Play Warrior Blade - Rastan Saga Episode III (Japan) Online

Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga Episode III came out in 1991 for arcades, but I first played it years later through MAME in 1995. Taito developed and published it, a follow-up in their Rastan series during a time when side-scrolling action games were common but often brutally difficult. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, just offers a straightforward, challenging hack and slash experience.

You control a barbarian warrior, moving screen by screen through hostile lands. Your main goal is simply to survive each stage, clearing out all enemies to proceed. The combat relies on timing your heavy sword swings and using a limited screen-clearing magic attack when overwhelmed. You collect power-ups to strengthen your weapon and health, but the pacing is relentless; enemies swarm from all sides, and mistakes are punished hard. It feels like a constant, desperate struggle against overwhelming odds.