The 7th Saga

Overview

The 7th Saga is an RPG published by Enix in 1993 for the SNES, released in its native Japan as Elnard. Despite being a fairly straightforward RPG, the 7th Saga included a few unique twists that set it slightly apart from the crowd. First, the game provides the player with an opportunity to choose between seven different characters at the beginning, each with their own backstory and playstyle. Next, one of the core gameplay mechanics is that the other characters the player didn't choose are on the same quest, and the player can try to recruit them to their team (only one companion at a time however) or fight them for their runes. The 7th Saga is also one of the first RPGs to show enemies on the minimap, and is famous for its near impossible difficulty.

Characters

Each of the characters listed below are available at the onset of the game, and will continue to play a vital role in the story (some more so than others). When choosing a companion character, it is good to balance their strengths with the player character's weaknesses.

Wilme Pelin

An alien of unknown origins but apparently on a quest for the power the runes can provide, Wilme specializes in fire magic and other fire-based attacks. He has high HP but can equip only certain items.

Lux Tizer

A robot from an ancient civilization, he is a physical powerhouse but remains incredibly polite. Much like Wilme he can only equip certain items, and is magically deficient. What he lacks in magic though he makes up for in pure defense and power.

Esuna Busy

The Yin to Lux's Yang, Esuna is an elf and one of the most damaging magic users in the game. While weak physically, she gets access to the most powerful spells in the game and can be a force to be reckoned with.

Lejes Rimul

Lejes, a demon bent on ruling the world, would be an otherwise unique and interesting character were he not already teamed up with and alien and a robot. Strong physically and magically Lejes is an absolute glass cannon when the going gets tough, and has a very low defense.

Valsu Saizer

The quintessential priest of the game, Valsu eventually becomes a walking hospital. One of his strongest magic spells is ELIXIR which fully heals a characters HP and MP, providing Valsu and his companion with a near infinite supply of health and magic to do their work. Just make sure he lives long enough to get that far.

Kamil Dowonna

The standard Human knight, Kamil is one of the most balanced characters in the game. He enjoys good HP/MP, and good attack and defense. Well-rounded and doesn't excel in any particular categories. A good all-around character.

Olvan Jaess

The stout dwarf of the cast, Olvan has a good balance of physical and magical strength like Kamil, but much rather prefers to hit things as hard as he can rather than cast magic spells at them. Another well-rounded choice.

Story

7th Saga is set in a world that is called Ticondera. The game starts with King Lemele sending out the seven apprentices to collect the seven runes of power. Each rune has extreme power and is a part of the religious myths of Ticondera. The basic myth is that 5000 years before the game, Saro defeated a mythic evil named Gorsia with the help of the seven runes. The apprentice that collects all seven is promised to become Lemele’s heir to the throne.

After picking one of the seven apprentices, which are the previously listed playable characters, the player sets out to start collecting the runes. While searching for the seven runes, the player will come across typical RPG scenarios. There is a cool added element, in which, one of the apprentices betrays the others and hires Pison, a bounty hunter with a whip, to kill the others (the traitor is randomized in each game).

After collecting all seven runes, the player must face the mythic being named Gorsia. However shortly after this battle there is a plot twist and the final act begins. The player character undergoes some time traveling and must find a way to save the world before it's too late.