is an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

developed by Allumer and published by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, it was later included in ''

Taito Legends ''Taito Legends'' is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. The games were originally developed by Taito. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games ...

''.

Gameplay

In ''Great Swordsman'', one or two players can play while taking turns. Players control with two-way joystick and three buttons that have varying hit levels which creates different level attacks. Like in

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...

Karate Champ , originally known as , is a fighting game developed by Technōs Japan and released in arcades by Data East in 1984. A variety of moves can be performed using the dual-joystick controls using a best-of-three matches format like later fighting ga ...

, buttons must be held. If they are released, the characters will revert to their standing animation. Moves can be defended against by intercepting the opponents weapons. The object of the game is to land a hit on the opponent or push them off the mat to score a point. There are fifteen levels with three different modes. The first three are

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

, the next five are

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...

, and the final seven are

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

-based. After clearing all levels in one mode, the "VICTORY SCORE" will be added to the players scores, even if they were tied with their opponents at the end. After fifteen levels are completed, the players start over in a higher difficulty setting and repeat after the next fifteen levels are also cleared. There are also bonus levels where players must deflect arrows to score extra points.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Great Swordsman'' on their September 1, 1984 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

Reception

External links

*{{KLOV game, id=8006, name=Great Swordsman
''Great Swordsman''
at arcade-history.com
''Great Swordsman''
at Internet Archive 1984 video games Allumer games Arcade video games Fighting games Multiplayer and single-player video games Romstar games Taito arcade games Video games developed in Japan

Gameplay

Reception

See also

Reception

External links