The 7th Saga

"A promising game marred by Enix's chronic flaw."

I guess it is fitting that the Seventh Saga by Enix earns a score of seven. All corny irony aside, however the game could have easily earned a nine if not for a few debilitating flaws that drag its excellent concepts down.

The game opens on a world in constant danger. The seven mystic Runes which keep evil and good in check (which were created after an epic war between godly forces) are scattered, and monsters roam the countryside. The land is threatened by evil of the purest order, and the greatest ruler in the land, King Lemele has grown feeble in his old age. So, he calls seven apprentices together in his throne room, sending them off on an epic quest to retrieve the runes. WIth these runes comes absolute power, and the apprentices set off essentially against both evil forces and each other; each also has their own reason for pursuing the power to change and shape the world.

The apprentices have awesome variety and abilities. There is Esuna, a young female elf with a gift for magic; Valsu, a monk healer bent on using the runes to eradicate all evil from the world; Kamil, a neutral-minded human with a strong sense of justice (and balanced abilities); Olvan, an elderly dwarf who wishes to recapture his youth through the powers; Lux, a Tetujin robot who wishes to learn about his people; Wilme, an alien who simply wants to lord his power over humanity; and my personal favorite: Lejes Rimul, a demon who only believes that power is truth. He even hates King Lemele and promises to overthrow the king once he gets the Runes!!! This diversity in personalities and abilities is a strong point of the game: you may choose from any one of these apprentices at the start, and you can choose one that suits your personality, or one that goes against type for you. The addition of three save slots allows you to go through the quest as several different apprentices should you so desire it.

The aesthetics of the game are certainly nice. The Super Nintendo has a plethora of titles containing shiny happt graphics, and the Seventh Saga's visuals counter this with a dark, gritty, almost noir-ish feel. The world map has this dirty feel to it...the mountains look almost sooty and everything has an element of purposeful grainy-ness. The characters and enemies are similarly drawnm, with offbeat colors like royal purple and a seaweed-like green adorning their frames. The darkness really gives the game a medieval feel, increasing the sense of danger and urgency in your quest. The character animations are academic; as they carry out attacks and magic on the battle screen and walk about the world map and towns, everything is simple and easy on the eyes. This won't win the game any awards, but it makes it easy to play this game for extended periods without having a seizure...

The tunes are similarly bleak and fatalistic. The world map music (which changes wonderfully three or four times as you discover new continents and landmasses) is regal and decaying, with simple drums and medieval instruments. It actually makes you feel as if you are alone in a large and dangerous world. Some of the music for the towns repeats, and there is one track (found in Rablesk, among other places) simply doesn't fit with everything else. It's too upbeat and poppy; it sounds like a Britney Spears song on a Nine Inch Nails CD. The sound effects are neat; for example, when Lejes is hit by an enemy is sound like an insect is being crushed. It made me laugh, and it fit all the same.

The game controls simply, with the standard RPG commands prevailing here. It plays like Dragon Warrior, with everything mediated by a menu, including talking to people. This can become tedious but it is nothing major. Otherwise, everything is easy to use and doesn't detract from play.

The gameplay is Seventh Saga's strong suit (try saying that five times fast!). The apprentice system is already awesome, but there are additions that make it even better. Each character has an alignment; some are on the side of good (Valsu) and some the side of evil and greed (Lejes), while others are smack on the fence. You may ask another apprentice to join you as you find them in the same towns and dungeons to which you travel, and depending on your alignment and experience level they may take you up on your offer, tell you to buzz off or fight you to the death! This is especially exciting, since if an apprentice should defeat you while you are carrying runes, he/she will steal them and you must track them down and defeat them to take them back! Incidentally, these Runes also may be used as items in battle to create beneficial effects, such as doubling your power or defense, so you WANT to hold onto them.

However, there is one aspect of the gameplay with which I simply cannot abide: as with all Enix RPGs, you must spend an ETERNITY building levels just to progress through the game. In order to really get through the tough parts, you must have a helper with you at all times- but you have to split experience and gold (for supplies) with them! This slows the pace of the lengthy game to a glacial crawl, and this severely inhibits the otherwise brilliant idea of apprentice interaction. As a side note, other than the motives behind each apprentice and the individual endings, there is little character development per se beyond immediate interactions with other heroes. This is not a glaring error, however, as the basic premise of the game dictates that development will never reach the level of, say FF4.

The game has loads of replay value, as you have seven different characters, and thus seven different experiences to play out. The length of building levels harms this a little, but it is still nice to play a well done RPG with OPTIONS. The Seventh Saga delivers this in spades.

Although it contains the Enix pedigree of annoying level-building, the Seventh Saga is a bright star in the now endless sky of role playing games. Its credits well outweigh any debits and it is worth a play for all RPG fans. It will never have a mainstream appeal but it stands well as a game in its own right.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/00, Updated 06/01/00