What is perhaps sometimes an even greater motivator to succeed in an RPG than story or character development is its system of exploration and combat. Those who have played or even taken a glance at any of Nintendo’s Zelda series will have an idea of how these two elements are executed. Travelling throughout the land is a somewhat linear affair, as you wander through a series of interconnected screens, only able to access areas that are relevant to the quest at hand. Hostile creatures are present at every single turn, and so you spend the vast majority of your time battling practically anything and everything that you come across. Such creatures include industry standbys such as spiders and goblins, as well as some bizarre new hybrids such as the terrible owlbear, which incidentally is as ridiculous-looking as it sounds. Defeating these foes will cause them to suddenly disappear, leaving money and experience in their passing. This passing is only permanent for boss creatures, as the lesser monsters respawn in very little time at all, forcing you not only to fight for your life but to flee the area immediately after having done so. Given, combat itself is a particularly simple affair: point your character in the proper direction, repeatedly hit the attack button, and the fighting begins.

There are, however, a few issues that diversify matters somewhat: the aforementioned abilities, which allow your characters to defend or attack in unique ways, and elemental attributes. As each element has an opposing element to which it reacts, some small amount of strategizing can be implemented into your combat tactics. Fire and water, earth and wind, light and darkness, holiness and evil: each has been imbued into the various items that you’ll come across in your travels. In other words, attacking a fire-based enemy with a water-based sword will do additional damage, and donning an earth-based armor will protect you from foes who primarily use earth damage. Matters also work the other way, though, as you’ll find that air-empowered enemies’ attacks will take more out of your health when you’re wearing that earth armor than when you’re not. This system can spice up combat somewhat, although you’ll find that you’re generally too busy hitting that attack button to notice.

Although your warriors will generally take up the bulk of your gaming attention, the spellcasters are certainly not without their advantages. Sorcerers, for instance, specialize in combat magic, and theoretically could supplement the warriors’ attacks. Elemental “bullets” may be cast upon enemies to do moderate amounts of damage, just as an evil spirit may be summoned to help the party in their attack. Clerics, on the other hand, are crucial in maintaining your party’s health, as they have access to the traditional healing, defensive and undead-warding spells. The floating fairies have a much different type of magic, as their abilities generally lie in assisting or inconveniencing others rather than affecting them in an overly direct manner. For example, they may increase the elemental attack power of party members’ weapons or imbue them with temporary levitation, while enemies may find themselves silenced or put to sleep at the hands of a particularly focused fairy.

Unfortunately, there are some states of health that cannot be healed by any magical spell, such as accursedness and madness. To deal with such issues, Hunters may administer various herbs to the characters to help in their recuperation. These herbs can be purchased from a herb vendor, or found on the ground during your travels. Interestingly enough, the different herbs have not been made up, and use familiar names for their unfamiliar uses: lavender helps to restore your health, sage rejuvenates your mana, and hyssop cures madness. These items are an interesting addition to the game, although after a time you’ll get the impression that they were merely designated as herbs because potions would be too obviously unoriginal.

Barring combat and exploration, no RPG is complete without some grand quest to follow or some goal to pursue. In Blaze & Blade, your party’s ultimate reason for cutting through endless armies of hostile creatures is to seek out a number of jewels that have been left behind by the passing of the twelve Wisemen. As time has forgotten these ancient magicians, however, powerful creatures have taken to claiming these jewels as their own, forcing your party to encounter and obliterate several bosses in their travels. One such boss is the previously mentioned and particularly hideous owlbear, who not only works his way around your warriors’ shields, but also possesses an entourage of lesser owlbears that attack you during the battle. As troublesome as the bosses tend to be, they play a much smaller part than the various other side quests that you accept throughout the game. These side quests are generally simplistic, varying between “find the key” and “kill the monster.” As you would imagine, matters tend to become rather repetitive and dull, characteristics that Blaze & Blade possesses in gross abundance.