Saint Sword
System: Genesis
Release Date: October 1991
Developer: Cyclone Systems
Publisher: Taito
Genre: Action
Hack and slash your way to the final conflict in Saint Sword! You are an answer to the prayers of the people. A young Titan warrior possessing the lost powers of the past. You have the ability to change forms in order to help you along your way. It’s up to you to collect the six lost treasures to help prepare for the final battle against Gorgan. Can you defeat the bad guy and save the land?
As Macress, you walk, jump, attack, and use magic. Button B is your sword attack which can also be aimed up or crouched. Button C lets you jump or descend platforms. Button A allows you to use magic once you gain the ability. I liked the magic shield and the health recovery magics. Your mana is accrued by collecting blue balls that the enemies sometimes drop when you kill them. You also power up as you kill enemies and gain points. This makes your attacks stronger.
Magic and transformations are accessed from a menu when pressing the Start Button. Choosing a transformation grants you 60 seconds of that power. The Birdman power lets you fly around the level, effectively negating any platforming challenges, but leaving you open to spike traps. The Centaur form increases your speed and power, and your vertical leaping capability. The Merman is useful for the few times you’re underwater, as it gives you speed and maneuverability.
Levels have you running around and killing enemies. The goal is to find a key that then opens the exit to the next area. I don’t know if the key spawns randomly or from a specific enemy, or after a certain time on the clock, but it’ll appear sooner or later. You’ll be running into dead ends that can be opened up by attacking switches that look like disembodied heads. A lot of it can be avoided with the Birdman power. This was nice in the first level when I was still getting acquainted with the controls.
At the end of the level is a boss. You’re shown their life meter, which is nice. Being in Birdman form was super helpful, as I could avoid the boss attacks and land a hit safely. The boss of the third level threw me off, as he didn’t have any visual cue as to my hits affecting him, other than his life bar slowly depleting. This is where I lost the most lives. The Centaur’s extra power comes handy against the bosses. I especially liked using that form against the doppelganger boss, as the backward kick was quite useful. The final boss was a pushover, but after defeating him, you’re sent back to the first level to play through again. Eh, not today.
Graphics: 3.0
While some of the backgrounds can be drab, it’s a good enough looking game overall.
Sound: 3.0
The music and sounds are pretty decent.
Gameplay: 3.0
The different transformations actually have use and hacking and slashing is natural.
Difficulty: 3.0
Levels aren’t too long or confusing and powerup are frequent enough.
Fun Factor: 2.5
I think it says something that I declined to play through the second time to get the proper ending.
Overall Rating: 2.9
Saint Sword earns a B. Look, this is a solid game and you might enjoy it enough to play through twice in a row.