Game:

Sword of Sodan (1988)

Duration: 2:29:13

11 views

2

Oh boy, where to start with this one. Sword of Sodan was originally an Amiga game that got ported to the Genesis by Innerprise. The necromancer Zoras has killed Lordan, the king and taken over the kingdom! Before his death, Lordan sent his two children far away to protect them, where they were raised and taught the art of swordplay. Now grown and bent on revenge, you take control of either the swordsman Brodan (yes, really) or his twin sister Shardan and wield the mighty Sword of Sodan on your quest to bring justice to Zoras and free the kingdom!

This game has several differences from the original Amiga game. A few stages were cut and several enemies were removed. The animal that you can ride on during one of the stages is also gone. Enemies can now come from both sides instead of just advancing from the right.

Enemies will drop potions of varying colors, and they can also be combined to create different effects. Some of the effects are quite powerful, like an extra life or warping to the next stage. Some are useless or even damage your character. Experimentation is the only way to find which combinations do what.

The gameplay is mediocre at best. Jumping is awkward but necessary in some points, swordplay is difficult when dealing with enemies from both sides because of the lack of invincibility frames when hit, and the idea of sword combat with multiple enemies is neat but the reality is that you just poke and slash with no defending at all and it becomes a game of keep-away. The sprites are large and the art style is interesting but the animations are jerky and poor.

We finished this game as our 100th game, picked by the viewers! About halfway through I acknowledged that this was going to be a real chore to beat legitimately and we save-stated our way to the end. -- Watch live at https://www.twitch.tv/soltyd

Other Statistics