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
The Devil Man devastated the land of Katasis, which no longer is the passage to the Devil World. People were beginning to forget the Devil World along with the skill of their magical power.

One hundred years later...

Katasis built the great kingdom of Belcana by uniting several countries in close vicinity of each other. Angster Jr. ascended to the throne as the first King of Belcana. The people were applauding their prosperity, yet, some evil rumor started spreading among them. It was about a huge castle that was raised in only one night on Krugia Mountain in the far north. The King, Angster, felt the rumor must be investigated and dispatched a group to search out the truth. However, no one ever returned from their journey. Before long the evil rumor became a reality. The peaceful kingdom was exposed to the menace of the devil. The Devil being the ancient man named Nausizz who awakened from a thousand year sleep. Unfortunately, the knights of Angster have no skill of attack against Nausizz, so they were losing the battle. Will there ever be a brave enough hero to bring down the evil Nausizz?

Gameplay
Crossed Swords plays similarly to one of Nintendo's NES games (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 the A button, 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.

Critical Reception
n Japan, Game Machine listed Crossed Swords on their September 1, 1991 issue as being the tenth most-popular arcade game at the time. Likewise, RePlay reported the game to be the fifth most-popular arcade game at the time. The title received generally positive reception from critics since its release in arcades and other platforms.

AllGame 's Kyle Knight praised the pseudo-3D visual presentation, audio and magic system, regarding its gameplay as interesting but criticized the controls for being sluggish and lack of enemy variety. Computer and Video Games ' Paul Rand and Tim Boone commended the audiovisual presentation and playability but noted its high difficulty, while Rand criticized the limited number of moves. GamePro 's Doctor Dave gave positive remarks to the graphics, audio and gameplay but stated that Crossed Swords was a "straight-up swordfighter where you mow down the opposition posthaste. You pays and you plays." Joystick 's Jean-Marc Demoly compared the title with The Super Spy due to the perspective, commending its visuals, controls, sound and animations but regarded the gameplay as repetitive.

In a similar manner as Demoly, Player One 's François Daniel also compared Crossed Swords with The Super Spy but praised the audiovisual presentation, difficulty and longevity. Other reviewers such as Sinclair User 's John Cook compared the game with Dynamite Duke due to the perspective, while Game Zone 's David Wilson and Zero 's Doris Stokes compared it with Operation Wolf. Neo Geo Freak regarded it as a competent action title due to the pseudo-3D visuals and role-playing game elements but noted its difficulty.

Characters

 * Edmond and Richard: The heroes of the story, they wear golden and silver armor respectively. They're referred as the "Knights of Journey".
 * King Angster: The king of Belcana, who sends the heroes after the evil Nausizz.
 * Clore: The princess of Belcana and Angster's daughter, she is kidnapped by Nausizz's minions.
 * Old Man: The elder of Dio Village, he offers advice for the heroes.
 * Teanu: A blacksmith and the only survivor of Matius Tower, she will make new weapons for the heroes.
 * Raoster: A traveling merchant who sells weapons and food.
 * Nausizz: The ruler of the Devil World and ancient evil who awakens during great times of peace to spread chaos.