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Sometimes, all you need is a +4 Greatsword of Bugbear Slaying to save the world. Sometimes
you need a little more than that. Say there’s a big tower full of evil crap, and now let’s
say there’s some captives in said tower. How many captives? I don’t have an accurate
count, but I believe it’s somewhere NEAR the population of New Jersey. Just jail cells
all over the place, with their contents imploring to you GET ME ESCAPE or TAKE ME OUT or other
Franz Ferdinand songs. Eleanor, put your boots on, ‘cuz there’s heroic deeds to be done
and you’re a mostly-naked man with a Vorpal Scimitar or something. Let’s go.
There’s a dark lord, a Black Orb, and 50 floors of prisons to climb through, collecting
allies and magical gear and keys along the way. What more do you need to know? Rather
in the style of Black Tiger, there’s sword-swinging platforming to be enjoyed, though the controls
feel significantly more responsive and balanced than Capcom’s earlier offering. Also integrated
is a power meter at the bottom of the screen, which refills when you’re not swinging your
sword and allows for the throwing of magic projectiles at maximum. It’s a mechanic
that most of us associate with Secret of Mana, but in fact began in Sword of Mana (AKA The
Final Fantasy Adventure) for the Game Boy, which itself is predated by a year by Magic
Sword. Alongside your gauge-building barbarian, though, there’s a host of imprisoned allies
ready-willing, and able to tag along and throw ordnance all over the place. By rescuing multiple
iterations of them - and don’t even ask me how the hell THAT works - these companions
can level up and then throw even more shuriken or magic orbs or axes or whatnot.
It goes like that, up the tower, pausing occasionally for a boss fight against a dragon or a Khym...
chim... wait, how the hell do you spell that? What. What the hell is that. No. Take that
off the screen. As decent as the gameplay is, this is very much from the era when you
didn’t actually have to get a translation correct. Or... whatever the hell that was.
I think that misspelling is going to give me nightmares. Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!
Upgradable weapons and shields! Hidden doors and chests and warps and generally speaking,
plenty of rewards for exploration and diligence and swinging your sword around like a rocket-powered
lawn edger. (Go ahead. Picture that. I’ll wait.) And, compared to some of its contemporaries
among Capcom’s arcade offerings of the time, a single credit can last you a good long while.
It’s not too easy, but by no means grueling. Just ask yourself: Do you want to?