Regardless of its minor faults Black Sigil sits right next to Chrono Trigger in my collection.

User Rating: 7.5 | Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled DS


Back during the age of 16-bit gaming on the SNES I remember a game called Chrono Trigger. Chrono Trigger was an RPG that was so great that I believe that game is what dragged me into the land of rpgs! I was very young when that game first came out but my memory was refreshed when it came out on DS! I didn't think that there were going to be anymore rpgs out on the DS that kept this retro look until I heard about Black Sigil. Let me tell you my thoughts about Black Sigil in this review.



Storyline: Black Sigil takes place in a very strange land of Artania. You play as a young character named Kairu who was born with a cursed soul that makes him magicless. His very existence in Bel Lenora which is some weird place in the middle of the snow makes him a bad omen! Because 15 years before Kairu's father saved the land from the evil magicless Vai and his Curse bringer minions. The people of Bel Lenora feared Kairu but his father accepted him. But Kairu was then exiled because his father was afraid that the terrible war 15 years ago would repeat itself and the fact that Vai the magicless also had a cursed soul just like Kairu. Kairu's father entrusts him with his magic sword and you find yourself in a cave with your sister Aurora on your way to the Serene Maze where you then meet the green haired Alex, Nephi who has traveled all across the land but has never heard of Bel Lenora. Very strange land indeed this Bel Lenora.



Gameplay: Black Sigil plays just like Chrono Trigger but a tad different. Most things from Chrono Trigger you will see minus the time travel. The battle system is the only thing that sets Black Sigil apart from Chrono Trigger. Monsters run into you and you are greeted by a sub-par battle system that has some cons. The battles play out by waiting for the bar to fill up and doing the attacks. The bar was a good idea but it just wasn't executed as well as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IVs style. When you hold the L button down you can run around on the battle screen which is useful when avoiding monsters or landing special attacks but if an ally is in front of you or if a simple thing as a rock is standing in the way you CAN"T MOVE! Also for the longest I couldn't figure out how to escape from freaking monsters!!! That was NEVER explained in a tutorial!!! I had to go online and figure out that if I held down "B" I could escape from a battle! The battle system is ok though but you have to let it grow on you first.




Graphics: This is when I really compare Black Sigil to Chrono Trigger. Everything in Black Sigil reminds me of Chrono Trigger from the art style graphics to the special attacks and character sprites.The inventory system also reminds me of Chrono Trigger and Mana 3. It has that retro 90's feel to it that takes me back in time to 16-bit JPRPG. Also the music has the same sound to it as Chrono Triggers but in a different strange "Black Sigil"style! Black Sigil is like the darker atmosphere half of Chrono Trigger! My only complaint is that when I first turned on the game I didn't see that Black Sigil cartoon animated trailer! That to me would have knocked my score of this game to an 8.0.




Value: It's an RPG and I play games like this over and over. I'm biased about replay value with this game because I've not beaten it yet but from what I've seen so far the quest is long enough to keep me entertained and I'm surprised to say I'm enjoying this game to the fullest and it's a shame that I didn't hear about this game sooner. Black Sigil is worthy of some attention if you see it used.



Overall: Black Sigil could have been a SNES title for all I know but somehow it ended up on DS. It's still a game worth checking out if you like classic rpgs like me! The developers of Graffiti really did their homework with this game but I still feel that this game could have been much more because it's on the DS for crying aloud. But, "Regardless of its minor faults Black Sigil sits right next to Chrono Trigger in my collection. If you like rpgs that play like Chrono Trigger then Black Sigil is worth playing.














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