At this year’s New York Comic Con, I met with Square Enix to check out two of its upcoming RPG projects. One was Final Fantasy VII Revelation, a game firmly planted in the modern era of video games with top-of-the-line visuals and all the trimmings of a AAA, big-budget game.
The other was Romancing Saga 3: Destinies United, a remake of a classic turn-based RPG from the mid-1990s. At first glance, the remake’s updated visuals and faster gameplay are easily apparent draws for newer players, but that doesn’t change that this game is built around the core of the original Romancing Saga 3, an RPG that calls back to a bygone era for the genre. Remaking a classic like this is a balancing act, but based on my brief time playing the game, it seems like Square Enix is on track to unite the best aspects of the two wildly different eras of RPGs.
A Flurry of action
The demo takes place in Gwayne’s Den, the home of a massive dragon terrorizing the nearby Louv Peninsula. I take control of party leader Khalid and head down the mountain path, where I spot an enemy not paying attention to my approach. By sneaking up to the foe and pressing X, I can stealthily swing my sword at it, and, if I connect, I launch a Preemptive Strike–this starts the ensuing battle with every enemy having lost a bit of their hit points. It’s not a massive chunk of health, so I didn’t feel too bad if the enemy proved difficult to sneak up on, but the head start always felt good when I did pull it off.
Battles play out in classic turn-based style, with a turn-order indicator situated at the top of the screen. Most of my party is ready for battle, with leader Khalid, fairy Peony, fighter Ellen, and masked swordsman Robin sporting a full kit of weapons and abilities. There’s a fifth party member, Flurry the actual snowman, who’s underpowered compared to the rest, but it still packs a wallop with its punches.
Also, just to make clear what I said just now: Yes, Flurry is an honest-to-goodness snowman, its body made of a small orb of white snow on top of a larger orb of white snow. It can punch, they can cast spells, and it quickly became one of my favorite parts of the demo. I need to learn more about Flurry.
