Crossed Swords II | |
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Developer(s) | ADK |
Publisher(s) | ADK |
Director(s) | Akira Ushizawa |
Producer(s) | Kazuo Arai |
Designer(s) | Atsushi Kobayashi Hajime Suzuki Hiroe Hashimoto |
Programmer(s) | Hideo Kamoda Teruaki Shirasawa |
Artist(s) | Hatsue Honbe Katsue Matsuzaki |
Composer(s) | Hideki Yamamoto Hiroaki Shimizu Yuka Watanabe |
Series | Crossed Swords |
Platform(s) | Neo Geo CD |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Action role-playing, beat 'em up, hack and slash |
Mode(s) | Single-player, co-op |
Crossed Swords II [lower-alpha 1] is a hack and slash action role-playing video game developed and published by ADK exclusively for the Neo Geo CD in Japan on May 2, 1995. [1] The sequel to the original Crossed Swords , It is one of the few exclusive titles to be released for the console, as it was never officially released for either Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and Neo Geo AES (home) platforms. [2]
Taking place several decades after the events of the original game, the story follows a crew of three adventurers on a journey across the kingdom of Belkana to slay the returning demon warlord Nausizz, whose castle rises from hell once again and his servants are threatening to conquer the land by bringing chaos and destruction with his reign.
Crossed Swords II is a hack and slash action role-playing game that is primarily played in a third-person perspective like its predecessor where players take control from either of the three warriors, each with their own unique advantages and disadvantages, on a quest to slay the returning demon warlord Nausizz who returns from the underworld after his previous defeat in order to conquer the kingdom of Belkana with his army of monstrous creatures across twelve acts in total. [3] [4] The sequel expands upon the original gameplay further by adding new elements and mechanics such as experience points to increase the experience level of their respective player character, a new button dedicated for jumping and dashing, giving the players extra abilities and the ability to dodge incoming enemy attacks, among other abilities to master. After completing each act, players can buy recovery items and new magic attacks, as well as increasing their experience level, via a shopkeeper with the gold collected. [3] If the players are killed in action, a limited number of continues to keep playing are present for use before the game is over. [3] In addition to the regular campaign, there is a survival mode where an endless array of monsters with different levels of strengths must be fought against until the players are defeated.
Crossed Swords II was one of the few games designed specifically for the Neo Geo CD, rather than being a Neo Geo MVS/AES port and it was released exclusively in Japan on May 2, 1995. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Although the game was not released in western regions, the game will display English text if played on non-Japanese consoles. Despite never receiving an official MVS/AES release, the game was partially and unofficially converted to both platforms in 2015 by Razoola and homebrew developer Neobitz, using the music files from the first AES/MVS Crossed Swords game instead of the original Crossed Swords II CD version, yet the sound effects are from the latter. [7] [8] Later in 2022, a full and still unofficial conversion to AES/MVS was done by Elrayzer using converted VGM files from the CD version of Crossed Swords II.
The Neo Geo, stylized as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a ROM cartridge-based arcade system board and fourth generation home video game console released on April 26, 1990, by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in SNK's Neo Geo family.
The Neo Geo CD is the second home video game console of SNK Corporation's Neo Geo family, released on September 9, 1994, four years after its cartridge-based equivalent. This is the same platform, converted to the cheaper CD format retailing at $49 to 79 per title, compared to the $300 cartridges. The system was originally priced at US$399, or £399. The system can also play Audio CDs. All three versions of the system have no region-lock. The Neo Geo CD was launched bundled with a control pad instead of a joystick like the AES version. However, the original AES joystick can be used with all three Neo Geo CD models.
Twinkle Star Sprites is a 1996 competitive scrolling shooter arcade game originally created by ADK. It was ADK's last production for the Neo Geo platform. The gameplay, which can be characterized as a combination of a fixed shooter and a versus puzzle game, uses combinations of shots, as well as timed power-ups to attempt to damage the opponent. These attacks also serve as counters to the opponent's attack.
Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors is a fighting game originally developed and published by Sunsoft in 1995 for the Neo-Geo MVS in arcades, and then for the Neo Geo AES console. It was Sunsoft's second fighting game after their 1994 Super Famicom spin-off of their Hebereke series, Sugoi Hebereke, as well as their first side-viewed 2D fighting game.
Baseball Stars Professional is a baseball arcade video game developed and originally published by SNK on 26 April 1990. A follow-up to the original Baseball Stars on Nintendo Entertainment System, it was one of the launch titles for both the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and Neo Geo AES (home) platforms, in addition of also being one of the pack-in games for the AES, as well as the first baseball title released for the Neo Geo.
Neo Geo was a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo Multi Video System (MVS) and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System (AES).
Pulstar is a 1995 horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game published by SNK. Players control a starship in its mission to eradicate the Solar System of a hostile race of aliens that threaten mankind. Its gameplay has been compared to the R-Type series for its similar premise and mechanics; players must complete each of the game's eight stages by destroying constantly-moving formations of enemies and avoiding their projectiles. There are power-ups that can be collected that provide additional abilities for the player. It runs on the Neo Geo MVS arcade system board.
ADK Corporation, formerly known as Alpha Denshi Corporation (アルファ電子株式会社), was a Japanese video game developer founded in 1980. ADK began as a developer of arcade games and is best known for their library of SNK Neo Geo titles, including for its home consoles, produced in partnership with SNK. Most notable among these are their fighting games and, in particular, the World Heroes series and Aggressors of Dark Kombat. The company closed with properties sold to SNK Playmore in 2003.
Crossed Swords is a hack & slash action RPG arcade game developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK. It was released for the Neo Geo arcade system in July 1991 and later on Neo Geo console in October of the same year. Its gameplay was similar to SNK's earlier 1990 first-person shooter and beat 'em up game, The Super Spy, but with role-playing game elements and hack & slash combat instead of shooting and fist-fighting.
Blue's Journey is a side-scrolling platform game released by Alpha Denshi in 1990 on SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade system and their AES home system. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD in 1994. It was rereleased on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on November 9, 2007, followed by North America on November 12, 2007.
Ninja Combat is a 1990 side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK. It was one of the launch titles for both the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and AES (home) systems.
League Bowling is an arcade game released in 1990 by SNK for the Neo Geo console and arcade systems. The players controls characters with red and blue hair and can select balls from 8 to 15 pounds. It is the only bowling game released on the Neo Geo.
Ragnagard is 2D arcade fighting game developed by Saurus and System Vision, and published by SNK and Saurus for the Neo Geo arcade, Neo Geo CD and Sega Saturn. The game's characters are all based on Shinto deities.
World Heroes is a 1992 fighting arcade game developed and published by Alpha Denshi with the assistance of SNK. It was originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet on July 28, 1992. It is ADK's first game in the fighting game genre, as well as their earliest attempt in the fighting game trend of the '90s that was popularized by Capcom's 1991 arcade hit Street Fighter II. It was even the last game with the "Alpha" logo labeled within the game before the developer became "ADK"; however, the "Alpha" logo was last used on one of the arcade flyers of its sequel.
Ganryu is a 1999 side-scrolling hack and slash action-platform arcade video game developed and originally published by Visco Corporation exclusively for the Neo Geo MVS. It is loosely based upon the battle of Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi on Ganryū-jima island against Sasaki Kojirō, who is also known as Sasaki Ganryū, hence the reasons for the abbreviated name of the game. In the game, players assume the role of either Musashi or Suzume on a journey to defeat a resurrected Kojirō and his legion of evil ninjas and monsters terrorizing Kyoto. A sequel, titled Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiro, was developed Storybird Studio and published by Just for Games and PixelHeart. It released on 22 April 2022 to generally mixed reception.
Football Frenzy is an American football arcade video game developed and originally published by SNK on January 31, 1992. It was the second football game created by SNK after 1987's Touch Down Fever, as well as the only football game released for the Neo Geo platform.
Stakes Winner is a horse racing arcade video game developed by Saurus, with additional support from AM Factory, and originally published by SNK on September 27, 1995. In the game, players compete with either AI-controlled opponents or against other human players across multiple races. Though it was initially launched for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade), the title was later released for both Neo Geo AES (home) and Neo Geo CD respectively, in addition of being ported and re-released through download services for various consoles. It was received with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its initial release. In 1996, a sequel titled Stakes Winner 2 was released for the arcades.
Over Top is a racing arcade video game developed by ADK and originally published by SNK on April 26, 1996. It is the spiritual successor to Thrash Rally, which was released earlier in 1991 on Neo Geo platforms.
Stakes Winner 2 is a horse racing arcade video game developed by Saurus, with additional support from System Vision, and originally published by SNK on September 24, 1996. It is the sequel to the original Stakes Winner, which was released earlier in 1995 on multiple platforms. In the game, players compete with either AI-controlled opponents or against other human players across multiple races. Though it was initially launched for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade), the title was later released to Neo Geo AES (home), in addition of being ported and re-released through download services for various consoles. Like its predecessor, it was received with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its initial release. A third entry, Stakes Winner 3, was rumored to be in development but never released.
Pleasure Goal: 5 on 5 Mini Soccer is a 1996 futsal arcade video game developed by Saurus and published by SNK. In the game, players compete against either AI-controlled opponents or other players in matches across various stadiums. The title was created by most of the same team that would later work on future projects at Saurus such as Shock Troopers. Though first launched for Neo Geo MVS, it was later released for Neo Geo CD and has since been re-released through download services on various consoles.