Title: Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled
Release: June 9, 2009
Genre: Role-Playing
Developer: Studio Archcraft
Publisher: Graffiti Entertainment
Platform: DS
Rating: E (Everyone)
Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sigil-Blade-Exiled-Nintendo-DS/dp/B00104KJ2E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1246819627&sr=8-1
Website: http://www.graffitientertainment.com/index.php/gamesblack-sigil
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The Nintendo DS has become an unexpected home for great role playing games. The processing power of the diminutive handheld is ideal for recreating classic games from the Super Nintendo era which gave us titles like Breath of Fire and the Final Fantasy games. Developer Studio Archcraft attempts to capture the nostalgia of the old classics while creating a new, original title hoping to become a household name.
The 2-D sprites are reminiscent of games such as Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger—the latter more so because of the carbon copy animations and aesthetics. The game is not ugly by any means but it does feel recycled in a way that does not improve upon what the developers were trying to emulate. Every aspect—from the character design to the world map and spell techniques—comes across like an imposter trying to fool you into thinking that the game is better than what it really is.
The sound design works well providing good accompaniment with the settings and situations. The music never hinders the game while the sound effects are standard slash and stab noises. Dialogue can be over done while some situations are just uncomfortable with characters exchanging long stares that hint at something foreboding but just appear silly.
The battle system borrows heavily from Chrono Trigger with its dual techniques and attack turn bars that indicate when a player can perform an action. The fighting can be overwhelming at times with large groups of enemies crowding around you. The learning curve becomes a wall as low level enemies tend to do massive damage if you are not prepared. You can choose to move your character on the battlefield but doing so will cost you an attack phase. In some of the more frustrating situations a character will not be able to attack because one of your other party members is inadvertently blocking a clear shot.
The story is a strange inversion of what is usually found in medieval fantasy storyboards. You play as a social outcast due to your lack of magical powers. You are associated with a magic-less evil force that was sealed away by your step father and now you must prove to everyone that you can in fact use spells. The pacing of the game is sluggish as your character is sent from town to town on boring errands. The random battles that are synonymous with RPGs occur far too often. Almost every four seconds the game abruptly stops for battles that are less than stellar. In most RPGs, the random battle is denoted by a musical or graphical cue. Black Sigil does nothing. At first, it looks as if the DS has lost battery power with its screen fading black then all of a sudden a battle is presented.
This small grievance seems to sum up what is wrong with Black Sigil as a whole—little thought and planning yields boring atmosphere and no encouragement to see what else was done dismally. If the developers could not get excited about their own project then how is the audience supposed to feel? Black Sigil passively settles for mediocrity and will get lost in the DS’s strong and plentiful RPG lineup.
Overall Rating: * * / 5
M. Michael Chwedyk "The Gamekok" - MuzikReviews.com Sr. Video Game Reviewer
July 7, 2009
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