The Dark Spire
| The Dark Spire | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | Success |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Composer(s) | Kenichi Arakawa |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Dark Spire, known as Genmu no Tō to Tsurugi no Okite[a] in Japan, is a role-playing game developed by Success for the Nintendo DS. It was released on May 22, 2008 in Japan and April 14, 2009 in North America which was published by Atlus.
Gameplay
[edit]The gameplay centers on exploring the namesake dungeon known as the Dark Spire while improving the skills and stats of player's characters by gaining experience.[1] An alignment system and a class system are included in the game. The player's alignment affects who can join player's party, what skills can be learned by party members of different classes, and even equipment choices. The Spire is explored in a first-person perspective, and many classical RPG elements are included, such as random encounters and equipment.[2] The player is tasked to find and defeat the Archmage Tyrhung at the top of the Dark Spire and to retrieve a necklace from him.[3]
The Dark Spire is a throwback to old first-person dungeon crawler RPGs, such as The Bard's Tale or Wizardry. As a tribute, the game can be set in a mode which renders graphics and sound/music which could have been produced in a game dating to the late 1980s or early 1990s.[2] The game allows to play as one of four races - human, dwarf, elf or halfling - each with unique stats and standard alignment.[4]
Development
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (August 2015) |
Reception
[edit]| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 69/100[5] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | C+[6] |
| Destructoid | 7.5/10[7] |
| Game Informer | 7/10[8] |
| GamePro |    [9] |
| GameZone | 7.8/10[4] |
| IGN | 8/10[2] |
| Nintendo Power | 5/10[10] |
| Nintendo World Report | 7.5/10[11] |
The game received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[5]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Willis, Phillip. "The Dark Spire - Staff Review". RPGamer. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c Bozon, Mark (April 16, 2009). "The Dark Spire Review". IGN. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ^ Fletcher, JC (December 19, 2008). "Atlus brings The Dark Spire to light". Engadget (Joystiq). Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Bedigian, Louis (May 5, 2009). "The Dark Spire - NDS - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b "The Dark Spire for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (April 24, 2009). "The Dark Spire Review". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ Bennett, Colette (April 14, 2009). "Destructoid review: The Dark Spire". Destructoid. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ Biessener, Adam (May 2009). "The Dark Spire: Greetings From 1981". Game Informer (193): 90. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ Mirkovich, Sean (May 2009). "The Dark Spire". GamePro: 80. Archived from the original on April 18, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "The Dark Spire". Nintendo Power. 241: 91. May 2009.
- ^ Balicki, Lukasz (June 12, 2009). "The Dark Spire". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2015.