Sword Strike

Sword Strike is a homebrew N64 minigame by Super Boognish released on 13 Dec 2024. You play as one of four sword fighters trying to eliminate each other.

You can get the ROM from its download page by using the password minigamemadness and the source can be found here. Note that this is the same ROM that includes all the other minigames released for the 2024 N64brew Game Jam competition.

About Sword Strike

In Sword Strike, each player take the role of one of four sword-wielding warriors who duke it out in a battle royale to find the last man standing. It’s a platforming fighter game in the same vein as Super Smash Bros, but a lot simpler.

There are platforms that you can jump on to (and down from) with the A button, and you can attack players with the B button. Each player can only take one hit, so be sure to be as defensive as you are aggressive. You can also press L to slide, which will quickly throw you across the screen.+

This is the only game in the jam (as far as I can tell) that mixed both flat 2D graphics with 3D. It might not look like it, but the background is actually a 3D cube and the game is taking place in front of it. The cube doesn’t move and it’s not shaded so it seems like it’s just a flat Simon Says style background but it really is 3D.

Credits

Sword Strike was made by Super Boognish.

Review and conclusion

Sword Strike is without a doubt the fastest game in the game jam. While other games can last anywhere from 40 seconds to 10 minutes, a round of this can be over in under 10 seconds. This made it useful when testing the ROM inter-minigame menu, but it is also a bit jarring with how quick you can lose without any margin for error.

There is a little bit of strategy involved in that attacks have a cooldown so you can’t just spam attack until you hit your mark. You need to play a game of chicken to see who swipes first since counterattacking is a safer bet. Even then, the game is so fast-paced that I struggled to win consistently.

With a game this simple (and as a developer’s first attempt at making an N64 game), there’s not much that can be improved without a big overhaul. However here are a few minor changes that could be done:

• Give us a bit of that 3D affect. It’s already rendered, have the box move a little bit to show that it’s really there.
• Dying in one hit feels unfair. Add in some HP and a knockback effect to give players a second chance at winning.
• Varying levels. There’s already a framework for different level designs, having some variety could spice things up a bit.

Overall, it’s a great first attempt at making a game, even though it is as simple as it is.