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The Last Bladeisn’t the most well - known ofSNK ’s roll of contend game . The company ’s acclaimed franchises across arcades and the Neo Geo dwelling scheme admit such genre staples asFatal FuryandArt of Fighting , but the alone setting and weapon system - establish armed combat ofThe Last Bladegained itself a following . Now , one of its rarer games is uncommitted once more : The Last Blade : Beyond The Destiny , finding itself a fresh home on Nintendo Switch .
ab initio issue for the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 2000,The Last Blade : Beyond The Destinywas a combination of the first twoThe Last Bladegames , with an unlock system of rules free-base around garner points to steady make memory access to substance . It suffered the fate of being a game released on a handheld that never quite found a base , and as such it had been forgotten by many - though a new rental on life history raise that may have been an unjust fate for a amazingly solid game .
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The Last Blade : Beyond The Destinyshowcases the tone that fans of the Neo Geo Pocket Color have long debated . In comparison to other handhelds at the fourth dimension ( theGame Boy Advancewas still a year away from release whenThe Last vane : Beyond The Destinycame out ) the Neo Geo Pocket Color gained a reputation for free flow gameplay . Its mini joystick d - pad , which was ahead of its time on a handheld equipment , made it perfect for fighting game , and the ease of control and pulling off exceptional move in the port is testament to the qualities of the original political program .
Because of this , The Last Blade : Beyond The Destinyremains an lesson of exactly why SNK has earned its repute with fighting game . Compared to coeval on other handheld devices at the time , such as the stilted and undependable controls ofMortal KombatorStreet Fighterports on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color , The Last Blade : Beyond The Destinyis immensely superior . It ’s not consummate - it is , after all , a handheld scrap game from two decades ago - but its fluidity against peers from the earned run average is telling .
Based on the context of its freeing , The Last Blade : Beyond The Destinyis also visually well design . The claim has well-defined and fluent vitality , while its grapheme are also surprisingly expressive . The game is framed around a fake Neo Geo Pocket Color as well , a customizable streamer much like those seen on theSuper Game Boyfor the SNES .
It aid thatThe Last sword : Beyond The Destinyhas a merriment cast . There ’s a strong array of vivacious personality , ranging from the stoic through to the comedic , a fabric that many a fighting biz has used over the years . There ’s something quite magic about beating the game play as previous guru Okina by throwing a turtleneck at the head of an opposer as they come in for a powerful diving plan of attack .
In maliciousness of these positives , it ’s unlikely thatThe Last Blade : Beyond The Destinywill prayer outdoors of hardcore SNK fans . The points - bring in organization adds replayability , but other than that it ’s hard to get around the fact that this is a handheld scrap secret plan from 2000 . When compare to other games available , it ’s not as enjoyable to a just weather instrumentalist as something else that could be picked up , given the progress in the musical genre without the limits that a hand-held equipment comes with .
Nonetheless it ’s always good to see rare game such asThe Last Blade : Beyond The Destinymade available . This is particularly true given the more democratic personal manner of digital distribution at a modest toll point , as those who want to pick up a licit transcript of the plot would want to be capable to afford the unconscionable costs of a 2d mitt transcript of the cartridge . Hopefully , the game will be made useable foresighted term to grant intrigue players to pluck it up .
As it is , The Last Blade : Beyond The Destinystands as a fun man of fighting game history . This curio might not turn many heads outside of those already acquainted with the lesser - known region of SNK ’s line - up , but the fact that it ’s available at all will be a relief to fans . It ’s for certain more refreshing to see a game like this get a second life than some otheralready - democratic Switch ports .
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The Last Blade : Beyond The Destinyis out now for Nintendo Switch . Screen Rant was provided with a Switch download code for the purposes of this review .
