Weaponlord
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| Weaponlord | |
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| Developer(s) | Visual Concepts |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Release date(s) | 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | Super NES, Sega Mega Drive |
| Media | 24-megabit Cartridge |
Weaponlord (sometimes WeaponLord) is a 1 or 2 player fighting game originally designed for release on the Super Nintendo by Visual Concepts, and published by Namco. During the inception of the title, the development team also began work on a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version and both were released in October of 1995. Unlike the many other two-dimensional fighters that were being released at the time such as Mortal Kombat 3 and Street Fighter Alpha, WeaponLord introduced many groundbreaking gameplay aspects that many fans of the genre take for granted today. Also unlike other titles, WeaponLord was intended to replicate an arcade fighter, but built from the ground up on home consoles. This was a reverse of the normal trend, which had arcade versions being developed first, then getting ported in home consoles.
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[edit] Story
In an age of conquerors, on a bloody battle field...a wounded mercenary draws his last breath...and the spirit of a demon enters his body. He is reborn, rising from the dead to challenge the residing war king to a duel. With one blow a new empire is started...10 days and 20 dead rulers later the armies and lands are united by one man's hand. The reign of the DemonLord raith has begun.
At the height of the demon's power, the prophecy of his doom was foretold by a tribal shaman...
"When the night turns violent and the moon bleeds, gripped by the skeletal fingers of death...a child will rise to face the demon in combat...and the lord of demons will fall by the hand of...the WeaponLord."
Against the advice of his lieutenants to kill the children born that night, the DemonLord waits to face his foretold killer in fair, one on one combat. The DemonLord Raith is a true warrior, even evil can have honor.
25 years later...
Sensing the prophecy is at hand, the DemonLord holds a great tournament of champion warriors. The winner will face the demon in a final battle. The Demonlord prepares to meet his destiny head on...and destroy the WeaponLord.
[edit] Gameplay
At its core, WeaponLord was a standard 2D fighting game experience when it came to its various modes of play and feature sets. Where it differed was in its gameplay mechanics, and in some of its aesthetic choices and presentation. Some of WeaponLord's more original features were:
- Thrust-Blocking - The first aggressive blocking system that was 2 years ahead of Street Fighter III's similar Parry System.
- Multiple Endings - Characters would have completely different ending sequences depending if the player beat the Story or Arcade modes.
- Weapon-To-Weapon - When two player's weapon's clash at the same time, a struggle ensues to see who can overpower the other.
- Two-in-One - A normal attack followed quckly by a special move.
- Weapon Breaking - Character's weapons can be broken. This occurs when a Weapon-to-weapon struggle happens, and one player immeadiately Two-in-One's into a special move. This breaks off a portion of their opponent's weapon, greatly reducing their range and damage capabilities.
- Deflect - Each character has one special move that acts as a Deflect. This is similar to a thrust block, as it collides with an enemy's strike, knocks it backward...but it then automatically hits the character while they're off-guard.
- Take Downs - Certain special moves that also knock an opponent onto their back. A player can then follow up with additional attacks while their foe is still on the floor.
- Hair/Clothing Trim - When certain attacks are performed on an opponent in mid-swing, you can cut off a piece of their clothing or their hair. An added humilation.
- Password System - A password is given each time you've conquered a foe, so you can always return to the middle of a game, if need be. A secret password is also given so the DemonLord Zarak is playable in Story Mode.
- Death Combos - Unlike Mortal Kombat or Primal Rage, Death Combos are a certain string of regular and special moves that each have a gory effect on their opponents. These combos take skill and timing to master, and can also be done in a few different sequences. Some effects include disembowellings, decapitations, head splittings which expose the brain, and body pulp; which tears away most of the flesh from the torso.
[edit] Special moves
One major aspect of 2D fighting games that WeaponLord really distinguished for itself were its special moves. In most 2D fighters, a character possessing 5 special moves was considered overly-plentiful, but all of WeaponLord's fighters possessed between 9-12 special moves each. This was a huge number of options for a player to have available to them, and really gave WeaponLord its complexity. In addition, special moves were done in 3 completely different ways.
- Instant-Motion Moves - The standard motion for most special moves in fighting games. A directional movement such as down-to-forward, followed quickly by an attack button.
- Charge-Motion Moves - Another staple, where a directional button is held for 2 seconds quickly followed by the opposite direction, and finally an attack button.
- Hold-Down Moves - A rarity in most fighters, you must first hold down an attack button, followed by a directional motion, and finish it by releasing said attack button.
[edit] Characters
- Korr - A unequaled swordsman searching for his lost brother.
- Divada - Power-hungry sorceress yearning to destroy the DemonLord.
- Bane - A cursed barbarian savage hunting for revenge and redemption. (Note: A Bane-like costume for Rock was also avail. in Soul Calibur 2)
- Jen-Tai - Warrior Queen of the Arenas, rising to meet the ultimate challenge.
- Talazia - A forest-dwelling princess, destined to end the demon's rule.
- Zorn - An opportunistic thief who secretly wishes to kill his master, Zarak.
- Zarak - The DemonLord himself, who desires to face his foretold killer.
[edit] Platform differences
WeaponLord was originally designed for the Super Nintendo, and as such, was the much better looking and sounding version of the game. There were far more colors and detail on the sprites and backgrounds, as usually was the case when it came to fighting games during the 16-bit era. Sound effects and music were also richer, and voice samples were generally clearer.
The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version also suffered from a reduced screen size, where the upper half of the screen was blacked out to display the health bars and timer. The SNES version had the upper health information floating over the stage background, which was the standard in fighting titles at the time.
However, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version is considered the slightly faster of the two, and also worked well with the 6-button Genesis controller which was designed with fighting games in mind.
Intentions of a second Weaponlord were clear from many of the character endings in the game, in which it was revealed that an evil entity, perhaps more powerful than Zarak the Demonlord himself, was an influential force in the both the individual stories and overall plot. Sadly, due to the demise of the 16-bit generation within a year or so afterward, Weaponlord 2 never came to be. Despite excellent sales and high praise, Visual Concepts never began work on the second game. It is believed that Namco still holds publication rights to the Weaponlord name.
[edit] Critical acclaim and release
WeaponLord was a highly anticipated game for the 16-bit systems, as it was the first developed exclusively for both consoles. In the past, game developers had cut back on some features when it came to both versions of the same game, or more improved versions were released later on. WeaponLord was praised for its rich graphics, great animation and music, and its deep and involving story. One of the main criticisms against WeaponLord however was that it was too complex and too unforgiving for most casual players to enjoy. Its cast was also minuscule when compared to similar titles that boasted 16 characters or more. Unfortunately, it also being released after the Sega Saturn and slightly before the original PlayStation, WeaponLord didn't get much time in the spotlight.
Visual Concepts had an incredibly tight schedule to complete the game, and the decision to add a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version came later into the development cycle than most other multi-platform titles. If given more time however, there's no telling how much better and more polished WeaponLord would have become.
[edit] Visual concepts staff
- Original Concept : James Goddard
- Programming : Aki Rimpilainen
- Lead Artist : Alvin Cardona
- Design / Animation : Omar Velasco, Fred Wong, Ray Wong, Ken J. Shibata
- Game Design : James Goddard, David Winstead, Stephen Theodore Chiang
- Technical Design : Stephen Theodore Chiang, Aki Rimpilainen
- Producer : James Goddard
- Associate Producer : David Winstead
- Additional Software Engineer : Tim Meekins
- Original Background Paintings : Glenn Kim
- Background Art : Steve Paris, Alvin Cardona, David L. Lee, Leandro Penaloza, Ray Wong
- Music & Sound Effects : Brian Schmidt
