Here's how every SaGa game runs on Switch 2 – Romancing SaGa 2 Remake, Emerald Beyond, Scarlet Grace, & More

After tackling the Fire Emblem, Tales of, Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest, and Xenoblade, my newest Nintendo Switch 2 backward compatibility feature covers Square Enix's superlative SaGa RPG series. There are quite a few SaGa games available on Nintendo Switch through new releases, remasters, ports, and collections. As with my earlier features going over different franchises, I will be comparing load times, performance, and more when testing on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch. Today's feature covers SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions, SaGa Emerald Beyond, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, the original Romancing SaGa 2, Romancing SaGa 3, Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend, SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, SaGa Frontier Remastered, and Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered.

Having played every single localized SaGa game on Switch and almost every localized game on other platforms including iOS, Steam, and PlayStation, it has been interesting seeing how these games scale across different hardware. On Nintendo Switch 1, the SaGa games are mostly fine, but some of them are not great on Nintendo's hybrid system. In today's article, I will also be going over what I'd like to see in any potential official upgrades or Nintendo Switch 2 Edition releases for the SaGa games.

For the load time testing today, I've used the digital version of each game (barring SaGa Emerald Beyond) installed to the Nintendo Switch 2 internal memory and the SD card on Nintendo Switch OLED. I've also made sure to mash A to speed up any loading and avoid the publisher and developer logos if possible. For SaGa Emerald Beyond, I don't own the full game digitally on Switch, but I own it physically. To give another point of comparison, I will be testing the load times across the digital demo available and my physical cartridge.

How does Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven run on Nintendo Switch 2

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven was already a great experience on Nintendo Switch. I think it is one of Square Enix's most-optimized releases for the platform all things considered as well, but it was lacking when compared to other systems thanks to longer load times, softer visuals, and its lower frame rate target. It also had some texture streaming issues. Despite that, it was still a massive improvement over SaGa Emerald Beyond and even SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions on the console.

Moving over to Nintendo Switch 2, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven runs at its 30fps target without issues during gameplay. I noticed some performance issues in specific cut-scenes though, but I didn't notice any during actual gameplay. Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven also loads faster on Nintendo Switch 2 and while the game still looks soft or sub-native, I think it scales well when playing on the Switch 2 screen even for its UI, though the texture streaming issues are still present when playing on Switch 2.

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

Since Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is still a newer release, I'm hopeful for an upgrade or patch to deliver higher resolution visuals and 60fps gameplay. Beyond that, the draw distance could be improved as well in a potential upgrade. As it stands, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is improved on Nintendo Switch 2, but there's potential to do a lot more. 

How does SaGa Emerald Beyond run on Nintendo Switch 2

I played SaGa Emerald Beyond on every platform at launch, and it was not good on Nintendo Switch thanks to its long load times and performance issues. These weren't as bad even on iOS. Given how well the Steam version ran on Steam Deck, I honestly expected better from every console, but the Switch version in particular was not easy to recommend. Moving over to Nintendo Switch 2, SaGa Emerald Beyond loads faster and has no performance issues in my testing. It still targets 30fps unlike PS5 or Steam, but at least it runs more stable and loads faster.

Note: All load times above are in seconds. *SaGa Emerald Beyond digital demo load times. **SaGa Emerald Beyond physical cartridge load times.

What we want from a SaGa Emerald Beyond Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

I would love for a potential SaGa Emerald Beyond upgrade or patch to target 60fps and deliver higher-resolution visuals when playing docked on Switch 2. Right now, it sees improvements over playing on Nintendo Switch 1, but SaGa Emerald Beyond is still lacking compared to other systems. 

How does SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions run on Nintendo Switch 2

I haven't played SaGa Scarlet Grace on PS Vita to comment on that version, but I have played SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions on iPhone, iPad, PS4, Switch, and Steam Deck. It is one of my favorite Square Enix RPGs. SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions targeted 60fps on Switch, but it had regular performance issues and hitching. I was happy to see Square Enix add touchscreen support though for those who play in handheld mode. Visually, SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions looked fine when playing handheld, but was lacking when docked on Switch.

Moving over to Nintendo Switch 2, the performance issues are no longer present with SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions delivering a smooth 60fps docked and handheld experience. Visually, it still is a bit lacking with its lower resolution, but this is a good improvement over playing on Nintendo Switch. The load times are sadly not a whole lot better. 

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions is likely too old to get any updates now, but I would love for a higher resolution output when playing on Nintendo Switch 2. Beyond that, a native Nintendo Switch 2 release would also load a lot quicker. 

How does SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered run on Nintendo Switch 2

SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered, the most-recent SaGa game released in the West, was already an excellent experience on Nintendo Switch. It looked great and ran well both docked and handheld, but had slightly longer load times than other platforms. When playing on Nintendo Switch 2, it scales well on the handheld screen and loads faster. There isn't much else to say for this one. It was great on Switch and it is a bit better on Switch 2. 

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered would benefit from native 4K support docked in a potential update or upgrade. Other than that, I don't think it needs anything else on Switch 2. I wouldn't say no to 120fps since it does have that on PC, but SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered is the best of the SaGa Switch releases when it comes to port quality already. 

How does Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered run on Nintendo Switch 2

Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered, a remaster of the PlayStation 2 remake of Romancing SaGa, was a great version of a fantastic RPG. On Nintendo Switch, it played as well as other systems, but the initial load time was very long. Beyond that, the game targets 30fps for battles and exploration like it does across all platforms. On Switch 2, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered loads much faster initially, and generally feels snappier with slightly faster load times across the board. It also looks good on the Switch 2 handheld screen. 

Note: I do not own Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered International so I cannot comment if that version is different. I only own the original Square Enix localized release digitally and physically.

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

Given how Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered already looks on Nintendo Switch 2 in handheld mode, I'd only really want full 4K support when playing docked from a potential upgrade or patch. There isn't anything else to do since the game is 30fps in exploration and combat across all platforms.

How does Romancing SaGa 3 run on Nintendo Switch 2

Romancing SaGa 3's remaster launched on Switch, PS Vita, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and PC at the same time in the West. Having played most of those versions, the Switch release was lacking compared to other platforms thanks to its load times and input lag. This wasn't as bad as how Romancing SaGa 2 felt to play, but it was very noticeable compared to playing the iOS release. On Switch 2, Romancing SaGa 3 loads a bit faster outside the initial load, but it feels the same when it comes to responsiveness. 

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a Romancing SaGa 3 Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

Romancing SaGa 3 is another game that is likely too old to see any update or upgrade for Switch 2. If it did get one, I'd love for the input lag to be completely addressed with faster load times and native 1080p handheld / 4K docked resolution support. The iOS and Steam versions scale well on higher resolution displays and it would be great to have proper pixel perfect scaling for the Switch 2 screen for SaGa release like this.

How does SaGa Frontier Remastered run on Nintendo Switch 2

SaGa Frontier Remastered on Nintendo Switch was not as polished as SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered. This resulted in some performance issues in cut-scenes and generally longer load times compared to PC and mobile. As a remaster, I wasn't a fan of some of the menus and parts of the presentation as well. On Nintendo Switch 2, some cut-scenes still have hitching, but the big win is in load times through backward compatibility. 

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a SaGa Frontier Remastered Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

SaGa Frontier Remastered would benefit from native 1080p handheld and 4K docked support more than anything else in a potential upgrade or update. Beyond that, the load times are already quite a bit improved compared to playing the game on Switch.

How does Romancing SaGa 2 run on Nintendo Switch 2

Romancing SaGa 2 shipped with a lot of input lag across all platforms, but the Switch version felt the least responsive when I played it. The iOS version of Romancing SaGa 2 was actually my first taste of the SaGa series as well, but it is hard to recommend this version when the remake exists. On Switch, in addition to more input lag, it also had longer load times. When playing Romancing SaGa 2 on Nintendo Switch 2, there sadly isn't much improvement to load times or input lag. 

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a Romancing SaGa 2 Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

Usually, I'd say there is no saving a release like this outside a full-blown remake, but we actually did get that with Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven which is by far the best way to experience Romancing SaGa 2 today. As for the original, any potential upgrade or update that improves the load times and has proper scaling docked and handheld for the native resolutions would be welcome. I would still recommend playing the remake over this.

How does Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend run on Nintendo Switch 2

Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend, brought a trilogy of three Game Boy titles (The Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Legend II, and Final Fantasy Legend III) to Switch and eventually mobile and PC platforms. These were the first three entries in Square Enix's SaGa series. As a collection of games that are very old, they didn't really have any issues on Nintendo Switch. It even includes touchscreen support and vertical screen orientation options. On Nintendo Switch 2, the initial load is a bit quicker, but the experience is otherwise the same. 

Note: All load times above are in seconds.

What we want from a Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade

There isn't anything a patch or upgrade could add barring 4K scaling for docked play. 

As you can see, some SaGa games had nice boosts to performance or load times when playing on Nintendo Switch 2, but others felt the same. I'm curious to see how the first SaGa game that gets a native Nintendo Switch 2 release ends up feeling whenever it releases. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for what Square Enix has planned for SaGa's future.