The Dark Spire
by Atlus
(Click here)
Product Summary
Brand: AtlusAudio: English (Unknown)
Published: 2009-04
Release Date: 2009-04-14
Platform: Nintendo DS
Model: DS-40028-7
Publisher: Atlus
Product features:
- Take back the age of the great classic RPGs where you build your perfect party from the ground up
- Shrewd strategy is required to navigate tough dungeon floors with limited resources, earning experience by taking on 80 different enemies out to end you
- The traditional RPG experience is fully realized in Classic Mode, which offers a black-and-white wireframe dungeon environment reminiscent of the nostalgic PC RPGs
- Switch back to Modern Mode to update to the full 3-D atmosphere of the Dark Spire
- A second person narrative reaches out from the game to speak to you of codpieces and killer rabbits, enveloping the gamer in an unforgettable adventure that offers three possible endings
Video Game Reviews of The Dark Spire
Customer Review: The Dark Spire: The Shadowy Beginnings of RPG Video Games Revisited
Summary: 4 Stars
Be sure you know exactly what this is before purchasing it. This game is the very definition of a niche title, aiming itself squarely at older gamers who remember grid-based dungeon crawlers in the old days when you had next to no information about various elements of the in-game world and two hours of work could be undone by an unlucky run in with a particularly nasty skeleton. This isn't so much a tribute to those games as an elaborate recreation of them, and all the flaws that came with RPGs from that era.
Old dungeon-crawlers (think Wizardry or The Bard's Tale) were essentially frustrating grind-fests that killed you frequently and never stopped to explain themselves. Generally, you learned through trial-and-error as you went along and suffered long hours of tedious and monotonous gameplay in order to perhaps graduate to the second level of the dungeon after hours and hours of sheer work. Most never included a map function, forcing players to create their own maps on graph paper, and the various items/weapons were largely mysterious in nature until you bought them and discovered what they were good for.
The Dark Spire accomplishes this with ease and grace, even managing to throw in random stat selection ala D&D.
The game has two modes: Standard and Classic. Standard mode drapes the game in dark textures and designs of astonishing power, giving the game a haunting and gothic edge. There is some variation in the music, but it is generally unexceptionable.
For gamers eager for the most retro experience possible, the Classic mode is available. This mode literally discards all of the textures and designs in the game, replacing shadow strewn walls with wireframes. Literally. That's it. This mode recreates the PC RPG look and feel as authentically as I have ever seen.
Unless you're one of the 'Hardcore Players,' who don't need to even think about reading reviews of this before purchase, you're not likely to keep the game on Classic Mode for more than a few minutes, in which time your curiosity will likely be satiated.
I am giving this game four stars for doing what it has set out to do. In all fairness, I cannot award it a 5, as it is so faithful in its recreation of ancient PC RPGs that it also includes all of the same problems. The game is long, frustrating, infuriating, often baffling, and never fair to the player at all. Which won't be an issue for most of the people likely to be playing this game.
If you have no idea of what I am talking about, but are curious about this game, please take this simple test: find an old Commodore 64 or similarly archaic computer and play a dungeon crawler on it. If you like it, you probably really, really like it, and will probably already be sketching maps for the various levels of the dungeon. If you're in this group of people, purchase this immediately. However, if you grow sick of the monotonous frustration of the process early on, and find yourself yearning for the relative user-friendliness of a Final Fantasy game, then don't even consider getting this. You either get it or you don't.
Description of The Dark Spire
Nintendo DS Tribute to classic western-style RPGs The Dark Spire is a first-person RPG of exploration and character development in the purest sense. Parties will be assembled, stats will be rolled, items, weapons and armor shall be equipped, and monsters will be slain. Some adventurers will choose to play using the "modern" interface, its bold, stylized textures and palettes delivering a fresh, up-to-date adventure. Others may opt for the "classic" mode, guaranteed to evoke overwhelming sensations of nostalgia as it perfectly recreates the style and simplicity of the fathers of the genre. Two different presentation modes, two different ways to experience The Dark Spire!The Dark Spire is a first-person RPG of exploration and character development in the purest sense. Parties will be assembled, stats will be rolled, items, weapons and armor shall be equipped, and monsters will be slain. Some adventurers will choose to play using the "modern" interface, its bold, stylized textures and palettes delivering a fresh, up-to-date adventure. Others may opt for the "classic" mode, guaranteed to evoke overwhelming sensations of nostalgia as it perfectly recreates the style and simplicity of the fathers of the genre. Two different presentation modes, two different ways to experience The Dark Spire!
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