DS #3851: Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled (USA)

[mrfatso]

i don think u can compare them, they are pretty good in their own little ways.

 

[Amici]

I like the look of the game, even if it does rip-off CT. BTW, anyone experienced crashes or freezes? People at the GameFAQs boards are talking about it.

 

[Zane]

The battles reminds me of CT, while the world and atmosphere of the game feels like FF VI. It's a good game nonetheless, sure it doesn't beat CT or FFVI, but it sure feels at home.

And as some people have said, the game is overall slow. The walking on the overhead map is slow aswell as combat (at least the loading to combat screen), and some minor glitches where you get stuck in things are present, but nothing gamebreaking.

I've had the game freeze on me once so far. (DS Lite, r4 Kernel 1.18) After the woods, when i got to ice part. But just loaded before it and went trough it again.

 

[Superhero123]

I'm running an M3 Perfect, and I get freezing whenever I try to unequip Kairu's hat and when I go to an item store. The inn works fine.

God, I hope there's a fix for this. I'm dying to play this game, but not being able to use a shop is a hell of an issue.

 

[OrR]

How is this only 16 megabytes? I thought this was supposed to be a 30+ hour game? I was expecting more like 132MB or something along those lines. Might even have hit the 256 mark. But surely this is supposed to be more than 16? Have I got a bad dump or something?

What the hell is this obsession about file sizes? You can put an epic game into a few kilobytes without any trouble. Are there even 16 MByte SNES games?

I've played the game for three hours straight and it is beautiful. True old school RPG with great storyline and beautiful design. I especially love the improved Chrono Trigger-like battle system but with some actual strategy.

So far, this game is everything I had hoped for.

No freezes so far on my Supercard CF.

I don't think the game feels slow, either. You can run around on normal maps and the overworld is reasonably sized. The battles start off a little slower but get pretty fast paced when you have two people.

 

[GeekyGuy]

Anyone know where or how to access the temple in the beginning of the game. The Duke told me to go to the temple before reporting back, and I've gone all over the entire overworld map and into each town but still can't find it.

 

[OrR]

First, go down and right to the golden city. There you have to collect some items from a shop. Then go up and slightly right from there and you should reach the temple with no problem.

 

[geminisama]

Playing it, and loving it. Good ol' Snes-talgia, but I don't see why people keep comparing it to CT. I'm not getting any CT vibes from this, and the only similarities I've seen so far are the battles. Sorta.

And to people complaining about file size; lolwut?! Are you high? I love how small it is, it doesn't take up 1/20th of my MicroSD, like most of the shitty, crappy cutscene and voiceacting filled rpgs on the system.

 

[GeekyGuy]

First, go down and right to the golden city. There you have to collect some items from a shop. Then go up and slightly right from there and you should reach the temple with no problem.

Hmm...I got those items over an hour ago, and I still can't find the temple. Both portals (before the guard who won't allow you to pass) take me to the same part of the city.

 

[void03]

First, go down and right to the golden city. There you have to collect some items from a shop. Then go up and slightly right from there and you should reach the temple with no problem.

Hmm...I got those items over an hour ago, and I still can't find the temple. Both portals (before the guard who won't allow you to pass) take me to the same part of the city.

think he meant go north of the town on the world map lol

 

[T-hug]

It's too slow to be fun atm for me. Unless it picks up or I run it 150% on emu or something I won't be playing much more.

 

[vergilite]

i always find it hard to get past the graphics of old games but then i remember my first time playing super mario bros 3 and thought it was better than mario galaxy

i think once i get past the graphics on this game it will really impress me although it does sound like a slow game ??

 

[Hadrian]

It's too slow to be fun atm for me. Unless it picks up or I run it 150% on emu or something I won't be playing much more.

Two hours in and still boring, given up now.

I prefer older RPG's but just because its made to have a retro feel doesn't mean it'll be as good.

 

[GeekyGuy]

...Two hours in and still boring, given up now...

Yeah, I know the feeling. I actually have put in close to four hours with it, but I don't like the design much. The graphics I can easily live with, the battle system is pretty archaic but not broken. The thing I don't care for is how they provide you with elements of the game you need to figure out amidst endless random battles. I hate barely nudging the D-pad and ending up in a battle when I'm merely trying to figure out where the hell I am and where the hell I need to go. It's very archaic design overall. Personally, though, I think anyone who enjoyed reliving Chrono Trigger on DS will, or should, appreciate this game. I wasn't one of those folks, however.

 

[quartercast]

It's a long time since I've bought a DS game... I am kind of feeling that way now

 

[InuYasha]

Its ok story is kind of slow,as comparing it to FF 6 is just silly....aside from the game freezing on me once only issues that bugs me is the overworld walking speed (the most) and the random battle rate gets a bit annoying.....

 

[skriblzz]

Yeah, it's okay. I'm fine with the game play. The maps seems kind of bad so far. Looks to be done by amateurs. The only thing that's really hurting me is the lack of sounds and animations. No battle transition is kind of a let down, and the fact that enemies just faze with no sound sucks, too.

 

[Gamer]

Judging from the comments, probably this will play better with some cheat codes (avoid some random battles, quick level up or whatever).

Anyway, gonna try it soon.

 

[granville]

I've put about 2 hours of my time into the game. I found what I expected- a really good, if not great RPG that feels like it was a SNES game. I've not gotten far actually, but far enough to judge some of the basic gameplay and such. Note- I have played for a while now and have had none of the freezing issues people have reported. The only thing even close to a glitch was a slight jittering and discoloration of the menu screen while you are saving the game. Not a big deal.

Battles are random and happen extremely often. That is one of the flaws- too common random battles every few steps. The battles ARE well done though. You enter a battle field as large as the DS screen. When attacking an enemy physically, you need to take into account your position. When your turn comes, you can target an enemy for attack. If you are not near the enemy, you can still select them and have your character auto-run towards them. This takes a few seconds and the enemy can make its own move while you guy/girl tries to make it over. You can take complete control of your movement by holding L during your turn and moving with the Dpad.

You need to equip usable items that you want to bring into battle. You have four slots to equip whatever you need. This is actually kind of like the original Shining Force, except you can hold several of the same item in one single slot as long as it's the same item.

So far, battles with one character have been kind of slow. Don't worry though as I got my second character, Aurora, very early in the game. Having two characters in battles speeds them up a LOT. Aurora has a whip and attack long range. This means she doesn't need to be RIGHT next to an enemy to attack, but also means she needs to be a little bit away from the enemy to attack (otherwise she can't attack). She, unlike Kairu, has magic. I believe she has a fire spell and a healing spell. Both are useful. The fire spell can do 3x the damage of your sword (at least in early levels) and the heal spell can heal for a ton more than those blue herbs. Kairu has one special skill so far- I think it was called Avernian Thrust or something. It is a little more powerful than his normal attack and can target more than one enemy as long as they are in range (a red circle will appear to tell you the range).

Besides having to position your characters more strategically in battle, the battles are very much like Chrono Trigger. The obvious similarity is that active time bar which fills up to let you have your next turn.

Graphics are great! 2D pixel art that will remind you of Chrono Trigger (although CT is certainly still the king). No qualms here so far. The towns are vibrantly colored and detailed. It never looks exactly like any other game though. The game DOES have its own unique style and I really can't see anything they could have directly ripped off of those classic games. Just a really clean looking game that exists on its own, while paying homage to the classic look.

Sound is great so far, but nothing the GBA couldn't do. The compositions are quite good though, just not as high quality as DS sound can be. No complaints really though.

The writing is well done to. I actually found myself WANTING to talk to every person I could find in a town. I also liked how you're not this happy kid OR an emo kid. Kairu is the center of negative attention here because he shares an uncommon trait with a villain from the past- he has no magic. He relies on his sword. He's quite good with a sword, but is constantly put down by his peers and everyone around him due to his similarities with the magicless villain Vai. He doesn't act like a happy sap, but nor does he cry about his sorrows like an emo. He has remained pretty silent so far, but seems to open up to his sister Aurora since she is one of the few who treats him with love.

I clearly haven't gotten far enough to truly judge the story or gameplay, but really, this game so far achieves what it set out to do- pay homage to classic RPG's and is a darn good game in its own right. First impressions-

Scores below are tentative. Just a first impression. I may come away with a totally different feel later on when I complete more or beat the game. Know this.
Graphics- 8/10
Sound- 8/10
Gameplay- 8/10
Story (so far)- 8/10
Overall- 8/10

Flaws I have seen are the ridiculously high random battle rate. Battles can be fairly short with two characters, but they should have made the battles occur at half this rate at least. Also, you move pretty slow on the world map, which kind of sucks. But I can feel these flaws will get less noticeable or I'll get used to them. Later on I hear you get an airship, so that solves the map speed issue.

 

[Amici]

The pace of the game is a bit too slow for my tastes, but I'm hanging on. I experienced my first freeze though, I was exploring the map the first time I got on the overhead map, I wandered into where the Cursebringers were imprisoned, and when I try to get out into the overhead map again, it froze. Cyclo 1.55 B2 here.