Romancing SaGa 2 (1993). Play online

Summary

Romancing SaGa 2 lets you govern the kingdom of Avalon across several generations. You begin as King Leon, hand the throne to his son Gellard, and then select one of four heirs whose identities blend random chance with characters you helped in earlier eras. Each new ruler inherits the predecessor’s abilities, so the choices you made long ago shape later gameplay.

The battle system eschews traditional experience points; stats rise from the specific actions you perform, and you can arrange characters into group formations for turn‑based fights. Akitoshi Kawazu directed and wrote the title, with Tomomi Kobayashi supplying character artwork and Kenji Ito handling the memorable soundtrack.

Although it launched in Japan in December 1993 and never saw an official Western release at the time, Romancing SaGa 2 became the best‑selling entry of the Romancing SaGa sub‑series, moving over 1.5 million copies. Its focus on dynasty building and nonlinear exploration still feels fresh for RPG fans today.

Storyline

In Romancing SaGa 2, the world’s peace once rested on the Seven Heroes, a band of warriors who sealed away monster invasions a millennium ago before vanishing. Their legacy returns when the heroes are corrupted by dark power and begin assaulting the continent of Avalon. Leon, king of Avalon, launches a crusade against them and passes the duty to his son Gerard, then to each successive ruler, each inheriting the previous monarch’s abilities through a special inheritance spell. As the empire expands, each emperor or empress leads a chosen band to slay six of the seven copies.

When the final ruler ascends, the truth emerges: the six defeated foes were merely copies, while the seventh copy guards the originals’ bodies. Deprived of the inheritance magic, the ruler defeats the last copy and finally confronts the true Seven Heroes. The tale is framed by a minstrel who recounts the saga, ending with the empire’s transformation into a commonwealth as the surviving sovereign listens. An optional dungeon later reveals that the original heroes were betrayed by the Ancients, who feared their monster‑absorbing power and forced them back from the monster realm for revenge.