 I've been putting off doing a video on 7th Saga for a long time now, let me show you why. Let's take a look at what it's like to play 7th Saga, you plug in the cartridge, turn on the Super Nintendo, and you get to pick between 7 characters to choose from to start your quest. Hey that's pretty cool, I think I'll pick this dude. Turns out each of these characters are summoned and trained by a king to help him find 7 runes which of course Grant whoever possesses them all sorts of power. So let's small talk with some people for a bit and we're off on our adventure. And I'm dead. And I'm dead again. And again. And again. Uh, seriously, I can't even make it to the next area without getting immediately slaughtered? Yeah, that's what you're getting yourself into with the US release of 7th Saga. This game is ridiculously hard, the enemies are absurdly strong, and it takes forever to level up. So as a result, people just write off this game right from the get go because well, what the hell are you supposed to do here, I can't even beat the weakest enemies from outside the first town. Sure, the game lets you see every potential random battle courtesy of the map in the corner here, the game calls it a crystal ball, but they're still impossible to avoid completely. The thing is, to get this game you have to go back a bit to the character select screen. There are 7 very different characters here, there's Camille, the typical balanced knight, there's Ulvan, a dwarf with a ton of strength, there's Asuna, who's adept with magic, there's Wilmay, who's built like a tank and can take a lot of damage, there's Lux the robot, who's a lot like Wilmay but can use magic, Valsu is a priest or a healer, and there's the demon Legius, who's got tons of magic and the ability to use a lot of different weapons. You have to pick a strong character to start out with, or you're just wasting your time. If you start out with Asuna or Valsu the priest just hit the reset button, you're done. For first time players it's probably best to go with Camille, yeah he's kinda generic but he gets the job done, and as long as you fight intelligently you won't die immediately. But yeah this early misstep with the absurd difficulty and balance of 7th saga is obviously a major flaw, a game breaking one for many people, and the game isn't just difficult at the start, this game can be work at times, it's crazy. For instance after a certain point it's almost impossible to kill Valsu since he can endlessly heal himself, and there's also some really cheap ass debuffs some enemies can use that prevent you from using magic, screw that. Yet despite all that, 7th saga developed a kind of cult fan base that remains to this day. Well if you can get past the issues with difficulty, 7th saga is a really interesting and ambitious game that offers an absolutely gigantic world, as well as a ton of replay value. What's really cool here is that the 6 other characters are all out looking for runes at the same time you are, since they each have their own motivations for doing so. Like for example Lux the robot is actually one of the last of his race and he wants the power of the runes to help him learn of the origin of his people and why he's a robot, like something out of Blade Runner. So yeah any of the other characters you don't choose could show up at any time, anywhere, and hell they might have even found a rune themselves. You can ask them to join your party, although there's a chance they could turn you down. If they already have a rune be prepared to fight them for it, and these characters level faster than you do and will be much stronger than you, especially the demon, who even if you have him join your party he could turn on you and challenge you to a fight after you find a rune, what a bastard. This aspect weighs even more importance on what character you choose, knowing that you could potentially fight the other characters. Even if you're a first-time player, go with Camille, and when you find Valsu the priest, join up with him. Playing as a strong and balanced knight complemented with a healer makes 7th Staga a lot more palatable. If you want even more of a challenge, that's when you start playing through the game with some of the other characters. What makes this aspect even better is that if you find another character willing to join you, you can switch, although you're likely to lose the other character for good, since you'd have to track them down again if you wanted to switch again, and they'd have to be willing to join your party again, and that's pretty unlikely. As for the combat system itself, it's the usual turn-based stuff, nothing out of the ordinary. It's not technically random battles on the world map, since your crystal ball in the corner is supposed to help you avoid them if you want to, but most of the time there's just no avoiding a battle. The radar does also show you when cities and runes appear. Just as a quick tip, I would recommend against just spamming attacks in each random battle, you're gonna want to defend every so often, since many times you're rewarded after a successful defense with a stronger attack. But yeah, the world here is huge, with tons of cities to visit, and the NPCs can give you clues about where the other characters in the game have been, and where they're headed in the quest for the Seven Runes, that's a really cool touch. Once you find a rune, it lends your character a new ability, like teleporting between cities, replenishing your magic, or strengthening your attacks, for example. So yeah, while this isn't exactly much of a story-driven RPG, at least the stuff you're obtaining to progress the story however limited it may be serves to be extremely useful. Seven Saga almost received a sequel in the US, but it stayed in Japan and is known as Mystic Arc. I covered it as part of the Super Famicom RPG video series. It shares very similar qualities to Seven Saga, including the radar, which works much better in avoiding random battles, but it's also not nearly as difficult, and conversely, it's a lot more generic and less interesting. So yeah, Seven Saga is many things. It's difficult, it's unique, it's frustrating, it's got some really cool ideas, it's got some quality music, and it's grind heavy. Oh dear god, is it grind heavy? But if you really wanted to, you could go to romhacking.net and patch this game with a fix that makes it much more balanced. So that's an option for you. I get both sides of the argument behind Seven Saga. I really do. I get why people think it's a waste of time because it's so difficult and grind heavy, but I also get why it's built up a cult audience over the years. I love the huge world, I love tracking down your rivals, and I love the legitimate tension this game has, whether it's the anxiousness of asking someone to join your party, or just the fear of death that lurks around every corner. I think I recommend Seven Saga, but just know what you're getting yourself into, and please know that there actually is a tiny bit of light at the end of the tunnel after you get yourself killed for the seventh time in five minutes. For all its flaws, Seven Saga has a surprising number of strengths that you have to work to uncover. Yeah, it's easily the most difficult RPG on the Super Nintendo, but it's still a fascinating game.