Lost In Translation/Great Swordsman

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This page is a stub for arcade games that are part of the Lost In Translation series using information based on MAME (version 0.113u2).
For an example of preferred content and layout please refer to Out Run or The Ninja Warriors.


Great Swordsman
Great Swordsman marquee.
No screen shot.
Manufacturer Taito Corporation
Released 1984
Control
Method
2-way Joystick
3 Button(s)
Main CPU (3x) Z80 (@ 3.000 MHz)
Sound CPU Mono
(2x) AY-3-8910A (@ 1.500 MHz)
MSM5205 (@ 384.000 kHz)
Video
Details
Raster (Horizontal)
256 x 224 pixels
60.00 Hz
256 Palette colours
Screens 1
ROM Info 25 ROMs
133,984 bytes (130.84 KiB)
MAME ID gsword · gsword2

About The Game

Great Swordsman is a one-on-one, side view, sword fighting arcade video game that spans three types of sword fighting : Fencing, Kendo, and gladiator-style combat.

Trivia

There are a total of 3 stages in Great Swordsman, with a total of 15 opponents. Once you finish the last opponent, the game starts over from the beginning at a much harder skill level (you keep your points, however). Between each stage, there's a bonus stage that allows you to rack up points by blocking an archer's arrows. Following are the stage and opponent names :

  • Stage 1 - Fencing
    • Opponent 1 : Appels
    • Opponent 2 : Redon
    • Opponent 3 : Fantin
  • Bonus Stage 1 - Block the Archer's Arrows
  • Stage 2 - Kendo
    • Opponent 1 : Senpou
    • Opponent 2 : Jihou
    • Opponent 3 : Chuken
    • Opponent 4 : Fukusho
    • Opponent 5 : Taisho
  • Bonus Stage 2 - Block the Archer's Arrows
  • Stage 3 - Roman
    • Opponent 1 : Mars
    • Opponent 2 : Hermes
    • Opponent 3 : Apollo
    • Opponent 4 : Helios
    • Opponent 5 : Orion
    • Opponent 6 : Uranus
    • Opponent 7 : Zeus

The names of the opponents in this game are interesting in that each stage's names are terms/names used either in that art form, country of origin, or era in which the art form was related to. Following are reasons (and perhaps guesses) as to why they used the names they did :

  • Appels - A quick stamp of the foot used in fencing as a feint to produce an opening.
  • Redon - Redon, Odilon (1840-1916). French painter and graphic artist, one of the outstanding figures of Symbolism.
  • Fantin - Fantin-Latour, Henri (1836-1904). French painter and lithographer.
  • Senpou - The first 'player' in a Kenpo match-style competition to line up (also spelled "Senpo").
  • Jihou - The second 'player' in a Kenpo match-style competition to line up (also spelled "Jiho").
  • Chuken - The third 'player' in a Kenpo match-style competition to line up.
  • Fukusho - The fourth 'player' in a Kenpo match-style competition to line up.
  • Taisho - The last 'player' in a Kenpo match-style competition to line up.
  • Mars - God of war
  • Hermes - God of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them (such as bringing newly-dead souls to the underworld, Hades)
  • Apollo - God of music, archery, healing, light, truth, etc...
  • Helios - God of the Sun
  • Orion - God, the hunter
  • Uranus - God of the Sky
  • Zeus - God of the Earth and Ruler of Mount Olympus

On stages 1 and 2, any two out-of-bounds results in a loss of a point. It is impossible to go out-of-bounds on stage 3. Stage 1 requires 5 points per match, with 3 matches. Stage 2 requires 2 points per match, with 5 matches. Stage 3 requires 1 point per match with 7 matches. Simultaneous hits do not count for either player. On Stage 1, a tie results in a win for you! (It is impossible to tie on stages 2 and 3, based on their point structures).

Tips And Tricks

  • Trick : By continually hitting your opponents sword, you can cause them to lose their sword. Their sword ends up impaling their head!
  • Trick : Killing your opponent very quickly with a strike to the head can cause their helmet to fly off.
  • Tip : High and mid strikes in succession can easily force your opponent out-of-bounds.
  • Tip : On stage 1, holding away from your opponent while striking increases your weapon return speed.
  • Tip : On stage 3, use the far right wall as a defense, since you can't step out-of-bounds.


Ports

Consoles
Sony PlayStation 2 (2005, "Taito Legends") (US & Europe)
Microsoft XBOX (2005, "Taito Legends") (US & Europe)
Sony PlayStation 2 (2007, "Taito Memories II Vol. 2") (Japan only)
Computers
PC [MS Windows] (2005, "Taito Legends") (US & Europe)

Soundtrack Releases

Album Name Catalogue No. Released Publisher Comments
Classic in Game Music - Legend Compilation Series SCDC-00463[1] 2005-09-21 Scitron Discs CD version.

References

The contents of this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
The sources used include MAME (version 0.113u2) and history.dat (revision 1.28 - 2008-10-18).
Please see http://www.arcade-history.com for credits.