

Crossed Swords is a hack & slash action RPG arcade game developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade system in 1990 and Neo Geo console in 1991. 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. The game allowed cooperative gameplay with up to two players on the same screen.[1] As only the player characters' silhouettes are visible on screen as wire-frame models, much like Punch-Out!!,[2] the game's perspective may be considered either first-person or third-person.[citation needed] The game was later cited as an inspiration for the 2010 first-person fighting game Rage of the Gladiator. A sequel of the game entitled Crossed Swords 2 was released in Japan on May 2, 1995 for the Neo-Geo CD, and was one of the few games designed specifically for the Neo-Geo CD, rather than being an arcade port. Crossed Swords requires correct timing and movement to progress. The basic rule for the game is to defend first before striking. The player wields both a weapon and shield and can strafe, as well as guard the upper or middle part of the body. Two different weapon strikes are available, a regular attack and a thrusting attack. Weapon-based magic can also be used. Multiple paths through the game are available and the player has an option to skip the first and second chapters freely. In the enchanted land of Belkana all was well until plagues of creatures started rampaging through. But it didn't stop there, from deep within the mountains of Graisia, the Demon Warlord Nausizz arose and led the attacks wiping out settlement after settlement. However a brave warrior called "The Knight of the Journey" came a long way on a quest to stop these monstrosities. After aiding the Poor Village of Dio from the Caterdragon, the knight heads to the Castle Pulista, but as he is briefed by the king of the problems they face, an elite dark knight appears and kidnaps the princess. The knight fights his way through the enemy lands in the Matius Tower, the Gauda Fortress, the Land Battleship and finally passes the Entrance to the Devil World. Along his way, he is helped by loyalties of the kingdom. The knight battles through the Castle Graisia and comes face to face with Nausizz. As a demon with honour, Nausizz is so impressed with the knight's progress, that he has sent the princess back to Pulista. As the knight defeats Nausizz, he transforms into a fiendish demon dragon. The knight slays him and escapes the collapsing castle. Back in Castle Pulista the knight is offered to come and live with the king. Peace can proceed once more in Belkana.

Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Historical
Dragon Valor is a 1999 action role-playing game developed by Now Production and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is the second sequel to Dragon Buster. In the Dragon Valor world, dragons are powerful monsters. The player's role as a Dragon Valor is to slay them with a magical sword passed down through successive generations. Similar to Phantasy Star III, Dragon Valor differs from other platform action games of the time because who the protagonist marries changes future playable characters, plot events, and which ending the player receives.

Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
The PSP releases are a port of the original Japanese PC game with the rhythm bar removed. The 2015 release is a remasted version of the original PC game. The game had to be remade for the 3DS, 'Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure'. It is a port of the remastered version that has been changed to better fit the systems controls and use the 3D feature. "Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure is a fantastic Action-RPG from leading Japanese developer Falcom (Developers of “Ys” and “Zwei” among other classics) featuring real-time combat, stunning 3D graphics, tons of fully voiced characters and mini-games , 90+ items, multiple endings, a rocking soundtrack, 35+ hours of playtime, and more. Originally released outside Japan on Sony’s PSP, Mastiff is proud to bring a fully localized and updated version of Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure to Windows and to offer it through Steam with a full set of Steam specific features including Achievements, Trading Cards, Big Picture and Cloud Save."

Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
An open-world action-adventure game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that features a barbarian warrior with a distinctive "diskarmor" weapon. It is distinct from the original 1986 Arcade game Rygar, which saw numerous home console ports.

Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
The storyline of E.V.O.: Search for Eden follows the same patterns as modern Evolution theories. The players first controls a prehistoric sea organism, and fights to gain evolution points with which he can improve his fish's body parts and upgrade his attack/defense abilities. The gameplay is not completely linear, which means that certain choices of paths and stages will affect the player's success. The game is composed of a series of stages, in which the sea organism slowly evolves into an amphibian, and later a land-only creature. The physical changes are fairly scientifically accurate which gives the game a semi-educational purpose as well.

Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
A Master System side-scrolling platformer set in a fantasy version of feudal Japan featuring multiple paths to explore and crazy, potbellied monkeys to kill.

Shooter / Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Action / Fantasy
He has been summoned by Daikak, the great leader of the Summit Temple, to stop a war between factions of warlords. The player explores temples and defeats enemies like ghosts, ninja, and feral beasts. There are also villages to explore and people to talk to as the player assembles clues on who desecrated his home town's temple and killed its guardians. The quest takes the player across medieval Japan and to the Underworld. Unlike most games, death does not lead to game over or even a loss of money or experience points. Instead, the player has to use a password in order to resurrect themselves from the dead. The game is a port of the Japanese game Kujaku-ou, removing the anime license.

Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action
Tapir, an enigmatic blue wizard in spotted pajamas from the Dream World, sends the player on a quest to rescue princess Rua. But things quickly become more complicated and the player soon has to rescue other characters along the way, such as Santa Claus, the king of Trump castle and the blue fairy Cocoron. Tapir can manipulate people's dreams and this ability gives Cocoron an unique twist - the player can assemble his own character by combining one of the eight available heads to one of the eight available bodies (which both include several designs to choose from, resulting in literally hundreds of combinations! ). More than a mere physical appearance, each part also defines the character's attributes, such as his health, speed, how high he can jump and so forth.

Platform / Role-playing (RPG) / Hack and slash/Beat 'em up / Action / Fantasy
Super Chinese World 2: Uchuu Ichi Butou Taikai is a Japanese-only action RPG developed by Culture Brain. It is the second SNES Super Chinese game, being a sequel to Super Ninja Boy which was released in North America. Contrary to its predecessor, it doesn't feature any traditional turn-based battles anymore, but a couple of platforming sections still remain. Jack and Ryu are now travelling between different planets to defeat some alien invaders, who kidnapped the world leaders. The battle system was also greatly improved. Jack and Ryu now have a lot of new attacks and even a few different skills (although they still share levels and items), they can turn into giant ninjas in order to cast the most advanced spells and it is possible to use weapons or spells without going to the menu. A fighting mode has also been added, allowing to play with many other characters than the heroes.