History VideoGame / Weaponlord

On a battlefield a demon spirit enters the body of a dying mercenary. He is reborn and defeats the reigning war king in a duel. He goes on to found the reign of the {{DemonLord|sAndArchdevils}} Raith. At the height of his power, his doom is foretold by a shaman: "When the night turns violent and the moon bleeds, gripped by the skeletal fingers of death...a child will rise to face the demon in combat...and the lord of demons will fall by the hand of...the [[TitleDrop WeaponLord]]."

* AnimalMotifs: Talazia wears a headdress in the shape of [[NobleBirdOfPrey a falcon]]'s beak, Bane dons the skin of [[NobleWolf a wolf]], Jen-Tai's ancestral helmet sports horns like those of a ram, and Zarak's helmet and armor resemble [[ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire a spider]]. Bonus points in that Talazia [[spoiler:actually ''is'' a falcon]], Bane howls like a wolf in celebration of a victory, Jen-Tai's style of combat has her buck at her opponents with an upward swipe of her head, and Zarak has his unique Fatality mentioned above.

--> "As popular as swords and sorcery seems to be among video game developers, there is a surprising lack of ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian''-style thematics. There are a few games that flirt with it, but other than the early fighter ''VideoGame/{{Barbarian|TheUltimateWarrior}}'', the ''Rastanseries'', and a couple of others, it's few and far between. ''[=WeaponLord=]'' is a strong exception. If it wasn't made with a fondness for ''Conan'', then certainly with a commitment to faithfully replicate the movie's atmosphere. So expect plenty of roided-to-the-gills muscle men with [[{{BFS}} huge swords]], [[{{Stripperiffic}} scantily clad]] (and [[AmazonianBeauty equaly roided-up]]) women, and {{loin cloth}}s."

* SpidersAreScary: Zarak's armor is a literal spider. It could also qualify as DemonicSpiders.

* StatuesqueStunner: While Jen-Tai's impressive height can be inferred from a comparison to that of [[LargeAndInCharge Zarak]]'s (see OneHeadTaller above), if the sprites are meant to be an accurate depiction of the characters' sizes, Talazia and Divada are no less Amazonian in stature. (Yes, in [[AmazonianBeauty that sense]], too.)

* LeotardOfPower: Divada, [[{{Stripperiffic}} albeit an open-cut one]].

* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Divada's ending in Story Mode has her kill Zarak, take his power and that of the other warriors for her own, and unite all the kingdoms under her iron fist. She turns out to be [[EvilerThanThou even crueler]] than her predecessor.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Since the game was being developed for online back in [[TheNineties 1990s]] via [=XBand=], the game is full of moments of this. For example, foreseeing that cross-up attacks would be hard to defend against in a laggy environment, the team added a technique called "[[PunchParry Vertical Thrust Blocking]]" to counter cross-ups.

* [[spoiler:BolivianArmyEnding: Zarak's special Story ending, where after finding out that he is the Weapon Lord, assumes he already fulfilled the prophecy when he killed Raith. However, Raith returns from the dead to reclaim his throne and punish Zarak.]]

* [[spoiler:TheEndOrIsIt: Jen-Tai's Story Mode ending indicates that perhaps there might finally be peace in the world... Until a picture of a monster (revealed to be the former Demon Lord Raith) appears, stating that it might not be the case.]]

* [[spoiler:HumanityEnsues: This is revealed to be the true origin of Talazia, while her earliest memories only date back to the time she was cursed to become human seven years ago.]]

* [[spoiler:LeavingYouToFindMyself: A familial example is used in Bane's Story Mode ending, as Korr has just found (and realized) that Bane was actually his long-lost brother Kӓng. Believing that Kӓng [[ThatManIsDead no longer exists]] and would be marked for death if he were, Bane states that he must leave again to find his soul.]]

* [[spoiler:[[LongLostRelative Long-Lost Brother]]: Bane is actually Korr's long-lost brother Kӓng, who was kidnapped seven years ago. Bane for one has no real desire to reunite with his brother.]]

* [[spoiler:LukeIAmYourFather: The previous [=DemonLord=], Raith, is revealed to be Zarak's father in Zarak's special Story ending.]]

* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone[=/=]MyGreatestFailure: If you have Korr finish Bane off in Story Mode, Zarak will present the barbarian with Bane's head, revealing that [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Korr actually murdered his long-lost brother]]. Korr is haunted by this.]]

* [[spoiler:ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Bane's defense for why he killed his attackers before he was allowed to according to Tarok traditions.]]
* [[spoiler:SelfFulfillingProphecy: For all the effort Zarak spent killing everyone in order to prevent the prophecy of the Weaponlord from coming true, his special Story ending reveals that Zarak himself was born under the Warrior's Moon, thus making HIM the Weaponlord.]]
* [[spoiler:SelfMadeOrphan: Divada killed her own father and all her brothers in order to inherit a powerful heirloom which would give her power. Zarak murdered his father, the previous Demon Lord, in battle to prove that the latter's methods were too old-fashioned to work, though he later grew to respect them.]]

* [[spoiler:YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Zorn's Story Mode ending culminates with his suddenly-living shield killing the thief with his newly-formed body.]]

->''"Since the dawn of time... man has battled!! The [=DemonLord=] reigns supreme... At the height of the demon's power, six warriors dare to face him. It was foretold one will live to meet the demon in combat and the Lord of Demons will fall by the hand of the... WeaponLord."''

->''"Since the dawn of time... man has battled!! The [=DemonLord=] reigns supreme... At the height of the demon's power, six warriors dare to face him. It was foretold one will live to meet the demon in combat and the Lord of Demons will fall by the hand of the... [[TitleDrop WeaponLord]]."''

NeedsWikiMagicLove.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Since the game was being developed for online back in [[TheNineties 1990s]] via [=XBand=], the game is full of moments of this. For example foreseeing that cross up attacks would be hard to defend against in a laggy environment, the team added a technique called "[[PunchParry Vertical Thrust Blocking]]" to counter cross ups.

* PunchParry: Seen with thrust blocking, a defensive tool that preceded the similarly-functioning Parry system of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' and the repels found in ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade'', and supposedly inspired the Guard Impact system of it's SpiritualSuccessor, the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'', though the earlier ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes 2'' had a form of this present in its gameplay.
* ScrewDestiny: Zarak attempts this [[spoiler:but the trope is subverted, see below]].

* VillainTeleportation: Employed by Divada as a special move. It's also how she leaves the battlefield after winning a round.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Since the game was being developed for online back in [[TheNineties 1990s]] via XBand, the game is full of moments of this. For example foreseeing that cross up attacks would be hard to defend against in a laggy environment, the team added a technique called "[[PunchParry Vertical Thrust Blocking]]" to counter cross ups.

* PunchParry: Seen with thrust blocking, a defensive tool that preceded the similarly-functioning Parry system of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' and the repels found in ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade'', though the earlier ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes 2'' had a form of this present in its gameplay.

* AnimalMotifs: Talazia wears a headdress in the shape of a falcon's beak, Bane dons the skin of a wolf, Jen-Tai's ancestral helmet sports horns like those of a ram, and Zarak's helmet and armor resemble [[ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire a spider]]. Bonus points in that Talazia [[spoiler:actually ''is'' a falcon]], Bane howls like a wolf in celebration of a victory, Jen-Tai's style of combat has her buck at her opponents with an upward swipe of her head, and Zarak has his unique Fatality mentioned above.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Zorn's shield is considered one. [[spoiler: It managed to possess him and compel him to kill his former fellow thieves.]]

* HonorBeforeReason: The previous Demon Lord, Raith, believed in following the warrior's code above all else even if it didn't seem practical. Zarak felt that was an old-fashioned way of thinking and killed him for it, but seem to start believing that he should follow it after the men he sent to ambush the Tarok were all killed [[spoiler: by Bane.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Weaponlord_ss_9189.jpg

''VideoGame/{{Weaponlord}}'' (sometimes ''[=WeaponLord=]'') is a 1- or 2-player FightingGame originally designed for release on the Super Nintendo by Visual Concepts, and published by Namco. During the inception of the title, the development team also began work on a Creator/{{Sega}} Mega Drive/Genesis version and both were released in October 1995. ''Weaponlord'' [[TropeCodifier introduced many groundbreaking gameplay aspects that appear regularly today]]. Also, unlike other titles, ''Weaponlord'' was not intended to replicate an arcade fighter, but built from the ground up on home consoles. This was a reverse of the normal trend, which had arcade versions being developed first, then getting ported in home consoles.

On a battlefield a demon spirit enters the body of a dying mercenary. He is reborn and defeats the reigning war king in a duel. He goes on to found the reign of the DemonLord Raith. At the height of his power, his doom is foretold by a shaman: "When the night turns violent and the moon bleeds, gripped by the skeletal fingers of death...a child will rise to face the demon in combat...and the lord of demons will fall by the hand of...the [[TitleDrop Weapon Lord]]."

[[HonorBeforeReason Against the advice of his lieutenants to kill the children born that night]], the DemonLord waits to face his foretold killer in fair, one on one combat. 25 years later, sensing the prophecy is at hand, the DemonLord Zarak holds a great tournament of champion warriors. The winner will face the demon in a final battle. The Demonlord prepares to meet his destiny head on and to destroy the WeaponLord.

If one wishes to see a few minor details of the game and the process of how it even got to where it is, game developer James [="DJames"=] Goddard [[http://weaponlord.crunchtimegames.com/ has his own website]] with a description about the game, a few videos showing features the game had, a few drawings and even a link to the full promotional video.

* AnAxeToGrind: Zorn
* AnimalMotifs: Talazia with the Raven [[spoiler:considering she IS one]] and Zarak with spiders.

* BarbarianHero: All the characters have a "barbarian" aesthetic.
* BladeOnAStick: Divada's weapon is a staff with two blades attached onto each end. There's also Zarak's Guillotine-on-a-spear
* [[spoiler: BolivianArmyEnding: Zarak's special Story ending, where after finding out that he is the Weapon Lord, assumes he already fulfilled the prophecy when he killed Raith. However, Raith returns from the dead to reclaim his throne and punish Zarak.]]
* TheChosenOne: Everyone is generally considered this by being born under the Warrior's Moon, [[spoiler:even Zarak.]]

* DarkMagicalGirl: Divada is one, [[spoiler:having slain her own father in order to attain the family's magic orb.]]
* DisappearedDad: Jen-Tai's dad was presumed killed in battle, and [[AncestralWeapon his broadsword delivered to her]]. [[spoiler: Her dialogue before fighting Zarak expands on this by explaining that Zarak killed her father in an honorable battle. [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife After lamenting the loss of a powerful ally and an excellent foe]], he decides to make a new Arena Queen: Jen-Tai. He even delivered the sword to her for that reason]]

* EasyModeMockery: Completing the Story Mode at the lower difficulties will not net you the full ending, if any at all. The only way to get the full ending is to complete the game at Warlord Difficulty, the hardest difficulty and boy is it [[NintendoHard HARD]]!!
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Divada, sans the brunette part (Though she has an alternate color that rectifies this).
* [[spoiler: TheEndOrIsIt: Jen-Tai's Story Mode ending indicates that perhaps there might finally be peace in the world... Until a picture of a monster (Revealed to be the former Demon Lord Raith), stating that it might not be the case.]]

* FinishingMove: Weaponlord was the first game that allowed players to chain together finishing moves. This becomes more important in Story Mode, as killing certain people can affect the ending you get, as well as forcing you to fight everyone you spared right before facing Zarak.

* HeavyMithril: The game's general aesthetic. Everything looks like it stepped off a fantasy-themed heavy metal album cover, and it is ''awesome.''
* HonorBeforeReason: The previous Demon Lord, Raith, believed in following the warrior's code above all else even if it didn't seem practical. Zarak felt that was an old-fashioned way of thinking and killed him for it, but seem to start believing that he should follow it after the men he sent to ambush the Tarok were all killed [[spoiler: by Bane.]]

* ItsAWonderfulFailure: If the player is killed during story mode, it has a quote about the kill-or-be-killed way of life Barbarians have. [[spoiler: If the player loses with Zarak, however, a longer page appears, blaming the player's total ineptitude for Zarak's death and generally mocking the player's skill.]]
* KlingonPromotion: How Zarak became the new Demon Lord [[spoiler: against his former master, Raith]]
* [[spoiler: LeavingYouToFindMyself: A familial example is used in Bane's Story Ending, as Korr has just found (and realized) that Bane was actually his long-lost brother Kӓng. Believing that Kӓng [[ThatManIsDead no longer exists]] and would be marked for death if he were, Bane states that he must leave again to find his soul]]
* [[spoiler:[[LongLostRelative Long Lost Brother]]: Bane is actually Korr's long-lost brother Kӓng, who was kidnapped seven years ago. Bane for one has no real desire to reunite with his brother.]]
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Talazia, Jen-Tai and Zorn.
* [[spoiler:LukeIAmYourFather: The previous Demon Lord, Raith, is revealed to be Zarak's father in Zarak's special Story ending.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: Zarak could be considered this for Jen-Tai in a legal sense. [[spoiler: Zarak himself was a minion to the previous DemonLord, Raith.]]
* [[spoiler: MyGreatestFailure[=/=]MyGodWhatHaveIDone: If you have Korr finish Bane off in Story Mode, Zarak will present the barbarian with Bane's head, revealing that [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Korr actually murdered his long-lost brother.]] Korr is haunted by this.]]

* NobleDemon: Zarak is an evil man, but he is also a thoroughly honorable one. Rather than leave himself open to a NiceJobBreakingItHerod [[spoiler: or rather, after the first time failed spectacularly,]] he determines to instead wait out the prophecy and call those eligible to a great tournament to fight for the position of Weaponlord. [[spoiler: The backstory calls this CharacterDevelopment, as he murdered his father because he considered his warrior code too old fashioned before growing to respect it himself.]]

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Korr, Jen-Tai and Zarak. Korr is the leader of his tribe of Tarok, Jen-Tai is an arena queen who fights any challengers, and Zarak is the DemonLord.

* ScrewDestiny: Zarak attempts this [[spoiler: but the trope is subverted, see below.]]

* [[spoiler:SelfFulfillingProphecy: For all the effort Zarak spent killing everyone in order to prevent the prophecy of the Weaponlord from coming true, his special Story Ending reveals that Zarak himself was born under the Warrior's Moon, thus making HIM the Weaponlord.]]
* [[spoiler: SelfMadeOrphan: Divada killed her own father and all her brothers in order to inherit a powerful heirloom which would give her power. Zarak murdered his father, the previous Demon Lord, in battle to prove that the latter's methods were too old-fashioned to work, though he later grew to respect them.]]
* [[SomeDexterityRequired Lots of Dexterity Required]]: There are several moves each character has that use very unusual motions in order to perform certain special moves, and many of them require the player to hold a button down to perform it.

* TalkingWeapon: Zorn's shield, while normally only able to screech in combat [[spoiler:is revealed to actually be the skull of an Orc, who comes to life after Zarak is slain.]]

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Practically every male in this game. Only the women wear anything akin to a top.

* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Zorn's Story Mode Ending culminates with his suddenly-living shield killing the thief with his newly-formed body.]]

* CursedTreasure: Zorn's shield is considered one. [[spoiler: It managed to possess him and compel him to kill his former fellow thieves.]]

* [[spoiler: SelfMadeOrphan: Divada killed her own father and all her brothers in order to inherit a powerful heirloom which would give her power. Zarak murdered his father, the previous Demon Lord, in battle to prove that the latter's methods were too old-fashioned to work.]]

''Weaponlord'' (sometimes ''WeaponLord'') is a 1- or 2-player FightingGame originally designed for release on the Super Nintendo by Visual Concepts, and published by Namco. During the inception of the title, the development team also began work on a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version and both were released in October 1995. ''WeaponLord'' [[TropeCodifier introduced many groundbreaking gameplay aspects that appear regularly today]]. Also, unlike other titles, ''WeaponLord'' was not intended to replicate an arcade fighter, but built from the ground up on home consoles. This was a reverse of the normal trend, which had arcade versions being developed first, then getting ported in home consoles.

!!This VideoGame contains examples of:

* YouWillBeSpared: A less villainous example, Jen-Tai rarely killed her foes in the arenas, preferring to let them learn so they can face her again. Doing this in Story Mode will force you to face everyone you spared before facing off with the BigBad.

Against the advice of his lieutenants to kill the children born that night, the DemonLord waits to face his foretold killer in fair, one on one combat. 25 years later, sensing the prophecy is at hand, the DemonLord Zarak holds a great tournament of champion warriors. The winner will face the demon in a final battle. The Demonlord prepares to meet his destiny head on and to destroy the WeaponLord.

''Weaponlord'' (sometimes ''WeaponLord'') is a 1- or 2-player FightingGame originally designed for release on the Super Nintendo by Visual Concepts, and published by Namco. During the inception of the title, the development team also began work on a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version and both were released in October 1995. ''WeaponLord'' introduced many groundbreaking gameplay aspects that appear regularly today. Also, unlike other titles, ''WeaponLord'' was not intended to replicate an arcade fighter, but built from the ground up on home consoles. This was a reverse of the normal trend, which had arcade versions being developed first, then getting ported in home consoles.

If one wishes to see a few minor details of the game and the process of how it even got to where it is, game developer James "DJames" Goddard [[http://weaponlord.crunchtimegames.com/ has his own website]] with a description about the game, a few videos showing features the game had, a few drawings and even a link to the full promotional video.

* [[spoiler:LukeIAmYourFather: The previous Demon Lord, Raith, is revealed to be Zarak's father Zarak's special Story ending.]]

* [[spoiler: BolvianArmyEnding: Zarak's special Story ending, where after finding out that he is the Weapon Lord, assumes he already fulfilled the prophecy when he killed Raith. However, Raith returns from the dead to reclaim his throne and punish Zarak.]]

* DisappearedDad: Jen-Tai's dad was presumed killed in battle, and [[AncestralWeapon his broadsword delivered to her]]. [[spoiler: Her dialogue before fighting Zarak expands on this by explaining that Zarak killed her father in an honorable battle. [[WhatASenselessWasteOfAHumanLife After lamenting the loss of a powerful ally and an excellent foe]], he decides to make a new Arena Queen: Jen-Tai. He even delivered the sword to her for that reason]]

* [[spoiler: OrIsIt: Jen-Tai's Story Mode ending indicates that perhaps there might finally be peace in the world... Until a picture of a monster (Revealed to be the former Demon Lord Raith), stating that it might not be the case.]]

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Talazia. The best guess for a would be somewhere akin to the Carribean.

* [[spoiler: BolvianArmyEnding: Zarak's special ending, where after finding out that he is the Weapon Lord, assumes he already fulfilled the prophecy when he killed Raith, but finds that Raith is revealed to have survived and returns to reclaim his throne.]]

* DisappearedDad: Jen-Tai's dad was presumed killed in battle, and [[AncestralWeapon his broadsword delivered to her]].

* HonorBeforeReason: The previous Demon Lord, Raith, believed in following the warrior's code above all else even if it didn't seem practical. Zarak felt that was an old-fashioned way of thinking and killed him for it, but seem to start believing that he should fall it since he went against it and sent 50 of his best men to kill Korr and Kang and didn't go with them, he lost nearly all of them.

* [[spoiler:HumanityEnsues]]: [[spoiler: This is revealed to be the true origin of Talazia, while her earliest memories only date back to the time she was cursed to become human seven years ago.]]

* [[spoiler: LeavingYouToFindMyself]]: [[spoiler: A familial example is used in Bane's Story Ending, as Korr has just found (and realized) that Bane was actually his long-lost brother Kӓng. Believing that Kӓng [[ThatManIsDead no longer exists]] and would be marked for death if he were, Bane states that he must leave again to find his soul]]
* [[spoiler:[[LongLostRelative Long Lost Brother]]]]: [[spoiler: Bane is actually Korr's long-lost brother Kӓng, who was kidnapped seven years ago. Bane for one has no real desire to reunite with his brother.]]

* [[spoiler:LukeIAmYourFather]]: [[spoiler: The previous Demon Lord, Raith, is revealed to be Zarak's father in one of Zarak's Story endings.]]

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Korr and Jen-Tai are considered this. Korr himself leads his tribe.

* [[spoiler:ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight]]: [[spoiler:Bane's defense for why he killed his attackers before he was allowed to according to Tarok traditions.]]
* [[spoiler:SelfFulfillingProphecy: For all the effort Zarak spent killing everyone in order to prevent the prophecy of the Weaponlord from coming true, one of his Story Endings reveals that Zarak himself was born under the Warrior's Moon, thus making HIM the Weaponlord.]]

* [[spoiler:SelfFulfillingProphecy: For all the effort Zarak spent killing everyone in order to prevent the prophecy of the Weaponlord from coming true, one of his Story Endings reveals that Zarak himself was born under the Warrior's Moon, thus making HIM the Weaponlord.]]

* [[spoiler: NeverLiveItDown: If you have Korr finish Bane off in Story Mode, Zarak will present the barbarian with Bane's head, revealing that [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Korr actually murdered his long-lost brother.]] Korr is haunted by this.]]