Run Saber

Run Saber is a 1993 side-scrolling action game developed by Horisoft and published by Atlus for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was released in North America on June 8, 1993, and in Europe in 1993. Run Saber features side-scrolling fighting as the two main heroes, Allen and Sheena, the Run Sabers, fight to save the planet. The gameplay is very similar to Strider, Valis and some elements of Psycho Dream.

Run Saber
North American SNES box art by Julie Bell
Developer(s)Horisoft[1]
Publisher(s)Atlus
Composer(s)Hikoshi Hashimoto
Platform(s)SNES
Release
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay
This boss changed in appearance in the final game due to content guideline violations

After choosing either the male character, Allen, or the female character, Sheena, the player is sent to five different levels around a fantastical Earth. Sheena has an ice affinity, while Allen has a lightning one. A third Saber, Kurtz, is aligned with fire, and is an enemy the player must fight several times.

The players can use a slash attack (the standard attack) which Allen does forward and Sheena upward, use a mid-air kick, or use the Hyper Bomb (special pick up item). The players can also climb up and down walls and hang onto the ceiling. There is a power jump similar to the Screw Attack of Super Metroid.

In each of the five levels (Taj Base, Tong City, Jodvalley, Grey Fac, and Bruford), there are multiple minor bosses and one final boss at the end of each level. These battles are noted when an alert message appears on the screen. In between each boss, the player must fight hordes of enemies and collect health pickups and weapon enhancers.

Originally, the boss at the end of the Tong City level was supposed to be a woman lying on her side, however Nintendo felt that this violated their content guidelines as they did not want to depict or reference violence against women on their hardware, so the woman was changed into a dead woman and was approved.[2]

Plot

Years into the future after Earth has been overly polluted and resources are running low, a scientist quickly comes up with a solution: a new chemical that will reverse the effects of pollution. As colonists settle in space to avoid the pollution, the newfound chemical is quickly launched in a missile into the atmosphere where it explodes and releases the chemical. However, the chemical begins to horribly mutate any and all humans infected with it. The scientist knew the effects of his chemical and uses the mutated people as his soldiers to rule the Earth.

Humanity's only hope is a new weapon known as Project Saber, three cyborgs that are genetically enhanced to supernatural levels. Kurtz, the first Saber, malfunctions and escapes to Earth before the project is complete. The remaining Sabers, Allen and Sheena, are dispatched to eliminate the scientist and his militant mutant threat, and to neutralize Kurtz if possible.

References
  1. Run Saber Release Information for Super Nintendo, GameFAQs, retrieved 2013-09-11
  2. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment "Could It Be...?" Vol v. Issue 8. 1993 pg. 13.
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