Sep 11, 2025
Blackthorne. A few words about Prince of Persia with a shotgun
Surprisingly, someday Blizzard were a cool bunch. They used to create cool games, not just mobile ones Diablo and further additions to World of Warcraft.Usually, when talking about the company’s best releases, people remember Warcraft 3, Starcraft, Diablo 2, however, developers could please gamers with good video games before, at least remember The Lost Viking, published in the 90s. At the same time, they introduced the world to one platformer, which, unfortunately, few people remember, but this does not mean that it deserves it. Oh no, this game is a real diamond of a library rich in masterpieces SNES. And her name Blackthorne.
Although I have known this game for a long time, I was either too inexperienced to master it, or my attention was captured by modern releases. Looks like the hour has struck, my body is ready. I decided to beat the game Xbox, having bought the collection Blizzard Arcade Collection, which I would like to talk a little about before moving on to discussing the platformer itself. This is not the worst collection. As many as 5 games: Blackthorne, Rock N’ Roll Racing 1, RPM Racing, The Lost Vikings 1-2. Not rich, of course, but Blizzard released little on 16-bit consoles. Basically, in The Disney Afternoon Collection also only 6 masterpieces from Capcom, so we are happy with what they offer. Almost all video games have multiple versions, Blackthorne And The Lost Vikings even have Definitive Edition, where some visual or gameplay improvements are introduced. For console versions, you can turn on the filter, change the resolution, and also put a frame, in general, a standard situation for such a publication. For lovers of modern conveniences, we added rewind and save at any time. In the bonuses you can find sketches, manuals, covers, photographs of developers, music, however, for some reason there is a soundtrack only from Blackthorne And The Lost Vikings, entire backstories that allow you to better understand the plot of the games presented, and, most importantly, interviews with employees Blizzard – an excellent selection of additional materials for fans of the company’s games. Taking a collection at a discount when nostalgia for the golden days of the gaming industry awakens is a great solution. Ideally, you should take it for a portable device, but the price was too tempting, so I chose the Boxbox over Sychevalnya.
Interviews have subtitles translated into Russian. Marvelous.
Do you think I was joking when I wrote that the collection contains stories?
IN Definitive Edition added a map. Very useful innovatione.
One "But": for some reason in this version you cannot select a filter or remove the frame.
For comparison: this SNES-version.
We mainly learn about https://sweety-win-casino.co.uk/ the events taking place through cutscenes shown to the player when visiting a new zone; you can also meet important quest characters who will start a dialogue with Kyle, but the locations are also full of friendly NPCs who are always ready to talk. However, we can also learn about the state of the world through our environment. In the dark mines, some slaves mine ore while the antagonist’s minions drive them with a whip, others are tied to the wall, some have died long ago, and no one is going to remove the skeletons. In the swamps, where it rains endlessly, you can see rebels fighting traitors and orcs, and you can even help them. The lifeless desert, where the neighboring kingdom is located, is full of dangers, and local predatory plants do not spare anyone, even the Sarlacc orcs. Blizzard wanted to create a dark and cruel world, and, as for me, they succeeded.
Between missions there are stylish cutscenes during which Sarlacc resents his helpless servants. Yes, version Definitive Edition also has a translation.
It’s useful to talk to slaves and rebels. They not only complain about the tyrant, but also give advice or donate items necessary for passing.
People here are not immortal, and the orcs don’t care who they shoot at, and friendly fire no one canceled. But don’t forget about the advantages! Slaves can be excellent human shields. Life for Blackthorn!
To work out the details Blizzard approached with incredible scrupulousness. Blackthorn and the enemies twitch the forend of their pump-action shotguns after firing, spent cartridges fly out of the boom stick, blood is visible after hitting the enemy, the environment also reacts to the shots. If Kyle jumps into a wall, he will crash into it and fall, and when he catches a bullet, he will definitely be thrown back. The locations are full of animated objects such as bright torches, flowing water of underground waterfalls, drops of endless rain, branches of dried plants shaking in the wind. Yes, once upon a time, cartridges that couldn’t even store a gigabyte of information contained games that can still surprise you today.
Now I understand why the hero wears sunglasses: he doesn’t want to be blinded by the flash of his own shotgun. But look at the red orc! How does he hurt now?. And that’s wonderful! I’ve been looking at this for 5 hours now.
We also tried to select memorable sounds. There are not many of them, mostly you will hear all sorts of Kyle’s grunts, the noise of his steps while running, occasionally explosions from grenades, but, most importantly, shots. The guns boom noticeably, and this, of course, is not a shotgun made of Trepang2, but for a 2D game of those years it’s impressive. When you get an automatic rifle, the soundtrack turns into a treat for the ears. Unfortunately, there is not enough music, only one theme for each zone, but it is atmospheric. Sometimes it feels like you’re listening to 16-bit rock, and the song playing in the mines can sell you Blackthorne. I love game soundtracks SNES. It is worth mentioning that there is a version of the game on SEGA 32X, which is in the collection, and, believe me, there is no need to include its OST – my ears almost curled into tubes when I listened to the mines track. Although you can take a risk, everyone has different tastes. There is also DOS version, but I can’t say anything about her.
I think it’s time to move on to the main course. It’s worth talking about the gameplay, which consists of three elements: platforming, puzzle solving And fights. As I said earlier, in essence, this is the Prince of Persia. We move across screens, so we always need to be careful when moving to the next one, because a dangerous enemy or an unexpected cliff may await us. Kyle is an athletic guy, he can climb up, go down from a ledge, squat, somersault, jump from a place or while running. The jump cannot be controlled in the air; you will have to learn the distance that the hero is able to overcome. In general, it’s pleasant to control the prince with a shotgun, except that you have to get used to some of his sluggishness. Incredibly, the use of the stick is implemented perfectly, I immediately forgot about the D-pad. Often along the way you will encounter various traps such as spider bombs, exploding wasps, pressure plates that trigger turrets, carnivorous plants, and ordinary abysses have not been canceled, so you have to study locations with caution. There is no particular difficulty in overcoming obstacles, unless, of course, you rush. Blackthorn runs quickly, and there is a chance that you won’t be able to press the button in time for a long jump – it’s easy to fall off the ledge here. Similar movement in “realistic” platformers like Prince of Persia, Another World, Flashback etc. hides not only a pleasant challenge for the player, because if you learn local controls, you can masterfully jump from platform to platform, avoiding clashes with enemies, but also an unpleasant inconvenience. It manifests itself especially vilely during the interaction between the platform and quest components of the game.
The game really does feel like a quest at times. Kyle has a limited inventory where he stores grenade bombs, heals, a portable ladder and various keys. An important thing can either be with an ally or an enemy, or just lie on the ground. We found the required item and were able to move on. Somewhere you need to combine objects and look for workarounds in order, for example, to pick up a used key and use it to activate a bridge in another place. Bombs are useful for destroying doors and laser field generators, and some of them can only be reached by controlled kamikaze wasps. What’s convenient is that you don’t need to constantly open your inventory; you can scroll through the list of items using the left and right bumpers. It is necessary to remember that items in the location are limited, so you need to use the same bombs wisely. There is nothing to blow up the generator with – well, the slaves will have to wait another 20 years for salvation. There is also no point in saving resources for the next level – at the new location the hero empties his pockets so that nothing interferes, and the password only saves your progress through the plot. On the one hand, it’s a shame, on the other, if the player could accumulate a dozen wasps, then passing the level would turn into a broken speedrun without details.
How to get to that rebel upstairs who probably has an important quest item? Think for yourself.
Ah, those wonderful times when you could use passwords in games. Thanks to the great Phil, now you can make do with screenshots instead of filling up your entire notebook. And, no, this is not a spoiler password, I entered a random code, so don’t worry.
Sometimes there are pressure plates that temporarily open iron doors, and you still have to guess what exactly has changed. This is where platforming comes into its own. There is one door in the desert that opens with a slab several screens away, and getting there is not easy, because you need to jump on a fragile bridge, and then you need to get back in time. You see, although Kyle is a trained warrior, and he reacts to pressing buttons quickly, it will take ten years for him to run, jump, catch on the edge of a cliff, and get up. You also need to press the buttons at the right time, because you have to take a running start on one screen and jump over the abyss on another. At one point, I learned to pass this place perfectly, but in some other similar sections, where you need to think quickly and react instantly, the Persian clumsiness of the hero let me down. Not critical, but sometimes caused irritation. I can also note the lack of visual cues in some places where you need to climb up. This only happened a couple of times, but I had to jump at every step to understand where the ledge was located on the other screen.
I sympathize with the children who went through similar sections without quick saves. One wrong move and this spider will throw the hero straight into hell.
Not without secrets. Hidden passages behind walls and waterfalls available. Remember: if the game has a secret behind the waterfall, then it is an all-time masterpiece, it cannot be otherwise.
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