Romancing SaGa 2

Romancing SaGa 2 is a role-playing video game in which the player take on the role of rulers for Avalon, an expanding empire fighting the corrupted Seven Heroes across a nonlinear narrative; this is dubbed Free Scenario System. Rather than a central cast, the player takes on the role of successive rulers of Avalon−with only the first and last playable characters pre-determined−who must face the Seven Heroes across several centuries. The campaign has a non-linear narrative structure that is based on quests taken by the player, which expand Avalon's influence. The story progresses by completing available quests, such as exploring different territories or defeating main story bosses, and once enough quests are complete the story skips forward, which results in either new quests becoming available or previous ones unavailable based on past activities.

Alongside excursions to dungeon areas, the current Emperor manages the territory and capital of Avalon. Based on the current territories their available funds, the Emperor can initiate projects that can be used to develop or enhance weapons and equipment.

In the Romancing SaGa 2's backstory, a group of warriors, dubbed the Seven Heroes, saved the world from monster invasions but vanished immediately afterwards. After a millennium, the Seven Heroes have returned but are now corrupted by dark powers and begin attacking the continent. Leon, ruler of the land of Avalon, begins a campaign against the Seven Heroes, which is passed down to his younger son Gerard after he is mortally wounded in battle. Over subsequent generations, the Emperor's power is passed down using the Inheritance spell, with each Emperor expanding and defending Avalon.

Over time, Avalon expands into an empire, with its ruler and a chosen group of warriors killing each of the Seven Heroes. When six of the seven are defeated and the final Emperor or Empress takes power, it is revealed that the Seven Heroes faced up to this point were copies and the seventh copy has gone to protect the Heroes' original bodies.

Following the completion and release of Romancing SaGa in early 1992, almost the whole development team was recruited to work on the latest Final Fantasy title, which halted production on SaGa sequels. Ultimately series creator Akitoshi Kawazu was pleased, as he would otherwise would not have had time to rework game mechanics, which would have left Romancing SaGa 2 overly similar to its predecessor. Production began in April for the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) when new employees had joined the company and Kawazu could create a production team. Kawazu acted as director, lead designer, and scenario writer.

Other returning staff included programmers Yuki Anasawa and Hiroshi Takai, illustrator Tomomi Kobayashi, and the sound team of composer Kenji Ito and sound designer Minoru Akao. The mostly-new staff meant that Kawazu's sometimes-drastic changes to the game mechanics were easily accepted. Production lasted one year and had a staff of around twenty people. The staff included planner Akihiko Matsui, who joined the project following work on Final Fantasy V and would go on to co-direct Chrono Trigger; and future composer Yasunori Mitsuda as a sound designer.

Prior to release, Romancing SaGa 2 was highly antipicated in Japan. It was consistently the most wanted title on Famitsu's list of expected releases from September 27, 1993 through November 14, 1993. The original release topped the Famitsu sales chart in December 1993. 5 million copies as of March 2003.

It is the best-selling entry in the original Romancing SaGa trilogy, followed by the original game and Romancing SaGa 3. Reception of the remaster was varied; according to review aggregate website Metacritic, the PS4 and Switch versions saw generally positive reviews, while the Xbox version saw a mixed response. Nintendo World Report's Bryan Rose summed up the game as having "a certain old school charm that invites any old school RPG fan to give it a shot", while Alana Hagues of RPGFan described the game as "equal parts fascinating and frustrating".

Romancing SaGa 2 has become a fan favorite within the SaGa series and introduced a number of gameplay elements that would continue to be used going forward, such as formations and maneuvers like parrying. Western journalists have noted its gameplay design and narrative structure in relation to later role-playing games. Within the SaGa series, the game served as the model for two spin-off projects: Emperors SaGa in 2012, and Imperial SaGa in 2015.

Tokuma Shoten published three volumes of a manga adaptation between August 1994 and April 1995. The first volume was written by Hiroshi Morimoto, while the rest was written by Mayumi Hazuki. Kazuki Mendo illustrated all volumes. A stage play based on the game's setting that focused on the Seven Heroes was produced between September to October 2018.