Thursday, March 16, 2017

Demon Sword for NES (1990)


Original advertisement published in VG&CE (June 1990)
Press to view or download image in higher resolution.

Yellow and bland publicity


Demon Sword for the NES, released in North American in 1990, was a typical side-scroller as so many other of the era. It featured floaty gameplay, repetitive stages and very little sense of control. Graphics and music were meh, as were the sounds. In consequence, the ad for the game was also mediocre.


Even though it was released by Taito, one of the big Japanese companies of the era, Demon Sword made no effort to differenciate itself from other games of the the same period.  The game was developed by TOSE, a famous 'ghost developer' of the NES years, which made not so great titles such as Mappy Land, which was published by Taxan, as I posted some time back. More recent proyects would see TOSE behind such games as World of Final Fantasy (2016) for the PS4, for example.

Knowing the comercial process behind the game, could you expect anything from Demon Sword? Not really. As such, the printed ad is basically the same. You see a huge amount of text in the middle of the page, with some screen shots at the very bottom and a big image of the actual boxart in the upper right with a man that mightly resembles Conan the Barbarian (possibly the best part of the game, but no-where near the sprites you saw when you fired-up the game for the first time). There's also a horrible yellow and black background combination. It all makes up for very aesthetically unpleasing image.



Demon Sword for NES print ad copy

M
aster the power

In a land of impossible evils...

the classic struggle between good and evil comes to life. Mixed with magic and the latest computer technology, a spell-binding game for your Nintendo Entertainment System is born!

As the hero warrior Victar, you will battle Wizards, Troglodytes, and Undead Souls. Master 7 levels and 3 worlds in your quest to conquer the demons of the Dark Lord. Traverse chasms of fire and mountains of doom to confront the fiendish Gatekeeper.

Risk it all

With cunning and skill you wield the ancient and broken Demon Sword. To defeat the evil forces ruling the land, you must recover the Sword's missing pieces and restore its mystical power. The journey is long and the way is hard. Gather your courage, grasp your blade, and release the power that is yours to control!
  • Beware the wrath of the Old Wizard of Cedar Mountain.
  • Brave the broken bridges and terrifyng chasms of Bamboo Forest.
  • The magic of the Phoenix can save your life!

Taito

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