Magic Sword

Magic Sword (マジックソード), fully titled as Magic Sword - Heroic Fantasy, is a side-scrolling fantasy arcade game released by Capcom in 1990. The game casts the player as a hero who must fight his way through a mystical tower in order to save the world. The player can use a sword, axe, or magic, and can also rescue and recruit potential allies of various character classes, each of which has his or her own special abilities.

Story
Magic Sword takes place in an unnamed world, which is being threatened by the dark lord Drokmar, who has control over an evil crystal known as the “Black Orb”, which would allow him to rule over the world. In order to prevent this from happening, the hero, known as the Brave One, must scale to the top of the 50-floor tower in which Drokmar resides, known as Dragon Keep.

At the game’s end, when Drokmar is defeated, the player has the option of two endings, either to destroy the Black Orb, or to take control of it, becoming the new dark lord.

Characters
Aside from Drokmar, none of the characters in Magic Sword have specified names, being referred to instead by a description. The protagonist is simply a barbarian referred to in the manual as “The Brave One”. In the arcade version, there is the option for a second player. While the Brave One wielded a sword and shield, the secondary player would carry an axe. This secondary character was also nameless, and is not presented in the game’s official advertisements.

Allies
There are eight potential allies in Magic Sword. They are hidden throughout the tower, and need to be saved before they can assist the Brave One. While the player is able to switch allies at any time, he may only have one assisting him at any moment, and is not able to control the ally (except that the ally will only attack when the player does). Allies increase in power when they spend time with the Brave One, specifically collecting a Red Heart item or rescuing and selecting the same ally.

Gameplay
The main core of the gameplay is side-scrolling fighting, with some platforming elements. The player controls only the main character; all of the allies are controlled by the computer, who follow the player diligently and only attack when the player does. AI assisting characters can be switched to fit the situation or player preference.

There are 51 floors to fight through in the game. Eight of these floors has a boss character at the end, including Drokmar himself at the end of the 50th floor. Additionally, there are seven "Secret Doors" which allows the player to bypass levels when he performs specific maneuvers.

Ports
A single player-only port was released for the Super NES in 1992, and for mobile phones in 2008. The full arcade version is included in Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for PlayStation Portable and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

The arcade version was also released alongside Final Fight in a two-in-one bundle titled Final Fight: Double Impact for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. It was released on April 14, 2010 for Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft points and April 15, 2010 for PlayStation Network for $9.99.