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Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled
Publisher: Graffiti Entertainment
Developer: Graffiti Entertainment
Genre: RPG
Release Date: June 8, 2009
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: E - Everyone
Reviewer: Eric
Old school role playing games seem to be the sure hit on the Nintendo DS. The
simple gameplay is easy for portable gaming and the time to complete these games
is either double or triple the length of modern games. Black Sigil: Blade of the
Exiled offers the style of gameplay that fans of the most praised game on the
SNES will jump right into and find plenty to love.
Black Sigil tells the story of Kairu, a boy without the power of magic like
everyone else he knows. The last person to not have magic was an evil wizard by
the name of Vai. Vai is responsible for casting Bel Lenora into a world of
darkness. Everyone around Kairu is on the edge of their feet since he can not
cast a spell to save his life.
Since everyone is on pins and needles Kairu’s adopted father the Duke banishes
Kairu. The Duke was responsible for Vai before and he is afraid he might have to
do the same to his son. With Kairu now on his own he is determined to prove his
innocence and at the same time become a great knight like the Duke.
The game has the feel of Chrono Trigger, one of the best RPGs of all time. Black
Sigil: Blade of Exiled starts off as that SNES role playing games and finishes
off as a strong old school RPG. Some of the similarities Black Sigil shares with
Chrono Trigger are almost scary. Graffiti Entertainment manages to at least not
copy off of Chrono Trigger in the bad ways (story).
Black Sigil has an active time battle system like Chrono Trigger. It is simple
to pick-up and a lot of fun. If an enemy is too far the game will take the turns
it needs to get your over there, while the enemies take their turns. You have to
put in strategy during battles so don’t always go after those who are right next
to you.
You will become very familiar with the battles in Black Sigil since they seem to
occur almost every step. Leveling up will never be a problem since your next
step will have you waiting a second or two for that battle to begin. If you hate
this kind of battle system then Black Sigil: Blade of Exiled might not be the
game for you. This is the first RPG where I actually wanted to run from battle
since the encounter ratio is so high.
You’ll want to cry once the first sign of badness starts with Black Sigil. At
times the game will lock-up on you, causing you to restart your DS. I want to go
ahead and say to save almost every 10 minutes but we all know that is impossible
in role playing games. On top of that the controls will change themselves during
intense moments in the game. It really feels like the developers purposely
sabotaged their own game or they failed to fine tune it.
During battles you might find yourself getting stuck on a solid object or an
invisible one. Instead of fixing itself you will have to take the time to use up
a turn and move away. When you add-in the freezing factor this cane be a problem
because the game does freeze during battles.
Final Verdict
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled is an interesting classic role playing game on
the Nintendo DS. As you progress through the game you will find a lot to love.
This game could have used some polishing up, mainly in the not locking up
category. Black Sigil does have its problems but if you can get through the game
you will find endless hours of enjoyment.
Rating Breakdown
Gameplay: 5 out of 10
+ Easy to play and a lot of fun.
- This game needs some polishing to fix the freezing
problems.
Graphics: 9 out of 10
+ Looks just like a classic RPG.
- Overview map lacks any real detail.
Audio: 9 out of 10
+ Fantastic soundtrack.
- The audio is repetitive at times.
Replay Value: 8 out of 10
+ The story is good enough for a second or third go.
- Gamers may not want to fight all those battles for a second
or third time around.
Overall
7.75 out of 10
More reviews:
MetaCritic: 5.9/10
TestFreaks: 7.5/10
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled Trailer
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