Sigma Star Saga can best be compared to the 8-bit NES game The Guardian Legend, in that it features on-foot exploration segments as well as spaceship shooter segments. For those who are unfamiliar with The Guardian Legend, think of Sigma Star Saga as Legend of Zelda meets Gradius. From what I understand, a healthy portion of RPG fans out there are also fans of intense shooters so an RPG/shooter hybrid does not seem all that far fetched. In any case, Sigma Star Saga is an ambitious title that has a lot to live up to, especially given how good Shantae was in the eyes of critics and players alike. So, does Sigma Star Saga live up to those lofty expectations? We’re about to find out…
As mentioned before, the game features both on-foot exploration and side-scrolling shooter segments. The on-foot segments work as with any action RPG. Walk around, destroy monsters, and solve puzzles to get from one place to the next. Exploration is aided by the area maps in the menu. Your main weapon is a puny Earth pistol with crummy range. Later on you can get various Krill accessories to use during these segments, such as the Krill Puck – which can destroy some obstacles and work as a ricochet weapon – and the Girl Wings that allow you to fly over small gaps, to name just two. These accessories are essential to gaining access to places on the various planets you could not get to before. You will have plenty of opportunities to revisit the various planets and explore the newly accessible areas, some of which have no bearing on the plot. Oh yeah, the game often doesn’t tell you how to use the accessories. While all are pretty self-explanatory, you need to refer to the instruction manual to use the Krill Boots properly. Monsters in these walking segments do not yield experience points. They only yield health packs and smart bombs. Experience is gained during the shooter segments.
The shooter stages occur as random encounters and as boss stages. During planetary exploration, Krill starships patrol around the planet. Since they can’t do evasive combat maneuvers on their own, they summon the nearest pilot, via the symbiote, to fly them. This is how the game explains the random encounters. During a random encounter, there is a target counter and once you kill that number of enemies, the battle is over and you’re zapped back to where you were exploring on foot. It is during these shooter battles that downed enemies leave behind little orbs of experience for you to collect. Higher levels mean higher attack and defense for any ship you happen to fly. In addition, leveling up refills your life meter. This is great to keep in mind as health packs cannot be obtained during shooter segments…
It’s difficult to recommend this game, because it is aimed at a very specific niche. But I will say that if you dislike shooters or aren’t very skilled at them, definitely try before you buy. Even veteran shooter fans will surely see the “Game Over†screen a few times. But if you fit into that niche who both love RPGs and shooters, then definitely give Sigma Star Saga a try.
Sigma Star Saga can best be compared to the 8-bit NES game The Guardian Legend, in that it features on-foot exploration segments as well as spaceship shooter segments. For those who are unfamiliar with The Guardian Legend, think of Sigma Star Saga as Legend of Zelda meets Gradius. From what I understand, a healthy portion of RPG fans out there are also fans of intense shooters so an RPG/shooter hybrid does not seem all that far fetched. In any case, Sigma Star Saga is an ambitious title that has a lot to live up to, especially given how good Shantae was in the eyes of critics and players alike. So, does Sigma Star Saga live up to those lofty expectations? We’re about to find out…
As mentioned before, the game features both on-foot exploration and side-scrolling shooter segments. The on-foot segments work as with any action RPG. Walk around, destroy monsters, and solve puzzles to get from one place to the next. Exploration is aided by the area maps in the menu. Your main weapon is a puny Earth pistol with crummy range. Later on you can get various Krill accessories to use during these segments, such as the Krill Puck – which can destroy some obstacles and work as a ricochet weapon – and the Girl Wings that allow you to fly over small gaps, to name just two. These accessories are essential to gaining access to places on the various planets you could not get to before. You will have plenty of opportunities to revisit the various planets and explore the newly accessible areas, some of which have no bearing on the plot. Oh yeah, the game often doesn’t tell you how to use the accessories. While all are pretty self-explanatory, you need to refer to the instruction manual to use the Krill Boots properly. Monsters in these walking segments do not yield experience points. They only yield health packs and smart bombs. Experience is gained during the shooter segments.
The shooter stages occur as random encounters and as boss stages. During planetary exploration, Krill starships patrol around the planet. Since they can’t do evasive combat maneuvers on their own, they summon the nearest pilot, via the symbiote, to fly them. This is how the game explains the random encounters. During a random encounter, there is a target counter and once you kill that number of enemies, the battle is over and you’re zapped back to where you were exploring on foot. It is during these shooter battles that downed enemies leave behind little orbs of experience for you to collect. Higher levels mean higher attack and defense for any ship you happen to fly. In addition, leveling up refills your life meter. This is great to keep in mind as health packs cannot be obtained during shooter segments…
It’s difficult to recommend this game, because it is aimed at a very specific niche. But I will say that if you dislike shooters or aren’t very skilled at them, definitely try before you buy. Even veteran shooter fans will surely see the “Game Over†screen a few times. But if you fit into that niche who both love RPGs and shooters, then definitely give Sigma Star Saga a try. 
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