Romancing SaGa – Minstrel Song Remastered releasing on December 9th, 2025, originally released back on the Playstation 2 and was both developed and published by Square Einx. Now time and time again we see a fluid lineup of games being remastered over the years, some well received and others not so much, Romancing SaGa has always been one of those controversial games where you either love it or hate it, with the ability to forge your own story with a wide array of characters and possible outcomes, Lets dive in and see if this is something that has worked, or perhaps should have just been left to rest.
Wide Array Of Choices, and Challenges With Every Class
Jumping onto the game for the first time we are instantly greeted with a selection of 8 characters, with respective information as to basic stats and a bit of lore regarding each character, now having not played a Romancing Saga game prior, I didn’t really give it much thought as to any repercussions of any choice here, but I was incredibly wrong on my part there, would I be a nobleman’s son?, a thief? A dancer? No… I want to be a pirate captain! on paper it sounds great, until you realise that each of your choices have an effect and it starts with the character of your choosing.
We are thrown into the open sea as you would expect with a pirate, getting suddenly attacked by random encounters at sea, struggling to get through the initial fights you then try to find your bearings and figure out what direction you actually need to go, whilst yes the game does have a degree of quests sometimes they are not always beginner friendly and or hold your hand, back then it was an appreciated aspect as far too many games held your hand, and I guess over the years I’ve come to expect it from games, so it did throw me off a little bit, non the less we shall begin our venture in piracy!
Play the Game Your Way, Not How You are Told
The game really does add an interesting way of you play the story your way, whilst yes there is a main story you will play for each character that over time will merge together, it still wants you to play as you want too with various classes and subclasses to choose from as you progress in the game, with a various array of weaponry to compliment them. You want to be a pirate captain turned necromancer with a hint of swashbuckling adventure, go for it! I love the customisation aspect of classes that they have to offer.
Combat overall does feel good especially as you start to find your feet with what works for you, and as you continue to use the weaponry that you like you will develop and learn skills over time as you use them, with a broad array of special moves, combos and more it can really make a difference in even the most difficult of fights, being on the edge of losing only to then suddenly learn a new skill which instantly compliments and combos your team is rather satisfying for sure! My only gripe is after a while it can feel rather repetitive, especially given some of the density of mobs in certain areas or main fights.
Theres plenty on offer from the game, be it side objectives, the various stories between the characters, it does add an aspect of replayability so certainly from a remaster perspective with QOL additions it works quite well in that sense, and with no starting story being the exact same you will certainly get new and refreshing content each time.
Stunning Environment and Visuals
When it comes to visuals the game is understandably going to be a bit dated graphically, even with a remaster don’t be expecting a complete graphics over-haul and character redesign, whilst it looks certainly smoother with character models and surrounding environments compared to its predecessors it is still a fine wine in the gaming sector. Not to say it looks bad by any means, but if you are expecting next gen you will be sorely disappointed, It maintains a level of charm that can’t be taken away from games like this and I think to do so would actually be an injustice, it’s not final fantasy and deserves its little quirkiness, I really would have loved to have seen more effort put into the cutscenes however as they could have really made it shine next level with some upgraded VFX.
The Music and audio over the course of the game is to be expected like any Square Einx game, there is a wide array to suit every situation, mood and location and it can’t be faulted, it in a typical fashion is executed incredibly well by the team and honestly I would quite happily listen to it in the background whilst doing tasks, even now at the time of writing I have the soundtrack from Oapu on in the background.
The Marmite of RPGs, Is it Still Worth Your Time?
Whilst the game has its level of charm, I personally was not as much a fan as I would have liked, whilst the game is great and does provide a level of fun, I just couldn’t keep to it with today’s wide array of games on the market, That being said I would still recommend the game to people I know are fans of that style of game and series, knowing they would thoroughly enjoy it themselves.
But don’t take my word for it, give it a go yourself. Releasing December 9th to Playstation 4, Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch, Romancing SaGa – Minstrel Song Remastered enters the fray once more at the low price of £29.95