The 7th Saga

The 7th Saga is a role playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, known as Elnard (エルナード) in Japan. The player chooses one of seven playable characters, all of whom separately embark on a quest to locate seven magical runes. As the player progresses through the game from one town to the next, they will encounter the other six characters on multiple occasions. The player may partner with one of the other playable characters to fight as a team, and they may also fight against other playable characters for the runes.

Notable unique innovations include the use of a crystal ball "radar" that allows players to see enemies approaching their character in dungeons and in the overworld. This means that combat is not totally random, as players may theoretically avoid enemies (although enemies move extremely quickly and randomly, making combat difficult to avoid). The game also uses Mode 7 graphic effects to create the transition between exploration screen and battle screen.

The game is particularly known for its unforgiving difficulty, considering that you might spend a great deal of time levelling up to advance in the game.

Gameplay
There are three modes of play: safe area, enemy-infested area, and in-battle.

When the characters are in a safe area, usually in a city, they can walk around as long as they want. The player can talk to non-playing characters, buy and sell items, search for hidden items, and rest at an inn. Also the main character may duel other characters, or even convince one to assist in the search for the runes.

When the player is in an enemy-infested area, the Magic Crystal item in the top-left appears. That crystal shows where enemies are, where cities and dungeons are, and where a rune is located. If a white dot reaches the center, i.e. the location of the main characters, a battle will break out. The player must move around quickly while grabbing chests and finding the way, since the enemies are always getting closer.

When the player is in battle, the perspective shows the character and ally, if any, from behind looking at one to three enemies. Players then select an action and take turns with the enemy and ally. The goal is to kill the enemy and not die in the process. The player can attack, defend, cast a spell, use an item, or run. If the player wins, his/her characters get experience points and gold. If he loses, half of his/her money will be gone. If the player loses to one of the other main characters, his/her rune will be taken by that character.

Gaining experience results in attaining levels which improve a character's skill. Buying better weapons and armor with the money improves a character's fighting ability. Note that due to space constraints, the name of most equipment you obtain is severely abbreviated.

Characters
Characters in The 7th Saga run along a continuum from predominantly physical-oriented to predominantly magical-oriented. They are, in that order:


 * Wilme Pelin (Alien): An alien with a fiery, lava-like spiked body. Arrogant and aggressive, he seems to want the runes for power and to prove his superiority. He's strong and has the highest HP of the seven, but suffers from a fixed set of equipment, and a low Magic rating causes his Fire magic to be quite impotent.
 * Lux Tizer (Tetujin, that is Man of Iron): A 5000-year old robot created by a long extinct civilization. Lux is polite, logical, and inquisitive. He searches for the runes in the hopes that their power may help him unlock the secrets of the Tetujin's origins. Lux is physically very powerful especially in defense, but has a poor selection of (Laser and Thunder) magic spells and equipment, although he is the only one that can use those spells. Along with Esuna, Lux can never be the "traitor" apprentice.
 * Olvan Jaess (Dwarf): An extremely old Dwarf warrior, with a pleasant personality. He joins the search for the runes in the hopes that they can restore his youth. Statistically, he is similar to Kamil, but with more HP and Defense, and less MP and speed, and a few differences in equipment/spell selection.
 * Kamil Dowonna (Human): A human knight. The most average, well-rounded character, Kamil has access to a large selection of equipment and can cast both offensive and defensive magic. He wears blue armor and the instruction booklet says that he is best paired with a stronger ally.
 * Lejes Rimul (Demon): A power-hungry demon. Sly, manipulative, and unapologetically evil, Lejes wants the power of the runes in order to rule the world. Lejes equips very strong weapons and eventually learns every single attack spell (except the Lux-exclusive Laser and Thunder spells), but his selection of armors is quite poor, and his attack spells hit with less force than Esuna. Lejes never learns any healing magic.
 * Valsu Saizer (Human): An elderly cleric who has dedicated his life to the cause of good, Valsu wishes to use the runes to bring peace and prosperity to the world. He has excellent healing magic and one powerful Ice spell, but lacks skill in physical combat.
 * Esuna Busy (Elf): An elf magic user and the game's only female protagonist, Esuna seems to regard the search for the runes as some sort of fun adventure. She begins the game cocky and headstrong, but becomes more uncertain and less confident as the story progresses. She has extremely high Speed and Magic potency, and can use both kinds of magic, but her attack spells are exclusively Ice-elemental and she is physically very weak. Like Lux, Esuna never turns out to be the "traitor" apprentice.

Story
The game takes place on a world called Ticondera. 5000 years ago, a divine being named Saro defeated an evil entity named Gorsia with the power of seven runes. In the years since then, the runes have been scattered across the globe. Lemele, the son of Saro, was born 100 years ago, and became a hero when he defeated the demon Gariso. Now 100 years old, Lemele has become the benevolent and powerful ruler of the world.

The seven characters are recruited from various walks of life and corners of the globe by the elderly King Lemele. After 5 years of training at his palace, Lemele dispatches his seven apprentices in a quest for the seven runes. Each rune possesses a great power that can be used by the person who wields it. The one who collects all seven runes will become Lemele's heir. To find the runes, the king gives each character a Crystal Ball to assist them in their search.

Retrieving the runes means confronting the various powerful tyrants who have come into their possession, including wizards, kings, and dragons. The apprentices are also being hunted by a persistent bounty hunter named Pison, who has been hired by one of the apprentices to eliminate the rest (the identity of the "traitor" apprentice is randomized with each new game).

After defeating a resurrected Gariso and collecting all seven runes, the player is confronted by Lemele, who reveals that he is actually Gorsia. Gorsia traveled to the present from 5000 years in the past, killed Lemele and took his identity, then recruited the seven apprentices to locate the runes for him. The power each rune contains is actually a trapped portion of Gorsia's power. Gorsia destroys the runes, re-absorbs his lost power, and zaps the player with lightning, sending them to a strange, unfamiliar world which turns out to be Ticondera 5000 years in the past.

After passing through several towns, the player eventually ends up in the technologically advanced city of Melenam, which was originally explored as ruins by the player early in the game. Melenam is revealed to be the origin of the Tetsujin robots, and the player witnesses the destruction of the city at the hands of a rogue super-Tetsujin created by the city's scientists for the purposes of fighting Gorsia.

The player eventually learns that although Saro had recently defeated Gorsia, Gorsia has returned from the future and fatally wounded Saro. Saro's disciples give the player the seven runes, which the player uses to seal Gorsia's powers and eventually defeat the evil being.

The dying Gorsia kills the player in one last act of revenge, but 4900 years later Saro reincarnates the player's soul as a young baby and Saro's son: none other than Lemele.

Reception
The game was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon #201 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 3 out of 5 stars.

A common complaint among players was the sudden difficulty spike after the player's character is sent to the past, because you cannot return to the present and fight weaker enemies in order to level your character. It was possible for a player's character to be too weak to defeat the random enemies present in the past, which made it virtually impossible to level your character and continue the game.

Also, the fact that you no longer have the runes makes the game that much harder, as all runes provided a service to your characters. Players had to make sure that they stocked up on the B-line of items, such as B-Prtct and B-Power. Although players may have done this, it was still rather difficult to even reach Gariso and even harder to beat him, which thereafter, you no longer have the runes.

Past Gariso, most enemies are much more difficult to defeat, and with a weaker party, if you couldn't defeat any enemies to raise your levels up enough, the only recourse was to restart your game.