The Dark Spire

Atlus' The Dark Spire was described to me as an old school western-style fantasy RPG full of Elves, Dwarfs, Halflings and Warrior Men. Considering I adorn my walls with two Lord of the Rings posters, fill my pockets with a FFX pocket watch, and feel the urge to sing every time I hear the theme to the Never Ending Story (shut up), this seemed right up my alley. That is, until, I got my ass handed to me by a band of ill-tempered bats. But, we'll get to that later.

THE VERDICT by Will Herring Will Herring's Avatar Accustomed to angsty, spiky-haired protagonists and copious save points, The Dark Spire threw Sean for a nostalgic, if tough as nails loop to a classic age of first person RPGs.

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The Dark Spire

After stealing an ancient necklace from the Queen, the evil sorcerer Tyrhung has decided to hole himself up in the titular tower: the Dark Spire. You are soon called upon by The Guild, and after a quick training session followed by the subsequent murder of your combat instructor (Don't worry, he's used to it) you are enlisted to retrieve the royal treasure from the tower. The game gives you the option to use some of their registered members as your party or to create a party of your own. I opted for the latter. Thus, Waffles the human warrior, Muffins the dwarf thief, Poodles the elf mage, and Vindiesl the halfling priest were suited up and ready for action. Little did they know that they were about to receive more than they bargained for.

The Dark Spire

The game features a lot of fun options, such as the ability to utilize an innovative 3D dungeon mode or if you prefer, the classic black-and-white wire frame dungeon, sure to please fans jaded of the dungeon-crawler genre. Throughout the game you'll either find yourself primarily facing beautifully drawn characters (in Modern mode) or the same characters rendered in a nostalgic 8-bit rendering (in Classic mode). The battle system is typical turn-based fare, giving the player access to many different options on how to proceed thanks to an on screen prompt: Attack, use spells, defend, etc. There is a bit of a learning curve for those unfamiliar to traditional RPG battles, but it's nothing so detrimental you can't figure it out over time. The game primarily uses the D-pad to navigate the dungeons, which makes one wonder what could have been done had the stylus been employed.

The Dark Spire

Let's get right to it: This game is hard. I mean REALLY HARD. If for some sadistic reason you enjoy watching your party of halflings and elves get annihilated by bands of satanic bats and mushrooms, then this game is for you. However, if like me, you've grown accustomed to the luxuries of checkpoints, revival potions and characters taking the time to concede to a victory dance, then The Dark Spire might not be your cup of tea.

However, I realize there is indeed a market for this kind of gaming, and for those looking for a fun (albeit masochistically hard) old school RPG, there is no better place to go than The Dark Spire.




PROS: Extreme difficulty (For those who like that), fun dialog, sweet artwork, optional dungeon modes
CONS: Extreme difficulty (For those who don't like that), simple storyline, no use of the stylus, aggressive mushrooms.

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q_businessman

I may just have to purchase this. Games cut you much more slack than they used to, so it's good to see a game that refuses to do that.

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