Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Almost, but not quite"

"The 7th Saga" is an turn-based RPG released in 1993. The story starts simple enough and without giving away anything I can say it starts as King Lemele chooses 7 adventurers to find 7 runes to use against an evil that threatens the world. There is Kamil the human warrior, Valsu the human white mage, Esuna the elven black mage, Lejes the demon, Wilme the alien, Olvan the dwarf, and Lux the tetujin. You choose one of these characters to control throughout the game. The choice is not important to how the story plays out. It only changes what strengths and weaknesses you have (i.e. some characters have better physical attacks, some use better magic etc.). The game starts and for the first few hours there doesn't seem to be any storyline and it seems you're just wandering from village to village doing this and that. When the story takes form however it becomes a pretty compelling and enjoyable game. The graphics are fairly good for an earlyish SNES game, and the sound is acceptable, with your various sword slashes, magic noises etc. The music is fitting to the game, but not exactly memorable - you won't be humming the tunes in the shower later on. Gameplay-wise it is your run-of-the-mill turn-based RPG. When you press A a menu comes up and you can talk, search, look at your items and check your player status. When you enter a battle you can attack, use an item or use magic. All pretty standard. Along the way if things get too hard for you (and they will) you can have one of the other adventurers join your team if they look favourably upon you. This is much needed and it is best to choose someone who compensates for your weakness (i.e. mixing a tough fighter with a magic-user). This leads to the main problem of the game. The enemies become very hard to beat and you constantly find yourself retreating to an easier area and leveling up so you can carry on in the game. This wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to keep doing it. Being a typical RPG, this game will last you a fair while with its long storyline and need for levelling up.

Overview
Graphics - Good at the time
Sound - Good enough, but not outstanding
Gameplay - standard turn-based RPG, pretty hard though and the need for constant levelling up is annoying.
Lastability - Pretty long game which will keep you occupied for a while if you keep at it.