RPGFan reviewed the Strategy RPG  Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister:

Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister

Got the itch for more Fire Emblem? Vestaria Saga is the project of Shouzou Kaga, the creator of the original game in Nintendo’s flagship strategy RPG series. War of the Scions was the first part of this planned trilogy, and we now have the official second part: Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister. Fire Emblem fans will find a game that feels familiar but different as Kaga has added some new twists to the formula for those up to the challenge.

Vestaria Saga II follows the continuing story of young military prodigy Zade (short for Zadrian), who is on another adventure after upending the Solvian Empire in part one. Now, he’s had a falling out with his brother, Zech (short for Zecharias), a fellow military commander, and Zade strikes out on his own, looking for someone to help with his sword. Unfortunately, while the story is set up as a sweeping quest of political intrigue and personal conflict, the main narrative loses its way almost immediately. What, at first glance, starts as a classic tale of sibling rivalry takes an abrupt turn into something less compelling and coherent. The overall plot melts into a jumble of names, places, and groups of people you’ll never cross. You also fight many antagonists with little setup or foreshadowing and generally spend too much time far away from Zade’s main conflict, which also becomes hazy. While playing Vestaria Saga I may benefit players new to the series, you won’t miss anything vital by starting with Vestaria Saga II.

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Ultimately, Vestaria Saga II, much like the first game, is a collection of cool, innovative, smart concepts and well-developed characters strung together haphazardly by a largely incomprehensible story. The brutal difficulty is in no way for everybody, but if you want an intense tactical challenge, this is still a good vehicle for it. If you’ve had your fill of Fire Emblem and want more, the Vestaria Saga series is an appropriate next step. But hurry up, Zade has towns on the other side of the world to save!

Score: 75/100

Noisy Pixel has reviewed the Strategy RPG Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister:

Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister Review – This One’s For the Enthusiasts

It’s been a while since a classic Fire Emblem game was released. 2015 in fact, with Fire Emblem Fates (And before you ask, Echoes doesn’t count due to the unorthodox nature of Gaiden). In 2018, SPRG Studio was released, a game maker in which one can craft their own low-budget strategy RPGs in the same vein as classic Fire Emblem.

The original creator of Fire Emblem, in fact, Shozou Kaga, decided that he would also have some fun with this game maker, and led a small team to make Vesteria Saga I, which was released in 2019. When you name something with I in the title, you know they’re going for that sequel later. And that’s what this review is about: Vesteria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister.

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Vesteria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister is a fantastic SRPG that scratches an itch for fair challenge and minimalism that we haven’t had in a while. It’s definitely for more hardcore fans of the genre and is missing a few things, such as concise or clear tutorials or difficulty options that would let those interested in this medium jump in.

Score: 7/10

The strategy RPG Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister has been released:

Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister

Vestaria Saga is a strategy RPG series where positioning, movement, and weaponry are paramount to success. Move your heavily armed units around a classically styled grid-based map and engage pirates, rebels, monsters, imperial soldiers, and anyone else that stands in your way.

While Vestaria Saga I chronicled the battles that ensued in the Solvian-Meledian War, Vestaria Saga II focuses on the further adventures of Zade, the hero from VS1, bringing the tales of him and his companions to a thrilling, satisfying end. Across his epic quest, Zade will encounter allies both new and old while also uncovering more of the mysteries behind the vile Margulites and their plan to plunge Vestaria into a new age of darkness.

Features

• New classes, gear, and skills to utilize across a wider variety of maps compared to its predecessor
• Ally conversations now confer stat boosts and other advantages
• A slew of other quality of life improvements have been made to the classic VS system
• An enthralling campaign of espionage, international intrigue, and war written by veterans of the genre
• Varying story paths and endings based on your choices and who survives to the end
• Over 30 unique characters to recruit with a wide variety of classes, weapons, and skills
• Intricate maps filled with a variety of enemies and strategic puzzles to overcome
• A rebalanced, single difficulty mode
• The ability to save every turn so that you can quickly undo any mistakes you've made during a battle
• A full English script translated from the original Japanese by a veteran translator
• Another chapter in a strategy RPG series that builds upon Japanese SRPG traditions

Story
After a ship carrying a Solvian imperial diplomat was mistakenly set ablaze in Meledian waters, the Solvian Emperor Manneus declared war on the island kingdom. Led by the famed general Ajax, Solvia's imperial forces soon invaded Meledian shores. Once Meleda suffered a critical defeat in the Battle of Frist, the Empire quickly swooped in to seize the royal capital of Regina. Crushed beyond any hope of recovery, Meleda was forced to watch its invaders brutally wipe 500 years of history right off the face of the map. And so, one year passed... Once thought to have gone missing, the young princess Athol miraculously returned to the royal capital and freed its people through a furious battle.

The one who fought valiantly by her side and helped lead her to victory was none other than Zadrian, the young heir to Redessa. Meleda praised Zadrian as a national hero, showering him with fame and glory that far exceeded what they had once shown his elder brother Zecharias, the kingdom's finest knight. Zech was not only engaged to the princess, he was also the acting commander of the Meledian army... And most importantly, he was Zade's big brother– the man who Zade loved and respected more than anyone else. Feeling like his very presence had become a stain on his dear brother's reputation, Zade decided to leave the capital and set off on a new journey to the Temenos of Vesta. He took with him on his quest only a single traveling companion: Accorte Roland, a student of Sphire's magic academy and the daughter of a man who once saved Zade's life... 

The strategy RPG Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister will be released on July 28:

Mark your calendars, Vestaria Saga fans!

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Vestaria Saga II: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister will be officially releasing on Steam on July 28th, 2022!

Gematsu reports that Vestaria Saga Gaiden: The Sacred Sword of Silvanis will be coming to Steam in 2022.

Publisher DANGEN Entertainment and developer Vestaria Project will release strategy RPG Vestaria Saga Gaiden: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister for PC via Steam in English in 2022, the companies announced. 

Vestaria Saga Gaiden: The Sacred Sword of Silvanister launched on March 27, 2019 in Japan. Its English release follows that of Vestaria Saga I: The War of the Scions in late 2019.

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