Skyblazer is a 1994 action-platform game for the Super Nintendo, developed by Ukiyotei Company and published in North America by Sony Imagesoft. A young sorcerer named Sky witnesses the kidnapping of the sorceress Arianna by a demon named Ashura, and is knocked out. When an old man rescues him, he tells Sky that he must become stronger to stand a chance against Ashura, and Sky sets off into the land to do so.
The game has a Super Mario World-style overworld, with Mega Man-style stages where Sky earns a new ability after defeating each of the bosses. All of these abilities must be collected before Sky can reach Ashura.
This work contains examples of the following tropes:
- Auto-Scrolling Level:
- The Cliffs of Peril and Fortress Shirol auto-scroll to the right.
- The opening area to Raglan's Citadel auto-scrolls up.
- Awesome, but Impractical:
- Many of the other spells count. Aura Attack, Comet Strike, Heal, and Fiery Phoenix are more than enough to get you through the game. The other spells have their merits depending on the situation, but you're not likely to use them much.
- Fiery Phoenix does count as this to an extent. It IS required to break through Ashura's shield in the penultimate battle in Raglan's Citadel, but it costs half your max MP to cast it and only lasts a few seconds. As a result, you're probably never going to use it outside of the first strike against Ashura.
- Bonus Level: The Mode 7 stages where Sky flies through the air count, as he can collect jewels to gain extra lives while in the air.
- Boring, but Practical: Several of the earliest spells count:
- Aura Attack: Your first spell and only costs 1MP to cast it and it goes across the screen. It's about as strong as Sky's kick and should serve you well enough.
- Comet Strike: Makes Sky air dash quite a distance and can be used to zoom across pits and through enemies, or maybe even save your life if you can dash over to a wall and grab it. It only costs 2MP to use
- Heal: Your only other alternative to picking up Healing Potions, using 2MP to give yourself 4HP back. Simple but that's all it needs to be. You'll probably use this spell more than any of the others.
- Broken Armor Boss Battle: Asura carries a giant shield that prevents all of Sky's attacks from working — but it can be knocked out of his hand using the Fiery Phoenix spell.
- But Now I Must Go: Once Raglan is defeated, Sky transforms into the Fiery Phoenix and leaves. Arianna laments not being able to properly reward him, but the old sage simply tells her true heroes aren't motivated by reward but adventure and justice.
- Cutscene Boss: Sky is paralysed during the fight and you just have to sit there and watch Ashura bombard him with fireballs until he collapses. Oddly he still gets Mercy Invincibility.
- Dub Name Change: Sky was originally named Karura/Garuda in the Japanese version. The sage was called Brahma, Arianna was named Vishnu, and the final boss Raglan was called Ravana.
- Eye Scream: The weak points of a few bosses are their eyes. Some lose their eyes the more they are hit.
- Hard Levels, Easy Bosses: Most of the difficulty comes from actually getting to said bosses. In the end, many of them have extremely easy patterns that don't require much to evade and counter-attack. Ashura can be easily beaten if you get to him with full MP and use Fiery Phoenix on him twice. Only the final boss may pose any problem, but he too suffers from a predictable pattern.
- Hazardous Water: Nearly any body of water is dangerous for Sky to be in. If he falls in, groups of fish enemies swarm in on him, and they don't stop coming until he gets out.
- Keep the Reward: After saving Arianna, Sky turns into a phoenix and flies away. Arianna laments that she didn't get to give him any sort of reward.
- Lethal Lava Land: The Temple Infernus and the Caverns of Shirol.
- Living Structure Monster: There's a Demon Wall boss that attacks by spinning and attempting to crush Sky against the edges of the screen.
- The Lost Woods: Dragonhill Forest. You start in the middle of the stage and there are multiple paths to take through various doorways and such. It can take quite a while to find the one that leads to the exit.
- Made of Explodium: The bosses, whenever they are defeated.
- Painting the Medium: The passwords in this game are called "mystic patterns", and are presented by the old men. Sky even asks the first time if they will "help [him] preserve his quest".
- Secret Level: Going to the Gateway of Eternal Storms on the world map after you've cleared it and pressing up on the D-pad will whisk you away to another Mode 7 flying stage which leads to an extra Old Man Hut (where you can get the last, hidden life upgrade) and a short and unique level called 'Ship to Nowhere': a single-screen stage where you ride a boat back across the lake, clinging to a box in the center of it as giant waves attempt to wash you overboard and fighting off the enemies the waves deposit there. Completing it will drop you in behind the Lair of Kharyon.
- Shifting Sand Land: The Sand Rivers of Shirol.
- Shock and Awe: The Lightning Strike ability, which Sky gets in the Storm Fortress of Kh'lar.
