Under most circumstances, I never would've written a review of The 7th Saga. It's nothing personal, but sometimes I like playing through a game and NOT leaving a review. It's a rare and special feeling that I want to keep close to the heart forever. Problem is, I got bored. There's way too much time between now and my next review project. Staring at the wall isn't cutting it anymore. Besides, I've got a surprisingly large amount of ground to cover here. This isn't just a review of The 7th Saga, the RPG developed by Produce! and published by Enix. I'm also covering the original Japanese release Elnard, a romhack known as The New Class, and the Randomizer. Don't worry, I'll try to keep the length of this write-up somewhat manageable.
The 7th Saga
You've been tasked with an important mission. Seven Runes are hidden throughout the planet of Ticondera, and it's up to you to acquire all of them. After choosing one of seven playable characters, you'll set off with little more than pocket change and a crystal ball. This handy orb points out notable locations and Runes in your immediate vicinity, as well as any and all nearby enemies. In other words, if you can avoid all those dots chasing you around, you'll never have to worry about a "random" encounter. It's one of the several neat features that gives this game its longevity. Oh, and those six characters, the ones you decided against playing as, they're on the hunt for the Runes as well. They can either be a big help, or an astounding hindrance. For example, talking to one of these Apprentices (their name for the remainder of this review) can result in one of multiple occurrences. Depending on who (or what) you are, an Apprentice could ask for help, ask that you leave them alone for a bit, or challenge you to a friendly duel.
Now right off the bat, we're getting in way over our heads, but that's normal for The 7th Saga. When this game was localized by Enix of America, they changed some numbers around. The idea was that these changes would make the game more difficult, forcing players to invest more time if they hope to see the credits. Mission accomplished, I guess. The only problem is that these changes create an RPG experience that only the most maniacal could appreciate. For starters, when you level-up, you actually receive less stats than you would have in the Japanese version. At first, it's a point here or a point there, nothing substantial. That changes every ten levels, for you see, upon hitting level 10, you gain an extra +1 to every stat with every level up. Once you hit level 20, that +1 becomes a +2. Naturally, level 30 heroes can expect a +3 bonus, and so on and you get the idea. However, those bonuses are almost entirely omitted from the Western release. Players are expected to work much harder just to get the same results.
Now this is where it gets ugly. I did just say "almost entirely omitted" didn't I? Just because you aren't getting those bonus stats doesn't mean that rival Apprentices aren't getting them either, because they most certainly are. Go ahead and challenge one of them and see how it works out for you. If you're still level 10 or below, there's a small chance you'll win. That chance becomes microscopic by level 20. If you're in your 30s and an Apprentice beats you up and takes your Runes, then you'd better hit the reset button. Now, one thing you can do is attempt to recruit someone who hasn't been in your party, because they'll receive the JP version's stat gains as long as they're not with you. Just be wary of the slight possibility that they'll stab you in the back. This seems to happen more often if you're Wilme (The Alien) or Lejes (The Demon).
What's really depressing is that the Apprentices, as much of a headache as they can be, are still the least of your worries. The monsters that roam Ticondera don't play around and only seem to get exponentially tougher as you progress. You can very easily lose a fight to the second enemy in the game. If you actually manage to make some real progress, you'll have to contend with serious nasties like Mutants and Flames, who can eliminate a pair of heroes in a couple of rounds or less. Bosses are infrequent, but no less deadly. One of the earliest brick walls is Red Pison. He's the evolved form of Pison, the single-horned whip-wielding jerk who guards the Cave of Earth. This already tough boss ate a bunch of rare candies or whatever it is that Pokemon do and evolved into a tremendous son of a gun. Defeating Red Pison will require a lot of grinding, but not too much! There's a forced Apprentice fight not long after, and the level-scaling is designed to work against you. Some other cruel bosses include Monmo, who laughs at anyone that isn't skilled with magic. If all that wasn't enough, there's a possibility that you could soft-lock yourself by not grinding enough. The 7th Saga has a couple point of no returns. If your level isn't sufficient after one of them, you could find yourself unable to win a single battle.
There is more to this game than just suffering, but I'm going to cut the review short by saying "Don't bother.". There are much better ways to experience everything The 7th Saga has to offer, if you're willing to try one of the many available romhacks. They're all designed to make the game accessible to non-masochists. Some even go above and beyond by making substantial changes to character-building. If that still sounds a little overwhelming, then I recommend checking out Elnard.
Elnard
The original Japanese release of The 7th Saga is absolutely what I'd call a fair & balanced adventure. It's the kind where you can actually get an appreciation of each character's strengths & weaknesses rather than just sticking to whomever might have the least hellish time exploring Ticondera. I've mentioned Wilme before. He's the very strong (and very nude) fighter. He can't equip much of anything, but he doesn't have to thanks to his exemplary strength and defense. Furthermore, his natural talents receive a much larger boost from buff spells than the Apprentices that rely on equipment to win their battles. Lux is a robot with a similar skillset, though quite a bit slower. He's slightly better with magic and receives a substantial upgrade if you stick with him long enough.
Then there are the more traditional sword-and-board heroes; Kamil and Olvan. Kamil is okay at dealing with most situations, while Olvan trades speed for strength. Honestly though, it's not the best trade. I have to point out that agility is the most important stat in the game. If you're too slow, you can't hit or dodge anything. Anything includes both physical and magical attacks, so you could become almost untouchable if your agility is maxed out. With all that said, Olvan might be a worthwhile pick if you have B Agility on hand. These and other buff items make getting through the game a much more enjoyable experience, so keep a full stock, always.
Next up is Esuna, my pick for best character in the game. The robes she wears don't help her durability, but she gets plenty of speed to make up for that. More importantly, this elf is an amazing spellcaster. Besides the simple thrill of destroying entire squads of monsters with a single spell, she can steal MP from the survivors. The very definition of self-sufficient, Esuna can carry herself through most anything. I mean, besides that part where she's cursed and loses access to magic for a dungeon or so, but even then, it's not the end of the world. Pair her with Wilme and crush everything. On the other end is Valsu, who specializes in healing. His ELIXIR spell is the most broken thing ever. It fully heals both HP AND MP. Finally, there's Lejes. He might as well be the "Hard mode" Apprentice, because nobody likes him and his spells are a bit more situational. Although, force shield is pretty handy at deflecting magic.
While the differences between everyone are pretty significant, the level of difficulty supports every possible party combination. You can team Wilme and Lux together, and they'll have a grand time punching everything to oblivion. That's what I did in my last play-through. The game provides enough alternatives, including the aforementioned buff items, that you never feel like you're missing out by not having access to decent spells. Bear in mind that no matter your choices, there will be some occasions where a little grinding couldn't hurt. Even accounting for the JP version's stat boosts, nothing in Ticondera can be underestimated. A single spell might not be enough to outright kill your Apprentices, but half their HP is still a significant drop. On the plus side, enemies & bosses don't often have huge pools of HP themselves, so battles rarely take an overly long time.
Exploration in this game benefits from one of the most useful fast travel items I've seen in an RPG. The Wind Rune is the first that you'll acquire, and by far the most essential. It's a free warp to any town you've previously visited and can be used anywhere outside of a dungeon. So, if you really wanted to, you could warp from a shop to the entrance of the town you're visiting, just to save a handful of steps. It's so convenient that I'm shocked it appeared in an RPG made in 1992. Then again, there are some surprisingly friendly aspects to this game, such as death merely sending the player back to the inn with half their gold taken away. Stolen runes are another story, but at least the developers were considerate enough to forgive common mistakes like dying. I'd still recommend saving before talking to anyone. Duels aren't a death sentence like in The 7th Saga, but everything can go wrong in an instant.
Then there are the dungeons, which aside from being patrolled by tough monsters, are fairly mild. Only a few of them have more than three floors, and you won't be expected to navigate mind-boggling mazes that are filled with traps or false doors or pitfalls or... anything exceptionally interesting. Indeed, the dungeons lack slightly in terms of creativity. It's a forgivable issue, since the bulk of my (and possibly your) attention is spent trying to avoid enemy encounters. It's pretty thrilling to slip past an adversary and discover a clean route to the destination. Occasional encounters with mimics also help to keep adventurers on edge.
Elnard is a much easier recommendation for anyone seeking a traditional RPG with a few twists. The Apprentice system is pretty clever, offering a multitude of ways to experience Ticondera. A typical first play-through is somewhere around 20 hours, potentially much less depending on if you have a guide handy. Combat is punishing, yet manageable, and even rewarding. It's always a joy to see my opponent's attacks whiff. However, if you want something with a little more spice, but without having to resort to the grinding misery that is The 7th Saga, then consider the following romhack...
7th Saga: The New Class
What we have here is a romhack that does exactly what it says in the title. The New Class completely revamps all seven characters, giving them new spells, potentially replacing what they already have, and adjusting their stats as well. It's a substantial overhaul that makes strengths and weaknesses more pronounced. Esuna becomes an even more vicious spellcaster, but she loses her sole healing spell and is even more susceptible to melee attacks. All of the other Apprentices have specialized roles, which adds more diversity to every play-through.
The difficulty is closer to The 7th Saga than Elnard, so expect tougher fights and potentially brutal duels. I remember having to rely on Wilme to fight for my Esuna in these one-on-one situations, because she didn't stand a chance. To offset this and keep the game from becoming a nasty grind, a number of QOL features were added. These include, but aren't limited to, double monster experience after a certain point in the story, shops for purchasing stat-boost seeds, and slight nerfs applied to certain overwhelmingly tough endgame adversaries. One of the neat incentives for choosing to fight in the final dungeon is that certain enemies drop ultimate romhack-exclusive equipment.
In short, this romhack is an easy recommendation.
By the way, I uploaded the first two parts of my 7th Saga: The New Class run to youtube. I probably should've uploaded the complete play-through, but... meh. At least you can see everything up to the Western Continent. 2/3rd to 3/4th of the entire game isn't bad, I guess.
7th Saga: The Randomizer
You'd have to be well-familiar with the game to even humor a randomizer but let me just say that it can be a really unique experience. Creating a new seed isn't too complicated, especially if you know exactly what you want. Now this seed doesn't even have to be randomized. It can be the same game, just with a wealth of features like double-walking speed, the JP version's stat gains, and way more.
However, if you're feeling saucy, then crank those settings until they're as chaotic as you want them to be. You could face endgame monsters as early as the second dungeon, buy a sword with 700 attack power for 7 gold, the sky is the limit. Each randomized run varies in its level of ridiculousness, but the fact that random encounters aren't forced means that you can avoid most everything that's out of your league. Maybe you'll stumble upon a monster that's actually just an oversized EXP pinata, saving yourself the trouble of fighting dozens of battles. I think everyone familiar with this game should give this a shot at least once. The average play-through taking just a couple or so hours is a huge benefit. Consider it a jolt of The 7th Saga's madness to start your day off right.
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