Nerd Mentality

DS REVIEW - Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled

Posted August 11th 2009 by Adam Glasgow.

Some time ago movies were made in only two colors. Likewise, not much time has passed since games were produced in two dimensions. While it's true that occasionally black and white movies are released and two-dimensional games are published, trying to make money doing it is practically financial suicide. Luckily for me and a handful of other movie and video game nerds out there, this doesn't stop determined film and game makers from doing there their thing and making them anyways. And Studio Archcraft has definitely done their thing with Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled.

If it wasn't for the second screen this game could have been released on the Super Nintendo - no changes needed. It looks and plays like a mash-up of Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana, which should be enough to make a dedicated RPG nerd immediately stop reading and get out their credit card. It isn't perfect (stick around and you'll see why),  but I will go ahead and say that if you like old school style RPGs, you will probably like, and maybe even love, Black Sigil.

Fantasy stories, to me, are always fairly silly. I don't care if you're a 12 year old kid writing The Lord of the Rings fan fiction or if you're J.R.R. Tolkien himself; it all sounds pretty goofy to me. So if you like that kind of stuff don't take my abridged version of the story too seriously – chances are you'll like it (you weirdo).

You play as some dude who can't do magic but who is badass with a sword. The sword thing is cool and all, but you're a freak to everyone else, because they're all casting awesome-out-of-nowhere spells like it's no big deal. You're adopted (or something), which is, let's face it, pretty mysterious. So your not-dad, who is usually a pretty cool guy, uses his kingly authority to banish the hell out of you for not knowing any of those sweet spells all the cool kids know. Your sister follows you into the cave you were banished to because she's an annoying little sister and loves you. So you go through some warp or portal or have a bad acid trip and you wake up in a place with all sorts of drama going on. The twist? In this world/dimension/alternate reality you're a freak if you know magic, not if you don't! What is your fate in this strange land? Will you ever learn magic and be accepted and loved by the jerks that kicked you out your homeland? Was that place ever your home land to start out with? Speaking of, what is up with your history? What wacky characters will you run into and fight alongside? And most importantly, what crazy tomfoolery will your sister get into next? So many questions! And it's up to you, dear player, to unmask these questions. Questions that very well may have more than one answer; the game has multiple endings.

The standout feature of Black Sigil is its battle system. Like most RPGs, you roam the world map and stumble into random encounters. Once in a battle you are allowed to move somewhat freely (think of a mix between a strategy RPG like Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgea and a traditional RPG), which opens up more strategic play and some cool tag team powers. The game could use a better in-game tutorial (the internet had to tell me how to run away from battles), and it isn't a perfect system - especially when party members get in each others' way. But it does mix things up and forces you to do something other than mash a button to get through battles. Which brings me to another point worth mentioning – battles in this game kick your ass. Hard, and frequently. Even if you devote a good amount of time to grinding your characters up in level, be prepared to watch them get their lunch money stolen and their asses shoved in lockers. Honestly, this is awesome to me - I like a good challenge. However, there is one very important thing that turns what would be this noteworthy characteristic into a hair pulling nightmare.

There are way too many random encounters. Way too many. Often you'll only take a few steps before you're back in another teeth-kicking encounter. Sometimes the number of random encounters in this game makes you want to find the cutest animal on the planet so you can gnaw it's fuzzy little head off with your back teeth and send it in a box to Studio Archcraft with a note hanging on a toothpick, jammed into one of its now sightless, adorable eyeballs, which has "LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE ME DO" written in the blood of a thousand baby seals. Unfortunately this isn't that much of an exaggeration. For the casual player, this flaw will be more than enough reason to stop playing. I guess there may be some hardcore players who enjoy the high number of encounters. If you think you might be one of these people, please email me with your home address so I can come to your house and slap you in the back of the head.

If you can get over this flaw, and it is a bitch of a flaw, you should have a lot of fun. The story is well paced and the characters are intriguing enough to make you care about what happens to them (even if it is in a soap opera kind of way). The environments are nice to look at and the sprites are wonderfully done. The combat is satisfying, partially thanks to the cool moves and spells you can throw around in battle. You'll log over 30 hours of DS time, and that's if you only finish it once. If you're the type to worry about getting your money's worth in a dollars-to-minutes kind of way, you've come to the right place. The world is vast and heavily populated, sometimes to the point of almost being overwhelming. This is a compliment.

Final Thoughts

Black Sigil is a good game, despite it's one large flaw and handful of smaller ones (most of which aren't even worth mentioning). Still, it takes a special kind of person to want to play this game. You have to like old-school style RPGs. You have to like, or at least be able to tolerate, 16 bit style visuals. You have to be very patient and enjoy, or once again at least be able to tolerate, an insane amount of random encounters. But if you've read this entire paragraph and you aren't turned off, you should get this game. You nerd.

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Tags: DS, Black Sigil

Posted in: Gaming, Reviews

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