Everyone knows the classics from the 16-Bit era. You have Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6 and Earthbound. It doesn't stop there... You also have Final Fantasy 4, Breath of Fire 2 and Phantasy Star 4. The list continues with the Lufia and Shining Series. That still leaves Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, Breath of Fire 1. So many great games to play.
     Then you have "The other ones". You know, Paladin's Quest, Sword of Vermilion, Lagoon, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Tecmo: Secret of the Stars and 7th Saga. I still love all of those games but, 7th Saga does falls into the lower tier of 16-Bit RPG's. HOWEVER! I am here to tell you why it is at the "Top of the bottom tier" and still worth playing.

STORY- You have been recruited and trained under the great King Lemele for the past 5 years. Finally the time has come for you to look for the seven Runes hidden throughout the world of Ticondera. The one with all the Runes will be the future leader of the world. Choose from;
Kamil Dowonna - Human - A balanced choice, leaning towards attack. Has many skills but excels at none.
Lux Tizer - Tetujin - A great beginner character. Has high HP and attack. Learns very little magic. He costs very little to outfit also.
Lejes Rimul - Demon - A balanced choice, leaning towards magic. One of my favorites.
Esuna Busy - Elf - All magic here. In my opinion, she is the best partner to have in the game.
Wilme Pelin - Alien - High HP and Defense make him a decent choice. I never use him though.
Olvan Jaess - Dwarf - Great beginner choice. Is strong enough to be an attacker and still has nice support spells. This makes him a good choice for a "No Partner Run".
Valsu Saizer - Human - Has nothing to offer offensively. He becomes almost invincible late game due to his magic. Unfortunately this happens far to late in the game for him to be a good choice. Unless your a pro, he is best left as a partner.
7/10

Graphics - The towns and castles are nice... The world map is ok... Lots of land to explore in Ticondera, but nothing really to marvel at. The real attraction here are the battles. They look pretty good for 1993. Characters are detailed and have animations for attacking, defending and using magic that look pretty smooth. The best part about the graphics to me is when entering a battle. You get spun with your surroundings from 2D to 3D. I thought that looked pretty awesome, compared to what I was playing at the time.
7/10

Difficulty - This game is known to be hard. Bosses can be punishing and traveling from place to place can end tragically if your not prepared. But really the game is just unbalanced. As hard as an enemy seems, it will be equally easy after gaining a few levels. This is true with one exception...  This game is known as Elnard in Japan. It is about the same, but one main difference is your stat growth at level up. In Elnard your stat gains were much higher making the game easier than 7th Saga(The US actually got a "Harder" version of a game!). In 7th Saga that is gone from your character but... The characters you don't choose still get those higher stat gains! That means when fighting another Apprentice, you will always be weaker than them, always. This is the hardest part of the game in my opinion as all other problems can be solved by leveling up.
9/10

Sound - It's really not bad. The town and castle songs are very catchy. The World Map theme gives you a sense of emptiness in a large world and the battle music is at the very least average. The music is a reason why I come back to play this game.
8/10

Addictiveness - That sense of wanting to push forward in this game doesn't hit you until you get your first Rune. The Runes really do make your character stronger and are the driving force in this game.
5/10

Depth - This game does offer a small amount of depth. Picking different characters could mean using a different strategy through out most of the game. You can recruit a partner in this game making it even more different if you desire. Their is even a story line event that plays out differently depending on who you choose. Another thing to note is that you have a Crystal Ball that shows you Runes, towns, treasure, etc. It also shows you enemies. So the better you know the game/dungeons, the less battles you fight. You can get pretty good at dodging them.                It's not much, but it is something.
6/10

     Play the classics first, they deserve that. But if you have played them all and are looking for a 16-Bit fix, this game might be worth your while. Grinding is big in this game, but here at Vizzed we have a solution to that! Speed it up! Just be sure to listen to the music when you are not speed leveling.