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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/romancing_saga_ms_ps2.jpg]]
2%%[[caption-width-right:300:some caption text]]
3
4Mardias: a world created by the god Marda, and governed by many, many gods. However, long ago, the balance was torn apart when three evil gods -- Saruin, Death, and Schirach -- turned against the others, including the lord of all gods, Elore. In the end, Death and Schirach were stripped of their powers, while Saruin was imprisoned through the power of the [[MacGuffin ten Fatestones]], along with the hero Mirsa making [[HeroicSacrifice the ultimate sacrifice]].
5
6A thousand years have passed since then, the Fatestones scattered throughout Mardias. Ample time for the forces of evil to regroup. And now, across the world, eight adventurers are about to embark on their own journeys, each for their own reasons:
7
8* Albert -- A young nobleman from Rosalia, and an aspiring member of the Frontier Guard. His father, Lord Rudolph, is the Master of Isthmus Keep; his older sister, Diana, is the beloved of Prince Neidhart, as well as his superior in swordscraft. A WideEyedIdealist who believes wholeheartedly that JusticeWillPrevail, but is decidedly naive at times.
9* Aisha -- A GenkiGirl from the nomad Taralian tribe, who wander the Steppes of Galissa. Her grandfather, Nizam, is the elder of the tribe, and has raised her since her parents passed away while she was still very young. Despite this tragedy, Aisha is [[CheerfulChild cheerful]] and curious about the world beyond the Steppes.
10* Hawke -- Captain of the Lady Luck, Hawke is an experienced {{Pirate}} with a magnetic personality. With the [[LizardFolk Geckling]] Guella Ha serving as his first mate, he has gained quite a notorious reputation among the sailors of Pirate Coast...
11* Sif -- A warrior from the winter wastelands of Valhallaland. Sif is one of the strongest members of the tiny hamlet known simply as Gato's Village; however, she has never ventured beyond their icy borders...
12* Gray -- An accomplished adventurer who specializes in treasure hunting. His name fits his [[GreyAndGrayMorality outlook on life]]; more than anything else, he values his freedom.
13* Claudia -- A beautiful young woman who has been raised by the witch Eule, hidden away in the enchanted forest of Mazewood. A FriendToAllLivingThings who [[BetterWithNonHumanCompany relates better to animals than she does people]]. Naturally, there's a great secret about her that even she's not aware of...
14* Jamil -- A cunning thief from Estamir, a city divided by the river and extremely poor class relations. His best friends are [[CowardlySidekick Dowd]] and his not-quite girlfriend [[{{Tsundere}} Farah]], and he looks out for them while dreaming of making a better life -- or, rather, seizing it with his own two hands.
15* Barbara -- A free-spirited entertainer who makes a living by traveling and performing all across the land. Not only is she a skilled performer, she's also a talented adventurer more than capable of handling a sword.
16
17Then there's the mysterious Minstrel that shows up wherever they travel, several other adventurers that flit in and out of their lives -- from simple mercenaries to travelers and soldiers with their own histories and stories to tell -- and the ''festering evil'' that's bubbling to the surface... And, of course, the players themselves, who chooses how to weave all these threads together and determines how their tales unfold...
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19It eventually got two sequels for the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]], and was [[TheRemake remade]] for the [[Platform/PlayStation2 PS2]] in 2005 as ''Romancing [=SaGa=]: Minstrel Song''. The subtitle was dropped for release in the West, which had [[NoExportForYou never before seen]] a ''Romancing [=SaGa=]'' title in the first place. An UpdatedRerelease of ''Minstrel Song'' for [=PlayStations=] [[Platform/PlayStation4 4]] and [[Platform/PlayStation5 5]], Platform/NintendoSwitch, PC, and mobile was released on December 1, 2022, improving the graphics and adding additional recruitable characters.
20----
21!!''[=Romancing SaGa=]'' provides examples of:
22* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The sewers under Estamir and Melvir both qualify. How absurdly spacious are they? [[spoiler:Both have evil temples hidden in their depths.]]
23* ActionGirl: Aisha, Barbara, Claudia, Sif... really, all the recruitable woman qualify.
24* AllMythsAreTrue: The mysterious minstrel loves to regale heroes with various myths explaining the [[{{Backstory}} history of Mardias]], often relating to quests that the player recently took on.
25* AllThereInTheManual: A lot of the history of Mardias and plenty of other details were [[NoExportForYou only published in supplemental materials in Japan]]. However, some people were able to get their hands on the material and provide a translation: [[spoiler:Long before the game began, there were many deities but two stood out from the rest; Marda; the Creator God of Mardias, and Saiva; The Goddess of Destruction. Both of them fought and their powers brought the fight to a stalemate, in order to turn the tide of the battle, Saiva created a god of her own. She channeled immense amounts of magic to her finger and pricked it with a needle; That needle became an empowered sword known as the Main Gauche/Left Hand Sword. From the wound, Elore; God of Light was born. However, Elore sided with Marda, and Saiva was defeated by Marda and Elore. After Saiva was defeated, her body broke into several parts, which became the three Dark Gods: Death, Saruin, and Schirach. Long after the battle, Mardias became useless and many of the lesser Gods left. Elore stayed and helped Nisa; Goddess of Earth to rebuild the world. Humans then were created from the Terranites (Nisa's Children) who were used as a base model. The current Deities of Mardias are the children of Elore and Nisa, with the exception of Mirsa, who was a human that became a God.]]
26* AndYourRewardIsClothes: [[spoiler:Obtaining Mirsa's Armor drastically alters Albert's look. Also, Gray gets a slight appearance change upon completing his scenario quest.]]
27* AnotherSideAnotherStory: All eight protagonists are having their adventure at the same time, and the protagonist of one can show up in another, sometimes showing their own perspective on a shared event; for example, other characters can find Albert and recruit him in Isthmus Keep while he's in a state of despair, while playing as Albert himself shows why he's in that state in that location.
28* AntiGrinding: The Event Rank system makes grinding a generally bad idea... [[spoiler:Until late in the game, if you're trying to reach ER 22 and unlock Frosthold Fortress ''the long way''.]]
29* ArmoredButFrail: The [[spoiler:Dragon Knight]] has some built-in immunities to certain attacks and comes with nice equipment. He only has 5 LP.
30* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Happened to the hero Mirsa in the {{Backstory}}, as he joined the pantheon following his HeroicSacrifice.
31* AwesomeButImpractical: The secret recruitable characters [[spoiler:Frielei, Captain Silver and the Dragon Knight]] have incredible stats but absurdly low LP, making them liabilities in the end-game battles.
32* BadPowersBadPeople: The Sorcery and Necromancy spell sets exist ''purely'' so your enemies have more magic to choose from. You can't find anyone who'll teach these to you, so don't bother.[[note]]You do get access to Sorcery spells in the remaster, but this happens on endgame for your first playthrough at the earliest[[/note]] [[spoiler:This also foreshadows Red Mage's [[TheMole true purpose]], like it wasn't obvious from the start...]]
33* TheBattleDidntCount: Interestingly, this can apply to your own party; in several cases, if you get trounced in a fight with an important character instead of a random battle, the game shows your hero [[YouCanBarelyStand kneeling]] and recovering (though any LP you lost is still gone). This can be abused to unlock all techniques if you fight Pyrix, as he is one such fight and has a high spark rate (ability to learn techs).
34* BearsAreBadNews: For the bad guys, in this case. Brau isn't a ''bad'' bear, though he's definitely the strongest member of Claudia's starting team.
35* BeefGate:
36** As your Event Rank goes up and you defeat weak enemies, chances for stronger enemies to take their place grows. You have to upgrade your equipment regularly if you want to survive.
37** A fair few sidequests have powerful {{Macguffin Guardian}}s such as the Aquatic trio guarding a cave in Crystal Lake or the Clawbug protecting the entrance to [[spoiler:Merholm]].
38* BetterWithNonHumanCompany: It's not that Claudia's shy or snobby; she simply isn't ''used'' to dealing with others outside of Eule and her animal friends.
39* BlowYouAway: Aerology. Combines {{Razor Wind}}s with [[AnIcePerson summoning snowstorms]].
40* BossAlteringConsequence: ''Minstrel Song'' allows you to offer up the Fatestones to [[FinalBoss Saruin]], making him more powerful for every Fatestone you've given. Once you've offered all 10 Fatestones to Saruin, he ends up becoming the strongest boss in the game and requires you to pull out all the stops to defeat him.
41* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:One of the Assassin Guild's recruitment methods.]]
42* BreakingTheFourthWall: After the credits of each scenario, [[spoiler:whichever hero you played as comes out, thanks the player directly and makes a few comments about how you helped them, then prompts you to [[NewGamePlus guide one of the others]] and disappears behind a door]].
43* BrokenBird: Schiele, a drifter who constantly requests to be left alone.
44* BoisterousBruiser: Hawke. Sif also qualifies, gender aside.
45* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: Appears in the 'Creepy Butterfly' quest.
46* ButThouMust: Averted in some places, with appropriate consequences. For instance, [[spoiler:killing Wuhan prevents you from taking a certain quest from him. You can still trigger it, but won't get the extra rewards.]] [[spoiler:In another case, if you want to keep the Aquamarine, you can't talk to or try to recruit Prince Neidhart, as the Aquamarine is his kingdom's treasure, and he won't let you keep it.]] Yet another case, [[spoiler:after a certain quest, you will be offered knighthood, which you can decline. However, everytime you decline, the one offering you knighthood repeats the exact thing again and again, everytime, until the game finally lets you decline.]]
47* CelShading: Used in the {{remake}} for {{cutscene}}s.
48* ChainOfDeals: You can end up on one courtesy of the [[FourIsDeath Four Elemental Gods]]. Notably involves one of the more obvious KarmaMeter moments: [[spoiler:[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential potentially murdering Galahad]] to get the Ice Sword]].
49* ChallengeRun: Easy in-game path to one: Collect all the Fatestones [[spoiler:and set them on the altars in the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Voila, super-powered Saruin]]. Have... fun?
50* CharacterLevel: The Class system. One of the bonuses of NewGamePlus is selecting a starting class for your hero from a list that you've unlocked, saving you some extra Jewels.
51* CharacterMagneticTeam: Your hero. In most cases, all you have to do is ask. While ''[[GuideDangIt accessing]]'' [[GuideDangIt them can be problematic]], the actual recruitment typically isn't.
52* CombinationAttack: Comes in two forms: regular combos and Vortexes, which add flashy graphics that [[RelationshipValues impress the gods]].
53* ConspicuouslySelectivePerception: Becomes apparent when using the Lurk/Move Silently proficiencies to sneak past enemies; activate the right one and it won't matter if your footsteps are echoing loudly or you just walked right in front of that fish, so long as you've covered for the sense they ''do'' use to locate you.
54* CoolGate: The Gate to the Netherworld and [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCSFR1IDHx8&t=2m37s Purgatory]]]]
55* CosmicKeystone: The Fatestones, though only in the sense that they keep Saruin SealedEvilInACan.
56* CowardlySidekick: Dowd is so nervous and flighty, one wonders how he became a thief in the first place.
57* {{Crossdresser}}: [[spoiler:Jamil]]'s storyline ''starts'' with this; at one point he has to crossdress to get past a guard, [[spoiler:by passing himself off as the newest member of Wuhan's harem. Farah is extremely amused]]. While you can perform this quest with other heroes, ''they'' can't take this option.
58* CuteWitch: Myriam.
59* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: The "Moonlit Butterfly" quest results in the client discovering this. Initially assumed to have walked out his family while his wife was deathly ill, the player character discovers the father had actually [[spoiler:found the cure to her condition only to get lost inside Mazewood Forest and die there. The butterfly plaguing the woman was her father's soul trying to reach out]].
60* DarkIsNotEvil: Death, in addition to being the god of [[ShapedLikeItself death]], is also the maintainer of the life cycle and the protector of lost souls. [[spoiler:He even serves as the harvest god for the people of Uso.]]
61* DevelopersForesight: Subverted. The generic no-name mercenaries players can recruit early on in the game tend to have powerful weapons for the time they're available. Those thinking they can pilfer these characters for [[DiscOneNuke Disc One Nukes]] will often find these items un-movable. That doesn't stop you from looting-and-booting named characters, though.
62* DeterminedHomesteader: Most of the citizens of The Frontier qualify.
63* DeusAngstMachina: ''The Nymph Statues''. [[spoiler:Three brothers pull up three sacred nymph statues in their nets, and decide to try selling them. This calls down the wrath of ocean god Yucomb, who sends his followers to get the statues back. Mainly through violence. After two of his brothers die horribly, the third decides to return the last statue to the sea and beg forgiveness. He's met by their baby sister... ''and'' their mother, who [[TooDumbToLive grabs the statue from him, ranting about how they'll live like royalty,]] [[DisneyVillainDeath then plummets to her death]]. ''In front of her only surviving son and daughter.'']] ''Jeez''...
64* DishingOutDirt: Terrology. Tear chunks out of the earth, or just open a chasm under your enemies' feet, plus [[BarrierWarrior self-camoflage and powerful magical shields]].
65* DoomMagnet:
66** ''The entire Frontier'', thanks to the presence of [[spoiler:Jewel Beast that'll eventually awaken and destroy the entire territory]].
67** The three Nymph Statues also qualify, considering [[spoiler:how angry Yucomb is at their theft.]]
68* EverybodysDeadDave: [[spoiler:If you don't [[GuideDangIt beat the]] [[{{Superboss}} sleeping Jewel Beast]] before he wakes up, this happens to ''the whole Frontier''.]]
69* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The 'generic' mercenaries are only known by their profession.
70* FakeKing: Late in the game, [[spoiler:the villains take advantage of Theodore's {{Lawful Stupid}}ness by replacing him with a KnightTemplar BodyDouble, who promptly starts making unreasonable demands of his peers and declares war on Weiserheim because Lady Flammar won't give him the Ruby Fatestone.]]
71* FieryRedhead: Aisha, who combines this with CheerfulChild.
72* FiveManBand: Since there's five slots in the party, it's easy enough to build your own take on this. Who fills what roles obviously varies.
73* GlassCannon:
74** Any build focusing on Magic. Stat growth depends on which weaponry and spells a character uses. HP and Vitality only increase by using heavy weaponry like axes and great swords. As the trade-off, spellcraft and lighter weaponry like foils increase both their maximum BP and how much BP they have at the start of a fight, allowing characters to access their more powerful techniques earlier in a fight and not run out for longer.
75** As far as characters go, [[spoiler:Dragon Knight, Captain Silver and Frielei]]. They have impressive stats, but LP counts that barely surpass starter mercenaries make them very frail.
76* GlobalCurrencyException: To train in Classes, you need Jewels. While you receive these from {{Sidequest}}s, some chests, and using skills, the cost for higher levels add up ''fast''.
77* GuideDangIt: Certain subquests fall into this. An example: To make Dowd recruitable, [[spoiler:you have to play Jamil's story, let Dowd leave when he asks, then, once it becomes available, agree to destroy the Assassin's Guild, then sleep at the Inn in South Estamir. That lets you pick him up in ''later'' playthroughs, anyway...]]. Dowd was made recruitable without these steps in the remaster, but if you want to see all of Jamil's character-specific scenes you still have to follow the spoilered content.
78* HiddenElfVillage: Merholm. [[spoiler:In this case, though, the inhabitants only head there ''after'' deciding that the world's growing too dangerous.]]
79* HolyHandGrenade: Cosmology. A few [[HealingHands protective spells]] compliment [[PureEnergy THE RAW POWERS OF THE HEAVENS THEMSELVES]].
80* HonorBeforeReason: Theodore ''adores'' this.
81* HostageForMacGuffin: [[spoiler:You are the hostage held by Scorn and Schiele has to give up her Fatestone to save you. However it was a RestrainingBolt keeping her dark magic sealed away causing her to awaken as her old self: Schirach quickly kills Scorn, leaving the stone behind for you to keep.]]
82* HumanPopsicle: [[spoiler:Freilei is introduced as one, but that can also be due to the effects of the Obsidian Sword]].
83* HumanSacrifice: Unrelated to the VirginSacrifice below is how [[spoiler:''the player'' can engage in this, by venturing into the Underworld and offering up one of your party members to Death. Death always takes the second person in the party, not [[FourIsDeath the fourth as you might expect]].]]
84* IdeaBulb: Always appears over a character's head when they learn a new technique.
85* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Appears a lot in ''Minstrel Song''; not only did everyone get makeovers for TheRemake, they all ended up with ''very'' fancy and detailed clothes. Even Jamil and the others living in the slums of South Estamir...
86* InexplicableTreasureChests: Both sitting around visible to all and 'hidden', requiring the use of a certain skill to reveal it.
87* InUniverseGameClock: The game's defining feature is its "Event Rank" system. Random encounters and completing quests all advance your Rank; allowing for new events to happen, new enemies to appear and the game to progress. Quests can be failed if your Rank advances too much while they're active and some can even be missed entirely. This is also the reason the game encourages exploration and enforces AntiGrinding, as grinding too much early on will make [[BeefGate enemies impossibly strong]] and will [[LockedOutOfTheLoop lock you out of pertinent events and the items behind them]].
88** The remaster makes this a ''literal'' game clock, letting you see what ER you are on at any given time. It even gives a visual and audio notification when the ER advances.
89* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:Jamil towards the Assassin's Guild after learning what they did to Dowd/Farah's mother.]]
90* JackOfAllStats: Gray has completely even stat-growth across the board, for better and for worse.
91* JokeCharacter: Herman. Aside from being an asian stereotype in on his own joke, he has low stat growth in all areas except Endurance; preventing him from performing any role other than damage-sponge. (And even then, Sif does it better!)
92%%* JusticeWillPrevail: Albert's worldview, taken to eleven by Lord Theodore and the Knights of the Dominion.
93* KarmaMeter: You can curry favor with the evil Gods, too. There aren't many opportunities for this (outside of knowing where to fight and how to perform the combo the bad Gods like), but when they come up...
94* KnightInShiningArmor: {{Invoked|Trope}} by the start of one scenario, [[spoiler:and {{Subverted}}; Neidhart saves Aisha, but she's more curious about his kingdom than she's interested in him, and he has his own LoveInterest in [[ActionGirl Diana]].]]
95* LastOfTheirKind: [[spoiler:The Taralians are descendants of the the goddess Nisa's chosen. During the last war between the gods, she sheltered them in [[HiddenElfVillage her underground temple]]; they emerged to find the world vastly changed and their culture all that remained of the old world.]]
96* LawfulStupid: Lord Theodore. So utterly convinced that ''his'' [[HonorBeforeReason code of honor trumps everything else]], to the point where he's perfectly willing to execute one of his most loyal knights over suspected cowardice... because said knight got slashed in the back during an ambush. And without a witness to confirm they ''were'' ambushed, he assumes the knight broke the code and [[DirtyCoward tried to run away]], something knights ''never do'' in Theodore's mind.
97* {{Leitmotif}}: Each of the leads has their own theme, ranging from Aisha's airy music box-ish 'Feel the Wind' and Jamil's easygoing 'I'll Take All The Treasure!' to Albert's heroic fanfare 'Hope For Justice' and Sif's steady 'Courage Becoming Resolve'.
98* LethalJokeCharacter: The secret characters [[spoiler:Freilei, Silver and Dragon Knight]] have absurd stats....and absurdly pitiful defenses. Not an issue for regular fights, but end-game bosses will eat them alive.
99* LizardFolk: Guella Ha and the other Gecklings.
100* MacGuffinGuardian: The Aquamarine, the Black Diamond and the Moonstone.
101* MadScientist: Ewei. If that's not bad enough, he's a FlunkyBoss ''and'' ThatOneBoss.
102* MagikarpPower: Martial Arts is pitiful at the start of the game due to characters' low Strength ratings. If you give it a chance however, it can result in some of the game's best attacks.
103* MakingASplash: Hydrology. [[HealingHands Default healers]] combined with [[TimeStop time manipulation]] and summoning magical fish to ram your opponent.
104* MasterOfIllusion: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Illusion]]. [[FireIceLightning Fire, Ice and Lightning spells]], phantom {{Body Double}}s, plus the ability to [[StatusEffects put enemies to sleep or snap friends out of it]].
105* MindOverMatter: Demonology. [[DarkIsNotEvil Sure, it's]] ''[[DarkIsNotEvil dark]]'' [[DarkIsNotEvil energy]], but it's used mainly for {{Status Buff}}s and energy waves.
106* MineralMacGuffin: The Fatestones. They're even different types of jewels (Ruby, Aquamarine, Topaz, Opal, and so on) and can be equipped for various bonuses.
107* MoneySpider: Gold Dragon. They always drop Pure Gold which sells for 1000G. There is a little trick involving having to only fight them during the Mine Assaulted quest. Do not save any of the miners when farming Gold Dragons as it may remove them from the passageways. Simply kill and return.
108* MultipleEndings: The scenes that play depend on what quests you finished, who was in your party, and other decisions both major and minor.
109* MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers: There are several sets of characters that are impossible to include in the same party, such as Diana and Albert, and Dowd and Farah.
110* MutuallyExclusiveMagic: Opposing elements cancel each other out, barring you from having a full selection of spells: [[PlayingWithFire Pyrology]] opposes [[MakingASplash Hydrology]], [[BlowYouAway Aerology]] opposes [[DishingOutDirt Terrology]], [[MasterOfIllusion Illusion]] opposes [[MindOverMatter Demonology]], [[HolyHandGrenade Cosmology]] opposes [[BadPowersBadPeople Sorcery]], and [[StatusBuff Bewitchery]] opposes [[BadPowersBadPeople Necromancy]]. However, there's a way around this: [[spoiler:Certain weapons channel magic. Teach a caster all the spells of that class ''before'' learning the non-barred class, then equip the channeling weapon on them. Voila! Just remember that the channeling cost is based on your skill with that weapon, ''not'' any actual talent with the magic itself...]]
111* MythologyGag: The Saw from ''VideoGame/TheFinalFantasyLegend'' returns in this game as the Bilqis Axe, which turns into the {{chainsaw|Good}} with the technique: Fury of Bel'kwinith. Not as effective as the original as you can't cut Saruin, or his siblings into pieces as you did the Creator. To further reinforce the point, it relies on the Agility stat, which the original Saw used.
112* NeglectfulPrecursors: The pantheon of Gods is [[AllThereInTheManual mostly the second generation]]; the original, ancient gods ''left'' after the war between them tore Mardias apart.
113* NewGamePlus: Mainly lets you choose your next hero's starting class, along with raising the Jewels payout with each new generation. Also unlocks a few quests, or in one case, carries over your progress in it. Now, if you manage to complete all eight heroes' stories in a single save file...
114* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: "Vampire mummies are on board; please disembark in an orderly fashion."
115* NobleWolf- Silvan, one of Claudia's animal companions.
116* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Followers of Yucomb, god of the sea, who can take human form with his blessing. One of the Minstrel's tales is a fable about the Nymph Statues that connects them to mermaids: [[spoiler:According to the fable, the statues are actually three of Yucomb's daughters, TakenForGranite after a StarCrossedLovers incident.]]
117* {{Permadeath}}: Watch those LP; if ''those'' run out...
118%%* PirateGirl: Captain Silver.
119* PlayingWithFire: Pyrology. Combines the usual flame-flinging fun with protection and [[HealingFactor auto-revival]]
120* PrestigeClass: The Legendary Classes, which all have the same effect: lowering the cost of all your techniques. However, this also means you don't get to enjoy the bonuses ''other'' classes offer, some of which are arguably much better, like [[GameBreaker Rosalian Mages and Imperial Scholars]].
121* QuestForIdentity: Recruitable ally Darque's subplot revolves around this.
122* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[spoiler:Captain Silver.]]
123* RelationshipValues: Some of the gods take a more direct hand in matters than others, and your actions attract the attention of different gods; impressing them enough by taking quests they find interesting/beneficial, buying magic from their temples, performing [[CombinationAttack Vortexes]] corresponding to each god, fighting in certain regions, or even just fighting different types of monsters can lead to them abruptly intervening during battle, to impressive effect.
124* {{Reincarnation}}: [[spoiler:It is AllThereInTheManual: When any life dies, be it man, beast or flora, when they arrive in the Netherworld they must abandon their memories of their lives in order to be reborn, otherwise they must remain in the filth of Purgatory until the stress forces them to abandon their memories.]]
125* RemadeForTheExport: ''Minstrel Song'' was the first Romancing Saga game released in the West and was simply titled "Romancing Saga".
126* TheRemake:
127** ''Minstrel Song'', which converted the entire pixel art game into three-dimensions.
128** ''-Minstrel Song- Remastered'' for MediaNotes/TheNinthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames improved the graphics of the previous remake, and PromotedToPlayable some prominent characters.
129* SealedEvilInACan: Saruin, obviously, as per the {{Backstory}}; also, [[spoiler:the Jewel Beast, destroyer of the Frontier unless [[GuideDangIt the player delays his awakening]]... and sometimes not even ''THEN'']].
130* SecretLegacy: Claudia is actually [[spoiler:[[RagsToRoyalty the princess of Melvir]], whose mother died shortly after her birth, and was given to Eule to protect her from assassins. [[TomatoInTheMirror Naturally, Claudia herself is the only one unaware of this]]]].
131* ShoutOut: Odd example: the unlucky Louie and his [[Creator/{{Disney}} two]] [[Creator/CarlBarks identical]] [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse brothers]].
132* ShutUpHannibal: Before the final battle, [[spoiler:Saruin makes a dramatic speech about making the world pay for his past humiliation and imprisionment. Your hero tells him to stop whining already and get to the fighting.]]
133* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Poor Darque]] suffers from a form of this that can turn into a full-fledged SplitPersonalityTakeover if you [[spoiler:favor Aldora]]. Sucks to be them.
134* SpoonyBard:
135** While The Minstrel is a decent ally, easily available for most of the game, he automatically leaves whenever you enter a pub, [[spoiler:can't participate in any of the three ending quests, and if you complete the Trials of Elore, he won't rejoin you ''at all'',]] so trying to use him may be more trouble than it's worth.
136** The 'generic' mercenaries you can hire have ''extremely'' low [[LifeEnergy LP]] -- only 3 or 4 compared to the usual double-digit range -- so avoiding {{Permadeath}} is a ''massive'' pain.
137** The [[spoiler:Dragon Knight]] recruitable in later playthroughs sounds amazing given his built-in immunities to certain attacks and excellent stats. [[ArmoredButFrail Shame about that LP though]]....
138* StairwayToHeaven How you enter [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIt8eKc3H7E&t=2m21s The Trials of Elore]]]].
139* StatusBuff: Bewitchery. All about self-enhancement, [[HealingFactor self-healing]], and the odd [[KiManipulation Ki Attack]].
140* StealingFromTheTill: Implied. Melvir's treasurer Patrick is [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight nonplussed to find out monsters were robbing the bank in Aurefont]]. [[spoiler:That's because he may have been paying off thieves to do the same thing beforehand]].
141%%* TheStoic: Claudia and Gray.
142* SummonMagic:
143** All the different schools include a 'Summon Elemental' spell, calling a ElementalEmbodiment to take your place in battle for a bit. [[AwesomeButImpractical Since they're limited to just that element, though, this isn't quite as great as it sounds.]]
144** There is Stimulacrim: Summon a Snowman to fight in your stead, only problem is that it eats up a lot of BP and possibly LP but the Snowman summons can replace all characters and each Snowman has 777 HP. If a character was [=KOed=] when Snowman was summoned, the HP of their replacement will be halved.
145* {{Superboss}}:
146** [[spoiler:The Jewel Beast, and Saruin on subsequent playthroughs of ''Minstrel Song'' where you can offer the Fatestones and increase his power, resulting in quite possibly the strongest boss in the entire game when you've given them all to him. Death can be fought at anytime in the Netherworld, Schirach is a NewGamePlus boss as the Unlucky Woman quest carries over to future playthroughs if you didn't talk to her enough times in earlier playthroughs; once it's cleared, just speaking to Schiele once will clear the quest.]]
147** The remaster offers TEN superboss versions of existing bosses.
148* ThresholdGuardians: Silver Dragon guards the Opal and one of Yucomb's servants guards the Black Diamond.
149* TreasureMap: Can be [[RandomlyDrops Randomly Dropped]] by various monsters, directing you to the appropriate dungeon in hopes of unearthing some really good/rare equipment... though you can only find and unearth the chests with the proper skills. One also figures into a subquest: tracking down Captain Silver's Treasure.
150* {{Tsundere}}: Farah towards Jamil.
151* UrbanSegregation: North Estamir is a bustling port town where the upper class wallow in comfort; South Estamir is a slum ruled by slavers, thugs and beggars.
152* VirginSacrifice: Involved in two different quests; in the first instance, [[spoiler:you can actually choose to ''walk away'' and abandon the victim to her fate rather than tail the guy into the sewer. This earns you massive points with Saruin, though you obviously lose out on the reward]].
153* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: No matter which of the three ending quests you use to unlock it, it all comes down to the same place: [[spoiler:Saruin's prison Quietus, sealed beneath Isthmus Keep.]]
154* WaifFu: The Martial Arts skill allows ''anyone'' to specialize in this. Barbara, in particular, always starts out with this.
155* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: If your chosen hero [[{{Permadeath}} loses all their LP]], that's it -- Game Over.
156%%* WideEyedIdealist: Albert. Aisha also fits, drifting towards the {{Pollyanna}} later on.
157* WithCatlikeTread: When pirates raid a town, they do so ''loudly''. With their theme song blasting the entire time.

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