![within the blade within the blade](https://www.godisageek.com/wp-content/uploads/Within-The-Blade-1-1024x576.png)
I have to say though, Ametist made some strange decisions with WTB, some of which overcomplicate the experience a bit.
![within the blade within the blade](https://gamepress.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Within-the-Blade_20210712161423.png)
Yes! It’s a topless spider-demon-lady! WTB?!?! None of the characters are voiced, either, but this was in line with the retro aesthetic, so it didn’t bother me in the slightest. It’s not a remarkable, but I preferred the higher-energy rock tracks over the more subdued background tunes. On the audio side, WTB’s music shifts between Japanese-inspired rock or mood-setting music. It’s bright, it’s red, and it’s very, very satisfying. Of course, I’d be remiss to not mention the best visual effect: the buckets of blood that sprays and spurts when you decapitate, assassinate, or split an enemy in half. Some of them are rather large and have some interesting attacks, but their death animations are also very cool. The boss battles have some nice effects, too. The shadowed areas are pretty easy to make out thanks to a silhouetting graphics effect, which makes your stealth approaches that much more predictable. Graphically, Within the Blade is presented with a minimalist, pixelated style, but the animations are slick and I rarely noticed any hiccups. The last thing you want is for your only blade to break just before you take on a boss fight. You’ll also want to ensure that you have a workable set of weaponry that suits your gameplay style.
![within the blade within the blade](https://www.impulsegamer.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/blade01.jpg)
Not only will this give you a chance to catch your breath before moving on, there are definitely some key skills to unlock if you can. I suggest you take this opportunity, too.
![within the blade within the blade](https://hadoantv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/download-Within-the-blade-hadoan-tv.jpg)
While some of these fights were intially pretty tough, you’ll eventually adjust to their patterns and dispatch them with practice.īetween each stage, you will get a chance to return to your village to unlock new skills and buy or craft new weapons. These include a giant skeleton, a flying Tengu man, a massive plague demon, a spider woman, and eventually, Wamoru himself. Since the evil Wamoru is trying to use dark powers to conquer the Land of the Rising Sun, he has enlisted the aid of a number of demonic creatures to act as his lieutenants. Your boss battles won’t go down as easily. “Oni! As a duly designated representative of Japan, I order you to cease any and all supernatural activity and return forthwith to your place of origin or to the nearest convenient parallel dimension!” The stages are riddled with traps such as spikes, disappearing floors, spears, spinning blades, landmines, fire-breathing dragon statues, and more. While none of the areas are remarkably large, there are several hidden areas to discover, and you will likely have to backtrack a bit to find all of the keys, hostages, etc. In his mission to rid the land of the Steel Claw menace, Hideaki must traverse more than twenty treacherous stages including a forest, a plague-ridden town, enemy barracks, a volcano, and the Castle of the Bloody Moon ( *Snick!*). However, it took me even longer to get used to Hideaki’s wall run ability, which requires some quick thinking to avoid accidentally jumping off in the wrong direction (and sometimes killing yourself). He is also pretty damn fast, which caused him to feel a bit “slippy” at first, but I did eventually get used to it. Hideaki himself is initially armed with only his fists, but you will quickly obtain several useful weapons and gadgets. The story follows a ninja named Hideaki, a capable warrior sworn to protect his village from the evil Steel Claw clan led by Wamoru Imari. Like Ninja Gaiden, Within the Blade is rather cinematic at times “He will be a Shinobi”Īt its heart, Within the Blade is a side-scrolling action platformer with a visual flare reminiscent of those classic ninja games from the 80s and 90s.