Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered Reviews
Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered will let players spend dozens of hours in a compelling world, if they can deal with a handful of drawbacks.
SaGa games have always felt like the odd man out in the world of JRPGs and Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song is no exception that statement.
Romancing SaGa – Minstrel Song – Remastered ambitions and achievements still feel fresh today. The open-world system is remarkably well-implemented and the multiple-protagonist approach feels modern even in a game that has been on the market for decades, but control issues, the vague nature of the game, and a slow progression system drag it down. Unfortunately, this is a cult classic JRPG that is less than the sum of its parts.
It's hard to really give a clear opinion on Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, except that it really is not to be put in everyone's hands. While some will see in this game a real call to adventure, others will be completely helpless in the face of the overflow of freedom that is offered to them. However, it is quite possible that the fighting will put everyone in agreement in frustration.
Review in French | Read full review
Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered is awesome in so many ways, but it’s annoying in a lot of ways too. With the steep learning curve at the beginning, I can’t imagine anyone enjoying it who’s not a JRPG veteran. But for those of us that love the genre, there are some cool experiments to shake things up, and a massive world to explore with multiple protagonists. It’s a ton of content; easily over 100 hours’ worth. Anyone curious about the roots of modern JRPGs like Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default should really give it a try.
Undoubtedly less cryptic than the original PS2 remake thanks to additional content to help streamline the experience, Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remastered is about as pure of a JRPG experience that one can expect to get from Kawazu and new players can finally see why folks have been singing its praises after all these years.
Romancing SaGa is not for everyone, but if it hooks you, it may hook you *hard*.
Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered offers a trip back to when JRPGs didn't just offer multiple playthroughs, they counted on them. This game expects you to miss numerous events and items, and to want to try again. Because of its complexity and general aimlessness, however, I'm not sure many will want to.
Minstrel Song remains a great JRPG, but it is harder to justify sinking time into it given the choice overload players face in this era.
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is a well-done and polished remaster that allows the player a lot of freedom. Fans of the series will be delighted at the extra characters and storylines. It still suffers from 2005 visuals and 2005 voice acting but it is nostalgic in a way.
In the end, there are too many substantial knocks against the game to really recommend it at large. For a very specific type of gamer who wants a super deep, complex series of systems to dive into and a world free-form exploration system, they will enjoy this game; but the majority of players will be put off by the unnecessary complexity at so many levels, the lack of a clear progression, and many other small knocks that really take out what could have been cool.
Romancing Saga Minstrel Song is full of magic and spirit that will be appealing for those who are looking for a hardcore classic RPG experience if they can get over the repetitive quests and minor performance issues. It is all packaged in one remaster that offer quality of life changes and new content for a decent price
Review in Arabic | Read full review
I'm happy to have experienced Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remastered. It's based off of a PlayStation 2 game I was always curious about and the fact it's now out on modern platforms is awesome. This might not be my favorite SaGa entry (I think that would go to Romancing SaGa 3 or Scarlet Grace?), but it's another fine entry in a franchise that is well represented on Switch. Whether you're hooting and hollering for Unlimited SaGa to make it to Switch next year or you're a newcomer to the legacy of producer Akitoshi Kawazu, Minstrel Song Remastered is an enjoyable adventure as long as you come prepared for some open-ended RPG escapades.
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is a welcome remaster of a very good game that was forgotten. With a non-linear narrative whose structure remains current to this day (even if, overall, it's not very special) and a combat and exploration that are also good (but simple), this remaster brings several quality of life improvements that are welcome, even if it still needed a few more.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is an excellent remaster of a very weird game. It's one of those games that is difficult to necessarily recommend because so much of what it does evokes love or hate. If you're curious about the franchise, it's probably a lot easier to hop in with SaGa Frontier Remastered or Scarlet Graces. If you like games in the SaGa franchise or want to try something different, Minstrel Song is a worthwhile experience. If you already know that you don't like the franchise, you'll probably be annoyed and frustrated with this offering.
Even though I usually enjoy any SaGa game that I play, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered left me more annoyed than fulfilled. With that in mind, it does have redeeming qualities thanks to its great cast of characters and nifty party growth mechanics.
Overall, Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song Remastered still remains a solid JRPG classic with a unique battle system, an intriguing story, and a great art style. However, it also suffers from quite-a-few pacing issues and lack-luster localization. The game’s open-world aspect can be overwhelming, and the battle system’s depth is not always effectively utilized by the game’s difficulty. While it is a true classic in its own right, the new generation of players may find it lacking due to its aged visuals and choppy animations. As for the series veterans, it is a love letter to the bygone era.
Like any other game in this series, SaGa can be a lot to get used to at first. You have to figure out if things like random skill activations and stat bumps (instead of EXP), enemy power scaling, obtuse event flags and generally having no obvious clues as to what the hell to do can work for you. But if you can settle into the vibe and just go with the flow, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is a tremendous adventure that only gets better over time.
It’s a bizarre moment to look at a game that I should, fundamentally, love from top to bottom, and just walk away feeling a bit disappointed and bored. Romancing SaGa: Minstrel’s Song has so much about it that is engaging and exciting, and then so much that is schlocky, aimless and visually unappealing.
While not as polished (or intuitive) as 2021’s SaGa Frontier Remastered, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered still provides a break from many genre traditions and a world that can be explored your own way.