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Sword Master is a side-scrolling platformer video game that was developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Athena, initially released in 1990. As the title implies, it takes on a medieval theme and is centred around a knight who must engage in combat to defeat his enemies to pass through levels.
The game had incidentally featured parallax scrolling in its graphics, an illusion of depth in 2D imagery which was somewhat novel at the time of 8-bit gaming. It is also considered as a successor of sorts, to a similarly styled but more obscure game named the Castle of Dragon, which was launched a year earlier by the same developers Athena. [2]
Plot[]
The evil wizard summons the serpent.
The plot is based on an archetypal storyline of a princess being kidnapped by evil forces, prompting a knight in shining armour to come and rescue her on a dangerous trip through forests, villages and and the villains' castles. The knight in question is simply named the Sword Master from the game's title, whilst the villains concerned are a nefarious wizard and a serpent-styled demon named Vishok.
Gameplay[]
The Sword Master in combat in a cursed village.
The gameplay consists of traditional 2D platforming, mixed with heavy doses of combats with numerous enemies and bosses throughout. The Sword Master is equipped with a blade and shield for attacking and defending; the enemies range from simple bats and wolves to the more tricky wizards, ogres and gargoyles to name a few.
There are seven levels in the game, with the first two being a forest and a cursed village respectively. The rest take place in or around the grounds of the castle as the knight makes his long course up the multiple layers of the villains' castle lair. [3] Over the course of the game, the Sword Master acquires an ability to transform into a wizard and cast spells to deal greater damage to his foes, but at the expense of experience points built up from killing each enemy. [4]
Development[]
Reception[]
References[]
External links[]
- Sword Master at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Sword Master at GameFAQs
- Sword Master at MobyGames