It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the PlayStation 2 to mobile phones, PCs, and modern multi-platform console releases.

The series is notable for its emphasis on open world exploration, non-linear branching plots, and occasionally unconventional gameplay.

It also features a similar turn-based battle system, where a character's prowess is driven by numerical values called "statistics" which, in turn, increase with combat experience.

Given the open-ended aspect of gameplay and the ability to play through multiple character scenarios, heavy emphasis is placed upon the replay value of SaGa games.

Since the original Makai Toushi SaGa, much of the series has relied on loosely connected stories and sidequests rather than an epic narrative.

[8] It also introduced a combo system where up to five party members can perform a combined special attack,[8] and required characters to pay mentors to teach them abilities, whether it is using certain weapons or certain proficiencies like opening a chest or dismantling a trap.

[6] While in the original Romancing SaGa, scenarios were changed according to dialogue choices during conversations, Romancing SaGa 2 further expanded the open-endedness by having unique storylines for each character that can change depending on the player's actions, including who is chosen, what is said in conversation, what events have occurred, and who is present in the party.

[9] Romancing SaGa 3 featured a storyline that could be told differently from the perspectives of up to eight different characters and introduced a level-scaling system where the enemies get stronger as the characters do,[10] a mechanic that was later used in Final Fantasy VIII,[11] The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Silverfall,[12] Dragon Age: Origins,[13] Fallout 3, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Similar in style to the earlier games in the series, SaGa Frontier allows the player to choose from multiple characters, each with his or her own unique storyline and scenario.

The game features a combination of 2D and 3D graphics known as "Sketch Motion" and a complicated battle mechanic called the "Reel System".

[22][23] A new standalone title featuring a cast of six protagonists in 17 interconnected worlds with initially separate stories (note: two of the six main characters are a pair working together).

Japan North America PAL region Announced in September 2011, the game features a combat system utilizing digital playing cards.

It features a new story set 300 years after Romancing SaGa 3, characters from previous games and some of the characteristic elements from the series.

[55] However, the series has remained decidedly less popular in North America, many of the games receiving mixed reviews from printed and online publications.

It has been suggested that this is due to the series' seemingly experimental gameplay and allowing the player to freely roam with little direction or narrative, atypical of what many North American gamers usually expect from Japanese role-playing games.