Lord of the Sword

About Lord of the Sword

Lord of the Sword (1988) is Sega's side-scrolling Master System adventure in which would-be hero Landau must complete three tasks to become king of Baljinya and stop the demon Ra Goan's resurrection.

Lord of the Sword in Depth

Followers of the Demon Lord Ra Goan kill the king and royal family of Baljinya, hoping to free Ra from a thousand years of imprisonment. The Elder Council decides that a new king must be crowned, or the kingdom will fall to Ra Goan when he returns, and that the rightful ruler will be a strong, brave man who completes three tasks. Landau, a would-be hero seeking the crown, accepts and sets out to save his homeland; by the end he becomes king, and five years later he is shown ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity.

The player explores a side-scrolling open world of flat lands, dark forests, mountains and swamps, each with its own monsters, armed with a sword for close combat and a bow for range. Towns and villages let Landau rest to restore health and gather information, and castles open only after certain tasks. Characters must be spoken to several times in a row to hear every message, or bosses and secret paths will not appear. Bosses must be struck at a weak point or moment, and each one beaten rewards a better sword or bow. There are up to ten continues but no password save. Computer and Video Games gave it 64 per cent, and The Games Machine 58 per cent, finding the play uninteresting and the game nearly impossible without its continues.

Making Lord of the Sword

Sega developed and published it for the Master System in 1988. It received mixed reviews from critics.