Saviors of Sapphire Wings/Stranger of Sword City Revisited

A dual pack with a beginner-friendly but sadly boring RPG, along with a much more interesting but less friendly re-release.

The title is quite hard to evaluate because on the one hand it has an older look and mechanisms that won't work so well nowadays. Of course, if you're a fan of the genre and can enjoy it, it's a different matter altogether. On the other hand, Saviors of Sapphire Wings has a pretty decent story, the characters are nicely done, but that's it otherwise. After a while the fights start to get tiresome and you have no motivation to continue the story. Especially the price is quite discouraging, because the title can't be bought separately, but only in a bundle. The amount of 49,99 € seems really exorbitant in this case. Stranger of Sword City Revisited does not contain any mechanics other than the ones we just listed. To be honest, however, this doesn't hurt the title, as it is a fairly challenging title that can keep you entertained for several hours. The graphics make the game look a bit more modern, even though it's not really. It's just a shame that the title can't be purchased separately, but again only in a bundle for €49.99.

I may have already played through one of these two games before, but that didn’t stop Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited from being an absolute blast. While the punishing difficulty curve of SoSCR might be enough to put off those who don’t want to invest too much time into their dungeoneering experiences, SoSW is much more approachable and acts as a happier, easier version of its grittier counterpart. You’d best pick this two-for-one treat up if you’re even remotely a DRPG fan. You’re totally missing out, otherwise!

Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited bring us to the Nintendo Switch a pack of two games with a very specific approach and aimed at a very specific audience. They do not invent the wheel or stand out greatly above the average of the genre but if you find yourself among the lovers of the dungeon crawler variant of the crpg, rest assured that both titles together will give you hours of fun.

Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited carry aspects of their age with them, but this bundle of two somewhat obscure RPGs still provides a deep, detailed, dungeon-crawling experience that is well-suited to the Switch handheld.

If you're hankering for some classic dungeon crawling, Saviours of Sapphire Wings is an accessible yet challenging way to go.

When all is said is done, this game contains a pair of great dungeon crawlers, one of which might not have seen the light of day outside of Japan (officially that is) if it wasn’t for this title. Admittedly, there is quite a bit of grinding involved, and there are a few obscure puzzles as well as some slight inconsistencies in mechanics (e.g. saving) between the two games, but ultimately I found these negligible when it came to enjoying my time playing through them. I’m not sure I could recommend these to anyone new to RPGs, but for more experienced players (especially for those within the JRPG sphere) these will definitely sit well on your libraries.

A flurry of combat, engrossed with content and a story that may emotionally drain you at its climax. This is one to remember. Saviors of Sapphire Wings/Stranger of Sword City Revisited is a celebration for the dungeon-crawling devout.

Saviors of Sapphire Wings is an accessible foray into dungeon-crawling that emphasizes gameplay over stat or party management while mostly avoiding the usual pitfalls of difficulty spikes.

Either of these two games, weighing in at several dozen hours each, would be worth the price of admission alone, but to see Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited packaged together raises the value proposition considerably.