Tag Archives: swords

Commodore 64, Epyx, Palace Software

Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax, Commodore 64

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The sequel to 1987’s cult hit Barbarian, Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax is a similar fighting game, but with more variety than the first game, and the possibility of exploring the actual world by moving from screen to screen (“wow! What a technological advancement!“). Barbarian II was first released in 1988 by Palace Software. The game was later licensed by Epyx for distribution in North America under the title of “Axe of Rage“.

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Commodore 64, Epyx, Palace Software

Barbarian, Commodore 64

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Palace Software‘s Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is a fondly-remembered and controversial one-on-one fighting game from 1987, where two gladiatorial combatants slug it out to the death in a variety of different locations. Actually, there are two different versions of this game, each with different backgrounds. The first version has a throne room and then a pit. The second version has a meadow and a clearing in a forest. I’m not sure why there are two versions of this game, but that definitely seems to be the case.

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Hudson Soft, Make Software, Super Nintendo

Super Adventure Island II, Super Nintendo

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Super Adventure Island II is the sequel to Super Adventure Island and was developed by Make Software, Inc. and first published by Hudson Soft in 1994. It is somewhat different to the first game, though, and has RPG elements, as well as also being more open-ended in how you play it.

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Bandai, NES/Famicom, Tose Co. Ltd.

Frankenstein: The Monster Returns, NES/Famicom

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Frankenstein: The Monster Returns was developed by TOSE Co. Ltd. and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Bandai, in North America only, in 1991. It is a side-scrolling platform game with beat ’em up elements, in much the same style as the early Castlevania games.

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Square, Super Nintendo

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Super Nintendo

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Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is a Role-Playing Game aimed at beginners and was the first Final Fantasy game released in English-speaking territories, coming out on the Super Nintendo through Square in 1992. It was actually released in North America first, then in Japan and Europe the following year. The game was released in Europe as “Mystic Quest Legend” which hints at its similarity to the classic Final Fantasy Legend series on the Game Boy.

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Atari Jaguar, JV Enterprises, Telegames

Towers II: Plight of the Stargazer, Atari Jaguar

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Towers II: Plight of the Stargazer is a rarity on the Atari Jaguar – it’s a first-person 3D Role-Playing Game, in the style of Ultima Underworld, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, or the early King’s Field games, and it’s probably the only RPG that was ever officially released for the console. The game does look pretty grim, but thankfully plays better than it looks.

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Atari ST, JV Enterprises

Towers: Lord Baniff’s Deceit, Atari ST

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Towers: Lord Baniff’s Deceit was first released for the Atari ST by JV Enterprises in 1993. It is a first-person RPG in the style of Dungeon Master, with tile-based movement and real-time combat.

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Konami, XBox

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, XBox

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Released for the XBox and PlayStation 2, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is a 3D action/adventure developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and first published in 2005.

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Arcade, Taito

Cadash, Arcade

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If you’re looking for a weird, obscure fantasy action game to play you could do a lot worse than Taito‘s 1990 arcade game Cadash, which mixes platform gaming with RPG-style elements in a way that is rarely seen in this kind of coin-operated title.

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Extended Play Productions, Megadrive/Genesis, Sega

Chakan: The Forever Man, Megadrive/ Genesis

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Developed by Extended Play Productions and published by Sega in 1992, Chakan: The Forever Man is based on the comic of the same name by Robert A. Kraus and features a protagonist, called Chakan, who is so confident of his swordsmanship that he declares that even ‘Death’ cannot beat him. Death appears and challenges Chakan – if Chaken can defeat him, he will be granted eternal life. However, if Death wins then Chakan will become Death’s eternal servant.

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