Product: Ariole Sin
Developer: Mugen Storm
Web Site: http://www.mugenstorm.com
Category: Game – Action, RPG, Fighting
Price: $19.99

Requirements: StrongArm based Pocket PC, 6MB Storage Space, 12MB Program Space

In the fantasy world of Ariole Sin, a medallion was created long ago by the gods to contain all the sins of the earth. The medallion was separated into three parts and hidden on the three remaining continents of earth. Legend states that whoever possesses the complete medallion shall become a god. And so you embark on your quest to possess the whole medallion.

Ariole Sin is primarily a 2D fighting game with rpg elements as you move through the three continents. The main goal is to fight an array of different enemies to gain information about the medallion parts and win each piece. You will be able to fight on the ground or in the air, however you cannot move up and down in the air. It’s not much different than fighting on the ground, but it does add some variety.

Each area of the game contains part of the story. However you cannot skip pass the story sequences, which can be quite annoying after the first few times you see them. The same goes for the animated sequence of losing a fight. All of the story sequences are simple frame-by-frame animations with scroll and zoom effects.

This is not a real-time fighting game. It is much more like a turn-by-turn game where you have to wait for your turn to make a move or give a command. The game is slow enough so that once you or your opponent starts a move (attack, defend, move, etc.), you cannot do anything until the move is complete. For instance, if the opponent attacks and you are not already in a block position, you will not be able to block and must suffer the effects of the attack. At the same time, when the opponent pauses in between moves, you must enter your command. If you wait too long, the opponent will move again and you will lose your opportunity to take a turn. You must learn to be very precise in your timing while fighting. There are very few moves available during the fighting and you do not have the option to customize the game controls.

This game has rather high system requirements. If you run the game and encounter any fatal error, make sure that you have at least 12MB of Program Space in your memory settings.

I hope that the developer will continue to improve this game. It would be much better if it were fast enough to be a real-time fighting game.

This game reminds me of battling Pokemon. If you like Pokemon or Dragonball style graphics and action, you will like this game. If you are looking for a real-time, action fighting experience, you should try a different game.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars.

---Harvey Lee
PocketPC Editor