courtesy of gamespy
Back in the late '80s, Namco released a game called Final Lap Twin for NEC's short-lived (yet totally awesome) TurboGrafx-16 system. Despite what the title may suggest, it wasn't just a racing game. Oh, no. It was a racing RPG. You would wander around a large map, visiting towns and talking to villagers, but instead of buying new weapons and armor, you would buy upgrades for your car. And you didn't get into random battles -- you were challenged to impromptu races. Believe it or not, it was actually quite fun.
Flash forward several years, and Namco's ready to do the "mixing some random genre with an RPG" thing again with its upcoming Sigma Star Saga, the RPG that's also a side-scrolling space shooter. It's strange -- shooters have had elaborate (read: unnecessarily complicated) plots for years. Now, the plot will actually have some relevance on the action.
Krill'in Villains
This time around, the human race is under attack from an alien race called the Krill. The Allied Earth Federation has just discovered that the Krill have singled out six planets that they have specific invasion plans for, and they must be stopped. That's where you come in. You're Ian Recker, the sole survivor of Sigma Force, which was wiped out during a battle with the Krill. It's an odd plan, but you'll disguise yourself as a Krill and infiltrate their ranks as a double agent in order to discover what secret the six planets hold before time runs out. In true Kirk fashion, you'll even hook up with a hot alien babe along the way.
During the RPG bits of the game, you do all the exploring and chatting with locals as you would expect. Since this is a sci-fi game, your main weapon is a gun that can be customized with over 50 "Gun Data" items. This allows you to mix and match parts to create the best possible weapon for any given circumstance. Additionally, you'll also be able to many tools to assist in your quest. Rolling mines create large explosions, boots that allow you to run fast, and hovering wings are some of the more basic items. There are also a few more interesting items, like an X-ray that allows you to find secrets hidden underground and the ability to transform into a blob that can slip into areas that you normally couldn't.
Shoot the Core!
Then there are the battles. Instead of the RPG standard of turn-based fighting, Sigma features a real-time, action packed shooter sequence. These side scrolling segments will bring to mind classics of the genre from the 16-bit era, particularly titles like R-Type. Of course, your ship is armed with laser and powerful bombs, but these action scenes retain some of the RPG elements. Instead of being a one hit wonder like many classic shooters, your ship has "health" represented by hit points. You can also level up your ship as represented by the on-screen experience meter.
Sigma is being developed by WayForward, who have a long history of making quality portable titles. In addition to such GBA games as Godzilla Domination, The Scorpion King, and SpongeBob Squarepants: The Movie, the company was responsible for the critically acclaimed Game Boy Color game, Shantae. WayForward's excellent character design is already evident in this title, and no doubt the gameplay will be just as good as its past efforts.
Even though this is a portable title, there won't be any skimping on the quest. Namco promises over 20 hours of gameplay with a branching story that features four different endings. No doubt you'll have to recharge your GBA's battery a few times before you see them all. We just hope that during one of the endings you call upon the help of some sort of Space Whale to help you devour the Krill. It only makes sense.
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