Swords and Serpents
Encyclopedia
Swords and Serpents is a fantasy
role-playing video game developed by Interplay
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
. In this game, the player controls a party of four adventurers on a dungeon-crawling
quest to destroy a terrible serpent. Along the way, the party encounters an onslaught of fantasy monster
s and collects gold and treasure while gaining experience points needed to raise their individual attributes. Swords and Serpents focuses mainly on gameplay, and contains a minimal storyline with very little plot development.
The game was originally designed by Paul O'Conner (lead designer for Dragon Wars
) but he only worked on the game for two weeks before leaving the project. Bruce Schlickbernd was assigned to revise the game design, but didn't feel it was appropriate to be listed as the sole designer. Thus, there is no game designer listed within the documentation for the game.
This game has no connection to the Mattel
Intellivision
game of the same title.
Swords and Serpents can be played by one, two, or four players (by use of the NES Satellite
or other 4-player adapter). Control of the characters is divided evenly among the number of players, but one player must be chosen as the party leader to control navigation through the game. Upon starting the game, the player creates a party of four adventurers, choosing one of three available classes for each character: warrior
, thief
or magician. Character statistics can be randomly generated, or the player can choose a ready-to-play party which includes characters of each class. Continuing the game requires the player to record and later input five password
s: one password for each character, and a fifth password for overall game progress.
Gameplay is simple. The player navigates through a crude representation of a dungeon, presented in split-screen
format which allows the player to simultaneously view the dungeon from a first-person perspective and a simple map of the current level showing the party's location. Encounters with monsters occur randomly, during which the map is replaced by gauges representing the creatures' health. During fights the player controls the characters' actions to attack, cast magic spells, or flee. The entire game takes place in an underground dungeon composed of 16 levels, with the serpent at the end.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing video game developed by Interplay
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. In this game, the player controls a party of four adventurers on a dungeon-crawling
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
quest to destroy a terrible serpent. Along the way, the party encounters an onslaught of fantasy monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
s and collects gold and treasure while gaining experience points needed to raise their individual attributes. Swords and Serpents focuses mainly on gameplay, and contains a minimal storyline with very little plot development.
The game was originally designed by Paul O'Conner (lead designer for Dragon Wars
Dragon Wars
Dragon Wars is a fantasy computer role-playing game developed by Interplay Entertainment in 1989, and distributed by Activision.-Story:The story from the back of the original box:-Development:...
) but he only worked on the game for two weeks before leaving the project. Bruce Schlickbernd was assigned to revise the game design, but didn't feel it was appropriate to be listed as the sole designer. Thus, there is no game designer listed within the documentation for the game.
This game has no connection to the Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
game of the same title.
Gameplay
NES Satellite
The NES Satellite is a Nintendo Entertainment System accessory created by Nintendo, and released in 1989.The Satellite allows up to four players to play the NES anywhere in the room without the necessity of wires running from the NES to the players' controllers. To use, a small infrared receiver...
or other 4-player adapter). Control of the characters is divided evenly among the number of players, but one player must be chosen as the party leader to control navigation through the game. Upon starting the game, the player creates a party of four adventurers, choosing one of three available classes for each character: warrior
Warrior (character class)
Warrior is a character class found in many role-playing games. This class may also be referred to as Fighter, as in Dungeons & Dragons. The class is sometimes also referred to as a Knight, although in some games this is a separate class with a more chivalric aspect...
, thief
Thief (character class)
The Thief or Rogue is a character class in many role-playing games, including Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft and many MMORPGs. Thieves are usually stealthy and dextrous characters able to disarm traps, pick locks, and perform backstabs from hiding...
or magician. Character statistics can be randomly generated, or the player can choose a ready-to-play party which includes characters of each class. Continuing the game requires the player to record and later input five password
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
s: one password for each character, and a fifth password for overall game progress.
Gameplay is simple. The player navigates through a crude representation of a dungeon, presented in split-screen
Split screen (computer graphics)
Split screen is a display technique in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into non-movable adjacent parts, typically two or four rectangular areas. This is done in order to allow the simultaneous presentation of related graphical and textual information on a computer...
format which allows the player to simultaneously view the dungeon from a first-person perspective and a simple map of the current level showing the party's location. Encounters with monsters occur randomly, during which the map is replaced by gauges representing the creatures' health. During fights the player controls the characters' actions to attack, cast magic spells, or flee. The entire game takes place in an underground dungeon composed of 16 levels, with the serpent at the end.
External links
- Swords and Serpents at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...