| Romancing SaGa | |
|---|---|
 Super Famicom box art | |
| Developer(s) | Square[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Square (1992–2001) Square Enix |
| Director(s) | Akitoshi Kawazu |
| Producer(s) | Masafumi Miyamoto |
| Designer(s) | Akitoshi Kawazu |
| Artist(s) | Tomomi Kobayashi |
| Writer(s) | Akitoshi Kawazu |
| Composer(s) | Kenji Ito |
| Series | SaGa |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Romancing SaGa[b] is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the fourth entry in the SaGa series. It was subsequently released for the WonderSwan Color in 2001 and mobile phones in 2009. A remake for the PlayStation 2, subtitled Minstrel Song in Japan, was released in both Japan and North America in 2005 by Square Enix. A remaster of Minstrel Song was released worldwide in 2022 for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows.
The storyline follows eight different protagonists on quests through the world of Mardias, all culminating in a fight against the dark god Saruin. Gameplay features nonlinear exploration of the game world, with the turn-based battles featuring group formations. As with other SaGa titles, there are no experience points and character attributes and skills are dependent on actions taken in battle.
Production began in 1990, with Nintendo requesting Square develop a new SaGa entry for the in-production Super Famicom after the success of SaGa titles on the Game Boy. Series creator Akitoshi Kawazu acted as director, designer and scenario writer. The character designers were created by Tomomi Kobayashi in her first work for the series. The music was solely composed and arranged by Kenji Ito, who had previously co-composed music for Final Fantasy Legend II.
Later versions included cut content and features from later SaGa titles. The PS2 remake included redrawn artwork by Yusuke Naora and a redone soundtrack from Ito. The Super Famicom version sold over one million copies, and met with positive reception in the region. The PS2 remake sold 500,000 units across Japan and North America, seeing mixed reviews in the West due to its difficulty and art style. The remaster saw some praise for its updates, but several found it unwelcoming for series newcomers. Two more Romancing SaGa titles were developed, and gameplay elements from Romancing SaGa would be used in subsequent SaGa titles.
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