Switchblade 2 or Switchblade II is a computer game of the run and gun genre. It was released for the Amiga

Amiga

The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

 and the Atari ST

Atari ST

The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...

 by Gremlin

Gremlin Interactive

Gremlin Interactive was a British software house based in Sheffield and working mostly in the home computer market.- History :...

 in May 1991, and for the Atari Lynx in 1992.

Switchblade 2, sequel of Switchblade, is a cross between a shoot 'em up and a platform game

Platform game

A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...

. The action is viewed from the side. The player guides the protagonist, Hiro, through six levels infested with mechanoid, metal-clad enemies. Weapons include a knife

Knife

A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

, homing missiles, a laser

Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

 beam, a flame thrower and shuriken

Shuriken

A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...

.

Although developed in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, the game's graphics had a very Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese Anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

/Manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 feel to them.

Although reviews for the game were extremely positive, the programmer George Allen was criticized for having
a lack of enemies, so he wanted to make a significantly fast game that would result in the extremly popular
Zool

Zool

Zool is a video game originally produced for the Amiga by Gremlin Graphics in 1992.Zool was intended as a rival to Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. It was heavily hyped upon its initial release, including being bundled with the newly launched Amiga 1200, although not the AGA version with enhanced...

.