Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled - Nintendo DS

Black Sigil is a game that pays homage to the 16 bit classic RPGs; engaging gamers in a new world with high drama. Many would compare the style of the game to such legendary games like Chrono Trigger. Its nowhere near the classic that CT was at all; but it still manages to hold its own.The story line in the game is what sets it apart from the usual formula; instead of having a protagonist that has a special ability over the rest our character starts out at the opposite end. The people treat you like crap and you can't understand why you seem to be the only one who can't use magic. The story gets better from there and the adventure gets better from there. The story will keep a player committed for hours.Graphically Black Sigil stays true to the 16 bit style over a pretty nice overlay, yet this the DS and it's disappointing that the game designers did not attempt to take advantage of the graphic capabilities that the DS can produce. Especially in battles where the terrain will affect the combat strategy, There were times when you will find yourself wondering why your character can't get around some parts because something looks slightly in the way. The dungeons can look like bland at times and moving about these areas can prove to be difficult because the graphics are jagged. Nice to look at but nothing that will blow you away.Gameplay is traditional; you collect items, you talk to people; you explore you fight enemies in time based strategy combat.Speaking of combat, this is the game's biggest flaw, you fight your enemies via random encounters like in Final Fantasy and its very very BRUTAL and downright FRUSTRATING. Many time you cannot walk two steps to get out of the room with out dealing with enemies and there are no alerts sounds to indicate that combat is gonna happen; the screen fades to black and you in the fight; yet what that part even more annoying is that if you were leaving through a door or to another area it does the same thing so you have to guess or what till after the fight to know if you advance or not. On top of an unforgiving random encounter rate the battles themselves waste your energy. To run away from the battle you have to hold down B to make them "run" (which can only be achieved if your action bar is full) and it takes a long time for them to finally run away. The combat is active battle with selective combat (attack, special attack, Combo) and during the time the enemies can wail on you, even if you enter the fight with a pre-empt upper hand it still take a while to run away and the bad guys still get open season to drain your energy.I like the combat style; it does require a bit of strategy because the terrain will also affect your strategy. it s a good and bad thing. Sometimes you most effective fighter can be cornered in one sense and can't contribute nothing so you must depend on you magic users and vice versa. But the lack of better graphics would have made that distinction more clearer. Its an ok system but the random encounters and the fact that your main character for a good chunk of the game gets afflicted with random ailments really bring this downAnother major flaw are the times when the game will freeze during scenes; the music keeps going and others things look in order but nothing is happening, and it could happen at the worst times (hopefully you saved). I read online that people remedy this by changing the message speed on the settings part of the menu, I've done that and it has worked but shame on you Archcraft and Graffiti for not dealing with this problem.Thankfully there are online guides to help get you through the game because to play cold turkey may get one lost what is the next step or where to find certain treasures. Which is no less relieved when you include the high encounter rate of battles.Overall Black Sigil is a good attempt to recreate the experience of the 16 bit RPG; many will be charmed by the nostalgia the game provides. However; be prepared to deal with the choppy combat and frustration of the random fights. I hope Archcraft and Graffiti continue to make more RPG games; I would challenge them to take advantage of the DS capabilities and hopefully listen to the gamers of what they can fix in future projects. Overall the game is a solid C+, give it a rent before you dive in though.

I'm about 5 hours in. Im liking it. For the record, I am playing on a DSi and have not experienced one glitch or freeze which some people on a few forums are reporting.The battle system is fine. The random encounter rate is a little high, but that's by todays standards. Id say it falls right in the middle of FF6 and FF4.I absolutely LOVE the graphical style. So much of it it ripped DIRECTLY from Chrono Trigger and FF6. If you want to copy something, might as well make it the best.Graphically this game looks VERY VERY VERY similar to Chrono Trigger. Theres really no other way to describe it. It FEELS like you are playing a reskin of Chrono Trigger. The animations are extremely similar to CT as well. The overworld looks the same as FF6The game almost feels like a ROM hack combining the 2 with a little bit of Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma mixed in.There are a few objects strewn about levels that are stolen right from both of those games.There might be a bug or 2 and a few things people dont like about it, but you have to realize how small the development team on this game was. Its the best they could do. We need to support them so they make more games like this.We need to send a message to Squarenix that we want more original old school stuff rather than over the top stuff and remakes(that said I really want a sequel to Chrono Trigger)The character design is quite nice. Its amazing how much more personality little sprites have compared to polygons.The story is pretty traditional RPG, but I like it. Its better than the absolute bare bones Blue Dragon and the super overly complication newer JRPG games. The world knows what it want to be. It not some hybrid modern / future / past like many modern RPGs with cell phones and swords mixed in.The music feels like it was made by Uematsu himself.This game really feels like it was made by someone who did nothing but play Chrono Trigger and FF6 for 3 years and decided to make a game.I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys an old school RPG

Listen the game is buggy, dated, and flawed but it is a sterling effort from a fledgling developer. That is the reason for the high overall score and the low fun score.Do know that while it is compared to Chrono Trigger, it is not Chrono Trigger. The difference being story setting and battle. The twist on battle is supposed to be that position matters but largely it doesn't. Mostly it just serves to slow down battle if you want to use a regular attack. You will battle a lot as the encounter rate is sky high (random encounters one more difference). The game isn't really that difficult so things just get monotonous.Overall, a nice homage to Chrono Trigger with it's own unique hackneyed JRPG story. A nice cast of well developed static characters (rarely have I ever seen a true dynamic character in RPG as they all just come across as destined to save the world from the get go).In the end noting pushes the mold except the fact it's from a little Canadian (I think they're Canadian anyway) Indie Company breaking into the JRPG industry and one of the most successful commercial console attempts on North American soil. They got the look and feel down. Hopefully they'll survive to make another game and put their own spin on the genre.I recommend if you're a connoisseur of the indie scene, old school rpgs, or just like to see a little guy succeed....Huh guess this is more of an essay than a review.