Overview – originally released by Namco and Wayforward for the GBA, Sigma Star Saga DX is an enhanced release of the cult classic Shooter/RPG hybrid, powered by the Carbon Engine. As Ian Recker, explore alien worlds and infiltrate the alien Krill Empire, on a mission to save mankind from annihilation. This title is available on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Steam with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank WayForward for providing the copy of Sigma Star Saga DX that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. I will be covering the core experience of the game, making sure to omit details that could spoil the secrets for players.
Story – in the distant future, Earth is invaded by the Krill, an alien force that leads an invasion and compromised the planet. This caused the Oceans to boil, almost ending all life on earth, putting mankind in great danger. Now Ian Recker, a decorated pilot is deployed by the Allied Earth Federation as a double agent, tasked with infiltrating the Krill Empire. Can he complete his mission undercover, stop the Krill and save Mankind?
Gameplay – Sigma Star Saga DX is a rather unique hybrid of genres, with a mix of scrolling shooter and top down action RPG. The player controls Ian Recker, the ace pilot that has been deployed as an undercover agent in the Krill Empire. As a new member of the Krill, Ian is equipped with a parasite suit, which enhances his power above that of a normal human. This allows him to become capable of being deployed on missions for the empire.
Before deploying for missions, the player will be able to roam the different interior sections, interacting with different characters. This will push the story forward, as interacting with key figures will give the player the tasks that they need to complete. While in the different interiors, the player will be able to save the game, talk to NPC characters for hints and more. The player will be able to disembark for missions in the sky and on the ground from here.
The missions will have the player going to the ground, exploring the alien planets on foot in a top down perspective. Each of the different areas will be split into zones for the player to explore, with the player roaming the overworld and battling the local inhabitants. There will be enemies that will pop out, attacking the player and they need to be blasted by the player. If the player takes damage from enemies, a portion of health from the health bar will be lost.
While exploring and blasting enemies there is the chance for items to appear, containing bombs and life ups, restoring damage that has been taken during exploration. On the overworld map, the player will need to move towards highlighted points, where the story will push forward. To make it to these areas, the player will find themselves climbing ladders, blasting boxes and exploring caves during each of the missions.
Randomly as the player explores the different overworld maps, they will be summoned to their ship, for aerial combat. During these random battles, the game will select the ship that the player will pilot, with different sizes for each craft that can be piloted. During the battles, the RPG system comes into play as EXP orbs will drop when enemies are defeated. When enough has been collected, the Player will level up increasing their power and defense.
To shoot down the enemies, players will be able to use the infinite blaster shots, which can be auto fired by holding the shot button down. But if the player collects bombs from boxes and enemies, they can be used here and when deployed, they will clear the screen of enemies within the blast. But enemies will fire back, damaging the player with shots or if contact is made. The ship will also take damage if they make contact with the ground or structures.
The random battles will be cleared by defeating a target number of enemies, which can consist of a large number of smaller enemies or a single “sub-boss” enemy. Once the target has been achieved, the player will be returned to the point they were when they were summoned. At set points during the game, there will be mission battles, where the player must work through a set area, battling large amounts of enemies while avoiding various hazards.
These segments feature a powerful boss opponent, which will need to be defeated to progress. If the player is shot down at any point during the missions or random encounters, a game over will occur, sending the player back to their last save. This can also occur during overworld exploration, as there are enemies, hazards and traps that will harm the player. It is important to save frequently during the game, as death can be a significant setback.
Unfortunately, there is one big flaw to the gameplay of the shooting, which is the speed of the ships. In general, the free movement of the ships in shooting sections feel slow, like trying to steer yacht through molasses. This does lead to issues with avoiding hazards and enemy attacks, which can be hard when the camera moves suddenly. There is a button that allows the ship to speed up, but it doesn’t feel like much of an improvement at times.
By clearing the story mission segments, the player will be able to push forward and progress the adventure. This will introduce new mechanics and equipment for the player in the overworld, allowing new areas to be explored, as well as areas that were previously blocked. However, this is not the only form of upgrade that players will collect. Hidden throughout the game will be Gun Data, which are special upgrades that can be found in special boxes.
The Gun Data is a rather unique system that allows the player to unlock a plethora of shot types, which can be mixed and matched with Red, Blue and Yellow options. These different shot types include rapid fire, long range, twin shot and explosive, which can be combined freely as they are unlocked. This gives players a great amount of flexibility, as there is a near infinite number of combinations of shot types that can be combined for battle.
As this is an enhanced port, there have been quality of life adjustments and improvements made to the game. The enhancements that have been made include rebalanced EXP, the random encounters have been adjusted and there are various fixes that have been made. There are also additional features, which affect the way the game looks, offering different resolutions sizes and filters. These provide visuals that are as close to original as possible.
There is also the option to save freely wherever players want to, which can be helpful during tense sections, allowing for quick saves and reloads. Included in this release is the ability to rewind the game, allowing for mistakes to be rectified on the fly, which can be useful if players are struggling. The last thing to mention is the extra content, which consist of a gallery of sprite art and concepts, alongside a jukebox for all the music and a new theme for the game.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as this is a Game Boy Advance game, there are only six buttons that are used to match the original layout. These inputs are pretty easy to use, with shooting and speed up/run on the face, and all other features on the shoulders and start/select. All of the action inputs work well, with the shooting being rather reactive and movement being intuitive. The only issue there is with these inputs is that there is no way to adjust the mapping for accessibility.
Difficulty – this game is rather well balanced in terms of difficulty, with most of the challenges being fairly approachable. However, there are some moments where the difficulty will spike, with bosses dealing significant damage to the player, and obstacles that can be hard to distinguish from the background. This can lead to sudden and preventable deaths, which are frustrating, but the save states and rewind system can help alleviate these troubles.
Presentation – Visually, this game looks rather good with colorful sprite work in the shooting and overworld sections, alongside pleasing portraits for characters. However, due to the size of the overworld sprites, there is a lot of screen crunch. This can be offputting as it makes it difficult to see some of the hazards. The sound is really good, with a fun soundtrack with some good chiptune tracks, and a brand new vocal theme for this release.
Final Thoughts – I had seen the original GBA title back in the day, but not had the chance to play it, having forgotten about it until the announcement that WayForward was bringing it back. I got the opportunity to play this revamped release, having been re-released after 20 years and I had a rather pleasant experience. The quality of the story was rather good, with interesting characters and an engaging plot, that managed to keep me invested throughout.
The gameplay was a bit of a mixed bag at the start, with some awkward shooting and the screen crunch that took a little while to get used to. There are hiccups with the gameplay, like the slow ship movement and some elements that are hard to tell from the background. But in general, this is a fun mix of top down action, RPG and scrolling shooter, with plenty of depth and content. So I am happy to recommend this as it is a lot of fun to play.
In the end, I give Sigma Star Saga DX a final score of 4/5. This is a fun a challenging experience, that mixes top down action, shooters and RPG mechanics in a way that makes it feel unique, while not relying on gimmicks to keep players engaged the whole time. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation 5 version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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