Black Knight Sword (XBLA): "SUDA 51's Masterful Fairy Tale"

When it comes to vivid, and disturbing video games no one quite does it like SUDA 51. In the past this master of the macabre has given us such titles as the strange yet intriguing "Shadows of the Damned". I never in my life fathomed that this game developer would contribute to the XBLA library though. The fact that he did proves that he is out to impress the world with his talents, and in my honest opinion I think "Black Knight Sword" does exactly that. I spent hours sitting in front of the television mesmerized by the oddities, and WTF!? moments that populated the screen. Looking back I think I will definitely have a difficult time putting into words what I witnessed during my playthrough, but I will give it my best shot.

Black Knight Sword is a visual masterpiece with a lot of content. It features a story mode with three difficulty settings (Easy, Normal, Hard), a practice mode, an arcade mode, a challenge mode, and some strange bonus mode titled "Cat Head Grass". The game itself is presented like a medieval children's stage play with all the features you would find in one. The velvet robed stage that the main gameplay takes place on has a shadowy audience who cheers, and applaudes from time to time during intermissions. Each and everything featured on this regal stage comes to life in a whimsical yet very psychotic 2D puppeteer fashion. Odd creatures made up of surgically attached body parts litter the stages that make up the game's bestiary. There are even larger than life bosses who appear to be created in a similar fashion. It's as if Dr. Frankenstein went wild, and started making all sorts of horrific things. With a poetic tongue, and a rich English accent the story of "Black Knight Sword", or lack thereof is told through the off-the-wall ramblings of a narrator gone mad. Somewhere in the demented plot presentation you, the gamer will come to realize that the plot involves a summoned/possessed dark knight, a spirit, and a deranged princess. Other than that the rest of the story is left up to personal interpretation, and hands-on experience.

As with any 2D side-scrolling platformer you will find that "Black Knight Sword" has all the features that a metroidvania style game should. You can jump, double jump, and attack with a weapon as well as magic. As the gamer you control a Black Knight with spirit born powers. The spirit which possesses you early on in the game's intro level, and gives you these powers is called a Dark Helloborus. This otherworldly being acts as your sword, and source of magic within the game's stages. As you play through the introductory stage you will be learn all about the black knights controls, and abilities. When you defeat bosses later on in the game you will also earn new abilities, and be shown how to use them as well.

The game's story mode is fairly straightforward when it comes to objectives. You'll basically need to get from the beginning of each stage to the end without losing all of your lives. By doing so you will unravel the sordid plot through storybook intermissions, and well versed poetic narration. The stages you will venture through as the Black Knight are riddled with moving, and non-moving enemies that attack in a variety of ways. During your journey of discovery, and bloodshed you'll  also find an occasional boss creature who is hellbent on your demise. It is your job to dispatch all of these wretched foes in a gush of blood with your trusty sword, and your magic. If you succeed in ending any enemy's life in the game including the bosses you will be rewarded with one, or more still beating hearts which in turn act as the in-game currency. Freeing certain caged eyeball creatures that are located near checkpoints within the game's stages will award you the opportunity to purchase items from a related motherly one eyed beast using the hearts that you've collected. The in-game shop, which is basically a menu of sorts will allow you to buy such things as health refills, life upgrades, armor abilities, Helloborus upgrades, and 1ups/extra lives.

As I mentioned earlier on in the review there are a handful of available, and unlockable modes. Aside from the main story mode you will also find that there's a practice mode in which you can do playthroughs of each level/stage that you've played through. This allows you to perfect your playthrough of each level/stage, and also gives you the opportunity to find any hidden Cat Head Grass that you may have missed in the first playthrough. You will battle the same enemies, and face the same threats as you do your single level playthrough, and everything about the level/stage will play out as it did in the main story mode with no exceptions. In essence it's merely a means to get familiar with each level's layout without affecting your saved progress in story mode.

Another unique mode that is made available later on is the "Challenge Mode". Challenge mode is a stand alone mode that has the gamer trying to beat finish times in challenge oriented levels/stages. Each stage requires some sort of strategy to complete, and usually features enemy creatures as well as environmental hazards that complicate your passage from the beginning of the level/stage to the end. When you begin a challenge the in-game timer will start, and when you finish by entering one of the carnival tents at the end the timer will stop. You will be given a letter grade according to how fast you were able to complete each challenge, and how well you scored during your playthrough. Your score will ultimately be recorded, and uploaded to the game's global leaderboard while your letter grade will be recorded on the mode's menu.

The final unlockable mode that you'll earn towards the end of your main story mode playthrough is "Arcade". Arcade is an entirely unique mode that is based on features found within the game's main story mode. In Arcade mode you will once again take control of the Black Knight as he tries to traverse the various enemy infested stages/levels. The enemies are more plentiful in number in this mode, and you'll find that the variety of enemies is also more diverse. You will literally be attacked from every angle as you try to make it to the end. The aim, or goal of arcade mode is to rack up as many points as possible by collecting hearts, and killing enemies. Combo points will be given as a bonus for killing a group of enemies in one fell swoop. You are given a 20+ minute time limit with which to complete arcade mode, but in all honesty the possibility of dying all of your lives is more likely to happen first due to the mode's extreme nature. Whether you complete arcade mode by finishing it properly, or by dying all of your lives your final score will be uploaded to the game's leaderboard (assuming you placed).

Last but certainly not least is the "Cat Head Grass" mode. While this is less of a playable mode, and more of a mini-game it offers a unique touch to the odd package that is "Black Knight Sword". Whenever you find, and collect a Cat Head Grass within the main story mode it will be collected in this little musical mini-game. Each Cat Head Grass will rest upon one of five platforms in rows with other collected Cat Head Grasses as music plays in the background. The Cat Head Grass figures will dance about, and sing in their cute cat-like voices adding to the unusual symphony that ensues. I was unable to collect every Cat Head Grass in the game, so I'm not sure if there is something special that happens when you have them all, or not. I would assume so though.

In the end I honestly believe that SUDA 51, Grasshopper Manufacture, and Digital Reality Ltd. have a winner on their hands. This game is beyond amazing. The artistic visuals are beautiful, and vivid. Added details like the story narration, and macabre poems really make the game shine. The graphics are actually some of the best I've seen in a video game, and the soundtrack is equally as impressive. The fact that there are other bonus modes, and in-game secrets makes multiple playthroughs worthwhile adding great replay value. If you are a highscore fanatic then you'll definitely want to try to get top rank in challenge mode, or in arcade mode. There's something here for all gamers, assuming you are old enough to play. In closing I believe this game is worth every microsoft point it requires. If you haven't bought it yet, or are worried about how good it is at least download the trial. It is most definitely worth it!