle above the Eastern Kingdom.
 * Dantarg (ダンターグ): With features reminiscent of both elephants and sauropods as well as that of the mythical centaur, Lord Dantarg is one of the most physically powerful of the Seven Heroes. He terrorizes the migratory clans, and prefers devastating physical attacks, including Grand Slam. He is also the only hero with four different forms, depending on the time in which the character fights him.
 * Bokhohn (ボクオーン): A puppeteer demon with an elderly appearance, Bokhohn is in control of the majority of the Seven Heroes' forces. Situated in the Steppes region, he owns a large landship, complete with innumerable slaves. His special technique allows him to manipulate all party members.
 * Subier (スービエ): A male octopus-human hybrid that controls various minions in the ocean. Defeating the narwhal known as Master of Ocean will unleash Subier's more powerful form.
 * Noel (ノエル): A swordsman who always keeps his word. Very powerful, with a strict code of honor. If the player defeats Rocbouquet before a fight, he becomes completely unwilling to compromise, and becomes unrelenting in combat.
 * Rocbouquet (ロックブーケ): The only female of the Seven, she controls all the men in the Jungle villages. While there, she aspires to know the secret of a nearby temple. Her Temptation skill charms all male party members. She is also the sister of Lord Noel.

The Seven Heroes will become more powerful as the player level up. However, even if the player moves quickly through the game, the last hero fought will always be in his/her most powerful stage (except for Subier if the player let Master of Ocean flee); this is only if entered the final dungeon with one of the Heroes remaining. If the player would not killed Kzinssie Reborn at the start of the final scenario, he will always have to fought in the final dungeon instead of any of the remaining Heroes. In the final battle, the Seven Heroes merge into an extremely powerful monster that uses all of their abilities.

The names of most of the characters in the game are inspired by real-world and mythic names. The names of the Seven Heroes, in particular, are quasi anagrams of the seven major train stations on the Tokyo Yamanote Line. They are respectively: Shinjuku for Kzinssie, Shinagawa for Wagnas, Gotanda for Dantarg, (Shin-)Okubo for Bokhohn, Ebisu for Subier, Ueno for Noel, and Ikebukuro for Rocbouquet.

Development
The team of the game comprised around 20 people and development lasted one year.

The game was ported to mobile phones in 2011, and featured improved graphics, audio, new character classes and a new dungeon exploring a subplot revolving around the games untold story of the "Seven Heroes".

A remaster for iOS, Android and the PlayStation Vita was released on March 24, 2016 in Japan. It features remastered graphics, optimized controls and the added content and features from the mobile phone release in 2011. The iOS and Android versions were released in English on May 26, 2016, while the English PlayStation Vita version was still being worked on. In December 2016, series creator Akitoshi Kawazu said that there were issues with the English PlayStation Vita version, requiring a few more months before it would be ready for release; it was later announced for a December 15, 2017 release, alongside releases for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.

Reception
Romancing SaGa 2 has sold nearly 1.5 million copies worldwide as of March 2003. Famitsu gave it a score of 26 out of 40. The song "Encounter with the Seven Heroes" was featured in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.

Legacy
Romancing Saga 2 expanded the non-linear gameplay of its predecessor. While in the original Romancing Saga, scenarios were changed according to dialogue choices during conversations, Romancing Saga 2 further expanded on this by having unique storylines for each character that can change depending on the player's actions, including who is chosen, what is said in conversation, what events have occurred, and who is present in the party.

PCGamesN credits Romancing SaGa 2 for having laid the foundations for modern Japanese role-playing video games. The game's progressive, non-linear, open world design and subversive themes influenced modern Japanese role-playing video games such as Final Fantasy XII (which Akitoshi Kawazu worked on), Final Fantasy XV, Nier: Automata and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.