Romancing SaGa E3 2005 Preshow First Look

Square Enix hasn't revealed much of Romancing SaGa since the game was announced in Tokyo back in September. Romancing Saga marks a return to the universe established by the popular SNES game way back in 1992, and this new game is reportedly a remake of the original.

The game deals with the return of Saruin, an imprisoned entity who was trapped a thousand years earlier. However, the bonds on Saruin's prison are weakening, and as a result, the shadow is returning to the world of Mardias again. It's up to you to defeat Saruin.

At the heart of the game is the minstrel, a Gandalf-like figure that sometimes guides the party and at other times protects it. The game itself features a free-roaming scenario system that lets you go where you want when you want. You have the choice of up to eight characters, and there are a large number of plots that can be developed depending on your character choices and actions.

The game will use what's called "sketch motion" technology, which means still images morph dramatically into cutscenes and minimovies. As expected of a Square Enix game, there is a very strong anime look to the 3D graphics, but one interesting aspect is that the characters almost have a bobblehead appearance to them. Square Enix hasn't released many details yet, but we'll keep you up to date with the latest developments. Romancing SaGa is aimed for release this fall.