Black Knight Sword has three difficulties: Easy, Normal and Hard but it feels more like "Normal, Hard, and Good Luck." It is not the mechanics, nor the controls that makes Black Knight Sword so difficult, no, not at all. It is the strategically placed enemies, the learning curve they demand from you, and the boss fights that will eat you up and spit you out. I have not been challenged in such a way for over fifteen years, something I thought I would never experience again. Not since Wizards and Warriors, and Castlevania on the Nintendo Entertainment System have I white knuckle gripped my controller or grit my teeth as enemy projectiles skimmed by my characters skull. Black Knight Sword is not for the faint of heart and is most certainly not for the casual gamer. It is a game that is meant to be a reminder of how hard video games used to be, and I have enjoyed every second of it.
Right off the bat you can clearly see that the art style for Black Knight Sword is unique in the gaming industry. Seemingly influenced by the Monty Python movies, with a splash of grotesque and medieval elements. I find the style to be homage to eight and sixteen bit sprites of the NES and SNES (Super Nintendo). An example showing that you don't need extremely high quality graphics to tell a story.
Speaking of stories, the story in Black Knight Sword is unique and weird. You won't figure out what the point of your journey is until the final stage, where everything falls into place very nicely. There really is not much I can say about the story, simply because there is little of it and what little there is I do not wish to spoil. But Black Knight Sword's focus is not about story, it's about an experience. The journey is more important than the beginning and the ending.
The game play in Black Knight Sword is simple yet complex. Press X to attack, A to Jump, and Down + A to Evade. As you progress you gain more abilities and powers. Every enemy in Black Knight Sword has a pattern that must be learned in order to avoid getting hit. Some are easy, while others (mainly bosses) may take you a few times of dying to finally get the mechanics down. There is also a shop where you can spend hearts (acquired from killing just about every enemy in the game) to gain health, magic, buy an extra life, and upgrade your overall health and strengthen your magic. Beware though; buying certain items will increase their price. Such as the health increase; it starts off at eighty hearts and steadily works its way up in twenty heart increments (80, 100, 120, etc). The same goes for the extra life (100, 150, 200), magic power (120, 140, 160), and temporary invincibility (50, 55, 60, 65).
Overall Black Knight Sword is a great game that demands you bring your "A" game. A tribute to the platformers of yester-years and a nice breath of fresh air. A game that says "Try me if you dare, the challenge is great, but the reward is even greater."
Black Knight Sword was released on 12/11/12 on PSN and 12/12/12 on XBLA, and costs $10.00 USD
Black Knight Sword was co-developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality and Published by Reverb Communications. A copy was provided by Reverb Communications for review. I played on Hard Mode and got my teeth kicked in.
