Finally got my game a few days ago and have managed to put in some hours. Here are some quick impressions through my experience of the game. Keep in mind though that given this game was designed as a throwback to rpgs of the SNES era, whenever I make a comment to the game, I'm comparing it to games of that time.
Graphics: So far the graphics are nice in that old school kind of way. The sprites I think could be compared to a mix between Chrono Trigger and FF6 in design and style. Their running and walking animation seem to be 2-4 frames I think, similar to Secret of Mana. The towns so far look good and have somewhat complex designs. The overworld graphics, on the other hand, look muddy as do some of the battle backdrops. They are not horrific though and I wonder if that is the case becuase this game was originally designed for the GBA.
Music: As for the music, I've been quite suprised. There are your generic rpg music here and there but sometimes you run into a song that uses some very unique effects. For anyone that has played the game, the song in the Spirit Temple comes to mind.
Gameplay: Now this is the part that'll make or brake this game for most reading this. I believe if you grew up playing rpgs on the SNES and still enjoy those games to this day, you'll like this game. Almost every single location hides hidden treasure chests for you to find or npcs to speak to that could lead to free items. Out in hostile territory, the game uses random encounters which vary from a fight every few steps to sometimes getting through good distances without engaging in one. The battle system reminds me of Chrono Trigger and Lunar but you can position your characters and have to keep an eye out for obstacles. The battle system works fine for the most part. The only time you'll run into frustration is when your fighting in tight spaces. This leads some characters unable to advance toward enemies and thus waisting turns defending or resorting to long range magic to attack. Usually, I just run away from those battle stages if possible as they can really drag and consume a bunch of your items. Also durring battles, you need to have items equiped to your characters for them to use it similar to Dragon Quest I believe. For example, you can't use healing herbs in battle unless you have one of your characters equip it into their items slots before hand. I can see how this can piss off some but this is nothing new as some other rpgs have done it before like Pokemon and Dragonquest I believe. The game can be difficult at times and might need a little grinding or proper preperation (stocking up on items before going anywhere) A cool thing that I have noticed in battle though is that the enemy is capable of running out of MP (SP in the game) and they can be hit with status ailments, even bosses. This is something I have only seen in the Dragonquest series as most rpgs let the enemies bombard you with magic with no end and status attacks on bosses always seem to "miss".
Story and Writing: From what I've read on other forums from gamers that have already beat the game or gotten far into it, the game is a slow starter. I'm only a few hours in so the story hasn't really picked up yet but from what I've seen, its looking good so far but nothing amazing. This game avoids the whole "silent hero" and ops for a more vocal lead which is nice as it helps develope his character. The writing in this game, from what I've seen, is great and the characters likeable which was a welcome suprise to me given this game was developed by an indie company.
I do have to mention though that this game has been reported to contain bugs. Some gamers have complained of freazing issues which I have experienced once so far. The issue is nothing game breaking but you do have to save constantly just in case. I'm not sure what the cuase of the issues are though as some gamers have beaten the game and experienced no issues what so ever.
All in all, I'm really enjoying this game. Its as if I've discovered an old classic from my golden years on the snes. I love this feeling as I'm always looking to find some classic rpg that I might have missed from that time, often resorting to playing translated roms of japanese rpgs never released in the USA. This game though, gives me the illusion that I have lol
Topic: Black Sigil: Blade of the Exile: trying to help out the underdogs.... (Read 9801 times)
