Romancing SaGa — stories left

It is the 4th work in the company's SaGa series, which began with the Game Boy software The Final Fantasy Legend (1989), and the 1st work in the series on the Super Famicom.

In the "Cross Review" of the game magazine Famitsu it received 9, 8, 8 and 6 for a total of 31 out of 40, earning a place in the Silver Hall of Fame; opinions from reviewers included "if FF is a game of defence, then Romancing is a game of attack" and "what is regrettable is the somehow slapdash battle scenes and visuals.

In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by the magazine Family Computer Magazine,it scored 25.94 out of 30, as shown below.

This score placed it 5th among all Super Famicom titles (323 titles in total, as of 1993).

In addition, in the "Best 30 by Category" printed at the end of the "Super Famicom All Catalog '93", a special supplement to the 1993-8 information issue of SUPER FAMICOM Magazine, it took No. 5 overall, No. 10 for characters, No. 4 for music and sound effects, No. 9 for controls, No. 6 for absorption, No. 7 for value for money, and No. 4 for originality.

In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu, the game scored a total of 28 out of 40.

The PS2 remake sold 500,000 units across Japan and North America, seeing mixed reviews in the West due to its difficulty and art style.

By 2002, Romancing SaGa had sold 970,000 copies in Japan, ranking as the fifth best-selling SaGa title at the time.

As of 2004, the Super Famicom original has sold over 1.3 million copies worldwide; over 1.1 million were sold in Japan, with further overseas sales adding 150,000.

As of January 2006, the game had sold 500,000 units; 450,000 were sold in Japan, and 50,000 in North America.

By 2002, Romancing SaGa had sold 970,000 copies in Japan, ranking as the fifth best-selling SaGa title at the time.

Super Famicom Magazine praised the game's Free Scenario System, which allowed players to repeatedly enjoy the game however they wished.

Writing in a 2017 retrospective on the original game, Tristan Ettleman of Vice praised the game's ambitious open-ended structure compared to other titles of the time, but faulted its execution and confusing battle mechanics.

Jane Pinckard 1Up.com praised the environments, but faulted many other elements from art to mechanics as poorly or confusingly designed, feeling it did little to improve on the mixed reputation of Unlimited Saga.

GamePro praised the art design, but faulted the soundtrack, and found the progression system and design confusing and difficult to enjoy.

Nintendo World Rerports Neal Ronaghan disliked the visuals and found some of its mechanics confusing, but praised the soundtrack and battle gameplay, calling it a good entry point into the SaGa series.

Murillo Zerbinatto of RPGamer praised its replayability and updates for the remaster, but noted that some of its progression and mechanics would be offputting for casual gamers, summing Minstrel Song Remastered up as "a title packed with nuances and peculiarities that still stand the test of time."

It formed part of a series dubbed "Square Masterpiece", a series of their classic titles for the WonderSwan platform.

For its Western release, the "Minstrel Song" subtitle was dropped as the original had never released outside Japan.

In March 2006, readers of Famitsu voted it the 53rd best video game of all time as part of the magazine's "All Time Top 100" poll.

Meghan Sullivan of IGN said the game would appeal to fans of the series, but thought that its unorthodox style and design would likely put off many gamers.

Murillo Zerbinatto of RPGamer praised its replayability and updates for the remaster, but noted that some of its progression and mechanics would be offputting for casual gamers, summing Minstrel Song Remastered up as "a title packed with nuances and peculiarities that still stand the test of time."

The PS2 remake sold 500,000 units across Japan and North America, seeing mixed reviews in the West due to its difficulty and art style.

GamePro praised the art design, but faulted the soundtrack, and found the progression system and design confusing and difficult to enjoy.

The game was announced in September 2004 via an issue of Jump, and released in Japan on April 21, 2005.

A remaster of the original album was reissued in 2019.

A North American release was announced at E3 2005, featuring alongside other major titles from the company including Dragon Quest VIII, Final Fantasy XII and Kingdom Hearts II.

For its Western release, the "Minstrel Song" subtitle was dropped as the original had never released outside Japan.

During the first week, it sold around 217,000, coming in ahead of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Nintendogs, and completely selling out in some stores.