Game Club 199X #15 - Blackthorne (SNES)
Jan 2, 2013 21:14:41 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2013 21:14:41 GMT -5
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Blackthorne (SNES, 32X, PC, GBA)
The new year brings us Blackthorne, Interplay and Blizzard's grimdark Liefeld-esque Flashback-style action-platformer. It's about tossing bombs and shooting orcs!
Blackthorne is set on the planet Tuul, which has existed for centuries without human knowledge. All of this time, Tuul's people have been ruled over by a single shaman who "was blessed with all knowledge". Years before the game begins, Thoros, the latest ruler, finds it near impossible to choose between his two sons as the next ruler. Believing it will solve the dilemma, he leads them to the deserts and kills himself. His body becomes two stones, light and dark, and he gives one to each boy to rule their own kingdoms respectively. The people of the lightstone form the kingdom of Androth, and the people of the darkstone form Ka'dra'suul. But while Androth respects their stone, Ka'dra'suul reject theirs, and are eventually transformed into monsters by it. In this time, a ka'dra named Sarlac seizes power. He forms an army and leads them against Androth.
Knowing of his people's doom, the ruler of Androth, King Vlaros, with the aid of the Androth magician Galadril, sends his son Kyle to Earth to save his life. Vlaros also gives Kyle the lightstone for safe keeping. He wishes that Kyle can one day return and use it to save their people.
20 years later, Kyle has become a renowned military captain and mercenary. After breaking out of prison facing court martial, Kyle begins having strange dreams, and eventually is reconfronted by Galadril. He is told that it is time to return to Tuul and save his people. The game begins here with Kyle setting out to kill Sarlac and reclaim his throne.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackthorne
PRO TIPPZ:
"One tip I can give is that during gunfights, is that you can continuously hold the "hide" button so that as soon as the shooting animation is over, you duck back out of the line of fire. There's also no point to hoarding health items, since your entire inventory is reset between levels and your HP is restored." - TheGunheart
"Anyway, if anyone's having trouble with those pesky red goblins, here's a way to cheese them: Roll into the room and immediately shoot them then roll back out. You'll catch them just before they can take cover and their hitpoints don't reset if you switch screens. Of course this only works if they're on the same level as you when you enter the room." - AceWhatever
The mines are pretty easy and more or less teach you all the mechanics of the game. The forest however is where things start to get a bit pixel hunter-ish. Start paying attention to floor switches. Also, stage 1 of the forest requires you to use a wasp to blow up a generator. If it's not immediately obvious, you have to maneuver the wasp through a window in the purple tree wall just to the left of the generator. - AceWhatever
AceWhatever links us to the PC version's manual!
"The traitors are pretty annoying, but unlike orcs, you can actually shoot in between their gunfire if you're quick enough. I like to wait until they fire three times, then pop out right after the third shot and blast them before they can potentially fire a fourth shot. I've observed they can shoot anywhere from two to six times before hiding, but I've found three the most reliable number to counterattack. If they only shoot twice, then no harm, no foul." - Sotenga
Fire bombs always travel along the ground no matter if you throw them standing or crouched. They're best used against the annoying plant enemies that are often seen in pits. Be sure to throw the bomb at the edge of a platform before clearing out a pit, or else you'll waste the bomb. - Snarboo
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Previous GC9X Threads:
Game Club 199X #13 - Wonder Project J (SNES)
Game Club 199X #14 - Dr. Chaos (NES)
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