The Dark Spire
Encyclopedia
The Dark Spire is a role-playing game
developed by Success
for the Nintendo DS
. It was released on April 14, 2009 in North America which was published by Atlus
and May 22, 2008 in Japan.
The Dark Spire is a throwback to old first-person dungeon crawl
er 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. The difficulty is based on those of said legacy games in that very little is explained to the player and thus the combat system may seem somewhat chaotic (for example, the weapons and armor do not explain how they mitigate or increase damage output).
Human
- common beings in the world of fantasy. They have the most balanced stats in-game and the player can choose on what alignment it wants.
Dwarf- small and stubby creatures with incredible strength, but somehow ugly. Just like the description implies, they are specialized in Strength and their starting alignment is always Lawful.
Elf
- a tall, beautiful and smart race. They are specialized in Intelligence and worthy of handling magic-oriented job classes. Their starting alignment is always Neutral.
Halfling
- another group of small people. They are mainly specialized in Dexterity, but due to that, they have weak Defenses. Like Humans, they can be assigned with an alignment.
Two further races - Dark- and High-Elves can be unlocked through gameplay.
Role-playing game (video games)
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
developed by Success
Success (company)
Success Corporation is a Japanese game developer and publisher, based in Tokyo, and founded in: June 1976. They are best known for their Cotton series of shooter games , Zoo Keeper and others...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. It was released on April 14, 2009 in North America which was published by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
and May 22, 2008 in Japan.
Gameplay
The gameplay centers on exploring the namesake dungeon known as the Dark Spire while improving the skills and stats of your characters by gaining experience. An alignment system and a class system are included in The Dark Spire. Your alignment affects who can join your party and what skills can be learned by party members of different classes. The Spire is explored in a first-person perspective, and many classical RPG elements are included, such as random encounters and equipment. 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.The Dark Spire is a throwback to old first-person dungeon crawl
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
er RPGs, such as The Bard's Tale or Wizardry
Wizardry
Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
. 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. The difficulty is based on those of said legacy games in that very little is explained to the player and thus the combat system may seem somewhat chaotic (for example, the weapons and armor do not explain how they mitigate or increase damage output).
Races
It offers four races as you create your own set of characters (maximum of four party members and some races are alignment-specific which can be altered later on). Here are some of the following;Human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
- common beings in the world of fantasy. They have the most balanced stats in-game and the player can choose on what alignment it wants.
Dwarf- small and stubby creatures with incredible strength, but somehow ugly. Just like the description implies, they are specialized in Strength and their starting alignment is always Lawful.
Elf
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
- a tall, beautiful and smart race. They are specialized in Intelligence and worthy of handling magic-oriented job classes. Their starting alignment is always Neutral.
Halfling
Halfling
Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit which can be a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. In many settings, they are similar to humans except about half the size. Dungeons & Dragons began using the name halfling as an alternative to hobbit for legal reasons...
- another group of small people. They are mainly specialized in Dexterity, but due to that, they have weak Defenses. Like Humans, they can be assigned with an alignment.
Two further races - Dark- and High-Elves can be unlocked through gameplay.