Saviors of Sapphire Wings & Stranger of Sword City Revisited

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!

There are times when a bundle of titles is a quick cash-in or the mark of an anniversary. In this instance, Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited is a masterfully crafted offering of two incredible dungeon-crawling adventures. This is a series that feels right at home on Nintendo Switch and hopefully is an indication that more titles from the NIS catalog are on the way.

Ultimately, Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited form a welcome package that’s sure to delight fans of dungeon crawlers. I like the way that Sapphire Wings’ moderate difficulty and focus on narrative serve as a good introduction before throwing players into the much more punishing Stranger of Sword City. I’m glad that Experience Inc.'s western partner, NISA, is seeing the value in releasing these niche games to a Western audience, and the added appeal of playing these games on-the-go is a plus for the genre. And speaking from a purely value-for-money perspective, you’re getting two full length, lengthy games for the price of one, and you’ll be happily dungeon crawling for weeks and weeks if you choose to pick this one up.

Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited is an essential for DRPG fans. Even if you played the original Stranger of Sword City, the enhancements and additions make Stranger of Sword City Revisited worth your time and having Saviors of Sapphire Wings together with it for less than the price of a full-priced game makes this bundle an easy recommendation. While it lacks the accessibility options newer Etrian Odyssey games have, Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited are excellent DRPGs with gorgeous art, amazing music, and a ton of quality content for fans of the genre.

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

The Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited bundle does everything it needs to. And even more. While far from perfect, the package packaged by Entertainment Inc. offers a couple of dungeon crawler experiences like not seen in some time: the combat system is simple but functional, the story is engaging and exciting, and the setting well thought out and very inspired.

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. If you’re jonesing for an original satisfying dungeon-crawling experience, or even a way into the wild world of dungeon RPGs, Experience has put together an “experience” that’s easy to recommend.

Oddly, while I was looking forward to playing the new-to-the-West Saviors more, I ended up enjoying my replay of Stranger more. Still, both games are well-crafted dungeon RPGs and the fact that they offer slightly different experiences is one of the biggest strengths of this pack.

Saviors of Sapphire Wings is a great introduction to the DRPG genre and games from this developer. It’s worth playing for the base game alone for its enhanced features and engaging narrative, but genre veterans might prefer the challenge and freedom of Stranger of Sword City Revisited. Sure, these games are an output of modest production values and can be quite the grind. Still, the stylistic presentation and satisfying challenge go a long way to reel players into what is generally an acquired niche. Irrespective of your preference for RPGs, this is a welcome compilation among the big JRPG releases of 2021.

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.

Minor nit picks aside, I highly recommend this RPG combo for any dungeon crawler aficionado and its price tag isn’t a major ask for a pair of RPGs that will consume 50 to 60 hours a piece. Although certainly not for the casual gamer, this NIS-published duo has very nearly hit the mark for its target audience. So rejoice NIS faithful, for Saviors and Strangers is here to roll for bonus stats and take names, and it's brought its 20-sided die.

Despite how generic Saviors of Sapphire Wings felt, it’s a mostly solid DRPG. I wouldn’t recommend either of these for a newcomer, mainly because Saviors of Sapphire Wings is largely uninspired and Stranger of Sword City Revisited can be extremely challenging. However, for people who already enjoy what these types of games have to offer, Stranger of Sword City Revisited is a must-play. The striking art style, unique setting, and plenty of depth in its core mechanics will keep people coming back for more. The ports are good, and you’ll be sure to have a fun time with at least one of these if you’re a fan of the genre. The package is a little lacking, and there are much better DRPGs, but it is worth playing all the same.