Square Enix’s final TGS title, 'Romancing SaGa 3: Destinies United' (hereinafter 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake'), which had been kept tightly under wraps until the very end, was finally revealed. As it wasn't shown even during Square Enix’s pre-event ahead of TGS 2026, anticipation for the game naturally soared. With high hopes in mind, I visited the Square Enix booth at TGS to get hands-on experience with 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake'.
As for the visuals, long explanations hardly seem necessary. It has been 31 years since the original 'Romancing SaGa 3' was released on the Super Famicom in 1995. Considering that even state-of-the-art hardware from that era—or what people then called 'supercomputers'—paled in performance compared to today's flagship smartphones, directly comparing the visuals of the original and the remake is almost meaningless.
However, there is a separate aspect that a remake must get right: how well it captures the original's design and atmosphere. Since the original was made with pixel art, detailed comparisons must rely on official artwork. In that respect, the character designs generally translate the original features well, faithfully retaining not only each character's personality but also their visual characteristics.
Yet, some aspects feel slightly different—a shift in sensibility, if you will. Looking at the original character designs, there is a strong impression of sharp eyes. While some characters indeed had intense personalities, it is more natural to attribute this to the art style of that era, which often conveyed a sharper look than today's standards.
From that perspective, the character designs in 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake' might at first glance appear not to follow the original strictly. While the foundational design is preserved, it feels as though some of the edge has been softened.
This shift can also be felt in Muse. Where the original Muse strongly projected a mysterious atmosphere and frail image, 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake' retains her sickly, pure demeanor while shedding the overly feeble impression. Given the 31-year gap, the interpretation of characters seems to have been gradually adjusted to fit modern trends.
Setting aside comparisons with the original and judging purely on visuals, it lands at a solid level. Compared to its predecessor, 'Romancing SaGa 2 Remake', it shows noticeable improvement, though it is hard to say it drastically outperforms other games with a similar aesthetic style.
That is not to say the visuals are disappointing. While it inevitably falls short when compared to photorealistic, extravagant AAA titles, the unique flavor of 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake', built on the foundation of the original designs, remains distinctly intact.
Ultimately, evaluation depends on the point of comparison. While it leaves something to be desired next to cutting-edge games, if asked whether its visuals faithfully capture the sensibility of the original, one could confidently answer yes.
The story was difficult to evaluate properly from this demo alone, as I had to play through both the general story mode and the demo-exclusive boss fight content within a restricted time of around 20 minutes. It was truly just scratching the surface. Therefore, I will not judge how faithfully it follows the original story based solely on this demo. Instead, I focused on dialogue, character voice acting, and cutscene direction, which serve as the core of narrative presentation.
In this regard, one could feel that considerable effort was invested. The voice acting was lively, and each character's personality came through clearly. Even playing story mode without full prior context, there was little difficulty in grasping the characters' traits or their current situation.
With limited demo time, most of it was naturally spent in combat. 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake' does not stop at porting the original battle system verbatim; true to the nature of a remake, it reinterprets it to fit modern gameplay sensibilities.
The first thing that caught my attention was Formations. Formations were a feature in the original game as well. In the original, there were various setups ranging from 1-character to up to 5-character formations, granting special effects such as increased attack power, defense, speed, and HP recovery depending on the arrangement.
'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake' maintains this basic framework. However, rather than separating them into distinct 1-character or 2-character formations, it operates more by changing character positions within a standard 5-character layout.
In this demo build, three formations were available: Free Fight, Desert Lance, and Whirlwind. Free Fight places party members in a line to fight freely, providing no special formation effects. Desert Lance positions a single tank out front with the remaining characters in the back row, making it defense-oriented. Whirlwind offers special bonuses such as boosting the entire party's agility.
There was an interesting detail here. Even in cases like Free Fight where no overall formation effect is provided, certain characters received stat boosts. This suggests that specific characters possess inherent synergy with particular formations.
Another indispensable combat element is 'Glimmer'. Glimmer implements the original system almost verbatim—a randomized progression mechanic where characters suddenly awaken to new techniques while fighting enemies.
In this demo, I observed Glimmers triggering during basic attacks or skill usage, granting new techniques. The probability of triggering a Glimmer increased when facing stronger foes, and techniques learned this way were often significantly more powerful than existing ones.
Although I only experienced it briefly in the demo build, in full play, learning a new technique mid-battle during dire situations could serve as a dramatic comeback mechanic to turn the tide.
This is a signature element of 'Romancing SaGa' that clearly diverges from conventional RPG systems of earning skills through level-ups or proficiency grinding. In a sense, it is the identity of the franchise. As such, it is reassuring that the feel of the original has been faithfully preserved. It should offer familiar entertainment to returning fans and a fresh progression system rarely seen in other RPGs to newcomers.
Area-of-effect attacks are also well intact. The original featured techniques and spells that hit vertical columns, horizontal rows, or all enemies, and these have been recreated nearly identical in 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake'. However, as the word 'nearly' implies, there is a subtle tweak: the width of the area.
For instance, even among vertical-column attacks, techniques are divided between narrow and wide coverage. Since players must consider the width of the hit area rather than simply targeting a line, tactical options have become slightly deeper than before.
While the mechanics discussed so far retain or refine original elements, the Overdrive Gauge and United Attacks are brand-new additions to 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake'.
The Overdrive Gauge is easiest understood as a party-wide ultimate gauge. It builds up whenever attacking enemies, and upon reaching max capacity, players can initiate a United Attack centered on a character of their choice during any turn.
There is an important condition here: you cannot link with just any character. By default, United Attacks can only be performed between two characters connected within the formation. For example, if Thomas is placed in the center with Julian and Monica to his left and right, United Attacks can only be executed between Thomas and Julian, or Thomas and Monica.
Because it consumes a dedicated resource in the Overdrive Gauge, its potency was substantial. Striking with two characters simultaneously in a single attack while boasting high base damage, timing its activation properly appears crucial.
In this demo, only a 2-chain combination could be seen. However, given that it was explicitly displayed as a '2-chain', it seems plausible that as characters grow, higher combinations such as 3-chains or 4-chains involving more party members will become available.
If I were to summarize 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake' as experienced in this demo in one sentence, it would be a title that thoroughly overhauls its visuals and presentation while keeping the battle system as close to the original feel as possible.
This aspect is crucial for a remake. If the core gameplay changes drastically during the process of modern reinterpretation, the game risks feeling alienating to longtime fans who have waited years for the franchise's return.
In that sense, 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake'—at least as confirmed in this demo—has chosen a direction that preserves the core of the original while modernizing visuals and presentation. It leaves the impression of aligning well with what fans of the original would expect.
Of course, this does not mean it is a game solely for veteran fans. Tactical depth remains in elements like Formations, Glimmers, and area attacks, further enriched by the newly added Overdrive Gauge and United Attacks. There are plenty of reasons for newcomers to find enjoyment in the combat system itself.
Personally, however, I hope the visuals receive further polishing before release. They are certainly not bad as they are, but they lack that stunning impact that makes you exclaim, 'They pulled it off to this extent?' As the saying goes, what looks good tastes good too. 'Romancing SaGa 3 Remake' is scheduled for official release on February 17, 2027. With roughly 5 months remaining until launch, I hope to see an even more refined title over the remaining development period.
