Blackthorne for SNES
Review #65
Blackthorne
Prince of Persia with 90s attitude
Gameplay
One of the first NPCs you encounter says "To avoid bombs it is better to avoid them than to be nimble." That's a great way to describe this game. You're anything but nimble. You move at a snail's pace and all inputs kick of a lengthy animation that can't be cancelled. It's all about puzzles, timing your inputs, and cover-based gunplay.
Stronger emphasis on action over puzzle-solving as compared to similar games like Flashback or PoP.
Early example of a cover system lets you and enemies hide in the background.
Killing prisoners is morbidly satisfying.
Cycle thru secondary weapons using R and L. Thank you!
Level Design
Huge mazes. Bring a guide or walkthrough. 17 levels across 4 biomes makes for a good length. I didn't see the later levels but I liked what I saw.
Well designed puzzles slowly add complexity to the simple gameplay.
Theme
The Jim Lee cover art always makes me want to play this title. It's essentially the plot of the Lion King with you as Simba and a baddie named Sarlac playing the role of Scarr. And The Lion King is just Macbeth, right? Anyway, it's a generic take-back-the-kingdom story with an unfeeling killing machine as a protagonist. So maybe it's Conan the Barbarian? Good stuff
Art Style
Amazing sprites and animation. The rest of the artwork is also excellent, with nice lighting and particle effects on things like waterfalls and lasers.
Audio
Good moody music to set a dark tone. The sounds are good as well, like a satisfying shotgun blast and pump action that makes you feel like the Terminator. The grunts and laughs of the enemies are also great. I hated the loud electrical sound of the mining tool used by prisoners. I would often kill them just to make the noise stop.
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