That quote is about as deep as it gets
Blade & Sword is a 2004 Action RPG, developed by the Chinese company Pixel Studio. The company consisted of former developers of Prince of Qin, and like that game, it was set in the early Imperial China and had similar quest design.However, it was more action-oriented, with a far simpler plot, lacking a single Dialogue Tree, and simplifying the role-playing systems. Instead, it introduced the ability to combine special abilities into combos of sorts, and to draw runes for special effects with a mouse. It was played by even fewer people than Prince of Qin and received largely negative reviews.
This game provides examples of the following tropes:
- Artificial Stupidity: Not only are the monsters unable to use any kind of tactics, but they often fail to notice the main character when they're running past them or even already fighting other monsters nearby. Player's allies are the same.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The equivalent of mana is called Chi energy in this game. Also, nearly all of the kung fu-style abilities are styled after the skills from Diablo.
- Combos: It was possible to combine the special abilities into combos and thus use them straight after each other to enhance their effects, assuming you had enough Chi energy to do so.
- Damage-Sponge Boss: Some bosses have so much health it's often necessary to retreat back to town mid-fight to resupply and then return back to finish them off.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The title of the game is a good example, since "Blade is usually already synonymous with sword.
- Driven to Suicide: In the game's backstory, Emperor Jo had committed suicide by burning down his palace with himself still in it when facing military defeat, using his death to fuel a powerful curse. Apparently, his curse is the reason monsters have become so frequent.
- Hand Blasts: One the special abilities is to fire a blast of Chi energy in this manner.
- Item Crafting: Regular gems and potions can be combined at the Spagyric Cube to create more powerful ones.
- Knockback: exaggerated. 3-4 regular hits are often enough to knock either the main character or the enemies to the ground. By the end of the game, nearly every attack will send either the protagonist or the enemies flying several metres through the air, yet only losing a fraction of their health.
- Mook Chivalry: Enemies will not attack the protagonist when he's knocked down on the ground (which is often). Unfortunately, neither can you.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Apparently, the ghosts in the game's world can manipulate objects well enough to write letters and open boxes, but are incapable of traversing areas, instead having to possess items that need to be carried by someone alive. All of this is illustrated through a giant fetch quest between the ghosts of a husband, wife and their friend, all of whom are far apart and need to be re-united.
- Point Build System: The primary attributes of your character will increase automatically every time you level up, but you're allowed to spend points to learn new skills.
- Purely Aesthetic Gender: It is possible to play as a female character, which makes no functional difference to the game.
- Rare Candy: It is possible to use the so-called Spagyric Cube to combine regular gems with non-precious stones. When these are put into your character's sorcery bag, they'll increase your primary stats.
- Save Scumming: Averted, as it is impossible to save at any time, and instead you can only save the game before exiting it.
- Socketed Equipment: Both armour and weapons can have stat-increasing gems in
- Ultimate Attack: The attacks given as a reward for learning the entire branch of regular skills. Using them requires obtaining 1000 power points during combat, and then drawing the attack's symbol on a screen with a mouse.
