Legend of the Blade Masters

Legend of the Blade Masters is a cancelled Dreamcast and PC game by Ronin Enterainment. It was to be an action-RPG.

Plot
Long ago, dragons ruled the world. They fought to control the elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and Wood. Each element was mastered by a dragon - the Dragon Masters.

The Dragon Masters settled in Malea, a timeless place. There they slept for millennia as Man took control back of the world. The land of Malea was overtime occupied by humans and other races.

Eventually demonic wormholes formed, releasing the demons from the dimension Xicondra. A great conflict ensued. The wizard Aberhart had a solution to the current ruler, King Aron. Aberhart awoke the slumbering Dragon Masters.

The Dragon Masters fought off the demons and closed the wormholes. The King celebrated by marrying a beautiful woman, Yondalla. Aderhart, also having the hots for her, did favours for her to win her heart.

King Aron sought his revenge. His plan backfire: the archers fired upon Aderhart but Yondalla was caught in the middle. Aderhart fled and recruited a powerful ally: a demon black mage named Raven.

Aderhart and Raven imprisoned the five Dragon Masters into the Five Magical Blades. Raven, hoewever, betrayed Aderhart and stole the Five Magical Blades. Aderhart wanted them back and stormed King Aron's castle in Vameria in search of them.

The valiant Knight Valdemar and his son Erik are in search for the blades for Aberhart. However, they stumble upon Aberhart attempting to resurrect Yondalla. They steal one of the Magical Blades from Aberhart and flee but become separated.

Erik Valdemar soon meets Knight Macon, Lucan the Orc, O'Lora the elf, and August the wizard. Each of them has one of the Magical Blades. They band together to save the land of Malea from Aberhart and his army.

Gameplay
The game was to be 3D Gauntlet-style game. It was point and click but with a movable camera. The game, as well as the spells, are comparable to Diablo.

Melee combat must be properly timed. The enemy has an aura that changes colour during each turn. Time it when the aura is red for maximum damage.

Each playable character had their own strengths, weaknesses, and abilities.

Development
The game was announced as Blademasters in early 1999. In early 2000 the entire design team were fired and a new team were hired. The design team went for an aesthetic reminiscent of anime, especially the Studio Ghibli films.

The game ran on an original engine built for calculating the battles on the fly. Each character model was around 300-500 polygons.

Cancellation
Legend of the Blade Masters was finished but could not find a publisher. The original publisher, Ripcord Games, went defunct in November 2000.

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ajPjJHKak