Hundred Swords

Hundred Swords is a fantasy real-time strategy game with 3D graphics.

Boy prince loves girl princess, but an evil invader spoils the fun by, well, invading. Prince Larf thus battles his way back to his sweetheart. The 3D real-time strategy game was originally created for Sega’s Japanese fiber optic service net@, then ported to the Dreamcast but never released outside of Japan. Ported once more to the PC, Hundred Swords finally reached North America and Europe.

Single soldiers? Don’t bother. You control complete units of five to 20 men gathering round a commander. Micro-management is reduced, instead it’s paper, scissors, stone: cavalry is strong against mages, mages are strong against infantry, and so on. Officers can recruit new soldiers in barracks, as long as your mines supply enough of two resources. Your tasks on the small 3D playfields vary from flight to defence to all-out attack, sometimes with time limits. Depending on your success, you are awarded shells, magical items that can be equipped to the commanders and activated in battle for a short-term benefit. Commanders will also gain experience, making them tougher and able to control more soldiers.

In the single-player campaign, anime stills and 3D cut-scenes tell the story of prince Larf and his gang. When the adventure’s through, a mission mode let’s you play single battles with units not available in the main storyline. Up to four players can also link together via network or internet and test their skill against each other.