X-Blades

Lore & Background

X-Blades was originally published under the name Oniblade as a PC exclusive on 23 November 2007 in Russia by 1C Publishing. It was developed by Gaijin Entertainment as the first action/anime-style game in Russia, using the Dagor Engine. In February 2008, SouthPeak Games announced that X-Blades would also be released on seventh-gen consoles in late 2008. James Seaman, managing director at Topware Interactive, stated the goal was to create stylistic characters and artwork mixed with fast action.

The game's setting involves two divine beings, the Enlightened and the Dark One, whose eternal conflict resulted in their powers being sealed in two artifacts hidden in a temple. The adventurer Ayumi finds a map to these artifacts and begins her search, becoming cursed by the power of darkness. The plot follows her journey to defeat the darkness, encountering beings like the Light and the Dark, and the adept Jay. The ending depends on whether the player purchases dark spells: if any dark spells are unlocked, the 'Bad' Ending shows Ayumi killing Jay; otherwise, the 'Good' Ending shows the two ascending in spheres and purging the dark power.

Gameplay involves fighting monsters with gun blades and spells, using power-ups and coin fragments for upgrades. Souls function as experience points that can be converted into skills of light or dark alignment, affecting the ending. Monsters appear in preset numbers or from Monster Generators that spawn opponents until destroyed.

Reader's Guide

X-Blades is notable as an early Russian action/anime-style game that attempted to blend hack-and-slash combat with a moral choice system. Its reception was mixed: critics pointed to repetitive gameplay, mediocre special effects, annoying controls, and weak AI. Electronic Gaming Monthly described protagonist Ayumi as a 'typical sassy, scantily clad, smart-talking bad girl,' while GameDaily featured her among 'Almost Famous Hotties' but was dissatisfied with the game and her personality. X-Play recommended the game only to those 'interested in quitting videogames completely' and gave it a 'Golden Mullet Award' as one of the worst games of the year, noting similarities to Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry. Famitsu scored the console versions 26 out of 40. The game was also parodied in Zero Punctuation and Unskippable for its stilted dialogue and confusing chronology. Despite criticism, it spawned a reboot/sequel, Blades of Time, in 2012. Downloadable content titled 'Sky Levels' was released for Xbox 360 in March 2009, and an expansion pack was announced but details were not released.

Did You Know?

• The game was originally released in Russia as Oniblade in November 2007.
• Ayumi wields two pistol-blades, combining gun and sword attacks.
• The ending changes based on whether the player unlocks any dark spells.
• Three additional levels called 'Sky Levels' were released as downloadable content for Xbox 360.