Crossed Swords

Crossed Swords (クロススウオード) is a Hack 'n Slash game released in 1991 by Alpha Denshi for the Neo Geo and later ported for the Neo Geo CD. It later received a sequel for the Neo Geo CD titled Crossed Swords II.

Story
In the magical Kingdom of Belkana, peace is suddenly disrupted by a invasion of demons commanded by the demon lord Nausizz. The Knight of Journey, a traveling warrior and adventurer, arrives in Belkana and, after witnessing a villager seeking help being slain by a demon, decides to stop the demonic invasion and defeat Nausizz by himself.

Gameplay
Crossed Swords plays similarly to the original Punch Out. The player's knight appears as a wireframe figure with the camera set behind him, while enemies appear in front of him. The player can move left and right and block high or low by pressing up or down respectively. By pressing the A button the knight will slash at the enemy, and pressing it continuously will create a small combo. By pressing down and A the knight will stab the enemy, knocking it backwards. He will also stab at the end of a combo. The B button is used to cast spells.

The game is divided in chapters, with the player being able to choose between the first three chapters at the beginning. By defeating enemies the player will obtain gold, which can be used at the beginning of each chapter on a traveling merchant to buy new weapons or food to restore life. Each weapon has it's own unique spell attached to it. During the journey the player will also meet various NPCs who will give gameplay hints, unique items or weapons or simply advance the story.