It’s been a few years since we saw the last Romancing SaGa and Saga Prefecture collaboration, but it is back with special utility hole covers for 2020. That’s Romancing “Saga” (written with the same kanji “佐賀” as the prefecture.) [Thanks, Famitsu.]
On October 29, 2020, Square Enix donated seven special utility hole covers featuring pixel art designs of Romancing SaGa characters to Saga Prefecture. Famitsu attended the opening ceremony and shared a look at some photographs.
SaGa series producer Masanori Ichikawa was a part of the opening ceremony along with the current mayor of Saga Prefecture, Toshiyuki Hideshima. Here’s a quote from producer Ichikawa:
“Thank you so much for placing them in really great locations. I truly felt the love for the SaGa series and games from the people of Saga Prefecture.”
Saga mayor Hideshima added:
“I thank you on behalf of the 240,000 citizens of Saga Prefecture. Please do enjoy a stroll in the streets of Saga to look for these seven Romancing Saga utility hole covers.”
It wouldn’t be a Saga Prefecture without some “Arita-yaki” porcelain plates. It’s a native art of Saga that has been around for over 400 years. We previously saw SaGa series illustrator Tomomi Kobayashi work her magic on the plates. This time, we got a look at a set of seven miniature utility hole covers. Fans will get to purchase these as limited-time items on the Japanese Square Enix Store.
The first Romancing Saga Prefecture collaboration featured several events, including an art exhibition and imperial treats in March 2014. The second collaboration took place the following year with a SaGa series train and other art exhibits. The third, which was the last one, took place in July 2016 with more artwork than ever.
