- A long time ago, in the Caribbean…
The storms of the Devil's Triangle carried many a ship to the ocean depths. One of these, the Crocker, found herself overwhelmed by a supernatural force off the rocky shores of an uncharted island...
…into an unashamed attempt in gaming to rip off the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Pirates: Legend of the Black Buccaneer (Black Buccaneer for European release) is a 2006 Hack and Slash action game released for the PlayStation 2, riding the coattails of the then-recent Pirates franchise from Disney (it was in fact released a month after the second movie) despite the game primarily took inspiration from the 1994 film The Mask.
An island full of gold, jewels and assorted booty located in the Caribbean, which can only be reached by entering the Bermuda Triangle, have surfaced. Said island, rumored to be ruled by a powerful ex-slave-turned voodoo sorceress, have attracted many sailors, pirates, and adventurers.
You play as one of these - a Spanish privateer named Francis Blade, who had a prophetic dream of the island revealing itself one morning. Joining an expedition with his trusty cutlass, sword and dagger, Francis' ship is unfortunately destroyed in a storm, with Francis alone as the only survivor to the accursed island. Francis then finds a magical medallion necklace that transforms him into the titular skull-faced hulking voodoo pirate captain that has the ability to gain strength, wielding a BFS version of Francis' cutlass, and summon skeletal zombies against his surroundings at will. And then he meets Vanilla, a pirate girl with her own mission...
On La Borge's Isle, a place of a thousand dangers and treasures...
- Abandoned Mine: A derelict gold mine lies underground beneath the island, which is filled with hostile wildlife. One of the stages have Francis trying to find his way out.
- Babies Ever After: The game's final cutscene in the Good Ending, a Distant Epilogue where after Francis and Vanilla escaped with the gold on Francis' ship, they then started life anew in Europe where they got married and had a son.
- The Bermuda Triangle: The titular Black Buccaneer is located in La Borge's Isle, an uncharted island accessible only by entering the Devil's Triangle. And all ships who approached are destroyed almost instantly by the storms infesting the triangle itself, including the one boarded by Francis.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: The opening prologue have Francis dreaming of the treasure of La Borge's Isle revealing their whereabouts to him, leading to a Catapult Nightmare. Which inspires him to set off on the quest kickstarting the game's main events.
- Dual Wield: Francis would often swing a short dagger alongside his trusty cutlass, which works surprisingly well in slicing up enemies. One of the more unique special moves have Francis stabbing two enemies at the same time from both directions using his twin blades.
- Edge Gravity: Standing near edges of platforms and ledges will have Francis dangling precariously while trying to keep his balance.
- A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: In the Bad Ending, where Francis returns to civilization with the gold, only to indulge in wine, women, gambling, and soon enough he's broke and left only with memories of the adventure. Said ending even name-drops the trope:"A fool and his money are soon parted. Drink and women led Francis a merry chase, and soon his magnificent treasure was in the pockets of courtesans and publicans..."
- Giant Crab: The game have at least two giant crustacean bosses, including the Final Boss, a monstrous crab that Francis (and Vanilla) can defeat using both hand grenades and the cannon used earlier to blow up the bars to get the trinket to turn into the Black Buccaneer.
- Hollywood Voodoo: Francis can collect voodoo charms which increases his magic meter; allowing him to turn into a more powerful form.
- Hulking Out: Francis' basic power-up, collecting enough charms to unleash his voodoo powers which turns him into a gigantic brute with superhuman strength, under the name the "Black Buccaneer". His cutlass also turns into a BFS for good measure.
- Killer Gorilla: Besides monkeys, La Borge's Isle's gorilla population are also hostile and will attack Francis and Vanilla on sight.
- The Legend of X
- Lethal Lava Land: The interiors of La Borge's Isle temple stage is set in an active volcano, where Francis needs to cross either by jumping on platforms or narrow bridges. Many of these areas contain enemies as well which will attempt pushing Francis into the lava.
- Maniac Monkeys: The first enemies Francis encounters, oddly enough, are savage simians living on the island, who attacks intruders on sight, Francis and other pirates included. They populate most of the first half of gameplay, including the first few levels, before they're phased out by bucaneers.
- Market-Based Title: Black Buccaneer in Europe (aka the original European title).
- Mêlée à Trois: One of the better, more unique aspects of the game, the wildlife of La Borge's Isle will attack everything in sight, Francis, Vanilla and other buccaneers included, and more often than not when both enemy types around Francis will be among the combatants of a three-way-war.
- Multiple Endings: The game have a couple:
- The Good Ending have Francis and Vanilla escaping La Borge's Isle together (by choosing to flee with her) and starting life anew, where they made their way back to civilization and raised a family together.
- Meanwhile, choosing to flee alone leads Francis to a Bad Ending, where indulging in his riches leads to him wasting everything and becoming broke again, a desolate man once more.
- Pirate: All the mook-grade human enemies, basically. Since they're rival pirates after the island's gold.
- Pirate Booty: La Borge's Isle is filled with these, leading to hundreds of adventurers sailing towards it only to be destroyed. The good ending have Francis and Vanilla escaping on Francis' ship with enough booty to last themselves for a lifetime, where they escaped back to civilization and raised a family together.
- Pirate Girl: Francis enlist the help of one called Vanilla, who has her own reasons for finding the uncharted island other than gold. She can function as a decent Assist Character against enemies.
- Ragnarök Proofing: Despite the game being set on some ancient, abandoned ruined island fortress, the cannons are still fully-functionable. Which is good, since Francis needs to use them to blow open entrances or take down enemy pirates using similar cannons.
- Rock Monster: Sepulchre will constantly summon rock giants during her boss fight. She can summon only one at a time, but she's invincible until her rock minion's destroyed and vulnerable when trying to create another.
- Sword and Gun: Francis Blade, in classical swashbuckler fashion, kicks ass wielding a cutlass and a flintlock pistol on either hand.
- Symbolic Blood: Oddly enough, enemies slain in battle will spew out purple mist instead of blood, from the island's wildlife to flesh-and-blood pirate foes.
- Title Drop: The female narrator says the European title/titular character's name in one cutscene.
- Tropical Island Adventure: The very bread-and-butter of the entire game.
