For a few years now, Square Enix has been trying to bring SaGa, the (sorry for the redundancy) RPG saga characterized by its diverse cast of characters and open developmentto Western audiences through a series of remakes and remasters.
Some examples are the remaster of Romancing SaGa 3, released in 2019, the remaster of SaGa Frontier, released in 2021, or the remake of Romancing SaGa 2, released in 2025.
But what concerns us today is the remastered remake of the first Romancing SaGa, dubbed Romancing Saga -Minstrel Song- Remastered. The game arrived in 2022, but two very important things were missing: translation into Spanish and release in physical format.
Fortunately, three years later, the folks at Red Art Games bring us Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- International Remasteredversion that has translation into new languages, including Spanish, and will be released in physical format for PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch on December 9th.
At the time of launch, We had the opportunity to speak with the SaGa team from Japan and members of Red Art Games about this new version and about the state of the RPG genre.
Akitoshi Kawazu, CEO and creator of SaGa
- It has been more than 30 years since the original game was released. How do you think the RPG genre has evolved?
Kawazu: User interface and expressive flexibility have greatly improved as hardware has evolved, making games much more immersive. However, I don’t think it has reached the level of a full RPG..
- This year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 received a lot of praise, especially from people who don’t usually play RPGs. What do you think makes you attractive to so many people?
Kawazu: Japanese and Western RPGs have different nuances and I really liked the depth of the world in which they take place. I think even those who normally avoid RPGs appreciate the relative simplicity of the gameplay..
- What do you think about the digital format taking over the physical format?
Kawazu: I think the biggest advantage is that people no longer need to go to physical stores to buy things, be it games or anything else..
- Without going into too much detail, could you tell us what direction or themes you would like to tackle in the next SaGa games?
Kawazu: I prefer not to answer this question, because it could ruin the creation of a new game!
- And what do you think about third-party publishers like Red Art Games being responsible for distributing games for big companies like Square Enix?
Kawazu: SQUARE ENIX is a large company and it is difficult to continually publish all of our titles for all of our IPs, so it makes sense for us to look for trusted partners to collaborate with if that meets the needs and scale of the game in question. Obviously, these decisions are only made if we consider it to be in the players’ interests..
Naofumi Ueno, director of Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International at Sqaure Enix
- What are you most proud of in this new version of Romancing SaGa?
Ueno: the new stories. The original was a title for the Super Famicom that told the story of eight protagonists in different regions using different narrative techniques. However, although the story of Mirsa and Saruin’s defeat 1000 years ago was always present, it was treated very superficially and was never explored in depth in the original. The new stories focus mainly on Aldora, a woman who traveled with Mirsa, and make her available as a playable character in the present day to learn more about her origins and, through this, learn more about Mirsa’s travels and experience a little of what Mardias was like at that time. I think learning more about the world of Mardias helps the player delve a little deeper into the Romancing SaGa environment..
- Looking at the finished game, is there anything you would like to include or add?
Ueno: Whenever I work on a remastered game, I approach it with the mindset that once it’s remastered we probably won’t have a chance to play it again, so I like to lay all my cards on the table and make sure I don’t leave anything undone. That said, part of me wonders if we should have explored the Kaklim Desert a little more to learn about the Tarar people..
- Did you face any specific challenges when developing Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International?
Ueno: Graphical fidelity and resolution have improved since the original release, and changes to standard aspect ratios have meant that cutouts and jagged edges of never-before-seen models, as well as different camera angles, were common issues in event scenes. There was no simple solution that would solve all of these problems at once, so we had to consider different approaches for each of them individually, which required a lot of legwork..
Masanori Ichikawa, general producer of SaGa
- Spanish players were upset that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles didn’t include a Spanish translation, so we’re very happy that Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International will have texts in our language for the first time. Could you tell us the reasons that led to the translation of the game, three years after the original release, and your opinion on the matter?
Ichikawa: Let me start by saying that I am very pleased that the international version includes several European languages. I know that many of our fans have been asking for a multilingual release for a long time, and I’m happy that we were finally able to make it happen. In the original release, we couldn’t support languages other than English and Japanese, but we’ve long had requests from fans around the world to add additional languages, and we’ve always wanted to support them from the beginning. This was one of the reasons why I created social media accounts specifically aimed at our foreign users: I wanted to hear their opinions. Red Art Games contacted us almost immediately, proposing to add support for other languages to the game, and that was the beginning..
- In addition to the Spanish translation, are there any other changes in the international version?
Ichikawa: In addition to Spanish, the international version includes translations into French, German and Italian. No significant changes were made to the game, but a physical version exists, unlike the original version, which was only available digitally in North America and the European Union. Anyone who wants a physical copy of the game will certainly be delighted with this new feature. Voices are available in English and Japanese, so JRPG fans can enjoy both versions.
- Did you face any specific challenges when developing Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International?
Ichikawa: the biggest hurdle was support for four new languages. RPGs require a lot of text, which involves a lot of work. With a story as good as Minstrel Song, knowing it thoroughly is key to delivering a good translation, so we made sure Red Art Games had played the game thoroughly before starting and did a few checks. It was difficult, but it was worth it.
- And what do you think about third-party publishers like Red Art Games being responsible for distributing games for big companies like Square Enix?
Ichikawa: The SaGa franchise is quite popular in Japan, but we don’t always have the budget to translate, quality control, market and produce physical copies of the games for the international market due to the small size of our team. That’s why we were so lucky to partner with another company to bring the game to all of you. They were very helpful.
Red Art Games
- Can you tell us how the project came about? Did Square Enix ask you or did you contact them?
Romain Mahut (Red Art Games): One day, I was looking at Twitter (I wasn’t, so I decided to send him a direct message to see if he would be interested in collaborating to bring the SaGa saga to Western players. To my surprise, he answered and we started talking..
- What has the experience been like working on Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International? Was it easy to work with the Japan team? Did you have the opportunity to travel there to meet them?
Romain Mahut (Red Art Games): I won’t say it was easy, as there was a lot of work to do (like adding four languages to a game and making sure their integration worked well) and we felt the pressure of working on such an iconic IP. But the overall experience has been great! The SaGa team is great and we became friends. They really helped the project come to life and supported us every step of the way.
To answer the last part of your question, we actually went to Japan to meet them. Our first meeting was right after we started chatting online, coinciding with Tokyo Game Show 2022. Since then, we’ve met up with them whenever we’re in Tokyo and it’s always a pleasure to see them in person. They even came to Paris to see us and visit our office.
- Can you tell us more about the physical edition of the game? Is it difficult to release a game in physical format nowadays?
Romain Mahut (Red Art Games): We are extremely proud of our remastered international physical editions of Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song-. Each version was created with great care and deep respect for the series. We’ve done our best to showcase Tomomi Kobayashi’s beautiful illustrations in each of the physical editions. Veteran players and JRPG fans will notice that the Switch version’s collector’s edition pays homage to the Super Famicom box from the original Romancing SaGa, while the PlayStation collector’s edition pays homage to the Japanese PS2 Minstrel Song box.
Physical game releases are very different now compared to a few years ago. Digital games continue to gain ground and many companies now publish physical versions of independent or niche games. When we decide to release a game in physical format, we have to be very selective and make sure we offer something that players actually want.
- After Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International, what does the future hold for the team? Are there any other games you’d like to work on?
Romain Mahut (Red Art Games): We have many projects underway! In February next year, we will bring PC Engine’s City Hunter, the only video game adaptation of the famous manga/anime, to consoles and PC with new features and full Spanish localization. In March we will release Psyvariar 3, the new sequel to SUCCESS’ classic Shmup series. We will also launch Joe & Mac Retro Collection, a compilation of classics from the 16-bit era, also with new features and Spanish localization. And these are just the projects I can talk about…
The Red Art Games team is full of veteran gamers and collectors, so there are a lot of games we’d like to work on. If Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International is successful, it will help us move forward with more projects like this!