Played through the demo on Hard (Classic), the highest difficulty next to Casual and Normal. I don't think even in this mode much of anything puts up a big fight, except maybe for Kzinssie. Somewhat worrying, but I expect to be humbled when let loose out of the directed opening's confines in the full game.
It sure feels like a project by the Trials of Mana remake folks in every respect. Exact same feel and structure to environmental design, where there are shinies and treasure hidden all around, including peaceful areas like towns, sometimes requiring some light platforming to reach (there's jumping now). SaGa's famously barren and extremely battle gauntlet-oriented dungeons are greatly transformed here, with the same kind of readably compact layouts, and from my observation, no respawning enemy symbols. You're given a notice when starting the demo that battles will only reward Technique Points for up to 70 battles in this preview, but having fought everything on the way, you'll end up just short of that number by the end of it. I suppose you'd have to re-enter areas from the world map to respawn enemies and theoretically exceed that number, not that there's much incentive to. At any rate, even though it remains very battle-leaning, as SaGa should, the marathon endurance nature of the explorational rhythm of it isn't what it once was--not a qualitative statement, it's just distinctly different.
Still not sure about the character model aesthetics. They are too vanilla fantasy despite the excellent source material used, and have more in common aesthetically with a modern Trails game than anything seen from the series previously. All clothing worn by women is ridiculously figure-hugging, and despite not having many women appear in this demo's segment, you get a sense that most everyone was designed cleavage-first. It just sucks when my affinity for SaGa has almost always been driven by its sexualization, if it engaged in it, having been conveyed through much more imaginative and non-standard expressions.
Very excited to get a new treatment for every beautifully original and awesome thing this game does, however, despite the gripes. When SaGa's at its best--among which RS2 certainly numbers--nothing else in the medium does heroic epics as well, so I'm thrilled more people will get to experience the legend of the Seven Heroes.
