{Review} Blacksword Chronicles

"Blacksword Chronicles - Chapter I" by Watermark

The Force is strong with me... Sorry, the Aura. But since it is an all-encompassing force that is explained to the protagonist by a Zen-like master who puts him through his paces in order to become proficient with his extra-special sword, I don't think the Star Wars comparisons are that unreasonable. But all snarking aside, "Blacksword Chronicles" has a lot to recommend.

Story
Okay, maybe one more snarky bit. The prologue where two characters yell at each other about betrayal conjured up images of Episode III's lava planet.
After that, your protagonist awakes without a name, but with a sword. And that proves to be the more useful combination, since after tumbling out the door, he promptly needs to rescue a damsel in distress from ruffians. This serves as the tutorial for the (spoilers) excellent combat system.
Since having no name is often associated with having no cash, our hero signs up to be a bodyguard for a historian and a thief in search of ancient ruins. The three develop a comfortable dynamic with each other that had me smiling. I have played to the end of the first quest and can say that it is enjoyable and atmospheric. Maybe I will return later and see if the sword-lord has forgiven me for treating his henchmen a bit roughly...

Mechanics
So, combat. You have three different attacks and one block move, same as your opponents, and the attacks work on a rock-paper-scissors basis. Choose the one that beats your enemy's and he can kiss some of his HP goodbye. The block cancels everything but costs resources.
You see what your opponent is going to do, because of the Fo... because you're that awesome. So you can just pick what your opponent is weak to.
 After your first combat, you may think "I got this". After your second, where you take down a big brute with an axe you may even become a little smug. And then the game goes and takes your cheatsheet away.
My thoughts: "Well, come on then, if you think you're... Oh, crap, where's the explanation graphic? Okay... What cancelled blue again... What? Why is there a timer? Why is the timer almost empty?! Better press something quick... Oh please, I don't want to diiiiiee..." *ahem* More or less.
Seriously though, the combat system flows beautifully and puts up a good challenge. But I won't touch the difficulties above easy with a ten foot pole.
Two more things are remarkable. The game gives you combos that get triggered by specific attack combinations, but if you try to spam the combos, you will have a bad time in combat. Not that I tried that...
Plus, the enemies wise up and get friends. Your tactics change a lot when you need to take two attacks into consideration. Suddenly it's not about what your enemy is weak to, but what he is weak to and won't allow his buddy to carve his name and address on your chest.
I should also mention one minigame, where you need to hold a certain position against rather unwelcome visitors. This is done by getting into the right stance to counter each of the three types. The problem here is that your opponents seem to be awfully polite. They pause in front of the actual entrance, as if saying "No, please, after you, I insist." As a consequence, you are suddenly faced with a totally different type of enemy than the one you were prepared for and thus your whole rhythm is shot. I would recommend placing the character more towards the end of the narrow passage you are defending to allow for a bit of reaction time.
Character levels and gold are there but didn't feature heavily into my playthrough. At one point I would have been grateful for a quest journal, because my caterpillar  of adventurers was led by someone who had momentarily dozed off in conversation and had not quite caught the way to the ruins.

Presentation
RPG Maker aesthetics, but it looks like original artwork. Sometimes the backgrounds are a bit busy and I was trying to pick up several axes that were just painted on. Some passages are quite tight and tricky to navigate.
And as I said, combat is a joy to see. Not only is it juicy and flows like a dream, combos actually feel powerful.
I have no complaints about the music and the atmospheric sound, especially when you are exploring the dungeon/ruin. That was a gloomy area in the very best way.
I found no bugs. Except for the ones trying to eat me.

On the whole...
You know why I brought up Star Wars so often? Other than to be snarky, that goes without saying. It's because Jedi are such a good power fantasy. A mystical warrior his foes can barely touch who inspires awe in his fellow adventurers and handles his weapon like an extension of his own self. That is the fantasy Blacksword Chronicles is selling you, and it certainly delivers.
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Link: http://contest.gamedevfort.com/submission/258#.Vc9ie_ntlBc

Dev: Watermark

Time Played: 50 minutes

Got My Vote? Gotten my vote it has. Okay, I'll stop now. But really, good game.