Play Cross Blades! Online

Cross Blades! is one of those arcade swordfighters that hooks you in the first five seconds—bright colors, clashing steel, and enemies that actually make you think before swinging wildly. You start with just a basic slash and block, but after a couple fights, you’ll unlock these ridiculous spinning attacks that send guys flying offscreen. The combo system’s simple but satisfying—land three hits, dodge, then finish with a heavy strike before they recover.

What surprised me was how much the AI adapts. Early enemies just rush in, but later ones actually feint or bait you into overextending. The pixel art’s got this exaggerated anime style where every critical hit freezes the screen for a split second with these flashy kanji effects. My only gripe? The difficulty spikes hard around stage 3 if you haven’t practiced parrying. Still, nailing a perfect counter and watching a boss’ health bar evaporate never gets old.

If you’ve got a thing for arcade brawlers that reward timing over button mashing, this one’s a blast.