The 7th Saga

The 7th Saga is a role playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, known as Elnard (エルナード?) in Japan. The player chooses one of seven playable characters, all of whom separately embark on a quest to locate seven magical runes. As the player progresses through the game from one town to the next, they will encounter the other six characters on multiple occasions. The player may partner with one of the other playable characters to fight as a team, and they may also fight against other playable characters for the runes.

Notable unique innovations include the use of a crystal ball "radar" that allows players to see enemies approaching their character in dungeons and in the overworld. This means that combat is not totally random, as players may theoretically avoid enemies (although enemies move extremely quickly and randomly, making combat difficult to avoid). The game also uses Mode 7 graphic effects to create the transition between exploration screen and battle screen.

The game is particularly known for its unforgiving difficulty, considering that you might spend a great deal of time leveling up to advance in the game.

Source: Wikipedia, The 7th Saga , available under the CC-BY-SA License.