WeaponLord. A complex and involving fighting game...
Written: Mar 10 '05 (Updated Mar 11 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Solid graphics and sounds; a myriad of techniques; great combo system.
Cons: It takes time and patience to master.
The Bottom Line: Experienced fighting game players can do no wrong with this title.
|
|
|
| platonism's Full Review: Weapon Lord for Super Nintendo |
The fall of 1995 saw the release of many high-profile fighting games for the home consoles: for starters, let's mention Killer Instinct, Primal Rage, Mortal Kombat 3, Battle Arena Toshinden and Tekken. Still, some of the best action and strategy the genre had to offer was arguably found in Namco's WeaponLord, a hugely awaited game that drew uneven reviews at the time. It has become a cult favorite for those who took sufficient to assess its extraordinary depth and complexity. One of the very last 16-bit fighting games, it is also one of best.
The heir of two distinguished traditions
WeaponLord's main draw is that it is rooted in the two main traditions of fighting games, that of Street Fighter II and that of Mortal Kombat, while bringing forward its own aspects. The movements of the D-pad for the special moves feature a lot of quarter/half-circle motions reminiscent of the SF games, and its incredibly deep combo system is the heir of that same series. WeaponLord's makers have also incorporated the more violent trend in fighting games by including blood with each registered hit, and (more importantly) Death Moves, which are descendants of Mortal Kombat's fatalities.
But WeaponLord reconfigures this heritage in startling ways. Each of the seven playable characters has about ten special moves; some are executed by following a D-pad motion with a button press, but others require a button to be held first – this is a clear departure from the Street Fighter series. What is interesting is that the D-pad motions mirror the characters' actual response: as an example, when Korr reaches back and performs a Tarok Strike (which is similar to a baseball swing), you have to hold a forethrust button and do a half-circle motion from back to forward. Notice that I wrote "forethrust button": WeaponLord being a weapon-based game, there are no straight punches or kicks, but rather backstrokes and forestrokes.
Meanwhile, the "Death Moves" are even more involving than those of most Mortal Kombat-style games. In WeaponLord, the finishing moves are integrated in the fighting itself: there is no break between the end of a fight and the "fatality", and you control it in its entirety. Each character has six to eight possible Death Moves, many of which can be combined in a single sequence. To execute them, you must close off your match (best of 3s or best of 5s, with two life-bars per round – the fights tend of be quite long) with a multi-hit combo while using a specific special move; the result you get depends on which move you did. Death Moves include (weak hearts can skip over to the next paragraph) decapitations, exploding heads, deguts and pulp/frenzy deaths.
Lose yourself in its extraordinary depth...
In many ways, WeaponLord thus goes beyond its distinguished predecessors even as it feeds on them. It also introduces radical techniques. The weapons of the seven characters are not decorative, but actively used. Thrust Blocking is a key element in WeaponLord: while standard blocking does work by pressing away on the D-pad, you can also block incoming moves with your weapon; this is an offensive block, because your opponent will recoil from the shock and thus offer a window for combos. As helpful as it is, Thrust Blocking is a complex technique to master because you must choose the correct blocking angle – standing still, you can thrust block at three different levels, and you can even do so in mid-air. Other intricate innovations are to be found in WeaponLord: Guard Dropping, a move that can break open a standard block; Power Deflect moves can (naturally) deflect opposing attacks, and are useful either as a defensive or offensive technique.
Given all of these moves, WeaponLord's combo system is as deep as that of the standard Street Fighter-type game. Combos can be initiated in a myriad of ways. The combo system also enables juggles: the speed gradually decreases as a round ends, so if you trap an enemy in the corner at the end of a round, you can juggle him/her (i.e. keep him/her off the ground) for a few extra hits, and finish it off with some ground strikes. Multi-hit combos are highlighted at the bottom of the screen (3 hits, 7 hits, etc.).
There are four difficulty settings, and even the first one is quite challenging. This only urges the player to keep practicing and hone his/her skills. In addition to the two-player VS mode, there are two one-player options: the Arcade mode, in which you face the other six characters and yourself one-by-one; the Story mode, which puts an emphasis on each fighter's personal quest. In the latter mode, a password is given after every few matches. Fatalities are especially important then, because 1) if your opponent defeats you and uses a Death Move, you can't continue; 2) in your next-to-last battle, you have to face all the characters that you have spared (i.e. those on which you did not perform a finishing move). Moreover, endings are sometimes affected by the results of your fights. For instance, killing a specific opponent might trigger important revelations once you finish the game. The elaborate endings can only be witnessed by beating the game on the third or fourth difficulty setting; they are as interesting as they are unpredictable, and warrant repeated tries.
There might be only seven characters (four males, three females) to choose from, but each one can only be mastered after hundreds of battles; Korr is an obvious choice for starters, but the other characters - the massive Bane, the projectile-throwing Zorn, the end-boss and demonlord Zarak, the agile Talazia... - are just as interesting. With the multiple special moves, blocks and deflects, the possible permutations in gameplay are almost endless. As a result of the game's depth, the play control needs time and patience (most 1995 reviewers obviously did not have enough...); this is not the consequence of a lack of response/precision in the controls themselves. WeaponLord is not a cart that can be picked up and mastered in minutes or even hours, and the game expects commitment on the part of its players.
Barbarian power
As an incentive to his/her patience, the player is presented with some truly powerful images and atmospheric sounds. The game's lead designer, James Goddard, is a big fan of Conan the Barbarian and it shows: the seven characters have a lot of ties with Norse mythology and Barbarian-themed books/films. They are remarkably tall and imposing, and are all unique. You can also interact with their looks: some moves can actually cut the hair of several characters, or destroy their helmet. As for the backgrounds, they are mostly derived from acrylic paintings done by Glenn Kim; they have their share of solid visual effects. The animation is not as smooth as that of the Street Fighter games, but it is still very good and makes for excellent playability.
The music is dark and brooding, and it makes great use of voices (witness the title music, among other striking themes). The sound effects could not have been better, with the crystal-clear clashes of the weapons and the impacts of the hits during battle. The omniscient, god-like narrator has an expressive voice that perfectly captures the intensity of the proceedings.
* * *
In short, this is an excellent fighting game that deserves a lot more attention than what it has gotten since its 1995 release. Experienced fighters will have a blast while trying to master its complex, intricate techniques.
List of my Epinions pieces on video games
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
platonism
|
|
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 45 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.