History VideoGame / FlashOfTheBlade

* TimedMission: Similar to the first ''Time Crisis'' game, you're on your own wiping the enemies within time limit. Even though you're given lenient time counter to parry enemy attacks, running out of time will still result in a ContinueCountdown.

* AntiFrustratiomFeatures: While the time limit system is lifted from the first ''Time Crisis'', the time limit has been capped at 99 as opposed to 60, due to needing more time to parry enemy attacks with swords. In addition, more enemies drop time extensions.

* MasterSwordsman: The Master of the Lightbringer sword, which the player controls to rid the land of evil.

* EvilWeapon: The Soulstealer, a wholly-sentient cursed sword that brings forth all sorts of monsters and demons across the land. And even the weapon's ex-owner trying to kill himself with the weapon to end it's reign isn't enough to stop it!

* ProtagonistTitle: Downplayed, "Mazan" is the Japanese name for the player character Genma's sword.

* BossSubtitles: {{Stage Name}}s Demon Lynx and Jorōgumo (Nefarious Arachnid), [[AllThereInTheManual whose their real names are Ashiya Ryunojin and Kumo-Onna Yatsude respectively]].

** Among the Jorōgumo's spawns, the largest of them are easily the size of carriages, and absorb far more damage than other spider-based enemies.

* GiantSpider: The Jorōgumo, naturally, have a swarm of these as her brood. You encounter her in a cobweb-covered room full of eggs, and then they hatch and release hordes and hordes of oversized arachnids on you, the largest ones [[BeastWithAHumanFace having green human faces]] growing from their heads.

* ManOnFire: The game's major bosses, the Demon Lynx, Jorōgumo and the Soulstealer's host inexplicably bursts into flames after being slain, with the subsequent cutscenes showing them burning into nothingness.

* TsuchigumoAndJorogumo: The Jorōgumo shows up as a boss, under the name Kumo-Onna, firstly appearing as a woman playing a ''shamisen'' as you enter an abandoned house [[CobwebJungle full of cobwebs]]. And then she sheds her disguise by popping out gigantic spider-legs from her back.

* AntagonistTitle: Downplayed, "Mazan" is the Japanese name for Soulstealer, the weapon of the EvilOverlord.

* BossSubtitles: {{Stage Name}}s Demon Lynx and Jorōgumo, whose their real names are Ashiya Ryunojin and Kumo-Onna Yatsude respectively.

And thus begins the battle between the two blades, in ''Flash of the Blade'' (also known as ''MAZAN: Flash of the Blade'' in it's original release), a 2002 [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] action game made for the arcades, chronicling the adventures of the PlayerCharacter Genma Tachibana, a MasterSwordsman armed with the Lightbringer, wandering across Feudal Japan while battling the forces of darkness brought forth by the Soulstealer, from zombies to {{Yokai}} to rogue samurai minions.

* BakenekoAndNekomata: There's a bakeneko serving as a boss, who appears to be humanoid, [[LittleBitBeastly save for having paws, fox-ears and a tail]], and has a BossSubtitle "Demon Lynx". His real name though happens to be Ashiya Ryunojin.

* AsianFoxSpirit: There's a kitsune serving as a boss, who appears to be humanoid, [[LittleBitBeastly save for having paws, fox-ears and a tail]]. Which the game refers as "Demon Lynx".

** Said by the demon lynx / kitsune boss in his introduction cutscene, before the fight.

* TsuchigumoAndJorogumo: The Jorōgumo shows up as a boss, firstly appearing as a woman playing a ''shamisen'' as you enter an abandoned house [[CobwebJungle full of cobwebs]]. And then she sheds her disguise by popping out gigantic spider-legs from her back.

* TimedMission: Similar to the first ''Time Crisis'' game, you're on your own wiping the enemies within time limit. Even though you're given lenient time counter to parry enemy attacks, running out of time will result in a ContinueCountdown.

** Finally, the Soulstealer, possessing it's ex-owner's corpse as the FinalBoss. Where the Soulstealer turns into a FlamingSword held by it's ex-owner on one hand and the other holding a hammer.

** The game's FinalBoss - Soulstealer's true form - can cause gigantic flying swords to [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation materialize from thin air]] and send them flying at you.

* {{Seppuku}}: The final stage, Hell, have you finding this as the fate of the Soulstealer's former wielder - a warrior overwhelmed by the blade's evil magic, and decides to ultimately shove the weapon into his torso to end it. But the blade's own dark magic is powerful enough to revive the wielder's corpse back to life...

** The FinalBoss battle plays out as such, with you swinging the Lightbringer to combat the Soulstealer

And thus begins the battle between the two blades, in ''Flash of the Blade'' (also known as ''MAZAN: Flash of the Blade'' in it's original release), a 2002 [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] action game made for the arcades, chronicling the adventures of the PlayerCharacter, a MasterSwordsman armed with the Lightbringer, wandering across Feudal Japan while battling the forces of darkness brought forth by the Soulstealer, from zombies to {{Yokai}} to rogue samurai minions.

The game is played from a first-person perspective similar to {{Light Gun Game}}s, but with it's controller shaped like a sword (much like the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} Remote) and the player taking out onscreen enemies using slashing movements. The arcade console is notably made based on the Sega Naomi hardware using electromagnetic trackers for accurate motion-sensing to track down the player's movements, making it one of Namco's more advanced hardware and considerably ahead of its time.

* SpiderPeople: The Jorōgumo shows up as a boss, firstly appearing as a woman playing a ''shamisen'' as you enter an abandoned house [[CobwebJungle full of cobwebs]]. And then she sheds her disguise by popping out gigantic spider-legs from her back.

And thus begins the battle between the two blades, in ''Flash of the Blade'' (also known as ''MAZAN: Flash of the Blade'' in it's original release), a 2002 Creator/{{NAMCO}} action game made for the arcades, chronicling the adventures of the PlayerCharacter, a MasterSwordsman armed with the Lightbringer, wandering across Feudal Japan while battling the forces of darkness brought forth by the Soulstealer, from zombies to {{Yokai}} to rogue samurai minions.

--> "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/arcade/comments/iadxbb/mazan_flash_of_the_blade_arcade_review/ The best arcade workout that doesn't involve dancing like a loon]]"
---> ''[=GamesTM=] Magazine UK, February 2003 Edition''

And thus begins the battle between the two blades, in ''Flash of the Blade'' (also known as ''MAZAN: Flash of the Blade'' in it's original release), a 2002 Creator/{{NAMCO}} action game made for the arcades, chronicling the adventures of the PlayerHero, a MasterSwordsman armed with the Lightbringer, wandering across Feudal Japan while battling the forces of darkness brought forth by the Soulstealer, from zombies to {{Yokai}} to rogue samurai minions.

--> "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/arcade/comments/iadxbb/mazan_flash_of_the_blade_arcade_review/ THe best arcade workout that doesn't involve dancing like a loon]]"