365//365: Day 229 – Demon Sword (NES)

8 bit gaming can be hilarious at times. Just about every Tom, Dick and Jane released a game on the NES, regardless of their superficial “Seal of Approval” label that’s pastured on every box and cartridge with no rhyme or reason. Some of these games were either epic (StarTropics), epic failures on a grand scale (Empire Strikes Back) or just….unnecessary on all levels (Friday the 13th). Then you have Demon Sword, which is quite a peculiar title. On the back of the box it says “Gather your courage, grasp your blade and release the power that is yours to control.” That’s some great advice there, Taito, but when your game is so fast, so incoherent and so difficult, the only power I’m going to release is the force of my NES controller being thrown into the wall and lodged into it.

Stick to the tree tops and jump through each stage....

It’s not that it’s a top to bottom failure by any means, but the break neck speeds you run at, the literal super jumping you perform and the amount of schmuck dodging you have to pull off all at the same time, is extremely overwhelming at times. You can bypass large segments of each stage by holding up and forward, which enables you to super jump forward over large distances at a time, almost like The Incredible Hulk. While you’ll have to mash B or A to either constantly to thwart off any aerial enemies you may encounter, you can clear bulks of most stages in this manner. However the bosses will put a hurting on you early on. Thanks to the fact that you only have what amounts to a hilt and thumbtack in terms of your Demon Sword, unless you ninja star them to death before they manage to one shot you, you’ll be playing the first several stages at a near constant pacing. Once you lengthen your sword though, the game does become slightly less difficult, though it still will test your patience. Oh, and you won’t be able to move the opposite direction in which you jumped. While this won’t really come into play much, it can catch you every so often and cause a nuisance.

It’s a shame that there are so many gameplay faults when the audio and video portions are actually pretty strong for an NES title. While there are certain sound effects that will play constantly and will somewhat taint the overall experience you’ll receive from your speakers, there’s a commendable enough performance to pull it ahead of the curve. What little music variation there is, comes off as some of the more impressively composed pieces on the system. It does give the appropriate feeling for each area you travel through. Speaking of which, although you’ll be running or jumping through most of it, Demon Sword does have an impressive look to it. There are plenty of ledges and trees you can jump up on, atop or past, with a lot of detail all around you. While the animation may be weak, the rest of the game looks creditable.

....or if you don't care about your health, well-being and sanity as a whole, try running through everything, with hundreds of enemies flying at you constantly.

While it can be balls to the wall difficult, and borderline maddening, Demon Sword has enough charm to it to keep you seated through the layers of challenge and unforgiving schmuck dodging. Taken slowly, you’ll be challenged more so, but you’ll be able to see and experience a lot more. If you have an iron will, determination and the patience of five saints, then Demon Sword is for you. Otherwise, save yourself the sanity and pass.

Rating: 5.2