Game Rating: E
Game Publisher: Graffiti Entertainment
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release Date: June 9, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $27.49

When I think of hardcore gaming, I generally exclude games on the Nintendo DS. In all actuality, I exclude most of the games that Nintendo has to offer. Many of the games are casual and family-oriented. Even the more popular game series offered, such as Mario, are hard to take seriously in a hardcore gaming arena. Sure, back in the day, Mario was it, and I still love the Mario games released regularly, but I don’t see them in the hardcore gaming arena.

Some of the games I do consider more hardcore involve the Final Fantasy series and the Legend of Zelda series. These games are more roleplay based, involve fighting, but even these games appeal to the casual crowd. I figured “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” would fall in amongst these types of games. I assumed there would be fighting, some swordplay especially, and plenty of action. Sadly, “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” let me down in all of these areas.

The biggest problem with “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” is the pace. It seems like the introductory story goes on forever. It takes a while to get into the battle. The story isn’t overly original, and it really didn’t get me that excited for what was to come once gameplay began. The other big problem is how frustrating it can be to play the game. Most games have some type of guide to point you in the direction of where to go and what to do. Not so with “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled”.

The graphics for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” leave much to be desired. Honestly, I thought that I was playing a game I would have found on the Gameboy Advance. While there is technically nothing wrong with these types of games (I admit to still replaying some of my favorite Gameboy Advance SP games), especially if the story is compelling, with 2D style graphics and a less than engaging storyline, “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” doesn’t have that much going for it.

The story for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” isn’t anything new, especially for the roleplay genre. The story takes place in the kingdom of Bel Lenora. In this world, it is the norm to use magic. Anyone who is not capable of using magic is looked down upon. History tells the tale of a man, Vai, who couldn’t use magic and he brought destruction and devastation to Bel Lenora. One of the generals of Bel Lenora banished Vai from the kingdom bringing an end to the war he brought with him.

The game begins sometime after these events. Fifteen years after Vai’s banishment, Kairu (the main character you play) shows up in Bel Lenora. The young man is not capable of using magic, so the people of Bel Lenora are very suspicious of him and his intentions. Kairu is a orphan and he is adopted by the same general who banished Vai. The people of Bel Lenora do not trust Kairu, and they want to banish him because of this, fearing he will bring tragedy to the village as Vai did so many years ago.

Kairu has a sister who is capable of using Fire Magic. Her name is Aurora. Throughout the game, there are a series of playable characters. These characters include Vai (the man originally banished from Bel Lenora), Isa (a woman who uses two scimitars as weapons), Rogurd (a treasure hunter who uses a large pole axe and has one eye), and Nym (who can use summons during battles). In all, you can play up to eight different characters, with the option of playing up to three of them at a time.

Kairu’s adoptive father wants to believe Kairu is good and can use magic. He sets him up to go through a series of tests/quests. His hope is that this will bring out the magic in Kairu. When it becomes clear that Kairu is incapable of using magic, his father has no choice but to banish him or face an uprising from the people who believe he is the second coming of Vai.

When Kairu is exiled, he heads to Artania with Aurora. Once there, they must find their way back to Bel Lenora to tell the people about the powerful forces being built up in Artania. Both Kairu and Aurora must spend time in Artania first, getting to know the people and trying to figure out what is going on with these powerful and potentially dangerous forces, with the intent of stopping them.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor:

This game has features that you’d typically see in an RPG style game. The primary exploration happens in Artania. As you explore, you head through a variety of dungeons. You must solve a puzzle to get through each dungeon, which is the most interesting part of the game. These designs are somewhat clever so I do have to give Studio Archcraft props for that.

Once you get through quite a bit of the game, you will be able to take on a variety of alternative quests (on the side). The game spends an excessive amount of time developing the plot. You’ll spend a lot of time just waiting around for the action to start happening. From there, you get to explore the world and are exposed to an insane amount of battles. You literally go from one battle to the next, once the actual battle sequences happen, making the entire battle part of the game frustrating as you try to keep up with the action.

This makes the pace of the game very erratic. You go from slow, barely moving, to frenetic battles, back to slow, plodding plot unfolding and storytelling and then insane battles again. Really, by the time you get to battles at all, you will most likely be too bored to want to continue. Within the battles, you’ll also be able to make a series of tactical moves based on the skills of the players you have in your party and the location/movements of your enemy.

You can play up to eight different characters. Up to three of these eight characters can be in your party. Most of the characters have their own distinct skill and/or weapon style. You will want to keep your party balanced with a wide variety of skills. There is also one character that has no specific skills. You can customize this character as you see fit. Characters travel across a large number of locations. Travel occurs by foot or using one of the many vehicles located throughout the world.

During battles, you’ll have a variety of options. You can roam around the field. Battles are done in turns. Your team takes turns inflicting damage with attacks (spells, skills and physical infliction of damage), using items, and combining moves with other party members to inflict more damage. As mentioned, you will battle over and over, barely able to move from one battlefield to the next before you’re in another. What is even worse, is you’ll need to have characters who can use magic, because physical attacks just won’t cut it. Considering your main character can’t use magic, this just plain sucks. In the end, the excessive amount of battles and long periods of “supposition” between battles both become way to repetitious to be truly enjoyable.

Features

-Multiple puzzle-based dungeons to explore and conquer
-Wide variety of locations to explore/play
-Series of side quests
-Travel by foot or by vehicle
-Up to eight different playable characters
-2D Retro Look
-Select save locations and quick save option
-Multiple endings depending on how you complete your quests
-Tactical gameplay options involved in combat
-Up to seven different endings
-Battles are random and excessive
-Battles occur in turns with the player and enemy selecting between spells, skills, items, and physical attacks
-Combined attacks increase damage to enemies
-Earn gold to upgrade weapons and stats
-Offers a few, interesting Boss battles

Replayability:

While the controls for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” aren’t that hard, getting to where you can actually do something is confusing. I figure most casual gamers will give up during the first, very long “explanatory” plot section. From there, you are supposed to explore the world, but since the directions aren’t exactly clear and you really want to get started in the battles (thinking that’s the next logical step, right?), the entire beginning sequence is very confusing.

Reading the manual that accompanies the game doesn’t help much. It tells you the basic button set up, which isn’t hard, but it doesn’t really explain you won’t be getting into playing for a while. I threw the manual in frustration. I also had trouble getting it to save initially. At first, there are save points, but there is also a quick save option, that didn’t work for me right away. I tried pressing every button on the DS to get it to save, and also tried to browse the manual, but it didn’t give me any help until I got to a save point, on my own.

The most important screen is going to be the battle menu system. This is pretty easy to use. You can press through the menu using the D-pad. It will allow you to pick between items, physical attacks, skills and magic spells. You can also accomplish flipping through this screen with the stylus. I tended to prefer using the stylus, but I can see where the D-pad comes in handy.

Other than that, I used the touch screen/stylus to play the game. I recommend this, as it is the easiest way to play, in my opinion.

Ease of Use:

It makes sense that I felt like “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” was something that should have been on the Gameboy Advance system. Studio Archcraft, the studio behind the development of “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” originally designed the game with the Gameboy Advance in mind. With the game nearly completed, the decision was made to switch it to the emerging Nintendo DS system since Gameboy Advance sales were pretty much stalled.

This is the biggest mistake “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” makes, because the 2D world stands out painfully on the high tech, Nintendo DS system. Every pixelated frame is overemphasized in this 2D design and it gives the game a less than appealing, overly retro yet substandard feel. For a newer title, you’d expect the smooth, 3D or beyond style of graphic development. I believe the 2D limits the appeal of “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled,” shying away casual gamers who don’t understand its retro appeal.

Despite looking old, the world is rather colorful, each environment is unique, so you don’t look like you are playing in a new location with the same design. If you like the 2D style of gaming, this game is one of the better designs. Still, for a DS game, it isn’t quite up to snuff.

Visual:

The music for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” is catchy. It sounds like the majority of other roleplay games. It’s what you’d expect for this type of game. For a RPG style game, I wasn’t as annoyed with this game’s music as I thought I would be. Don’t expect booming effects or great speaker control, because the DS is limited in what it can offer sound wise. With that in mind, the audio section is where “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” succeeds the most.

Audio:

While “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” tries to be so much more than it is, the game fails in so many ways I find it hard to recommend it to any audience. The hardcore gamers will find this game too boring to partake in extended game play. The casual gamers will be too intimidated by how long it takes to get into battle, how many battles there actually are once things get started, and the overall, messy pace of the game. While “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” tries to be retro and appeal to fans of the Gameboy Advance on a DS system, it just isn’t up to par with other games in the RPG format, that came before it and obviously inspired it’s design.

Overall Rating:

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