The 7th Saga

"What? I lost already?!"

The Seventh Saga is a pretty unique RPG from Enix. While some people enjoyed the game somewhat and some hated it, I just can’t enjoy it. The flaws bomb the good points, and the game is just ridiculously hard.

The graphics were pretty good, making heavy use of Mode 7 graphics. I personally think Mode 7 graphics are pretty ugly, but they’re still good. Actually, I’m glad they put quite a bit of detail into everything, but they looked… funny. Maybe it’s just too blocky and boring for my tastes.

The music is pretty good, or at least most of the time. What I can’t understand is why the battle theme keeps changing. The first one I heard was terrible, and then it gets good. And when I finally think it’s gonna stay good, it turns into a heap of crap. But most of the time, the music was good, so I don’t want to complain too much.

Wow, what a fantastic story! Yeah, right. You can choose from eight different characters, but there is very little, if any difference between the characters, in terms of the story. You must go out and collect seven runes, then go face the final boss who has absolutely nothing to do with the game. Yes, I’m sure that will keep you hooked on the game for hours.

What makes this game unique is the battle system. On the map or in a dungeon, there’s a small map with white dots. The white dots are moving around, because they are the enemies that you will have to face if you touch them. I really disliked this because I’m always trying to avoid enemies, and I spend so much time paying attention trying to avoid them, I don’t know where I’m going and I get lost. In battles, you take turns attacking just like a traditional RPG, and you can build up attacking power by dodging and blocking enemies’ attacks. Of course, you can cast magic, which depends on what character you’re using.

And onto another very annoying gripe: this game is too hard! Enemies can dodge your attacks very easily, and they take a lot of damage, whereas you’re hitting the thing over and over to take a mere quarter of his life. Also, the dungeons are enormous, which means lots of exploring and fighting. Seriously, couldn’t have they gone a little easier? What if there was a newbie in the RPG genre trying to play this? I’ve played a lot of RPGs, and this is easily one of the hardest.

Usually, I don’t care about control in a role playing game. It’s not that important, is it? Well, this game’s control really got me mad! It seems kind of unresponsive, and my character just won’t stop as soon as I let go of my button. Isn’t that just the most annoying thing?

The Final Word
Although this game is hard and not very fun, it’s still worth a try. I wouldn’t think of giving this game a one, because it’s definitely not as bad as some people say. If you’ve got a Game Genie, punch in some codes and try this game out if you wish. But otherwise, don’t waste your time with this game.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/01, Updated 02/22/01