Sword Master - for NES

Sword Master is a sword and sorcery action platformer for the Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by Athena and published by Activision in 1990. It landed in an era of fast running, fast jumping heroes and went the other way. Sword Master asks you to stand your ground, read the enemy in front of you and pick the right moment to swing. You play the Sword Master himself, the supreme warrior, called on to save a kingdom overrun by monsters. What made it stand out then still stands out now: razor sharp graphics, explosive special effects and huge enemies that fill the screen, the sort only a Sword Master could love.

Combat is deliberate rather than frantic. You can strike high or low, raise your guard to turn away an incoming blow, and unleash magic for the moments when a sword will not cut it. Movement has a flourish of its own in the multiple jump ability, which lets you get airborne and stay there long enough to clear a gap or come down on something nasty from above. A slew of deadly levels stands between you and the end of the quest, each one closing with a confrontation that checks whether you have learned the timing. This is a one player adventure from beginning to end, so the pace is entirely yours to set.

Players keep coming back to Sword Master for that measured, weighty fighting, the kind that rewards patience over speed, and for the look of the thing: the sprite work and the effects were ambitious for the hardware and still catch the eye. It is a fair challenge rather than a cruel one, which makes it a good evening instead of a grind. On a shelf it sits comfortably beside the other fantasy action titles of the period, and Sword Master remains a satisfying pick for anyone building a Nintendo Entertainment System collection with more than just the household names on it.

• Genre: Action Platformer
• Players: 1
• Region: NTSC
• Release Year: 1990
• Developer: Athena

Cartridge Only: No Box or Manual
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Condition & Authenticity
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